There are countless gurus of late night television that will tell you that when it comes to real estate there is never a bad time or a bad location to invest. As much as it pains me to be disagreeable, I must take this moment to do just that. When it comes to real estate there are all kinds of ups and downs and hiccups in the market. You will find that some cities go boom while others go bust and there are a few that never recover. If there is any doubt, take a car ride through the ghost towns of the gold rush. Those were definitely properties that weren’t solid investments when all was said and done.

Today, one must be more careful than ever when it comes to investing in real estate. It is prime pickings for foreclosures and bargains when it comes to locating properties in which to invest. The problem is deciding what you are going to do with those properties once they sell and getting it done. Flipping in a declining market for housing, and today’s market in many cities large and small across the country is a declining market, is not recommended. With the increased number of people losing their homes to foreclosure, higher standards for financing, and other problems associated with the literal collapse of the sub-prime lending infrastructure the number of people available to purchase these flips is drying up at an alarming rate.

If you are investing in rental properties at the moment your business is probably booming in most cities throughout the country. Particularly those that are large enough to be affected by the sudden housing shortage as it relates to rental properties that was created when so many homes went into foreclosure. The people who have lost their homes now need a place to live. Many of these can benefit not only from rental units that you may own but also units that you are willing to allow a lease option on. This gives those who feel hopeless a little shot of hope to have back a slice of their dreams of home ownership that may have gone astray. Of course, there are some of us who feel that it is never a bad time to invest in rental properties but there are bad locations and this is something else that should be considered when planning and purchasing properties as part of your real estate investment portfolio.

The important thing to remember is that it is not always a good time or a great location for a real estate investment. The difference between those who are successful investors and those who are successful at selling books and DVDs is sometimes as simple as understanding when and where to invest.