Just do it

Just Do It

Just get out there and do it. Get your feet wet. Test the waters.

Stop thinking about it, stop making excuses, and Start Doing It.

You Do Not Need Big Bucks

Even in today's market there are lenders willing to do deals.

One option is a hard-money loan where you can finance your property on a short-term basis. Hard money lenders typically lend around 50% to 60% of a property's value and the interest rates can be in the double digits.

But remember, this is a short-term, fix and flip financing strategy.

After you close the deal on your property, you're going to want to rehab it quickly, get it rented, and either hang onto the thing to build your real estate wealth using the on-going, long-term cash flow, or do a fix and flip and sell it to another investor, or maybe even do a lease-purchase to the tenant.

If you decide to hang onto the property you'll need to make sure that you have financing in place to buy-out the hard money lender so that you're not stuck with a high long term interest rate.

With this exit approach, make sure you've been pre-qualified and pre-approved for your take out financing before you commit to the property.

One of the keys with this approach is to have your exit strategy figured out before you actually own the property.

Believe me, you'll sleep a lot easier at night knowing that you've got another take-out investor lined up when your rehab and leasing is done, or that you've got your refinancing already in place!

If your predetermined exit plan is to cash out when your work is done, consider using a tax deferred exchange, aka a 1031 exchange, to defer any potential property gains taxes and have your entire profits on your first deal available to invest in your next deal.

It may not be a bad idea to have your next deal already lined up.

It's always a good idea to talk to your tax advisor about tax deferred exchanges. Again, do your homework first, and do this before you actually close on your first deal.

Know your exit strategy and always having a Plan B are critical steps to building your real estate wealth fast.

Do Not Overpay For Your Real Estate Investment

I know you're thinking that this is common sense. And it is.

But you'd be surprised at how many real estate investors I've watched get caught up in the emotion of the wealth building real estate chase and end up paying more than they'd planned on, or underestimating the amount of rehab needed to get the thing rented fast.

There are three good sources to determine a property value:

Your own research
Appraiser
Real estate broker

In that order. Nothing beats your boots-on-the-ground research and your intuition.

It's always good to gather information from all three sources, then use your best judgment as to what price is a good deal for the property.

With these in mind you'll quickly be on your way to building your own real estate wealth fast!By Jeffrey A Roark