Besides building on your real estate education there are two crucial factors which will determine your success at real estate investing in the next 18 months. What are they?
1. Speed
As the housing market continues to heat up more investors and buyers will be jumping into the fray at an increasing rate. You and your real estate investing organization must be faster than your competition if you want to acquire the best deals. This is no reason to be sloppy though, you must still be efficient at screening properties, drafting purchase agreements which protect you and performing due diligence. This means systems and making connections with vendors.
Speed is also just as critical for flipping your houses or renting them too. The shorter your cash cycle, the faster you can put it back to work and the more income you can generate all year long. This doesn’t just require getting signs out quickly but getting a head start by building a large buyer and tenant list.
For those launching new real estate investing websites and blogs you also need to develop a faster pace. This doesn’t mean throwing up junk to have more content though. Get up the basics quickly, get launched and build on your reputation and marketing as you go. If you have no presence you don’t exist.
2. Flexibility
While systems and plans are essential for keeping the wheels turning and propelling you to your ultimate goals you must build in flexibility too. We may still have millions of foreclosures to work through but the market is constantly changing. Some areas may see REO inventory dry up, others will see a surge in lenders willing to offer short sales. Some cities may just become too hot and others remain stagnant for flipping. Regulations can change over night and so can the interests of fickle consumers.
An attack on one of our warships by Iran could all of a sudden boost the appeal of rural housing, while forecasts of a horrendous hurricane season could make homes with safe rooms in much higher demand. Be organized but be ready and willing to change the focus of your real estate investing business on a dime if you need to.
