As private real estate investors, when it comes to real estate investing, you can find more success if you surround yourself with capable, smart and driven people. Your real estate investing dream team will vary depending on your niche, market and strategy. Here is a list of team members to make your life easier.
Accountability Partner or Group
It’s easy to lose track of your real estate goals and strategy without someone to hold you accountable. It will benefit both you and your partner – who is also looking to invest in real estate- to check in at least monthly to keep you on track.
Accountant
Ideally, set up an appointment with a CPA to help you get organized before buying your first property. It will be great to find someone who works with private real estate investors and/or owns investment properties themselves. A CPA is not cheap but hiring one is worth knowing where you stand financially and figure out what you need to do to make money. Not only are they invaluable during tax season, but they can also help you better analyze your deals.
Lawyer
A great lawyer is necessary to have your business legally protected from all angles. You’ll want to work with legal counsel that can help you ensure that eviction processes are followed legally, that your paperwork is in place, and that potential lawsuits are nipped in the bud before they even exist.
Insurance Agent
Not all insurance agents or brokers are the same. Find someone local and hands-on to give you an honest analysis of your property risk and have sufficient insurance to cover for specific occurrences.
Property Manager
Overseeing the day-to-day aspects of your business takes time, a steep learning curve and sometimes even headaches. Having a property manager to run your business at this level allows you to work ON your business not IN it. Consider your time as your most invaluable asset and delegate the property management to someone who is experienced and trustworthy.
Hard Money Lender
A hard money lender can help you fund your deals with a loan based on the value of the underlying real estate – even when you have bad credit. Typically, a hard money lender does not require rigorous documentation requirements and has a much less complex application process unlike conventional lenders. If you need a quick closing and your bank can’t meet the deadline or you need more leverage than your bank can provide, you surely want to have a hard money lender on board.
Real Estate Agent
Your relationship with your real estate agent should be mutually beneficial. Find someone who is easy to get hold of, has plenty of connections and provides insightful insider knowledge of the local market you’re in.
Contractors — and backups
Working with contractors can sometimes be tough. Some won’t call you back, work within budget or show up on time. Find good quality people to work with and keep a list of backups with contact details. Whether it be a plumber, electrician, floor guy, a handyman, etc. you will save a ton of money if you ask more than one contractor for a quote and make them give their best offers for your business. Examine each quotation line by line because the devil can be in the details. Most of the time this strategy can take longer but it ensures that you get an honest price.
When you’re building a team, never forget that you’re the investor no matter how multi-skilled you are. Leave all the jobs that can be delegated to the people who have the expertise and never feel guilty about not being able to do it all on your own.
