Inspired by the Breakthrough real estate investing podcast hosted by Rob Break and Sandy Mackay
Once you get started in real estate investing, you’ll quickly realize that you are running a business, and the sooner you recognize that fact, the sooner you will take the necessary steps to scale your business. The key when growing your real estate investment business, is to start your real estate investment business.
Start a real estate investment business
We want to help you make starting your real estate business easier with these 12 tips:
- You do not have to be in your mid-twenties to get started
- You can change your life by investing in real estate
- Marketing and advertising your business is the key to growth
- Learn how to pay contractors to help you with renovations rather than attempting to do it yourself
- Learn how to assess a good investment early
- Understand that you’re in the business of financial wealth building and building generational wealth
- Give yourself a few years to learn the business and build a portfolio
- When you finally reap the rewards of your investment, you will get an overwhelming sense of gratitude because you will now have the freedom to do whatever you want financially. You will have the financial freedom to help your friends and family. Too many people get caught up in the rat race of life and stop working toward what they’re passionate about and what they believe in. Never stop working on yourself.
- Be grateful for everything that you have and everything that you are able to accomplish
- Promote your business on social media so you can attract investors and supporters
- Brand yourself as an expert
- Remember that results always speak for themselves
Your real estate investing business is only as good as your first investment, so you’ll need to have a strategic investment plan before you purchase your first home. We recommend you follow this guide:
- Read Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiosaki
- Establish clear goals for your investment
- Do not listen to people who do not understand your goals. Instead surround yourself with people who are living, breathing and doing what they want to accomplish
- Save between $5000 – $10,000 and borrow the rest from your parents
- Do your own research. The numbers have to make sense.
- Get familiar with the area in which you are buying
- Pay attention to the sales in the area
- Don’t work with the first agent you come into contact with, make sure your agent has investment knowledge
- Spend time in the area in which you are investing and get to know it. This will tell you a lot about the long term appreciation values. Pay attention to businesses in the area, the numbers of schools, the rate of growth in the area, transit in the area, etc. These are all signifiers of growth.
- Source out contractors so you can get a better understanding of the true cost to renovate
- Do your research before you buy a property
- Go to local networking events, meet with investors and build relationships with contractors and property managers
- Understand the rate of market appreciation
- Be confident in your renovation budget
- Refinance the property
- Buy your second property
- Buy, refinance and buy again.
- Buy a third property. Repeat
- Avoid getting capped out by your borrowing capacity
- Raise capital with private money or by creating a joint venture
- Document everything that you do and the progress that you are making
- Grow at your own pace. The quicker you grow, the more room there is for mistakes
- Don’t neglect your friends and family in the process
- Pick good tenants as bad tenants can be very costly
- Keep in mind that your property can get damaged if you or your tenants do not take the proper care
Understandably, new or first time investors can be scared to buy in a down market and with the world in a global recession, it’s reasonable to question whether or not it is a good time to invest in real estate. The short answer is, if you are a Canadian, buying a home is often going to be a great way to build wealth.
5 reasons why current market conditions should not affect your decision to invest?
- The best investment strategy is to buy and hold and then buy another property. With this in mind, the current market is less important when buying for long term growth.
- Canada has thriving businesses, a large land mass, and a strong banking sector that attracts outside capital, despite the foreign buyer’s tax
- Toronto prices may be high, but in comparison to Beijing or Hong Kong, you may need to reconsider how high the market can grow. Not even a global pandemic can stop the Ontario real estate market from prospering.
- It is getting increasingly more difficult to acquire property, so if you have the means to do it, the time is now. Even if the market dips it doesn’t mean buying becomes easier, because during these times, money is more difficult to acquire.
- When you are sure the property can carry itself you will not have to worry about the market. If the property doesn’t carry itself, convert it into something that will carry.
What is holding you back when it comes to real estate investing? We would love to read your thoughts in the comments below.
Look out for more of our blogs about investing in Hamilton real estate.
At the Mackay Realty Network, we specialize in building generational wealth and would be happy to help you take the next step. Meet our founders:
