5 Qualities Of A Successful Real Estate Investor
By Paul Esajian on May 24, 2018
There is a lot that goes into becoming a successful real estate investor. Not only do you need to understand the business, you need to be good with numbers and even better with people. You are your CEO, CFO, lead marketer, accountant and social media director. You wear many hats and need to understand every area of your business. Even if you do excel in these areas, it may not be enough. There are a handful of seemingly hidden qualities needed to reach your potential. These aren’t promoted in books or seen on TV, but they are prevalent in your day to day activities. Here are five necessary qualities every real estate investor needs to be successful.
- Problem solving. As any seasoned investor can tell you, things do not always go the way you plan. On almost every deal or every property you are part of there is a point when you need to revert to your plan B. If you are not good at shifting gears, and solving problems, you will struggle as an investor. In a perfect world, everything will go your way on every offer you make, property you own and contact you make. The reality is that this is the exception rather than the rule. Instead of lamenting the fact that there are problems you need to become a problem solver. The best investors find solutions that others won’t. This could done by drawing on past experiences or applying creative thinking, but in most cases it is simply a matter of resolve. They understand that setback is part of the business and not a big curse they are part of. Problems are abundant in world of real estate. The quicker you accept this, the better off your business will be.
- Patience. We have been conditioned to get everything we want within seconds of wanting it. If we don’t like what is going on in our favorite show we can simply fast forward to the parts we want. If your current marketing isn’t working, you can try an approach that can deliver faster results. With the increase and abundance of technology all around us we have morphed into a society that lacks patience. In real estate patience is a necessary quality. There will be times in every investors career when they experience long gaps between deals. Instead of forcing the issue and making offers on properties you don’t really like, you need to take a step back and be patient. Of course, this is easier said then done but consider the consequences. By not being patient either with your marketing, lead generation or choice of deals you will find yourself in situations you quickly want out of. It doesn’t do you any good spending time and money on a new marketing campaign unless you have the patience to give it some time. Being patient doesn’t mean waiting for deals to fall on your lap. It means knowing when you should pass and when you should pounce.
- Spending discipline. There is no limit on the type of income you can make investing in real estate. This is obviously a great thing, but only if you are disciplined enough to accept it. There is an old saying that it is not how much money you make, but rather how much you keep. Closing deals and generating revenue is only part of the equation. You need to be disciplined in every business and personal expense you make. By spending like you won thu will quickly burn through all your capital. Instead of putting it to good use, you will be left disappointed and right back to square one. Prior to getting a closing check you should allocate where you want your money to go. Saying and doing are two different things, but without spending discipline all your hard work will be for naught.
- Flexibility. The real estate business is constantly changing and evolving. Something that happened in the market, even just a few months ago, may not be relevant today. It is critical that you walk the line between giving your ideas a chance and being flexible enough to know when to change. If you have been successful in the past it is easy to stay stuck in your ways and resistant to change. However, you never know when or where your next big idea will come from. You need to always be open to trying things a new way or doing something out of your comfort zone. You have to be willing to zig and zag your way to success instead of thinking there is a straight path to get there.
- Resilience. Investing in real estate is very much like hitting a baseball. If you bat .300 in the major leagues there is a good chance you are an all-star, and very well compensated for your abilities. You don’t need to be a finance major to realize this means you fail 70% of the time. In real estate you may look at 100 properties, make offers on 6 of them and only get 3 accepted. Those three should bear fruit and make your efforts worth it, but only if you are resilient enough to move forward. If you are in real estate long enough you are going to lose out on a property you desperately want or have a tenant stop paying rent out of the blue. There are going to be plenty of setbacks but you have to find a way to persevere. Almost every investor will get knocked down, but are you willing to get back up and fight?
These five seemingly hidden qualities make all the difference in your success. Instead of focusing on big picture formulas and strategies, spend some time on these areas.