Even serious real estate investors fail to consider the many, many different investment strategies that are out there. We all know that finding desperate sellers is the best way of helping others out of a bad situation while making a profit for you.

Some people think it is unethical searching out distressed property owners to take advantage of their bad luck to enrich yourself. However, what you are doing is really offering them an option they otherwise wouldn't have. You're possibly enabling the seller to walk away with at least some money instead losing everything in a foreclosure.

Ethical Bargain Real Estate Steals

What follows is a short list of ethical ways to acquire real estate at a fraction of its resale value:

• Properties auctioned by government agencies after a seizure for drug crimes.
• Purchasing "redemption rights" from people that have been foreclosed on. All states have a right of redemption period after a foreclosure has been completed.
• Buying IRS seizure properties at auction.
• Buying court judgments for dimes on the dollar from plaintiffs winning a lawsuit against property owners.
• Buying property for the cost of back taxes from owners on the verge of losing it for nonpayment of property taxes.
• Divorce real estate headed to foreclosure because neither party can afford the mortgage payments alone.
• Seeking out property in national depressed markets such as Arizona, Nevada, and Florida.
• Carefully selecting rehab properties on the edge but not in inner city war ones.
• Buying "purchase options" that are days from expiring at a deep discount from wholesalers.
• Estate property when the heirs want to unload the property fast.
• Acquiring property deemed "unfit for human occupancy" to bring it up to minimum code requirements.
• Buying a property with a damaged but fixable foundation problem that retail buyers are shunning like the plague.

You've heard it time and time again that successful real estate investing requires buying at significantly below market value. That means buying properties that retail buyers won't touch because of a problem. Damaged foundations and drug houses are great examples. It also means holding out for just the right property such as a divorce, unpaid taxes, and properties in trouble for other reasons. Becoming a successful real estate investor isn't difficult but it requires constantly monitoring the market and being patient for the right deal to appear and acting fast when it does.