With over 20 years in real estate investing, owning and managing single family homes, and managing my own properties, I've been able to help and mentor a number of folks who were getting started.
In this short blog post I just want to share a few things with you about things you will want to be thinking about, if you are interested in embarking on this journey.
If you are considering getting into real estate investing, there are a few things you should consider up front.
One of the first things is to figure out what your end goals are, and write them down. Then you want to consider such things as the location and types of property you are interested in, the potential cash flow of the property's you are wanting to consider, what financing you have at your disposal, understanding the conditions of the property, the cost to raise the value of the properties, how much money or financing you will need to invest, the purchase price, and the potential selling price.
When you get some time on your hands, consider breaking out the game of Monopoly. Yea, you may see it as a silly board game that you used to play with your family when you were young, but Monopoly is a game of real estate and it teaches you some real important fundamentals of the property game. There is risks, chance, houses, commercial property, buying up the block, paying property taxes, and a host of real basic, yet important, real estate concepts. Give it a shot.
It sounds like a lot to think about up front, but that's just the beginning. Another thing you may want to do is go to a bank and get a pre-approval. This way you know your financial options, at least. It also helps to either have cash or good credit. It’s not 100% necessary, but it makes things a bit easier.
And finally, what types of properties are you most interested in? Commercial property, single family homes, duplexes, triplexes, multi-family, apartments, condos, etc. Lots to consider! This is just a snippet of the types of things you need to consider first and foremost.
Once you've considered all of that, then you can begin to decide exactly HOW you want to actually get into the game of real estate investing. There are lots of ways to get into real estate, so here are just a few:
1. Your primary residence. Purchase it. Purchase it, live in it for at least 2 years, and sell it or tap into the equity to buy another property. In 2 years you will have 2 properties. Or simply purchase a duplex or triplex, and live in one of the units and rent out the other unit, or units. This can be a great way to get into real estate and has proven successful for many.
2. Find an owner of a property and lease a property with the intent to purchase the property. You can find many owners that want to lease the property and potentially sell it down the road. The other option here is to do a Master Lease, which means you have the option to sublease the property to someone else. In other words, the spread between what you lease it for and what you sublease it for, is the money you receive monthly.
3. Find properties for real estate investors. They used to call this “bird dogging”. You can earn money doing this and it takes time to do, but it can really hone your skills for learning about real estate.
4. Find a Partner. Some people don’t have the time, but have the money. Some people don’t have the money, but have the time. Some people don’t have the knowledge, but have the money. You can find people, friends, family, or other investors, that will go in with you to invest in property.
5. Wholesaling property. Finding properties on the cheap, putting them on a 30 or 45-day contract with contingencies, and, in the interim, finding investors to purchase the property.
Here is a great video explaining how to start wholesaling.
You buy a property that is worth $100k, but you put it under contract with the potential for purchase in 30 to 45 days for $50K. In the meantime, you find an investor to purchase the note from you for $75K. You make $25K on the wholesale deal. That is a quick version. There is a lot more to it, but that is the gist of wholesaling. Be sure to check out the video above. You can do it!
6. Flipping property. Buying low, fixing up and repairing, and selling high for a profit. The math on this is pretty simple, but it's a great way to get your feet wet in the real estate game. There is a level of expertise needed to pull this off successfully but many have done it and it's a great way to start in real estate.
7. Buying and Holding. This one is where you get the proverbial landlord. The buy and hold strategy is a long term play and is always a sure bet in the real estate game. There are a whole set of skills needed to start investing in real estate to buy and hold. Rental rates, screening tenants, using a management company, and others.
The beauty of real estate is that there is something in it for everyone. That is why it's been one of the most popular ways to make money, and it's one of the most lucrative. I've only mentioned 7 ways to get into real estate, but there are dozens of others.
I'm here to help.
Good luck in your journey into real estate!!
Comments