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What Comes Before the Deal
Build the Relationship Before You Need the Deal
One thing I’m starting to understand about off-market real estate is that relationships can be just as valuable as the leads themselves.
It’s easy to connect with someone and immediately ask:
“Do you have any deals?”
"Can we JV?"
“Can you send me opportunities?”
But I’m realizing that the better approach is to build the relationship before you need anything from the person.
Trust takes time.
Consistency matters.
And your reputation is built through repeated interactions—not one conversation.
If I want to build long-term relationships with acquisition professionals, wholesalers, agents, investors, and other people in the industry, I don’t want every interaction to feel transactional.
I want to learn from people, contribute when I can, share useful information, make introductions, engage with their content, and simply become someone they recognize and trust.
Because when an opportunity eventually comes up, I’d rather have built enough credibility that someone thinks:
“I know this person. I trust them. Let’s talk.”
That seems much more powerful than trying to build a network only when I need a deal.
I’m still early in this journey, so I’m curious:
For those who have built strong long-term relationships in real estate, what networking habits have produced your best business relationships?