i was just laid off of my job of 8 years..wanting to get into investing houses...any advice?

I was an investor prior to being a licensed broker. I suggest you keep a day job and use your time off to get your feet wet to see if you like it. Being an investor is hard work. You have to find the deals with at least 2 exit strategies in place, fund/finance/rehab the deals and then execute the exit strategy.

Don't get me wrong, you can flip houses with no money, but it takes motivation and applied knowledge.

At the end, I just decided to get a license to make my job easier. I could profit more and not worry about liability if I wasn't licensed, but at the end, I make a good enough living and get paid to help people. However, I just sold a 440k house for 325k via a short sale and if I was an investor, I would have made at least 50k on the deal, but as a Realtor, I only made $9750! So I do get the urge to go back to investing from time to time.

Oh yeah Advice: Pick up a flipping houses book from the bookstore and see if you can implement a strategy you learned. Also, grow a thick skin and have a positive attitude. This website is good to get started and educated as well (just don't pay for any courses or e-books): www.reiclub.com

Regards...

Recent television programs have made "flipping" and real estate investment in general seem really easy- in 30 minutes homes are bought, renovated and sold for great profits. That is rarely the case in real life. The true secret to real estate wealth is in the time you hold a property and benefit from leverage (putting as little as you can into the purchase but benefit from the value of the asset as a whole); as well as the tax advantages and appreciation. Those that enter the market with the idea they will get rich quick need a lot of money to carry the costs during the renovations- which can be very expensive if you don't do your own work, and market time which can be a long time if the market changes cycles during your project(s). Renting them out for a short term defeats the new renovations since tenants are rarely an asset to selling a home. Good luck!

Depends on how much money you have, how much you want as return, where you want to invest and how much you know about the industry. If you were doing a job for 8 yrs and got laid off, do you have any experience or expertise in real estate? Study the market where you want to invest, and what you want to do with investment? You want to buy, flip and sell or want to buy and rent? Renting would not give you enough return to give you enough for your money. You are entering and industry which is slumping. Please understand the risk and perils.

you recognize, as a fashion to get 415 in unemployment, you would should be making a lot more desirable than $8/hr at your previous activity, excellent? The minimum unemployment in my state is more desirable like $2 hundred/week. Why ought to a $20/hour professional rush out to take an $8/hr activity even as they have paid into unemployment for YEARS? they could be at an advantage taking unemployment and searching for a more desirable robust activity. yet another excellent wing rant BUSTED.

Yeah..get another job before you think of investing.

You are going to need a lot of liquid cash, no one will finance you without income.