Is there anything we can do ... ???

Question

My wife and I are currently locked into our jobs until 2012 and we want out. Is there anything that we can do now that would start us off in real estate investing when the time comes? We want to be able to do the fixer-upper work ourselves, mostly because we love doing the handy work. We both have average credit ratings, in the low 600s, and we don't have a whole lot of equity in our current house to bother with. Does anyone have advice that can help us get started? Thanks.

Answer 1

Are you in the USA?

Put money into a Real Estate Mutual fund such as UMREX.

Answer 2

I am in Real Estate for many years and I invest in fixers. Be careful. Everyone wants to do this and it is not as easy as it seems. Right now I am remodeling bathrooms on a home and it has taken 2 months and $20,000. And the list goes on. Many fixers have major problems that do not meet the eye. Make sure you get only a cosmetic fixer and make sure the area you buy it is booming and sales are strong. Otherwise you could be sitting on it and you money is going out the door.
Nice that you want to fix it yourselves but remember time is money. You only have so much time to work and if you were getting paid for those hours what is it worth? Are you an expert in many repairs such as plumbing, carpentry, and heating? If not leave it to the experts.
Fixers are also properties that lenders may not want to loan on. They are risky for them since you have no track record of repairing and turning for a profit. And they do not ever want to take a property back that needs repairs. If they do it goes to auction.
You will need a good chunk of money to get into this properly.
Instead start small like I did. Buy a home from an owner that is willing to carry paper or a 2nd. Then rent it out to cover costs for about a year or two. Then after that time go in do repairs to make it look great and turn it fast. Now you have some money to buy another one and do the same. Believe me when I say that this is a slow steady process, no one gets rich fast.
Yes, I have made tons of money in RE but I live in a high profit area and invest only in CA and NV. Other areas are harder to turn a big profit. And we work in our own businesses too.
Good Luck

Answer 3

I agree with some of the answers listed above. Look around, be ready to buy something less than desirable if you think you can fix it yourselves. But, be careful. The place may end being a real money pit so do your homework first.

Also, be aware that investing in real estate is a long term investment, not short term. Unless you know something that the experts don't know, don't plan on buying something now and flipping it at a huge profit. The market forecasts are for housing values to climb at only 3% to 5% annually for the next several years, rather than the 15% to 25 % that were seen in many places until recently.

Answer 4

Start reading all your real estate papers now. Get a heading on the market and what it's doing. Comb the papers for anything that says sale by contract. That's how I bought my first property. Save all the money you can for a down payment to the contract seller. If you feel like it, you could check out tax sales. Those are usually fixer-uppers and can be gotten for pretty cheap.

Answer 5

If you invest in some property now it might be worth quite a bit in 6 years. Land can double in value in just a few years, so you could be sitting on a fortune in 2012 if you invest in a large tract of land now.

Answer 6

My advice is to stop watching all the HGTV and such channels that have all the "flipping" shows on them.

If you're truly set on doing this, be sure you know how to do everything involved (tile work, electric, etc.) and then maybe find an investor that will back you.

Answer 7

stay with your job, and start part time