Having clear title is extremely important, but holding off on marketing the property for 1-5 days for the title company to find out if the title is clear is not a good use of precious days UNLESS you have a strong suspicion that the title is not clear.Teasing an investor with a property with a title issue is not promotive of satisfied customers.

My main goal right now is to learn as much as I can from knowledgable people so I don't make the common beginner mistakes that cost $.

I guess the corruption in Mexico is pretty common knowledge and that seems to set a tone.

Renters had rigged up some wiring to light the basement, and tapped into plumbing for water, but this is all very basic and can be capped off, I know an extremely good electrician.

Making contacts(via the internet), drafting a plan, getting my credit in line, securing funds, but I am finding I keep coming across a common road block.

John Corey thank you for your reply.Our area real estate market, as most in the US, is extremely dry as well as volatile.

Realtors are extremely valuable to me overall but in a case like this, having the ability to go directly to the homeowner to make an offer will only help your bottom line if Realtor fee's can be saved.That being said, I wanted to offer my method for making an offer.Granted, this is more effective when the property is "distressed" rather than an ordinary house listed for sale.I don't make offers like most do by offering a number and hope they will accept it or counter.

He is used alot by realtors who love his confidence and professional approach.I consider him extremely knowledgeable and one of the few in his field in our area that is competent.

What I'm now looking for is a some of the common pitfalls associated with this sort of deal.

In the State of Texas, a Land Trust is used by investors mainly to effectively mask the identity of the owner.The common reason for needing to mask the owners identity is when someone takes over the mortgage but the mortgage stays in the name of the seller.