Building Your Real Estate Investment Team

So you want to try your hand at investing in real estate? Real estate investing can be a very lucrative way of making a living if you do your homework. Many times people will fall into the trap of just jumping into this business without knowing the good, the bad and the ugly so to speak. Knowledge and preparation is the key to your success or failure.

Many times a new person to real estate investing is still not quite sure as to whether or not they can pull this off so what do they do? They start looking at properties, meeting with owners and even go as far as submitting an offer for practice; what they didn’t count on however is that offer being accepted. When the offer is accepted the new investor immediately goes into a panic, he then will either haphazardly work through the deal or back away from it all together. Either action can be committing investor suicide, you don’t want to damage your professional reputation before it gets started so why not start out with first things first.

Putting together your investor team before even thinking about looking at the first property will increase your chances of succeeding in this business. Your team should consist of:

1. An Attorney
2. Escrow Company
3. Insurance Agent
4. CPA
5. Contractor
6. Mortgage Broker
7. A Partner
8. A Mentor

All of the above play a keyrole in your success and finding the right match for your team should be carefully considered.
When choosing an attorney it is a good idea to choose one that is familiar with and has experience working with investors, better yet choose one that has personally invested in real estate. When choosing an escrow company it is a good idea to use one that is not necessarily well known, rather use a smaller company that is willing to and have worked with investors before. These smaller companies will already have knowledge of how a land contract works or about double closings. The same is true of your insurance agent, they too must understand the dynamics of how a land contract works and how to deal with various landlord situations among other things. In continuing to choose your team one of the more aggressive players should be your CPA and again one who is or has been an investor in the past is ideal. There are literally hundreds upon hundreds of contractors out there and choosing one can be quite tedious. When interviewing your contractor you are looking for one that will be willing to give you free estimates on your properties, also one that values your business enough that will give you suggestions on how to cut corners without jeopardizing the work, therefore saving you both time and money. Your mortgage broker should be very experience when it comes to creative financing and willing to work the deal through to the end to get it done. At some point throughout your investing life if not in the beginning you may need a partner, this partner can provide you with financial backing and it is a very good idea to to establish this relationship in the beginning. This partner can also serve as a mentor if he too is or has been an investor. There will be rough spots and bumps in the road you will have to work through, it will not be a matter of if but more like when, this person from experience can help you through these hurdles with your sanity in tact.

Real estate investing can be a very thrilling way to make a living. The challenges that will come however can be overcome with knowledge, preparation and a dynamic team that is on the same page as you are.