Why? Because the population is growing and booming, and nobody is making any more land. Since land is in fixed supply, its price always goes higher as a result of increasing demand.

However many people believe that investment in real estate always requires money and lots of it. You must have money to make money, right?

Well, actually, you can buy real estate properties with little money – at least, none of your money down, and then you can be on the road to riches. In “1001 Perfectly Legal Ways To Get Exactly What You Want, When You Want It, Every Time,” the editors of FC & A Publishing share some of the following tips for investment with little money down:

1. Satisfy the seller’s needs. The seller may need to buy some items for his new home or new venture. Offer to purchase these items for him if he will reduce your down payment. You can use credit cards or, better still, store credit to buy the items.

2. Assume the seller’s debts. People often sell property because they want to relieve some of their financial obligations. You could contact the seller’s creditors, tell them you are going to pay the notes off  instead of the seller, and even ask them to extend the due dates of the notes. You then could deduct the amount of the obligations you assumed from the down payment.

3. Offer to pay the down payment in increasing installments. You could pay monthly in six months or on a year’s time. This gives you time to find the rest of the money, or you could fix the property up and put it back on the market for a quick profit.

So, as you can see, sometimes investing in real estate doesn’t cost much. It just takes a little creativity to make money.

          Well, there are many sources of funds, but over the years I have found out that there are sources that are easy to get money from and those that impose a lot of requirements before you can receive it. Below are the tried and tested sources of capital for your business, which also include not only money but goods/products for sale as well.

     1. Personal Savings. This is the best source of capital to finance your business. Why? Because you do not have to worry about principal and interest payments. In the event that your business fails, you lose only the money that you have invested in, and nothing more. If you borrow money from the bank and your business closes shop, then you will also lose your collateral, usually real estate properties or even your house and lot, since the bank will foreclose it.  

     2. Personal Loans.  Borrowing from friends and relatives who have excess funds is a good way to finance your business. Usually the loan is interest-free, although some friends charge a very low interest just to cover the opportunity loss of their money, e.g. interest income had they deposited their money in the bank.

     Getting personal loans means you can finance your business with the least cost. If your  profit margin is 30% per month and the interest that your relatives or friends are charging you is  the usual 1% per month,  getting a personal loan is a very attractive and viable business proposition.

      3. Consignment of Goods. Not all products that your business sells need money to buy those products.  In fact, many businesses are using consignment to keep their inventory moving. This is how consignment works: You get a company to deliver their products to you. In doing so, you will act as the company’s sales agent.

     You will pay the company for those products that are sold, like on a monthly frequency. Not only that you will get the company’s products without paying anything, but you can also use the money from the sale of their products to generate more money before the schedule of payment arrives. It’s a double win on your part.

     4. Credit Cards. This is another good way to finance your business, since the interest-rate is rather low, compared to the loan sharks and pawnshops, which I do not recommend as sources of funds. To get the most of your credit, make your purchases right after the cut off date so that it gets reflected only in your next month’s bill.

     5. Investment Liquidation. Selling your idle assets to raise capital enables you to start your business debt-free. Your assets include your immovable properties like real estate and movables like cars, shares of stocks, jewelries. Selling these properties to raise capital to finance your business is always preferable to borrowing money and paying interest on it.

     6. Bank Loans. Banks seldom lend to a new or small business. Usually you have to prove your worth first before a bank will consider your loan application. These include having real estate as collateral, and your business must be feasible.  So unless you have the collaterals and have a track record in business which can be supported by financial reports and feasibility studies, a bank loan is not an attractive option as source of capital for a start up business.

     It always take money to make money, and in raising money to finance your business, the best sources of capital are those that you can generate without paying any interest or by paying the least cost and with minimum credit requirements.