Do's and Don't of Successful Real Estate Investors
Recently I was asked for some do's and don'ts to being a successful real estate investor for a radio interview and it was an interesting exercise to grab all of these thoughts together.
I thought I'd share these with you and ask that you add your own from your personal experience:
Do's
#1 Build a strong team that supports your long term vision. All of whom should have extensive experience with real estate investors. These include: accountant, corporate lawyer, real estate lawyer, mortgage broker, realtor(s), research source, fellow investors.
#2 Eliminate 'Day Trade' mentality with real estate. Stock markets can move substantially on a day to day basis and because of this many investors watch their stocks every day. With real estate, there is no get rich quick... it is a long term process that is driven by long term economics. Fluctuations will always occur in the market.
#3 Study the economics that support your region - rather than national 'averages.' Become a specialist in one or two geographic areas. The smaller your niche the more apt you will be to be successful. It will be easier for you to stay focused on what matters to YOUR bottom line.
#4 Focus on positive cash-flow - no matter what the market conditions positive cash flow is important and makes your life easier and allows you to get closer to your Personal Belize.
#5 Don't be afraid to ask anything of anyone. Learn from those more successful (or more experienced) than you. If they are too busy to help, ask someone else. There are no bad questions and definitely no reason to play the loan wolf trying to solve problems on your own.
Don'ts
#1 Don't allow yourself to get too high when you hit a home run or too low when you make a mistake. This also goes for market conditions, if the market is screaming hot, don't get caught up in it and when it comes back to normal don't talk yourself into being too low. It is what it is and as a business owner you can't afford the emotional roller-coaster.
#2 Don't line-up for a pre-build condo. That is speculation not investing.
#3 Don't buy a property just because it seems cheap - you may quickly find out that it wasn't so cheap after all.
#4 Don't let a property promoter sell you a property without you doing your own due diligence on the area. If you fell pressure to buy, step away! The quick decisions are always the ones that turn into the mistakes.
#5 Don't ignore tax planning in your overall scheme. Speak to a real estate accountant, give them your plan so they can help structure your whole program
#6 Never, Ever buy a piece of real estate based on a 'Tip' always follow your system -don't skip steps they are there to protect you during market fluctuations. Many skip steps in the Quickstart system during hot market times only to find that the steps they skipped are the ones that would have saved them during real market conditions. The steps are there for a reason not just for fun.
visit www.myREINspace.com discussion forums to post your do's and don'ts
