Investing in real estate is not a new path to financial success. It is a well worn path and it is so well worn because it is such an effective way to make a great deal of money in a relatively short period of time. But you have to be a forward thinker to make any serious money in the buying and selling of real estate.

The objective is to buy low and sell high and that means that you have to make a guess (an EDUCATED guess) as to what is GOING to happen tomorrow or next week or next year or ten years from now and not base your decisions on what happened yesterday, or last week, or last year or ten years ago.

Think about the neighborhood that you grew up in. Your mom and dad bought the house when the subdivision was new. It isn’t new anymore. It isn’t on its way UP. It is on its way DOWN.

The residents and the buildings are all beginning to show their age. That is the nature of real estate. What goes up will eventually go down. You always want to buy when the area is on the rise and not when it is in decline. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule but there aren’t many.

In short; you need to find the hot markets when buying investment property and in a nutshell the hot market is where the people are GOING. Determining where people are going is the trick.

Buying in an area that is already popular can be a hot market providing you can make a good deal on the property but finding out about upcoming changes in the infrastructure can lead you to where people will be going in the future.

Infrastructure changes are such things as major highway construction, marinas or entertainment facilities. Basically, you base your real estate market investments upon the cold hard facts and not what you hope will happen or what your barber tells you.

Right now isn’t a great time to invest in real estate in the USA but there are hot properties overseas that you can take full advantage of while you wait for the US real estate market to recover. Costa Rica is a good example.

Costa Rica is only 3 hours from the mainland. It is a hugely popular vacation destination and beach front property has been on an upward spiral for several years but it appears that the trend is going to continue.

Real estate investing is not an exact science. You always have to weigh the risk against the potential reward and if you do decide to invest in overseas property it is wise to employ a local attorney to oversee the process.

Then there is always the ‘cool’ factor that shouldn’t be overlooked when searching for hot investment real estate. For example: in California there is an area called ‘the Venice Beach’ area. There was a film made there a few years ago that was loaded with skate boarders and surfers. Suddenly, Venice Beach became a very ‘cool’ place to live and real estate prices soared! So don’t overlook ‘cool’.

Keep both eyes on large corporation expansion plans. When corporations build, expand or even relocate the real estate market will boom simply because of demand for housing and small businesses.

If a Wal-Mart is going to be built in a town, can a McDonald’s be far behind? And all of those people who will be coming in to run Wal-Mart and all of the small businesses that it spawns will need housing.

Yes! Business can cause real estate prices to go up and can create hot properties for investment purposes!

Remember that old song that Willie Nelson recorded, “You have to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away and know when to run”. Although the song was about gambling the advice is solid for investing in real estate.

Choosing what properties to invest in should be made strictly upon solid facts. A building permit for a marina is solid proof that a marina is going to be built and that the adjacent property values are going to go up.

Your cousin telling you that he HEARD that a marina was going to be built is NOT a fact. It’s hearsay and you shouldn’t bet a lot on hearsay!  Investing in real estate is an excellent way to get a very high return but you really do need to know what you are doing to keep from losing your shirt.

According to the old real estate saying, “The only three things that matter in real estate are location, location and location.” The fact is that a ten bedroom, eight bath home with cathedral ceilings and a swimming pool that is sitting next to a garbage dump is nearly worthless.

On the other hand a little one bedroom, one bath shack sitting in the middle of downtown Dallas would be worth a small fortune. So you can see that the location is of the utmost importance when you are considering a piece of real estate to invest in.

What is it that makes the location of a piece of real estate valuable?

The answer is fairly simply really. The value is based on nothing more than the desirability factor. Desirability is a fluctuating intangible that is really hard to nail down.

Property that is totally undesirable to one person might be just the next person’s dream-come-true. And this phenomenon is true for real estate investors and for home buyers and for renters. It is true for all aspects of the real estate market.

The main point for any real estate investor to consider first is what their strategy will be for making a profit on a property. Buying is only half of the equation and whether the location of the property is good or bad depends upon that profit strategy.

For example: If an investor is going to invest in a property with the intention of just waiting for the market to go up, prime real estate is probably the very best choice.

Locations that are near entertainment centers or developing areas would be best because the likely hood that the property will increase in value simply by waiting is a pretty good bet.

On the other hand, if an investor is going to invest in a property with the intention of renting it and making a monthly income from it, he might be better off to look into urban properties. Urban properties wouldn’t be considered ‘prime’ real estate but they are ‘prime’ rental properties.

Then there are real estate investors who are handy with their hands. They can make repairs and renovations to rundown properties themselves, sell it for a great deal more than their purchase price and make a very nice profit.

The location that these kinds of real estate investors often find the best is in neighborhoods that are made up of mid priced homes in working neighborhoods.

There are many factors that real estate investors consider when they are deciding which property to invest in. One factor can be what I call the ‘snob’ factor.

It’s strange but people will pay a lot more money for a small property in the ‘right’ neighborhood than they will for a larger property in a less desirable neighborhood. However, one person’s definition of a ‘good’ neighborhood will not be anywhere close to another person’s definition of a ‘good neighborhood.

Then there is the ‘visibility’ factor. If a neighborhood or an area has become famous or even infamous, property values rise regardless of the location.

Convenience is another factor when considering the desirability of the location of a piece of property. People do like to live close to where they work and where their children attend school. Rising gas prices just might work wonders for real estate prices in inner cities.

The desirability of the location of any piece of real estate can be determined by a great many different factors for real estate investors and for home buyers and renters. If the location is desirable for the investor’s purposes he will invest.

If the location is desirable for a home buyer’s purposes then he will buy. If the location is desirable for a renter’s purposes then he will rent. So basically, you can roll all of the various factors for determining whether a location is good or bad into one simple work; desirability.

We are a nation of individuals. We all see things from a different point of view. Look around. There are people living everywhere. They live in big cities, small towns and in urban and rural areas. Who can determine what a ‘good’ location really is?

There is a proverb that says, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. The modern version would be ‘whatever floats your boat is good’.

In real estate it would translate to ‘if the location serves your purpose then it’s a good location’.

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