1. Credit Check. This used to be important, now it’s critical. With today’s tight squeeze on credit by banks and lenders, finding out your credit score, and hence, ability to loan at a low rate is vital. You must find out your current standing, and what you can qualify for, as it has probably changed over the last 1-2 years. This includes getting pre-qualified for a loan. In this market, when you find the foreclosure or bank owned property you want, you have to be able to pull the trigger quickly. Double and triple check the pre-loan docs, so you have a fixed rate, and can afford the payments for the life of the loan.

2. Know your locale. Homework is the name of the game here. You need to study the neighborhood where you’re looking to buy meticulously. The better you know the neighborhood, the better you’ll be equipped to find the best deal. If your looking to flip, rent, or live in it yourself, you’ll want to buy significantly under the market value. And the only way to guarantee that is to study the neighborhood and its prices. Try going for a walk around the neighborhood at night. Do you feel safe? You always want to buy in a good neighborhood. Keep in mind: you can always change the property (i.e. painting, remodeling, etc.) but you can’t change the neighborhood. Be sure you’re looking in a good neighborhood.

3. Hunt. Here’s where you scour the street’s to see what’s available. There are no real secrets here; it just takes time and elbow grease. The best way to get a great deal is to know someone. Talk to your friends and family, build a network so that you’ll know every house coming and going off the market. This way, when a great deal comes along, you can snatch it up. Some other ideas are:

• Craigslist: You’ll sometimes find good deals here, search your local area, and for ‘for sale by owner’
• Drive around: This is sometimes a great way to find properties coming on the market, or that have recently come on the market. When you drive around, look for houses that aren’t kept up, and that look like they may be going into foreclosure soon. Watch them, and as they come for sale, try to talk to the owner about a possible quick sale.
• Foreclosure Auction: There are more and more of these popping up as the foreclosure and bank owned properties have grown. Check out: LandAuctionBid.Com and www.ushomeauction.com.

4. Connect. Connect with other real estate investors, and share your story. Work together with others to get a feel for how they are doing, for understanding their strategy, and how they are playing the current market. It’s said, “What one can do, 2 can do better” so do all you can to develop relationships with other investors. Get business cards made, join networking groups, talk to all the people you know. You want to make as many friends in the field as possible.

5. Proper Documentation. In today’s market of bank owned properties, quick sales, short sales, and foreclosures, you want to make sure you have documented everything properly. Have your real estate agent help you with the forms, but you take the responsibility in making sure he’s crossing his t’s and dotting his i’s. They should be current and they should be official to your state/city/county.

6. Reduce Costs. As you go through the loan, approval, and purchase process, there will be lots of little charges, including the inspection, title/escrow, and realtor fees. Even if you can reduce these by a little bit, you can save a bundle. Go through the charges with an experienced investor or real estate agent, and have them help you find the areas where you can save.

7. Have a Plan. Before you even get your credit checked you should have a plan. Are you going to flip it or are you going to rent it out. Are you going to keep the property as an investment home, maybe for vacations? Are you going to live in the property flat out? You need to know your plan ahead of time, and then organize that plan. Come up with all the different scenarios that might come up during your plan/project. If, for example, your plan is to flip the property – and the property needs a little work. You need to establish what you’re going to renovate and how much you’re going to spend on it. Plan for as much as you can. Write it out on your computer in a word doc, and know it to the letter.

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