Step 1 - Locate your prime geographic areas.

    The first thing that must be done is to decide where you are going to do your real estate investing. Asking this question may seem juvenile, but it is not.

    In almost all cases I would recommend that you invest in your own backyard. There are exceptions. Currently, in New York and Maryland residential real estate investing has been made illegal. In Texas, lease options are not legal and in South Carolina I am told that there are troubling new laws, which I have not yet read.

    Lawyers and legislators would dispute this claim, and they would be partially correct; investing in real estate is not totally illegal – as long as you do it the way the law requires. The problem is that the law requires that a real estate investor pay a price that is not a market price but rather a politically correct price. Incredibly, even speaking to a seller in the wrong manner will get you jail time.

    It is as if legislators would require that a investor wanting to buy a particular stock could only buy that stock at the governmentally approved price. And, if the value of the stock went below that amount, then an investor could be punished for paying a lesser amount. The effect is to eliminate investors from the marketplace. But, with this exception, you should first look to invest within your local area.

    I usually recommend that you target the counties that are within a one hour drive from your home base. Often, this would include from three to six counties. This means that you have several county governments that you can deal with. If you do not like a particular county, don't worry, you have several more that you can easily deal with. Or, if you desire, you can force the county to deal with you. But, forcing a government to do anything has consequences.

    If you want to invest away from your local area, then there are at least three questions to answer.  

    1 Do you have any reliable representation in that area? Perhaps a relative or a friend will help you?

    2 Do you have a reason for being interested in that area? Perhaps you want to retire there or it is near relatives?   

    3 Is it the type of market that you wish to invest in? Perhaps it is a hot market or an emerging market or even a slow market?

    I offer a real estate market timing website service at www.HousingAlerts.com. This service lets you determine the state of almost any marketplace in the US. The level of accuracy is unprecedented and the real estate sales statistics are the most recent statistics to be found, from the previous quarter, not from the previous year.

    With this kind of information at your fingertips, from your kitchen table, you can roam the US, research any geographic area and choose where you want to invest. This decision will be based upon good information rather than relying on emotion.

    You can contact the appropriate county and town officials to determine if these are people with whom you can work. They can confirm the “path of progress” so that you can better aim your research and marketing “at the North side of town” because that is where the development is headed.

    Choosing where to invest outside of your home area is the first important decision that you must make and www.HousingAlerts.com will help you immensely.

Smart investing,

Mitchell Goldstein – Coach Mitch

518-439-6100 until midnight EST