Sunday, May 28, 2006
Real Estate Investing FAQ
5/28/2006 12:22:37 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)


By Jeanette Joy Fisher

Besides how to find a bargain house, the second most-frequently asked question is: "How do I start real estate investing?"

Many people already invest in real estate and don't even know it.

Homeowners Are Real Estate Investors

Any home owner in reality becomes a real estate investor. Whether home owners want to stay in their home for life or just a few years, their home should make them money. Many families only own one home at a time, but they keep moving up. Some of these families have made money from their homes by taking out the equity to pay bills. Other families bought more expensive homes, which went up in value more than the first home. For instance, a family bought a home for $105,000, sold the home for $230,000 and then bought a home for $300,000. The more expensive home went up in value the next year more than the first home. You can build your real estate wealth just by owning one home.

If you don't currently own your own home, that's the best place to start. Many people never buy a home because they think they have to have perfect credit or a lot of money down. Talk to a mortgage loan officer. You may be surprised that you can buy a home with little money down.

However, if you split your mortgage payments with other people, you don't have to pay for all this equity on your own. Your tenants will help you make the payments and over time can actually buy the property for you!

How to Start Real Estate Investing for Home Owners

Many investors start with a home to live in and then save money for a down payment for their first investment property. Here are some ways to skip the savings years, which most people never accomplish:

1. Refinance. If your home has gone up in value, refinance your home and use the equity for a down payment on an investment house. You must have sufficient monthly income to pay any negative between the rental income and the new mortgage payment. Some home owners have been able to purchase more than one investment house from one refinance transaction.

2. Move. Another way beginning real estate investors get their first investment is to buy a new home and rent out their first home. If you have great credit, you don't need to put a down payment into a new home to live in.

3. Sell and Move. You can sell your home and buy two houses. Use your equity to put more down on the investment house than your personal home.

4. Buy a vacation or second home. Our cabin tripled in value in three years. We refinanced the cabin to buy more houses and also kept funds to pay for the mortgage, twice. The cabin pays us to enjoy it!

How to Start Real Estate Investing for Non-Home Owners

1.  Buy a home! Even if you have poor credit, you can still buy a home. Even if you don't have a lot of money for a down payment, you can still buy a home. You have to pay to live somewhere, why not pay a mortgage? In many areas, the mortgage for a home costs less than rent. Explore Money4Investors and find yourself a loan.

2. If you really can't buy a home, find a bargain house and sell your rights to an investor.

You can make money investing in real estate. Make a plan of action and get started real estate investing.


Get all the tools you need to start your real estate investing business: Real Estate Investing Business Plan

Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher

  Disclaimer  |   |