You should be doing your most due diligence on the operator, the team, and the track record. 40 units in an opportunity zone could be a big win, but how many times have they done opportunity zone builds and have they worked with the city of Tampa before?

Granted, I jumped in ignorantly, not fully understanding the pro-formas, just looked at their track record.  

This is especially true for more experienced investors who have a track record of performing.

The items you'll need to track are:Date of ExpenditureVendor Name/Tenant NameAmountCategory of Expense (look at a Schedule E to get this)/ or Revenue Type (Rent, Deposit, Utility Reimb, etc)Property (for when you have multiple properties.Put it in a nice column format like this:Date                     Vendor/Tenant                Amount                      Category                  Property1/1/18                   Joe Smith                         $1500.00                     Rent                           123 Main Street1/5/18                  Home Depot                   - $20.00                        Repairs                       567 Oak StreetSo that when you share your spreadsheet, they can filter for what they want. 

- Expertise & Track Record: experienced team with a proven history of success- Market Knowledge & Network: local market expertise and strong industry connections- Financial Strength & Flexibility: access to capital and flexible investment structures- Operational Efficiency: effective asset management and cost control through vertically integrated property management and leveraging economies of scale- Innovative Strategies: value-add projects, portfolio diversification, distressed funds, niche markets, etc.- Technology: use of data analytics that can lead to more informed investment decisions, and integrating innovative technologies to improve operational efficiencies as well as improving tenant & investor experience- Strong Investor Relations: consistent, ongoing and transparent communication and educational opportunities for investors, including a peek behind the curtains inviting them to the office for events and internal investment committee meetings- Customer-Centric Services: customized solutions to meet specific needs and interests of various investors and full-service offerings from brokerage, property management, leasing, to funds/syndication opportunitiesWhat else did I miss?

Have a planned/practiced 1-2 sentences about how you help people buy and sell real estate.Keep your expenses low, track not only what you spend (personal, and business), and track your "lead indicators"...x hours daily lead generating, # people you talked with daily about real estate, # social media posts you created about real estate topics.  

I recorded a list of what most of the liens sold for and tracked the wins of the clearly professional bidders for research and learning purposes.

Unless they are married, they need their own policy.Make sure you are added as "additional interest" on each policy so you can track it.

Of course I still need to decide which part of the country I plan on investing in (it's possible I'm moving around the country frequently in the first year, so that is making me think about the most ideal location for an initial investment).Once established and with a track record in Spain, I plan on making my first investment here in the US, most likely in the Boston/MA area.In any event, I'm excited to connect and learn from those in this group.If you know anyone with international investment properties or contacts abroad, especially in Spain, I would love to connect!

One piece here is that yes you can potentially find buyers that will have a premium for successful track record + even furnishings, listings, review - but important to remember that there won't be a premium assessed by the lender in almost all situations if the buyer is using financing to acquire - their loan will be based on the pure real estate value even if they are paying more - just a tip to keep clarified so no surprises that can throw off deals