The Power Success Team in Real Estate Investing

YOU CAN'T DO EVERYTHING YOURSELF!
You shouldn't even try to do everything yourself. Some things you lack expertise for, other things you lack time for. A team will help you, because now you can delegate things that other people can do and free up your time for running your own business, and that will make you more money.

The following are people you should have on your team:

REAL ESTATE AGENT
This is someone out there finding you deals. This agent will write your offers if the seller has an agent, whether your agent finds the deal or you do. When you buy a property for fix-up and sale, you may give this agent the listing. The agent's incentive for working wit you is the commissions received on your purchases and sales. In return, the agent should provide you with reports of comparable properties sold from the multiple listing service.

The large majority of real estate agents out there know very little about investing and are unwilling to work with an investor, much less learn how to do it. You must sell an agent on the prospect that working with you will mean a large increase in income. In reality, most agents barely make enough to live on, so this is not a wild claim. Check out the page about Real Estate Agents for hints on how to talk to them.

A REAL ESTATE ATTORNEY
This is all about asset protection; you don't want to amass your empire only to lose it to frivolous lawsuits. You also might have contracts to be reviewed. Additionally, in many states an attorney closes your deals; you might as well use yours.

MORTGAGE LENDERS
You should have contacts with several Mortgage Experts. Ask whether or not they do investor lending; ask whether they lend against the appraised value rather than the purchase price; ask whether they put together 100% packages; ask whether they have hard money; ask if they do stated income or no-doc or non-verified lending.

• Lending against appraised value rather than purchase price indicates that they might be able to come up with $80,000 for you to buy a house worth $100,000 with no money out of pocket if you can get it for $80,000.
• 100% package means they can get all the money you need from several sources without you paying out of pocket.
• Hard money comes from private investors rather than from lending institutions; they don't have regulations to observe-it may be more expensive, but they might only care whether this is a good deal, not how your credit or income are. This is usually short-term financing, making it well-suited for buy-fix-and-sell transactions.
• Stated income, no-doc (no-documentation) or non-verified lending means the lender looks at aspects of the deal other than your credit and income; in other words, if you have a sure moneymaker but lousy credit and minimal income, this lender will still work with you.

AN ACCOUNTANT
The accountant should know real estate and tax law. This is not just to get your taxes done at the end of the year, this is so you can strategize with someone who understands the impact of income taxes and capital gains on what you want to do.

AN APPRAISER
Appraisers compute the market value of a property, usually for the lenders. Although you will use comparable sales reports to figure the future market value of projects for yourself, the appraiser can help you get a buy-fix-&-sell project moved quickly by getting the information you need for FHA financing for your buyers.

A BANKER
This is not just the manager of a local branch. This should be a vice president level executive with lending authority. If borrowing a quick $10,000 on your signature allows you to take advantage of a great opportunity, you will be grateful for the time it took to cultivate this relationship.

A TITLE COMPANY
A title company in those areas that use them can provide you with property reports on properties you are looking at so you know in advance if there are problems with the title. If the company knows you will be bringing business to it (closings, title insurance, etc.), people will be glad to give you the reports for free or a very nominal charge.

A HANDYMAN
The handyman will act as the general contractor for your rehab projects, someone you have tested and can trust to do good quality, honest work in a timely fashion. He can do estimates of costs for you to save you time on the front end and to ensure profitability. He can also oversee the subcontractors.

SUBCONTRACTORS