One of the many things that make real estate investing so great is that it can be done by anyone, of any age and with almost any bank account. Someone who has been in the business for a week has the same chance at getting their offer accepted over someone who has been investing for 30 years. There are many new investors who are struggling to find deals, but aren’t really doing everything they can to find them. If you are looking for deals you need to start with the people closest to you. In other words, you don’t need to be an expert to find deals.
Do you want to learn how to find investment properties?
The first thing you should do with any new business is to promote it to your friends and family. Too often, new investors are scared to declare themselves as real estate investors for fear that they will be exposed for not fully knowing the business. The reality is that you will never know every aspect of the business, but you have to start somewhere. Something as seemingly minor as updating your LinkedIn profile or making an investment post on Facebook can have an immediate impact. This, coupled with something as old fashion as sending a letter to all of your friends, family and coworkers, will announce your position in the business and can give you the jump-start you are looking for.
Friends and family can represent a good starting point, but you need to keep the momentum going. Every wedding you attend, children’s sporting event or spouses dinner date should be viewed as an opportunity to network yourself as an investor. There is nothing wrong with saying that you are just starting out or you are doing it on the side. You never know where your next deal will come from or if you will meet someone that has access to multiple deals. If you aren’t willing to put yourself out there and look for deals, you will be waiting a very long time for deals to fall on your lap. You need to go out there and get them.
If you want to be an investor, you need to know what is going on in the business. Every day you should allocate time to finding new deals on real estate websites, publications and Craigslist. Craigslist alone can provide a good base to find deals and network with fellow investors. Additionally, you should make it a point to meet local business contacts at networking meetings and join a real estate investment group. These are all things you can do for a small amount of money, but need to be done if you are serious about the business. If you are reliant on your realtor to find you deals or if your plan is to mail a small amount of homeowners, you are not doing enough and will find very little to no success in this manner.
It doesn’t matter how you got started or how long you have been in the business, you have as much chance at success as anyone else. It is no surprise that the most successful people in business are also the most aggressive and the most willing to put themselves out there with the fear of failing. There are deals to be had in any market, but they will not come to you without working for them.
