Five Steps to Profit in Real Estate Investing

Today's Financial News - Posted June 6, 2008

“If you understand market cycles, and how to evaluate properties correctly, you can consistently make money no matter what the real estate market is doing.” — Justin Ford

by Justin Ford

Baltimore – (TFN): A title company wired just over $97,000 into one of my bank accounts this afternoon. Once I get the insurance and escrow refunds, it will amount to a little more than $100,000. It’ll be my second six-figure payday in less than eight months. And it was the end result of a four-unit building I bought two and a half years ago - at the height of the bubble market where I live.

But I succeeded because I wasn’t stuck in my local bubble market. Instead, I went after the best values in the best non-bubble markets I could find. And, thanks to that approach, I’ve been able to bank a few of these types of checks in recent months.

The property I just sold was in Texas. In fact, just a few miles away, another Texas four-unit resulted in a $137,000 cash dump in my bank account… after just 14 months of owning it.

Unfortunately, many people who bought properties in January 2006… when I bought the first of these Texas four-units… are now struggling with falling values and rising interest payments. But if you understand market cycles, and how to evaluate properties correctly, you can consistently make money in real estate investing no matter what the market is doing. Read on to learn five easy steps to profits in real estate investing.

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