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 Step #4 - Collect Printed InformationWhat is the general price range for property in your area? What are the names of the real estate offices running the big ads? How many "for sale" ads have been placed for your specific investment area? Do any of the ads specify investment property or management as a specialty? Are there legal ads listed for pending foreclosures? What are the names given to different sections, complexes and sub-divisions? How are apartments and condominiums advertised regarding price and style? Is there new construction listed? How do new and used home prices compare? Are all the ads from Realtors or are some from private sellers? Do any ads mention price reductions? Are there separate sections for commercial, industrial or farm properties? Do any buyer's agents have ads? How many ads include web addresses? Are any building lots advertised? What banks or mortgage companies are advertising, and under what terms and rates? Are there real estate stories in the section? Who are the real estate editors and reporters? Is buying and selling activity listed? Are there any real estate advice columns?  If the trade papers in your area do not report sales information, again, go to your sources; real estate board, real estate editor, librarian, etc., for assistance. You can often subscribe to a sales reporting service for a reasonable amount of money each month. As you start to study and to analyze this information, you will separate yourself from everyone else. Who will be doing the research that you are doing? Don't be surprised if the answer is no one but you. In the Boston area, there is an excellent paper called the Banker and Tradesman. The Banker and Tradesman is available at the local library. The Banker and Tradesman lists every property sold, the selling price, the amount of the mortgage and the name of the bank that issued the mortgage. This is excellent information to the intelligent investor. After you have driven your area, you have the names of streets and neighborhoods in which you would consider investing. You go to the library and go through some back issues of the Banker and Tradesman. You now find out exactly what properties are selling for, the amount of the down payments (differences between the selling price and mortgage), the mortgaged amount and the names of the banks granting mortgages on the types of property you want to buy. Ask a lawyer, banker, realtor or librarian where this information is recorded for your area. Soon, much of this information will be available online. MLS stands for the Multiple Listing Service. Members of the Multiple Listing Service cooperate and exchange information on properties that they have for sale. The theory is that your property will have a greater chance for sale if hundreds of offices are working to sell it rather than one office. Besides property listing information, the Multiple Listing Service provides prices, comparable sales figures and the names of the banks that granted mortgages for the sale. MLS information is exchanged online and is not available to the public. However, following our next step, you may gain access to MLS listings.  How extensive is the website? How current is the information? Are actual properties listed or only ad teasers? Are there any testimonials? Will the agent work as both a buyer and seller's agent? Is there a biography or resume? How long in the business? Professional credentials? Are any areas of expertise listed? Any specialties? Does the agent answer email? Try a test. Does the agent list home phone numbers, pager numbers or cell phone numbers? Is the agent an owner of the business? Does the agent's photo match your expectations of an agent? Does the overall feel of the site make you react positively and welcomed, with the objective being to help you find a property, or more geared toward making sales for the office? From Realtor.com and from many other sites linked to this course, you'll be connected to lots of valuable local real estate information. You'll be able to research current and past prices, rental rates, agencies specializing in investment real estate and much more. Most on-line newspapers contain real estate listings and articles. Go to your favorite search engine and get to work. Start now and don't stop until you've achieved your real estate investment goals.  What do you want to know about real estate? The answer is everything. Every time you are in a bookstore or a library, check the real estate section. Every time you go online check your favorite real estate websites. Go back to your Action Principle #86, Read, Read, Read. You are encouraged to always bring a book with you. Why not have modest goals of reading five pages from a real estate investment book each day? Every year, you'd be reading over seventeen hundred pages or about six books. Who is doing this? Who is making this effort? The answer is very few people, but again, reading and research are the types of activities that are beginning to separate you from the crowd. Then, when you go into deals worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, you can do so with confidence. Knowledge is power. Continuing Education: http://www.realestateabc.com/ ABC's of Real Estate Consumer Guide, presenting many different aspects of real estate investing. Go to Lesson 3
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