Questions on RE investing?

Question

After watching Flipping Out on Bravo, RE investing seems like it would be a cool, interesting profession. What are some tips you could give me that would help out over all?

Answer 1

Becareful, because now is not the best time to invest in the real estate market.  Quick flips don't really happen as much anymore because the cost of homes are too high for the average consumer.  What you can do is buy apartment buildings in populated areas, if your building is in good condition it will generally be easy to find tenants

Answer 2

there are MANY ways of investing in real estate.  The direct form of RE investment you see on Flipping Out requires substantial capital, knowledge of what it takes/how to accomplish the renovations/marketing/etc to increase a property's value, and alot of time.  Huge developers of course operate in a different stratosphere, but for regular types, it seems like many of the succesful flippers are savvy, patient buyers, often with hugely important contacts within banks that tip them off on recently foreclosed homes coming on the market.  they also have favored subcontractors to do the work which is important b/c your potential profits can easily be sucked away by incompetent/dishonest contractors.   even better if you're able to do much of this work yourself, but the goal really is to be successful enough "not to get your hands dirty".

But there are other ways to invest in real estate, such as investing in publicly traded RE companies ranging from brokerage firms, to  tdevelopers, to integrated RE firms that do just about everything, to real estate mutual and closed-end funds to corporate bonds.  closed end funds tend to have dividend payout ratios.  and with these types of investments there is less of a headache, less liability, and more stability in returns.

but finance 101 teaches that taking on more risk allows for the probability of hitting higher returns, and if you're the entrepeneurial type that wants to be busy with this type of work and really make it happen...then go for it.

be careful w/your financing situation.  since you're doing this to flip the property, it is CRUCIAL to understand any prepayment penalties on any loans you may take out.