It should not be surprising for a first time home buyer to feel apprehension at the idea of buying a home, even one of the many foreclosed homes for sale. The trick is actually simple. You should just follow a process to make sure that you make your purchase in an organized manner. By doing so, you save much time and avoid losing certain investment opportunities just because you are unsure or unprepared.

Step 1: Determine Your Financial Capacity. It is extremely important that you are aware of exactly how much room for movement you have; in terms of budget. Look over your finances carefully, carefully check how much you can afford. Is it still possible to pay the mortgage even if emergencies or medical problems arise? This way, you are 100 percent sure that you can manage your mortgage payments whatever happens.

Step 2: Get Pre Approved. Once you have determined just how much you can afford, you can now shop for a lender who would pre approve your mortgage loan application. You might not think that this is an important step but if you end up bidding against other home buyers who are also on the lookout for bargain foreclosed homes for sale, you will be surprised what a pre-approval letter can do for you. Sellers are more likely to accept your offer.

Step 3: Subscribe to a Foreclosure Listing. Now that you are financially-prepared, the next logical step is to look for a foreclosure home. At this point, it would be so much easier if you have a search tool such as a foreclosure listing that will allow you to enjoy both speed and convenience. You should subscribe to one which allows you to search by location, price and type of home.

Step 4: Hire a Professional Inspector. As soon as you have located the perfect repo property, you will need to contact a professional home inspector to check the home for structural problems. Experts recommend that buyers do this before making an offer to address problems in the home and to justify the amount you are willing to pay. Most sellers will have no problem agreeing to additional discount or other requests.

Step 5: Make an Offer. Finally, if everything is in order, you can now make an offer. Keep in mind that the buying process will be so much faster if all your documents are ready. Make sure that you are working with a really good agent who you can rely on to provide expert and professional assistance. Buying one of these foreclosed homes for sale is actually easy if you think about it. All it takes is a little organization on your part. You will be a proud homeowner in no time at all.

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Short sale investors has a specialty – that certain type of deal that they do better than any other. In many cases, the success of a deal can tilt on how acquainted you are with the type of negotiations that go along with it. If you are getting started in the short sale business, you may want to spotlight on a type of property or transaction that is easy to find right now, in today’s market, to maximize your ability to find deals.

Another way to maximize your opportunities is to understand the HAFA procedures. HAFA stands for Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives, and it is the federal program that is designed to help homeowners who cannot retain their homes avoid foreclosures. This program is mandatory in many cases – particularly if a home is owner-occupied – so being familiar with the process, which is still relatively new, can give you a huge advantage in the short sale process.

HAFA homes will almost always come with a long list of requests that may overwhelm other short sale investors. In example, before homeowners can qualify for HAFA, they have to attempt to qualify for HAMP (Home Affordable Modification Program), a federal program designed to adjust mortgage terms that can help homeowners retain their homes. Even if an owner just wants out of a home, if they want out through HAFA – and the incentives that come with this program – they have to try HAMP. Your ability to navigate the HAMP process can make you a more attractive candidate to ultimately perform their short sale.

Of course, you may want to steer clear of the complications of federal programs all together. In that case, you will want to look for homes and homeowners who simply cannot qualify for participation in HAMP and HAFA, since people who do qualify are often required to go through the entire process whether they want to or not. You might want to specialize in vacation homes, second homes, rental properties or other types of properties that can and are distressed in this economy, but are not owner-occupied.

No matter what area of specialty you choose, creating a short sale niche for yourself can be a great way to get moving in this business faster. Also remember that there are many short sale investors out there who are looking for their own specialty deals, so if you encounter a deal that does not work for you, you may still be able to monetize that lead if you know someone who is looking for that type of deal or property.

For more great short sale videos go to www.FreeShortSaleCourse.com

Bank of America sent out nearly 100,000 solicitations to distressed homeowners to offer them a chance at a deed-in-lieu transaction. “Deed-in-lieu” refers to returning the deed to your home to a lender in order to avoid the foreclosure process. You get to walk away from your home, and the lender declares the debt resolved because you returned the home, your collateral. Many lenders have said that they will offer a variety of incentives for this type of transaction because it saves them a great deal of resorces in processing costs even though they may take a hit when they try to resell the home in today’s difficult market.

Short sale investors see this new trend with concern, especially since some lenders have said that they find deed-in-lieu transactions preferable to short sale transactions since they don’t take as long. Also, homeowners who are going to lose their homes anyway may find this to be a more acceptable alternative since it is being portrayed as a route to 100% resolving the debt rather than worrying about being followed up with later for the remainder just when you have gotten back on your feet.

As a short sale investor, you should not be too worried about this, however. For starters, there are many, many, many homes that will still go through the short sale process, and not all circumstances are going to warrant or qualify for a deed-in-lieu transaction. Additionally, you can point out to homeowners who may be backing out of a short sale that unless the wording in their deed-in-lieu agreement specifies that the debt is considered entirely resolved by the return of the property, this may not be the case.

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While deed-in-lieu and a short sale do go on your credit history and impact your credit score, a deed-in-lieu remains on your history for a full 7 years, and you may have to request that it be removed. According to new legislation, short sales may be removed as soon as 3 years.

Certainly, some homeowners may opt for a deed-in-lieu transaction instead of a short sale transaction with you. However, the current deed-in-lieu “push” could actually be a positive, since it may put a dent in homes that lenders were unwilling to short sell anyway. Simply be prepared to answer questions about this style of transaction, then continue doing your short sales and helping people in trouble resolve their personal housing issues.

For some great video training visit www.FreeShortSaleCourse.com

Short sales are going to be critical to the recovery of the housing market. With so many homes in foreclosure, banks and homeowners alike are relying on the short sale process to prevent the foreclosure tide from swamping the market and the lenders themselves. However, as short sales are increasingly regulated and the target of more and more media focus, it becomes increasingly important for short sale negotiators – especially if they are real estate investors rather than the next homeowner – to apply stringent rules for full disclosure to their short sale transactions.

The most straightforward way to handle this disclosure is to include the fact that you are doing a short sale in the contract that deals with the transaction. Disclose the fact that you are doing a short sale, how the lenders will be satisfied and make sure that the contract itself allows for the resale of the property. You will be on firmer ground if you decide to “flip” the short sale if both the lender and the seller are aware that you may opt to do this.

In addition, many investors and real estate agents are recommending that you stay in touch with all lenders, even if they are the holders of secondary or tertiary loans and are less likely to get any direct satisfaction from a short sale. Making sure that the negotiation meets everyone’s needs or at least addresses their stake in the property can help prevent lenders from coming after homeowners later for the payoff of the remainder of the investment.

Also when you are listing the property in MLS, you may also want to disclose the fact that the property is a short sale – or that the owner, lender or both or open to a short sale – in the listing. Not only will this attract more attention for your listing since short sales are generally viewed to be a good way to purchase a property at a discount, but it will also cover your disclosure bases and make sure that there is no question in anyone’s mind that the transaction that you are doing is a short sale.

Ultimately, you can create a great deal of wealth, resolve serious financial crises for people in need, and help stem the tide of foreclosures in the country by being an effective short sale negotiator. But you must be very careful to “dot your I’s and cross your T’s” when you are doing a short sale. Make sure that every aspect of your behavior and your negotiations are beyond reproach to establish the best short sale transactions that you possible can and bring satisfaction to every party in the transaction, including yourself.

P.S. If you haven’t signed up for my Free Short Sale Course yet, then you are really missing out, go here: FreeShortSaleCourse.com

In the current economy the real estate market has been turned on its heels. The sale of new homes has been stagnant, property values have been falling like a stone, and the amount of foreclosures is on the rise as never before. Correspondingly there are a lot of homeowners that are delinquent on their property tax bills, meaning that there are now a lot of investors who are out there looking for Tax Lien Foreclosure properties.

Did you know that about half of the states in the US are tax deed states? Which means that if the past due taxes are paid by an outside investor during a tax sale then the property is owned by whomever purchased the back taxes. Unfortunately for outside investors, very few homeowners in tax deed states allow their taxes to go delinquent to the point that a foreclosure sale is necessary. Important to know.

Often, Tax Lien Foreclosure properties are rarely more than just vacant lots or homes that are in such poor condition that they have little to no resale value, because very few homeowners let their property taxes lapse on anything of considerable value in states with tax deed laws or other applicable laws.

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The investor who is interested in tax lien certificates, can get possession of the property for buying the taxes rather than entitled to the penalties and interest on the lien. This can be a solid investment and may even result in a tax lien foreclosure sale. The very purpose of this venture.

A lot of the services that advertise listings of Tax Lien Foreclosure properties also advertise them as a way to instant wealth. While they may be a solid investment, an investor should have realistic expectations of the return on investment. Research is an important factor when trying to choose a service to assist you with your investment opportunity.

If you are using the internet to locate a list of Tax Lien Foreclosure properties, you will probably want to begin your search in county records before using some other service. Public records are usually a lot less expensive than those from a private database. If you are a new to this type of investment, it’s most likely a better choice for you to research one of the various services available online.

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Death and taxes are about the only two guarantees in life. In the US tax liens can be applied to your property for failure to pay property taxes or income taxes. Tax liens are placed on properties in order to prevent sale or refinancing of property until the lien has been paid off. An important factor to keep in mind when looking up Tax Lien Foreclosure properties is that some states are tax deed states and some states are tax lien states.

Take time to learn the difference between the two types of state laws is very important. In a tax deed state, an outside investor can purchase a property outright just by paying off the tax lien on the property. In a tax lien state and outside investor purchases the tax lien and is then entitled to the penalties and interest on the lien and if the owner fails to pay the lien then the investor can initiate a foreclosure sale to recoup his investment. Important to know.

When searching for Tax Lien Foreclosure properties, a potential investor should learn what type of state law they are dealing with first. Keep in mind that although a tax deed state hold the promise of buying real estate for cheap, its highly unlikely that you will find more than vacant lots on most tax deed sales. It’s important that investors in tax deed states view all properties before making a bid.

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As far as tax lien states go, you should be aware that although a lot of programs advertise returns of up to 100% of the original investment, that is an unrealistic expectations. Returns on this type of investment can be as high as 65% but you shouldn’t count on much more than 30% or less on Tax Lien Foreclosure properties.

Research is key to this type of investment. Fortunately the web has made research into state and county records a lot easier. Even though there are plenty of services out there that advertise Tax Lien Foreclosure properties as a means to instant wealth, the reality of investing is that it can be lucrative given a fair amount of time and research and hard work.

Now once you have determined the type of investing you would like to do, you can look online to find the service that is appropriate to your particular needs. Investing in tax lien certificates, is the least risky method and has the most steady returns on your investment. So, keep your eyes and ears open for these opportunities.

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This September, there was a 9.4 percent increase in existing home sales from August.

Because the government credit to first-time home buyers, the market has experienced some of the highest existing home sales activity since July 2007. The housing market could start to improve over the next few months, assuming we continue to experience this growth in sales. This is music to real estate investors’ ears; wholesaling real estate could become massively profitable again!

The government has created several new economic stimulus packages in the last year, and most of us are wondering how much they’re helping the economy. Since 45 percent of all homes sold in the past year were to first-time home buyers, we can assume that this package is doing its job. The slump in the housing market was a huge contributor to the recession, and is the reason why home values are so low right now. It’s also why real estate wholesalers aren’t experiencing the profits they have in past years.

The principles of supply and demand apply to the housing market just as they do with other commodities. During a recession, few are interested in purchasing a home, especially their first home. If they lost their job and had to foreclose, it would make it nearly impossible to get a home in the future. The government assuaged those fears by offering $8,000 to all first-time home buyers, and got the market going again.

Real estate wholesaling requires that you get homes for way below retail prices and flip them for substantial profits. Wholesale profits haven’t been so hot in the past year because home values are low. If existing home sales continue to increase, we will see fewer available homes throughout the United States. With the decrease in inventory will come increases in value. Once homes are worth more, real estate investors can make higher profits on their deals.

So what should you do now to guarantee that you get the greatest wholesale real estate deals? Buy now while housing is still cheap and available! Buy now and hold on to the properties until they’re worth more. If you have the money to fix the properties up and rent them out, even better! When the market stabilizes, sell the properties and make a big profit.

Once it does, you can decide whether you want to raise the rents or sell the homes. While you’re waiting for values to go back up, you can work on building up your buyers list.

If you want to learn more about real estate investing and “The REI Lifestyle,” please visit Wholesale Real Estate, then visit Michael Kimble’s blog at Wholesale Real Estate blog.

A leading cause of small real estate investing business failure is poor management. The small real estate investing business owner must also be capable of gathering and maintaining an effective team (good Attorneys, CPAs, Mortgage Brokers, Private Lenders, Contractors, Marketing Specialists, Realtors, Home Inspectors, etc).

To assemble the right people for your time, take the time to analyze each prospects skill level, talents, energy-levels and abilities:

1. Their experience and education levels;

2. Respective role they are playing in their organization

3. Their training, certifications and specialties;

4. How can you create a win-win for each other

Seek Assistance!! The majority of real estate investing business owners have joy in the fact that they are independent and are confident that they can handle problems if they arise. But, from time to time even a well seasoned entrepreneur may require the help of a professional. Fortunate for us, professional advice does not need to be expensive. Often times your local chamber of commerce, library and real estate investing clubs just to name a few, are good resources. In general they are reasonably priced and/or offer free expert advice.

Don’t let a misplaced sense of pride prevent you from discovering the correct solutions to your real estate investing business problems.

Once you decide how much help you need, get it as early as you can. Getting a mentor is highly recommended and most successful investors take on a mentor early in their real estate careers to achieve success at a faster rate and avoid costly mistakes.

Confidence and Momentum are two important factors when doing your first real estate investor deal. Making $100K net profit is not impossible, but if you are waiting for this perfect deal to come along you may be waiting for some time. Putting money in your pocket and learning from the deals that you are doing is much more important than getting rich from the first deal. In fact, hitting a home run on your first deal may be a pitfall and set you back and give you a false security. You’d expect every deal to be like this, the reality is that that is not.

The key is not to wait forever for that “deal of a lifetime” to come your way, get started and get going.

Minh Pham has been actively investing in real estate and mentoring real estate investors for 10 years. His eye opening report 17 Lies About Real Estate Investing…Exposed is available for free, for a limited time only. For more tips and resources your can visit him at his online real estate investing center.

I get a lot of questions about the biggest marketing mistakes I see people making in their wholesale real estate business. Though there are many, here are 5 biggest mistakes I see people making consistently. You’re going to notice these build upon themselves so its important you make sure you are taking all 5 into consideration. It will have an exponential effect on your bottom line.

Mistake #1: Not marketing enough – Most people will do something like mail out a handful of postcards and when they don’t get the response they hoped for, they consider their marketing efforts were wasted and throw in the towel. The fact is, some marketing campaigns are going to fail, while some will be very very successful. You have to be persistent in your efforts and do the right amount of marketing to begin to see results.

Mistake #2: Inconsistent campaigns- Sometimes an investor will have a great marketing campaign and get flooded with calls. Then the busy work takes over… paperwork, phone calls, deal structuring, due diligence, etc. The work to get the deal done completely takes over. Suddenly the marketing effort that generated the work in the first place is put on the back burner. This is primarily a time management issue, but I see a lot of people with spotty marketing efforts and they wonder why business dries up so fast. Remember, this business is all about marketing. If you let it slide, so will your business. The secret is to set-up marketing systems that are always running in the background working hard for you.

Mistake #3: No follow-up marketing- Have you ever heard the quote, “the fortune is in the follow-up?” Well it’s absolutely true. You need to not only finds deals, but also market to follow up with the folks you come end up communicating with. This business is all about relationships so be sure to mail your buyers and sellers a friendly letter or card to thank them for doing business with you. Often sellers take a while to decide to sell their property so keeping your name in front of them is just smart business. Never allow your competitor steal your deal because they contacted your seller when he/she was ready to move. Always remember the quote… “The fortune is in the follow-up.”

Mistake #5: Failing to do your marketing homework- Certain kinds of marketing require specific knowledge on how to use the media effectively. The great thing is you have more resources than ever before. That’s why I created The REI Marketing Club. Investors need to know how to effectively market certain kinds of media. It’s been my life for 20+ years so no one knows this important fact more than me! You should be reading marketing books regularly, keeping up with current trends and staying informed. I spend thousands of dollars per year on my own continuing education. It’s that important.

If this sounds like the system for you, please visit Michael Kimble’s daily blog at Wholesale Real Estate blog to get started! Michael is currently giving away his 4 best marketing systems that bring in Wholesale Real Estate deals.

The biggest thing I tell people investing in real estate is that marketing IS this business. It is the lifeblood of your business. You will not make money without solid, consistent marketing campaigns bringing you qualified leads. Period. But unfortunately a lot of people have no clue how to effectively market themselves. I see a handful of mistakes being made over and over again so I thought I would talk about a few of them. Here are the three mistakes I see people making that you need to avoid:

Mistake #1: Wanting to do everything themselves – Let’s face it. Your time is valuable. Even more than profits! If you are spending your time by putting up bandit signs or knocking on doors you are not properly leveraging your time. For tedious jobs like this it is best to outsource the work so you can focus on what is important to your business. Too many newbie investors want to do everything themselves. This is noble, but it’s foolish. Why not pay someone part time $6 or $8 per hour to do the grunt work and you can turn your attention to the actions that make you real money. Work smarter, not harder.

Mistake #2: Not learning from failure – Many new investors simply give up when something goes wrong. Smart investors analyze what went wrong and how to correct it. Then they go a step further and implement a new plan and test the results yet again. Marketing is a constant tweaking of results to maximize the effect it has. Did you mail to a bad list? Should have you mailed a postcard instead of a letter? Look at the possible reasons, make the changes and try again. Then analyze those results. Remember, there is no failure…only feedback. This brings me to the last big mistake…

Mistake #3: Being afraid to take risks – This one is HUGE. The bottom line is that marketing and real estate in general is a calculated risk. Sometimes you win and win big. Other times not. But staying educated and making smart decisions minimizes the risk and should bring your more successes than failures. Be confident in yourself, take calculated risks and be ready to keep your chin up if it doesn’t work out the way you planned. Remember… batting .300 gets you in the Hall of Fame.

If you just pay attention to these three mistakes that most investors make, you will be light years ahead of a lot of people who crash and burn trying to successfully wholesale real estate.

If this sounds like the system for you, please visit Michael Kimble’s daily blog at Wholesale Real Estate blog to get started! Michael is currently giving away his 4 best marketing systems that bring in Wholesale Real Estate deals.