subject: How to make money in real estate investing without buying houses [print this page] How to make money in real estate investing without buying houses
Most people are scared of real estate investing because they think they must put a lot of money as capital.
Others get scared because of potential risks involved.
This article walks you through how to make money in real estate investing with little or no money, and sometimes not buying any houses at all.
Great thing is you will typically make $2000 to $20,000 in only 30 days or less.
Flipping houses, or wholesale real estate, is the best way to get started investing in real estate.
You learn how to estimate house value, repairs, make offers that get accepted and still leave you with a profit and get you familiar with the paperwork and the house buying and selling process.
Wholesale real estate investing involves locating houses at below market value, then selling these houses to other real estate investors. The investors rehab the houses and sell them or hold them as rentals.
So how does it work?
1) Locate houses for sale
These houses do not have a for sale sign in the front yard. Few if any of them will ever be listed in the MLS.
They are easy to locate when you drive around. In a good neighborhood, you can identify 5 to 10 potential houses within an hour.
They have over-grown grass or weeds, look untidy, and overflowing mailbox.
Check the county records to find the owner. Target the owners with postcards or letters with an interest to buy the houses.
Leave a post card on the door for them in case they come back.
Some of the houses might have been on the market but did not sell. Expired listings can therefore be good source of these houses. Make sure the recording date is at least 10 years old. This means they may have equity.
People in legal trouble quickly become motivated sellers. These could be people going through divorce, bankruptcy, facing liens, etc.
Probates, or people with inherited property are probably the best motivated sellers.
Once you have made contact with the owners, you will need to know the after-repaired value of the house, how much the mortgage balance is, how much they are asking and how much the rough repair cost estimate is.
