1.  Determine a financial route.

If you are not a US citizen, your choices are very limited to either paying cash or getting a hard money loan.  If you are looking to get a hard money loan, we have a group we work with or do a 'Google' search for 'Hard money or Private money lenders' in the city you are looking to buy in.

2.  Decide which purchasing method is best for you.

There are 5 essential paths to purchasing properties:

	Advantage	Disadvantage
Auctions	You may find a great deal. Most large cities have groups that go to the auctions regularly and are extremely competitive. You may want to buy from them.	Most of the time the properties are 'clear title'. Occasionally you may find a property that has some issues that need to be resolved to get the title cleared. In some cities the list of properties going to auction doesn't come out until the day of the auction which gives little time for due diligence. You may end up with tax liens and HOA fees liens. These issues can be resolved by working with the Title company and may delay closing. There will be no disclosures of any deficiencies in the homes. 'Sold as is'
Tax Liens	You will probably get a good deal.	Tax liens may take up to 5 years to cure (no revenue for 5 years) depending on the county you are buying in.
Short Sales	You may get a good deal. Typically these are listed on MLS or may be through a private investor.	This process can take 2 months to 2 years to close. Don't put in offers unless you know the short sale has been approved by the bank already! Verify that the title will be 'clean'.
Bank Owned Foreclosures/ MLS	You can get a good deal. The title will be 'clear' at closing.	You will need a good agent. When buying from MLS you will find that it is very competitive. It is a numbers game. Be patient. Keep putting in offers until you get one accepted. Leave yourself 5-10 days for due diligence. There will be no disclosures of any deficiencies in the homes. 'Sold as is'
Privately Owned	You can negotiate price. There are several private companies that specialize in short sales for example. They sell off some of the properties to other buyers. Can find some good deals as well.	Know your prices so that you don't pay over market price.

3. Define your investment strategy.

• Buy Fix Sell properties can be difficult to do at this time with the market as it is. Purchasing a property that is in good condition and has enough equity to flip is a needle in a haystack.
• The best strategy at the moment for out of town investors is to purchase properties in average neighborhoods and make them available for renting. You can purchase properties at greatly reduced prices today and obtain very good rents in most markets. Because the property prices are so depressed they will eventually go back up and you will gain good appreciation in the future.
• Rent To Own/Lease Option is a very attractive option at present for tenants who have lost their homes in foreclosure.  Many of these people have good income and would like an option that can help them get back into owning their own family home in the future.

4. Find a good agent.

Regardless of which income strategy you use, you will eventually need to rely upon an agent to help you find a buyer, renter or lease/option tenant. We provide access to our power team members for buyers wishing to work with us to purchase properties.