When I watch the news and they say that home sales are down, I hear "Opportunity."  When the media reports that people can't afford their houses, I hear"Super Discount Deals." When I read online that the housing market is down, I hear "Buy, Buy, Buy!"

This is the time to buy, hands down no questions about it.  Why would I not buy now?  Let me give you some comparisons that will make this clear.  When you go to a clothing store, the first place most people migrate towards is the Sales and Clearance racks.  In fact, many avid shoppers know when their favorite stores have their annual sales.  Try women looking for their wedding dresses, they know that every year there is a huge Vera Wang wedding gown sale and they plan for it.  When you go grocery shopping you look in the circular for the sales.  The reason you went to Best Buy last week is because you saw on TV that the computer you wanted is on sale.  I can go on and on about how in every aspect of our lives we buy when things are on sale.

So when the real estate market is having a super sale right now, why are you sitting on the sidelines?  Why aren't you buying?  Are you going to be like the majority of people and wait to start buying when the market goes back up and then you see the money that people are making who did buy?  Guess what, it's too late by then.  When the price goes up, there's no longer a sale.  You missed it!  And the prices will go back up, they always do, real estate is cyclical. 

If you're reading this hopefully you'll figure out that you don't want to jump on the bandwagon when the real estate market moves up, instead you want to be driving the bandwagon.  If you're on the sidelines then you're either injured or not in the starting line up.  This is your chance to be in the starting line up and make the big money.

I know some of you are saying, "But what if the market goes down even more?"  Can we say "Excuses?"  Sure the market could very well go down more.  We are in uncertain times and have seen things happen on Wall Street and in the financial markets that we haven't seen before.  But what is certain is that in fact, all of these things make buying real estate make even more sense.  If people are losing their homes, chances are they won't be buying another one any time soon.  So they need a house or apartment to rent.  If people are concerned about the economy and they don't own a home, chances are they'll be staying in their rented house or apartment.  If people are looking to downsize, they'll certainly consider moving to a rental rather than buying again.  If you bought a property at the right price, which right now is the "on sale" price, and it has positive cash flow, if the price goes down, you still have your positive cash flow.

If you're making hundreds of dollars per month on one of your rentals even after all expenses and the value of the property went down, do you think you could hold out until the market goes back up?  Sure you can, it wouldn't be a good time to sell, but why sell when your investment is making you money.  I believe in the stock market but it's not making your average person money right now.  Real estate investments certainly are!

So get off the sidelines, stop making excusing and get in control of your money because those other folks you counted on didn't do such a good job, did they?  Something tells me you'd do much better.  Go out and buy a great piece of real estate right now and when the market goes back up, you'll not only have enjoyed the monthly profits you made but also the paper profits you'll gain!  Now that's a win/win situation...

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