With the goal being to make money and not just break even, this scenario is totally unacceptable in the world of real estate investments. To prevent this from happening to your investment, follow this real estate marketing advice:

Start marketing early. Smart investors strive to have an investment property ready and a buyer on the line before their first loan payment becomes due. To make this happen, you need to start marketing your home from day one. Set in place a clear marketing plan that will take effect once you purchase the property.

Make it easy for people to reach you. The best advice in marketing involves being accessible to your potential buyers. Let people know that the house will be for sale soon and give them a way to contact you. Answer any questions they may have and treat each call like it is the call that is going to sell the house.

Employ marketing strategies that have worked for others. Dont just simply place a sign in the front yard and wait for buyers to come to you. Hold an open house, host an event, or hold an auction. Stimulate buyers. Grab their attention and hold it until the sale is made by creating a buzz around the property.

Be passionate about your project. Your love for what you do will be hard for potential buyers to ignore. Bottom line: When they can see that youre excited about the house, they will get excited too.

Follow up on all interest! You never know who the purchasing check for your property is going to be signed by. While youre concentrating your efforts on the suave business guy that just relocated to the area, the elderly couple down the street may be prepared to offer you more money to get the house, but you will never know if you dont follow up.

In addition to following these tips, be open to advice that is given freely. Some of the best ideas are born from comments left in passing. Remember, luck isnt something that just happens, its something that you find.