The latest trend in Las Vegas real estate consists of hopping aboard a bus and viewing multiple foreclosure homes. With market prices plummeting, Realtors and private investors are being forced to develop unique and creative marketing tactics to lure in buyers for their ever-growing list of distressed properties.

It’s no secret that the Las Vegas real estate market looks bleak. Let’s face it, the real estate market is bleak everywhere you turn. In some areas, foreclosure rates have soared by 57-percent, leaving a trail of vacant properties and nearly ghost-town communities. It’s a sad state of affairs. However, it is also a real estate investor’s dream come true.

An interesting aspect of Las Vegas foreclosure home bus tours is they offer one-stop real estate shopping. Participants quickly view houses and if they are interested can schedule an appointment to return for a personal showing. Tours last about two hours and approximately six to eight homes are presented.

Typically, foreclosure tour organizers require participants to sign a contract stating they will use the company for all their real estate needs, should they decide to purchase a home. A loan officer rides along and provides information on monthly payments, interest rates, etc. of the various properties. Anyone interested in purchasing a property can have the loan officer draft an offer on the spot. It’s really quite convenient. Or is it?

While it might be convenient to board a bus and browse several homes at one time, foreclosure homes are not always the best deal. In fact, foreclosure homes are notorious for being in need of serious repair or renovation. Oftentimes, homeowners who have been evicted from their homes, vent their anger on the house. It’s not uncommon to find torn up carpet, broken windows and drywall that has been punched with a sledgehammer.

Few foreclosure homes are in perfect condition. Most are in dire straits both inside and out. When it comes to landscaping, people facing financial challenges aren’t usually too interested in curb appeal. Not only will the interior need refreshing, chances are considerable exterior repairs will be required as well.

A lesser known, yet better way to invest in distressed properties is to seek out real estate owned (REO) properties owned by banks or private investors. These homes arrive at the bank after being placed on the foreclosure auction block. The primary reason they didn’t sell at auction is because more was owed on the home than it was worth.

When the bank receives the foreclosed property, it eliminates the mortgage, reduces or eliminates any creditor or tax liens, evicts residents who may still be residing in the home, and occasionally will invest in repairs. In other words, much of the time-consuming paperwork and legal hassles have been eliminated. All investors have to do is spruce up the property and sell it for a reasonable price.

The best way to locate REO property is through a private investor who purchases bank portfolios. These investors are able to purchase homes at wholesale pricing because they buy in bulk. Since they purchase these homes for pennies on the dollar, they are able to pass the savings along to individual buyers. These properties are usually sold in “as is” condition. However, the buyer will already have 30- to 40-percent equity in the property because he was able to purchase at wholesale cost.

The trick to getting the best deal on REO properties is to purchase them with cash. This allows the buyer to close the deal in around 10 to 15 business days, as opposed to the 30-45 day timeframe imposed with conventional financing. This delay can significantly reduce investors’ bottom-line and slow down the process of selling the property for profit.

Instead of riding around town on a bus and engaging in speed-viewing foreclosure homes, consider working with a private real estate investor who specializes in REO bank portfolios. Doing so, could potentially save you a considerable amount of time and money.

If you know how to make money in real estate you can start your own property investment company. You will be able to work for yourself and kiss your job and your boss goodbye. But until then you have to study the real estate markets and invest in good courses.

If you do not have a real estate license, no problem. The only real advantage to having a real estate license for the investor is access to the MLS.

The MLS, multiple listing service, provides the comparison prices of the homes in your target market. This is invaluable information when you are negotiating sales and purchases. If you do not have license or plan on getting one, make friends with a real estate agent who will allow you to access his MLS.

But you will also want to make friends with people with money available to invest with you. These people are called private money lenders.

You can find several sources of money to buy properties besides using private lenders. For instance you can apply for a conventional bank loan. You already know that this is the longest most difficult process to complete in order to get a real estate loan. You will have to have great credit history and also a high paying job in order to qualify.

If you do not have the credit score or the good paying job, you can try a hard money lender. He is less concerned about your credit history or your job but expect him to charge you at least double and sometimes triple the prime interest rate. He also will expect you to pay the loan back much faster than a conventional loan payment term.

Some hard money lenders require the property you are buying to be used as collateral for the loan. If you do not pay back the loan you will lose the house. So the best way to use hard money lenders is when you are flipping houses.

House flipping investors buy houses at a discount and then sell them on the retail market or to other investors after they rehab the house. The difference between what they pay for the house and the cost to rehab it and their selling price is their profit.

Or rather than spending the time or money to rehab the house they sell it to another real estate investor for a profit. In either case they do not hold onto the house for very long so they can pay the hard money loan with the resale proceeds.

But the best option you have to own property is to use private money lenders. These are people with money in retirement accounts who are looking to earn more than the two to three percent on their retirement accounts.

You can assure private money lenders that although there are no guarantees in any investment, that investing in real property is a good investment because their money is secured by the property itself. Each state has different laws about private money lending but it is worth looking into the laws in your area and learn how to make money in real estate with the help of private money lenders.