By understanding a variety of ways of structuring investment deals, you will not only increase your knowledge, but you'll become comfortable crafting deals of your own.In many cases, a mentor will work shoulder to shoulder with you in the field and explain to you why certain strategies may or may not be appropriate in a given situation.

if you absolutely want to find a potential seller (or sellers) and learn more about the area your trying to buy in - here are a few tricks.what would you rather have - a list of 700 names on an excel spreadsheet from the local tax base - or a list of 40 names of real sellers that you crafted yourself.a few tips -- pinpoint the area you want to purchase in.drive around that area and write down every rental property that has a hand scrawled for rent sign.

Old folks who have money and no memories are pretty boring company, so that should NEVER be a goal.

Get all bids in writing – I know you’d like to be able to do business with someone based on a handshake and a smile, but the reality is that memories fade and a good faith agreement can be misinterpreted by you or the contractor.

I purchased my first REO in 1983 or 1984 (memory loss) in San Jose CA.These days I focus a lot on deals that will cash flow if I am holding long term.

I'm about to close on a small single family home.Purchase $85kRepairs $8k (plus holding costs for 5 months)Misc purchase and selling costs $5kTax roll value $107kComp value about $108kAvg days on market about 79 (from memory)I'm going to FSBO, and see if that works for me.

Or did you read Edelman and then contact your attorneys to craft a plan to follow some of Edelman's recommendations?

That night I crafted a couple of different options for them.

You are sitting in the heart of one of the biggest real estate booms in memory.

ARV 2 mill+.2.7 mill and 2.9 million dollar houses in Memorial area