We have put together a training course on real estate investing. There are so many people who watch those tv shows on flipping houses and decide that real estate looks super easy. You pick up books, watch shows, go to seminars, and are ready and raring to go. There are so many people out there teaching you the very preliminary things to follow your dreams and pursue a career in investing. All the courses are fabulous for teaching concepts, but real world is not a part of that. There are so many things that are not taught and I really believe that if you aren’t taught the simple things like how to start and run the business, you will quickly become one of those people who gives up. Real estate is not easy, it is however, a ton of fun if you are able to do it correctly!
We are putting together this web-based learning to help guide you to prosperity. I will post lessons about various topics on real estate to really make you think about what you are doing and do it deliberately. We offer our services to our readers as a real estate coach and mentor. If you are interested, please get in touch with us to discuss how to further your education and work with someone who has made the mistakes that you may inevitably make without the proper guidance.
Lesson 1 – How to start building your business.
The first, and most important, thing you need to do is decide what kind of investing you want to do. This will dictate how you form your entity and what techniques you will use to build your business. Little sidebar – you will need some of your own money to start investing. You will need to put a deposit down to solidify your contract and make it binding. In every state, in order to make your contract legal, you have to give something of value as a good faith deposit. Now this can be money, personal property of value or any other kind of consideration the seller of the property is willing to accept as a good faith payment. It is very hard to start this business without something of value or using other people’s money completely. You will need money to start an entity with the state to protect yourself, and you will need money for marketing.
There are so many ways to invest in real estate. Here are the basics:
- Wholesaling – This is a technique where you get properties under contract and sell them to a more experienced investor for a fee. This technique is great for beginners because you will learn how to analyze properties for your buyers. You will be taught what buyers look for in properties, analyze repairs and profits, and you don’t need much money to do it.
- Rehabs – This is the technique you see on those HGTV shows. Take an ugly house and make it pretty. Then sell it for a profit. This is a more expensive technique so you will need to have some form of reserves to get started, or you will need a network of private investors that are willing to back you. Getting into rehabbing without any money of your own is difficult and you have to really know your numbers and be a detail oriented person to be successful.
- Rental properties – This is one of the more common and easy ways to make some money in real estate. Although it is a passive source of income and a great retirement plan, you will need good credit or lots of cash to get into this game. Private investors are great for this field but you have to be prepared to make less money if you are credit challenged because you will have to split cash flow and profits with a private investor.
- Seller financing/lease options/rent to own – This is a good option for people with less than stellar credit. You will still need cash for down payments, but if you work them correctly, you can use your end-user’s funds to get into these and make some cash for yourself and your expertise! This technique is where the seller of the home is willing to hold the financing on these properties and the money from your end-user pays the monthly payments to get you some nice cash flow. You will also be able to make some profit when the term of the loan or lease option comes due and your end user cashes you and the seller out. These are typically 2-5 year deals.
- Notes – This is where you are the bank essentially. You can find people who have contract for deeds/lease options/non-performing assets and offer to buy them from them either at face value or at a discount. Then you are able to structure them with the end-user so you receive the cash flow and the payoff when they or you sell.
- New Construction – Building new homes is a great way to get some nice paydays. You will need to have the cash and a great GC to get these projects done. It is straight forward and there are minimal surprises if you take the proper preliminary steps when buying the lot.
- Become an agent and partner with your clients – This is a great way to learn the business without being too involved. There is some cost associated with getting your license and you will have a learning curve, work longer hours, and have to be really good at marketing yourself, but it is a great teacher. You can structure your business relationships with your clients to get some of the profit as well as your commission, but the education you get can be worth millions. There are other things to consider when becoming an agent because you will have to adhere to the rules of the realtor.
These are items to consider when you are just getting started on your real estate journey. Each investing technique has pros and cons and the way you set up your business will depend on what you plan to do. Remember, this is a business, not a hobby so you have to think that way or you will be in for a long road ahead trying to make a living doing it.
When getting started, think about your assets and liabilities:
-Do you have good credit
-Do you have some cash
-Are you willing to dedicate enough time to this for it to be a business or will you be limited with the time you can invest in it
-Do you have a network of people for support
-How much do you really know
-Most importantly, what are your goals and your “WHY” for getting into real estate
I have found over the last 7 years that people getting into this business typically have a 2 year learning curve and there isn’t really a way around it. There is so much to learn.
We want to prepare you for greatness! We want to see everyone be successful! It will take hard work and dedication and a bunch of knowledge to make it big!
The one thing I have found is that you need a coach and a mentor in this business to be successful! You need someone to be your biggest cheerleader and to bounce ideas off of. You need someone more experienced than you showing you the way! I am here for you!
I will be posting lessons here to get you started down the right path!
Happy Investing!
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