Team Member 9- Financial Planner

Now that you are in business or are at least considering it, do you think it will change your financial outlook? You certainly hope that it will and it behooves you to be prepared for the changes that are coming. A good financial planner is just an essential part of modern money management and you may want to have such a professional behind the scenes to help streamline and optimize your financial growth. Are financial planners critical to negotiating deals on properties? No. Are they critical to you feeling comfortable that you are operating within a defined plan that actually has a chart and a course? Absolutely. When you have confidence in the big picture of what your business is doing, you will be more confident and that will show in how you handle yourself and as you meet new people.

As a spin off to this topic, you may also want to look into adding a self directed Roth IRA into your plan for retirement. Imagine buying and selling a property and the proceeds from that sale going directly into your self directed Roth IRA, which means you’ll never have to pay tax on that money (when you follow the rules). This may sound too good to be true, but trust me it’s not. If you haven’t already, you should look into setting up a traditional Roth IRA now while the government still allows you to and then converting it to a self directed Roth IRA down the road when you are ready. A qualified financial planner who has experience in self directed Roth IRA’s should be able to help you with this, but do your own due diligence as well.

Team Member 10- Property Inspector

A dedicated property inspector is not necessarily one of the foundational team members you will need for your real estate business but is important all the same, especially as you start purchasing properties that you intend to keep for a while in order to produce monthly income. The presence of an inspector on your team helps you both avoid problem properties (aka the money pits out there) and also demonstrates to others that you are serious about your purchases and are ready to perform all necessary due diligence before ever completing a transaction.

The best way to find a good inspector is through a referral. Try to find an inspector that can also provide you with, or knows someone that can provide you with a certified termite inspection and a mold inspection. These two little hidden demons can cause you serious problems down the road if you don’t take the appropriate precautions up front. Take it from me, I have the scars to prove it.

Team Member 11- Property Management Company

I learned a long time ago that property management is not a profession for the weak. Maybe many of you are very compassionate people at heart or tend to generally trust people you meet. These are redeeming qualities but will make you a poor property manager. Managing tenants may not seem to be that big of a deal but, if you believe this, you’ve likely never had to coordinate a difficult eviction or deal with a ‘professional’ tenant who likes nothing better than living rent free. In short, if you’re serious about owning rental property, I believe property management is an essential part of your professional team. Pay someone else to deal with these problems while you utilize your time to invest in more deals.

Personally, I don’t do straight rentals, but rather lease options or seller financing because I want my tenants to feel like homeowners. I want them having the feeling of home ownership in the property and maintaining or fixing up the place rather than trashing it. I find that if they have a vested interest in the home it results in fewer problems. When problems do arise, the existence of property management in your world of real estate investing will save you countless hours, reduce stress, and also boost your credibility by showing the world that you are running a business like a business and, in doing so, that you recognize your own limitations. Forget the investors you talk to who insist that managing your own properties is the only way to go. Most I’ve met who feel this way look like the business has aged them 15 years and I don’t think it’s just a coincidence. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to admit you need help with something and this is a great example of that point.

In my next post, I will discuss the last members of your real estate support team. I appreciate the comments that are shared about any of my articles and encourage you to continue sharing your thoughts. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out some of the material I am giving away for only shipping and handling costs.

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