Treasure Hunting In The Suburbs

Ahoy There, Investors!!!
X… Marks the Spot…

Googling the word “investments” brings up an unbelievable amount of information.  I’ll save you the trouble, you get 104 million hits.  Million.  It is probably best to already know what kind of investment you are interested in when you get started doing things like throwing yourself at Google or Ask.com. So, what if I wanted to narrow down the investment options out there?  Well, start with what you are interested in or know something about, if it loses its appeal after you start digging, then there are plenty more options out there.  I have to say that if an investment is going to be made, meaning my assets and money are going to be on the line, I am going to need something tangible in exchange.  This leads us right up the path to the world of real estate investments.

There are only about a hundred ways to go from there.  For example: commercial, residential, vacant lots, raw land, multiplexes, duplexes, condos, townhouses, and doghouses.  Making sense of all the choices seems a bit daunting, but let’s employ the same method as before,  going with what you know the most about.  I can’t say I know much about commercial property, or rentals, so I choose purchasing residential properties for the purpose of re-selling them for more money later.

That narrows the field a bit.  I can choose a house that needs some work, or one I can simply get for a lower price to sell at a profit.  I think first of all, I need to know if I can get approved by a lending institution, and then how far below value is the property going to have to be in order to get this approval.  I need to know how to get work done, if it needs done and I can’t do it myself, without leading myself on a wild goose chase through contractors that may or may not be worth their weight.  I also need to know what lengths I am going to have to go to in order to purchase a house that is in foreclosure, and how do you even find them?  How long does it take to find the “gem” in this ocean?

I wanted something tangible for my money.  Have I already made my first mistake by choosing real estate investment?  Probably not.  After all, there seem to be some pretty impressive success stories out there, especially if you have ever watched cable television at 4 a.m.  After about 12 hours of research on the topic of real estate investment, I have more questions than I have answers.  I have learned something important, though.  You HAVE to know what you are doing to be successful, or even to keep from losing your.. hmm.. assets.  There are a lot of decisions to be made, and there is a lot of work to do.

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