Getting into real estate investing is a dream of many because of the financial rewards it can bring. In this article I hope to be able to point you in the right direction. A good base and support system are key to wholesaling/investing and below you will read about what I think are the keys to success. Lets get started…
Like Minded, Positive people
Surround yourself with like minded people. I want to say that first as it is truly the most important piece of advice I can give you. If you were to follow around the richest people in the world, you would find out that they surround themselves with other rich people. Why? The reason for this is two fold, the first being that you need a sounding board to bounce ideas off of. If you have a question about what mailers would work best, asking your wife who doesn’t know jack about marketing or real estate won’t be able to give you sound advice. On the other hand, if you ask Fred your mentor or fellow Reia member, he would be able to give you recommendations and stats on why a postcard works better in downtown and a letter works best for uptown. Understand?
Even more important then using other investors as a resource for advice, is their positive thinking. Nothing will kill your wholesaling real estate career faster then having everyone around you saying “you can’t do this”,”real estate investing doesn’t work”,”it is illegal to flip houses”, etc. I don’t care how stubborn you are, enough negative people in your ear and your mind will start thinking the same way. Get rid of those negative people in your life and join your local REIA and find some like minded investors. I know you can’t get rid of your family, so just avoid talking about wholesaling real estate with them. They can’t talk bad about it if it’s never a topic of conversation.
Real Estate Investing Club
Join your local Real Estate Investing Club. Here is a link that lists many of the REIAs across the nation Real Estate Clubs. Join at least one, and if there is not a group close to you, start your own. Meetup is a great place to find local investors looking to gather. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to get members.
Have a Team
Investing is made up of a lot of parts and these parts need qualified professionals in order for you to be successful. You will need someone to submit your offers, review your contracts, finance your deals and give you advice and direction. When you first get started out, it is not necessary to have all these team members in place. So don’t let that stop you from getting into the game. As your wholesaling career takes off, you will need the following team members…Realtor, Attorney, Title or Escrow Company, Insurance Agent, CPA, Contractor, Mortgage Broker, Partner and Mentor. The best way to find these people is through referrals, which you can get from your fellow REIA members.
Don’t talk to Un-motivated sellers
Now most investors will recommend not to talk with un-motivated sellers and I agree with them if you are experienced. If you are just getting started out however, talk with EVERYONE. Get use to speaking with people about buying their house. It takes practice and at first the motivated sellers are going to be hard to find. By talking with all kinds of sellers, at first, you will get a good feeling for who is motivated and who is just a tire kicker. Go out to their house, get them talking and just listen. Ask open ended questions like “tell me about your house” or “why are you selling”. They will talk and you will learn.
Be Persistent
One quality of all real estate investors is their persistance. Everyone of them has failed and every one of them keeps moving forward. I like to call that Failing Forward. If your marketing isn’t working, adjust it. If you are getting leads but can’t get that contract, figure out where you are losing it and adjust. If you got stuck with a property that you can’t sell, you bought it for to much and you’ll need to buy the next one for less. Just keep trying and it will pay off sooner or later.
Keep Educated
The landscape is always changing in the real estate game. New laws are getting passed all the time. The market will be a buyer’s market one year and then a seller’s market the next. You never know, but you can be prepared. By staying educated and learning new techniques you’ll be able to sustain your business through all market ups and downs, rule changes and bad decisions. The base of anything is a good education. Some good places to learn…
FlippingHomes.com
ReiClub.com
CreOnline.com
Have a plan – goals
I’ve covered this in other articles so I won’t go into details, but you need to set goals in order to be successful. If you were to study the rich, you would notice that they all write down their goals. Doing so helps them become accountable. Try it, create a short list of 5 goals and write them down on a piece of paper. Hang this paper on the fridge so you see it everyday. It works!
Treat this as a business
To be a successful wholesaler you need to treat it like a business. Set a schedule and stick to it! If you treat it like a hobby it will be a hobby and you’ll never be able to free yourself from your 9 to 5 J.O.B. (Just Over Broke). It takes dedication and commitment or you will fail.
Hold on to your J.O.B. as long as you can
You can do this business while working a full time job. It won’t be easy and you’ll think to yourself “if i could just invest full time I’d be successful.” Now this may be true, but my advice is to keep your job for as long as possible. Keep that security of knowing you can pay your bills every month. Don’t be in a hurry to get into investing. If you take your time and be Persistant and Committed you will in time. Having to make your mortgage payment and having no income will definitely make you a “Motivated Buyer” which in this business means death!
Use Partners wisely
Make sure you know who you are dealing with. There are many bad people out there who want to take advantage of you. Be careful who you partner with. Make sure you can trust them. Ask fellow investors who have dealt with your proposed partner. When you do find a good partner my advice is to be the money man or the house man. Have one of you supply the money and the other person do everything else. A 50/50 split of work and risk. If you cross responsibilities you are asking for trouble.
I will end this article with a quote I recently heard
“Failure is success if we learn from it”
Hope this helps…
Helpfull Links
FlippingHomes.com
ReiClub.com
CreOnline.com
Real Estate Clubs
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