Obviously, flipping is not an option. How about rental properties? Foreclosures?

I'm real leery of the foreclosure market. It takes a savvy investor to make a buck there. I've always leaned towards the "always reliable" Section-8 Multi-Family properties. No you won't get rich over night. Yes it's hard work, but the check is in your mailbox every 3rd of the month.What is section-8? It's property rented to families with housing subsidies.

Find an apartment building - those people in foreclosure are going to have to live somewhere so why not at your place? Just make sure you have an airtight rental agreement. Let those tenants know that if they are calling you to come and service the toilet because they are too lazy to plunge it themselves, you will be sending over the maintenance man and the fee is $50.00 and to have it waiting, and make sure you do inspections with notice of course, amke sure you put all this in your agreement. Also, reward your good tenants to make sure they stay so you don't have vacancies and so that they know you appreciate them taking good care of your property and they will remain good tenants. Give them coupons for free ice cream or something of that nature. Its all in the gesture.

This is the best time to buy investment properties. Houses are being sold dirt cheap espacially if you buy a foreclosure. A lot of sellers are willing to cover your closing cost on top of giving you a great sales price to get rid of the mortgage they can't afford to pay anymore.Just make sure you can afford the mortgage payments and have 20% ready for a down payment. In nowadays market it wiill be hard for you to find 100% financing on an investment property. In a year or two the market will come back and you'll make some serious cash.Good luck!

How about buying REIT's? They're an easy way to get exposure to real estate, and the market is pretty close to a bottom now. I argue this because it seems that Boston, which was the first to experience the downturn, is now slowing it's rate of decline, and a bounce back there would be a sign that the rest of the country is on the rise.

Multifamily properties in area's where fair market rent values are up and home values are down. (i.e. Buffalo, NY) In buffalo NY you can pick up a 2-4 unit investor property for around 50-60k. A 60k property at 100% financing with a mortgage of around 8% will make a payment of around $420.00 per month. Average rent on a 2 bedroom apartment is $600.00-$700.00 per month. $1200.00 minus $420.00 equals net rental income of $780.00 per month roughly on a 2 unit. I also offer free consultation and mortgage planning. If you have any questions feel free to call me. My contact information is listed below.Christopher OhlsenMortgage Advisor1-866-562-6930 (office)1-518-335-8791 (cell)