This last weekend I spend at the seaside. What I enjoy doing in my free time is walking around looking at property for sale. I take mental notes on when each property comes on the market. Also I note the ones that have been sitting around for a long time.

One thing that always comes to mind is why a property is for sale and also why is hasnt sold yet. Is the property in a good location? Has it been presented properly? Is it priced to sell? Etc. As a real estate investor these are the series of questions I ask myself when researching an area. It will be the same for all areas. People are people and properties are properties. What I have developed is a series of questions that I ask myself to find out what is the properties potential... It is a mini check list. I find out a lot about property and the area in general by talking to the local agents. They are a gold mine of information. If you treat them right and show them respect they will freely divulge loads of nuggets regarding the property, the area and the owners. This line of questions will lead to the best real estate investment properties in the area.

When you start with this research, you are starting to use your brain. The more you ask, the more it will find ways to the answers. Our brain is the most powerful computer on earth, so the more you exercise it, the more efficient it will become in providing you with the necessary answers. I have found this to be a valuable tool in my real estate investing. I now do this unconsciously and most times you do it automatically without being aware I am doing it. When you are genuinely interested in a certain topic, you love spending time finding out as much as you can about that interest. This is when you will learn the fastest. It is not difficult to concentrate and spend time doing this.

What better way to spend time at a sea side location doing research on your real estate investing interests. I have an agent in a sea side town I catch up with every time I am down there. Last time I was talking to Russell, he told me about the new health care precinct zoning for the town. That was a very valuable piece of information I can now use for my real estate investing for that area.