A big part of learning how to invest in real estate is figuring out what kind of property to go after. There are a lot of choices. The investor can purchase duplexes, condos, apartment buildings, or even houses - and that is just the beginning. He/she can purchase lots and build on them or purchase lots and rent them to renters who then build on them. He/she can make "in very good shape" a part of their search criteria, or he/she can look for a property that seems to be in worse shape than it is, in order to negotiate a good deal. He/she can go after properties with absentee owners in the hope that they finds someone who is hoping to put their property out of their mind so that they can just be rid of it.

There are many possibilities. The question is, which property is the right property for you?

Ultimately, the best investment property is the one that will make the most while not costing you an arm and a leg to be rented out. Getting a property up to speed may involve rehabbing it to bring it up to code - adding up-to-date appliances and that sort of thing. It may involve a new coat of paint, or even getting rid of some unwanted tenants. What the potential new owner has to determine is, if the building's problems are fixable.

For example, in his book Ken McElroy in his book "The ABCs of Investing," writes about someone who purchased a property without ever visiting the site, and found himself saddled with some tenants who were not just bad. These people were dangerous. The building was in a poor area of the city in which the owner should never have purchased a property. By the time he got around to contracting Ken's property management company, he had already lost a great deal of potential rental income due to delinquency.

McElroy's team repaired what they could. They got rid of the delinquent tenants and contracted for the building, but they could do nothing about the quality of the neighborhood. The property would never be one that people with a lot of choices would choose to live it, simply based on its location. This property would never command the rent that it would have if it had simply been located somewhere else. Most of the building's issues were simply unfixable.

The well known saying, "Location, location, location" is important for a reason. Location may be the single biggest factor the real estate investor should think about when searching for potential properties to invest in.

Besides simple viability, an investor needs to think about how he/she wants to go about handling their investments. Mr. McElroy recommends that investors contract a property management firm for their expertise and to free the investor to search for more investments, but some investors simply prefer a more hands-on approach. That kind of investor might want to think about purchasing property that is little enough to take care of on their own. Other people are unwilling having investors or partners and so will be limited by that as well. When this is the case, smaller and less expensive is probably the best option for them.

In the end, Mr. McElroy also recommends investors not assume that they should start small. If he/she has learned enough to invest in the first place, they can learn how to use OPM (other peoples' money). He/she should think about, however, what he/she is capable of - or what they would consider the most enjoyable approach. The opportunities are almost infinite.

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