Assembling Your Team

[Derek Guyer]

Since this is the Starting Out section, I wanted to drop a few simple tips on here for all of you new investors aching to get started because I keep hearing questions about this being asked. These tips will help you think through the first steps of your investing venture.

Successful investing requires a successful team. You will need a team of advisors and professionals around you to help you make smart decisions. This is important because most of us can’t start out full time in the field and so we need people around us to help us avoid rookie mistakes.

This team should include a realtor and/or birddog (to help you locate properties and watch for solid deals), an appraiser (who can help you know the ARV of a property and can tell you what it is really worth now), several mortgage brokers (to ensure you get the best loan possible when needed), a good inspector who will help you to know whether the problems with the property are serious or not, but who won't kill your deal when the bank looks at your inspection, a good contractor, a good real estate attorney and accountant, and most importantly (in my opinion), good advisors or mentors. You need people who are working out there every day to be on your side to ensure you work your way through a deal successfully.

Don’t get caught trying to do it all on your own when you’re new to investing. Listen to the people that surround you and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Make sure you make it worth their time to help you so that everyone wins when you’re involved in a deal. If one of these professionals has advice for you that says the deal is a no-go, listen to them. They get paid to make sure you know the facts. Listen.

There is a lot more to explain about assembling a team, but the shorter I keep this, the more people will read it. If you want more information, don’t hesitate to email me at [email protected].

In the meantime, start looking for a good team. It will take a while, but will save you a lot of time and money!!!