the-abcs-of-real-estate-investing-ken LifeFeeling

Chapter Four: Research Can Be Fun?
At Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Seminars where I sometimes speak, attendees always ask
me, “How do I find good investment property?”This has to be the most commonly asked
question, and for good reason. There is a needle-in-a-haystack sort of quality to this whole
endeavor, or at least it seems that way, particularly if you’ve never done it before. Do you
look in the newspaper, grab sales sheets from real estate offices, check out the Internet, drive
around? The whole thing seems so haphazard. Truth be told, there is a lot of information out
there about property and a lot of ways to get that information. Maybe too many ways.
Knowing which resources are valuable and knowing how to access them can save you time
and frustration.
In this chapter, I’ll reveal a research strategy that you simply cannot do without. By
walking you through my experience of buying a property in a new market I knew nothing
about, you’ll see how this research method works and what you can gain from it. There’s no
real trick to this at all. It’s just having fun, being open to the information that’s available
about your market, knowing where to look, and committing yourself to do it.
Researching a market can be a lot like doing the preliminary research for a college
paper. Maybe you remember the feeling of stepping into the library for the first time.
Looking around at all the books, magazines, computer databases, and microfilm (if you’re
as old as me) was overwhelming. You knew the information you were looking for was in
there somewhere; the problem was finding it and making sense out of it. Your first paper
was always the hardest. But once you got familiar with the best sources in the library the
next papers get easier and easier. (Well, at least that was what I was told.) My college
professors would be proud of me today, because I did eventually learn how to do research.
And I learned how to make it really fun. We have a great time researching markets and
properties because research to me is nothing more than using the resources around you to
gain information and insight into a particular subject. In this business that means talking to
people, touring an area, taking in the sights, even within your own town. Kind of sounds
like a purposeful, tax-deductible vacation, doesn’t it? Well it can be, so let’s get the party
started!
The research techniques described in this chapter will help you three ways. First, they
will give you a snapshot of the various markets and submarkets within your city or town.
The more diligent you are about doing the research the more vivid the picture will be. And
in the chapters ahead you’ll see why a very vivid picture here will save you time and money
later. Second, this research will show you how the market will influence your property
investment. And third, you actually may be lucky enough to find property leads during the
research phase (but don’t count on it). The most important fruit from your efforts is the
picture of the market. The properties will come later.
I grouped the research I do into three easy-to-define and easily understood categories.
The descriptions for each are in the sections that follow.