* Investors Wading Back Into The Real Estate Pond
Last Sunday, the Herald-Sun had four good articles about real estate investing;
- Foreclosure business gets big at auction
- Chasing deals at the auction block
- Opportunities exist to hit it big in new housing market
- ‘Hard money’ lenders at work for the gamblers
The articles mainly focused on buying foreclosure property on the courthouse steps. Collectively, they are a good introduction to that aspect of investing in real estate — they are worth the read. It is worth noting, however, that buying houses at the courthouse is probably the most risky way to purchase property. Buying at the courthouse does not allow the purchaser to thoroughly inspect the property, and possibly leaves the new owner subject to superior liens [for example, an IRS lien stays with the property even after foreclosure].
As for the “hard money” article, it does a great job of making hard money lenders look like day traders. “Hard money” has its place as a means for investors to purchase a property and resell it in a short period of time [either as a "fix-and-flip," or to resell to another investor]. No one I know of, however, looks like Gordon Gecko while doing it.
Taken as a whole a whole page of the Sunday paper dedicated to real estate investing tells me that people see the market as having potential. Given Durham’s relative stability over the past few years, that could be especially true here. If you would like to hear more about how real estate investing can fit into your investment plans, please email me and we’ll get started.
