If you’ve ever seen real estate investments as a way to secure your financial future, you may have many questions about how to find investment properties for beginners. I want to open your eyes to see properties investing in new and different ways.
First, many real estate gurus will tell you that the best way to get started is Birddog for other, more established investors. Birddogging basically means scouting in the neighborhoods you’re familiar with, hoping to find an abandoned or run-down property that you’ll then refer to an experienced investor who buys it and pays you a fee. The fee is called a recommendation or bird dog fee.
This can be a good way to get your feet wet, and learn about how the investing game is played. Unfortunately, it can also be a way to line another investor’s pockets without really getting much for it. Too often the investor you work for pays them a mere embarrassment and really doesn’t teach you much to compensate for all the work you do on his behalf. If you’re looking for a way to identify investment properties for beginners, there are better methods than birddoging.
Second, many new investors are trying to wholesale, which is a step above birdogging. This method also involves finding abandoned or run-down properties, but then includes the next step of actually negotiating and buying the property at a wholesale price, and then finding another investor to flip the property, making a profit on the stock market.
There are numerous courses and books about wholesale, and many investors have started this way. Note, however, that there are many pitfalls in the wholesale trade, especially for the inexperienced investor. There is a big learning curve with this type of investment – you really need to understand properties and repair values before you risk your money.
Short selling is a third way for beginners to buy investment properties. Short selling involves direct negotiations with the bank over a property that is in foreclosure or is in short stop. Short sales can really be some great bargains, but the process is extremely detailed and complicated, and not necessarily for the new investor.
I realise that these are just three of the many types of real estate investment. There are many more methods for sourcing investment properties for beginners, some of which are better than the ones we have looked at here. I’ll discuss more of them in the next article in this series.
For a simple, socially responsible and profitable way to start investing in real estate, with limited risk, no hassle and even a cashless alternative, look at investment properties for beginners.
