My top 3 lessons learned after 1 year of real estate investing

[Taylor Cartledge]

I am located in Augusta, Georgia and started investing in real estate one year ago. To this point, I have done two deals and even though I have listened to the BP podcast and try and take in as many resources as I can, sometimes we still learn by trial and error. These are my top 3 lessons learned so far:

1) Be careful who you partner with.

2) Make sure EVERYTHING is in writing. (Have contracts)

3) Bad contractors will ruin a great deal.

Even though I have made mistakes along the way, the lessons I have learned by experience are invaluable. The keys when starting out are TAKE ACTION and DON'T GIVE UP when problems inevitably come up. 

I'm curious, what are some of your top lessons that you have learned? 

[Henry Clark]

Once you find good teammates stick with them.  Don’t go penny perching.  Stay with the same financial or lending source.  That way you can cross collateralize your investments.  Don’t chase percentage points.  It’s really fun calling your banker saying you have another deal.  And they say stop in tomorrow and sign papers.