The Truth About "No Money Down" Investing
by Lance T. Walker
letsdodeals.net

I hear it all the time; "Can I really buy a house with no money down?"

The answer is, of course you can - but you'd better understand the game
if you're going to play it.

You see, in the real estate business, there are TWO equally important
forms of currency: Money and Time. And the less you have of one, the
more you'd better have of the other. Bottom line.

Money comes in two versions:
    • Yours (which we call cash), and
    • Someone else's (which we call credit).

Time comes in three basic variations:
    • Passive (as in market appreciation of property),
    • Active (as in sweat equity, or following up leads), and
    • Creative (as in research and study commitment).

Many would-be investors yearn for a no-money-down deal, but think that
making a trip downtown to the courthouse to research opportunities for a
couple of hours is too high a price to pay. The irony is that these same
people work 40 hours a week or more for a fraction of what they could
make on one real estate deal, and think it's normal!

"No money down" simply means none of your money down. Almost no one
who owns a real estate asset is going to be willing to part with it without at
least some sort of valuable compensation. And if you find someone who
is, I suggest you start looking for a toxic waste dump next door, or that new
highway about to be built. (Oops, that would be research. There's that time
investment thing again. Guess there's no getting around it, huh?)

"Creative financing" is the art of combining alternate forms of real estate
currency in place of cash. Your learning skills, selling skills, negotiating
skills, and just plain nerve will go a long way in determining your success
as a creative investor.

Make no mistake about it, however, most of the really good deals will require
at least some cash for you to take advantage of them. Closing costs, HUD
bids, bank-owned properties, even many "motivated sellers" will all require
cash. But what if you don't have any? Then it's time to call in your two secret
weapons: the private lender, and the ability to buy wholesale.

-- Lance T. Walker publishes online regularly at "letsdodeals.net: Helping you create a wealth-based retirement by combining hi-tech tools with time-tested real estate investing techniques." Get his free report, "Dare to Double Your Income - Even During a Recession", available at millennium-wealth-system.com.