Posted: Buying Investment Property
Open houses are a good time to explore new properties
Look in newspapers, on the internet, and go through real estate brokers. When finding a real estate broker, respond to an ad that looks somewhat intriguing rather than call and ask them directly. You will find that the broker will be more willing to help you if you are a possible sell to one of his properties that he or she is already trying to sell to someone rather than try to approach him or her cold.
Do not worry about the commission that you will pay the broker. They will definitely earn it, as they can find better financing than you can. Also, they can especially find better property than you can. Think of real estate brokers as fetch-dogs. They can catch much more game than you alone can, but you must give the dogs treats for their work, or they will not be interested in helping you.
We must say a bit more about real estate brokers’ commissions. They definitely earn it. Many people think it’s a good idea to get their real estate license so that they do not have to pay commission to a broker. If you think this way you will get yourself into trouble. You are forgetting that you are investing. Investing involves spending money to make more money. You want the maximum back from the money you spent; you shouldn’t spend your time trying to find ways to spend less. You should instead want to spend as much as possible, because you are going to get plenty back on each dollar you spend. The more you spend the better. This is especially true with property and real estate brokers. They are in the market and have their eyes on it. They are much more likely to find you a good piece of property with good financing than you are. Let them have the commission and take your fantastic property which will be the beginning of your fortune. Surely you can pay them some money if they ensure you a much bigger head start to your fortune than without their help, can’t you?
Remember, when you go shopping, you should take a good, hard look at each property, rather than just skim though lots of them. You want to go inside, investigate the whole thing inside out, rather than just simply examine the property from the outside.
When you find a property that suits your needs, you should buy it as soon as possible. William Nickerson said it best: “You should start as soon as possible, with financing as heavy as possible, always with the safety proviso that the mortgage payments can be handled from the property income after expenses are paid.”