Having a team, a question for all rei investors
Wholesaler · Remote · Member since 2025 · 59 posts · 38 votes
Hey BP Community,
I'm curious to hear your insights on building a successful real estate investment team. For those of you who have scaled your businesses, who would you consider the absolute essential members to have on board early on, even when capital might be tight?
Conversely, which team members or roles are more strategic hires that you brought on later, once you had more capital and a more established portfolio?
I'm interested in understanding the ideal progression of team building as you grow as an investor. Any advice or experiences you can share would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance for your wisdom.
Best,
Shaun
In addition to adding members to your "team" who can help you find deals, invest money, etc., I highly recommend working closely with both a knowledgeable tax professional and an experienced asset protection attorney to ensure you're maximizing both your protection and tax efficiency, regardless of the type of investing you are doing.
Hey Shaun, great question. This isn't something that just happens accidentally or at a snap of the fingers. I run two networks and I can tell you who are on my teams:
I have my "Point And Buy" Guy in each market. In both it's an investor/agent/wholesaler. The position usually wears two of those three hats. They know the market street by street, they can give accurate ARVs just with an address or neighborhood. They can prepare a comprehensive market comp analysis. They're familiar with all the discount outlets for cash purchases, they also can organically generate pocket listings. If the investor is the beachcomber then the "Point And Buy" Guy is the metal detector.
Lending, I bring to all the networks because that is my background. I have connections at all the big box and some of the boutique and a few private money outfits. I've closed hundreds or loans across several lenders so I know the process, I know the requirements, and I have established relationships with many reps at lenders and I can get my call or text answered immediately. But you need a money source for the bridge financing and then the DSCR on the way out. This is the one relationship that is never too early to start, IMO.
The GC relationship, this is a tough one. I won't lie. But you need to somehow get this to work and the Point and Buy Guy and the GC will need to work together. You'll need to get your process down as to how you will work. P and B guy finds an asset, he has to get the GC over there to get an estimate. Then they need to send you the purchase contract, the estimate for rehab, the comp report which outlines the house, neighborhood, as-is value, ARV, and last 6 month sales to back it up. GCs are tough to manage. First, believe it or not, people who are even "ok" are in high demand. Some GCs are just knock arounds in that the start a project, take in some money, do some half-*** work and then ghost or hide. That scenario plays out way more than a rockstar completion on a flip. Sad to say, but true. People lie about their outreach for labor, nobody ever says no either. No, I can't do that. You never hear that. Always yes. Can you build me a bridge to the moon? Of Course! But, this relationship is very important yet very risky as well. A GC can cause your entire project to stall, and then sink. This is the one profession where you need a license, but it means nothing as to your ability in the craft.
Your Exit agent, sometimes it is the Point and Buy guy and sometimes it's not. In one of my markets it is, in one of them it is not. The Exit Agent you'll want it to be a seasoned agent with a big book. Someone that can really sell and they can generate their own buyers. They put their own money into the marketing: pictures, virtual staging, open houses. Make sure any contract you sign is for no more than 60 days. Some of the fine print in these listing contracts can say 1 yr. You gotta be careful. You also don't want this person to just lowball list everything cause they wanna make their job easy. Everyone needs to put your bottomline in front of theirs.
Those are the pieces that any BRRRR investor should have, there's one more layer that the pro investors have. The investors that really can get into a project for 55% - 65% ARV all in. They have capital. They've either raised it, have it, borrowed it. They get ahold of enough money to be a cash buyer and to buy at the outlets that offer steep discounts to cash buyers. One they own it, then they go to the lender and do a cashout with rehab. But they are buying at the cash window and gobbling up all the discounts. That lowers project cost by 33% - 40%, maybe more in some cases. Then something else these investors do is GC their own projects. They developed sub connections, built sub lists for all the trades involved. They have demo, drywall, kitchen and bath, floors, painting, roof/siding, and then all the licensed trades: HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical. They eliminate that risky GC layer. Eliminate their responsibility and their fees. These pro investors are doing no mark-up rehabs.
When you combine steep discount purchase with less risky no mark-up rehabs. You find yourself in a very, very advantageous position in that you can miss the mark by 25% on your price and still make a good profit. The investor who bought at market and tried to manage some GC on the job, if they mis my 25% they are screwed.
EDITED TO ADD
I wanted to address your question of how to progress in building this team. That's a very fine line. If you build too early, your pieces will fall off if you do not bring a deal in. How many times will your Point And Buy Guy point at something and you not buy it before he starts ghosting you? You're not his/her only client. There is a timing component to this. If an agent agrees to start sending you deals and you pass on two straight then I'd say expect them to drop off soon. And on the flip side, some agents just send anything. Most of it does not work and so you have to say no. But until you do a deal with someone, you are nothing to them. Nothing. Everyone in this industry whether you are investor, lender, agent, GC, wholesaler, we all deal with phonies. All day, everyday. So until you do a deal with a team piece you are a phony to them. How many times will you get to send a GC to a house, ask him to sit down and price out the entire job, send it to you and then you pass. How many times you think you have? one, maybe two. Most won't even do one. Some charge for estimates for this reason.
Here's a tip: What has worked for me is to find someone with a PHD. That's poor, hungry, driven. The chances of you finding this savant agent with who is already established with a ton of clients to pay enough attention to you is slim to none. The chances of finding some driven, hungry upstart to prove themselves to really give you their best, is much higher. But again, you'll see, people drop off. So it takes time and then you need to make sure the team works well together. Not all personalities gel.
In addition to adding members to your "team" who can help you find deals, invest money, etc., I highly recommend working closely with both a knowledgeable tax professional and an experienced asset protection attorney to ensure you're maximizing both your protection and tax efficiency, regardless of the type of investing you are doing.
In addition to adding members to your "team" who can help you find deals, invest money, etc., I highly recommend working closely with both a knowledgeable tax professional and an experienced asset protection attorney to ensure you're maximizing both your protection and tax efficiency, regardless of the type of investing you are doing.
Hi E.J.,
Thank you so much for that valuable insight! You're absolutely right to highlight the critical importance of a knowledgeable tax professional and an experienced asset protection attorney.
It's easy to get focused on the deal-finding and funding aspects of building a team, but ensuring tax efficiency and protecting your assets are foundational to long-term success in real estate investing. Your point is a great reminder that these professionals aren't just for when you're "big" – they're crucial at any stage to set yourself up correctly and avoid costly mistakes down the line.
Thanks again for emphasizing these key team members!
Best regards,
Shaun
Hey BP Community,
I'm curious to hear your insights on building a successful real estate investment team. For those of you who have scaled your businesses, who would you consider the absolute essential members to have on board early on, even when capital might be tight?
Conversely, which team members or roles are more strategic hires that you brought on later, once you had more capital and a more established portfolio?
I'm interested in understanding the ideal progression of team building as you grow as an investor. Any advice or experiences you can share would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance for your wisdom.
Best,
Shaun
Lenders (Private, Hard Money, Traditional)- It is necessary to start establishing relationships with more than one source of capital early.
Attorney (Real Estate, Probate, Estate Planning)- Necessary to close deals and also a source of opportunities; also necessary to properly structure your business
Realtor (Commercial, Residential)- Partner with your realtor for listed and off market deals
Architects- Not needed right away, but eventually a must-have
Property Finders/Wholesalers- Source of deals
Tax Advisory- Not necessary right away