New to Real Estate - Need Help

My husband and I are new to Real Estate Investing and are trying to map put a good approach. We recently attended a Luter Ragsdale Seminar and it seems that Rental Properties are the safest way to start. We had thought about Flipping Properties first to build our bank.

In your opinion, where are the best areas and what market values are the best when purchasing an investment. They had told us that $60-$120K are the best purchase ranges (market value). But when I look at the homes in this area, I find it hard to believe that I would have an easy time attracting someone to rent it out.

As an example…I found a 3 Bedroom, 2 Bath Property in Snellville, GA going for $100K (I live in GA). But…like I said to me it wasn’t attractive.

Copy and paste the entire link below into your browser to see

http://platinumrealestate.listingware.com/search/searchdetail.cfm?ListingID=1744586&CurrentRow=2&ShowPage=1&KeyField=City&ListingIDList=&City=SNELLVILLE&PropertyTypeID=1&StatusCodes=A,B,N,R,I,CK,E&PriceRange=0|999999999&MinPrice=0&MaxPrice=100000&Bedrooms=3&BathsFull=2&MLSArea=&PostalCode=&County=&StreetName=&Subdivision=&SchoolName=&SchoolType=&YearBuilt=0&YearBuiltOperator=later&Stories=0&PhotoLinks=No&SortOrder=asc&MaxRows=10&Reciprocity=Yes&ShowCompany=No&SinceDate=&Advanced=No&Keywords=&KeywordsOperator=and&OfficeID=&AgentID=&Z=&

Good Afternoon,
The real question is will the property make a profit? I am not familiar with the seminar you
attended, but did they show you how to figure if a property was profitable or not? Before
being able to answer your question I would need to know if you want to do rehabs or do you
want to purchase property ready to move into?
Also, if you are saying you want to purchase property to rent out; then I would stick with the
less expensive properties. More than likely one’s you wouldn’t want to live in. But as long as
they are clean and in good repair and will show a profit, that’s what matters. I have several
rentals, and several lease-options; I make the decision to go one way or the other based on
the numbers.

Go Get’em!
Ray - Indiana

We originially wanted to flip properties, but we aren’t working with a lot of cash and were told that the least risk would be with rentals.

We are still focusing on buying low (REO/Bargain homes) and then offering it as a rental, lease option or sell.

Good Morning,
The great thing about getting into real estate investing is you don’t have to have a lot of money. When I
started 14 years ago, I had just finished with a divorce, had credit that wouldn’t allow me to finance a stick
of gum, had less than $500.00 and actually purchased my first property out of an argument. My parents were having a garage sale
and were selling all their Carlton Sheets stuff. I asked them why they bought it if they weren’t going to use
it, and then sell it in a garage sale for $5.00. They told me it didn’t work. I responded with, “It’s up to the
person to make it work, Carlton seems to be offering the knowledge, not the motivaiton”. So they handed
it to me and told me to try.
I am now blessed with properties in several states, and I am a full time investor; buying and selling several
different ways, whichever is most profitable for the deal.

If you don’t mind a suggestion, I would focus on two types of “purchase plans”, get really good and comfortable
with that and then add a third. That generally makes it easier to know what type of property your
looking for and know for sure it will work for you.

With little money, I would suggest lease-options from retail sellers and working with investors who are
willing to flip their REO properties to you with little to nothing down.

Lease-Option from retails sellers - this will allow you to gain a property with little or nothing down, fix up
the property and sell it outright, or if the numbers are right, put a tenant-buyer in it with a nice size
non-refundable option payment, or assign the contract to another investor that is looking for nice homes
to rent out. Again, which direction you go really depends on how the numbers look and which way will
make the most profit in the shortest period of time for you.

Buying REO from other investors - Many investors who have several properties will sometimes sale some
of their inventory with little or nothing down, allowing you to make small payments for 12 - 18 months giving
you time to create value in the property and selling it for a profit or putting a tenant-buyer into it and then
obtaining financing, letting the tenant-buyer make your payment.

IMPORTANT - ALWAYS LEAVE ENOUGH MEAT ON THE BONE FOR THE NEXT GUY, THE REALLY SUCCESSFUL
INVESTORS YOU MEET WILL ALWAYS LEAVE MONEY IN THE DEAL FOR THE OTHER GUY!

Go Get’em!
Ray Rochefort
Managing Member
Purpose Investments LLC
Indiana