Real estate investing is one of my favorite subjects. It is certainly a great time to buy real estate. There are a lot of foreclosure properties that are available. In today’s new economy it may be harder to qualify for a loan, however, the benefits are much greater.

First of all, investing in real estate is an excellent long term wealth building strategy. Right now interest rates are very low and owning real estate that is producing a positive cash flow is an excellent investment for retirement income. Owning your own home is really not considered investing in real estate. If you are in the business of fix and flips and live in the home for over two years, owning can be a great investment. However, you will never have a positive cash flow on your own home so the only benefits to owning versus renting is the write off you have for the mortgage interest and if you sell for a profit and end up with a smaller mortgage or if you rent.

If you operate a home business this write off may be what you need to exceed your standard deduction and then be able to write off all your business expenses. If you are still working a job and not a home based business the benefit of owning your home might be better than renting. The point is you have to live somewhere, so you might as well get the best value you can and not worry about the “investment” part.

Investing in real estate really means buying a rental or commercial property and having the tenants pay the rent. The goal is to maintain a positive monthly cash flow. If the mortgage and insurance is being paid by someone else then you now have an investment property. Owning a home based business is an excellent way of creating the wealth required to purchase your investment property. There are many lucrative financial opportunities available for a home business.

If you are considering getting into the fix and flip market I would really think twice about that. I have done these before and have been quite successful. At the time I was operating a residential construction company and had some good sub-contractors that I could trust to get the job done at a reasonable rate and quickly. Today, in our new economy, finding sub-contractors is easy, the hard part is finding a buyer. Even if you can get the property at say 50% of what it is worth, you really do not know what it is worth until you sell it.

If you do plan on buying a fixer upper you better plan on getting all the work done in three months and back on the market at a fairly low price. You cannot afford to have it sit and continue to make payments. My recommendation is to forget the fix and flip market and invest in rental properties. That way you can slowly fix them up while someone else pays the mortgage. Rentals have a whole host of problems also, however, if you are willing to do the work yourself (at potentially odd hours) the payoff can be great when you sell them. Your goal should be to hang onto them and not plan to sell for many years. If you finance with a 15 year mortgage and pay the property off you will have a positive cash flow. Selling it then becomes a decision at retirement. If you are considering retirement now and are ready to get out of the rat race contact us and we can show you how.

If you are considering starting a home based business or have the capital to purchase a franchise I suggest you visit this site:

http://www.SkipTheFranchise.com/

I am a true entrepreneur at heart. In the past I have been successful as a project engineer and environmental manager in a fortune 500 company. I left that six-figure income to start a residential construction business and invested in real estate, rental properties, and fix and flips. At the end of 2006, my wife found the current business we now own and operate. It is a personal development business that focuses on positive media rather than the CNN (constant negative news) that bombards us. Our mission is to educate serious entrepreneurs to reach their full potential and obtain the wealth and lifestyle they envision is possible. We have a passion for assisting individuals that have lost control of their lives and are seeking a way to take action and move themselves forward in a positive direction. I invite you to join our community of successful business owners.

http://www.EmptyNesterBiz.com/