Are you easily bored?

Are you detail oriented?

Are you mechanically inclined?

Do you work best alone or with a partner?

What experience have you had?

Do you deal well with people and their problems?

This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list, but should get you thinking about how your own experience and temperament lines up with the different real estate and investment property opportunities available to you.

Let’s look at one of the primary ways new investors get started with real estate investing… birddogging. Birddogging is simply locating abandoned and run-down properties and referring them to more experienced investors, who then pay you a fee for finding the property.

If you work well alone, have an eye for detail, and are easily bored, birddogging may be a great way for you to get started in real estate investing. Driving around neighborhoods you are familiar with gets you in the habit of knowing what kinds of property to look for, and spotting opportunity. Every day is new and different.

Make sure you form a partnership with an experienced investor who will treat you right, pay you fairly (at least $500 per property) and teach you what he or she knows, so you can learn and progress as you find properties. Don’t let anyone take advantage of you, and make sure they are willing to share their experience and knowledge with you, and let you inside their process as they take the deals from start to finish.

Find experienced investors by joining your local Real Estate Investors Association (REIA) group.

Next time, we’ll look at property wholesaling. Meanwhile, take a look at Socially Responsible Real Estate Investing.