One of the biggest challenges for reale state investors is finding great deals to invest in. Prior to the information age, investors had no choice but to do some serious legwork to find the best deals. However, with the advent of the information age there are a number of great deals that you can find right on the internet.

So how do you use the internet to find great deals to invest in?

The first thing you need to do is determine your profit strategy. Depending on how you are looking to profit from your reale state investments, that is how you are going to find real estate deals that will meet your needs.

There are two types of profit strategies with any real estate deal. You can invest for capital gains or you can invest for cash flow. Capitial gains is when you purchase a property for one price and make a profit as a result of the appreciation of the actual value of the property. Cash flow is when you purchase a property and create a monthly income stream by providing use of the property to a tenant in some way, shape or form.

Once you determine your profit strategy you can now begin to look for deals online that you can capitalize and take advantage of. The key is to find properties that meet the requirements that you are looking for.

One way you can find good properties is by visiting the various brokerage web sites that are available on the internet. Real estate brokers are one of the first places home owners go to when they are looking to sell off a property. There are a number of deals to be had by looking at broker web sites if you know what to look for.

If you are looking for deals that you can earn cash flow from, it’s just a matter of finding properties that produce a positive cash flow. How easy or difficult this will be depends on the market that you are looking to invest in. In some markets, there are a lot of properties available that cash flow positively. In other markets, particularly markets that showed rapid rates of appreciation, finding a cash flow positive property is like finding a needle in a haystack. Even if you live in an area where there aren’t a lot of opportunities for cash flow positive investments, you can typically find other areas where the opposite is true anywhere from 1-3 hours away.

If you are looking for deals where you can take advantage of increasing the values of properties real estate brokerage web sites can still help you. However, there are specific types of listings that you want to look for. Some examples include listings that indicate terms like “handyman’s special.” Even better, if you find deals that indicate the property is a “short sale candidate” that is even better. There are a lot of smart agents that are learning how to take properties and submit short sale requests to the banks. The banks pay the agents their commission fee so you don’t even have to worry about compensating the agents anything. You can literally purchase the property at a significant discount.

Another great place to find properties on the internet is Ebay. There’s an incredible article that goes into the entire process of purchasing property on Ebay on page 1 of this newsletter.

Craigslist.com is another excellent web site that you can use to find properties to purchase online. Craigs List is a classified ads web site that offers all types of items for sale. Sellers can create posts advertising whatever they have to offer absolutely free. You can search for properties for sale in any area just by looking for the real estate section on Craigs List and then searching the list of postings for the area that you want to invest in.

Another source of excellent deals is to advertise for motivated sellers online. Two excellent programs for this purpose is the Google Adwords program and the Yahoo Sponsored Search program. Both programs work very similar to each other and can be used as lead generation tools for getting motivated sellers to contact you about their properties.

Here’s how the system works… First, you will need a web site that is designed to market to motivated sellers. For instance, you can create a web site that markets to people in foreclosure. There are several companies online that already offer web site solutions to investors. Examples are realestatewebprofits.com and investorpro.com

Once you have a web site established, the next step is to identify keywords that would be appropriate to reach out to people who are looking to sell their house quickly. Examples of such keywords include “foreclosure”, “stop foreclosure” “prevent foreclosure”, “sell home for cash” etc.

Once you set up your campaign you will be able to attract motivated sellers to your web site through several sources. Some will be people who are searching the search engines looking for a solution to sell their homes quickly. Others will be visiting other real estate related web sites and will click on your web site ad. You can even customize your campaign so that only prospects that live in a certain area will see your ad.

The internet is an excellent source for finding great real estate investment deals for you to take advantage of. The key is to know which web sites to use and how to effectively use them. By mastering how to capitalize on the internet you can literally create a steady flow of deals that you will be able to work on a regular and consistent basis. Ebay has a real estate section on its web site located at http://realestate.ebay.com. On this section of the web site you can buy and sell a variety of different types of reale state property.

So how does the property selling process work on Ebay?

The seller creates a listing on the Ebay web site where he or she describes the property that is for sale. The listing includes a brief description of the property and includes some pictures and other related information.

Properties are sold in auction format, similar to the format that many items are sold on Ebay. The seller determines the minimum price for the property and includes it in the auction listing.

Once the auction is created, the auction starts and buyers are able to bid on the property. Potential buyers bid the maximum amount they wish to pay for the property. The system automatically increases your bid based on what other buyers have bided until your maximum bid amount is reached.

For example, suppose the minimum bid is $1000. The maximum you wish to pay for the property is $10,000. You put in $10,000 as your maximum bid. The system will automatically submit a bid for $1000 for you since you are the first person that bided on the property. You would be the high bidder with a bid of $1000.

If another purchaser comes along and places a maximum bid of $5000, you maximum bid of $10,000 exceeds their maximum bid of $5000. The system would automatically increase your bid to $5000 so that you can match the maximum bid of the purchaser that tried to outbid you. The auction continues for a certain fixed duration of time. During this time duration potential buyers may place bids on the property at any given point in time. If they place a bid that exceeds the highest bid made by the previous high bidder, the new purchaser takes over as the high bidder with a bid that equals the highest bid the other person was willing to pay.

Once the auction has concluded, the purchaser with the highest bid at the end of the auction is declared the winner of the auction. The winner of the auction is now able to go into contract with the property owner to complete the sale.

With the large majority of items that are sold on Ebay, once you bid on the item, if you win the auction you are now contractually obligated to complete the purchase. Failure to complete the purchase is considered a breech in contract on Ebay, which carries penalities that could include a loss of privilages when using the Ebay web site.

Real Estate is different. Bidding on a property on Ebay is not considered a contractual obligation. The reason why Ebay handles real estate different from the sale of other iterms is because real estate purchases are highly regulated from state to state. Therefore a purchaser cannot be committed to the purchase of a real estate property until they execute a binding contract with the seller based on the laws and regulations of the state that the property is located in.

Once the buyer wins the auction the next step is to make contact with the seller to executive the contract. The seller signs the contracts and sends the buyer the contracts. The buyer reviews the contracts, signs them and sends the contracts back to the seller.

Once the contract is executed the next step is for the buyer to secure financing if necessary. Some property prices on Ebay are so low the seller can pay for them all cash, get a personal loan or pay for the property using a credit card. If the property is of a higher price where these types of financing tactics are not practical, the buyer has a certain amount of time to secure a mortgage for the property.

It is also during this time that the seller may do all due diligence necessary prior to closing on the property. Some properties may require work to be done on the property. This is the opportunity for the buyer to bring contractors in for a work estimate, perform any type of inspections on the property and complete other forms of due diligence.

When buying property on Ebay outside of your home state it is important that prior to bidding on property you do your research on market values in the area. You want to make sure that you are not overpaying for the property you purchase. One way you can do this is to contact a real estate agent in the area. An agent can tell you what the approximate after repair value is on the property. An agent can also tell you what type of rent you can expect per month from the property as well.

As part of your due diligence on the property, you should also make sure that you have an appraisal done on the property. This will confirm your assumptions about the overall property value and make sure that you have enough value in the property to make the type of money you want to make on the property. The last thing you want to do is to go ahead and close on the property only to find out that the property isn’t worth what you thought the property was going to be worth. This will kill your overall profits and could potentially turn what you thought was a winning deal into a losing and unprofitable real estate transaction.

Prior to completing the purchase you need to figure out what your exit strategy is going to be. Your strategy is going to be dependent on the price you are paying for the property and what needs to be done to maximize the profit potential.

For example, if the property is purchased for significantly below market value and needs repairs, you need to identify how much it is going to cost to complete the repairs. This cost should be factored into your overall property analysis. You then need to figure out how you plan on realizing your profit afte the repairs are completed.

One strategy you can take is to simply flip the property to an investor in the local area. Some of the property values on Ebay are so low that you can literally pay cash and close on the property. Once this is done, you simply turn around and aggressively market the property for a price above what you paid, but still low enough for the investor to realize profit. The investor purchases the property from you and you realize the difference between your price and their price. In some cases you can literally double your investment just by utilizing this strategy.

A second strategy is to rehab the property and then sell it on the open market. You can hire the contractors to complete the work for you. You can then turn around and resell the property on the open market at a price much higher than what you paid for the property and your expenses. If you are able to secure the property for a price well below market value and secure a good bid from contractors for the work done, you can turn around and sell the property for significantly more than what you invested into the property. It is not unheard of for an investor to triple his or her investment utilizing a rehab strategy on Ebay.

A third strategy is to rehab the property and then hold on to the property for cash flow. There are two ways you can turn the property into a cash flow producing property as part of your overall investing portfolio. Either one of these strategies will allow you to begin earning a monthly passive cash flow from your real estate investment.

The first way you can hold on to the property is to simply become a landlord and rent the property out to tenants. Ideally the amount of rent you are able to collect on the property should be worth the amount of money you invested into the property.

If you paid all cash for the property, I recommend that you stick to investing in properties in which the cash flow you are able to collect exceeds the amount you invested into the property after a maximum of 24 months. The cash flow is the profit you have left over after you collect rent and pay any expenses related to the property. Potential expenses include utilities if the tenant isn’t responsible for those, as well as potentially a management fee. If you are investing in properties out of state you will need to hire a property management company to mange the property for you. By sticking to this rule, his means after two years, you will make all of your money back and every month after that is completely profit.

If you borrow money to secure the property, I recommend that you stick to investing in properties in which there is a positive cash flow. This means that after paying all cost related to holding the property and paying your monthly finance payments, there is still a profit left over to go into your pocket every month.

What type of money can you make with a strategy like this? One investor purchased property in Ohio for $2000. The property was worth $40,000 after repaired and the estimates came in at $10,000. The property would rent for $500 a month. A successful rehab would yield $28,000 in equity. Financing the property and rented it out would yield a passive cash flow of $100 to $200 a month. This type of profit is waiting for you all by investing on Ebay!

1.)Word-of-Mouth or Referral
Most real estate professionals attract a sizable amount of business because of a satisfied client who recommends them to a friend, family member or neighbour.  When you are thinking of purchasing a home, it is a good idea to ask those around you who they have used and ask them to elaborate on their specific experience with the real estate agent in question.  Successful real estate agents strive to make customer satisfaction their number one priority and will do everything they can to facilitate a good experience for a customer.  Try to find an agent that has a proven track record and reputation for delivering quality service, customer satisfaction, and have experience in the neighbourhoods that you are looking in.

2.) Do an Online Search For Real Estate Agents
There are many online resources available when searching for a real estate agent referral, but this by no means ensures quality.  The agents referred online may have paid a fee to the website owner to be listed in the directory.  Performing a Google search of the top agents in your area and then reviewing their websites will give you a good list of agents to interview.  Agents who have experience in the field will tell you, but a newer agent will more than likely have the extra time to spend working with you.  Review any customer testimonials or feedback about an agent you may be interested in retaining.

3.) Visit Open Houses in the Area
You should visit some area open houses where you can actually meet with a potential agent in a non-threatening manner.  Here you can see how they work, collect business cards, formulate an opinion and talk with them on a personal basis.  If you are thinking about selling a home, pay close attention to how the agent presents the home.  Make sure the agent is polite, informative, approachable and professional.  Does the agent promote the home by handing out professional looking feature sheets or other related materials?  Is the agent trying to play up the features that make the home more enticing?  Or is the agent in the corner, back turned and uninvolved in the whole scenario?  

4.) Pay Attention to Real Estate Signs
Carefully monitor the real estate signs in your neighbourhood.  Observe how long from the day they go up until the home is actually sold.  An agent who has a high sales turnover might be a better choice than an agent who has lots of for sale signs but few sold signs.  An agent who gets results is what you want.

5.) Why Agents Use Printed Advertising
There are two main reasons real estate agents use printed advertisement.  First is to advertise and sell a specific piece of real estate.  Secondly, advertising is used to promote the agent handling the transaction.  By checking the local Sunday real estate ads in your neighbourhood and then checking the agents website, you can find the agents who may specialize in your particular neighbourhood.  Contact the agent and inquire about their expertise and ask any other relative questions you may have.

6.) Seeking Recommendations from Other Real Estate Professionals
Ask around and seek out other real estate agents for a referral.  Most agents are happy to refer a buyer or seller to another associate, if the service you require is not a specialty they can provide.  Some agents only specialize in resale property, while others work predominantly with the sale of new homes.  Other agents work exclusively with commercial or investment properties.  Mortgage brokers are a great resource for agent referrals; many brokers have first-hand knowledge and can point you in the direction of a top-quality real estate agent and remember professionals tend to refer like-minded peers. There is also typically a referral fee involved for the referring professional so be careful that they refer you to the best Agent not the one that pays the highest referral fee.

Have you ever tried to cut your own hair? If you did, I am sure it wasn’t a pretty experience. REALTORS® are trained professionals and are continuously mandated to upgrade their knowledge to help to better serve their clients every day. It’s not only the knowledge that a REALTOR® will bring to the table when working with you, but a REALTOR® can save you considerable amount of time by doing most of the leg-work for you… at no direct cost to you.

In today’s booming market condition it’s not uncommon for sellers to try the For Sale by Owner market before considering hiring a REALTOR®. Chances are good that you will be able to succeed at selling on your own. However statistics show that in most cases sellers ended up selling their properties for much less than what it would have cost them to hire a professional. Weather you are buying or selling a piece of real estate it’s extremely important to have a professionally prepared comparable market analysis done for you to protect your investment. It’s also as important to complete the paper work properly. Once the ink dries on the paper it’s hard to make changes to it and regrets could easily come by.

REALTORS® have access to the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). Having the convenience of being able to tap into the single largest source of homes available on the market is not the only benefit that you will receive. REALTORS® are legally bounded by a strict Code of Ethics and high Standard of Business Practice as well as Agency obligations to represent your best interest. In a nut shell what this means to you is that all the information available on MLS is guaranteed to be accurate by the listing REALTOR® and if there were any defects known about the property or other facts that might affect your decision making process you will find out about it up front.

Regardless if you are buying or selling a property, it could take a bit of time to find a quality REALTOR®. The relationship that you will establish will play a key part in your future investment. It is well worth the effort to work your way through many potentials to find that “Outstanding REALTOR®”, but when you find one, they will be worth their weight in gold.

The most successful way to begin your REALTOR® hunt is to conduct subtle but effective interviews in person. The purpose of your first interview should be to discover each other’s needs, expectations and to discover the future steps to be taken by both of you. Your meeting with the potential REALTOR® should be structured to find out how effective they might be finding properties or selling your existing property. You will need to be able to conclude if the REALTOR® is focused on a potential long term relationship or does he feel ‘desperate’ to sell the next house. If you feel a little bit pressured, you might be tempted to choose to work with someone else because the REALTOR® doesn’t understand the word ‘relationship’. The other side of the coin is you want to find someone who isn’t too set back. You want to make sure that he will be actively doing what you agree upon and that he will have the time and energy to complete your sale or purchase. Working with an aggressive, motivated REALTOR® is good when they are representing you. They will be able to uncover as many opportunities as possible. You want someone who is enthusiastic, along with competence and consideration for a long term relationship.

Timing and creativity seems to be an ongoing issue today. Like most of us, we could have days when everything just seems to be piling up and we find it challenging to follow up on our promises. However, for most of the time, we should be organized and well prepared in advance for those crazy days. Find out ahead of the game what is your REALTOR’S® policy on returning your calls and what kind of systems does he have in place to serve you better.

Education and knowledge with experience will be the key elements of a successful real estate transaction. You should be also asking your REALTOR® if he is taking any advanced training to better serve his clients or what is he doing that is different from the rest of REALTORS®?

The best way for you to prepare for your meeting is to sit down prior to the meeting and write yourself a set of questions that are important to you and discuss them at the time of your interview. More likely a well prepared REALTOR® will do the same thing. The most effective way we can help each other is by communicating openly.

Once you feel confident and comfortable about choosing a REALTOR® to work with you, don’t be afraid to commit to him. At the end of the day a REALTOR® will be spending a considerable amount of time working for you away from his family. In exchange for his time and for his up front miscellaneous costs associated with serving you, it’s only fair to him to be able to get paid for his efforts.

Weather you are considering purchasing your first home or perhaps you have done it many times in the past, you owe it to yourself to further explore the potentials of maximizing the value of your largest investment. The quality of any relationship that you will ever establish will be a direct correlation to the amount of time and energy you invest with that person.