When it comes to renovating investment property, it’s not as easy as they make out to be on television.  And no, most renovations are not completed after the first 30 minutes.

No matter if its rental property investing or flipping for quick cash, experienced real estate investors must pay close attention to these five major factors.

Major Factor #1: Who Should I Hire For The Job?

I suggest placing an ad in your local paper and interviewing job canidates over the phone. If they pass your first set of questions, arrange to meet them out at the property and talk to them about the project details.

Making the right hire will take some practice, but you will develop a good feel for choosing the best person for the job. Selecting the right person for the job is one of the more important decisions you will have to make on a renovation project.

When you hire the wrong guy, your renovation project can get expensive in a hurry.

Major Factor #2: What’s The Most I Should Pay For Labor?

If you don’t have a background in real estate investing in the beginning, you’ll be writing some very big checks on your renovation projects. Unless you have a real estate investing mentor to hold your hand, you will pay more.

Workers who know more than you do, will exploit your weakness until you close the experience gap. But as you grow into your role as a pre-foreclosure investor, your experience level grows and the labor expenses become much more manageable.

It’s called paying your dues.

Major Factor #3: How Much Will I Pay For In Project Materials?

If you’re an experienced real estate or property investor with multiple renovation projects to your credit, this should be very straight forward. Prices tend to increase over time due to inflation, but overall are normally predictable. Successful pre-foreclosure and property investors know what it takes to complete the project before the work begins.

Always add 10% – 15% for those surprises and unexpected expenses.  If you have the money, that unexpected surprise will not be that big of a deal.

Major Factor #4: How Long Will The Project Take?

I know we don’t live in a perfect world, but I wish we all could buy properties at huge discounts with minor problems to fix. As you may already know, this is not usually the case. We look for simple, cosmetic flips initially and then we adjust our property search from there.

A typical renovation should take anywhere from 30 – 45 days to complete. Whenever you make big changes to the project, the timeframe goes from weeks to months.

Major Factor #5: How Much Will I Have To Spend On The Renovation Project?

The obvious answer: always more than you expect. As you grow into your role as a pre-forelcosure investor, the difference between the actual and estimated budgets should grow smaller. Always overestimate your project costs for both labor and materials. When you buy investment property at good prices, you should enjoy this luxury.

The faster you find the answers to these questions, the easier your life as a real estate investor will become.

Real estate investing probably makes you think of a number of things. If you are already familiar with real estate investing you may think of short sales, bulk reo investing and virtual real estate investing or you may think of it in terms of real estate portfolios and real estate retirement plans. You likely also are wondering how these things factor into real estate investors’ roles in the current economy.

There is a lot to learn about real estate investing. The best way to optimize your real estate investing education is to know the basics ahead of time. Short sales, bulk reo sales, virtual real estate and general real estate investor abilities all are improved by knowing some basics of real estate investing. Check out these three real estate investing tenets that many experts do not fully know:

1. You will always get a positive yield with real estate investing education. In any real estate deal, there will be thousands of dollars in potential wealth. The knowledge of how to get that wealth is the key to your success. When you know about real estate your odds of success increase with each real estate deal. Small investments yield big results when you invest in learning and then implement what you learn.

2. You can succeed in real estate investing regardless of the state of the economy. Often people think that you can only be a success in real estate when the economy is good. You should remember that a bad economic situation is not usually bad for real estate investors. Likely you will be able to find properties at deep discounts. Additionally, you may find deals that would not exist in a booming economy. In fact, real estate investing can turn the tide for a poor economy. When the economy is not so good, short sales, bulk reo sales and virtual real estate are great. You can save yourself from financial difficulty along with others by knowing how to do these deals.

3. A lot of money is not vital to your success as a real estate investor. You can be a success in real estate investing no matter how much money you have on your own. Many types of deals enable you to use other people’s money to do them. If you are a good investment private lenders may let you use their money. The best way to look like a solid investment is to have an in-depth knowledge of real estate investing. Then you will represent a good investment to other people who have money for real estate investing but do not know how to use it.

You can generate lots of wealth by real estate investing. You can create a good income no matter what the state of the economy. By using a base of knowledge of real estate investing, short sales, bulk reo sales and virtual real estate you can create success for yourself. Knowing some real estate investing basics and applying them will help you succeed as a real estate investor.

A number of things likely come to mind when you think of real estate investing. You might immediately leap to real estate investing being real estate portfolios and real estate retirement plans or you may think instead of short sales, bulk reo investing and virtual real estate investing. You likely also are wondering how these things factor into real estate investors’ roles in the current economy.

You will need to know a lot about real estate investing. Knowing the basics of real estate investing education is a good way to get the most out of every lesson. Short sales, bulk reo sales, virtual real estate and general real estate investor abilities all are improved by knowing some basics of real estate investing. Check out these three real estate investing tenets that many experts do not fully know:

1. Real estate investing education is a true investment that always has a positive yield. You can create thousands of dollars in potential wealth with each real estate deal. The knowledge of how to get that wealth is the key to your success. Learning about real estate increases your odds of success when you do a real estate deal. Small investments in education yield big results upon implementation.

2. Real estate investing success is possible in any economy. Many people are under the misconception that success is possible in real estate only when the economy is good. In reality, a bad economic situation is not bad for real estate investors. You will likely find properties that you can buy at deep discounts. You could also locate deals that would not exist in a booming economy. Poor economies can turn based on active real estate investing. When the economy is not thriving, short sales, bulk reo sales and virtual real estate can all thrive. You can save yourself from financial difficulty along with others by knowing how to do these deals.

3. A lot of money is not vital to your success as a real estate investor. You can succeed in the real estate investing arena no matter how much money you are working with. There are many deals that will let you use other people’s money to do them. If you appear to be a solid investment you may be able to use a private lender’s money. A good investment will know as much as they can about real estate investing. This will help you show private lenders that you are a good investment if they do not know about real estate investing themselves.

Real estate investing is a good way to generate a great deal of wealth. You can create an income in any economy. Using a knowledge base of real estate investing, short sales, bulk reo sales and virtual real estate you will be able to make success for yourself. Real estate investing basic knowledge will help you succeed as a real estate investor.