Cutting Through The Noise

No matter what your career field, it is human nature to get caught up in the opinions of those around you. Some advice is solid, some is questionable at best. Real estate investing is complex. When you are getting started, you may struggle to know what’s real and what is not. Here are five pieces of advice, from people who have been where you are and found success.

Balance Passion and Profit

We have all heard the advice to “follow your passion.” Doing something you love is great, but you must make sure it’s good for your bottom line. If you find your passion is taking you down a dead-end, you need to be willing to shift your direction. Remember, the difference between a hobby and a career is that hobbies cost you money, and careers make you money. Without profit, you will not be able to sustain your business.

Work Smarter

Hard work is important. But don’t get so focused on the “hard” part that you forget to look for ways to be smart and get more out of your day. Organize your day, week, and month. Streamline your To Do list. Consider hiring team members who can take some of the workload off your plate, so you can focus on the tasks only you can do. Find ways to cut down on distractions and get more out of your working hours (instead of just putting in more hours).

Focus Your Time and Efforts

Branching out into different areas of property management can be great. But when you are just getting started, you must take the time to get really good at one or two things. For example, if you already have a construction background but you haven’t worked in real estate, it makes more sense to focus on property flipping rather than wholesale deals. That’s not to say you can’t learn the wholesale market, but don’t ignore your natural strengths. As you develop your core skills, you will become more efficient. You will then be able to devote more time to branching out and developing new skills.

Trust Your Numbers

You have probably heard the expression, “Numbers don’t lie.” This is true as long as you have good numbers. You will find yourself looking at potential deals that seemed great, but then the rehab bids come back higher than expected. Or you find the area is about to face a downturn in property value. If you are not sure where to look for good data, seek advice from other investors and sources you trust. Successful investors learn quickly not to get too attached to a deal until after the numbers come in to support that it is, in fact, a good deal. Never be afraid to walk away.

Just Say No

This falls in line with the section above but in a broader sense. You also need to learn to say no to an opportunity that may be outside your core focus, or to a partnership that may not be in your best interests. Trust your gut, and don’t be afraid to pass on opportunities that may not be good for you. This is not to say that there aren’t plenty of great opportunities that will come your way. But you need to be aware of any potential pitfalls before you get into a bad situation. Ask a lot of questions, and seek advice from seasoned investors you can trust.

Not all advice is good advice. Perhaps one of the more difficult tasks you will face is learning to tell the difference. Seek advice from people and sources you trust, but do not blindly follow any one person’s path. Ultimately, it’s up to you to know what advice to take, and what advice to ignore.