Help With Investing - Selected Resources For Help With Investing

by Steve Gillman

With a job that paid $3.40 an hour, I saved $5,000. I used $3,500 of it to buy my first piece of real estate - 2 acres near where I lived. As you can guess, this was many years ago.

A few hours removing brush, and it was ready to sell. I hand-painted a sign, and two weeks later sold the land for $4,750, with $250 down, $100 per month, at 11% interest. With the capital gain, my annual return on investment was over 20%. Not bad, for my first time investing in real estate.

Creative Investing Means Solving Problems

I bought the land a little under market, because the seller needed fast cash. Problem one solved. I sold the land a little over market value because the buyers needed easy terms. Problem two solved. Creative real estate investing is about solving problems.

Radio stations and others need hill tops for their towers, but can't tie up their capital. One creative investor got options on hill top properties for a few hundred dollars, then found those who needed them, and signed long term leases. With the leases in hand, it was easy to get financing to buy the properties. He invested a few hundred dollars to create years of income.

Lumber mills need trees. A friend of mine helped solve this problem by letting a company cut trees on his small property. They paid him $4,500, and you know what? I couldn't see the difference when they were done. The property is residential, and was worth as much the day after the cut as the day before. He lived there, but a creative investor could buy property like his, sell half the trees, maybe clay or gravel too, and then re-sell the land.

What do people need? Easy terms? Cleared lots? Lumber? Better access to a piece of property? Smaller pieces of land? Condos instead of apartments? The list goes on. When you think creative real estate investing, think problem solving.

About the Author

Steve Gillman has invested real estate for years. To learn more, and to see a photo of a beautiful house he and his wife bought for $17,500, visit http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com

Yahoo! News Search Results for help investing
Yahoo! News Search Results for help investing

Renovations help bring 'Palm Beach' to the airport
3 Sep 2010 at 7:40pm
Renovations help bring 'Palm Beach' to the airport
Jonathan Burton's Life Savings: 'Nifty 50/50' portfolio keeps investing simple
1 Sep 2010 at 10:11pm
Investing is complex rocket science that requires professional help -- at least that's what the professionals usually say. But a strong case can be made for investors following a design principle known as KISS, which in this case stands for: Keep it simple, saver.
Alberta probes federal foreign workers program
3 Sep 2010 at 6:11pm
The Alberta government is investing $850,000 to help temporary foreign workers adjust to life in Alberta while reviewing the federal program's effectiveness, Alberta's labour boss said Friday.
Do you have what it takes to be wealthy?
2 Sep 2010 at 10:25am
Smart saving and investing habits are a great way to amass real money. But studies show that lots of other things -- from your marital status to your looks -- can help or hurt too. To size up your odds, take this quiz.
Grant to help simulation center train more health care workers locally
4 Sep 2010 at 2:47am
With possible state cuts to higher education looming, the nursing programs at local colleges will receive a boost in simulated hands-on training through a nationwide initiative.
Google alumnus fosters startup culture in China
4 Sep 2010 at 6:36am
Kai-Fu Lee, who headed Google Inc.'s Chinese division during its biggest growth years, is investing in a mobile-software maker and 11 other businesses in the country to foster a startup culture and benefit from booming demand for Web technology. Tapas, a... Google - China - Kai-Fu Lee - Searching - Search Engines
Stimulus funds for BWI projects help to keep workers employed
2 Sep 2010 at 10:00pm
Keith Jones, a project manager for Baltimore-based P. Flanigan & Sons, watched Thursday as his construction crew at one end of the parking lot apron at Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport worked on a new underground system that collects de-icing fluid from planes. Business - Investing - BWI - Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport - Canada
Not-so-dire jobs report gives stocks a boost
3 Sep 2010 at 8:07pm
The stock markets topped off their best week in a month Friday, as the latest jobs report calmed fears that the sputtering economy was headed toward a double-dip recession. Business - Equities - Investing - Stocks and Bonds - Employment
War is over
4 Sep 2010 at 3:23am
Ahmed Jamal says it isn?t primarily Iraq?s violence that deters his company from investing in the country. It is its weak business laws. ?We don?t have factories or warehouses or anything like that,? said Jamal, regional sales manager for Istanbul-based beverage distributor Hayat Su, which brings bottled water to Iraq in trucks and works through a local representative. ?The investment laws are ...
Increase comfort by decreasing heel height
2 Sep 2010 at 2:12pm
Investing in good-quality shoes will help ease your aches and pains. Choose rubber soles, which are better for shock-absorbtion. Leather uppers, which conform better to the shape of your feet and breathe better, will offer superior comfort to synthetics.

Creative Real Estate Investing Techniques