Are you looking to purchase investment property in this market? Consider the following before you make your offer:

• Be prepared to come up with the down payment. Forget the no-money-down deals in this market. As foreclosures increase, lenders have tightened their belts on investor loans. Consider at least 10% down. Putting 20% is even better, because it will probably get you a lower interest rate.

• Look at your total financial picture, and make sure you are comfortable and can afford the debt. At time, lenders are more flexible than you should be.

• What is the exit strategy for the property? Is this a long term investment, and if so, for how long? Have a clear idea of what you want to accomplish before you make an offer. Don’t be stuck.

• Make sure you have an emergency fund. Never be one paycheck away from a missed mortgage payment.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 18th, 2007 at 6:46 am and is filed under Investing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.