Investing in real estate in Chicago has an attractive appeal. I’m sure you’ve all seen the TV infomercials where a guru interviews his students and they claim to have made 30k in 3 weeks. Is that possible? Definitely, and everyone gets excited and decides that they want to participate too. After purchasing your product and your CD collection, all the excitement is over. Now what?
I came up with 5 quick ways to get involved in real estate investing without having to buy a CD or educational program from self-proclaimed gurus.
1. Find a real estate networking group that is serious about what it does. The best way to find groups in Chicago is through Meetup.com and REIevents.com. WCRT is a good group, as is your local REIA, reia.org. Take everyone’s business card!
2 Get a newspaper and call all the “We Buy Houses” classifieds. Also, if you’re driving and see one of those ads, call that number. When they answer the phone, just say who you are and want to know more about what they buy. The key is to listen, because you’ll hear exactly what Chicago real estate investors are doing and looking for.
3 Read 1-2 books dealing with personal development and real estate. Everyone’s favorite in Chicago, if not in the US, is Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad. Your book is a great eye opener and helps adjust your thinking about wealth. For real estate, The Real Estate Millionaire by Keller Williams has interviews and biographies of many investors across the country.
4 Drive around your neighborhood and start noticing the “ugly” houses in your backyard. Take note of the address and you will see that the house is in foreclosure. The best way to do this, if you live in Cook County, is to go to http://www.cookcountyassessor.com/data/searchflat/search.asp and put in the specified address. Once you find the information, write down the PIN number. That pin can be used on other websites to find a) who owns it and b) if they are in foreclosure.
5 Ask the investors you have met and talked to what you could do to help them. Many investors pay up to $1,000 for each property they find they buy. Just start by asking friends and family if they know someone who needs help and get that number. Call that person and see if they need to sell, if so connect them with your group of investors and follow up.
There are so many other ways to get started that it can make your head spin. I hope these little tips can help you get started, if anything help guide you. Many Chicago real estate investors are making a fortune right now and so should you.