Articles About Real Estate Broker

Beat the Crowd when Investing in Real Estate

We all are thinking about it and some of us are actually taking action and getting their hands on real estate investment properties. The longer the NY Stock Exchanges doesn't produce desirable returns the more people are starting with real estate investments.

For most of us the obvious choice of properties are single family homes. Although you can invest in real estate without owning a home, most people follow the experience they made while purchasing their own home. This is familiar ground and the learning curve for doing a real estate deal of this type is pretty slim.

Of course there's a drawback with this approach. The competition is fierce and there are markets where investors are artificially driving up the cost of the properties while completely discouraging first time home buyers. If this is the case, the burst of the real estate bubble is just a matter of time.

How do you avoid these situations and still successfully invest in real estate? How do you get ahead of the competition and be prepared for bad times in real estate investments as well? The only answer I have is commercial real estate.

Why commercial real estate you might ask? Commercial real estate is a solid investment in good and bad times of the local real estate market. The commercial real estate I'm referring to are multi unit apartment buildings.

Yes you will become a landlord and No you don't have to do the work by yourself. You are the owner and not the manager of the apartment building. The cost of owning and managing the building is part of your expenses and will be covered by the rent income.

Apartment buildings are considered commercial real estate if there are 5 or more units. To make the numbers work you should consider to either own multiple small apartment buildings or you should opt for bigger buildings. This will keep the expense to income ratio at a positive cash flow. Owning rental properties is all about positive cash flow.

With investing in single family homes it is easy to achieve positive cash flow. Even if your rent income doesn't cover your expenses 100%, the appreciation of the house will contribute to the positive cash flow. With commercial real estate the rules are different.

While single family homes are appraised by the value of recent sales of similar homes in your neighborhood, commercial real estate doesn't care about the value appreciation of other buildings. The value of the property is solely based on the rent income. To increase the value of a commercial real estate you need to find a way to increase the rent income. The formula on how this is calculated would be too much for this short article. I listed a few very helpful books where you can find all the details.

What's another advantage to invest in commercial real estate? Commercial real estate financing is completely different than financing a single family home. While financing a single family home you are at the mercy of lenders who want to make sure that you are in the position to pay for the house with your personal income. Commercial real estate financing is based in the properties ability to produce positive cash flow and to cover the financing cost.

After reading all these information about commercial real estate you want to go out there and dive into the deals. Not so fast. First, you need to learn as much about real estate as possible. In commercial real estate you're dealing with professionals. If you come across too much as a newbie you will waste these guys's time and your commercial real estate career ended before it actually started. Second, no commercial real estate lender will lend you any money if you can't show at least a little bit of real estate investment experience.

What's the solution to this? Go out there and do one or two single family home deals yourself. It doesn't matter if you make huge profits to start off with. Most newbie investors are loosing money on their first deal anyway. If you can manage to show positive cash flow with your single family home deals you are ahead of the pack.

My advice, buy a small single family home in a decent neighborhood and rent it immediately. This will keep your out of the pocket expenses at a minimum and you will have rent income to cover for your monthly expenses. Bonus, you gain experience as an investor and as a landlord.

Here's another observation I made during my real estate investment career. Most people like to analyze, learn, discuss and analyze some more. They never actually got to do a real estate deal. They love to talk about real estate investments, but never did it themselves.

My approach to real estate investment was simple.

- I bought some books about real estate investment.

- I read every single one of them.

- I put together a simple plan on how I want to get started.

- I started looking for properties.

- I bought my first investment property 30 days after I started reading my first book.

- I made positive cash flow with all of my properties so far.

What is my point? You have to go out there and practice what you've learned. The only valid credential in the real estate business is practical experience. Having a couple of deals under your belt, you can go out there and start looking at commercial real estate and even impress seasoned investors with your knowledge. Because you made this experience by yourself and you know what you're talking about.

Book reference for commercial real estate investments:

Gary W. Eldred, PhD: "Make Money with Small Income Properties"

Jack Cummings: "Real Estate Financing and Investment Manual"

You will find these books and many more on my real estate investment website at http://www.suncoastrenttoown.com/author_directory.htm

Sincerely,
Peter Dobler

Peter Dobler is a 20+ year veteran in the IT business. He is an active Real Estate Investor and a successful Internet business owner. Learn more about real estate investments at http://www.suncoastrenttoown.com or send a blank email to mailto:suncoastrenttoown@getresponse.com

Other Article Sites

findabook.com  moneycd.info  a-mortgage.info   about-lemon-laws.info  aboutstudentloans.info
all-about-publishing.info  auctions-articles.info  bestcollege-university.com  bestispconnection.com
biblefolder.com  blogger-website.com  books-used.info  brokers-guide.info  buywindows.info  cable-dsl.info
career-miner.com  carpel-tunnel.info  cashinaflash.info  cashloanreviews.info  casinobell.com  chat-house.info
clearmycredit.info  collegeloantips.info  crones.info  depression-articles.info   dirnic.net  dishguides.info
divers-below.com  expodog.info   financewizz.com  fire-insurance.info  getgood.info  handleit.net   it-idea.info
health-supplies.info  hosting-right.com  insidealert.com  insurance-facts.info  jobs-employment.info
justgood.info  lookgold.net   lowcost-travel.info  money-source.info  myhostzone.info  numisblog.com
peoplesearchfinder.info  pr-articles.info  realeas.com   refinancing-guides.info  spyware-remove.info
telelot.info  the-law.info   toppaid.info  travel-deals.info  travelcorrect.com  wedding-guide-site.com
your-blog.info  your-credit.info

MORE ARTICLES:

Snap Up Real Estate Signs Wholesale Furniture Brokers to a Site-wide Advertising Deal
Snap Up Real Estate gives real estate (http://www.snapuprealestate.ca) buyers and sellers in Canada and the USA a user-friendly medium to conduct business. As part of Wholesale Furniture Brokers' long term marketing strategy, placing site-wide furniture ads on Snap Up Real Estate offers an opportunity to increase branding, educate potential online furniture (http://www.gowfb.com) shoppers, and reach new home buyers.

Real Estate Agents, Realtors, and Mortgage Brokers Find Hope in Internet Marketing at WowInternetBusiness.com
Real estate professionals being squeezed by the current market conditions are finding relief by joining internet marketing business systems such as www.WowInternetBusiness.com.

Real Estate Brokers, Insurance and Mortgage Brokers can now meet at LicensedBrokers.com
LicensedBrokers.com is a new website that was created to help brokers in Mortgage, Insurance, Business and Real Estate industries to meet new associates, generate more leads using the concept called Social Media. As the prevalence of social media continues to rise, organizations of all types and sizes are recognizing the ways in which social media can help them better understand, respond to, and attract the attention of their target audience. What types of benefits can corporations achieve with an effective social media strategy and what type of benefits can brokers get from using LicensedBrokers.com?

Lake Tahoe Real Estate Broker Website Reveals Exclusive Neighborhood Data
South Lake Tahoe real estate agents, Don and Theresa Souers, unveil exclusive monthly and weekly website updates and blog posts on the state of the Lake Tahoe real estate market.

Real Estate Broker
A real estate broker is a person who is a go-between for buyers and sellers of property They have to seek out the people who wish to sell and the people who wish to buy and then become their broker

Consider An Austin Discount Real Estate Broker And Watch Your Dollar Stretch
rchrd.soto1@gmail.comIf there is one thing we can all agree on, it is that real estate values have not seen an upswing in quite some time. On the contrary, in many parts of the country real estate values have plummeted over the past year.

HFO Investment Real Estate Brokers Apartment Complex Sale of $13.15 Million in Vancouver, Washington
Hagerman Frick O'Brien LLC (HFO), apartment investment real estate brokers serving Oregon and Washington, is pleased to announce the sale of its exclusive listing, the Bridgecreek Terrace apartments in Vancouver, Washington, for $13.15 million.

ForeclosureRadar Releases Free Foreclosure Search Solution for Real Estate Broker and Agent Websites
New version of FLX "foreclosure IDX" features comprehensive foreclosure search, and tighter integration with partner websites.

Realty Executives International Gives Top Honors to Kansas Real Estate Brokers
The Top Honors, Regional Developer of the Year, distinction is chosen by the Realty Executives International management team and honors one developer each year within the Realty Executives system who embraces excellence and practices the company values and philosophy.

Flat Fee Real Estate Broker Mentor Listing Realty Now Largest Discount Real Estate Broker in Indianapolis
After only one year in Central Indiana market, Mentor Listing Realty now dominates "Fee for Services" segment of real estate brokerage business.

HFO Investment Real Estate Brokers Sale of Four Oregon Apartment Complexes
Hagerman Frick Investment Real Estate LLC has brokered the sale of four apartment buildings in Oregon; the Sorrento Court in NE Portland (condo conversion); the Westfal apartments in downtown Portland; Emerald Pointe in Gresham; and the Courtyard Terrace apartments in Salem.

Top Five Tips For Picking Out A Flat Fee MLS Real Estate Broker
There are many real estate agents to choose from. Knowing which one is going to be the optimum choice for you can be a real hassle - which is why we wanted to bring you the top 3 tips for choosing the right real estate agent to fit the needs of you and your household.

Charleston's Preeminent Luxury Real Estate Broker, William Means Real Estate, Celebrates 75 Years
Charleston real estate market leader and exclusive affiliate of Christie's Great Estates, William Means Real Estate, celebrates 75 years of buying and selling premier property in Charleston, South Carolina, and surrounding areas.

IF Development Inks Deal with Palm Beach Luxury Real Estate Brokers
Fite & Associates selects Georgetown ad agency for branding and website development