Real estate investing is one of the most effective ways to build wealth over time, offering the potential for both steady income and long-term financial growth. But for first-timers, the idea of diving into the competitive real estate market can feel overwhelming.

While foreclosures have (finally) fallen to a 20-year low, thanks to a stronger labor market and better interest rates, the U.S. housing market has certainly had its share of rough spots over the past decade. At the height of the housing crisis in 2008, foreclosures spiked a staggering 81% and more than 860,000 families lost their homes. It’s taken a long time to recover from that. Truth be told, if you’re wondering how to find bank owned properties, there are plenty on the market today.

The US has 1.9 billion acres of land in the contiguous 48 states. Only 3.6% of it has been developed for residential use in urban areas. And even after accounting for all the acreage that’s dedicated to agriculture, crops and government use, that’s a lot of land that could potentially be available for private use. For decades now, the “American dream” has centered on owning a home with a picket fence and, if you’re lucky, a bit of land. Wondering how to find land for sale is something a lot of Americans do.

Want to be more active in real estate processes but unsure of how much work it takes?

You’re not alone. Even something as simple as figuring out who owns a property can seem like a daunting process. Maybe you want to put an offer on your dream home when it’s not listed or need to get the owners to clean up their much-neglected property. Whatever the case, it’s not always as easy as knocking on someone’s door.