Investor Success

Real estate investing can be very rewarding, and it also is very challenging. Most people cannot handle the challenge, and stop working at it before they succeed. Here's a better way to help you succeed.

Enthusiasm to make deals and earn money can easily cause you to stop thinking clearly. For that reason, you need to FOCUS on one type of transaction, ignoring all else. Don't be a professional student, always learning and not doing deals!

A favorite author of mine, Robert Ringer, in his book "Million Dollar Habits", says that investors usually fail because they spend all their time working on crazy, pie-in-the-sky deals that have little chance of working out. He instead offers this tip "get into the habit of finding simple deals, then find simple ways to profit from them." Thank you, Bob!

Don't waste time on deals not in your focus. You also don't need to work on deals which are too far away. In the Dallas area where I live, if a property isn't within 15-20 minutes of me, I pass on it.

Refer other deals to investors who do work on that specialty. They will be better equipped to complete the transaction, and will most likely give you a referral fee! If it took you 5 minutes to talk with the seller, and you later make $500 as a referral, how much is that per hour?

If you're doing rehabs, DO REHABS. If it's lease options, then do those. Don't get distracted with short sales, flips, mobile homes, notes, etc. Be confident in your one area, and become the authority. Get your system down. Get so that you can spend no more than 2-5 minutes on the phone with prospective sellers to see if they have what you are seeking. If they don't, refer them to some other investor.

When you do have a property for sale, you will no doubt advertise it for sale. Select your buyer, then refer those other buyers out to other investors, since you won't be able to find homes for them in time, and will be distracted from your main purpose.

If you aren't part of a network of other investors, find a club today, and start networking with other investors. You need to find folks that will refer deals to you, and you refer deals to others.

Your extra buyer may be the one I need, and vice versa. Reciprocal referrals. Team building. It's what makes the world go 'round, and makes your wallet fatter! You will love it as those nice referral checks come in over the coming months. Find a good network, or create your own. Link up for investor success!

(If you're wanting to get started using a professional lease option system, I can tell you where to get a good one. This lease option system by Jeff Beaubein is one I bought in 2001, and have used it to put together lease option transactions as an investor. The system will work for you, even if you just want a home for your family. At a bare minimum, it will enable you to reduce or eliminate your lease option down payment.)

Ken Chipman

PS I'll share a system I have used which finds foreclosures. I like it because it is fairly automated, and you will find homes in foreclosure before they are posted at the court house.