Surely, if life was this simple, everyone would be investing in property. Right?

Before you throw in your job and embark on a lucrative career in property investing, you really need to sit down and try to understand what property investing is really all about. Property investing is a serious business. Treat it as a hobby and you will only ever achieve hobby profits. However, treat it as a business and youll get great results.

A successful property investor who buys and deals in property every day will:
-Understand what vital research is required before he offers on any property. This will include a lot of desk research including but not limited to ringing estate agents and letting agents to get the feel of any one street in any one area.
-Perform essential calculations to assess the viability of the purchase before even stepping out of the front door to view the property.
-Know exactly which locations to invest in, and which to avoid like the plague.
-Have a system in place to enable him to source and buy property below market value time and time again.
-Know all about clever negotiation strategies that will help him to save literally thousands off any property purchase.
-Understand creative strategies such as options, no money down and cash back deals.
-Know how to invest not just for asset building, but also for cash flow.
-Be able to structure each deal to suit the property sellers situation.
-Understand both buy-to-sell and buy-to-let strategies.
-Know what to do with the property once he has bought it.
-Have mastered the basics of property ownership and how to be a good landlord so that tenants never leave.
-Will know about property development and how to ensure that jobs get done on time and within budget.
-Know how to create a win-win situation every time.

So next time you think about investing in property, consider the above and start knowing exactly what will be expected of you to succeed. Dont start investing in property thinking it will be easy money with very little effort.

Property investing will require a lot of hard work and dedication especially from the outset. Educate yourself on the subject and develop a list of like minded friends and mentors whom you can consult when you get stuck.

If you go into property investing knowing the above, theres a good chance you will succeed. However, if you maintain a casual 'lets see what happens' approach you will throw in the towel much sooner than you initially expected, labelling property investing as a waste of time!