The Importance of a Business Plan

[Reginald A. Shelby II]

Is a business plan necessary as a REI?

[Nick Mast]

@Reginald A. Shelby II I can't speak from an area of great experience. But I can tell you that @Joe Aiola is completely correct. I believe that having a business plan, formal or informal, is vitally important to helping you achieve your goals. It will serve as an outline for the types of properties you are looking for and what strategy you intend to use. 

Speaking for myself, my partner and I do not have a "formal" business plan but we have discussed and written down what our plan is and what parameters we intend to search within. This plan will certainly evolve as we continue down our REI journey but it gives us a solid baseline to work from.

Start by figuring out what your real estate investing goals are, who will be your "rockstar" team members, what markets you are interested in, what type's of properties you intend to buy, how you will find them, how you will finance them, what your exit strategies may be with each property, etc. Having a written list of these things will certainly make decisions easier as you progress.

Best of luck and continued success!