For those of you who have experienced making money in real estate firsthand, I congratulate you. I realize that it took an enormous amount of determination, time, and effort to make it all work. I speak first hand, it took me almost two years to make my first three thousand dollars in this game. There were many ups and downs along the way, and while I know they taught me valuable lessons, I thought I’d share some face-saving tips for novice investors.
Education: You are smart enough to calculate the “number”, but you learned how to do it by getting an education. No, you don’t need a college degree or even a real estate license to buy and sell real estate. Just get whatever reading material you can right now and dive in. It doesn’t have to be formal or even in a classroom, there are plenty of local real estate groups you can join, and classes are free or minimal in cost. Join in and they will show you the ropes.
Supplement that local network with online webinars and read as much as you can online, including articles and blogs. Slowly but surely you will gain insight and move closer to your real estate investment goals and ambitions. Heck, there are social media sites that many other investors are already cut off from and are just waiting for your questions. Finally, if you’re lucky, you should look to work under the arm of an experienced investor. I truly believe that this is the fastest way to learn and earn money at the same time. It’s like being thrown into the pool, they force you to swim!
Time – Have you ever heard the saying that you make your money when you shop? Well, that saying certainly applies here. Now let’s say you have that “education” and now you know everything there is to know about short-term buy, fix and flip strategy. Including how to find great deals with no money down and even locate section 8 tenants.
It’s too bad you live in Phoenix and can’t find a home with equity unless your grandmother dies and passes her life savings and wealth to you. Real estate, like any business sector, has cycles and these cycles vary depending on where you are in the country, credit markets and even politics. The first house I bought was a total flop.
Although I bought it No-Money_Down [http://www.subject2.com/110-0-3-1.html], I bought during the height of the local boom and a little thing called negative equity came up fast. I was stuck with a house that was worth less than half what I paid for it, and to make matters worse, the rental rate was well below what my monthly mortgage payment was. Needless to say, I learned a great lesson. Do the right thing at the right time and everything will be fine.
Persistence: I mean real persistence day by day, inch by inch, step by step. Woody Allen once said that eighty percent of success is just showing up. Yes my friend, some succeed by default and that’s not a bad thing when you cash big checks. So what does that tell you? It means not giving up. For every failure you have, you are one step closer to success and a great reward.
Excuses: Yeah, it gets a little daunting when days or weeks and weeks or months go by without any “big checks” arriving. However, this is the point where you can’t start telling yourself all the silly excuses you came up with after attending that seminar or purchasing that latest real estate home study course. This is a big mistake because after a while you start to believe it. Thoughts like “I’m not smart enough” or “I don’t have enough time anyway” solidify and before you know it you’ve become even more committed to yourself from nine to five.
Oh, Oh, Oh-O-Oh, The Right Stuff – Sorry for the New Kids on the Block homage, it doesn’t even apply here, but I’ll make it work. Um… The right team! Yes. You need to work with the best if you want to be the best, and that means having real estate agents, mortgage brokers, lawyers, CPAs, and contractors in your back pocket. Waring here comes another saying: “Your net worth is only as big as your network.” So go out there, interview a real estate agent or two, hire that contractor who said he’s the best in town, and get that legal advice on how to avoid paying taxes with your CPA.
OK, that’s all I have for now. I hope you enjoyed reading because I certainly enjoyed writing this article. If you want to learn how to sell real estate with a true technique with no money down, just click on the links in this article. Thank you and happy buying!