If you're interested in making a living buying and selling houses, there are a number of different kinds of deals you can pursue. But, by far, the most successful deals are the ones that are accomplished with the aid of a realtor.

The realtor should be doing the majority of the work in finding new leads. You need to carefully communicate to the realtor the location and type of home you're interested in buying. With the knowledge of new listings and price changes of existing listings, the realtor is in a great position to give you a narrow list of properties to pursue.

If you fall short in your communication with the realtor, you could end up wasting a great deal of time and energy, since you'll be presented with a list of properties that don't really fit your established criteria. As a result, it's best to err on the side of caution, giving the realtor a detailed explanation of what kinds of properties you're really interested in.

The realtor can provide you with a detailed summary of what's available, and then you can look at eight to ten houses in the appropriate price range. The relationship with the realtor should work well, since he or she has done significant leg work. In essence, the realtor does the work for you. Your job, then, is to view properties and make offers.

If you take an evaluation sheet with you, you can inspect the house and decide what kind of repairs need to be done. Based on this knowledge, you can then write up an offer. It's best if you can write up eight to ten offers each week. That would include low-ball offers on properties that need a great deal of rehab work in order to be resold. Because you're working with private lenders, you know that you have the money necessary to make the deals work. It's an advantage you have over other potential buyers.

Buying houses for resale to tenant buyers is certainly an adventure. You never know what kind of treasures may lie around the next corner, in the next housing sub-division. With some advanced preparation, you can make deals that work well for you, the tenant buyer, and the realtor. But this will require dealing with reputable realtors who can steer you in the right direction. Otherwise, your energy will be misspent on properties that are not really worth your while.