Building a team of “Investment Savvy” professionals separate the good investors from the investors who fail or decide to throw in the towel. Some investors spend 40 hours a week working on their business while others spend 4 hours a YEAR! Finding the right professionals to add to your team may take time but it is completely worth it. Building a solid team of investment specialists is essential to creating a successful real estate business. There are five important team members every investor must have on their team!
Real Estate Agent
Most new investors hire a Real estate agent to help them through the process of purchasing their first few properties. Real estate agents are a great resource for new investors. Real estate agents have access to the Multiple listing service (MLS), a database nationwide used by real estate brokers to buy and sell homes listed for sale. Contact a local Real estate agent to set you up with automatic emails based on your specific criteria and standards. Interview your agents and brokers to ensure that they specialize with real estate and investments. Look at the agents last 50-100 transactions. Have they worked with “distressed” or “wholesale” properties? Do there photos of properties appear renovated with fresh paint, kitchen and new flooring? If you were born with a heart condition, would you go to a experienced doctor who specialize specifically with the heart or a doctor who recently graduated from college and have a general education on the human body?
Mortgage Broker/ Officer
Finding a mortgage broker or loan officer who specialize with investment real estate is important for investors who plan to scale their business. Many investors start there investing career with their own credit. Hiring a investment savvy mortgage broker or loan officer provides investors the ability to receive the best mortgages from several financial institutions. The job of a mortgage broker is to find a way to maximize your credit and provide you the best rates and loans. Many financial institutions have a limit of 5-7 homes an individual can have under their name. However, a mortgage broker works with several banks and credit unions and have the ability to find the best mortgages and even add a few more homes to your portfolio.
Contractors
Have you ever heard the word “bankruptcy”? These guys are the cause of many new investors losing thousands of dollars and even going bankrupt. It is important to find the best contractors in your local area. Your investment savvy realtor may have some references of some good contractors who are fair in price and provide high quality work. There are many terrible contractors then there are good contractors. Keep this in mind when you go on your search for general contractors.
- Note: Never pay contractors before all work is done! Break the payments into separate dates and pay as the project gets complete.
Property Management
Ask your agent for referrals on good property management companies. Are they experienced? Do they work with hundreds of properties? Search around and find a good property management company to manage your rental properties, screen tenants, market your rentals and collect rent. Most property management companies charge 8-12% of your rental income every month.
Lawyers
The captain of your real estate team is a lawyer who specialize with real estate. Most investors have multiple lawyers, an eviction attorney and a regular attorney who specialize in real estate investing. An eviction attorney provides you with the ability to speed up the eviction process if a tenant does not pay rent. A real estate attorney is a phone call away for legal advice. An attorney has the ability to read over contracts and write lease agreements and option to purchase contracts to ensure you are protecting your assets and personal life from future law suits. Protecting your assets and personal liability is important as you build your real estate business.
Talking Real Estate Investing in Single Family Homes! 