Improving Your Real Estate Business: The Little Things Count
By JD Esajian on January 19, 2015
With the New Year off and running, many investors have made a point to improve their business. While most are looking to make sweeping changes, there are smaller alterations that warrant consideration. That said; the little things can make a big difference in the efficiency of your business. If you view your business as a business and commit to the little things, you will begin to see improvements. Instead of changing the way you market or follow up with leads, consider taking a step back. Evaluate the areas that many may not even consider. In the real estate business, the little things count. Make sure your company is doing the little things right. Everything else will benefit from the effort you dedicate to making these small changes.
Invest In Yourself
One of the common misconceptions among new investors is that they need to have everything in place before they look for deals. Instead of looking for deals, focus on obtaining an education. If you make it a point to attend one seminar a month or learn one area of the business, you will quickly see the rewards. Investors tend to work with other investors they either feel comfortable with. If you can carry yourself well in a conversation at a networking meeting, people will be more inclined to work with you in the future. The more you know about the business, the more you will feel comfortable with deals that others may shy away from. This starts with spending the time and money to arm yourself with as much education as you can.
Look At All Current Mortgages
Whether or not you own one property or ten, there may be ways to save money on your current mortgage. It is no secret that many of the investment loan programs dried up when the market tanked at the end of the last decade. In the last few months alone, there have been more new programs than in the previous five combined. If you tried to refinance but were rejected in the past, you should explore this option. Even if you can’t lower your interest rate, you may be able to knock years off your term and only increase your payment slightly every month. Additionally, if you cannot refinance, you should look to make one extra mortgage payment a year to knock years off your term. Your mortgage shouldn’t be something you only think about once a year.
Find One Good Realtor
A good realtor can provide you with more deals than you know what to do with. Even if you have an existing relationship with a local realtor, you should make it a goal to find one more in the next 60 days. Instead of blasting out mass emails, you should look to see who is selling investment properties. Whatever your preferred method of initial contact is, you should be ready to follow up multiple times. Leave voice-mails, show up at their office and invite them over for coffee or lunch. Be prepared to discuss what types of properties you are interested in. If you make an impression, you can believe that they will think of you the next time they get a deal off the MLS or an REO listing. Subsequently, you need to be ready to act quickly and make the closing as easy as possible. Once you close one deal, there will probably be more to come. However, getting to that point will take some commitment on your end.
Improve Time Management
There are only so many hours in a day. How you spend them defines your business. It is very easy to get overwhelmed with everything that is going on. Don’t let it prevent you from moving forward. You need to spend a day to get yourself in order and map out a schedule for how you want your business to run. Start with a long term idea. What are your goals and how are you going to achieve them? Once you have established where you want to be, conform your workday to meet the demands of your goals. If you know specifically what you are going to do and when you will do it, you will be much more efficient. Instead of spending an hour or two on social media or your favorite website, you will be following a schedule that requires you to focus on what is important. A few more productive hours every week can lead to one extra deal.
Technology
The advent of today’s technology has made the investing business easier than it has ever been. There are many great real estate applications that can help you quickly evaluate a property or run numbers on a given deal. If you are looking to spend thousands on a new website or direct mailing list, you should think about improving your phone or computer first. Something as simple as using a smart phone will allow you to see more properties on the go. Even small technological upgrades or updates can have a big impact. Whether or not what you have been doing is working, there is likely an alternative that warrants your attention. New technologies come out everyday to make our lives easier. As an investor, you owe it to your business to at least see if there is anything that can make your business more efficient.
Not every change you make has to be one that impacts your business immediately. Small changes can have a huge impact on the efficiency of your business over time. Taking the time to implement small changes can lead to big improvements for your real estate business.