There are two sides to every story and real estate investing is no different. It’s all about risk. Some say it’s risky; others say it isn’t. Just like everything else, it’s all in how you look at it.
Let’s look at the side who says it’s risky business.
Some people look at investment as a crap shoot. If they get into real estate, or any other kind of investing, they go about it as though they were trying to conjure up some sort of luck. They think that just by being in the game they’re doing everything that needs to be done.
Some of these people are lucky. But you have to remember, sometimes people who bet on the horses or the dogs are lucky. This type of investor looks at real estate investing in the same way-pick something at random and hope for the best.
If real estate investing were really done like that, there would be no such thing as a real estate mogul. You would see people who made a lot of money quickly from time to time, and those people would fade into the background like last week’s pop stars.
For people who approach real estate investment like that, it is very risky. In fact, they are almost guaranteed to lose a great deal of money.
There is another side to real estate investing. Robert Kiyosaki, author of the Rich Dad book series, and Ken McElroy, one of his Rich Dad advisers, both say that there is another way. In order to make real estate pay off for you, you have to approach it in a methodical manner.
Sure, these guys have lost money in the past, and probably will in the future. Everyone makes mistakes. But the money they have made on real estate deals far outshines the little bit they have lost in the course of learning the business. That is a far cry from stumbling down the path of financial ruin because you assume it’s a crap shoot.
They suggest that you learn as much as you reasonably can before you buy your first property. That means learning to read financial statements, learning the basics of real estate law, learning the markets and learning how to pick out properties. (Actually, McElroy outlines a wonderful method for picking out properties in “The ABCs of Real Estate Investing.”)
What you can’t learn on your own, you get a team to help you with.
You have to approach this in a step-by-step manner and not give in to the temptation to leap before you look. You know the saying: “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” Don’t rush in to the exciting world of real estate investing, but don’t be afraid of it either. Simply learn the terrain as you would if you were going to go walk a foreign countryside for the first time. Learn what is poisonous and avoid it. With that kind of knowledge, you can do anything safely, including invest.

The sun-kissed beaches of Brazil have always seduced travelers and its rich and colorful culture and friendly locals have made it a prime real-estate target. Brazilian real estate may be for investment purposes or a second holiday home or to lead the life of an expatriate. The dream of living overseas amidst a new culture and in, perhaps, better weather, is becoming a reality for many foreigners and they are arriving in droves to seek property in Brazil. Prime real estate in Brazil is being snapped up in the choicest of locales. Brazilian real estate is flourishing and from bustling cities to small, fishing villages, buyers are queuing up to grab a piece of land. Not even the remote towns are being spared and there is a flurry of activity in the real estate market in those places also. Blessed with the longest coastline in Brazil, the city of Salvador is a magnet for both international and local visitors and other cities like Natal, Fortaleza, Aracaju are also drawing their fair share of real estate seekers. One can spend weeks in each place simply going through different properties. Beach front homes, farms, countryside hotels, ranches, oceanfront condos; you name it, they have it on the market! Every year, Brazil real estate transactions are done in thousands and most of the work is done through an estate agent. It is not enough to simply like a place and think of buying or hiring it etc and a good agent is necessary for the purpose. Before investing in real estate in Brazil, get hold of a reputable real estate agent. But, bear in mind, however reputable the agent or agency maybe, their sole mission is to ‘sell, sell, and sell! So, don’t ever reveal your desperation to buy a house and don’t ever give in to sales pressure tactics. All this apart, an agent becomes essential for conducting the business especially if you are a foreigner interested in Brazilian real estate. Firstly, the language may itself pose a problem and a local multi-lingual agent can act as a conduit between the buyer and the seller. Secondly, if you are not a local, it may not be possible for you to fly down miles to checkout something on the proposed property. The nitty-gritty has to be taken care of and an estate agent is the best person to handle all the formalities as well as give you the right information.There is no denying that with its strong economy, temperate climate and an abundance of natural beauty, Brazil attracts millions of visitors every year and more and more people are getting tempted to own a slice of this paradise in the form of Brazilian real estate.

Last year I went for an amazing trip to Yucatan Mexico, I did not realise how much I would fall in love with the area and the people.

Day 1. Merida , Yucatan Real Estate, my trip to Merida was my first stop and having quite an appetite I really needed to be careful as I heard that the local food is full of flavour and very rich in every way. We stopped at the little eatery and enjoyed some stuffed corn tortillas, with some yummy hot sauce, yum, yum, yum my favourite!

John and I were really keen to look around on the first day out and about on the Yucatan trip, as we walked up and down the streets of Merida we were so impressed by the houses and colours we started dreaming about the idea of buying a piece of Merida real estate to renovate and use as our yearly Mexico vacation home.

We found one home with a for sale sign and thought about contacting the realtor, we ended up contacting 3 realtors about other properties we found on their listings sheets.

Yucatan was only a vacation for me but ended up turning to a house hunting exercise… more on that later, even before seeing any Yucatan Properties I thought maybe I was falling in love with the place, John quipped that I was just love struck with the whole experience from getting off the plane. I ended up informing the 3 realtors that I was keen on Merida Centro, my friends Susan and Jeffery also came on the vacation and we told them about our dream, well it was a Yucatan real estate addiction, they wanted to either investigate options or go in a property with us so we would be in a 50/50 purchase.

The realtors were really great we even had a chance to look online at property in Yucatan , I recommend www.residemexico.com this was the most professional site with more than one agent. Heading back to the hotel after our second day we decided to see the rest of Yucatan region, including the old ruins and countryside. I wanted to make sure I was really in love before going further with the project.

One of my favourite tourist sites apart from the ruins which I tip as my number 1, was the pink flamingo’s ask the local’s where to find them. I’ll try and enter another journal soon about my trip I wrote this in a hurry before heading off to work, ah yes to get back to my place in Merida Yucatan, yeah I’ll tell you more about that later.

Cheers Rachel M