Always make sure your utility bills are based of actual readings and not estimates.  7) I put everything I can on a 0% credit card and hoard my cash for laborers.This allows me to earn points that I use for statement credit which really adds up.  

What is the one trick, that you use for earning money in real estate investment?

We've walked the perimeter and peaked in windows but we still have not actually been inside. 

I can definitely help someone out with a few hundred if I'm earning a couple grand from the transaction.

What is sometimes lost to people is how much they are earning for the time they put into their buy and hold.

Probability says we are reaching a peak in the market... surely we have reached the midway point... this is why places are not cashflowing. 

THEY DON'T HAVE JOBS NOW RIGHT.......There are properties and strategies you can use to obtain property in your area, within an hr radius of you, I almost did it during what would have been the bottom of the crash nationally but the peak of the boom locally - I just didn't end up entering the Douglas market.

I have also purchased a rental property (paid in full since it's hard for a trust to get a loan) which brings about $1000 a month back into the 401k.As mentioned above, there are some pretty restrictive rules about how you can use that money, for example, I'm a Realtor, but when I sell the rental property, I will have to hand it off to another Realtor since I am restricted from earning a commission on the sale. 

The better areas of Chicago just like the better real estate markets of the nation have quickly bounced back towards peak prices, so the equity bet is risky.  

I bought it near the peak of the market and was under water in 2009 when we needed to move for a new job.