Rental Property Investment - Finding The Properties
by: Steve Gillman
Rental property investment starts with finding the best deals. To do
this, you can increase your odds by finding more deals. Who's more likely
to get a cheap apartment building, an investor that looks through the MLS
listings and calls it a day, or the one that uses ten resources? Here are
those ten:
1. Look in old papers to find "For Rent" ads. Call if they are a few
weeks old. The landlord may be ready to sell, especially if he hasn't yet
rented the units out.
2. Look up old FSBO ads. Call on two-month-old "For sale By Owner" ads,
and if they haven't sold, they may be ready to deal. Owners often give up
the effort, but still would love to sell. Help them out!
3. Drive around looking for "For Sale By Owner" signs. Owners often
don't want to pay to keep the ad in the paper every week, so you won't see
all properties there.
4. Find abandoned properties. That's a pretty clear sign that the owner
doesn't want to deal with the property. He might sell cheap.
5. Talk. Let people know you are looking and sometimes the properties
will come to you. There are a lot of owners out there who want to sell,
but haven't yet listed their property.
6. Talk to bankers. You might get a foreclosed rental property cheaper
if you buy it before they list it with a real estate agent.
7. Offer someone a finder's fee. There are people that always seem to
hear about the good deals. Have such people coming to you.
8. Eviction notices. If your local papers publish eviction notices, or
if you can get the information at the courthouse, it can be useful. A
landlord who just went through the procees of evicting tenants is a likely
seller.
9. Use the internet. Go to a search engine and enter the type of real
estate you are looking for, along with the city you want to invest in. You
never know what you might find.
10. Put an ad in the paper. "Looking for rental properties to buy,"
might be sufficient to generate a few calls.
There is a lot more to learn to do it right, but finding good
properties is a good place to start for rental property investment.
About The Author
Steve Gillman has invested in real estate for years. To get a free real
estate investing course, and see a photo of a beautiful house he and his
wife bought for $17,500, visit
http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com.