Blair Lavagna, REALTOR^®

Turning for Profit

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     One of the easiest ways of getting involved in Real Estate investing is to buy a property and sell it within a relatively short amount of time for a profit. It avoids the hassles of dealing with tenants, and since you are buying and selling at basically the same time, it avoids the potential of the bottom falling out of the market and taking your profit potential with it. Due to the short time span, your return on investment, as a percentage, can be higher than almost any other form of investment.

      Finding good property to "turn" is one of the most difficult tasks you will face if you intend to do a quick turn investment. You definitely will not be the only prospective purchaser of a property that shows good profit potential. Not only will you have other investors to compete with, more and more first time buyers are competing for the same properties--not to fix up and sell, but to repair and live in. In addition to your own efforts, you may want to enlist the help of a good Real Estate Agent--one who has experience working with investors--to aid in your search.

     You will also need to develop a "team" of professionals that is willing to give you top priority. When you "rehab" a house, things must be done in a certain order. For example, any inner wall plumbing repairs must be done prior to any drywall work, which must be done prior to any painting or wallpapering. A plumber who makes you wait 3 weeks before getting to the work can not only hold up the entire project, but can also cut heavily into your profit potential. Besides the obvious monetary cost of holding the property while you wait for repairs to be completed, a holdup can push you from a good Real Estate market time (for example, early October) to a lousy one (for example, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas) and severely limit your pool of potential buyers.

      Short-term investing may be right for you if the following criteria apply to you:

• The property is in an area where property values are stable but not significantly increasing.

• You have the means or the connections for getting repairs done at a reasonable price.

• You are organized enough (and have enough time) to rehabilitate the property quickly.

     ^{Please read Why Invest In Real Estate? and REO Investing for more information on investing in real estate.}