When my eyesight was just a little bit sharper than it is today, I could shoot a fairly respectable game of billiards. If you know anything about shooting billiards or pool, then you probably already know that position is what makes a winning pool player.

Getting Good Position

Each time you shoot a ball in the pocket, you must concern yourself with where the cue ball (the one you shoot) ends up so you’ll have a clear unobstructed shot at the next ball. That’s called getting good position. When you don’t have good position, chances are you won’t make your next shot. If you don’t, then you lose your turn as the shooter to your opponent.

Why settle for one shot deals?

Obviously, when you miss your shot, you’re no longer in control of the game.

Real estate investing is a lot like playing billiards. You can settle for buying properties with very limited potential (one shot deals) or you can position yourself to earn bigger prof­its by acquiring the kind of real estate that pays off in several different ways. Obviously, your chances of being a winner are greatly increased when you can make money a vari­ety of different ways with the same real estate.

Under-Performers

Buying rundown properties or “under­performers” is the quickest way to build CASH FLOW and EQUITY. The main reasons are: you can purchase at discount prices, and rundown properties are generally rented out for less than their fixed-up potential. Often this allows for a fast round of rent increases. There is generally visible evidence of why properties are under-performing.

Solve Problems

As a buyer you can reap big benefits if you are willing and able to help solve distressed seller’s problems. In the process, you can build large equities quickly that might other- wise take years to develop with non-fixer real estate. This technique is known as “adding value” and it’s especially suited for new inves­tors without much money to start with.

The Kind of Properties You Should look For

The kind of properties you should look for will generally fall into one of the following categories:

1. Rundown and Ugly: No maintenance being done.

2. Bad Tenants: Junk cars, motorcycles and lots of Visitors.

3. Half-empty Properties: Tall weeds, garbage on grounds, unsightly.

4. Financial Problems: Foreclosure, bankruptcy and bank repos,

5. Partially Completed Buildings: Activity stopped lack of funds.

The reason you are looking for ugly, dis­tressed and financially-bust type properties is that they represent serious problems for their owners. The idea is to use your time and your personal efforts to fix these problems in lieu of regular cash down payments.

Corrected problems have cash values. Often the price to correct a problem will amount to a much higher dollar value than the normal cash down payment might have been. The point is, your Willingness and personal ability to fix problems for others can create a very profitable opportunity for you. Many investors, including myself, have used this wealth-building technique to quickly develop large real estate portfolios. It is the perfect solution for anyone without down payment cash – which includes most of us when we’re just starting out.

What Kind of Sellers Own Rundown Properties?

The following list will give you some idea of sellers most likely to own distressed real estate and who are willing to sell.

A.     Out-of town owners

B.     Owners with financial problems

C.    Family problems (divorce, death, life-style changes)

D.    For sale by owners ads (all newspapers)

E.     Owners who have lost jobs

F.     Elderly or disabled

G.    Inherited property owners

H.     Owners who advertise lease options or even houses for rent

I.         Job transfers – owner moved, now has two house payments