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Getting Started with Real Estate Investing

Too often after being in real estate for a while, we forget the basic principles of real estate investing and we take for granted certain knowledge and tips of the business. It is useful to go back and remember some important ground rules and especially for new investors, these rules can help jumpstart a lucrative career in real estate in a very competitive business.

1. Treat Real Estate as a Business and Organize a Team:

Many real estate investors jump in the business on a part time business or treating it more as an experiment instead of a real full fledge business.

Organizing the right entity for your business (LLC or Corporation) and aligning the right members to your team can make a dramatic difference in the operation flow and help the
real estate venture advance at a quicker rate. These are the basic team member you should add to the organization from the beginning:

• Title Company — Find a title company, which is “Investor Friendly:” allows double closings, has knowledge of negotiating liens and judgments, provides quick title/letter reports, provides “binder title policy,” and so on.
• Real Estate Agent — Find an agent who is assertive, willing to learn new ways of doing business and enthusiastic.
• Attorney — Real estate experience is a must. Look for a smaller firm or someone in private practice, who is looking to establish a long term relationship.
• Mortgage Broker — Someone who is experienced working with investors and is creative enough to know how to locate and use the products in order to get the deals done.
• Mentor — If you are new in the business, finding a mentor to lead you in the right direction and available for you to consult when you have a question or a dilemma is very important if you are determined in making it in the business.

2. Network with other real estate investors:

Find a local real estate investor clubs, and attend meetings. Additionally you can find real estate investing groups on LinkedIn & Facebook, where you can network with investors all over the world, or in specific markets, there are groups catering to anything, and everything you can imagine! Be sure to check out my Facebook Group here.

Joining or creating a Master Mind Group is important to keep your focus and motivation on track.

3. Set Real Estate Investing Goals, & Track Your Progress:

Write down your short term and long term goals. Real estate can be a lucrative business, but it requires focus and determination. Some results can be achieved in a short amount of time, but bigger results are achieved with a solid long term plan.

You need to have a financial plan and a personal plan — basically analyze what it will take for you to achieve a certain goal and what life changes are you willing to implement in order to achieve it.

4. Constantly Educate Yourself On Real Estate Investing:

Real Estate is an ever evolving business – what worked and was true 5 years ago, now it is obsolete. You need to keep ahead of the curve and educate yourself about the market, new strategies, new ways of doing business and so on.

You can lose more money with a mistake than you can learning how to avoid one. Even if you have been at this business for years, you need to keep up with current trends and laws.

I have seen so many investors starting enthusiastically in the business after reading books or attending seminars, but they forget to apply the basic principles outlined above; soon they get discouraged or fail, and unfortunately quit the real estate business, instead of giving it time to flourish.

Article written and published by Laura Al-Amery. Connect with me on LinkedIn.

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