One of the first things you need to realize as a real estate investor is that you don’t have to master all of the skills in running a successful business on your own. Forget for a moment the image of the solitary and committed entrepreneur, however nostalgic that may seem to you. Every great entrepreneur in history had a good support team around him or her, even if the team didn’t get all the notoriety in the end. Why should you be any different? I have confidence that each and every one of you reading this has the potential for greatness and step one to reaching that milestone is the recognition that you’re not alone.

Your professional team is absolutely essential to the general flow, success and longevity of your business. After all, your clients (present and future) won’t expect you to have all the answers or expect you to be able to do everything, even if you don’t realize that just yet. I’ll say this and forgive me if I repeat it later: it’s OK to say ‘I don’t know’ as long as you mention that you know where to find the answer. Stated another way, it’s far better to defer a question you get from a client to one of your team members than to just make up an answer in fear of saying ‘I don’t know’. Deals fall apart when such things happen so don’t let this happen to you.

For starters, let’s establish the framework for your professional team and then talk about the numerous attributes of having one. Depending on where you may have received some of your real estate education, you may see a team referred to as a wealth team or power team, but I’m talking about the same thing here. Your team is the assembly of professionals who handle the aspects of your business that you either (a) don’t have the background or expertise to handle yourself or (b) choose not to spend time working on yourself. Either rationale is valid and the important thing is to establish a competent team.

So, who comprises your team? There are a couple of ways to think about this. How you do so depends on who you are and how your business is organized. For example, are you currently working on real estate investing as a part-time venture? If so, then having some core elements of a professional team will likely be sufficient to help you get started. If your business is a full-time pursuit, then your team assembly will likely be a more comprehensive undertaking. Below is a list of team members with an asterisk next to those that I find essential for all real estate investors, even those who are part-timers and/or just getting started in the business.

Real Estate Agent Accountant or CPA Financial Planner

Inspector Banker(s) Hard Money Lender

Contractor/Handyman Mortgage Broker Assistant (Live or Virtual)

Real Estate Attorney Appraiser Support Network/Mentors

Title Company/Closing Attorney Private Mortgage Lender

Property Management Company

How about that for a list? Some of this will of course seem perfectly logical and I don’t want you to look at the list as a daunting task if you’re new to the business. This is part of what it means to be a real estate investor. In the weeks ahead, we’ll look at each team member and the assets they can bring to your investment business.

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