Earn A Good Income By Investing In Real Estate

by Jacques Coquerel

You might have noticed lately that the television and the Internet are full of promotions that tell you that you can earn an income in real estate. You might be asking yourselves, what are the ways that I can make money in this business? Real estate investing is really not that far from any other forms of investment: you buy a property to sell and make profit.

For example, when you purchase stocks today, you can sell it later to make profit when its value has already risen. Like stocks, you purchase real estate property today to appreciate in value so that you can sell it at a higher price later to make profit.

Your success in real estate investing depends on the strategy you use to purchase a property as low-priced as possible and sell it as high-priced as possible. Seasoned investors have found various strategies to achieve this. These different strategies are what they’re offering to people to help them earn income in real estate, too.

One strategy is to buy property that’s priced below its market value then resell it at a higher price. The difficulty comes in finding houses that are priced low. Even if you’re able to negotiate a lower purchase price, you might only make a few thousand dollars in profit, tops. If you’re investing in real estate just to make a living, then this isn’t a bad strategy. However, if you’re investing for riches, you need a strategy that will yield more than a few thousand dollars in profit.

One profitable strategy in real estate investing is to buy foreclosed properties because most of the time, these properties are priced well below its market value. If you can find properties in which the owners have contributed a great amount of equity to it, you’re sure to get a property at a very, very low price. Especially if the property requires very little repairs, your profit could shoot up even higher.

Another strategy to make money in real estate is with tax lien certificate. If property owners cannot meet their property tax obligation, the government will issue a tax lien certificates for those properties, which an investor could buy for profit. It is a win-win solution for all three parties: the property owner, the government, and the investor.

In a sense the government receives its property tax from the buyer of the certificate - the investor - but the property owner is still going to pay for his tax but he’s given an extended period to do so. While the investor on the other hand, is given two ways to gain from his investment.

For the investors, buying a tax lien certificate is one of the most secure ways to earn profit in two ways. The government will pay the investor fixed interest rate - comparatively larger rate than other investments - and this is mandated by law so that you’re sure you get your money at the end of the period. But if the property owner cannot pay his obligation, the investor has the chance to buy the property at a very, very discounted price.

Knowledge in other forms of investment is a good start when you want to try real estate investment - although it’s not necessary. Real estate investment is not as difficult as people might think; it closely resembles other forms of investment. All you need is the basics of investing and the rest you need to learn will follow when you’re doing the actual investing.