In the midst of financial uncertainty – rising unemployment and foreclosures, an unstable housing market – many people are hesitant to start investing in real estate. But those who search a little bit deeper and choose to ignore the negative views of the media, have an opportunity to create large amounts of wealth for themselves and for their family with passive income streams from rental property.

The variety of negative economic factors associated with recessions, can be good news for real estate investors who make money in both the up and down markets. This is because, for them real estate is on sale. All these foreclosures and job losses have resulted in distressed properties and motivated sellers- good news for investors who need to buy property at a discount. As an added bonus (apart from equity capture- what you’ll make when you eventually sell the property for far more than you paid for it), is that cash flow increases as you encounter greater discounts. This is because while all other factors may remain the same (rehab cost, rent, monthly expense) your monthly payment is lower.

Another result of rising foreclosures are that many previous homeowners will now be forced to rent, or become your tenants. Also, since qualifying for a home loan is much more difficult these days, some people will be unable to qualify and be forced to rent as well. At the same time, for investors who have excellent credit there are some great financing opportunities and low interest rates that have previously been unavailable.

In addition to all these great reasons why now is the perfect time to invest in real estate is that in this environment negotiations are so much easier. Instead of arguing with an unmotivated to seller to drop their listing price in order for the deal to work for you, many seller’s listing prices are already at bargain levels. Because of this, it’s unnecessary to waste a lot of time haggling with sellers. If the deal doesn’t work for you move on- there are plenty more out there.