1) Determine a location and strategy
Define the area you want to invest in based on economic fundamental research; this includes breaking down your criteria to find the best neighborhood to suit your investment style. Next, you’ll want to determine your strategy. Are you specializing in long term holds (and if so, how long will you hold)? Short term flips? Renovation deals? Foreclosures? Tip: Review your financial plan and personal goals for the next 15, 10, five and three years. This will help you decide which strategy to use when looking for your property. Start from the end goal and work backwards.

2) Get pre-approved
Do you have your financing in place? Get pre-approved. You may not always know where your financing is coming from, but it is less stressful to have a few options lined up, and doing so makes you look like the professional you are. Be certain to have a back-up plan, or Plan B, to close your deal if things don’t go as expected at the bank or lender. Tip: Before you go to the bank, prepare a detailed financial binder. Include your employment history, tax statements, asset and liability sheet as well as current financial statement.

The current real estate market is definitely a buyer’s market. With the high availability of homes on the market and interest rates at historical lows, this is an opportune time for buyers to purchase the home of their dreams at an affordable monthly payment.

If you have been saving to purchase a first home and have a good credit score and reasonable debt-to-income ratio then this is a great time for you to buy a home. Not only will you have a variety of homes to choose from, some that may not have been affordable if the market had been different, but you will also be able to obtain an affordable loan payment at a low fixed interest rate.

Be cautious, however, not to buy beyond your means. Consider all the costs of home ownership, such as upkeep, taxes and insurance, before you buy!

This is also a great time for renters with a stable income to consider purchasing a home. With so many homes on the market, many due to foreclosures, you may be able to find an affordable home that requires very little down. You could even look into purchasing a small home, holding it until the market turns upward, then sell and move into a larger home.

Newly retired couples, who have their home paid for and good retirement, may find this is a good time to purchase a vacation home.  With the good interest rates and the lower home prices, they may find a good deal that they otherwise may not have been able to afford.

For those who have money to tie up, this is a great time to purchase a home as an investment or rental. As a precaution, it is important that you can afford to hold onto the property for awhile. Use your purchase as a rental property for  a few years. When you’re ready to sell it, you’ll find you’ve made a good investment.

Owning a Home isn’t the same kind of investment as stocks and bonds. What you get is a USE asset that depreciates over time while it grows in market value. All you have to do is keep your home in good repair to maximize your investment.