Is there a magic formula for success? I wish I could tell you there was. It could have saved me a whole lot of headaches over the years. And having the copyright on that formula would have made me an awful lot of money. Unfortunately, there's no more magic in being successful than there is in anything else worthwhile in life.
1. Lack of focus. I define focus as concentrating only on the work you must do to succeed in your business, avoiding all distractions and not getting side-tracked by every "great idea" that pops up.
2. Getting into the rental business before your cash-flow needs are met. Boy, did I ever get tangled up in this one. When I first got started with real estate, I decided to buy all the rental property I could. I figured with a lot of tenants in a lot of houses, the cash would just fall into my lap every month, right?
Wrong. It was the biggest single mistake I made for a very simple reason - I just wasn't ready. Like yours truly, many beginning real estate investors get into the rental business because they think it's some kind of quick path to wealth. But it's not. It's slow and long-term. Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against rental property as an investment. I'll probably have them until the day I die. However, if you don't have a cash cushion built up, you'd better get really good at buying properties dirt cheap. But even when you do, you'll discover a million ways to spend down your cash flow.
Bottom line, my advice is this: Make some fast cash by quick-turning a few houses before you get yourself mired down with rentals. Get into some low risk, high-return deals before you start piling up equity and dealing with tenants. Then, when you do become a "Super Landlord," your chances of retiring on your rental income will be much better.
3. Listening to poor advice. This is something you probably already know. As you go through life, there will never be a shortage of people who want to give you advice. Your parents, your spouse, friends, in-laws, kids, they all have opinions about what you're doing and what they think you should be doing. Very often, the value of their advice is worth exactly what you paid for it . . . nothing!
So, who should you be listening to? I believe in taking advice only from people who are:
1. Qualified experts in their field and
2. Making a whole lot more money than I am.
4. Listening to negative thinkers and "Dead Heads." Nothing kills the entrepreneurial spirit like negativity. With all the challenges you face in business, you need to keep a positive, upbeat, enthusiastic attitude about what you're doing’
5. Lack of action. Movement, action, activity, progress . . . they're essential in any successful business. Without activity on your part, nothing positive will happen for you. It starts with that first call, that first conversation with a seller, even the first visit to a Realtor. But your ship can't come in if it never gets launched.
6. Wasting time with un-motivated sellers. They may be interesting. They may be wonderful people. They may have heartbreaking stories to tell. But if they're not motivated to accept your offers, they're wasting your precious time and sucking dollars out of your pocket. If you waste enough of your time waltzing around with people who aren't serious about doing business, then you're not going to be in business for very long. It's just that simple.
7. Chasing dead-end leads. Chasing dead end leads is very similar to dealing with unmotivated sellers and can be a tremendous waste of time and energy. Unfortunately, many people never really learn how to avoid it. Well I can solve this problem very simply. Pre-qualify every prospect that comes your way.
Properly pre-qualifying a prospect will help you to determine if further action is warranted. When making the initial contact with a prospect, you should ask yourself three questions to determine whether you can make a deal:
1. Can I buy the house wholesale?
2. Can I create a subject- to deal or seller financing or both?
3. Can I option the house?
If the situation doesn't fit one of these three models, you don't have a deal. It's that simple. There is no reason for you to waste any further time on the conversation, much less traveling across town to look at a house you'll never own.
Ron LeGrand had to borrow money to attend his first real estate seminar twenty years ago when he was bankrupt and running a gas station. Today, he is recognized as the nation's leading authority on buying and selling single-family homes for fast cash with no credit, little or no personal investment or risk. Ron has personally bought over 1500 houses and still invests in real estate.
Author, trainer, lecturer, consultant and entrepreneur extraordinaire, Ron has earned a reputation as the best in his field. His one-day workshops are routinely standing-room-only and his Boot Camps continue to grow in popularity. Ron's secret is simple: his programs work -- as evidenced by the thousands of successful real estate entrepreneurs all across North America who call him by the affectionate title, "The Guru". Ron is literally creating millionaires all over North America.
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