Real estate investments can be an exciting and profitable adventure. However, to reap the benefits of your wealth-building efforts, you need to have the right people around you.
Before starting in real estate investing, it’s important to know this isn’t something you can do all on your own—if you want to maximize your success. Instead, property owners need a real estate investing community to provide them with valuable support throughout the process. In other words, you need to create your real estate investment team!
Let’s take a closer look at why this step is such a necessary one—and what to know about real estate investing with an experienced and dependable team by your side.
What is a Real Estate Investing Team?
The concept of a real estate investing team is pretty simple. Rather than tackle every single aspect of investing on your own, you’ll gather together some go-to experts with whom you can work closely on your projects.
These professionals can help you before and after you’ve purchased your investment property, as well as throughout the process of renovating, renting, or selling. Typically, each person will have a specific area of expertise to help your goals as a real estate investor.
Why Do You Need a Team When Starting in Real Estate Investing?
Having a real estate investing community isn’t technically required, but it’s undoubtedly a smart way to go. Whether you’re brand new to investing or you’re looking to consciously ramp up your efforts, it pays to have qualified professionals at your disposal.
Even if you know a fair amount about real estate, there are bound to be gaps in your knowledge. For example, you may know about property maintenance for rental properties, but are you familiar with all legal obligations associated with your investment? Do you really have enough hours in the day to take care of everything on your own?
For most of us, we simply can’t do it all (at least, not successfully and consistently). So when you’re wondering what to know about property investing before you start, one of the most popular answers is: determine what you are and aren’t capable of doing yourself. For the things you can’t (or shouldn't) DIY, find someone trustworthy who can.
Successful Investors Don’t Go It Alone
It can be tempting to handle every aspect of your real estate investing strategies yourself to ensure everything goes according to plan. However, more often than not, investors end up paying for that or losing money. You’ll deal with mistakes, delays, and unexpected losses—many of which could have been avoided if you had the right people working beside you.
You’ll be more likely to achieve your goals if you establish a core team to divide up the work and provide you with access to prowess on-demand. Not only will you have the ability to problem-solve quickly, but you’ll also benefit from built-in collaboration. Having a team can allow you to bounce your ideas off of an expert, get advice on the best investments to take, and ensure projects can be completed the first time correctly.
Who Should You Include in Your Real Estate Investing Team?
With all that in mind, it’s time to start building your real estate investing community of professionals—but who exactly should you include in your investment team?
Every investor’s team will differ depending on their needs. For example, when starting in property investing, your significant other might be the natural choice for your team (especially if they possess valuable knowledge or industry connections). Others might team up with a parent, friend, or mentor.
However, regardless of whether you’ll be adding friends and family to your investment team, here are just a few professionals you shouldn’t leave out of the mix.
General Contractors and Fix-It Professionals
You might experience a lack of interest in your investment properties (and lost income) if you don’t have a good handyman or contractors on speed dial.
Even if you’re focusing on turnkey properties, you’ll eventually need to add a general contractor or other service professionals to your team. Plumbers, electricians, HVAC specialists, landscapers, builders, and general contractors are worth their weight in gold.
Having a general contractor or fix-it professional as part of your team can help you address problems quickly and keep costs affordable. This can allow you to preserve your investment and keep tenants happy or find new buyers for your flipped house faster, resulting in greater profitability overall.
Property Management Specialists
General contractors aren’t the only ones who can keep your property running smoothly. If you’re investing in a rental property, you’ll need someone to maintain the property and tenants.
Could you manage your property? Sure. Do you want to? Probably not. As you discover what to know about property investments, you’ll learn that managing a rental property investment can be a considerable time commitment.
When you have to deal with finding new tenants, evictions, maintenance issues, late payments, and responding to complaints, you’ll soon wish you had someone on your team who could take over for you. Some investors think they can save money by doing their property management. However, if you’re new to the game, this is one area best handled by professionals. To save time and reduce frustration, it’s often worth making room for a property manager on your investment team to maximize investment returns.
Lawyers and Accountants
As an investor, you can’t be expected to know every little detail about local ordinances and tax laws. However, legal and financial agencies don’t view a lack of knowledge as a valid excuse for violating the law or investment property tax obligations.
Having a good working relationship with a real estate lawyer and an accountant is the best way for real estate investors to avoid legal and financial problems. Working with a real estate attorney may be required when you purchase a property, depending on your state—but it’s always a good idea to hire a qualified lawyer to look over applicable contracts before you sign on the dotted line. Property investment lawyers can also help you if you need to evict a tenant or address zoning issues during construction, among other things.
It’s also recommended that you work with a financial expert. A financial advisor or planner can help you determine the best income property investments or what you can feasibly afford. An accountant, real estate CPA, or tax consultant can assist you in finding the best tax benefits available, track your expenses, follow up-to-date tax codes, and submit the proper forms for your investment to government agencies. Rental properties are taxed differently, so you should seek out knowledgeable professionals to guide you through.
Starting in Real Estate Investing? Build a Solid Team!
Many experts recommend that before you even decide on investment property, you should start building an investment team. While it’s not necessary to have every member of a good team to start buying properties, the earlier you assemble your go-to-experts, the sooner you can take full advantage of expert advice and hit the ground running. When you’re ready to buy your first (or next) property, make sure Privy is part of your team! The best way to understand the ins and outs of a profitable real estate investment deal is to take away the guesswork. Reach out to schedule a demo and learn more about how the Privy Advantage helps investors make more money through real estate.
Learn more about building your team for success! Download a free copy of “Assemble Your Real Estate Investing Team: A Worksheet.”
