The best way to learn a skill is by actually doing it. Anyone can find a property to purchase. There are thousands of them in the MLS, newspapers, at auctions and For Sale By Owners. But to become a successful investor you must develop the skill of not just finding a property to purchase but finding a “golden nugget” or a really good deal.
What is a really good deal? It is a deal that will almost guarantee an exceptional return on your investment of money and time. Are these really good deals hard to find? No—they are relatively easy to find--once you have developed the Mining skill.
There are many books and CD’s on the market that clearly detail the tactics for locating and purchasing great investment properties. Some of those tactics include:
• Using realtors
• Sellers ads in papers and on the Internet
• Your ads in papers & on the Internet
• Auctions
• Foreclosures
• Short Sales
• Real estate owned by banks (REO)
• Homes For Sale By Owner (FSBO)
• Homes in probate
• Finding empty homes
• Builders
• Wholesalers
All of these tactics work--but by focusing on one or two of them, you should quickly develop the skills needed for success. The most important thing to remember is that in order to locate great deals you will need to make a lot of well thought out offers.
People and institutions sell homes every day for substantially discounted prices. Why? There can be any number of reasons. Banks may have too many homes that they had to take back and now must sell some of them quickly at a discount. Home owners may be paying two mortgages and can’t afford to continue. Some other reasons might include:
• Facing foreclosure
• Divorce
• Sickness
• Death in the family
• Tired of dealing with renters
• Can’t deal with the pressure
• Sometimes they just want out
The reasons why the great deals are available are not really important. The only thing that is important is that you are there with your offer when one shows up. The only way to insure that you get some of these fantastic opportunities is by constantly and consistently making well thought out offers.
There is some great software available to help you determine the optimal amounts to offer for these properties.
Remember finding good deals is a skill you must master to become a successful real estate investor. There are plenty of good deals available--you simply need to learn how and where to find them. If you study and improve the skill of finding deals, learn and work to improve some of the techniques mentioned in this article and constantly and consistently search for property—finding very profitable deals will become easy.
In order to become a successful real estate investor there are several major skills that must be mastered. One of these skills is Mining or finding good deals. This skill should be learned, developed, practiced and perfected.