Your Top 3? What has helped you ACTUALLY move the needle?

Question

Hey all, I am sure there have been similar posts, but I thought this would be a fun one to get some fresh insights.  As a relatively new investor ( 2years ) I am looking for anybody that has had any amount of success in RE investing to share the top 3 things that have measurably contributed to your financial success in RE.  I am thinking of things (situations, principles, actions) that have ACTUALLY moved the needle for you now that you look back with hind sight.  Things that if you did not have, it never would have worked.

After much thought, mine are different than what I thought they would be.  They are:

1 Appreciation. Especially on my personal home (hello cash-out and heloc)(this is ironic, seeing that i don't really invest for appreciation)

2 My punch the clock W-2 job.  As much as i hate to admit it, this has been a big factor in being able to get funding and fund my everyday needs so i can keep my RE earnings buying more RE

3 Good Teams.  Of the few investments that I have, they almost completely rely on a good team to make it happen.  I couldn't do most of it myself (PM's, Brokers, Banks)

What are your top 3?

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

appreciation,  forced appreciation, and then sprinkle on more appreciation..

great teams of course

find great markets ahead of the herd

Bob Woelfel · Answer

@Rob Hakes there are more, but here are my top 3

1) Personal development...I can't stress this enough.  Whether it be learning how to manage my own finances better, reading about how to improve my life or learning about real estate investing I would attribute much of my success to improving myself as a person.  I've read a number of books that have either changed my life or changed how I've looked at things, which has in turn improved my life dramatically.  Even meeting and marrying my wife.  10 years ago I wouldn't have stood a chance, but I improved myself and became a different person and therefore was able to attract someone like her into my life.

2)  A high paying job...When I first started I had a good job that allowed me to take care of the basics for me and my family while also allowing me to save and invest.  With that said, I lived almost exclusively off my salary (which was about 30% of my total income) and the majority of my commission pay was reserved for investments.  I looked good on paper to banks and I was able to get financing for the deals I needed to do.

3) The market/timing/luck....Although I would like to think that I'm a smart investor, I would have to say the run up of the market has helped me drastically.  I was able to BRRR a number of houses and sold my old primary residence last year, which in turn allowed us to buy a number of other investments.  We have good equity and LTV in all of our properties.

I could list a number of other things, but those are the three that stick out the most.

Rob Hakes · Answer

Thanks @Jay Hinrichs and @Bob Woelfel for the input.

Bob - I appreciate your commets about personal development.  Probably the toughest thing to quantify and measure, but the most important.