Hey guys and gals,

I am getting into real estate heavy in 2009. Would like to know from experienced realtors and investors what will be more profitable for myself. What training coursed do you recommend?

Is real estate prices stable !? dont know the recent trend of market isnt good

Hey Power7,

We are in the same boat, I too am getting into realestate this year. I believe either can be profitable but you have to know what you are doing. I am basing this information off of the ongoing reserach I have been doing and the people I have talked to. There are certain factors that will work in your benefit or aganist you....for instance it depends on the area of real estate you get into....housing purchases, commerical purchases, rental or commerical purchases, short sales or foreclosures. It also depends on the area you live in, it would be in your interest that you live in a metropolian area, I live in New Jersey, close to New York. There are certain areas of NJ or NY that are still profitable and are picking up although the USA is in this economic crisis....

I hope this helps, but also do you live in America?

This post has been edited by DreamWithAction: Dec 2 2008, 06:36 AM

I wouldnt suggest the real estate business in europe at the moment. America looks fine down the east coast, yet central and western property is highly volatile... you might make a huge profit or a huge loss. Eastern Europe looks like a bomb ready to blow up... in what way i do not know... might be good might be bad. I think youre best shot right now would be to invest in land space in developing countries... but that is only my opinion. I have about 2000 sqr metres in a chinese village that is being developed and now ill just wait and see. it was cheap to buy, and right now costs about 2% more than i bought it. Maybe after development of the area it will go up

It all depends on you because now that houses are cheaper, alot of agents are making more sales but their comission isn't as huge as it was during the boom but they're making more sales so it makes up for it and also most sales that are happening now are mostly short sales, foreclosures, or bank owned so sometimes your commission will be only 50%. If you have the money to invest then you should invest because the prices are still dropping and sooner or later the prices will go back up and the interest rates are super low right now too! I still wouldn't invest in a house that's going for more than $250,000 though because you can't really buy low and sell high with those and a housing boom like before is not likely going to happen again.

As both a realtor and an investor, I think there's a lot more to be made in investing. I've gone even a step further and am now into developing in Mexico. Prices keep going up in Mexico and now I'm seeking investors in order to finish my infrastructure for 32 condos and 9 commercial shops before I pre-sell.
In the US, I'd only buy foreclosures, as junior liens have been wiped out and they're less complicated. I'd be looking at units to rent though, as I feel this is buy and hold and trying to flip may loose $ because prices keep dropping.

I had a friend in Boston who would buy run-down properties and then fix them up. This practice allows you to increase the value of the property at your own pace. The only catch is that you have to have enough money to initially purchase the property and also enough for the repairs. Assuming that is readily available, I know that you can make a lot from doing this. My friend, however, said that recently (past couple of years) there are less and less people looking to buy houses and that it is not the best field to get into anymore.

So are you saying multi-units would be the way to go right now "Carib"?

Hi,

One of my mentors is a licenced agent and an investor in the US. He says "You make money when you buy real estate"

Whether or not you think you can make money as an investor in this financial climate depends on your strategy. Where I live, you can still make money developing, but not in project/spec homes unless you get the land VERY cheap. However in better markets you might be able to.

If you buy houses from motivated sellers, you can make money in this market. When someone wants to get rid of a property so badly they are often willing to get rid of it well below market. You just have to make sure that the reason they want to get rid of it is something you can solve or won't inherit (it can't be a problem with the property). Using this strategy you sift through alot of gravel but when you find the gold, you can't lose.

One opportunity that's been opened in my market at the moment is that high growth properties are now neutral and positive cashflow because noone wants to buy them. So even if it takes a while for the market to pick up they are positive cashflow anyway, and they will go up in value.

Whatever you do get to know your market before you buy anything. Then you'll know what you're doing.

Aliece

makemoneyandwealth.blogspot.com

This post has been edited by aliece: May 20 2009, 11:27 PM

Hi power7,

If you are already a real estate agent and you also want to be an investor, you can have the best of both worlds. You can make money on both ends. But you cannot where both hats at the same time.

As an agent, you will have access to a lot of the deals, even before they hit the MLS. But you cannot act as the agent and the investor simultaneously.

In our program, we have a lot of Real Estate agents who are investors. When they want to act as investor, they have to disclose these facts to the seller, letting the seller know that they are the investor. We have a "Disclosure" document in our back office.. for the Agent/Investor to use, that they will sign with the seller. At this time, they must only act as the investor. All deals are treated separately, so for your very next deal, you can go back to being the agent.

I definitely think the investors make more than the agents. If you are not already a licensed agent, I think your time would be better spent training to be an investor. Your profits as an investor could run circles around the commissions the agents make... especially if you deal with investing in high end properties and/or commercial properties.

Good luck,

JoAnn

My wife had the same question a year ago and decide to become a real estate agent. She has learned a lot about the business doing it this way and will be looking to begin moving more toward investing in the future. I think the moral of the story is that success often follows quality preparation, so if you are already fairly well versed in the world of real estate then investing seems to be the better route, but if not, perhaps becoming an agent for a few years at least would give you the solid background for the next steps.

Hi, hope I'm posting this in the right place. I am looking to get started in commercial real estate investing. After great success with investing thanks to the Denko Group, I am looking to diversify.

My interest is primarily investments in large scale commercial projects with participation starting in the mid six figure Euros. any advice would be appreciated.

Hey how did your realestate dream go?? I managed to off the Chinese land for a nice 18% profit... and thats after legal fees. Quite happy with how it turned out. Hope your adventures have been as luscious as mine.

Good decision market of real estate always go above.you hardly face any loss in this.

Bigger CHANCE at profit lies in Investing. But it also has the bigger risks of huge losses. Hope everything worked out for the thread starter, would love to hear his story.

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