Every Saturday, I have a nightcap with some of my fellow property investors. We hold this event primarily for fun and chit-chat but we also take this as a chance to share with each other lessons learned in the week that was. My friend, Rob, started this Saturday gathering about a year ago. That time, Rob was just starting to flip houses and was madly enthusiastic to learn more about the industry.

The first few Saturdays were more of getting-to-know each other events. We invited experienced property investors to join us and share their experiences – good or bad – with everybody. Every Saturday was a big party but the even better part is that aside from gaining friends and improving relationships, we don’t just go home with the hangover; we also go home with new and more knowledge about real estate investing. In this industry, relationships go beyond networking. More than just being everybody’s mentor, everybody becomes everybody’s good friend.

What I’m saying is that, if you want to build a solid network regardless of the type of business that you have, develop good relationships with your fellow investors. Believe me, the consequences are overwhelming. When the going gets tough, everybody’s just a call away. When you need lenders, agents, contractors or whoever, you are sure to find someone who’ll be able to help you.

So next time, you know what to do on a lazy Saturday night. Give your fellow property investors a call, get the beer mugs and be ready for some fun yet valuable discussion.

Read, real estate investors: real estate investors read.

Repetition is sometimes a necessary evil to drill something into someone’s mind. Let it be repeated now: reading has served many investors well, and it will help you too. No matter how successful you are right now, or even if you are just starting out in the business, the power of reading is something you must acknowledge right now. It is a good means to learn, and learning is part of your path to success when flipping houses.

Just exactly what kinds of books or materials do you need to read? At least four should be in your list. These four things matter a lot to real estate investors and if you master them through reading, you will be better prepared to make a difference in the real estate world.

Positive attitude – You need optimism. You need to have faith that flipping houses or whatever form of real estate investing you venture into will make you rich.

Investing – The basics of investing must be clear to you. You are an investor. Know what you do.
Real estate – This is the playing field you will fight in. Know your arena.

Marketing – Marketing is the life of a real estate business. If people don’t know about your business, don’t expect them to deal with you.

This doesn’t mean that you will limit your topics to the four above. Reading expands your knowledge and trains your brain to be active and fast. Action and speed should be the qualities of a real estate investor. By the way, when they invented “ignorance is bliss,” they forgot to note that real estate investing wasn’t covered by it. So grab a book, read, and start to succeed.

Because Mother Earth is going haywire, many people across the globe are stepping up the campaign against cutting down trees and destroying rainforests. Environmental groups, led by Greenpeace, are more tenacious than ever to protect plants and ensure that the next generation would still know what a tree looks like.

If you support the cause of such people, even a real estate investor like you can make a big contribution to their campaign. How, you ask? By taking care of the garden in your rehabbed properties. We all know that plants help minimize air pollution by converting carbon dioxide into oxygen. They also serve as one giant filter that removes impurities in the air. If one of your rehabbed homes is surrounded by plants, then you are doing your part to protect the environment.

For goal-oriented rehabbers, meanwhile, planting flowers and other ornamental plants in a fix and flip project is like hitting two birds with one stone. You get to protect the environment and at the same time, improve the curb appeal of the rehabbed home you’re selling. You can help preserve the planet were living in and earn huge profits in the process.

Think about it. The garden is the first thing that a homebuyer notices when he steps out of his car and looks at the property. If he sees a well-manicured lawn and rows of colorful flowers dancing in the spring air, he would definitely say to himself, “I will buy this house!”

Real estate investing is also about satisfying homebuyers. If one of your buyers happens to be a member of Greenpeace and was impressed with your fix and flip project, he might tell his friends to buy the other houses that you have renovated because you’re an “environment-friendly” rehabber and you support their cause.

When was the last time you had a very satisfying, relaxing, and invigorating vacation? If you’re a regular office worker, you probably had one some five years ago and you couldn’t exactly call it a holiday because your boss kept calling you while you were busy teeing off on the greens or having a nice full-body massage. But if you’re a real estate investor, then you probably had one (or two) a couple of weeks ago.

For me, what I like best about real estate investing is that you can enjoy a great vacation and splurge on food, tours, and souvenirs all you want without feeling guilty afterwards. As we all know, some people’s definition of a holiday is something akin to spending three days of pleasure and five years of scrimping and spending long nights at the office. But if you’re a real estate investor, especially if you’re a good one at that, it would be easier for you to recover the money you spent during your last trip to Europe or the Caribbean.

Another reason why many people are attracted to real estate investing is that it gives them the opportunity to fully enjoy life’s little moments. Because an investor doesn’t have to work at least eight hours a day, five days a week, he can make room in his schedule for his daughter’s first piano recital or his son’s first baseball game. Now, isn’t that sweet?

There are also certain “activities” in real estate investing that can give you the chance to bond more with your friends and family. When doing the paintjob for your fix and flip project, you can ask your friends or your older kids to help out. I’m sure all of them will enjoy this fun activity.

If you’re sick and tired of your boss calling whenever you’re relaxing on the beach or itching to bungee jump in New Zealand but can’t afford to pay the trip, I suggest you try investing in real estate now.

The recently released trailer of the next Iron Man movie reminds us so much of hard money lenders. (As the tile/disclaimer claims, this indeed is a hodge-podge entry so bear with the sudden shifts in topic).

The trailer showed a second superhero wearing a similar suit to the one worn by Robert Downey Jr.’s character. That specifically reminded us of hard money. Not that the metal suit is literally “hard” but because the second superhero, who is actually named “War Machine” and played by Don Cheadle, appeared to be a support hero for Iron Man. He seemed to be a sidekick for the actual Iron Man, in probably the same way as Robin was to Batman, although that’s very arguable for many. Bottom line is War Machine is like hard money lenders and Iron Man is like real estate investors.

Think of it: Real estate investors, rehabbers in particular, often need assistance in terms of financing. They get this from creditors like hard money lenders. Makes sense, huh? Not to demote lenders or promote investors, but really, this happens. The support cast helps the protagonist accomplish his mission. In the case of Iron Man, perhaps beat Whiplash (played by Mickey Rourke). In real estate investing, it’s closing a deal.

As you are excited with the showing of the comic book character’s second flight on the silver screen, you should be excited to cash that fat check as well. And remember, don’t forget your support cast, which helped you close that deal. Take flight, investor.

P.S.

Type “rehab hard money” on Google if you need “support cast” for your mission.

It’s funny how people can easily turn to something that a few years back is considered a big no-no. At the height of the housing boom, hard money loans are ignored by most real estate investors. There are two reasons for this; first is banks’ propensity to readily approve real estate loans and secondly, because of misconceptions that placed hard money in a bad light.

The situation is completely different today. In fact, it is the complete opposite. Most real estate investors are turning to hard money loans as banks tighten their lending policies to avoid further losses. Hard money has resumed its status as an integral component in a market that is largely blamed for the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression in the 1930s.

In fact, many analysts credit hard money lending as a big factor in providing liquidity in a badly-damaged but steadily recovering industry. Nowadays, more and more investors are realizing the importance and advantages of hard money loans. This resulted in huge demands for hard money loans across the country, which also prompted many investors to enter the lucrative business of hard money lending.

As a lot of real estate investors would attest, hard money loans have a lot of advantages over traditional bank loans. Fast approvals, larger amounts, flexible terms. These are just some of the most common reasons why investors now prefer loans provided by hard money lenders.

While critics would argue that hard money has high interest rates, there is no denying the fact that these kinds of loans are dominating the real estate market today. And by the looks of things, it seems that hard money loans will be here to stay this time.

Building a solid team is important in the real estate investing industry, especially if you are involved in the business of renovating homes. Like a colony of ants, or any other social insects for that matter, it is easier to accomplish a huge project if you have extra pairs of hands to work with.

But what if those extra pairs of hands are doing something else when the “eyes” are not looking? You’re probably going to end up with a poorly rehabbed home, bigger expenses, and a badly bruised sense of self. Therefore, if you’re going to build a rehabbing team, see to it that all of them can be trusted.

Trust is vital in any relationship. Do you trust a business partner who’s double-crossing you? Do you keep a lover who’s cheating on you? Of course you don’t because only a masochist of the highest caliber would do that. If you don’t want to be duped by your contractors, you’ve got to nip the problem in the bud.

When building a rehabbing team or hiring contractors for a fix and flip project, always conduct a background check. With tons of con artists and opportunists running around, you can never be too careful. Don’t forget to ask for an ID when a certain contractor is offering you his services. You should also ask for references so you can ensure that that person is indeed capable of doing his job.

As the saying goes, no man is an island. You cannot survive on your own, no matter how hard you try. However, you should also be careful when choosing the person you’re going to trust. With your real estate investing business on the line, choosing the wrong members for your rehabbing team is akin to making a bad real estate investment.

I was reading one of my favorite real estate investing websites yesterday when suddenly, my attention was caught by a very interesting headline: Facebook Dethrones Google. Who will not be interested with that?

More than just being a personal networking site, Facebook is now turning into a gigantic marketing tool – not only in real estate investing but in various businesses as well. What does this mean? How does this apply to us?

Ask yourself: How extensive is my social media campaign? Facebook has done wonders and now, networking has been made a lot easier.

What I am trying to say is that do not underestimate the power of social media campaigns. These campaigns can go a long way not only in increasing traffic to your site but most importantly, in generating more leads and conversion for your business. Believe me, the results are overwhelming! I am not only referring to Facebook here. LinkeIn, Youtube, and Twitter should also be part of your social media strategies. If you’re still using the old ways, then it’s about time that you face your computer and build a virtual network for your business. If you’re not a big Internet geek, start up by browsing through online to-do tips. You are sure to get useful materials that will help you earn more profits.

If you really want to boost your business, come up with a good social media campaign and back it up with creative real estate investment strategies. Every property investor should keep this in mind.

Is it really insane to market your competition’s real estate properties? Most of you will say an outright, certain, and commanding “Yes!” Basic logic, that’s probably crazy. Give it a thought though and you’ll realize that you can actually do this without being mistaken a lunatic.

In some instances, buyers of other investors’ real estate properties come to you. You didn’t force them; it just so happen that they landed on your page or phone number looking for a house that satisfies the qualities of the house your competitor has. Now, the other investor is struggling to find a buyer because he doesn’t have a RehabList account (good for him! haha). Tell him that you can market the property for him and if you find a buyer, you’ll get a small amount. If he agrees, refer that buyer to the real estate investor.

In some cases, you’re pretty confident you can find a buyer for a property being sold by another real estate investor. Call up the guy; Say “hey, will you be interested in working with me? I’ll find your house a buyer and you close because of my buyer, I get a little money.” He doesn’t want to lose more money as the house ages in the market so he might take your bait.

Now, this is important. You’re name cannot appear on transaction papers. You cannot and are not supposed to ask for commission for finding a buyer because you are not a real estate agent. You are an investor. Now what you do is tell the other investor to list your payment under his “marketing expenses.” Isn’t that what you did in the first place? Still think it’s insane to market other investors’ real estate properties?

According to a popular saying, you cannot please everybody. No matter how hard you try to make a decision that would make everyone happy, someone is still bound to hate or dislike you for making that choice. After all, you can’t exactly pinpoint what everybody wants.

Real estate investors have it easy because they don’t care about what everybody wants. What’s important for them is the opinion of their buyers. As long as home buyers are happy with the properties the investors are selling, then they don’t have to worry about anything.

In real estate investing, it is a must for an investor to determine what his customers want. What’s the point in investing in a property that nobody would buy? Isn’t it a bit stupid on the investor’s part if he’s going to purchase a house that would only bring him trouble?

If you want to become a successful real estate investor, one of the most important things that you should do is to know your clientele well. Find out the types of houses that would appeal to their tastes. If you have a house that would make them go gaga, I assure, you will be the richest real estate investor on the planet.

So how do you know what a buyer wants? For starters, you can do research. Study comparable sales or look for the public records of properties that were purchased recently. You can also try the direct approach.

What’s the direct approach, you ask? Well, it is simply going to a buyer and asking the kind of house that he likes best. Instead of buying an investment property first, you should look for a home buyer, find out what he wants, and then search for the property that would match his description. It is as simple as that. This way, you get to make money in real estate and make the buyer happy.