Investing In Real Estate - Six Specific Tips
Investing in real estate should be a pleasurable and profitable activity. Listen carefully to investors, though, and you hear not just success stories, but sad tales of stress and losing money. Here are some tips for keeping your real estate stories happy ones.
- Have a top price. Properties have a market value, and then they have their value to you. Many investors pay too much just because everyone else is doing so, and then they have negative cash flow month after month. Just because others are paying too much for duplexes, doesn’t mean you have to. Once you decide on a top price that works for your plan (which hopefully involves cash flow), start below that and don’t go a penny higher. The time to set your limit is before the negotiations start, not during them.
- Choose partners carefully. Investing in real estate can be an uncertain process. Too many decision-makers just make it more so. If you must have a partner, clearly define your roles before you start a project. Group decisions tend not to work well, and will cause you much stress. It is often best if one partner puts up the bulk of the money, and the other runs the show. Agree to a plan, then step back if you are investing the capital, and let your partner do his thing. Of course, step up and take control if you are managing the project.
- Listen to what the market is saying. When the cabinet guy asked me for a decision I realized that I knew nothing at all about which cabinets people like. I asked him which ones home owners were most often choosing, and he pointed to one that three quarters of his last forty customers had chosen. Then that’s the one I want, I told him. Why would I argue with the market I am trying to sell to? I have seen sellers paint a home a certain color because they like it. That’s a quick way to reduce the market value of a home. What colors do the potential buyers like? That’s what is important.
- Understand the numbers. Investing in real estate is all about the numbers. If it is an income property investment, it’s about one number in particular: cash flow. Be aware of whatever the local formulas are, whether gross rent multipliers or capitalization rates or whatever. Ultimately, though just be sure that after every last expense you’ll have cash flow from the very first month. If it is a residential fixer-upper, know what it will sell for and what it will cost to fix it up - before you even make an offer.
- Don’t confuse investing with gambling. Investing in real estate isn’t gambling, or at least it shouldn’t be. There is risk, but unlike true gambling, the odds are in your favor. At least they should be, and you should be able to clearly see the outcome. This why you shouldn’t invest based on the assumption of continued fast appreciation. Over time, real estate values do trend upwards, but there is no guarantee that prices will continue up at any particular rate during a given time. Do deals in such a way that they’ll be profitable even if prices go nowhere. If values go up, you’re that much better off.
- Do the research. Understand the statistics and information you are looking at. It is possible that the real estate agent will show you only the comparable sales that make the property look more valuable. With a bit of your own research, and an understanding of how the various numbers are arrived at, you can avoid overpaying. Many counties have made researching prices easy, with sales prices online. Other web sites, such as the U.S. Census site, have information on population and jobs. Understanding these figures can mean not investing in real estate just before the town declines.
These tips, like all others, are just guidelines of course. You can “gamble” on rising values, for example, if you really did your homework and know the demand for housing in a town is about to explode. You might pass up a great opportunity too, because you refuse to go $500 over the top price you set. While having a few rules and guidelines is a good place to start, don’t let them take the place of thinking when investing in real estate.
Copyright Steve Gillman. For a Free Real Estate Investing Course, visit: http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steven_Gillman
The Great Depression Ahead How to Prosper in the Crash Following the Greatest Boom in History
The Great Depression Ahead How to Prosper in the Crash Following the Greatest Boom in History

The first and last economic depression that you will experience in your lifetime is just ahead. The year 2009 will be the beginning of the next long-term winter season and the initial end of prosperity in almost every market, ushering in a downturn like most of us have not experienced before. Are you aware that we have seen long-term peaks in our stock market and economy very close to every 40 years due to generational spending trends: as in 1929, 1968, and next around 2009? Are you aware that oil and commodity prices have peaked nearly every 30 years, as in 1920, 1951, 1980 — and next likely around late 2009 to mid-2010? The three massive bubbles that have been booming for the last few decades — stocks, real estate, and commodities — have all reached their peak and are deflating simultaneously.
Bestselling author and renowned economic forecaster Harry S. Dent, Jr., has observed these trends for decades. As he first demonstrated in his bestselling The Great Boom Ahead, he has developed analytical techniques that allow him to predict the impact they will have. The Great Depression Ahead explains “The Perfect Storm” as peak oil prices collide with peaking generational spending trends by 2010, leading to a more severe downtrend for the global economy and individual investors alike.
He predicts the following:
• The economy appears to recover from the subprime crisis and minor recession by mid-2009 — “the calm before the real storm.”
• Stock prices start to crash again between mid- and late 2009 into late 2010, and likely finally bottom around mid-2012 — between Dow 3,800 and 7,200.
• The economy enters a deeper depression between mid-2010 and early 2011, likely extending off and on into late 2012 or mid-2013.
• Asian markets may bottom by late 2010, along with health care, and be the first great buy opportunities in stocks.
• Gold and precious metals will appear to be a hedge at first, but will ultimately collapse as well after mid- to late 2010.
• A first major stock rally, likely between mid-2012 and mid-2017, will be followed by a final setdback around late 2019/early 2020.
• The next broad-based global bull market will be from 2020-2023 into 2035-2036.
Conventional investment wisdom will no longer apply, and investors on every level — from billion-dollar firms to the individual trader — must drastically reevaluate their policies in order to survive. But despite the dire news and dark predictions, there are real opportunities to come from the greatest fire sale on financial assets since the early 1930s. Dent outlines the critical issues that will face our government and other major institutions, offering long- and short-term tactics for weathering the storm. He offers recommendations that will allow families, businesses, investors, and individuals to manage their assets correctly and come out on top. With the right knowledge and preparation, you can take advantage of new wealth opportunities rather than get caught in a downward spiral. Your life is about to change for reasons outside of your control. You can’t change the direction of the winds, but you can reset your sails!
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Predictions seem to becoming Reality
Few would have believed Harry S. Dent, Jr. when he made his predictions for the current gloom; the economy always seemed to bubble higher after past corrections. Fortunately, Mr. Dent also provides strategies for dealing with this big, bad bear.
1 Star Correct Me If I am Wrong
But is this not the same “economist” Harry Dent about whom Wikipedia says:
“In 2000, Dent predicted that the DOW would reach 40k, a prediction which was repeated in his 2004 book. In his book, he also predicted the NASDAQ would reach 13-20k. In late 2006 he revised his forecasts to much lower levels, estimating the Dow would reach 16-18k and the NASDAQ 3-4k. In January 2006, he predicted that the DOW would reach 14-15,000 by the end of the year. It ended 2006 at 12,463, 11% below the lower end of his prediction. It ended 2007 at 13,264, again significantly lower than Dent’s revised prediction of 15,000 by early 2008. Since then, the Dow crossed 14,000 in late 2007 before retrenching.”
If so and Wikipedia is accurately describing his predictions, I think I will try my Magic 8 Ball instead.
5 Stars Thought Provoking
Well reasoned, researched, and thought provoking work; written in July 2008, and when you read its asuumptions in March 2009, the book becomes even more amazing.
2 Stars Repetitive, Redundant
I like reference books to get straight to the point.
I also like reference books not to repeat the same information every third page.
Harry S. Dent’s editor should be fired, because I have had an extremely difficult time dragging myself through this material thanks to its repetitious nature.
A very tedious read, to say the least (am I repeating myself?)
I’ll try to get to the end of this book, but I’ll be surprised if I make it through to even the next chapter.
On the other hand, if I ever have trouble falling asleep at night….
1 Star give me a break
Mr. Dent’s last book “The Next Great Bubble Boom” predicted Dow 40K. Completely, extremely, ridiculously wrong, now he writes “The Great Depression Ahead.” Even a broken clock is right twice a day, and you would think Mr. Dent would have or should have just gone away after his last ridiculous book, but I guess he just can’t lose, because people continue to hand their money over and buy his books, whether he is right or has been proven so wrong.
Dolf De Roos Real Estate Investors College Real Estate Investing for Everyone Audio and DVD Success
Dolf De Roos Real Estate Investors College Real Estate Investing for Everyone Audio and DVD Success

Make a date for financial independence by enrolling in Dolf de Roos’Real Estate Inverstor’s College on audio compact disc. let property investment guru Dolf de Roos demonstrate insider techniques and field-tested strategies designed to maximize property value for all levels of real estate investors,as he shows just how frequently unique opportunities present themselves to those in the know. the Proerty Investor’s School on 10 CDs provides a dynamic audio record of Dolf’s mentoring sessions previously available only in-person,to only 10 students per year. Real Estate Riches on 3 CDs abridges the New York Times and Wall Street Journal print bestseller to create a portable audio compenduim of of how-to tips for creating property income. Finaly, sit in on Discussions with Dolf, a DVD bonus comprising an international question-and-answer session featuring specific real estate queries from program participants. Covering everthing from lenders to leases;tradespeople to tenants,Dolf de Roos Real Estate Investors College is your graduate course in financial security!
Enron The Smartest Guys in the Room
Enron The Smartest Guys in the Room

The inside story of one of historys greatest business scandals in which top executives of americas 7th largest company walked away with over one billion dollars while investors & employees lost everything. Studio: Magnolia Pict Hm Ent Release Date: 11/07/2006 Run time: 110 minutes
User Ratings and Reviews
2 Stars RATED R
I am a teacher and ordered this video to add to a lecture on corporate business practices. It says in the description that it is “NOT RATED”. I was very surprised when I received it and discovered that it was “RATED R for LANGUAGE and NUDITY”!!!! Amazon refunded my money, but I noticed that they still haven’t changed the description to make it accurate.
It was an interesting video, but obviously can’t be used for classroom purposes, which is sad because the “nudity” was not critical to the overall plot or information presented in the film.
5 Stars A take of Sickening Greed
Looking back I guess we all can see that Enron was just the tip of the iceberg. It’s devastating to think that these greed merchants were allowed to run rampant but then, on top of it to see that Enron was only one of so very many…it leaves me rather speechless. This documentary is not only skillfully done - with a slickness that works for the most part beautifully - it is also is so intensely informative. What an irony that Ken Lay died before paying the price for his avarice- while Jeffrey Skilling is still stewing in his nasty juices. Bravo to the folks who took on this topic so well and gave us a deeper and more terrible understanding of the greed merchants who infested our system and have ultimately brought us so low.
5 Stars Chilling indictment of greed; especially relevant now
Before the banking crisis and the housing bubble and toxic loans, there was the Enron crisis. This chilling documentary shows how greed, lying, ambition and corruption led a major corporation to fix its books so that a few people could become fabulously rich and how Wall Street analysts, major banks and America’s oldest accountancy firm became enablers in the scheme.
Unfortunately, the movie also shows that we as a society learned nothing from the collapse of Enron. We sowed the wind and now we’re reaping the whirlwind.
Shown mainly through interviews and video clips of Enron executives Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling when the company was the darling of Wall Street and could do no wrong, the movie plots the company’s path to total failure. It invested in a gas plant in India and lost a billion dollars but never admitted it. It invested in video on demand and lost hundreds of millions more and lied about its failure. These losses were hidden through the creation by the CFO Andie Fastow of sham companies and Fastow himself skimmed $45 million off the top. Arthur Andersen, the accountancy firm, approved Fastow’s illegal schemes and shredded one ton of documents to avoid being caught. Wall Street stock analysts recommended Enron quarter after quarter and major banks loaned more funds. Anyone who dared question the company’s viability was fired.
We hear chilling recordings of Enron energy traders in California chuckling with glee as the company deliberately shuts down the power grid, causing misery to millions and probably death to not a few, so they can bid up the price of electricity.
Most scandalous, we meet some of the ordinary employees encouraged to invest all their retirement accounts win Enron stock. They lost everything while the top officers of the company cashed out.
Enron was a systemic failure of our capitalist system and was a warning that was ignored.
4 Stars The dumbest guys in the room?
Great DVD with information about the Enron scandal. It was very informative and entertaining! Watch this if you want to feel bad about American business ethics.
1 Star Disk has compatibility issues
As a product this deserves zero stars, because it simply doesn’t work. Like some other reviewers have experienced, I found that this DVD would not play properly. I tried it on three different DVD players and on two computers. On two of the three DVD players it brought up a menu with still photos from the disc, but would not play the movie and on the third it would not boot, instead giving a disc error message. On the computers, I could only get it to play by manually navigating to the .wmv movie file and playing it with an application that can parse windows media files. This is wholly unacceptable for a professional release.
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Investing In Real Estate - Six Specific TipsInvesting in real estate should be a pleasurable and profitable activity. Listen carefully to investors, though, and you hear not...
