[Note: To follow is an excerpt of an interview with Marc Stephan Garrison, founder of the National Association of Real Estate Investors, and author of several books on real estate investing including "Unlimited Real Estate Profit." To listen to the show archive or download an MP3, go to www.IncomePropertyInvestmentTalk.com/021809.]

Mosca: What is happening in America today as it relates to real estate and real estate investing from both a residential and a commercial side?

Garrison: All real estate exists in one of four-cycle stages and that would be Expansion, Equilibrium, Decline, and Absorption. I invest, and take investor clients, into absorption markets. On Saturday, I will be flying to an absorption market where there are new jobs that justify construction, and will provide a positive cash flow from day one. Every single listener right now can get involved in these absorption markets. There are dozens of them in the United States. The key is due diligence. In fact, I am looking for new markets to go into in May. I have a rule: I go out with investors four times a year and only go into the very best markets. It is no different than what Mike Anderson and Nathan Hanks have been doing at RealSource since 1989. They do the due diligence, they discover markets, and they take advantage of the opportunities in markets. For example, this coming Saturday I will spend a week in a market with a group of 25 investors and these people will buy about $23 million worth of real estate. I have a whole group of investors that I have taught that have become self-made real estate millionaires because of our conversations and because of our buying tours. Those people will actually volunteer time to help your listeners do the same without a charge. RealSource offers your listeners a free consultation with its Client Advisors by going to Income Property Investment Talk dot com, and that’s what I believe in. I have some of the very best mentors. They are not selling anything. They are not trying to get your money. They just want to help. Bottom line: Whatever stage you’re in; there is a way to invest.

Mosca: What is your take on independence versus relying on relationships or is there a combination of both that works well for investors?

Garrison: You cannot do this on your own. You absolutely have to have a mentor. I know it because that is what I experienced. I had a mentor. People can contact you and if they're interested I can get a phone number and I will outbound a call to you, the listener. You just can’t do it on your own. We’ve been doing market tours for 22 years. We start on a Sunday with a meet and greet. Monday is an all-day class session. We go out on a bus looking at the investment properties on Tuesday and Wednesday. We furnish the demographics, the market, the deals, and the mentors. I cannot emphasize more the importance of having a mentor. If you're not in a position to put up a lot of money to invest in a partnership with RealSource, I can present to you two or three investment properties that will give you positive cash flow every single month from day one.

Mosca: I agree. The mantra in real estate -- location, location, location – has a great deal to do with success. How important is understanding migration patterns?

Garrison: You have to understand the cycle stage for the market that you want to invest in. Then, once you know the cycle stage, you need to use the tools that teach you how to invest profitably in that particular market. My Web site at NAREI.com, and my latest book, Unlimited Real Estate Profit, can help you better understand the fifth migration and why people are moving. People are moving for survival; so they can have jobs. In the market that I am going to this coming Saturday they have about 37,000 new jobs moving into that city. For every new professional job that moves in, there is an ancillary effect. That ripple effect is basically one new professional job equals 4.2 service sector jobs.

Mosca: I urge caution when I hear the word "bargain." There are opportunities out there, but just because prices may be down, that does not equate necessarily to a bargain or a great place to invest. Correct?

Garrison: Absolutely right. You can’t make the market change. The bottom line is you cannot just invest in real estate in your backyard. Your own residence is not an investment it is a place that you're going to be able to live when you retire. Your goal through real estate would be able to generate profit, flipping properties, buying short sales, and buying foreclosures in markets that are advancing, these absorption markets that are moving back into expansion.

Mosca: The top three foreclosure markets -- California, Arizona, and Florida -- have shown signs of slowing down. While still above national average norms the number of foreclosures has been slowing in those three states. Do you think that this is a blip or do you think maybe the enthusiasm and the excitement behind the new president, his administration and his policies might be having a positive effect on real estate?

Garrison: I absolutely believe there is a change in the climate in Washington, DC. I view it as positive for us as real estate investors. All markets will be touched.

Mosca: What is your golden nugget?

Garrison: Since 1985, I have taught thousands of investors on my buying tours and every one of my students, ‘live where you want to live, but invest only where it makes financial sense.’

Published: March 12, 2009

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Peter L. Mosca is president and founder of BAK Communications, Inc. He has over 22 years of communications and media consulting experience, serving a variety of nonprofit organizations, including the CCIM Institute and the REALTOR Association on all three levels – national, state and local. He is the Spokesperson Trainer for the CCIM's Jay Levine Academy and trains hundreds of residential REALTORS nationwide to be effective industry spokespeople. He is consistently ranked as "excellent" by about 90% of those who attend his presentations. While his principal consulting focuses are public speaking and media relations development and content delivery and management, Peter is also the host of the Voice America Network's weekly radio program, "Income Property Investment Talk," a one-hour program that brings the powerhouses of commercial and residential real estate to property investors every Wednesday at 11 a.m. EST. Peter is married 17 years to his wife Barbara. They have two children: Ashley, 15 and Kelli, 12. Hence, the name BAK Communications, Inc.