What's the ONE most effective daily action?

[Scott N.]

For a newb who is looking to:

1. Partner with 1-2 other people with whom we can assemble the 4 necessary elements for a successful RE investment (1 - money; 2 - knowledge/skills; 3 - opportunity; 4 - time)
2. Offer 3 of the 4 elements (except #1)

I am analyzing at least 1 property a day from the worst possible sources - MLS and FBSO sites; with no respectable way of getting comps. But it's a start and is giving me good practice at running the numbers.

I'm new to my local area; know very few people in person outside of my typical work circle and a few friends, none of whom are involved at all in REI.

My focus right now is on finding a property local to me (Denver metro area or Colorado Springs) that is a good prospect for a rehab with exit strategy of first selling as a flip and second, if that does not work out, selling as a solid buy-hold rental property.  Second priority is how to find a good partner who is at or near my level with whom an  opportunity can be shared. (Yes, I know, keep talking and meeting etc etc, it will happen. I'm not worried about that.) When I do find an opportunity, I know I can reach out for help with analysis, and if it is indeed a good opportunity, then the funding will be available.

What would you say is the one most important action to take on a daily basis? I am committed to taking small steps every day in a consistent habit; I believe this is the way to build a foundation for success. But I'm struggling to identify what is the best use of my time right now to build the most effective habit for a noob to be able to bring something valuable to the table.

If you had 1/2 hour every day to do ONE TASK or action what would it be?

[Matt M.]

I'd work on expanding your sphere. That's where the best deals are found. I just met a new real estate client, and told her about my fix & flips etc. As we were pulling up to her home, she pointed out her neighbors house. The neighbor was just admitted to a nursing home, and the home is vacant. She knows the POA who lives on the East coast.

Now normally the POA would probably use google to find an agent in town to sell the home. It's a rehab, but it will get bid up on the market. I've asked my client to reach out to the POA to see if he'll look at an offer. While it's not a deal yet, at least I'm not competing with 50 other investors.

[Colin Smith]

@Scott N.,

I partner with many new investors. I'll shoot you a PM.

[Bill S.]

@Scott N. so your comment about "no respectible way of getting comps" is where I'll start. Redfin uses MLS sold data. You can get great information on sold property from that website. No more excuse there. Solve the holes in your system is the best use of your time. Your next hole is your source of "deals", figure out a way that works for you to get in front of sellers not on the mass market. There are many posts here about finding off-market deals. Figure out how you will look for off-market deals then do that. That is your one thing.

You must get an exceptionally good deal. Most MLS flips have such thin margins that the only people doing them are novices doing their first deal or flippers with cheap in-house crews. Your target deal should be at least 10% below what a comparable has sold for on the MLS. That gives you the room to entice someone to work with you.

[Scott N.]

Good advice from all. Yes, expanding the sphere and finding off-market deals are definitely areas I need to improve on and am actively working. They will also take the most time to develop, or at least to "turn the corner" and get things in motion.

@Bill S. That's great info in RE to using Redfin to pull comps, I had no idea that was possible. And yes, the MLS is a horrible place to be looking for "deals" in this area. But I'm getting some practice analyzing and running numbers. That's an area where I need to be absolutely on-point. When I find an off-market opportunity at least I'll get some laughs by comparing it to what I'm currently looking at.

[Bill S.]

@Scott N. why not practice on off-market deals? You should develop two layers of analysis. The first is a very quick approach that screens out the bad deals. 99% of MLS listings will fail this deal. The second layer is the one you do in detail. You are not really "learning" if you know a property won't pass before you even start. You are wasting your time. I understand avoiding the uncomfortableness of talking to sellers unless you know absolutely for sure it's a deal. That won't happen. Unless you are willing to walk through the uncomfortable, you will not ever get a deal. Knowing your numbers "absolutely on-point" will not remove that. You get "on-point" with the numbers when you do deals. Unless you do deals you won't ever get good with the numbers. The place to start is with deals. You can even use Craig's List to find sellers. You have to act fast but it's better than the MLS. Deals are made by talking to people, not from behind a computer screen.

[Rich Baer]

@Scott N.

I would recommend upon wakening to meditate for that 30 minutes. Reflect on your past and your future goals in an uplifting and positive manner.

[Kristopher Hanks]

@Scott N. Analyzing 1 property per day is a good start with that time allotment. You will get it down to where you can do that analysis in about 10 minutes to get a rough idea if a deal could work or not. If you have books about real estate that you still want to read, I would try to read one chapter of a book each day for that thirty minutes until the book is complete and then move on to the next. That way you can absorb whatever concept that you read throughout the day and see how it applies to your style of investing. 

[Scott N.]

Yes self-improvement and reading are good tools. However as Bill S said, deals are made in person rather than cyberspace. I'm trying to cultivate a habit of taking one action every day rather than overwhelm life with trying to "do it all all at once."

Looking at the properties available to me is the only way I have at the moment. If I could find off-market deals right now I'd be in a totally different place. But I'll start with what I got, continue to connect with people IRL, and expand and grow from here.

Nowhere to go but up!

[Mike Cumbie]

Hi @Scott N.,

My personal recommendation is to get into 3 conversations with new people throughout the day every day. Try a new haircut place, stop and get your gas from different stations, stop and pick up bread from different places, have lunch at a place and sit down even if a fast food place. Get to know people. Today it's a nod, 3 weeks later its a conversation over the salad bar. Those turn into "What do you do".

"Real estate"

The rest just flows and flows. You don't have to do much else but answer questions. Have cards on you at all times and hand them out.

Pretty soon someone is talking to someone else and "Yeah Scott usually stops in for a coffee on Tuesdays, I'll give him your number".

Good Luck!

[Scott N.]

Mike Cumbie
That's a great idea and probably will help me expand my circle.

As to business cards, what's a good way to brand myself?

I'm thinking cards with a company name ( I'll have to come up with one) and what is a good title/position to introduce myself as?
I've heard one way is to label myself as an "acquisition manager" and that's the way I'm leaning. Any thoughts on what an accurate description could be?