Foreclosures/Bank Owned the only way?

[Sean Guzman]

Hello everyone my name is Sean and I'm still learning everything I can about real estate investing. I live in northern NJ and I'm trying to get into real estate investing but feel like I should start somewhat close to home so I can be fully hands on since this would be my 1st investment. Anybody familiar with the northern NJ market knows that prices are high and I feel can be tough to invest in unless you get a foreclosure or bank owned property? Is that really the case? I'm still trying to navigate my way through these early steps and could use any advice on this topic and also on hard money lenders. Also looking for local meetups that aren't trying to sell you on things but are actually helpful for newbies. Looking forward to your responses and I thank you in advance. 

[Marcello Di Gerlando]

Foreclosure properties are not necessarily the best way let alone the only way to find properties you may want to invest in. The best of the foreclosure properties will often get swept up before they go to auction or picked up very shortly after they hit the market...like hours not days or weeks.(the ones that sit around have most likely been assessed by other investors already and passed on) Being in a competitive highly populated area is going to make this type of purchase that much more difficult to buy at a discount. You may want to connect with wholesalers here on BP and in your local area and look at other techniques folks use. Personally I have found several foreclosure properties at auction but its a tough game and the margins are not necessarily better than other methods of finding properties.good luck.