People enjoy being mystified. Art mystifies them, so they ooh and ahh and congratulate the artist on his or her natural talent. They see science as a mystery, so they aren't even interested in what it is that scientists are actually doing. Investment in real estate mystifies them, and so they assume it's just a gamble and that certain people are either lucky, or that they must have been born with a gift .

The fact is that succeeding in these disciplines and others is just a matter of formulating a series of steps and following through on your plan. Readers of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad book series by Robert Kiyosaki will realize that, in the real estate investing game, there are 5 important steps the serious real estate investor should take . An investor should:

1. Learn the language of real estate investment. That means to take in the basics of accounting and finance and learn to read financial statements. These skills give you the ability to determine whether a property is an asset and a drain. It is also important to know the basics of real estate and tax law so that you do not make costly mistakes, but also to know where the best tax deductions for real estate investors are. Knowing the basics of these subjects will also make it possible for the investor to know what to ask his accountant and lawyers upon hiring them, and to grasp the significance of what they tell him.

2. Keep experts close at hand. A good investor will network in order to study the people who he may choose as members of the real estate investing team of experts which he will hire to assist him in the location and evaluation of real estate. The smart investor will get to know the real estate investment community in the city in which he is looking to invest his money, and thereby get to know the city itself.

3. Keep a close on the real estate markets. He should read up on various cities and see what the experts have to say about them, but he should additionally evaluate them for himself. He should do this double-time in his own city, if that is the place he is looking to invest his funds. The investor should get to know the economy and learn which areas are good news, and which are bad news. He should find out what the rents in his marker and decide if a property in that area would assist him in reaching his financial goals. The investor should also personally visit and walk through as many pieces of property as he can with his team of experts, regardless of whether or not he is ready to make a purchase.

4. The investor should know the right and wrong way to negotiate. Many people have the wrong idea about dealing with sellers. These people believe that the purpose of each and every negotiation is to close the deal by any means necessary, and to bully the seller into make sure all of the information about the piece of property is out in the open. If the investor can make the numbers add up in his favor, and the seller will accommodate his terms of sale, that is the point at which the purchaser should go ahead with the purchase . If this is not true, the {buyer should walk away from the deal. According to Ken McElroy, writer of ?The ABCs of Real Estate Investing,? the investor should go into every negotiation assuming he will walk away in the end.

5. Take care of your property. This comprises just what you would think. Conduct the required repairs and renovations on the property and get the vacant units filled. Make sure the renters' needs are taken care of.

This is a simplification of the long road to real estate investment success, but it is easy to see from these steps that anyone can learn how to win in the real estate business. There really isn't a thing magical or mysterious about it.