It’s taken me over 5 years, but I can now officially say I am a successful real estate investor! I’ve learned very valuable lessons, I’ve faced evil schemers, cried for those that lost to them, and learned about my strong points and am still painfully aware of my weak points.
The first year, I got my first deal and made money. The second year I couldn’t get a deal no matter how hard I tried. The third year I started “thinking outside the box” and looked for alternative methods to get properties. The fourth year I discovered my niche, my system. It was the 5th year, the beginning of 2014 where I really challenged myself and it’s because of this challenge that I realized this old statement is true, “People overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in 10 years”. Facing the mid-point of that decade, I see how it’s possible. I see the turn in my real estate career to maximize my bank account, and This turned out to be a critical year for my business. What’s the secret?
FIND YOUR NICHE AND GO AFTER IT WITH A MASSIVE VENGEANCE.
I still wasn’t rich, but I was getting deals. Even though every-time I got a deal, the money would show up. But I found myself holding back…sort of waiting until I had a source identified before really going after a property. I even wrote the ebook “How to be a Cash Magnet for your Real Estate Deals“, because I figured out how to position myself in a way that cash would come to me.
I asked myself “Why do I still hold back?” So I made the challenge at the beginning of this year to find as many good deals as I could until the cash stopped coming. Fifteen projects later, I’m finally breaking a 6 figure profit in my business and now I’m ready to quadruple that. How?
The lessons I’ve learned, especially from 2014 is that even though the funds arrive for my deals, it’s pretty expensive money. When I finally had to put all my projects into a spreadsheet, it became painfully obvious to me how much of my business expenses are going to lenders and private investors. I’m doing all this work, I’m making this happen, they just keep getting more money. So the goal for 2015?
FIND CHEAPER MONEY
This is finally possible for 2 reasons. First, my track record gives a certain amount of comfort with those considering lending to me. And second, FINALLY, the credit markets are loosening up a little bit to allow me to leverage funds at more reasonable rates to possibly even buy, rehab and rent! This is important since the real pathway to wealth is through real estate ownership.
My goals for 2015 then are to continue to do what I’ve been doing, get my cash position up, purchase some longer term financial vehicles (could be notes, could be properties) and re-evaluate my situation next year.
What’s your plan for 2015?