Who talked you out of jumping in those puddles when you were little?

Your buddy probably did…

Who held your hand and warned you not to run onto the road?

Your buddy probably did…

Think back to your school days.  When you were a young student in elementary school or junior school, did you ever go on any field trips with your class?

Did you ever go for walks with your classmates outside of the school grounds?  Depending on where you attended school, maybe you went for a nature walk or a walk around the block…

Whatever the case was, whenever you would embark upon these journeys and leave the school grounds, to keep you safe, your teacher matched you up with a ‘buddy’.

Your buddy was someone that you would stick close to.  Both you and your buddy knew that you were each responsible for one another.  If something bad were to happen your buddy, you would be in trouble, as you were held accountable for the safety of your buddy.  After all, it was your duty to make sure that your buddy was okay at all times.

Your teacher assigned you a buddy so that you could protect one another.  Your mission was to make sure that your buddy did not get into any dangerous situations.

If you tried to wonder off the path you were walking along with your buddy and your classmates, your buddy was there to pull you back in line.

• The buddy system works the same way with real estate investing.

As a new real estate investor, you will embark upon a journey into the unknown, when you are researching how to buy your first rental property.  After you purchase your first rental property, you will especially be entering into the unknown, as you will probably have no experience as a real estate investor.    There will be times in which you will want to quit and deviate from the real estate investing path that you have chosen.

The role of the real estate buddy is to pull you back on track when you are losing focus.  Just like your buddy from grade school, your real estate buddy is there to protect you.

Your buddy from grade school stopped you from jumping into puddles.  Your real estate investing buddy will stop you from jumping ship from real estate investing when the going gets tough.

Your real estate buddy should be someone that is like minded, and who also invests in real estate.  Ideally, your real estate buddy should be more knowledgeable than you regarding real estate investing.  That way when the going gets tough for you, your buddy can offer you advice and proper guidance.

• Without question, all new real estate investors need a real estate buddy.

Whenever you are about to make a financial blunder or make a risky move with respect to your real estate investing business, your real estate buddy will be there to make sure that you don’t make a mistake.

After all, your real estate buddy is there to keep you in line!
Best Regards,

Neil Uttamsingh

ps: If you would like to learn how to become a real estate investor,  subscribe to my blog today!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuQAPXLAFuk[/youtube]

Real estate investing is no different than grade school.  During your school days there were always those students that learned very quickly, as well as those that picked up on concepts a lot slower.

The same difference in learning exists with real estate investors.

Just because some real estate investors learn faster than others does not mean that they are any smarter.

More appropriately, the speed at which a real estate investor learns is directly related to two variables.

These variables are:

1) Volume

2) Market

Volume

Let’s look at the following example.

2 real estate investors are new to the world of real estate, and they buy their first rental properties on the very same day.

One real estate investor goes on to buy a total of 5 properties during the course of 5 years.

The other real estate investor does not buy any more properties, other than the first purchase.

The investor that bought more properties, will more than likely become a lot more knowledgeable than the investor holding one property.

This is due to volume.

When you are an investor holding multiple properties, you are exposed to multiple issues.

In this case, you would have 5 different tenants to deal with at any given time.  You will also have 5 furnaces to maintain, and 5 air conditioner units to maintain.

Overall, you will be responsible to carry out any repairs and maintenance as well as property management on 5 different units.

Due to the higher volume of activity, this investor will learn more and become more knowledgeable in general than the investor that holds one property.

Therefore, if you want to become a more knowledgeable real estate investor, increase the amount of properties you own and manage.

Market
The second variable that effects the knowledge level of a real estate investor is the market that they invest in.

In my experience, real estate investors learn who own properties in a  high income neighbourhood, learn at a slower pace than those investors that own properties in a low income area.

It has been my experience that tenants that occupy rental properties in high income neighbourhoods generally are more independent than tenants in low income neighbourhoods.

What I mean by this is that if you own a rental property with higher income earning tenants in a nice neighbourhood, you will probably not be dealing with any non payment of rent issues, or any evictions due to non payment.

This of course is not always the case, as any tenant, no matter what neighbourhood they live in can all of a sudden not pay rent.

However, generally speaking, higher income earning tenatns are more independent.  As a result, an investors that owns in this type of neighbourhood will deal with very few tenant issues.
As you continually learn more about real estate investing, keep in mind the importance of:

volume and market

If you can get more experience dealing with multiple tenants, and you can get experience owning and managing rental properties in a wide range of markets, you will be well on your way to becoming a well rounded and knowledgeable real estate investor.

Best Regards,
Neil Uttamsingh

ps: If you are interested in real estate and want to learn how to buy a rental property, subscribe to my blog today!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wHGXqcxcw8[/youtube]

The greatest basketball player to every play the game once said, ” I have looked at every experience I have had either positive or negative and I have seen all those experiences as being positive.”  This legendary player was none other than the great Michael Jordan.

As a new real estate investor, you will have many positive and negative experiences during your real estate investing career.

The secret to lasting as a real estate investor over the long run, is to ignore the negative experiences and focus on the positive ones.  If you dwell on the negative experiences, you will have a horrible time as a real estate investor, and chances are that you will quit sooner or later.

Real estate investors are often criticized by others in the following ways:

First, people will tell you that real estate investing is too risky.  They may make you feel guilty by saying to you that you are taking on too much risk, or that ‘the bottom’ will fall out of the real estate market soon.

Second, another form of criticism that real estate investors face is from people who say that “real estate is not a good investment.”

I always love hearing people tell me this.  I guess it is because in my mind I know that they are SO wrong.  However, in their mind, they think that they are SO right.

It is humorous.  I laugh to myself when I engage in conversations with people that are trying to convince me that real estate is not a good investment, and that the stock market or financial markets are a better investment.

To survive as a real estate investor, you have to learn how to both ignore the negative criticism that you encounter AND use this criticism to fuel you.

There will also be negative people in this world, that will have something bad to say about real estate, or that will be jealous of your accomplishments.  These people will try to bring your spirits down.  You cannot let them.  You need to learn the art of ignoring these people.  Once you become good at ignoring these people, it really becomes quite fun.  (The act of ignoring)

Further, you have to be able to learn how to use negative criticism as fuel.  This fuel can be used to motivate you.

This is easier said than done.  However, once you figure out how to harness criticism and turn it into ‘fuel’ that motivates you, you will be an unstoppable real estate investor, just like Brian Persaud.

Best Regards,
Neil Uttamsingh

ps: If you liked this post and the video, and want to learn how to become a real estate investor, subscribe to my blog today!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bVqJQN2B4A[/youtube]

You can make more money by having a good real estate accountant.

All real estate investors need a quality real estate accountant on their team.

Not just any real estate accountant though.  As a real estate investor, you need to ensure that your own real estate accountant is a real estate investor as well.

Accountants who invest in real estate themselves, understand what real estate investing is all about. Thus, they are able to relate very easily to their clients.  Their clients being of course, real estate investors.  Further, real estate accountants understand real estate investors well because the same tax implications and tax deductions allowable to real estate investors would apply to them as well.  After all, they are real estate investors themselves!

It is important to remember that real estate accountants have a large amount of specialized knowledge.   With this specialized knowledge they are able to help you deduct more expenses than an accountant with no specialized knowledge regarding real estate investing.

When you truly start adding up the numbers, and look at your tax return each and every year, there is no questions in my mind that a good real estate accountant will both save you and make you money.

Even if you have just one property in your portfolio, you need a good accountant that specializes in dealing with real estate investors.

My very own real estate accountant, George Dube, wrote a timely article over at his blog.  It is a great article called, What is a Real Estate Accountant? George does a great job in breaking down what exactly a real estate account is.

Do not underestimate the importance of having a quality real estate accountant on your team.  They are one of the most important members of your real estate team.

Best Regards,

Neil Uttamsingh

ps: If you are serious about real estate investing and need advice on how to get started, sign up to my blog today.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe4xAlTyvkY[/youtube]

If you are a student of real estate investing, you will hear the term “Real Estate Empire” a lot.

Successful real estate investors who have managed to build their own real estate empires have often done so by buying properties in the same location.  When I refer to location, I am referring to a specific City or Town.

This is a smart strategy as it helps to simplify your life.

For example, if you manage to assemble a portfolio of 10 rental properties in the same city, you will more than likely have an easier time managing this portfolio than if you owned 10 rental properties in 10 different cities.

If you own properties in 10 different cities, your life is going to be more complicated for sure.

Not only will things be more complicated for you, you will also need to have a lot more specialized knowledge in order to succeed.  Here is what I mean…

For instance, you will need to know the market rent and market values of all 10 of  these cities, as opposed to just 1 city.  You will have to stay up to date with all of the market information for all 10 cities.  As things change, and as market rents increase or decrease, you better be up to date on what the rents have changed to.

After all, if you don’t know the market rents, how do you know if you are renting out your property for the right price?  If you don’t know the accurate market rent, you could very well be renting your property out for $200 or more less per month than what you should be renting it for.

Also, if you do not know the market value of the properties, how do you know if you are buying the property for the right price?  If you don’t know the market value of the properties, you could easily overpay 20, 30, 40 thousand or more for the property than what you should be paying.

On top of it, if you are having your properties professionally managed, and if they are all in cities far apart, you may need to know and deal with up to 10 different property managers!  That is a large number of property managers to build and maintain relationships with.

Try to keep things simple by building your real estate empire in the same location.

Years down the road, when you look back upon your efforts, you will thank yourself.

Best Regards,

Neil Uttamsingh

FirstRentalProperty.com

ps: If you liked this video, I encourage you to subscribe to my blog, First Rental Property in order to watch more videos just like this one!

pps: Also, don’t forget….If you need help buying your first rental property check out REIN Live Events and REIN Home Study Courses.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6dD3vHoohA[/youtube]

Providing value to other people is the quickest way to becoming a better real estate investor.

Very few people understand this concept and even fewer people put it into practice.

When you take the focus off of yourself, and put the focus on others, good things will start to happen for you.

Find ways of helping other people before you help yourself.

This can be done by taking the time to make referrals back to your Realtor, Property Manager and Mortgage Broker.

Treat them with respect.

When you do this, you will be amazed at the effect this has.

You will be treated with respect in return, and you will be well liked.

As a result, if you are ever in a time of need down the road, and need to leverage on some of your real estate team members, they will be there to support you, as you had supported them in the past.

Providing Value To Others is a difficult concept to explain properly.  Only by practicing this concept do you begin to see the importance of it.

Try doing this for a while.  Provide value to others that is.  Expect nothing in return…just give back to others.

You will be pleasantly surprised to see how you are received as a real estate investor by everyone you interact with.

The value of your ‘stock’ will rise.  People will begin to see you in a new light.

Please now view my video which explains the concept of Providing Value to Others.

Best Regards,

Neil Uttamsingh

ps: If you would like to watch more videos like this one, follow my blog and subscribe to First Rental Property today!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we0EFK0_DZI[/youtube]

New Real Estate Investors make a certain mistake over and over.  I have no idea why they keep on making this same mistake.  I can’t explain it.

What I can do is identify it, and offer recommendations as to how to avoid making it.

The mistake I see new investors make is:

Failing to get second opinions.

Let’s pretend that your car needs a tune up.

You take your car into your local auto body shop to get a quote on how much the work on your car is going to cost.

The manager of the auto shop quotes you a price.  You don’t know if the price is fair or not, given that you know nothing about cars.

What do you do?

Do you blindly accept the price?

Or do you seek out another quote before getting the work done?

I believe most people would answer by saying that they would get another quote.

I mean, after all, who would pay a price for something not knowing if that price was fair or not…right?

Well, dear real estate investors…

You will be surprised how often this happens in the real estate investing arena.  Specifically with new real estate investors.

Here are 3 Dumb Mistakes New Real Estate Investors Make

ONE

Picking the wrong neighbourhood

As a new real estate investor, you have to do your due dilligence in picking the right neighbourhood that you will invest in.  Being new to investing, you may know nothing about the neighbourhood that you are about to invest in.  If this is the case, you are probably learning from and taking the advice of a more experienced real estate investor or Realtor that knows that area well.

This is all fine and dandy but…

As a new real estate investor, you have to go one step further, and get a second opinion on the neighbourhood from someone else.  This second opinion can come from another Realtor or another experienced investor.  The opinion has to come from someone who knows that area well.

Why do you need a second opinion on the neighbourhood?

You need a second opinion because there may be something about the neighbourhood that the Realtor you are working with or the investor that is helping you does not know.

When I purchased one rental property, I bought it in a neighbourhood that I had heard from a number of people was a good place to buy.  Based on this information, I chose this neighbourhood as the place that I was going to buy.  When I found the particular property that I was going to buy, I bought that property, WITHOUT getting a second opinion from another Realtor or investor.

Little did I know that I bought the property a couple of streets over from a section of the neighbourhood that many investors avoided.  This smaller area, was avoided by a lot of investors because the tenant profile was a little bit rough and the properties were run down.

Fortunately, the property that I ended up purchasing was a good one, and I have had no problems with it thus far.

However, if I had done some more due dilliigence and asked for a second opinion of the neighbourhood, there is a chance that I would have passed on this property, knowing that the neighbouring streets had a rough tenants profile.

TWO

Paying the wrong price for a property

I have spoken to many real estate investors who have demonstrated great excitement when talking about buying their first rental property.

However, it is disturbing to hear how people are over paying for their properties.

Why is this happening?

I think it has a lot to do with the emotions that investors are feeling.  They are new to the game, and excited to get a deal done.  When they are in the moment, they don’t take the time to think if they are over paying or not….because they just want to own something.

When you are buying your first rental property, you need to take a step back and get a second opinion on the price that you are paying for the property.

You can get a second opinion on this by asking your Realtor to see comparable properties that sold, or you can ask an experienced investor that owns properties in that area how much properties are going for.

Further, you should never make your ultimate decision on how much you are going to pay for a property based on one person’s opinion. After all, they may not have your best interest at heart…

I have heard of cases where investors have purchased rental property using a Realtor, and without even looking at any comparable sales.

If you chose to buy properties like this, how do you know if you paid the right price???

You have just overpaid $20,000 for the property.

THREE

Overpaying for renovations

Once a real estate investor has purchased their first rental property, they may be overly excited to renovate the property.

A lot of the time real estate investors will buy properties that need some work done to them.  Perhaps the home needs some new flooring and a coat of paint.  Or maybe the home needs to have it’s furnace replaced, as the current one is a bit old. Or maybe all it needs is some new tiles in the bathroom.

Whatever the case is, new real estate investors are making mistakes when it comes to completing renovations on their first rental property.

A mistake that they are making is accepting whatever price is quoted to them by the first tradesperson they talk to.

For instance, if you need your floors and walls painted, you may get a quote of $6,000 dollars by a handyman that was referred to you.  Most new real estate investors accept that first quote that they get, and get the work completed based on that quote.

Very few investors, with their first property take the time to get multiple quotes from a number of handymen.

If you do this, you will be amazed at the range of pricing you will get…for the exact same work !!!

Here is a story that I will share with you, that hopefully drives home the importance of getting multiple quotes.

I was replacing the flooring in one of my renal properties.

I decided to deal with well known companies to get the job done.

I got a quote from a company who had multiple store locations in the same city.  I got a quote from one of the stores, however, I felt that the store manager that I was dealing with wasn’t telling me the truth about everything.  I just got a funny feeling from him.

As such, I decided to go to another store location of the Company in the same city.  I got a quote from this location that was 50% cheaper than the quote from the other store.  Which resulted in over $1000 of savings.

Nothing had changed regarding the quote…just the people, and store locations I was dealing with.

Had I just blindly gone with the first quote that I got, I would have been cheated.

Don’t make dumb mistakes.  Get second opinions on everything!

Best Regards,

Neil Uttamsingh

ps: Let other people make dumb mistakes, not you!  Be Smart and Subscribe to First Rental Property today!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAsnlT3Lpz0[/youtube]

Happy New Year Everyone!  The Blogosphere went really quiet this holiday season.  There were not as many posts being made to real estate blogs, and for good reason.  It was a holiday time and people were taking a break!

First Rental Property was plugging away this past week.  As a result, we have 2 new posts to share…

Wednesday

Your Cash Flow Business Is Sinking

Some people believe that real estate investing is all about ‘appreciation’.  Other people believe that real estate investing is all about ‘cash flow’.  Which train of thought is the correct one?  Find out by reading this article…

Read the full article here

Friday

Top 10 Blogs for Real Estate Investors 2010

New real estate investors need support.  All the support you need can be found via real estate blogs.  There are a lot of great real estate blogs out there currently.  In my opinion, none of them are better than these top 10.

Read the full article here

Best Regards,

Neil Uttamsingh

ps: Read the First Rental Property Weekly Wrap each week so that you can become a more confident that knowledgeable real estate investor.  You will find articles here that will help you along your real estate investing journey.

pps: Subscribe to First Rental Property today!!