Building a support network before first deal- South Florida

[Mike Waltman]

I've recently moved back down to south Florida in order to resume my job as an estate caretaker in Boca Raton and to begin investing in rental properties in Palm Beach County. The job and the potential it holds for investing in real estate was too good to pass up. 

 I have been driving neighborhoods, looking at neighborhood scout/walk score/zilpy, and calling any local property management sign I see trying to get a feel for what market will work best for my first investment. As of now there are some neighborhoods in Lake Worth, West Palm Beach and Boynton Beach that stand out. That being said I am still in the reconnaissance stage right now and am always open to suggestions, even in south Martin or north Broward. 

I would like to start building my support network but I am not sure if it is too early to do so. Ideally I am looking for:

An agent who is familiar with my target area, has experience working with investors and dealing with foreclosures and short sales. 

A reliable contractor who does a quality job at a price point reasonable for rentals in my target areas. 

A lawyer with experience in real estate law.

A property management company that can provide short (weekly/monthly) and long term services.

No track record, no deal lined up yet, just ambition...and maybe an ace in the hole. 

Is it too early to start getting a team in place?

Thoughts and recommendations would be greatly appreciated

[Lucas Machado]

@Mike Waltman - I don't think it's too early to start putting your team together...Perhaps some of those pieces can wait til later, but the South Florida market moves super fast, when you see a good deal, you gotta be ready to jump on it fast. If you're going to need a contractor's opinion to move forward, you can't wait until then to start looking for one. Also, I've found that I owe virtually all of my success to various people I've met along the way in my real estate journey. If I had worried about doing my first deal before going out and networking, I wouldn't have had nearly the same success - in fact, I probably wouldn't have done even a single one. South Florida isn't an easy market to invest in, at the very least you need some people you can lean on for advice! If you ever need any, there's a bunch of people here on BP who are more than willing to help, and also feel free to reach out to me directly.

Best of luck!