Many successful investors love shortsales. In this type of real estate purchase, investors negotiate with both the homeowner and lender to buy a property at less than the cost of the mortgage. For example, if a homeowner owes $80 000 on a mortgage, the investor may be able to buy the property for a portion of that amount ? for $70 000 or $75 000. If the home already has some equity in it, this can mean that the investor walks away with tens of thousands of dollars in equity ? not to mention a great bargain.

To create success in shortsales, though, new investors need to develop a number of skills, including:

*Negotiation skills. Homeowners may be embarrassed about their financial situation and wary about speaking to an investor, while lenders may not want to speak to an investor or may be unwilling to lower a payout cost. In either case, investors need to develop a good approach, a personable manner, and the negotiation skills that will get them great deals ? every time.

*Property hunting skills. Finding homeowners who are in trouble and homes that are about to be foreclosed is not easy ? these situations are simply not advertised. Learning to network and uncover distressed properties, though, is the hallmark of a good investor. Learning to find the hidden gems that most buyers overlook is very important if you want to earn healthy profits.

*Networking skills. Investing, contrary to popular belief, is not a solitary activity. Having a team of other investors, legal help, inspectors, assessors, and mentors to turn to is a must. Knowing lenders personally is also a great benefit for investors interested in shortsales. The more people you can turn to, the more likely it is that you will get the expert help you need to make a great profit.

*Research skills. Smart investors know how to uncover the real potential of real estate and they know how to determine market values and neighborhood values. They can look at a property and its area and know what the profit potential is fairly reliably. That way, they have all the information they need when they are making investment decisions.

Learning is a big part of becoming a successful investors, and the real success stories in this field know that learning from success breeds success. That's why so many success stories start with Jeff Adams and RealEstateWebProfits. Adams is a successful investor who has already helped many entrepreneurs build great incomes from real estate. Now, though RealEstateWebProfits.com, he can help you, too.