Assembling your Real Estate Investing Team
Author: Joshua Dorkin • URL: http://www.biggerpockets.com/March 15th, 2006 •
There are several important things you need to be successful in real estate, one of which is a great team. I’m going to talk briefly about who should be on the winning team:
1. Your Mentor - every successful entrepreneur needs a good mentor. A guide. By training under the watchful eye of one smarter then us, we can only get smarter. Start at your local investment club.
2. Mortgage Broker - you want someone who has the experience of working with other investors. They need to be creative and smart!
3. Real Estate Attorney - it is really important to have someone on the team who can go through contracts, and who knows the legalities of all your moves.
4. Escrow Officer or Title Rep - having a good one on the team helps to close deals that much quicker. You always want people looking out for YOUR interests.
5. Accountant - Preferably a CPA (Certified Public Accountant). Your numbers guy should also be well aware of the ins and outs of real estate. Come tax time, this is the man to help you through the write-offs!
6. Insurance Agent - It is always better having an insurance rep that is looking out for you when things hit the fan.
7. Contractor - The good contractor seems like the hardest one to find, but can often make or break your profit margin. You want someone who gets things done on time and under budget!
8. Supportive Family & Friends - Having the support and backing of loved ones is important in any endeavor.
Other Optional Team Members:
8. Realtor - someone keeping an eye out for you
9. Property Manager - someone to watch over your investments
10. Great Handyman - Someone to take care of the little things that come up on a daily basis.
Assembling the team will not happen overnight, but once together, they will give you the backing and help you’ll need to make your real estate investing dreams come true. If there are any other team members you use, please tell us about them!
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Joshua Dorkin
Charles Feldman
Ted Karsch.
Troy Schuricht
Richard Warren
Jim Watkins
That so thought out and structured. I need to get my team refined and built up. So far the only team member I have is a friend who just got realtor certified.
Just came across your blog you made some great observations on putting together a great real estate team.
Nice job. Mabye add a fanatical planner to your list also. But it looks like a great place to get started. thanks for the insightfull info.
Add in your Money Man (or Women) and the team is even stronger at getting you to the goal line. I like a Money Man who I can call with the details on the pre foreclosure I’m ready to purchase and he is ready to close within 48 hours.
Make sure you have known what tool you will use to manage your property. Even if you hire a property manager do not assume you should use their property management tool, make sure you have complete access to your property information. We like, iRealtyManager.com.
ADD A GOOD CONTRACTOR TO THE LIST , ONE WHO LISTENS TO YOU !!!1
[...] Josh, at Biggerpockets, shared a couple more of these several months back and you may want to check those out as well over here . [...]
Good list, and nice to see you have mentor at the top of the list. I come across too many people that are too proud to think they need a mentor, and this is a huge mistake in my opinion. Excellent list though and I’m glad I stumbled upon your blog.
The list is not full but it’s still ok.
Thanks for all the additions guys!
Mike . . . if the list isn’t full, can you help us fill it? Why post a comment like you did if you have no intention of adding anything constructive to the conversation?
I just began assmenbling my team and they consist of 1) Short sale experience Realtor, 2) Mortgage broker with conventional underwriting experience, 3) Title rep., 4) former code enforement officer, 5) former building and safty staff member, 6) Hudge Fund person, 7) Bird dog organization,
Certified REO inspector, 9) Experiece sales agent.
[...] Contact a title company. Title representatives can be extremely helpful in many ways . . . finding liens is one of them. I strongly advise having a good title rep as part of your investing team! [...]
Great post! As a beginner is there a good starting line-up or should this be the team to have to make that first deal? I suppose this would be a question for a mentor though.
I would move PROPERTY MANAGER up to the TOP of the list rather than lower down as is shown….property managers KNOW the rental market, what residents want to RENT and WHERE they want to rent it…remember * location, location, location * a good property manager can advise you WHERE to start your search and if you want to expand your RE portfolio, a good PM can advise you on diversification.
any preforeclosure investors out there… would like to network with a mentor.
Should we even number these? I feel most, if not all, are equally important in the success of being in real estate. Correct me if I’m wrong and there’s one more important than the other, thanks!
edit above **is there one aspect of RE (any of the top
more important than the other and one can survive without? Thanks
John -
They are likely all relatively equal in importance, although you certainly will find some more important than others depending on your focus in the REI game.