When people hear of real estate investors, the image of a wealthy person with millions of dollars on hand probably comes to mind. But remember, all investors had to start out with their first property. There are many types of real estate investors, and various avenues to consider. All investors fall into two main categories, short-term and long-term.

Some short-term investment strategies include, rehabbing, foreclosure acquisitions, and wholesaling. Investors who concentrate on these areas have fine tuned methods of seeking properties that are in distress. They often have a contractor or fix-up crew on call, and are able to complete projects within a 60 day period. Once a project is complete, the repaired home is ready for the open market.

Long-term investment strategies include land-lording, condo conversions, commercial leasing, and option selling. These methods are attractive because they offer cash flow and income over an extended period of time. Also, the opportunity is present to take advantage of leverage to acquire other properties.

In a hot sellers market, short term investors looking to flip houses can make up 25% of the homebuying population. That means one out of every four buyers is an investor. In a buyers market, more long-term investors enter the market, picking up homes way below market value, and renting them out for an additional source of monthly income.  Even though the median price of an Alexandria, Arlington, or Washington DC home is higher than the national average, there's still lots of money to be made.