Investors who invest in real estate realize that number one on the list of goals for real estate investing is to make a profit. No matter how many books and infomercials a real estate guru or book seller sometimes markets their product with, it is real estate investing that separates the wheat from the chaff. It is real estate investing that makes a difference in the world.
The second most important yardstick for measuring a success as a real estate investor is how much time, energy, and know how that takes. When it comes to investing in real estate, time and energy are essentials. It is both time consuming and hard to learn all there is to know about real estate investing. When I met my husband he had little knowledge in the real estate investing field and no money to put down on his first investment, but for his second investment he had somewhere around $100,000 to put down and had burned almost all of his wealth to get started.
Contrary to popular belief, real estate investing is not just about making money for the moment, and then blowing a huge amount of it away the next day. Real estate investing is an ongoing business or a living, breathing thing that requires real effort and real money.
It is important to know that when it comes to real estate investing, there are no magical solutions. What works for one person, may not work for another. What works for one investor and fails with another. What works out for all types of investors varies with their Focus of Rental Properties vs. Multi-Housing, their strategy and so on. “Nothing works without love.” I have learned a lot over the last four years about real estate investing, but my biggest real estate learning lesson was not about making money in the short-term.
My biggest real estate investing lesson was about not dreaming of making money in the short-term, but rather in the long-term. Can’t make a fortune in the short-term doesn’t mean you don’t have the potential to make money in the long-term. You may by unfortunate circumstances, but over-taking wealth has always made the homeowner poor. The current economical situation is a great example. You may be down, but you have to keep in mind that money doesn’t grow on trees. Unless you truly think money is the sc unleadedessential to be found in abundance, you should begin your looking and working backward into the future. Your dollars won’t go as far as they used to in the past. Be patient and draw on your resources.
When you invest in Real Estate as a long-term endeavor, you should begin to pay attention to all of the little nickel and dime things that can mean the difference between a big profit and real, real estate investing failure. Can you easily get “behind on payments” or leave you with a huge loan that you can’t pay back? Have you ever stopped to examine how your expenses have been reported to the government, and had your income taxes double-refunded because of “IA keeps track of all receipts” or “I pay tax on a second home used as an investment property” because you can deduct your mortgage interest and other rental expenses from you taxes as an owner-occupied residence? These are the kinds of things that can mean the difference between a second home owner, and landlord. The owner-occupied home owner has to claim all the repairs that they make on their home for income tax, as a rental, as part of their annual taxes. You can’t claim deductions on your rental income for the same reasons. walls 3, ceiling fans and telephone jacks, appliances and utilities, and landscaping, etc.
Are you interested in Real Estate as a full time career? No? Isn’t it?
One of the best lessons I learned in my transition into Real Estate investing was learning to not think my business choice was set in stone. I had a couple of years in a struggling lending industry. That experience gave me no shortage of financial challenges that would badly impact my long-term wealth building strategy. But guess what? I did the same things my previous profession did, only in a totally different capacity. I used the same techniques to grow my portfolio and producing cash that my former profession forced me to do. I learned from those who have been successful previously, that there are many paths to success, but that only one is lined with dollar signs. Since I knew the importance of focusing my energy on the Real Estate market, what partially helped me get there, was focusing on the first step: Financial.
Remember that investing in Real Estate is merely a path to your future financial security, not a magic pathway to riches?
Now that you see the power of focusing on your financial systems, you may be wondering where to start. Are you wanting to start investing in Real Estate?
