How can you make a profit?
The price of real estate always has a trend of moving upwards but buying investment homes for profit is not a lucrative venture if you purchase the property when the market is high. So it is imperative to check out the current market trends preferably weekly trends that are available on many websites before you consider looking at homes in a particular area. In certain states like Arizona, California, Nevada and Florida, the real estate prices have plummeted, offering potential future rewards for buyers. So this is a wonderful time for buying investment homes for profit in these states. Also the fact that the number of foreclosures and short sales are sky rocketing means that you can purchase homes at dirt cheap rates.
Finances
Unfortunately very few people can actually boast of enough liquidity to buy a house without taking recourse to regular financing options. If you are going to need a loan, it would be best to analyze your credit before you put in the hard work of rummaging through MLS sites. In this economic environment, procuring a loan is getting increasingly difficult and nothing less than the perfect credit rating will do for the weary lenders. The norm is that you would need a 20% down payment which means that in order to purchase a home worth $250,000 you would need to have liquidity to the tune of $50,000!