| What separates the hobby investor from the | | | | Just remember that each of these individual must be |
| professional investor is that same thing that separates | | | | investors themselves or currently work with Real |
| the back yard basketball player and the professional. | | | | Estate investors. You don't want a Real Estate agent |
| Fall down 7 times and get up 8. It is taking the time to | | | | showing you around a house pointing out how |
| learn and understand things that you're not sure of. It is | | | | wonderful the drapes are or pointing out the great |
| practice, hard work and a lot of effort. One thing is for | | | | wallpaper the dinning room has. You don't care about |
| sure the pay off can be just as sweet. | | | | that...you want to know what the bottom line is, which |
| The first step is education. Just about any challenge or | | | | is, does it have a positive cash flow or not. |
| obstacle can be overcome through education. Lack of | | | | Next you need to understand a few things...what is a |
| money is no longer a problem for those that | | | | good deal and what to stay away from. This is a very |
| understand where they can get it from, regardless of | | | | personal thing for each investor. If you are looking for |
| their personal credit or how much down they are | | | | single-family homes to rehab and sell then your criteria |
| bringing to the table. Lack of time is usually just an | | | | for homes could potentially be much different from an |
| excuse for most people, but if your child was | | | | investor looking for apartment complexes. The goals |
| kidnapped you would spend whatever time it took to | | | | or we can say exit strategies are completely different. |
| get them back, right? | | | | So we need to understand what the market is doing. |
| What about failures? If they hold us back from getting | | | | What are the market trends doing? Are the house |
| up and trying again then we use them as excuses for | | | | prices increasing or decreasing? Are the household |
| our circumstances in life. What would be better is to | | | | incomes increasing or decreasing in the area that we |
| use them as a learning experience and try to get as | | | | are looking in? What are the governments plans for |
| much from our failures as possible. Once you have | | | | the neighborhood? New streets? Stay status quo or |
| failed a few times you will come to understand that it | | | | tear it down and give it to a developer? |
| is just part of the process. There is a secret to failing | | | | Once we understand what the market is doing then |
| less...work with a mentor or coach to help you along | | | | we can say with confidence where we are going to |
| your path. | | | | focus our time and what we are going to be looking |
| As part of your team you always want to include a | | | | for. We then develop step-by-step policies and |
| mentor or coach (someone that is further down the | | | | procedures on how to acquire these properties from |
| path than you are). The other players that we should | | | | finding the property to making offers and the financing |
| have on our teams are (this isn't by any means a | | | | the deal. Now that the property has been purchased |
| complete list): | | | | then what is going to happen after that. What is step 1, |
| * Real Estate Lawyer | | | | step 2 and so forth all the way until we reach our exit |
| * Real Estate CPA | | | | strategy. |
| * Book Keeper | | | | Finally now that we have all this in place we need to |
| * Mortgage company | | | | get out there and make it happen. Will your knees be |
| * Real Estate agents | | | | knocking your first deal? Absolutely. Will this go away |
| * Property managers | | | | over time? Maybe. Some people are nervous on |
| * Bird dogs | | | | every deal, but what you can bank on is the more that |
| * Plummer | | | | you are prepared the less nervous you will be. Again |
| * Handy man | | | | you can be the best-prepared person on the planet |
| * Maintenance professionals | | | | but until you get in the game and purchase Real |
| * Landscape professionals | | | | Estate in means nothing. On the other hand if you |
| * Hard money lenders | | | | aren't prepared your can rest assured that you will get |
| * Commercial lenders | | | | your education one-way or the other. |
| * Etc. | | | | |