Colorado Real Estate

Real Estate at Post-NewsMarketplace.Com - Denver and Colorado Homes New Homes REALTOR ® Listings Mortgages Rentals/Apartments Find a REALTOR ® Mtn Homes Mortgages Moving › Place an ad › Site Map › Search › Contact us › Help › The Denver Post › Rocky Mountain News Price Range: 0 50,000 75,000 100,000 125,000 150,000 175,000 200,000 225,000 250,000 275,000 300,000 325,000 350,000 375,000 400,000 450,000 500,000 550,000 600,000 650,000 700,000 750,000 800,000 900,000 1,000,000 1,250,000 1,500,000 1,750,000 2,000,000 3,000,000 4,000,000 5,000,000 6,000,000 7,000,000 8,000,000 9,000,000 10,000,000 11,000,000 TO 50,000 75,000 100,000 125,000 150,000 175,000 200,000 225,000 250,000 275,000 300,000 325,000 350,000 375,000 400,000 450,000 500,000 550,000 600,000 650,000 700,000 750,000 800,000 900,000 1,000,000 1,250,000 1,500,000 1,750,000 2,000,000 3,000,000 4,000,000 5,000,000 6,000,000 7,000,000 8,000,000 9,000,000 10,000,000 11,000,000 Bedrooms (min): Bathrooms (min): any 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 any 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 City any Agate Alma Arvada Aurora Bailey Bennett Berthoud Beulah Black Hawk Blue River Boulder Bow Mar Breckenridge Brighton Broomfield Brush Buena Vista Buffalo Creek Burlington Byers Calhan Cascade Castle Rock Cedaredge Centennial Center Central City Cherry Hills Village Clifton Coal Creek Colorado City Colorado Springs Columbine Valley Columbine Village Commerce City Como Conifer Copper Mountain Cotopaxi Cripple Creek Dacono Deer Trail Delta Denver Dillon Divide Dumont Eaton Edgewater Elbert Elizabeth Empire Englewood Erie Evergreen Fairplay Federal Heights Firestone Florissant Fort Collins Fort Lupton Foxfield Franktown Fraser Frederick Frisco Fruita Ft Lupton Genoa Glade Park Glendale Golden Granby Grand Junction Grant Greeley Greenwood Village Guffey Harstel Hartsel Heeney Henderson Highlands Ranch Hudson Idaho Springs Indian Hills Jamestown Jefferson Johnstown Keenesburg Keystone Kiowa Kittredge Kremmling Lafayette Lake George Lakewood Larkspur Leadville Littleton Lochbuie Loma Lone Tree Longmont Louisville Loveland Lyons Mack Mead Mesa Milliken Monument Morrison Nathrop Nederland Niwot Northglenn Palisade Palmer Lake Parker Pine Platteville Red Feather Lakes Rollinsville Rye Sedalia Shawnee Sheridan Silver Plume Silverthorne Simla Strasburg Superior Tabernash Thornton Twin Lakes Victor Ward Watkins Westminster Wheat Ridge Wheatridge Whitewater Winter Park Woodland Park OR ZIP code All Listings New Home Listings REALTOR® Listings Classified Listings Sunday Only All Classifieds Advanced Search > Click here to view realestate ads from the newspaper Horse Properties: Colorado's top livestock locations Select a Section Horse Properties Mountain Real Estate Golf Course Living Planned Communities Luxury Homes Lofts/City Living Affordable Living Built Green Homes Condos & Townhomes First Name: Last Name: Community: any Arvada Aspen Aurora Boulder Breckenridge Brighton Broomfield Buena Vista Capitol Hill Carbondale Castle Pines Village Castle Rock Central Platte Valley Cheesman Park Cherry Creek Cherry Hills City Park Commerce City Congress Park Copper Mountain Crested Butte Douglas/Elbert Counties Downtown Denver Durango Englewood Estes Park Evergreen Golden Golden Triangle Grand County Grand Junction Greenwood Village Gunnison Highlands Ranch Keystone Lafayette/Louisville Lakewood Littleton LoDo and Coors Field Longmont Lowry Park Hill Parker/Franktown Pueblo Silverthorne/Dillon Sloan Lake - Highlands South Jefferson County Steamboat Springs Telluride Thornton/Northglenn Trinidad Uptown Vail/Beaver Creek Wash Park / Bonnie Brae Westminster Wheat Ridge Winter Park Southeast Denver Featured agent Bonnie Dinofrio View My Listings Take a $3,000 Holiday Shopping Spree with Berkeley Homes Berkeley Homes, a Denver home builder, is making a list and checking it twice for the holiday gift of the season -- a $3,000 gift card from Visa. Whether you've been naughty or nice, contract on any Berkeley home now through Dec. 31, 2005, and receive a $3,000 Visa gift card, good virtually anywhere, at closing. Read More Hand picking a piece Hand picking a piece of the Point Ten years ago, builder Dave Morovitz was working half the day at Nick-n-Willys and dabbling with the other half in center-city fix-ups. That was when you could still buy a down-at-the-heels bungalow on Park Hill for less than $70,000. See story Planning To Move? Fill out one form - we do the rest! Please complete all fields Date: Select Month January February March April May June July August September October November December Select Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 Current Zip Code: Moving To: State AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA PR RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY For Advertising Information, please call Dave Hiebeler tel: (303) 892-2985 dhiebeler@denvernewspaperagency.com Powered by Indigio

Sell House

Pricing the House to Sell español Put My Century 21 to work for you, simply register your email address and create a password. Once you're registered, you'll be able to • save property descriptions • store your search criteria • file agent information • build a custom library Find out more or register now! Already registered? Sign in . Learn about Real Estate Selling Pricing the House to Sell Pricing the House to Sell How do you prepare a house to sell? How does someone sell a slow mover? How is the price set? Is a low offer a good idea? What are the standard ways of finding out how much a home is worth? What are the two most important factors when selling a home? What is the best time to buy? What is the difference between list and sales prices? What is the difference between list price, sales price and appraised value? What is the difference between market value and appraised value? Where do I get information on housing market stats? c 2000 Inman News Features All Rights Reserved -- ©2005 Century 21 Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each CENTURY 21 Office Is Independently Owned And Operated. All rights reserved. Information appearing on this site has been produced by or obtained primarily from Century 21 Real Estate LLC and its representatives and from CENTURY 21 franchisees. Century 21 Real Estate LLC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the broker information, sales associate information, listing information or other information provided by our franchisees appearing on or through this site. Such information has been provided by independent third parties who are solely responsible for such content. Certain conditions and restrictions apply to System promotions. Terms and Conditions of Use.

Rental Property (Including Rental

Tax Topics - Topic 415 Renting Residential and Vacation Property (formerly Renting Vacation Property and Renting to Relatives) Home | Contact IRS | About IRS | Site Map | Español | Help Advanced Search Search Tips IRS Resources Compliance & Enforcement Contact My Local Office e-file Forms and Publications Frequently Asked Questions News Taxpayer Advocacy Where To File Topic 415 - Renting Residential and Vacation Property (formerly Renting Vacation Property and Renting to Relatives) If you receive rental income from renting to others a dwelling unit, such as a house or an apartment, you may deduct certain expenses. These expenses, which may include interest, taxes, casualty losses, maintenance, utilities, insurance, and depreciation, will reduce the amount of rental income that is taxed. You will generally report such income and expenses on Form 1040 (PDF) and Schedule E . If you are renting to make a profit and do not use the dwelling unit as a home, your deductible rental expenses can be more than your gross rental income, subject to certain limits. Your rental losses, however, may be limited by the "at-risk" rules and the passive activity loss rules. For information on these limits, refer to Publication 925 , Passive Activities and At-Risk Rules . However, if you rent a dwelling unit that you also use as a home, your deductible rental expenses will be limited. You are considered to use a dwelling unit as a home if you use it for personal purposes during the tax year for more than the greater of: 14 days or 10% of the total days it is rented to others at a fair rental price. It is possible that you will use more than one dwelling unit as a home during the year. For example, if you live in your main home for 11 months, your home is a dwelling unit used as a home. If you live in your vacation home for the other 30 days of the year, your vacation home is also a dwelling unit used as a home unless you rent your vacation home to others at a fair rental value for 300 or more days during the year. A day of personal use of a dwelling unit is any day that it is used by: You or any other person who has an interest in it, unless you rent your interest to another owner as his or her main home under a shared equity financing agreement; A member of your family or of a family of any other person who has an interest in it, unless the family member uses it as his or her main home and pays a fair rental price; Anyone under an agreement that lets you use some other dwelling unit; or Anyone at less than fair rental price. If you use the dwelling unit for both rental and personal purposes, you generally must divide your total expenses between the rental use and the personal use based on the number of days used for each purpose. However, you will not be able to deduct your rental expense in excess of your gross rental income. If you itemize your deductions on Form 1040, Schedule A (PDF), you may still be able to deduct mortgage interest, property taxes, and casualty losses on that schedule. There is a special rule if you use a dwelling as a home and rent it for fewer than 15 days. In this case, do not report any of the rental income and do not deduct any expenses as rental expenses. Another special rule applies if you rent part of your home to your employer and provide services for your employer in that rented space. In this case, report the rental income, but do not deduct any expenses as rental expenses. Refer to Publication 527 , Residential Rental Property (Including Rental of Vacation Homes). More Tax Topic Categories Accessibility | FirstGov.gov | Freedom of Information Act | Important Links | IRS Privacy Policy | U.S. Treasury

New Home

Breaking World News: CBSNews.com CBSNews.com The Web Home | U.S. | World | Politics | SciTech | Health | Entertainment | Business | Opinion | NEW --Strange News | Sports | Public Eye | Interactives | FREE CBS News Video The Early Show | CBS Evening News | 48 Hours | 60 Minutes The Saturday Early Show -- | CBS Sunday Morning | Face The Nation | Up To The Minute | Build Your Own Newscast SPECIAL REPORT ----- Year-End Section Photo Galleries Video Archive MP3 Features Timeline Of Events Passings The Year Ahead Quiz: How's Your Nose For News? Quiz: So You Want To Be A Star ... ONLY ON THE WEB -- COURTWATCH Legal Winners & Losers CBS legal analyst Andrew Cohen says who came out on top -- or not -- in the coutroom this year. THE EARLY SHOW One Tough Mother Hattie Kauffman reports on Gert Boyle, the 81-year-old Columbia Sportwear CEO whose motto is "born to nag." Book Excerpt WASHINGTON Bush's Trying Year The year began with a lot of promise for President Bush, says John Roberts , but by fall the wheels had come off. Can he be the "Comeback Kid" in 2006? The Approval Ratings TALKING POINTS Verbal Judo Richard Schlesinger meets a former police officer teaching cops the power of speech to avoid physical conflict. Fine Art Of Tough Talk DAILY UPDATES FDA warns Guidant; Vivitrol may help alcoholics quit; and a blood test for heart transplant patients. Dry Season Jim Axelrod reports winds have calmed down in north Texas but the fire danger remains until the area gets some rain. Photo Gallery -- Protests Continue Kelly Cobiella reports the UN's determination that the elections were credible is not likely to satisfy protesting Sunnis. -- PC ANSWER Top Tech Of 2005 Larry Magid recaps the year's highlights, including the expansion of Apple's iPod and iTunes lines, and the popularity of the podcast. Hear Silicon Valley Analyst Tim Bajarin PHOTOS Sunrise, Sunset A look at the ups and downs of nature's daily doses of beauty. MARKETS | BUSINESS NEWS Advertisement DOW NSDQ S&P 500 DJIA NSDQ S&P 500 DJIA 10785.70 -10.56 NSDQ 2219.35 -9.59 S&P 500 1254.59 -3.58 © FinancialContent.com Delayed 20 mins. Check Your Stocks: Detailed News Charts SEC Filings Company Profile Historical Quotes Symbol Lookup GO LOCAL Local Weather (Enter Zip or City): Powered by Weather.com Week In Photos Check out the week's most compelling pictures. -- CBSNEWS.COM EXTRA Photo Essay Sunrise, Sunset A look at the ups and downs of nature's daily doses of beauty Who's Who TV New Year's Eve Looking for a party that won't get out of hand? It might not be as far away as you think. Photo Essay Celebrity Circuit Carmen Electra on MTV, a holiday party for the stars and Jennifer Love Hewitt as Santa's helper. News Tools Dry Country Here's a map that shows just how dry the U.S. Midwest has become and why it's ripe for wildfires. Photo Essay Star Splits Breaking up is hard to do, even when you're a celebrity. Officials Fear More Wildfires Updated While winds eased after the outbreak of fires ravaged parts of Texas and Okla., forecasters predict a return of the hazardous conditions by the weekend, plus fireworks celebrating the new year prompting fears of another round of fires. More... Photo Essay: Deadly Wildfires Watch: Brush Fires Turn Deadly Photo: AP Photo/The Daily Oklahoman TOP STORIES West Coast Braces For More Floods Watch N. Calif. Rivers At Highest Levels In 7 Years, More Rain On Way Israeli Checkpoint Stops Bomber Palestinian Blew Himself Up At West Bank Roadblock Set Up After Tip Existing Home Sales Decline Watch Nov. Figures Lowest Since March, But Housing Market Remains Healthy Thief Turned In By Sons Sentenced Dad Gets 40 Years, Sons Saw Him On A Surveillance Photo Wood Chipper Blamed In Man's Death Tree-Service Worker Cutting Branches Thought Pulled Into Chipper Photo Essay Wildfires Flare Wind-driven flames burn through towns in Texas and Oklahoma Video 2005 Video Recap Video highlights of the year's top stories. U.S. | VIDEO | SECTION PAGE Thief Turned In By Sons Sentenced • 9/11 Loans Went To Unqualified • Friends Feud Over Lottery Claim • Americans Split On Domestic Spying • More Stories World | VIDEO | SECTION PAGE Al Qaeda Threatens Sudan Hostages • Envoys Haggle For Yemen Captives • China Says 300M Drink Unsafe Water • Israeli Checkpoint Stops Bomber • More Stories Health | VIDEO | SECTION PAGE Health Customs Migrate To U.S. • Vitamin D As Cancer Crusher • Newer Cancer Drugs Beat Tamoxifen • Playing The Pain Away • More Stories SciTech | VIDEO | SECTION PAGE Greens Also Feed At Public Trough • Technology Blossoms In 2005 • A Sneak Peek At Consumer Labs • Vitamin D As Cancer Crusher • More Stories Entertainment | VIDEO | SECTION PAGE New: Marsalis New Year's Guest Of Honor • No Charge In Lohan Crash • Jail For Will Smith Identity Thief • Dunkin' Donuts Ad Actor Dies • More Stories Opinion | SECTION PAGE Jive And Thrive In '05 • New: Turning Point In Military Strategy • Good Gifts • Rough Year For Bush In Polls • More Stories Politics | VIDEO | SECTION PAGE DeLay Gets Hearing On Speedy Trial • Dems Charge Homeland Failures • Rough Year For Bush In Polls • More Early Alito Memos Released • More Stories Business | VIDEO | SECTION PAGE 2006 Economy Looks Solid • Hilton Reunites, 40 Years Later • Existing Home Sales Decline • Weekly Jobless Claims Rise • More Stories STRANGE NEWS | SECTION PAGE Doggie Insurance Now Required in Vienna • Austrian Artists Pull Offending Billboards • Pay Up: Billions Sought in Bill Mixup • Jamaican Police Officer Becomes Rap Artist • More Stories SPORTS | VIDEO | SECTION PAGE Secondary concerns • Last year's applicants have good shot at Cooperstown • Don't look now, but Ravens' Boller has 'found himself' • More Stories CBS NEWS BROADCASTS The Early Show Start The Year With An Open House Watch One approach would be a Mediterranean-style New Year's Day bash, and cooking teacher and cookbook author Tori Ritchie has some ideas and recipes sure to earn you raves. She shares them on The Early Show . More... The Early Show CEO Is 'One Tough Mother' Watch Columbia Sportswear is a billion-dollar company with a CEO whose motto is "Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise." At 81, Gert Boyle is young at heart. More... CBS Evening News The Art Of Verbal Judo Watch Former police officer George Thompson teaches other cops how to avoid conflict and gain compliance from suspects with a technique he calls verbal judo, Richard Schlesinger reports. More... The Early Show A Sneak Peek At Consumer Labs Watch When Consumer Reports magazine publishes test results, the world listens. But how do they evaluate all those products? WCBS-TV technology editor Brett Larson got a look inside the lab and filed a report for The Early Show . More... The Early Show Amputee An Inspiration To Others Watch A horrific train accident cost Cameron Clapp both legs and one arm. But as Dave Price reports, the young man is determined to make the most of his situation and serves as an inspiration to others. More... The Early Show Nervous Flyers Catch Security Eye Watch The next time you fly, security personnel may spend more time looking at you than at your bags. Behavior observation programs are being tested at some U.S. airports. The Early Show 's Tracy Smith reports. More... Back To Top Advertisement Fullscreen | Help All Videos Iraqi Election Turmoil | E-Mail West: Rain, Snow & Mudslides | E-Mail Crawling While Intoxicated? | E-Mail Teen Amputee's New Life | E-Mail Take the CRIMINAL MINDS profiler quiz Fantasy Football: Roster Trends Play along with CSI Interactive. Take our CRIMINAL MINDS quiz to find out if you're FBI agent material. | Thu. Dec. 29, 2005 CBS.com 8:00 Criminal Minds: When the daughter of a District Attorney is kidnapped. 9:00 CSI: One cult member turns up missing at a mass suicide crime scene. 10:00 Without a Trace: Jack endures a brutal deposition by his wife's divorce attorney. CBS SportsLine NFL Films: Charles Haley Peach Bowl Preview: LSU-Miami Check out the SPiN On Sports POP QUESTION Vote for your top five news stories of 2005 Iraq Pope Dies/ New Pope Plamegate Katrina / Hurricanes Rosa Parks Dies Supreme Court Vacancies Bush's Domestic Spying Tsunami Relief Bird Flu Spreads Charles Marries Camilla Brad / Jen / Angelina Tom & Katie Natalie Holloway / Aruba Pakistan Earthquake Shuttle Relaunch Deep Throat Revealed -- -- Advertisement Enter Moens Show Us Your Style Sweepstakes Would you like a two hour consultation from celebrity designer Vern Yip plus $5000 in cash and Moen products? 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real estate investing. (And,

MSN Money - Nothing quick about getting rich with real estate MSN Home Hotmail My MSN Sign In Money S earch MSN Money: Help Home News Banking Investing Planning Taxes My Money Portfolio Loans Insurance Investing Home Portfolio Markets Stocks Funds ETFs Commentary Brokers CNBC TV MSN Money Insight Jubak's Journal SuperModels Start Investing Strategy Lab Company Focus Mutual Funds Street Patrol Other Views Contrarian Chronicles TheStreet.com Resources Commentary Index Decision Centers Start Investing Mutual Funds Find Hot Stocks Simple Strategies Power Tools Investing For Income Real Estate Related Links Expert Picks Market Dispatches CNBC Stock Picks Message Boards Print-friendly version Send this to a friend Research any REIT Find top-performing mutual funds Sortable database of SEC filings Find stock winners with our screener Personal finance bookshelf Find It! Article Index Finance Q&A Tools Index Site Map Recent articles by MP Dunleavey: • How to invest when you've got just $500 , 1/15/2004 • Your 3 worst debt consolidation moves , 1/11/2004 • Feel guilty if youre not shopping? , 1/4/2004 More... Related Sites Robert Allen Institute Millionaire Hall of Fame National Association of Realtors John T. Reeds Web site John T. Reeds reviews of the real estate gurus Carleton Sheets Web site Joe Crumps Real Estate Moneymaker.com The Basics Nothing quick about getting rich with real estate advertisement A real estate seminar promoter promised to create 1,000 new millionaires, but so far none are in sight. See what happened to his believers. By MP Dunleavey Like a lot of people these days, Marjorie Stark wouldnt mind making a little extra cash -- or even a lot of it. So when she attended an information session for Robert Allens Creating Wealth Through Real Estate seminar in New York, she was more than willing to pay $2,495 for Allens intensive three-day course on real estate investment strategies. Concerned about not having enough to retire on and wanting to pass along some wealth to her kids some day, the 62-year-old New York City educator said to me then: I am convinced that real estate is the way to go. I was there that night, too, and I could scarcely resist the mouth-watering idea that those three days could make me rich. As the guy leading the session announced: We are on a mission to create 1,000 new millionaires in 12 months! A year later, Stark isnt any closer to being a millionaire. She hasnt bought any new property nor made any money on real estate -- except for the rental property she owned before and bought the hard way (with cash and bank loans). She even admitted that when she saw Robert Allens newest venture was in vitamin sales, I thought I was going to puke. I was very disillusioned. But Stark is undaunted and still believes there are fortunes to be made in real estate. She just enrolled in another seminar at a local college on how to buy distressed and foreclosed properties, she says. With a full-time job, Im not sure how I can do it, but, boy, am I itching to go! Start investing with $100. Explore our new ETF center. Theres something about real estate Stark is not alone. The National Association of Realtors doesnt track independent real estate investment seminars or how many people attend them, but their allure springs eternal like the get-rich hopes of those who sign up for these courses. The odds of winning are not high. Robert Allens 1,000 new millionaires never materialized in the last year, for example. Allen operates whats called The Enlightened Millionaire Institute. Its Millionaire Hall of Fame Web site lists only 50 millionaires (defined as having generated gains averaging $2.6 million). A spokesman admits not all of them exclusively used the Allen method of real estate investing. (And, in a disclaimer, the site notes, No information has been verified or authenticated. Results vary. All successes are subject to one's own knowledge and effort.) Despite all that, the Robert Allen Institute still conducts two or three seminars a week in different cities and says it reaches about 1,200 people each month. (Thats 1,200 x $2,495 = $2.99 million a month, in case you left your calculator home.) Allen is just one of dozens of artful salesmen who preach fancy financing, no money down, flipping properties quickly and numerous other strategies to get rich buying and selling real estate. And the question all this preaching raises is, do these investment techniques, systems and strategies really work? Can they actually make you rich? After all, would people keep trying it if it couldnt be done? Or are hundreds of thousands of people simply seduced by expert sales pitches and swindled out of hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars? Weighing the evidence Like so many things in life, it depends on whom you talk to. Or whose Web site you believe. John T. Reed is a real estate investment coach himself, based in Alamo, Calif. Hes also a self-appointed watchdog for this industry. He keeps the most exhaustive list I could find of dozens of so-called gurus, along with reviews of their techniques, books and other products. Although Reeds Web site , where you also can buy his various books for $29.95, reads a bit like he has a chip -- a very big chip -- on his shoulder, he was recommended by the National Association of Realtors as a serious investigator in the industry. Not that hes against real estate investment, or some of the reputable folks who teach their own hard-won wisdom. But those have been degraded by "the endless parade of B.S. artists coming into the real-estate-investment-advice field. It is an embarrassment to the good people in the business." And many people believe his grousing is justified. Norm Bour is the host of The Real Estate and Finance Hour on KLSX in Los Angeles, a top talk radio station. Hes worked in real estate as a mortgage lender and describes the proliferation of real estate seminars, workshops and scams as a major pet peeve. Case in point: foreclosures, he begins. Real estate in California has gone berserk in the last few years so people are looking for foreclosures to buy. The idea being you can buy a foreclosure more cheaply than other property and potentially gain a windfall when you sell it. But, as Bour notes, You can count on one hand how many actual foreclosure properties there are (for sale). Yet theres no lacking of people who are offering real estate foreclosure lists. One might pay $35 for a list, but it may be peppered with properties in other states. Its not fraudulent, but its certainly deceptive. The shady gray area Well-known personalities like Robert Allen or Carleton Sheets , who have extensive marketing organizations, are a little different, Bour says. They offer some very solid basics, but the number of people who can do what they propose is very small -- because they make it sound so much easier than it is. Thats what Josh Kelinson, a freelance advertising consultant in New York, found when he and two friends tried to follow the Sheets method. The three pals pooled their resources to master what Sheets preached, which is similar to the Allen method: buying property with no money down (or some other creative financing method) and flipping later on for a profit. One of his pals took the seminar, another bought the 8-CD set, etc. Thus inspired and determined, they tried to buy a building suitable for five apartments in Massachusetts, not far from where theyd all grown up. Kelinson says the actual experience of trying to buy an income property proved eye-opening. We spent a ton -- and I mean a ton -- of time on it. There was the approval process, the paperwork, getting lawyers. It took two to three hours a day, not including weekend travel time and unexpected snafus. I found it impossible to do with a full-time job. Ultimately, the project bogged down because of a major zoning problem. The building was in an area zoned for three apartments, and the building had been illegally converted into five apartments. The zoning authorities refused to grant an exception to the rules. Then, the building owner refused to return their deposit. The three were out $35,000. Still, Kelinson doesnt feel misled or duped by the Sheets method, and he and his friends are sure they can make it work with their next deal. There are a lot of other things out there that are scams, but this definitely can be done, he says. But investing in real estate is not nearly as easy as it looks, he says. Make sure you have the time to do it, he advises wannabe investors. If you dont allocate the time, it probably wont work. We want the system to work so much And therein lies the fundamental appeal, and ultimate trouble, of get-rich-quick (GRQ) strategies. Its the jackpot mentality, says psychologist Patricia Farrell, author of How to Be Your Own Therapist . Just like the schmoe who buys a winning lottery ticket -- every once in a while, someone, somewhere really does use these edgy real estate investment techniques to make millions. Its not the principles that are flawed, says Bour. Its the simplicity and ease that are overstated. Most of these courses are so seductive, Farrell says, because they operate according to a tried-and-true principle of behavioral psychology called the variable ratio reinforcement schedule. Basically, people (and rats) will persist in doing something, even with little or no return, if they are given the tiniest bit of hope of a coming reward. So the fact that some people do succeed at no money down strategies acts like a financial aphrodisiac for all those watching, waiting, hoping. So could the Starks and Kelinsons of the world be next? Is it just a matter of reapplying the Robert Allen/Carleton Sheets techniques until they work? Mark Wilson, one of the millionaires created by the Robert Allen Institute, would say yes. The president of Southeastern Housing Partners in Hickory, N.C., Wilson started investing in real estate in the late 1980s. We were doing OK, but nothing to write home about. Then in 2002, after hearing Robert Allen speak, Wilson paid $5,000 to join a one-year intensive coaching course. It changed his life, his business and, above all, his cash flow, he says. Although hed read Allen's No Money Down in college, the seminar focused more on another Allen signature strategy: developing multiple streams of income (from rentals, rehabs, buying foreclosed properties, commercial properties, etc.). Now, Wilson says, hes about to close a deal that will put his net worth at $8.5 million. He believes anyone can make big bucks from real estate if he or she is willing to take action -- not just sit on the sofa listening to tapes. Before you sign up, count to a million Of course, Wilson admits that it was easier for him to take the Robert Allen techniques and run with them. He had a lot of experience in real estate already. Most people, Bour points out, dont have those skills. And few people have the time or the diligence to acquire them. (Some skill sets you need to have -- and the course cant teach it to you, agrees Kelinson.) Bob Underwood of Stafford, Va., is one person who can testify to the fact that investing in real estate is not for those steeped in fantasy. Underwood bought an e-book from yet another author and teacher by the name of Joe Crump . Crump, who hails from Indianapolis, teaches a no-money-down technique, but he told me that he does it legally and ethically. Underwood, 43, has a wife and family and a full-time job -- and no time to muck about in real estate with no return. He paid Crump about $500 for one-on-one coaching in 2002 and, after a rocky start, has managed to buy three properties in the last two years. Hes sold one of them, made about $10,000, after taxes, in the process and is hoping to rehab and sell another this year. One deal Underwood did alone, the next was with a partner. He says theres no cookie-cutter method that works. What works, he says, is getting out into the market, investing the time to learn about the business, not neglecting your wife and kids (or day job), learning from your mistakes, making friends and getting advice from others as you move forward. Slowly, steadily and not particularly wealthily. Remember, you have to pay capital gains (taxes) on the profits, he says, so its not a lot of money in the end. But that, of course, isnt what people want to hear. People are lead to believe that all you need is the right plan and youll make a million, that if you use this system youll be rewarded, says psychologist Farrell. They dont realize that the possibility of getting that big reward is so remote. Editors' choice Don't get scammed by your mover Safeguard your Social Security number 5 ways to tap into the onshore drilling boom Your checkbook just became obsolete Turn $1 a day into $67,815 Readers' choice Ratings Top 5 Articles 9.30 Zombie debt collectors dig up your old mistakes 9.24 Keep thieves out of your bank account 9.22 Credit reports now free for entire U.S. 9.19 10 ways to avoid outrageous hospital overcharges 9.17 Tax breaks for Katrina victims -- and all of us View all top rated articles More Resources · E-mail us your comments on this article · Post on the Your Money message board · Get a daily dose of market news S earch MSN Money tips advertisement Sponsored Links Fund data provided by Morningstar, Inc. © 2005. All rights reserved. Quotes supplied by ComStock , an Interactive Data company. MSN Money's editorial goal is to provide a forum for personal finance and investment ideas. Our articles, columns, message board posts and other features should not be construed as investment advice, nor does their appearance imply an endorsement by Microsoft of any specific security or trading strategy. An investor's best course of action must be based on individual circumstances. © 2005 Microsoft MSN Privacy Legal Advertise Feedback Help