Before you start real estate investing, there’s one thing you should do that many beginners neglect.
Success in any field is never a one man show – not even for seemingly individual sports like gymnastics, track and field, MMA, swimming, diving, and more. Sure, these athletes are on the track, in the pool, in the octagon alone, against their opponent(s), but they all represent a team.
Arguably, the single most successful athlete in the world, of all time, Michael Jordan, said it best…
“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.”
And he would know better than anyone. You see, Michael Jordan was extremely talented. His NBA basketball games were largely a one-man show, early on. But after losing the first championship title he realized his prodigious talent was not enough.
That’s when he became extremely talented at leading and involving his team in games. And that’s when the Chicago Bulls began to win championships.
Start Real Estate Investing the Right Way
To start real estate investing on the right foot, you need to build your team that leverages your efforts and value to focus on the big picture.
Have you ever heard the saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure?”
This is true in real estate investing!
There are properties that come across the desk of certain professionals in the real estate investing business every day that they are a hinderance to their job, they wish to get off their plate, and want to unload as quickly as possible.
To them, the dream would be to have someone to refer these problem properties to.
There is expertise you will need to leverage in order to successfully navigate the decision-making process of winning deals.
If you want to build a fast-growing, successful real estate business, you need to focus on working ON your business and quickly minimize the time you spend working IN your business.
Of course, you won’t start off this way.
Actually, you’d be best served working in every aspect of your new real estate investing business, learning and mastering every aspect of it from the ground up.
But you should start with the end in mind.
If you want to build it hard and fast, you need to plan on working your self out of every individual job in the process of this business so that you end up solely working ON your business within the first couple of years or so.
Imagine generating a full-time income from your real estate investing business that more than pays for you to have a great lifestyle AND gives you the time freedom to generate profits while you’re on vacation.
This is completely possible for you, however, this dream is likely not possible if you don’t build a winning team.
What’s more, a winning team serves more purposes than even this.
In real estate investing, the right team can be your source for big-profit deals, JV partnerships, and even financing.
Let’s take a look at some of the players of your championship team and some of the ways they can help you start and grow your real estate investing business.
#1 Real Estate Agent
The right real estate agent can help you in many ways.
A real estate agent with years of experience in the areas you’re looking to invest in can provide critical market research for you. They know the schools alike in that area, with that comps are in the area, developments happening in the area, how fast properties are selling in the area, and other important information.
Market research – This will be the first the before you invest in an area. It’s the key to finding great deals and the right real estate agent can lead the way in market research.
Find great deals – Not only is a good real estate agent great for market research, they can also help you find deals. Being in the business of property transactions, real estate agents know about properties before they go on the MLS listing. You can offer great deals to you before they go on the market.
Connect you with buyers – They can prepare sales with buyers here properties.
It’s important to look for real estate agent specializes in working with real estate investors for you to get all of these benefits from the relationship.
#2 Handyman Company
it’s critical for you to calculate repair costs to the properties you are investing in so that you have an accurate ARV.
This spread between what you pay for the property plus the cost of repairs to make the property move-in ready and the estimate you actually are able to sell the property for is where you sink or swim.
So working with handyman service that you can trust to be pretty accurate with haircuts estimates that are made directly impacts your profit margin.
You want to work with a company you can trust to get things done right, get them done on time, and on budget. In reality, finding handyman Company that does all of the above is more like finding a needle in a haystack.
Still, you have to push on through until you find one you can trust because the move-in ready condition of your properties also directly impact the marketability and appeal of them.
How to find a great handyman company?
Interview 10 or more people who have had repair services performed on their own investment property last year.
This is just a great place to start. Perform good due diligence by also interviewing several of the top recommended handyman repair companies before settling on one or small repair project.
#3 Property Management Company
if you’re following buy-and-hold strategy for monthly cash flow, appreciation, and long-term capital gains benefits when you’re getting into the landlord business.
Landlording is a whole other beast besides everything you must do well in order to even find purchase in rehab your investment property.
The first and natural thought you have when starting your real estate investment business is to do everything yourself to make the most positive cash flow.
Still, becoming a landlord is an everyday month by month year-by-year profession that makes most investors wish they could just throw in the towel.
Simplify your life and focus on growth by hiring a great property management company.
Not only will you still feel to make net positive cash flow, you may actually make more while at the same time enjoying less stress and more time freedom.
#4 Real Estate Attorney
connecting with a seasoned real estate attorney can be a relationship worth its weight in gold.
In some states, closings happen at a real estate attorney’s office, while in other states, they take place at a title company’s office.
If you’re in the states where closings take place in real estate attorney offices, then you will of course need to develop a good relationship with these professionals.
Legal Advisers – They can help with legal issues that arise in some of your deals, they can prepare documents and also take care of the title reports.
Even more than this, real estate attorneys can refer blockbuster, off-market deals to you that come across their desk.
Deal referral – This one relationship that be a great source of finding winning deals.
See, real estate attorneys, come across motivated sellers all the time.
They could refer a steady stream of divorce deals, bankruptcies, probate properties, foreclosures, short-sale properties, eviction properties, damaged properties (with fire, tornado, hurricane and other damage) to you for deeply discounted prices.
#5 Local REIA
Every real estate investor should be a part of their local real estate investor association, or REIA.
Education – these associations often provide good training grounds for real estate investors.
Partners – since many other real estate investors comprise these associations, they are great source of JV partners.
Sellers – As you connect investors you may look into a deal every now and then. There’s always some reason other investors are looking to unload properties that may be great deals for you.
Buyers – Likewise, this is a great place to find buyers for your deals.
Financers – You can also find the all-important funds you need to make deals happen from these associations.
Community – it’s important to have a place you can connect like-minded individuals. This community of real estate investors provide the support, morale, and inspiration you need to press on through tough situations.
Visit NationalREIA.org to find the REIA in your area.
Conclusion
As you can see, these professionals are integral to your success as you start real estate investing.
You should start your real estate investing business with your real estate agent and after learning some of the basics of the business and gradually build your team from there.
Ask people you trust for who they recommend to find each of these referrals. When you come across people you think may work out, interview 2-3 different people for each profession category.
If you want to start real estate investing and avoid common pitfalls it’s important that you built your championship team.
