The New Year for 2014 kicks off on Wednesday. Is your real estate investing business ready?
Here are some real estate investing tips for the New Year:
- First, it’s imperative to be a student of the real estate market. Look over some of the end of year trends to see where the market is and where it is heading. Understanding the market will allow you to best prepare for what strategies to use. Now, I always recommend understanding all the different investment strategies so you can maximize the results of your marketing, but the market & economy will dictate the majority of your strategy.
- Second, build your team. Different focuses on different strategies will require different participants. For example, if the economy or market takes a step back, short sales will be more prevalent. However, if the economy keeps moving forward, then fix & flips may be more the rage. Each strategy will require a different process & team members. The difference between being ahead of the game and reacting to the game can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars in 2014.
- Third, create your marketing plan. I recommend having 5-7 different types of marketing going at once. Too many investors look at marketing as an expense while I look at it as an investment. Based on my 10 years experience in investing, I know that for every $1 I put into marketing, I’ll get back $4-$7.50 in return. If you could put a dollar in a magic money box and get $4 back, how many times would you do it? Now you understand why I love real estate marketing.
It’s important to understand the relationship between marketing & understanding multiple strategies. Too many unsuccessful investors focus on just one strategy. I like to focus on 12 different ways to buy & sell real estate.
The difference?
I know that, based on my experience, that for every 20 inquiries my marketing provides, I will convert 1 into a successful transaction that will give me a profit of $15,000.
Here’s why focusing on one strategy is so bad… it may take you 100 inquiries to fit your strategy. If that’s the case, then you’re leaving (4 missed opportunities * $15k) $60,000 per marketing campaign. Now imagine if you’re goal is to do a deal a week like I do… that’s almost 3 quarters of a million dollars you’re missing out! Knowledge is power, so commit yourself to learning more this year!
The final piece of advice? Take action. The greatest plan in the worlds does you know good if you sit on it. Take the action required to get a deal done. If you’re new, get properties under contract. If you don’t know what to do, you can either wholesale for a quick & easy profit or partner with an experienced investor to get the deal done. But you and your business will never take the next step forward if you don’t take your first step.
Happy New Year!
