Ever really wonder whether flipping houses is the right thing for you?  Maybe after watching all the shows on TV you finally decided it was time to jump in head first into the world of Flipping.  Good for you, if you mapped out a plan to become financially free of the slavery of society and decided to be your own BOSS.

But then again, do you want to be a BOSS?  Are you just leaving one job for another?  Maybe. 

Flipping houses, although often depicted as an exciting and glamorous lifestyle can often be everything but exciting and glamorous.  It can be very time consuming and research intensive, but is most surely not something for the faint of heart.  From countless hours of researching titles, property values, and driving neighborhoods - to attending auctions, supervising repairs and construction; flipping is much more than just a business.  It’s a lifestyle.

Indeed, there is a lot of money to be made in Flipping houses, but at what cost?  Before determining that Flipping is the way to enter the real estate market, know that it is not really a business, its a JOB.  By Job, I mean this - If you were to flip 2 houses a month, you would have the income to sustain yourself based on the income you make from your flips.  But if you took off a month or two, what happens to your income?  It dissapears.  So, by not having income when your not working, you have a JOB!

On the other hand, if you have developed your trade to the level that you have employees that handle the everyday operations to include the property searches, evaluation, offers and even the rehab and closing, you just may be on to something!  If not, you may want to try the buy and hold strategy and let someone else manage it for you.  Once you have enough properties producing cash flow that you can leave town for a month or two and not have to work, then your a business owner!

Happy Home Hunting!

Continuously and constantly trying to keep up with the Jones Family eh?  Trying to stay ahead of the game and keep those prices close to retail?  What are you to do as a real estate agent when the market is working faster than you can price the homes? 

Ok, so maybe the market is slow, but the technology is zooming ahead at light speed.  Just a few years ago, we were being introduced to successful sites like Zillow.com and Trulia.com, which made it easier to do market analysis without the need of an agent.

Now there is even better toys to play with and they are more game like than ever - Realius.com.  This little gem brought to you courtesy of ZipRealty is a site that is geared toward customer valuation.  Just log in, pick your market (Only a few available at this time, but more being added) and do a home search.  Once you find what you want, you now have the opportunity to determine future sale price of this home and earn credibility with your correct guesses.

Try it now at www.realius.com and let us know what you think!

Here we are in round two of the market crisis.  First the housing bust and then just when things start to clear back up - WHAM! Just about every bank in the finance sector is either overdrawn, under managed, or both - at what point do we determine the the coast is clear.  Looks like the ride is just starting.

So, today, the word is out that Zillow is now planning on laying off 25% of its workforce.

Is this the time to start stocking up on can goods and preparing for the long haul?  Maybe, but what about the 85% or more of Americans that are going to ride this recession out with fairly few bumps.  Is there any plans to start thinking about this debacle as a opportunity, or continue down the path of worries and safety.

If there was ever a opportunity in not only the real estate market, but also the stock market at the same time, it is now.  This may be the opportunity of a lifetime for many, but it doesn’t look like there’s been many bites.

Even Warren Buffet and Donald Trump are getting in on this deal, and its one heck of a deal too!  If this were a train, id buy a ticket before it leaves the station.

Most if not all of us at some point will come across a deal that is too good to pass up.  When this does happen (and it will), being ready to jump on it will determine whether your going to make some money or a lot of it. 

How do I prepare for a deal, you might ask.  You have to have the funds available to you before the deals start rolling in and not after.  By developing your relationships with the banks that you use regularly, you can build a credit that will one day be used to purchase properties, when you need it.

If there is a bank that you have been using for a while, start out by getting a unsecured loan for $1000.00 dollars and place it in a subsequent account at another bank that has a good interest rate.  I suggest using a money market account which can get you upwards of 3-5% return on your money.  One I like in particular is www.flagstar.com which has a 3.65% return.

If you can start small and get a unsecured loan for a nominal amount, then pay it back over the course of 3 to 6 months, you can slowly build up your loan amounts that the bank will offer.  If you start to find problems with getting larger loans, try speaking with the loan officer first - if he can’t help or won’t, talk with his supervisor. 

If you find that your bank is not willing to work with you on getting larger loans, let them know that you have been a valuable customer, have an impeccable credit rating, and are always on time with paying back your loans.  If they still don’t budge, tell them you are going to have to take your business elsewhere. 

Most banks want to keep the business of people that are good with loan payments and can afford large loans.  Since this is going to be your main vein for funding your deals, you will need to pay close attention to developing a relationship with your bank.

After you have built your credit up to a sufficient amount, usually $30,000 or more in available loan credit, move on to other banks and use the same technique.  Eventually, you will have a good source of cultivated funds for immediate cash.

Many see the lavish lifestyles of pioneers of our greatest industries and assume that it is impossible to follow in their footsteps.  Bill Gates popularized the graphical user interface to allow people to visualize computers, Henry Ford revolutionized the way we travel, and Donald Trump changed the the way we do real estate. What most don’t realize is that they used a basic and rudimentary technique to get where they are today. 

The direction that an economy takes is established by providing what the public wants.  What it needs is good too, but what it wants is the driving factor that causes buzz, induces a buying extravaganza that fulfills the public needs and drives demand.  The key is to know what the public wants, before it even knows it. 

If we all knew that iPods were going to become one of the greatest electronic devices ever invented, we would all have tried to invest in it when Apple unveiled it in October of 2001.  Since then, Apple has had not only a resurgence, but an awakening.

When a company fills a void that has little or no market, there is always the ability to turn into a super performer.  Look at the example of Vonage — this company was able to take the unknown realm of Internet telecommunications and turn it into a billion dollar venture.  They saw the capacity for the Internet to support high quality communications by using the a customers pre-existing Internet connect as the conduit for this medium.  They tapped into an area that had not been explored on a mainstream basis, packaged it, and sold it to the masses.

When there is a need, fill it.  When one is filled, recognize it and invest in it.