Flipping Out (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Buy low, sell high! That is the smart investor‘s creed. With the economy being in a down mode, the price of homes have declined significantly. Investors who are fortunate enough to get a loan or have cash to purchase real estate as an investment in today’s real estate market can expect to do well.

Long gone are the days of “flipping” property. Flipping property is when investors purchase a property and then sell the property almost immediately. Investors receive a considerable return on their investment because the value of the property has increased significantly from the time the investor purchased the property to the time they sold (or flipped) the property. In 2012, flipping property will lead an investor down the road to poverty. The key to successful investment in real estate is to invest with the idea of holding onto the property for a period of time; perhaps five to seven years or more. While holding onto the property, investors rent out the property to earn income that could offset the mortgage.

This afternoon I ran across an article titled How to Make Money – Buying a Vacation/Rental Home written by Song-Bird. In this article, Song-Bird lists key strategies to owning and renting a Vacation/Rental Home. There is also a video with television news personality and real estate expert Vera Gibbons. Gibbons talks about bargains in real estate and mentions the best states to purchase property at below market prices. Four of the states mentioned are California, Nevada, Arizona, and Florida, among others. I have to tell you, I did not think I would ever see the day when California would be listed as a distressed property state. But, right now, if you are thinking of purchasing a home for basement prices, California is one of the states to consider.

Song-Bird is a fellow writer who writes articles on a variety of topics.

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