When it comes to buying investment real estate, there are many schools of thought on how to get the most for your money. Some say that leasing their homes is the best and safest way to go. In fact, I believe this is true in many cases. However, to get the most out of every investment dollar and see a quick return, I think it’s best to find a property that you can rehab and resell.

Many people have tried this strategy and failed. Let me tell you why this is. Anyone can make money buying investment real estate, fixing it up, and reselling it, as long as they know how to buy and how to sell. This is the key. People who fail at the investment real estate rehab strategy fail because they know everything about rehab but nothing about buying and selling.

The real money is obtained by carefully evaluating the entire transaction. This includes looking at what the investment property will bring in the back-end or on sale. Now, when you find a potential investment property to buy and rehab, be sure to look at your profit after spending all of our money.

I would never consider a deal that I couldn’t make at least 40 percent above my purchase price and everything I’ve put into it. So if I pay $40,000, put down $10,000, I want to sell my investment property for at least $60,000. If I can do this in a month, I’m happy, as long as I don’t split my earnings too far. Even if I have a partner or two, a quick $10,000 in a month is fine, as long as you have another deal going at the same time.

Now, if you want to move your properties quickly, and a month is not a reasonable amount of time, you may want to consider combining two strategies: buying investment real estate for the purpose of rehabbing, and leasing the property quickly. From there, you can move on to your next purchase.

Mark Barnes is an expert in real estate investing and real estate finance. He gets his free mortgage financing course at http://www.winningthemortgagegame.com. Mark is also the author of the new novel, The League, a shocking sports-related conspiracy. Learn more about this suspenseful thriller at http://www.sportsnovels.com. he is too