Thread: Real Estate Investing

Every difficulty brings certain opportunities. The long term investors are looking for the property to invest what they need is a moral booster.

A whole lot of tire-kicking going on in my market (VA), but not a whole lot is getting done. Needless to say, everyone is having financing problems, and people tend to think that real estate prices are going to drop some more before going back up.

I don't so much worry about timing the market. If I can find a rental deal that makes sense and has equity in it, I make an offer. If my holding horizon in 7-10 years, what do I care if values drop another 5% before crawling back up if I am getting good cash flow? Not a big deal.

Now is a great time to buy starter homes and foreclosure at low rates. We are seeing investors buying these type of homes as well as builder spec homes at deep discounts. They are holding the properties and renting them. The only thing slowing this activity is financing. Investors must have strong cash flow to make it happen.

Originally Posted by TDG

Now is a great time to buy starter homes and foreclosure at low rates. We are seeing investors buying these type of homes as well as builder spec homes at deep discounts. They are holding the properties and renting them. The only thing slowing this activity is financing. Investors must have strong cash flow to make it happen.

What he said is very true. But right not things cant be better for us in California.

Here in the northeast sale are sluggish. Foreclosures and short sales are the bulk of sales, followed by investors snatching up bargains for long term results. The homeowner (retail) sales happening are mostly first time home buyers using FHA funding with seller assist or grants.

Real estate market as such seems to be unpredictable right now. Even the long term investors are not getting their desired returns. Tough times ahead surely!!!

I try to always see the bright side of things (not always easy). For years it was difficult to find good deals because values/prices kept rising and more investors were flooding the market to overpay on purchases. It was frustrating and exciting at the same time. While it was difficult to locate a deal that the numbers made sense on (too many investors bidding too high), it was exciting to see it re-sell quickly at asking or beyond when I was finally able to snag a deal. This "down market" flushes out some of the overpaying investors and leaves more room to negotiate for a good deal. However, the flip side to the down market is, there is alot less money around to use to buy/rehab with, and the re-sale is going to be sluggish and not as high. You really need to take your time and evaluate everything before you buy/invest in this market.

One of the last investment properties I dealt with... I made an offer (65 percent of asking price). Then counter offered, I declined.. Called me back the next day and accepted my first offer.


Never know what will happen these days, and what the seller's situation is.

Very true! You can't, and shouldn't, try to guess what the seller is going to take for the property. My rule of thumb is - bid what works with MY numbers, not the seller's. If I get it for what makes sense to my calculations then I am good. To me the most important aspect of the deal (the property) is the numbers. Sure, I may like things about the property (lay-out, location, taxes, etc.) but if the numbers don't work, its not my deal - time to pass. Private/hard money is going to go 65% max. in this market, so investors should be trying to get the deals for as low as possible. People (banks, lenders, distressed owners) need to sell now, so we as investors should negotiate our hardest. In Philadelphia, many properties controlled by banks are being lowered 10% per month for each month they are in their inventory. I have looked at properties that are now 50% of the original price that the lender listed it at, and they are still willing to take less!