Where to start building a team

Question

I'm looking to invest in my first property soon. I already have a realtor, but want to start talking to CPAs, attorneys, property managers, etc. I have a million questions on things like tax implications of out-of-state investments, whether or not to use an LLC, and more.

I'm interested to hear how others approached this, and what order you decided to build your team (as well as when you purchased your first property in relation to this).

Jared Tillery · Answer

Hello Harrison!.  Im newer myself.  Im also building a team.  What I did was join the local REIA.  They sent some welcome materials including some preferred and paid business listings. I called most of the contacts to speak with them. The benefit is you are talking with people who know they will be working with investors and perhaps have before.  Otherwise, William has some great suggestions.  I advocate calling and talking with them.  I judge the company a lot by how they handle my call when I am a prospective client.  There has been a few calls thus far where I ended the call early because it was too underwhelming.

I found it works best for me to write down all my questions early before the call.  Try to ask each firm the same questions so you can compare apples-to-apples with answers. When you get them on the phone, tell them you are a new investor.  Ive actually gotten some good references on these calls because they of their relationships and being honest with what your looking for.

William P. · Answer

Hello Harrison!

Sounds like an exciting time for you, keep doing your due diligence and research/learn everyday! I personally recommend house hacking with a duplex/multi-family property for your first go around. Regarding your team I am not sure what area you are in, but I personally made a list of contacts for each type of role I wanted/need. I started out with with those I knew, those whom were recommended to me (fellow business owners I knew and asked for their thoughts) , and what good ole google could tell me (doesn't hurt to check out this website for people in your area if you live in or near a big city). That way I had multiple contacts/referrals in case something fell through, especially with contractors.

When it comes to your questions, I personally scoured the interwebs like this site, podcasts/youtube, and others forms of educational media to gain a foundation of understanding and there is a pleurae of book recommendations as well people can always provide. I highly recommend breaking down your questions into categories and doing your own research first before paying someone to tell you information you can independently get a foundation for, otherwise mentoring is also an option.

With my first property I did house hacking with a duplex. I did research and networking in my area for years while working my 9-5 job. By the time I was ready I had a general business plan to start out with, a type A rockstar realtor, my finances in order with understanding my budget, and honestly went from there. My realtor knows the area pretty well and is able to recommended people for various needs I have needed or was curious about such as a lawyer, contractors, etc.

Hope this helps some, best of luck with your real estate journey!

Harrison S. · Answer

Thanks William! I'm in downtown Washington DC, so prices are a bit prohibitive here. A typical row house with separated English basement runs about $900k, so I'm planning to start out in a less expensive market. However I think your advice is great! Writing down all of my questions will help keep those thoughts organized, and for questions where I can't find answers I'll have a list to run by those who I meet with.