There are lots of tourists from all over Europe who want to travel to Portugal. This is partly because of the wonderful climate and also because of the friendliness and hospitality of the Portuguese people.

Source: The Real Articles: Finance | Stock Market Investing

Have you tried your luck at foreign exchange, bonds and stocks, but to no avail? Are you perplexed as to what to put your money on? Consider real estate investment, as several people have turned into millionaires through shrewd investments in real estate. By means of this article, we will elaborate four common real estate investing tips, which would help you realize significant profits via property investment. Be it a newbie or a seasoned investor, these tips are sure to be of help to one and all alike.

Real estate investing tip #1 - Perhaps the most lucrative investment technique is to buy a run down property, fix it up, and then sell at a significant profit. Since the property is shabby, you might be able to acquire it for a low price. However, you must ensure that the cost incurred in the repair is restricted to a minimum so as to guarantee a profit. You can do this by making sure that the basic amenities are in place, without going overboard with the renovation. Such a buy-fix-sell scenario demands excellent property valuation skills and a rather frugal attitude while renovating.

Real estate investing tip #2 - Purchase properties that are about to face a foreclosure. A property typically faces foreclosure when the homeowner is financially distressed and is unable to repay the loan. Another common reason for foreclosures is dissolution of marriage with the abandonment of the house by either of the couple. Such a distressed property can be bagged for a low price by an articulate investor, who can convince the homeowner to sell the property prior to the foreclosure sale. Then the investor may sell the newly bought property at a significant gain.

Real estate investing tip #3 - Locality is a paramount aspect in real estate investment. Two similarly built houses may have varying valuations if they are situated in different locations. So, you must be abreast of the hot locations in your concerned region. If you are just about to start you real estate venture, I suggest you look for places that offer high rentals. Purchasing a property in such a region would result in a healthy monthly source of income.

Real estate investing tip #4 - Ever heard of Warren Buffett? The acclaimed stock investor made billions through a contrarian’s approach to stock investment. You may take a contrarian’s view to real estate investment as well. For instance, you may buy a property when it is out of favor with the majority of investors. That is, acting in opposition to the majority opinion. A contrarian’s approach is not a sure shot path to real estate success. Moreover, it’s complicated and therefore beginners are advised against it.

All in all, there are several avenues that you could realize profit in real estate. However, it is imperative that you be prepared to put in extra work hours, especially at the beginning of your real estate career. Putting your shoulder to the wheel is what’s required to make substantial profits in real estate.

Copyright © 2006 Joel Teo. All rights reserved. (You may publish this article in its entirety with the following author’s information with live links only.)

Joel Teo writes about making money with
Property Investment. His site,
http://www.RealEstateInvestment101.info provides a wealth of informative articles & Tips.

The answer is: Ugly ducklings in good streets. You need to have a
motivated seller and property that is ugly and doesn’t appeal to a lot of other real estate investors.

Great buys in real estate are in generally in rough condition. I can
count the nice properties on one hand that I got great buys
on over the years.

So for you to get the good buys that are out there
in this business you are going to need to be in the
renovation of property business. You will be rewarded for your efforts if you go about it the right way.

Examples of some great buys are:

a. Weeds two feet high in the yard

b. Gutters hanging down from the house and roof covered in moss

c. Rubbish and litter everywhere

d. Maintenance neglected

e. Out dated kitchens, shag carpet, unpainted walls for
10-20 years

f. Marriage break ups

Some of examples of a great buy:

a. Front yard looks like a car yard: I bought a block of units that looked like a used car yard.
It had realy old wrecks of cars parked in the front and that detracted the real value of the property.
The carport area was looking very tired and was in need of some tidying and painting up.
The agent had no enquiry on this property because it didn’t have any appeal at all.

I intend to paint up the carports and render just the front of the building (it is brickwork). Inside what the public could not see was,
the whole three units had been refurbished. I will strata title them and then sell them off individually. I plan to double my money in twelve months.

b. Run down and lack of maintaince: This property really in need of a spruce up.It was owned by a busy couple who didn’t have any handyman skills
or any sense of pride in their property. Once again the agent was struggling to move it. A quick tidy up and two weeks work fixing the glaring problems
and it will be ready for a new tenant.

c.Animals inside: This property was owned by an elderly lady who lived on her own with a pet dog. The dog lived in the house as well and the carpet was
covered in stains and smelled horrible. This was putting people off straight away. A good airing out and new carpet also painting to clean up all the
dog’s scratching on the walls and doors got this property back in shape.

Real estate investing requires hard work but the rewards can be
great.There are some great buys in real estate but it requires investors with talent to
restore the properties to a state that will attract quality tenants. Doing real estate investment renovations,
and getting them back to a quality standard, is for me, part of a
process of fulfilling the dream for homeowners and
is what I love most about this business. The investors who
can see the potential in the ugly ducklings and have the ability and resources to restore them will always make money in any type of market.

If you are new investor, I recommend you
focus on the lighter rehabs, paint and carpet changes to start with.

Some of the examples above were light rehabs they
just had obstacles that others could not see past. If you start out slowly till you get your confidence you will be okay.

To your investing success

Leo Love

PS If any of your family or friends are interested, please pass this on to them.

http://www.therealestateinvester.com