Sound too good to be true? Well it isn’t.

The concept and recipe for success in real estate investing is very easy to understand, but very difficult to do.

Forget everything you have heard from the “gurus”, and the promise of making sweet deal after deal with no upfront investment that is going to pay you thousands and thousands.

The one thing that you absolutely have to know and care in real estate investing is this:

BUY RIGHT!

and the oldest advise in the book still rings true today...

POSITION POSITION POSITION!

My first real estate deal involved 2 wrong choices:

• Terrible partner
• Bought the real estate very near market value

This article is not about choosing the right partner, it’s about buying right. Most “good deals” that brokers, agents and websites that list houses for sale ARE NOT good deals. They are simply a ploy to get you interested in the property and rely on that old sales tactic - emotion. You fall in love with the house, and you pay the price. Real Estate agents are masters at this.

So what does it mean to buy right? Usually buying right means buying at 60-75% of market value or lower. How do I find out what the market value is? Start with checking the rates valuation done by the municipality for the house you are interested in, many of them are available online. If you are unable to find one online, check with your realtor. Second, have your realtor run a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) as this is the best indicator of market value. It will reveal other similar houses in the area and what they have sold for. Have the realtor run the analysis for the last 6 months, as newer sold listings are better indicators of current market value.

Look for houses that offer what is in demand eg 3 beds, garden, pet friendly, stand alone and direct from the developer is much better as this means less upfront fees like transfer duty. Check out the area in detail. Find out what the current rentals are going for and for what. Can the house be used for holiday rentals? Submit your offer if it’s not from a developer ( and even then, who sais that developers aren’t negotiable?) Start a little lower than the 60-75% percent so you can negotiate up Don’t worry about it being rejected, this is going to happen most of the time! Be patient, submit many offers until someone is willing to negotiate. Don’t buy the right house in the wrong area.

I know these are simple concepts, but most real estate investors want to get a deal going so badly, they end up paying too much! This happened to me!

Patience, patience, patience and position, position, position.