Many people today are getting into the property business, especially in today's market.
So many homes are being repossessed and going into foreclosure, making this a perfect opportunity for investors to buy cheap properties that require a minimal amount of work but can turn a big profit.
Buying these homes, rehabilitating them and selling them for a profit is probably one of the biggest trends today.
If you have money to invest, time to spend a few weeks working on simple improvements, you stand a chance of making some good money in this business.
If you are knowledgeable in aspects of construction, or know some friends who are, the less money you have to spend on professionals to come in and do the work for you.
Finding these rehab properties are not hard to find.
You can check with banks, mortgage companies, and other lending services that have cheap properties for sale.
These people are eager to get these homes off their hands, and are willing to make a deal with you to get them gone.
You many often find that if a piece of real estate has been sitting for awhile, they may even except offers below what they advertise.
Even if you may not have to kind of money to make a large investment, there are lending agencies that specialize in helping people get loans to buy a property to fix and flip.
There are many reputable professionals who can help, but be careful before using one of these services.
Do some researching to find out the best service, how much they can loan you, what their interest rates are, etc.
Usually since it takes only a short amount of time to fix and flip a home, the rates are reasonable.
From there where do you go? Why you start looking for your first deal of course! Get a list of the properties that are of interest to you and go out and take a look at them.
You are on the lookout for investments that are the easiest to fix up and turn, not some dilapidated piece of junk that is better off just being torn down and started over.
You want sound foundations, good roof structures, and a good appearance at the very least.
Although you may not know a lot about structural integrity, electrical or plumbing, that is what a building inspector is for.
Once you have decided on ones that you like, hire a building inspector to do a thorough inspection of each one.
They have been well trained to spot problems that you may have never thought of, and can give you an honest opinion of whether or not the properties are worth your time.
Again, you want to find ones that take as little time to turn around as you can.
After that, you would go back and finish the closing on the one or ones you want and get ready to do some work.
You will need to go back, start taking pictures of the project before rehabilitating it, and start planning on what the first things you need to do.
Get your family and friends involved by asking them to bring you anything that they may have lying around their house that they aren't using anymore, like paint or fixtures that are still good, things like that.
You may want to have someone come in and do an estimate on how much some of these projects may cost, how much and what kinds of materials are needed and the like.
You don't have to use their services, but if you write down all the details, you may be able to find everything you need on your own.
There are many resources to help you.
You can go online and find wholesale material distributors, tips and advice on do it yourself projects, as well as many other things to help you.
You can find building inspectors, licensed contractors, and even wholesalers that buy these kinds of houses and have done all the beginning foot work for you.
A good way to pick up cheap supplies and materials is to go to discount retailers.
Some towns even have out lets from Habitat For Humanity, where they sell materials that were donated to them, which they haven't been able to use.
You will find all sorts of interesting items here, from plumbing and lighting fixtures, to drywall and other materials.