You’ve seen it many times now over the past ten years and counting. Those late-night television infomercials pitching easy real estate investment schemes to wealth and happiness. So easy, they claim, that little to no money is needed! Now, it’s almost certain that these methods won’t work fully as advertised, but could they work even just a little bit? And how would they work, anyway?

Let’s take a look at that. The short answer is, yes, they could work just a little bit, employing common (as in, “common sense”) principles of the real estate business. Yes, it’s possible to get started in real estate with little or no money of your own. But what these infomercial pitchmen and women don’t ballyhoo about is the fine print, where conditions apply. Conditions such as maybe needing some property of your own to begin with!

So, strictly speaking, yes, you don’t need “money” per se, but you’d still need some kind of capital, a major asset like the deed to a house. Depending on the scheme, of course, you may not even need that, incredibly enough – but you would still need a long of time (not to mention sweat and quite possibly tears and outright blood) for “legwork,” running around a lot chasing one lead or another.

Nonetheless, it may still prove instructive to examine such ploys, which are often akin to buying a lottery ticket. That is to say, these methods could work for you; they certainly have for some other people. It’s also helpful to consider the mindset of some in this business, for human psychology is all-important when it comes to sales!

So, one oft-touted way of getting into real estate investment without money to spare is to simply take out a second mortgage on your existing property, or use that property as collateral to secure a line of credit from a bank or local savings and loan association. In essence, your home becomes your own personal bank! And like any other bank, you can get money from it. Simplistic? You bet. But it’s true, and it does work – or did, anyway, for around a decade, until the housing bubble collapsed across the country!

Another popular method that’s been touted by some late-night television courses is to install a rent-to-own tenant on the premises. The renter can be made to pay you anywhere from three to ten percent of the value of your property upfront in the form of a non-refundable deposit. This money is thousands, or even tens of thousands, of dollars for you i.f the tenant does not follow through with a purchase – at which point you get to keep the deposit and start the whole thing all over again!

Be advised, however, that such information as has been presented constitutes mere opinion only and should under no circumstances be misconstrued for professional advice of any kind whatsoever! Always consult those properly licensed and/or otherwise qualified when it comes to making business decisions of any financial importance.

Author Bio: Barbra I. Miller writes frequently on real estate topics for various online publications. Please visit RealEstateBlogNow.com for more great articles from industry insiders such as Isaac Toussie and others!

Category: Real Estate
Keywords: real estate, business, advice, property, property markets, realty