Did you know there are over 26 ways to buy a pretty house below market value? And not one of them involves fixing up some falling-down money pit you'd be afraid to send your spouse or kids to.
If you've ever seen a late-night infomercial featuring Carleton Sheets, Robert Kiyosaki, or many others, you know that huge fortunes are being made every day in the real estate investing business.
What you may not know, however, is that many of those fortunes are being made by people with no cash or credit of their own. And many investors never have to deal with destructive tenants, rehabbing ugly houses, or going into bad neighborhoods.
They know the most crucial secret in real estate: how to get sellers to let you buy nice properties, for thousands of dollars less than their true value.
Makes sense, doesn't it? The basic foundation of any business is being able to buy low and sell high. Buy below market value, sell at market value or higher. One highly successful investor even teaches his students to "buy wholesale, or don't buy at all."
But that's not what most aspiring real estate wealth builders do, is it! Especially if they're in a hot market, or relatively new to the game. Instead, what happens is they often become more anxious to buy a particular property than the seller is to sell it!
As a result, they either pay too much and lose all their potential profit, or they get scared and wind up not buying at all.
It doesn't have to be this way!
No matter how slow or how hot the market may be where you are, there are always lots of people who will sell you their homes for much less than they're actually worth.
Why? Sometimes they're desperate. Sometimes they're cash hungry, or no longer care about the property. Sometimes they just know it would be a good financial move for them to make. But whatever the reason,
You DON'T have to deal with tenants. You DON'T have to buy and fix up some broken-down shack in a bad part of town.
There are people in your area right now who will sell you a pretty home, in move-in condition, in a nice neighborhood, for much less than it's really worth.
They don't care how much money you make on the deal. In fact, they know you're in business to make a profit - a nice profit - and they're willing to help you do just that!
But I'll tell you a secret; you will almost never find them in the places most people look!
Most investors never find the mysterious "motivated seller", simply because they're looking in all the wrong places!
Beating the competition to the punch takes a change in your mindset. Once you know where to look, you can find great deals every day that the realtors and other investors didn't even know were available.
You have to be willing to look for sellers, instead of looking for properties. This is a subtle shift in thinking, but one that most of your competitors will be unable, or unwilling, to make.
One thing's for sure, though; it's worth it to make the shift. In many cases, all it takes is one good deal to make your year. By eliminating the rehabbing stage, you can concentrate on finding more deals - and bigger ones at that.
Lance T. Walker is the author of "Pretty Houses Wholesale: 26 Ways to Buy a Pretty House Below Market Value". It was recently rated 5 stars by the prestigious REIDepot organization. The book is now available for download at http://www.prettyhouseswholesale.com/ .
