I sometimes do” for sale by owner” and I try to survey the potential buyers to see exactly what they are looking for as far as why they are buying and what motivates them in the purchase.

I do alot of buying and selling at the Jersey Shore so the buyers could want to buy for investment or vacation use or both.  Sometimes they are not sure what they want to do so it is important for you, no matter what the location, to know what the rental market is like in your area and what rentals are going for because that could possibly be a good sales tip.

When I am doing a rehab if the kitchen and baths are in presentable condition I will leave them alone and renovate around them.  The reason I do this is sometimes the buyer may want to pick there own colors and cabinets and fixtures.

A few times the wife did not like the choices I made, so it’s easier to offer this option.  What I do is market the property with two different prices.  One as is and the other with the kitchen and baths finished to there specs.

This sometimes will make the property sell faster, the husband likes the lower price and the wife gets to pick what she likes.  I figure what it would cost for me to finish the kitchen and bath,  and I give them a choice, I think giving them a choice makes the buying decision easier.

You would be surprised how many people would like to finish it themselves, so on your next rehab consider this option, it may make your sale easier.

I cannot count how many times a potential buyer of my real estate for sale has said to me “I missed the boat, I should have bought a year or two ago”. And my response to this some what pessimistic attitude is always the same, “WHAT BOAT”?

What boat is it that you think you missed, I have been buying real estate for over 20 years and the price of it keeps going up, it does not go down. In some areas real estate bought just last year or two years ago has already appreciated.

I understand that the market within the past few years had taken a big jump in appreciation but that does not mean that you missed anything, what it means is now more than ever is the time to BUY.

You have to see the opportunity now, you have to be confident with your decision to buy, it may be for flipping or for vacation or for your primary home, LOOK at the facts, the interest rates still remain at historic lows, and I have not read or heard of any economist seeing a rise in 2007. Pricing is good due to increased inventory of property for sale.

Just LOOK at these facts alone, stop listening to all the negative talk about the market, stop listening to all the hype about this so called “balloon”. Listen to your instincts and decide for yourself if this is the right time for you to get off the fence, decide for yourself if this is the time to get off the sidelines and get in the game, if you just look at the facts alone and stop listening to all the hype you will be happy you got off the fence because there is no better time to BUY then now.

I began investing in real estate over twenty years ago.  I was young and I was afraid but I knew there was no better investment.  I would read and learn as much as I could.

The first property I bought I was actually renting.  That’s right, my first purchase was a “lease purchase”.  What a great way to buy a property.  This is just one way of many we will discuss.

Lease purchase gives you the ability to buy with little or no money down.  Some or all of the rent can show as a down payment when you go to buy the property. 

When your looking at buying properties with the sole purpose of flipping you want to look at all your options as to how can I buy with little to no money down.  There are ways to do this.

One option was the lease purchase.  Another option is if you are a first time home buyer you will want to search for lenders who offer zero down payment for first time home buyers.  Especially FHA and VA.

Another option is to see if the seller will take back a second and hold the down money for you.  I did this once and you would be surprised how many sellers may do this.  

If you already own a property you may want to consider a home equity line and borrow against that for the down payment to buy another.  If you found a good buy, why not use your property to buy another.

I have never done this but I know people who have and it seems to work well.  If you know someone who has money but no time to do all the leg work, let them put the money down and then split the profits once the property sells.