Josh Schlesselman

For all the active investors, and home buyers looking to get a great deal on your next property purchase, you may want to consider looking at foreclosure properties.

There are different types of foreclosed homes, but the most common types are: Pre-Foreclosure, Auction Sales, and the Post-Foreclosed homes. Other types that are harder to find are Tax Liens, and Sheriff Sales.

Pre-Foreclosure sales are just that, home owners in a property that are facing foreclosure and need to sale before the house is taken from them. Best sources to find these are in the local newspaper or by subscribing to a list online. Typically with these sales, you will need to have enough money to purchase the property in full from the home owners or have financing set up to where you can close fast depending on when the home goes into auction.

Auction sales are where the house has been seized by the attorneys and are trying to get the highest bidder for the property. The lenders will typically always bid what is due on the prior loan unless they are willing to take a loss. Just keep in mind that you must do your due diligence before hand on the property to know what your bidding on. Don't let emotions get the best of you when bidding, it is exciting, but don't bid too much!

Post-Foreclosed properties are property that the lender has retaken control of due to not getting a highest bidder at the auction. They are typically referred to as HUD, VA, or REO property. These are the most readily accessible properties and are listed on the MLS. They are usually priced pretty competitively due to the bank wanting a quick sale, but the bank is usually not too negotiable on price and terms. Nevertheless, if your looking for a great deal and are pretty handy or know some contractors, you could save thousands.

To get a first hand look at foreclosures across the country, please visit my site at JoshSellsVirginia.com. I have the insiders list to all foreclosed property and your next great deal!

In our current financial market, it has become increasingly more difficult for the average real estate investor to purchase an investment property due to the large downpayment requirements, especially with multi-family property.

There are a couple of ways to get around the large downpayment requirements coming out of your pocket. The old philosophy of OPM, or using Other People's Money, still holds true, why not leverage yourself to do more? Just be certain that if you plan to leverage yourself and "borrow" the money, have a strategy in place to payback what you have borrowed, the easiest way is from the newly acquired property.

The most common way to leverage is to secure a line of crediton one of your existing properties, whether it's investment property or your home that you live in. You can "borrow" the downpayment from one home to put into another. Keep in mind, that your downpayment reduces the loan amount, so taking from one property to another is not money wasted, but essentially moving money from one home to another. It's a great way to acquire a new property with money sitting in your current home.

You can also "borrow" the money from some alternative sources such as your IRA. Using your IRA, you can use some of your retirement money to further your investing and once again, just pay yourself back over time. If you plan to invest long term, there is no better way to ensure a more healthier retirement than from a property paid off completely and the rental income generating from it directly in your pocket monthly.

There are other ways to get the money as well, you can look into your stocks, mutual fundsand even life insurance policies. You may want to speak with your financial advisor/planner to get the specifics, but once again, a great way to leverage yourself for long term wealth.

The last item to mention is very basic. You can sell an existing property to acquire a new one. For long term investing, not always the best strategy, but if the newer property is significantly superior, then may be worth entertaining. The draw back to this is if you sell an investment property for another investment property, you can get taxed Capital Gains of 15% on the net proceeds. That is of course, unless you utilize the 1031 Tax Free Exchange. Taking your proceeds from one property to the next without physically taking control of the funds will constitute the tax free exchange. For more details on 1031 Exchanges, visit my site at JoshSellsVirginia.com.

I hope this topic is helpful to many of the investors out there that are frustrated because of all the good deals to be had but not having the money needed to get into the game.

For our current market in Hampton Roads, Virginia, there is an abundance of great properties for sale. If you've ever thought about investing or are currently investing in real estate, this is the time for you to make your money. With the large surplus of available properties, investors are negotiating great deals on great producing property.

This is the time to buy a property, rent it, and hold it for the next 5 to 10 years, preferably. You have experienced the market correction and real estate here locally is between 3-5% less than it was a year or two ago. Not only that, but there is a great cushioning affect with seller contributions and negotiations on price. I have noticed some great rental units with excellent prices, and they would be great to pick up, rent out, and sit on the cash flow.

I think the mulit-family properties are the way to go for long term investments. Primarily because of the cash flow. If you were to pick up a 3 or 4 unit building at a reduced price, and rent them for market rent, and hold it. You would make more cash flow and as each year goes by, you will make even more. The main differences between single family and multi family is that you only have one tenantin a single family, and if they don't pay rent, your out 100% of your rental income, whereas, with a 4 unit, you would only be out 25% of your rental income. Also, with yearly rental increase, your cash flow will be exponentially more with multi-family because if you increase $25 a unit, that's only $25 for a single family per month more, whereas a 4 unit once again, that would be $100 per month more for each year. That's add up!

Once the market begins to shift back within the next year or so, those that took advantage of this market will reap the benefits. Properties will begin to appreciate again and the reduced price you received will be realized as instant equity and gain.

It costs more to invest in this market, but for those that know the old saying, it takes money to make money, holds true. Check out my site for further investing information.

As an agent in Hampton Roads, Virginia, are real estate market here has been thankfully steady compared to a large majority of other marketplaces. I have been specializing in RE investments for about 5 years, and work with a large amounts of investors, including Rehabbers.

I have been advising my rehab clients to start looking at multi-family vs. single family for a couple of reasons. There are always investors in the market, so as long as you can negotiate a great deal, fix it, and sell it for a price where another investor can make cash flow, it will sell. Also, in my opinion, it seems as though our mulit-family and small residential commercial properites have held their values much better than single family. The biggest motivating factor I share with my clients is that with our market slower, it takes longer to sell, so why not go multi family and rent the property while it's on the market for sale, and make positive cash flow. Virtually no holding costs at that point and it takes the burden of an empty house and payment off your shoulders. You most certainly can't do that with single family and hope that an investor will come along, because they usually won't make the necessary cash flow without putting a large downpayment. Buyers that want to purchase will find something without a lease!

All in all, there is still hope for rehabbers in our market. This is one of the safest ways to rehab in our market and not lose all your profits while trying to sell. If you would like other investment ideas, visit my website at JoshSellsVirginia.com

I speak to a lot of clients on a regular basis, and one question I hear frequently is "When will the real estate market shift back?" That's a question that is on everyone's mind. So let's explore it and see if we can make any sense of it.

Real estate is driven by supply and demand. When there are more homes available than there are buyer's buying, you are consequently in a buyer's market, like we are in now. When there are more buyers than there are seller's selling, you are in a seller's market.

Buyer's markets are good for buyers because they can get good deals on homes, sellers will typically pay more in closing costs and are more reasonable on pricing. Seller's markets are good for sellers because housing prices appreciate because the demand is so high, just as in buyers markets, housing prices stagnate or correct because demand is lower. Sellers will get better deals in sellers markets and will typically make more money on the sale with a faster sale time.

We have been in our current market now for about 3 years. The average cyclical market time is between 3-7 years, depending on the economy and other factors such as mortgages and interest rates. It's been expected that the market should regain it's footing after the elections and start leveling some. However, that is just speculation at this point. We will not see the effects on our markets until we know how regulations will impact us, referring to capital gains, housing regulations, mortgage regulations, ect.

To keep things in prospective, we should be very close to rebounding from this housing correction, that is to say, as long as rates remain low, real estate taxes are kept as is or lowered, and the economy picks back up. However, if your currently looking to purchase, don't let the real estate information scare you into not purchasing, because the more properties saturating the market, the harder it will be for us to make a comeback. Everyone has a part in this, including you!