Choosing Your “Farm”

This one is easy for some.  They know exactly where they want to invest and focus on that area.  But most of us have trouble nailing down our farm, and we often end up without any area of focus.  I’ve learned from experience that I need to narrow my focus and just say NO to some types of properties and some areas. When you are learning to invest in real estate, you need a smaller area to hone your skills.  This is your farm.  In your farm, you should call the realtors who are listing houses and working as buyer’s agents.  You should have a realtor on your team take you through as many houses as possible in your farm. Go to open houses like crazy.  Read the classified sections of papers and check listings on Craig’s List.  The goal is to be so familiar with your farm that when someone contacts you about buying their 3 bedroom house in your farm, you will automatically have a pretty good idea of what it’s worth fixed up.  You still do your due diligence but what working your farm does is give you great confidence.  And once you master your farm, you are ready to expand to other areas.  So, where is your farm????  

Getting Started

For most of us, time is a precious commodity.  We have family, work, numerous commitments . . . oh yes, and we need to employ some kind of investment strategy if we are ever going to get out of the rat race.  So, for those of you working at becoming real estate investors, one of the first things you should do is choose a farm.  No, I don’t mean buy a farm!  Although that is real estate

 In real estate, your farm is the main zip code or zip codes that you need to know like the back of your hand.  Actually, it’s best to start with particular subdivisions and then branch out into the broader zip code.  Why do you need to know your farm so well?  Because in real estate investing, the window of opportunity for an excellent deal is only open for a little while, and you want to have done your homework so that when the opportunity presents itself, you can jump through that window, and get it under contract.  More on working your farm in my next real estate strategy tip . . .