The simple answer is, yes. With any investment comes risk, but studies repeatedly conclude that over 90% of wealthy individuals have become wealthy through real estate.

Investing in real estate works better than any other system of business to produce wealth if and only if you have the right knowledge and skills. So, do your research or partner with someone who specializes in this type of investment to reduce your risk and maximize profits.

Unfortunately, there is no “one size fits all” answer to that question. In the USA, short sales and lease options are great techniques to get started towards producing strong profits. In other parts of the world with more stringent banking laws, you may need more extensive knowledge on how to start private capital funds and similar ventures to get around having to have out of pocket cash.

Donald Trump once said that using your own money in a deal is just “lazy.” If you understand how to correctly negotiate discounts, you can always find capital partners, banks, private lenders and others sources to fund your deals. No matter who you are, eventually your money runs out and so you have to learn how to raise capital in order to build and sustain wealth. No one ever got rich using only their own money. The single biggest misconception is that having “debt” is a bad thing. Nobody ever achieved wealth without it. It’s true that high interest credit cards and consumer debts are bad.

However, all businesses use loans and private capital debts that generate more incoming profits than the debt requires them to pay out. That is the only path to wealth. There is no limit to the number of profit producing debts that you can afford.

There are tons of free resources online that will teach you the basics you will need to proceed with real estate investing. However, the expertise that Millennium Strategic Investments offers is second to none. Your individual needs will be considered to help you secure the right investment opportunity customized just for you.

If you haven’t already, check out our services page to learn more about how Millennium Strategic Investments can help you!

There is another huge misconception that you need to buy real estate in the right area. Learn to invest your money in great deals, not great areas. If you’re looking to buy a second property and you want to hold it for a long period of time, then I’d strongly urge you to focus on the fundamentals of cash flow. However, if you learn to buy property with significant discounts built right into the purchase, you will be immune to almost any local market conditions. To successfully make money in real estate you need to learn to buy significant equity at the moment of purchase and then sell that equity. The “best area” to accomplish that is anywhere you can find such a deal. That’s why all great investors know that making money in real estate happens when you buy, not when you sell.

The best types of properties to buy are much like what are the best areas to buy. The best types of properties to buy are ones that give you significant equity right at closing. That means that you are buying it for cheaper than the rest of the local market would value that piece of property for. The best types of properties to buy are the ones that offer the largest discounts with a fixable solution to why they were sold to you for that cheap. That can be any type of property.

You have probably heard a lot on TV about this type of investing. When you rehab or “flip” a property, you’re really just trading your time for money. Having said that, you do not have an unlimited amount of time to fix properties. While you can certainly earn a profit this way, it is extremely rare for people to become wealthy from “flipping.”

I have seen investors who knew little about buying with equity put their time and sweat only to walk away breaking even with six months of labor and time wasted. I would suggest you learn to achieve favorable contracts and financing rather than learning how to swing a hammer. The former is much more profitable and it consumes a lot less time.

There are many “gurus” who offer $5,000 weekend boot camps and expensive coaching. The bulk of what you will learn is motivation. While motivation is an essential part of your success, you will probably not get fair equal return on your investment. The best investment advice is always found at your local real estate investment club. There you will find real investors who are using techniques that work. If you don’t waste their time, you will usually get 10-30 minutes of their time to “pick their brain” with relevant questions about how you should focus your efforts. Having a real person that you can ask real questions to is worth its weight in gold.

There are many quality courses out there that could help you achieve lasting success. Be wary of courses that have endless “up-sells” with boot camps, personal coaching, and more detailed courses on the same material. Don’t buy hype and seminars. A true real estate course should be a complete guide from start to finish so that you can complete the type of investment you are trying to accomplish without the need for additional information.

Admittedly, we are clearly biased on the subject, but I would have you check out Matthew David’s Short Sale Mastery, Matthew David’s Lease-Option King and Cash Flow Fundamentals. All of them are written in collaboration with real life wealthy real estate investors using the techniques in the real world.

Most new investors are able to grasp the techniques but they do not have enough qualified sellers to apply their techniques. As with any business, you will need to have strong communication skills, good technique know how, and creative marketing knowledge. It will take time to learn these but the good news is that you only have to learn them once to become wealthy.