All Forum Posts by: Peter Vekselman

5 Reasons to Invest in a Down Real Estate Market

We’ve been talking about investing in the down real estate market for a while now, but there are so many people out there who are afraid to plunk down the kind of money it takes to get going in a down real estate market. Here are five things you should keep in mind when investing in a down real estate market:
1) First, do not ever pay full asking price. The majority of people will be asking for prices at or near the amount of their mortgage, as if they held all the cards. They don’t, especially now that we are all facing a down real estate market. Seriously appraise the property and decide if you want it. If you really do, and it seems like it has the potential to be a return on your investment, then you should make an offer. Some places can be had for as low as a 20 per cent discount on the asking price; that is the beauty of purchasing in a down real estate market. If they balk at your price, you can walk away knowing that they will eventually come down to earth and realize that in a down real estate market, there are very few buyers.
2) Second, think location, location, location. As the real estate market boomed the last couple of years, the locations for some housing developments started to become really whacky; out in the middle of nowhere, down one lane roads, and with the barest of infrastructures, housing tracts sprung up like mushrooms after a rain storm. You need to think strategically; the desirable houses will be more centrally located when people finally realize that the credit crunch and real estate market is making a come back.
3) Real estate in a down market is a long term investment. You will probably not be able to unload your investment any time soon, but you should keep in mind that eventually, people will want to purchase new homes again, and when the credit markets do open back up, you will be sitting pretty. Be patient and you will make a tidy bundle when you finally do sell.
4) You aren’t going to be able to flip a house in a down real estate market, so why bother. Don’t put more into a house than to make it habitable; some people may be lucky to flip in some areas, but flipping is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Maximize your dollars and invest in multiple properties while rehabilitating them only if necessary.
5) Become a land lord. Land lords are holding all the cards right now. Just because someone loses their house doesn’t mean they are going to become homeless. In fact, in many rental markets, there is a shortage of landlords who can rent to all the people needing houses. Being a land lord can be seen as an interest return on your investment since a 200,000 dollar house rented for 1,000 dollars a month returns 12,000 dollars, or 6% on the investment per year!

Whether you're a novice real estate investor or you've been at it for years, real estate investing is an endless series of challenges. First, you have to locate motivated sellers. Then you have to buy it right, manage it even better, and still find a way to turn a profit. To top it off, you have to try to do all these things while simultaneously juggling the myriad other details of your life while laying the groundwork to become a full-time investor.
There just isn't enough time in the day, is there?
Wouldn't it be nice if profitable deals would almost magically come to you?
Well, they can.
By putting Bird Dogs to work for you there's more time for you to concentrate your energies on more profitable activities: negotiating with sellers, putting together winning proposals, and moving on to the next deal.
In case you're not familiar with what a bird dog is - or what a bird dog does - they are basically scouts that sniff out deals for you. Their sole job is to locate properties that have motivated sellers and lay the groundwork for you to move in and close the deal. This saves you time for the really profitable aspects of real estate investing.
While all bird dogs are not Realtors, Realtors have a huge advantage over non Realtor bird dogs, for obvious reasons: They have access to the local MLS, FLMS listings, they know the neighborhood, they know how long the homes are on the market, they know what buyers are looking for, they know what it will take to get it in resale condition, they have access to motivated buyers and sellers or can find them for you.
Without motivated sellers you can't put together real estate deals. The problem you have is there are only so many hours in the day for you to do everything that needs to be done. If you still have a full-time job working for someone else you have even less time available for your marketing and prospecting efforts. If you assume that marketing - of which locating motivated sellers is a critical part - takes 20%-25% of your time, you can easily see how little time that leaves for the other activities you need to be doing on an on-going basis to reach your goals.
By having a bird dog or bird dogs doing these things for you it allows you to better utilize the time resources you have at your disposal. A good bird dog isn't born: they're made. It's going to take a little effort on your part to help your bird dogs help you. The best way for you to do this is by clearly articulating to them what you need. Again, here is where Realtors can be invaluable, because you will spend less time bringing Realtors up to speed as they already have had extensive training.
The good news is that there are plenty of people willing to be bird dogs. They could be friends, family members, or others you come in contact with. You can also work with novice real estate investors through your local REIA to locate properties for you. It's also relatively easy to put together larger teams of bird dogs by utilizing message boards, Craig's List, and other online resources. If all else fails you can run a newspaper ad of your own. The main point here is that bird dogs will free up more of your time so you can do those things that have a greater probability of earning you money.
Bird dogs can be the path to your real estate investing goals. The finder's fees you'll pay your bird dogs for bringing deals to you are more than offset by the value - and the wealth - they'll generate for you. Take the time to learn how to work with bird dogs in reaching your investing dreams. As you get better at working with bird dogs you'll find that you have more time and money for other pursuits - like deciding what to tell your boss when you quit your full-time job and take the plunge into full-time real estate investing.

If you intend to invest in real estate, real estate training can be beneficial. Your firm must develop successful habits quickly. You must choose your approach to learning, and your trainer carefully, however. The first thing you need to consider is the cost/benefit ratio of the relationship. Is similar help or information available some other way, perhaps at lower cost? Most of the information you’d need to learn in order to succeed in real estate is available for free if you have the time and energy to do your research. If you are willing to sign up a mentor you have to make sure you’re going to get your money’s worth.
Proper training can help you put together a business plan and give you specific ideas as to what you need to do in order for your venture to be a success. A good consultant will keep your nose to the grindstone and put your feet to the fire. A good consultant or mentor can keep you moving forward, and help you through rough times and answer questions. A good real estate consultant can also provide support, motivation, knowledge, and help you keep your focus.
You could approach learning about real estate investing in a number of different ways. You could, for example, buy books or do research on the Internet. You could also take a study-at-home course. You could attend an accredited real estate training option. Yet another option is to hire a coach or mentor to teach you the ropes. A coach or mentor can be the best source of real estate training---if you get the right coach or mentor. The key to choosing a mentor is figuring out what questions to ask, and being able to assess their personality, knowledge and professionalism.
Real estate training is a well-structured series of lessons revolving around an approach to real estate investing that is intended to help the real estate professional think more clearly, gain better perspective and focus more effectively on their goals. Coaching provides the tools to enhance the process of building a successful business and offer s a way to approach accountability for your actions as a professional.
Classes can be conducted over the phone or online as well as the traditional way, in person. Professional real estate coaches are trained to listen and observe, and tailor their approach to your individual needs. They help you elicit solutions and strategies and give you feedback, provide a perspective so that you can take the initiative and make the moves that will get you the results you desire.
Trainers should offer tried and true business methods, not proprietary or unique solutions. Unique, “proprietary†or secret methods are more than likely to be nothing more than marketing hype intended to separate you from your money and nothing more. Most of the methods for finding, acquiring, renting, selling or optioning property have been around for a considerable time. It’s quite possible for someone to have a slightly different take on these methods, but highly unlikely that they have invented a truly proprietary method—at least one that actually works.

When should you hire a real estate coach? If you’re committed to investing in real estate, there are a lot of reasons to hire a coach. The main reason is to produce better results in your real estate business and make more money than you currently are. You may feel that you should be operating your business entirely by yourself. After all, real estate naturally attracts the sort of people who like to work independently, and succeed based on their own mettle. Pride is fine, but you’re in this to make money, aren’t you? Wouldn’t it make sense to set your pride aside and do whatever makes sense for your career?
No doubt, you are enthusiastic about real estate investing. If you’re just starting out, though, you’ll no doubt admit you’ve got a lot to learn. Wouldn’t it make sense to find a mentor who knows the ropes, and can help you achieve greater success than you would on your own? If you’ve worked in the corporate world, you know how effective a good mentor can be in furthering your knowledge and improving your skill set. Coaching is different from teaching per se in that it is more focused on setting and pursuing goals. It’s not that different from sports coaching, except that it is focused on real estate investment. Even if you are goal-oriented already, a real estate coach can help you set better, more realistic, more achievable goals without sacrificing ambition.
Even if you are already successful at buying and selling real estate, you might benefit from the services of a real estate coach. A real estate coach can focus your business and your goals, and give you an informed second opinion on your real estate practice. In fact, coaching is a better option for experienced real estate professional than for absolute beginners. Once you know the basics, you can hire a real estate coach to help you close the gap between where you are now and where you really want to be.
You are probably, at this point, wondering how real estate coaching proceeds. Real estate coaching usually moves forward through a series of structured conversations revolving around your approach to your real estate investment business. These conversations are designed to help you set and pursue clearer, more achievable goals, think more clearly about your business, and gain better perspective. Real estate coaching is designed to provide the tools to enhance the process of building a successful business, and helps you approach becoming more accountable to yourself for achieving your goals.
Real estate coaching is often done by telephone. It doesn’t have to be; it can be done in person as well. A good real estate coach will tailor his or her approach to your needs. Before you hire a real estate coach, make they are able to adapt to your unique needs and your approach to the working relationship. If you choose the right real estate coach, you can expect them to give you objective feedback on your business and your approach to real estate investing, thus putting you in a better position to attain your real estate investment goals.

If you’ve personally been touched by the pain and embarrassment of bankruptcy you may think that your life will never be the same again. You may also believe that real estate investing is a thing of the past because lenders will forever consider you to be damaged goods. Fortunately, life does go on and you will recover from this. However, it will take time before some lenders will consider lending you money for your real estate investing activities, although you do still have options. Here are some steps you can take today to begin the recovery process – while you invest.
Credit won’t be as readily available to you, so the first order of business for you will be to try to quickly build some positive credit. There are several good ways of doing this. Here are just a few:
• Secured Credit cards – After a bankruptcy your personal credit rating is in the tank. Most traditional credit card companies – even those that charge an annual fee, won’t want to touch you right away. However, it won’t take long for them to be willing to take a chance on you. You can grease the credit wheels by getting a secured credit card, which is simply a savings account with the issuing bank with a deposit equal to your credit line. By requiring this deposit, the issuing bank has some assurance that they’ll receive the lion’s share of their money in the event that you default. You’ll want to utilize the card regularly and pay at least part of the balance off each month in order to generate positive credit report entries on a monthly basis.
• Personal loans – By going to one of your local banks and explaining that you’re trying to re-establish credit after a bankruptcy you should be able to convince your banker to lend you a small amount of money, say $1,000 or so, backed by a corresponding savings account or Certificate of Deposit (CD) account. You’ll be paying a small amount of interest for the privilege, but the expense you’ll incur will be well worth the points your credit score will gain.
• Credit aging – Do you have a family member or a friend that would be willing to add you as an authorized user on their credit card account? They don’t need to actually give you a card to use; the simple act of adding you as an authorized user will give you the benefit of “hitchhiking†off of their payment history.
While you’re implementing some of these credit rebuilding strategies, you should also be actively investing in real estate. Traditional avenues of financing will be off-limits for awhile, but there will be numerous avenues you can utilize that will make real estate investing not just a possibility, but a certainty:
• Bird Dogging – As a bird dog you work as a real estate scout, doing the leg work of locating available properties for investors who will actually close the deals. You won’t be placing these properties under contract – your job simply involves sniffing these properties out and letting the investor know what you’ve located. When he or she closes the deal you’ll receive a “finder’s fee†for the project, which puts cash in your pocket and gives you practical, real-world real estate investing experience.
• Wholesaling – This is a step up from bird dogging. You take the same steps of locating the available properties, but you also incur more risk by placing the property under contract and “selling†your contract to another investor for a profit. Depending upon how good you are at this, you can realize a substantial income by wholesaling.
• Partners â€" Your credit may be badly bruised temporarily, but if you stay motivated you can find partners with cash to lend on a real estate transaction. You can utilize partners for their cash for a short term loan for buying distressed properties at rock-bottom prices, rehabbing them quickly, and re-selling them for below market prices for a quick profit â€" and a fast payback. There’s also a possibility that you can find investors that are looking for an ownership stake and a portion of the cash flow generated by properties in which you invest. You can locate prospects among your family and friends, your local REIA meetings, or even by advertising on Craig’s List.
• Private Money lenders – You can also locate private individuals that have cash they would like to invest in real estate. If the deal is sweet enough, they’ll lend you money for your real estate investing activities in exchange for an equity stake or a quick payback.
• Hard Money Lenders – As your credit score increases you’ll also be able to turn to hard money lenders for financing. The terms aren’t very good, but if you’ve found a truly good deal on a property it won’t matter. Plus, these loans will show up on your credit report which will allow you to qualify more quickly for institutional financing.
The steps you can take to rebuild your battered and bruised credit report after a personal bankruptcy are limited only by your imagination and your willingness to work hard in achieving your real estate investing dreams. So go ahead, get moving today and begin the process of rebuilding your credit score and building an investment portfolio. If you have limited real estate investing experience or you’re not sure what other techniques you can utilize in coming back from financial disaster, consider finding a good real estate investing coach who can show you the ropes and teach you a multitude of techniques that can ramp up your career and have you on the right track in no time. Success is yours for the taking, but you need to get started to reap the rewards. Get started now!

If you’re in the process of overseeing your first property renovation you’re in for a real treat as you get a crash course in working with contractors. While most are professionals who are dedicated to doing the best possible job for you, there are some prima donnas out there waiting to take advantage of your naiveté. Here are some steps you can take before you hire a contractor to ensure that your first contractor experience is a positive one.
Have prospective contractors fill out an application – It may seem silly, but by having a prospective contractor take the extra step of getting an application and filling it out, you can assess how serious that contractor is in working for you. If they won’t take the time to fill out an application in order to win a bid, what makes you think they’ll take the time to follow up with more important details – like showing up at the worksite?
Get references and check them – Your contractor will probably offer to provide you with references when they bid on your rehab project. Most will have good references, but you need to know as much as possible about a contractor’s work ethic before you sign on the dotted line and commit to spending several thousand dollars on a project. When you call their references ask specific, pointed questions about the quality of their work. If they have a tendency to not show up for work, or worse – disappear in the afternoon, it can significantly impact the profitability of your project.
Get all bids in writing – I know you’d like to be able to do business with someone based on a handshake and a smile, but the reality is that memories fade and a good faith agreement can be misinterpreted by you or the contractor. A contractor is only human, and by taking the time to get all agreements in writing, you’ll have clarity in the event that a disagreement crops up later.
Work with licensed and insured contractors – Licenses and insurance are common business expenses, but too many contractors are running around without the necessary licenses and insurance. You may be provided with license numbers and promises that they have insurance, but I highly recommend that you take what you’re told with a grain of salt. As the owner of a property, you are ultimately responsible in the event that there is an accident or a fire. Make sure that their insurance information is accurate – and that their coverage is in force before letting them begin a job.
Visit one of their worksites – Wouldn’t it be nice if you could somehow magically know ahead of time what the quality of your contractor’s work will be? Fortunately, by visiting one of their worksites you can gauge the quality of their work and see how vigilant they are about keeping work areas clean. Before visiting one of their worksites, make sure you have permission to go. Find out if they’re the general contractor on the job or just a sub-contractor.
Don’t pay them until the job is done – One of the biggest perils you can face as a new real estate investor is that your contractor doesn’t cause dramatic delays by failing to show up for work when they say they will. Perhaps as problematic is the contractor that will prematurely suck the funds out of a project and then not want to complete the work. There’s really only one way to prevent this from happening. Don’t release payment until the job is done. You may be hit by pleas to release payment early, but if you do there’s a strong likelihood that your contractor won’t show up to finish your project. Imagine that your contractor has already been paid for finishing your job. Then after giving you a hard-luck story, you can’t depend upon him to return to finish your job. This could put you in the position of having to pay twice for the same job or having to postpone the process of renting the property. Obviously, you’ll need to release some money for materials or your project probably won’t get started. Just be careful that you control the purse strings carefully.
I don’t want to give you the impression that most contractors are lazy or unwilling to live up to their agreements, because that’s simply not true. The vast majority of contractors are as honest as the day is long, but by clearly defining expectations you can stop problems before they come up. By doing this, you can ensure that your interactions with your contractor is a positive one, and that you’re just as happy when you part ways as you were when he first waltzed into your life.

Working with real estate agents can be a challenge if the agent you’ve selected isn’t aware of your needs in acquiring property. They’re accustomed to selling at retail and any deviation from what they consider normal can jeopardize what could otherwise be a great working relationship. The good news is that you have the power to provide the education – if you’re willing to take the time. Here’s how you can do your part.
If you’re trying to work with a real estate agent that has never seen – much less worked with – a real estate investor, the first thing you need to do is have a sit-down meeting to explain your goals, your investing strategy, and your needs.
But don’t forget that your real estate agent also has needs.
The good news is that today’s market conditions make this a good time to forge what could be a mutually satisfying long-term relationship. Unless you’ve been living under a rock you’re pretty well aware that retail buyers have disappeared. Because of this – and low prices – real estate investors are on a buying spree. You can work together and turn incredible profits with the help of a real estate agent that “gets itâ€.
You may be an investor that typically avoids real estate agents whenever possible because you don’t want to deal with real estate commissions. That’s fine and dandy, but in some locations you may not have a choice.
More and more states are enacting rules designed to protect consumers from those who would take advantage of them. As a result, states like Oregon have passed laws requiring that real estate agents be involved in any deal that causes homeowner equity to be transferred to another party. Other states such as California could follow suit.
Instead of arguing the merits of the rules, accept them and move on. You can also use a real estate agent effectively as a negotiation tool when working short sales. If you’re new to short sales or are working with a lender with whom you’ve never worked before, you may not be aware of the specific steps involved. In addition, some lender loss mitigation departments have their own rules, policies, and procedures. If you violate protocol your offer will be delayed – or rejected.
A real estate agent is a known commodity to the friendly banker. Banks work closely with real estate agents on traditional purchases, so there’s an institutional bias that favors the real estate agent.
The bank is more likely to consider an offer that makes sense if it’s presented by someone who speaks their language. Here’s another thought to consider: If a good real estate agent can help grease the wheels and get your offer in front of a lender, you can get an answer more quickly, and potentially close more deals.
There can also be other perks to working with a real estate agent: research. Once you establish a solid working relationship, a real estate agent will be willing to share information with you that would take much longer for you to do yourself. Comps and other MLS data is available through a real estate agent; however, you don’t want to abuse the relationship.
Solid relationships with a real estate agent will open doors for you that may have been securely closed in the past. It makes sense to build relationships that will further your goals, enhance your career, and add real value to your bottom line. A real estate agent can help you as much as you can help them with repeat business and providing the means to keep earning money despite the fact that the retail residential real estate market has almost completely dried up.

Regardless of what specific real estate investing strategy you employ in your business, real estate represents the single best method of creating long-term, sustainable wealth available today. While the stock market can be extremely explosive and subject to radical day to day shifts in value based upon economic news, oil prices, and political instability around the world, real estate is remarkably stable and has consistently trended upwards in value for the last 100 years. While it is true that real estate values have taken a severe kick in the teeth as of late, investors utilizing a buy and hold strategy are still making money while the rest of the market is struggling.
In order for this strategy to work, it's necessary for you to purchase property as inexpensively as you can and to ensure that the cash flow generated from your property is consistently more than the expenses associated with owning it. In order to guarantee that this happens, you need to perform an accurate cash flow analysis of your property before making the purchase. The following components are critical to your success:
• Income – the single largest income item associated with your property will be rent. It's imperative that you know your local real estate market and how much similar properties are renting for. If you estimate that your property will rent for $1500 per month and market conditions will only support $1200 per month, you can very quickly get yourself into trouble with negative cash flow.
• Expenses – Novice real estate investors often don't have a true grasp of expenses or how to accurately estimate them. Because of this lack of knowledge, many investors have been known to blindly accept expense figures offered by real estate agents or the property seller. This is dangerous because the seller has an incentive to minimize expenses in order to make the investment look as attractive as possible in order to get it sold; the real estate agent stands to earn a fat commission check. When you estimate the expenses for your property, use documented, provable expenses whenever possible, but also use the smell test. Don't forget to factor in an allowance for vacancy because no property can remain rented 100% of the time without fail. You should also be sure to factor in an expense for property management, whether you intend to manage it yourself or hire a professional to do it for you.
• Reserves – Regardless of how new a property is, things are bound to break or need replacing. For instance, water heaters, furnaces, and appliances will invariably break down. When this happens, they need to be replaced. By setting cash aside for these situations, you can be prepared when or if repairs become necessary. If nothing ever breaks, cash will be available for you for any other purpose.
As long as your property will provide you with positive cash flow on a consistent basis, you won't be rocked by market fluctuations, including rapid depreciation of real estate values. You'll still have a positive cash flow to rely upon for consistent monthly earnings. In addition, as the number of properties you own increases; your monthly income will improve. If each property you own has a positive cash flow of between $200 and $500 per month, you can see how lucrative owning 15 or even 20 properties can be.
This monthly income is ongoing and life-changing. You can literally reap the rewards of real estate investing by building a generational cycle of wealth creation that will live on long after you exit stage left.
Holding property as a long term rental also offers tremendous tax benefits to you through depreciation – an ingenious tax code creation of Congress that allows you to take a depreciation tax credit while the actual value goes up – while deferring capital gains taxes until you sell.
Invest early and invest often in property that will provide you with ongoing cash flow. As this cash flows into your real estate business you can use excess funds that you don’t need for your day-to-day needs to fund acquisition costs of additional properties that will allow you to better take advantage of other investing strategies that will provide you with potentially huge infusions of cash, further enhancing your bank account and allowing you to live YOUR American Dream.

You've located the property that you are potentially interested in purchasing, have looked at it, and determined that it meets your basic investing goals. Before you pat yourself on the back for a job well done, you need to establish its value to avoid potential financial disaster. If you take the word of the seller or the county tax rolls to establish its value, you could lose your shirt, especially in a real estate market that has seen values drop by tens of thousands of dollars within a matter of months.
Depending upon the kind of investor you are you'll utilize one of the three methods of establishing the value of a property. They are:
Comparable Sales – If you're investing in primarily single-family or multifamily properties with fewer than five units, by far the most popular method of establishing value is the comparable sales method. This method consists of locating recently sold properties that are substantially similar to the one you are considering purchasing and are located in the same general vicinity. A skilled appraiser typically has many years of experience in determining value, but you can do the same thing either by going to your county courthouse and compiling the information yourself or by working with a realtor who might be willing to provide these figures to you. You can also get a rough estimate of values in many areas by utilizing an on-line resource such as Zillow.com. Once you have your comparable sales figures you’ll need to compensate for any differences, such as the lack of a garage, fireplace, or even a swimming pool. In order to compensate for the differences in square footage of your subject properties, you can divide the sales prices by the square footage of living space to come up with a cost per square foot.
Replacement Cost – While not nearly as popular as the Comparable Sales method, another way of determining the value of a property is by estimating what it would cost to re-create the same property in the same area. You would need to determine building costs, the cost of materials, and also make allowances for depreciation of the property so that it is substantially similar to the property you are considering purchasing. If you're experienced at estimating building costs accurately and are aware of the current cost of building materials and supplies, the replacement cost method may be one which you will want to utilize. However, it isn't utilized very frequently. If the Replacement Cost method is one that you'd like to use to determine value, you could very quickly arrive at a figure by contacting a local contractor and asking them how much they would charge you by the square foot to build a home in the area of your subject property. Don’t forget to factor in depreciation to match the condition of your subject property.
Income Valuation Method – The third method of determining the value of a property is to use the Income Valuation Method, sometimes referred to as the Net Income Approach. This method is used to determine the market value of a commercial property or a residential property with more than five units. It’s a relatively simple process. First, determine what the gross income is for the property and then subtract all expenses, including debt service on an annualized basis. Multiply that figure by a factor of ten. The resulting number is about what your property is worth. What’s nice about this sort of property is you can increase its value simply by increasing its net income, reducing operating expenses, or both.
Once you’re able to determine the value of a property you can write an intelligent offer that doesn’t cause you to run the risk of overpaying for a property. Remember, though, that real estate prices are extremely volatile right now, so make sure any properties you use for comparative purposes are recent sales figures. If you have accurate numbers, you can write impactful, precise bids that stand a greater chance of being accepted and allowing you to turn average returns into explosive profits.

If you interview just about any successful real estate investor you’ll typically find they have drive, determination, and stamina, but every good investor also has a strong advocate in their corner, watching and encouraging them every step of the way. The most prolific investors have a coach – or mentor – giving them solid advice and helping them to avoid some of the roadblocks, detours, and traffic jams that can delay or prevent their coronation as successful investors.
There are four stages of investing where coaching makes sense:
1. Before You Get Started – At this stage of your career you have more questions than answers. You’re invigorated and excited about the future, but you’re also afraid of making costly mistakes. A lot of investors fear failure so much they delay investing – spending thousands on one real estate investing course after another – trying to convince themselves that they’re investing in their futures, when in reality they’re hiding from it. A coach can help you adequately assess your preparation and see if you need more education or a gentle nudge towards the playing field.
2. After you get started and you’re doing well – You may have left the gate with the zeal of an Olympic sprinter, but you need to realize that real estate investing is like a marathon. If you don’t pace yourself you can get winded, slow down, and drop out. A coach can help you to find opportunities you may have overlooked – and to avoid mistakes that could throw you off track. Starting strong can generate income, but good coaching can help you build sustainable wealth, instead of a quick infusion of cash followed by extended periods of inactivity. What’s the best way to segue from one stage to the next? How do you evaluate the current market and accurately decide what the future holds? A good coach can tell you that – and more.
3. After you get started and you’re struggling – An immediate stumble out of the gate can cause some investors to question the wisdom of their decision. This problem can be compounded by listening to family and friends who are married to the idea of earning just enough to get by. Accustomed to failure – or at least mediocrity – they assume that you are, too. The worst thing you can do is elevate all the Doubting Thomases in your midst to positions of influence. A real estate investing coach doesn’t have the mindset of finding you a graceful exit strategy from real estate investing. They’ll show yow new ways to face your fears, assess your strengths, and turn things around. It won’t happen overnight, but a coach can give you the guidance you need to turn around and get headed in the right direction.
4. Any time you’re ready to move to the next level – Regardless of where you’re at in your investing career, you’ll face moments of self-doubt and confusion about the best move for your career. You’re traveling in what is to you uncharted territory. An investing coach knows the lay of the land and how to reach your financial destination. Are you taking advantage of every opportunity to advance your career? What could you be doing better? Whether it’s learning advanced investing techniques or better utilization of your credit, an investing coach can show you multiple options for getting where you want to go. You may have considered some and discarded them due to misunderstanding their significance. A coach will help you see the light without shoving you into the path of an oncoming train.
As you can see, a coach is needed no matter where you find yourself on the real estate investing success track. You can easily falter or stumble, but with an investing coach there to guide you, you can plan on reaching your financial, personal, and investing goals more quickly. A coach can’t guarantee that you’ll never falter or stumble. What they can do, however, is help to ensure that a stumble doesn’t precede a painful fall to the rear of the pack. Hire a good coach to catch you if you fall, to direct you when you stray, and to celebrate you when you succeed.