What You Need to Know

Being brilliant at the basics is at the heart of the fundamentals of real estate investing. There are a million and one get-rich-quick schemes out there with Slick Willies who will have you enroll in their programs to learn how to make investments in homes or other types of property. It is easy to get carried away with emotion in a rent or sale market and make poor choices.

In a red hot property market like Edmonton, Alberta investments in property, whether to buy for the quick sale or rent for long term appreciation, is a smart move and one that will do well for you if you follow the basics when you buy. Due diligence says you contact the Economic Development or city planning offices to do a regional analysis at least once a year to gauge the market. Looking into things like whether the average income in that particular area is growing faster than the provincial average is a good indicator to look at homes for sale there.

With Alberta's boom going on, a ripple effect will be felt in surrounding areas and it would be good to look at property to buy or rent as investments there as well. Where employment is high it makes sense that the need for homes is high too.

Unsophisticated investors will get caught up in the emotion of buying a property and while it is often prudent to pay the full asking price of a property, it is never smart to get into a bidding war. That is when emotion takes over and the basics are pushed aside. Stick with the basics and you will increase your chances of success immensely.