Groundwork to Growth:

The 4 Steps
to Investing in
Real Estate
Table of Contents
Lead Generation................................................................................................................................................Pg. 3

Outreach .............................................................................................................................................................. Pg. 10

Closing Leads................................................................................................................................................. Pg. 20

Exit Strategies .................................................................................................................................................Pg. 26

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Lead Generation

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So you’ve decided to start your journey into real estate investing, but want to be
sure that you know the ins and outs of the process before you start. We’ve got you
covered! In this guide, we will go over how to do a real estate deal from start to
finish. Without further ado let’s dive right in.

Lead Generation

Lead generation is the initial step that will truly get you started in real estate
investing. You’ve already made that leap in your decision-making process that said,
“I want to start my journey to financial freedom”. And this is how you can do that.
Let’s quickly summarize what lead generation is. Lead generation is identifying
and cultivating potential customers for your business’s services, in this case, your
real estate services. Now onto the strategies.

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Driving for Dollars
Driving for dollars is a real estate investment technique where investors drive
through neighborhoods, looking for properties that appear to be vacant, distressed,
or in need of repair. By focusing on these types of properties, investors can
potentially find good deals and maximize their investment returns. Rather than
pulling a list you can find a unique list of properties that show signs of motivation.

Now there are a few different ways you can execute the driving for dollars strategy.
Back before there was the tech to do it, investors would drive around looking for
those distressed properties (tall grass, chipped paint, messed up gutters, missing
shingles on the roof, etc.), write them down in a notebook, and then type them up in
a spreadsheet. You could still do that, but it is a time-consuming process.

Or you could use the technology available now and drive around, tap on properties
on a virtual map, track your drives, create planned routes, highlight certain property
features, etc. All of this can be stored in one central system. If you use DealMachine
as your tech for lead generation and outreach, there is a seamless web and mobile
experience to access all of those leads and track their progression.

Also, now you don’t even have to leave the house to go on drives, you can virtually
drive for dollars on the same tech that allows you that efficient process of gathering
leads.

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Building Lists
Building a list of leads is exactly what it sounds like, but there are a variety of ways
to execute this strategy. You could go gather lists from public record offices of
properties with motivating factors, such as liens, foreclosure, and tax.

An easier approach to this though is to use software to build a list of properties

with the motivating factors that matter the most to you. With technology like
DealMachine, you can pull a leads list from a database of over 150 million properties
across the United States.

Some software even offers smart lists to do the work for you. When a software has
smart lists that means that when the data updates, if a lead no longer matches your
criteria it will hop off your list so you aren’t wasting your marketing money. This is
one of those features DealMachine offers! Along with the ability to build/pull your
lists from the mobile app or web.

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Door Knocking
If you are out driving for dollars you can even go door-knocking at different
properties and drop off door hangers. You can take this strategy one of two ways.
Actually, knock on the door and potentially talk to the homeowners. You could
actually knock or, I’ve heard from multiple successful investors that they just go up
and leave the door hanger on the front door, and don’t knock.

Dropping off a door hanger can help you cultivate a list of “warm” leads. This means
you’ve caught their attention. However, if you drop off door hangers to the property
don’t forget to add it to where you keep your leads list and you can follow up with
additional outreach.

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Online
A digital marketing strategy can be crucial to generating and nurturing your real
estate investment leads. Below are a few ways you can do that.

• First, build a website. This will help you market your brand and provide those
who research online the information they need to contact you. This is also a
great place to put testimonials from past sellers.

• Writing a blog can also bring more traffic to your website and is a good lead
generation and SEO strategy. On average, companies with blogs generate 67%
more leads than companies that lack them. Create a blog that provides useful
information for your audience and satisfies their search queries.

• Email campaigns. Not only are email campaigns great for sending out
information to your buyers list once you secure a deal, but they can also be
used as a lead generation strategy.

Communicate with your potential sellers to generate and capture their interest.
Your email campaigns can nurture leads who might be on the fence to be a
warm lead. Don’t worry about finding a leads email, you can find email through
skip tracing a lead, or by email capture.

• You also could offer an online course. Demonstrate your real estate knowledge
to buyers or sellers by creating an online course that offers helpful information
to your potential buyers or sellers.

Online courses also provide a perfect opportunity for attendees to share your
course with people they know who may stand to benefit as well.

• Lastly, you can target your local homeowner market by purchasing online ads
that market to your area. This type of focused advertising allows you to reach
the right audience.

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Networking
Networking opens up quite a few opportunities when investing in real estate. Lead
Generation is just one facet. Bring in more leads by sharing with your network that
you are now investing in real estate.

Another avenue that extends your network is sharing seller testimonials. No one can
persuade a potential seller to do business with you like past sellers. You’ll find that
most who are willing to do a testimonial will rave about their experience working
with your company. Testimonials provide priceless advertising and are great for lead
generation.

Along with that, you can be direct with your sellers and simply ask them to refer
people they know who may also appreciate your services.
Finally, attend free REIA (Real Estate Investor’s Association) meetings and get tips
from other investors on the ways they generate leads.

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Outreach

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Creating a Marketing Plan
A real estate investor marketing plan is a written document that outlines the
key elements that will guide you toward success. Your real estate marketing plan
should include detailed business goals, how you plan to market and advertise your
business, your target audience, and your budget.

Creating documentation of your strategy for marketing keeps you accountable and
on track to reach your goals.

Here are a few tips on creating a better real estate marketing plan.

Clearly define your target audience.

To write an effective real estate investor marketing plan, you need to know exactly
who your business is targeting. Are you looking to target homeowners who
are headed toward foreclosure, homeowners of properties that are vacant and
unmaintained, or homeowners who have put their home on the market as a For Sale
By Owner?

Clearly describe the audience your business aims to cater to and include specific
details about their homes. Understanding who you are marketing to will enable you
to tailor your message to ensure it appeals to the right people. Include specifics
about your target home characteristics.

Continually Set and Adjust Your Goals

It’s important to set your goals early on in your marketing plan and journey into real
estate investing, so you have a roadmap of where you plan to go. It’s imperative to
understand how much marketing it will take to get a deal. Don’t spread your budget
too thin just for variety.

If it takes 3,000 postcards to get a deal in a specific market, but a new investor
chooses to divide their entire budget up by doing 500 postcards, 500 texts, and 20
cold calls, they’re not going to get any results and they’re going to quit.

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 For example, if you’re in the Midwest market, we see that it takes adding 400
distressed-looking properties and sending a postcard 3 times over 3 months to get
a deal. So, if you have 3 team members, and you want 1 extra deal per month, you
could have them add 33 properties per week. After a 3 month ramp-up period, you
should be averaging 1 deal per month from those efforts.

If you’re in a market on the east or west coast, you should expect to need to add
900+ distressed homes to get a deal driving for dollars. These are helpful estimates
you should seek to understand before jumping into a marketing plan. You can
get estimates for different strategies by going to a real estate meetup and asking
people, “How many text messages do you usually have to send to get a deal in this
market?”

Be sure to choose goals that are attainable and that motivate you and encourage
your team to move forward. As you achieve goals, you can then adjust as necessary.

Fine Tune Your Messaging

The message of your marketing plan includes taglines, your company’s value
proposition, and strong selling points. An example tagline that most investors start
off using is, “We will buy your house in any condition.” The main selling points that
make this tagline appealing are:

• No realtor fees
• Get cash for your home in less than 14 days
• No money is needed to fix your house
• Guaranteed sale
• Less stressful process

Once you’ve created your message thoughtfully you can recognize the power
it has to drive your business and separate you from the competition. Campaign
messaging is another important component of your brand message. Conduct A/B
testing to find the right wording, time, and method of communication for your leads.
Slight changes can result in dramatic improvements.

Fine-tune when you send text messages, how often you mail postcards, and what
wording drives the best response rates.

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Conduct Quarterly Competitor Analysis
Your marketing plan should include a section that demonstrates what competitors
in your area are doing. Take this time to regularly determine what works for other
real estate investors and what efforts are falling flat. Plan to conduct competitor
analysis quarterly or as frequently as you find it helpful.

By reviewing marketing moves by your competitors, you can learn from their
successes and mistakes. When you notice a marketing technique that does not
attain desirable results, you can avoid making the same mistake.

Set and Adhere to Your Budget

Setting your budget is one of the most important elements of your real estate
investor marketing plan. To determine what to offer when you purchase a home,
you need to understand how much the house is worth in perfect condition by
running comps, then see what it will take to get that house in perfect condition by
estimating rehab costs, and then you should negotiate the initial purchase price
based on those factors.

Over time, you will probably start to notice some percentages. For a home that is
worth $150,000 and in perfect condition, you would spend $5,000 on marketing.
That’s 4% on marketing. The flipper will need to make 20% typically ($30,000).
They might make a $10,000 assignment fee which is 7%. And if everything is
being replaced, that rehab probably costs $65,000 which is 43%. That means the
maximum offer you could make on that house would be 27% ($40k). Once you
have these percentages roughly figured out, you can very quickly know how much
to offer, how much you’ll profit, and how much to spend on marketing without
spending a lot of time.

Set your budget for driving for dollars, direct mail, SMS messaging, advertisements,
and all other marketing activities. Evaluate each marketing method and include
figures for how much money you expect to receive in sales for each dollar spent on
marketing.

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Schedule and Refine Your Marketing Timeline
A key part of your marketing strategy is establishing a timeline for your marketing
plan. You must realistically set the timeframe for how long it will take for you and
your team to reach the goals of your marketing plan.

Include specific milestones that will not only keep you on track but will also provide
you and your team members with a sense of accomplishment when each milestone
is reached. A timeline is imperative and will ensure your business progresses. It also
helps you hold team members accountable in instances when achievements fall
short of your intended goals.

Use Data and Results to Inform Future Marketing Decisions

Remember to include tracking when you create your marketing plan. By tracking
your marketing efforts, you can look at firm numbers that illustrate how well your
efforts are working.

Understanding the results of your marketing plan also helps you determine what
could work better and you’re able to focus your efforts on the right places and stop
putting effort toward something that is not delivering results.

You may find that certain audience age groups or income levels respond better to
text messaging than direct mail. Shift your activities accordingly. Analytics on when
your team gets better responses to SMS can help you focus your energies and
communications toward the most results-driven times. Pay attention to trends and
use that valuable information to your advantage.

Evaluate and Adjust as Necessary

Consider your real estate investor marketing plan a document that continually
evolves. As you learn from the different marketing strategies you employ, you’ll want
to revise your plan.

It only makes sense to continue to include marketing actions that produce

desirable results and remove actions that did not work well. In this way, you will
constantly improve your plan and your results.

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Mail Marketing
Why send direct mail?

Direct mail can be a powerful tool for real estate marketing as it offers a tangible,
targeted, and less competitive medium for reaching potential leads.

With higher response rates than many other marketing channels, direct mail can
help build trust, generate leads, and ultimately close deals in the competitive real
estate industry.

It’s one of the most effective and proven marketing techniques for real estate.
Depending on the list and type of mail you send, you’ll typically see a .8-1.5%
response rate. Multiply that over 1,000 postcards sent, and you have generated 8-12
potential new leads ready to sell.

By sending recurrent printed mail that’s engaging to motivated sellers, your real
estate direct mail campaign will deliver results.

With software like DealMachine, you can even set mail to automatically send out a
sequence of mail pieces to your leads. There are even templated pieces of mail to
help you stand out from the crowd, but if you want to create custom pieces here are
a few helpful tips.

First, don’t overcrowd your mail marketing, craft your message to be as long as it
needs to be and not longer. It is not appealing to see too much text crammed onto
a small postcard.

Second, include an image of the property. Including a photo of the owner’s property
in your direct mail marketing can significantly boost your response rate.

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Cold Calling
After generating your leads the next step is to contact them. Talking to potential
sellers can be a little overwhelming, but don’t worry we’ve got a few scripts that can
help.

Script #1: Off-Market Home Script

This real estate investor script is useful for any homes you find while driving for
dollars that are not currently on the market. Keep in mind that your goal is to let
the homeowner know you are trying to help them by offering a fair price and a fast
close.

Hello, [Lead’s Name] this is [Your Name] with [Your Company] and I’m calling you
about your property at [Address]. I’m interested in purchasing a property in your
neighborhood and wondered if you’ve thought about selling your property?

If the owner says, “Yes”:

Great! Does the property need any repairs? Have the kitchen and bathroom been
renovated in the last 5 years? Ok. Does the home have a loan or mortgage at this time?
Why do you want to sell your home now?

Perfect! Can you tell me what the absolute lowest price is that you would accept for
this home? Ok. Could I get your email address so I can send you a purchase proposal?
Great! What timeframe would you be looking to sell? That sounds good. I will send you
an offer today via email so we can start this process.

Thank you and I’ll talk to you soon!

If the owner says, “No”:

I totally understand. Do you have any other properties you’d like to sell?
If the owner says, “Who’d you get my number from?”:

I found it online!
If the owner says, “Take me off your list”:
Totally get that. I will take you off the list. Thank you for your time.

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If the owner says, “Maybe”:
Should I call you back in a month? Ok. I look forward to talking to you then. Thanks!

Script #2: Follow-up on a Lead Script

Since you use a variety of outreach strategies, you will need to have a script for
follow-up calls. Use this script after you receive a response from real estate text
marketing, direct mail, or a phone call with the prospective lead.

Hello [Lead’s Name], this is [Your Name] with [Your Company]. How are you?
I wanted to check in with you after our last conversation to see if you’re ready to accept
a cash offer on your home.

• Do you need any more information from me?

• Does the timeframe I mentioned work for your schedule?
• Can we set up a time for me to visit the property?
• Ok. What date and time are you available?

Perfect! I’ll email you the details later today. I’ll look forward to seeing you on [Date/
time].

Script #3: Leaving a Seller a Voicemail Message Script

Keep your voicemails short and to the point with this real estate phone script. Aim
to clearly communicate your expertise and excitement to buy the seller’s home. Be
sure to encourage them to contact you.

Hello, [Seller’s Name]! This is [Your Name] with [Your Company]. I’m an investor in the
area and saw your home and am interested in purchasing it. I’m prepared to make you
a cash offer and I can close the deal quickly.
Please call or text me at [Your Phone Number] at your convenience. I look forward to
connecting with you. Have a great day!

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Setting Appointments
The first step in setting an appointment is usually a phone call with the potential
seller or buyer. During this call, it’s important to gather as much information as
possible about the property and their motivation for selling or buying. Ask questions
about the condition of the house, their plans for it, and why they want to sell or buy
now. Understanding their needs and goals will help you tailor your approach during
the appointment.

Once you have the basic details, it’s time to schedule the appointment. Make sure
to confirm the date, time, and location with the seller or buyer. We recommend
asking for the address upfront to have an idea of the property’s location and
condition before the meeting. This allows you to do some research and come
prepared with relevant information.

What to Do and Look for During the Appointment

When you arrive at the property, your primary goals should be to build rapport with
the other party and evaluate the property’s condition. Remember, you’re not just
there to make an offer or negotiate a price. You’re there to understand the seller or
buyer’s situation and find a way to meet their needs while also achieving your own
investment goals.

Here are some key things to do and look for during the appointment:

Take Pictures: Take pictures of each room and any areas of concern. Good quality
pictures are not only useful for your own evaluation but also for marketing the
property to potential buyers if you’re wholesaling it.

Evaluate Major Structural Issues: Pay attention to any major structural issues such
as a crumbling foundation or significant water damage. These issues can greatly
impact the property’s value and the cost of repairs.

Assess Big Ticket Items: Check the condition of essential systems like the HVAC,
electrical, plumbing, and water heater. These are important factors that can
influence the property’s value and your repair costs.

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Ask Questions: Engage the seller or buyer in conversation and ask questions about
the property’s history, any improvements made, and the reasons for selling or
buying. This information can help you understand their motivation and negotiate
more effectively.

Listen Carefully: Be a good listener and show empathy towards the other party.
Sometimes, real estate transactions are driven by personal distress or life events.
Take the time to hear their story and understand their needs.

Look for Red Flags: Keep an eye out for any signs of hidden issues or deceptive
information. Trust your instincts if something doesn’t seem right or if the property’s
condition doesn’t match what you were told. It’s crucial to be cautious and thorough
in your evaluation.

Remember, every appointment is an opportunity to learn and gain experience. The

more appointments you go on, the more comfortable and confident you’ll become
in assessing properties and negotiating deals.

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Closing Leads

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Closing Leads
Once you’ve secured your lead, done outreach, and analyzed to make sure that the
lead will make a good deal for you it is time to enter into negotiations and closing
the deal.

Negotiation and Tips to Closing the Deal

Negotiation is a crucial step in any real estate deal. It’s the process of finding
common ground between the buyer and the seller, and reaching an agreement
that satisfies both parties. Negotiation requires preparation, strategy, and effective
communication skills. In this section, we’ll explore some key aspects of negotiation
and provide tips on how to approach this critical phase of the real estate investment
process.

By this point you’ve most likely already had a conversation with the seller, unless
they’ve called you from a postcard saying they are ready to sell their house. It’s
important that you’re prepared by knowing the property stats and have had a
chance to analyze the deal. Know the highest you can offer a property, but also
what your ideal number is.

Here are a few strategies to help you close the deal:

The first step you’ll want to take is to

gather all information upfront to de-
termine what is most important to
the seller. Remember, this is a mu-
tually beneficial deal, and you want
Gather Information to ensure that both yourself and the
seller are getting the most out of it.
By being genuinely curious about
what is important to them, you can
better communicate with them and
their frame of reference.

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 When a seller just needs a gentle
nudge to get them to close, you can
create a sense of urgency and apply
some pressure to act. Communicate
with them the legitimate reasons
they would want to make a decision
today. For example, if the market
Stress the Urgency is decreasing, show them the data
of the Deal proving this. If any damage to the
structure is only going to get worse
as time goes on, point this out to
them. Let them know that closing
quickly is beneficial to them backed
by legitimate reasoning that applies
to each specific situation.

Sometimes sellers need

affirmations about why your offer
is the best deal for them. Take the
time to go over all the reasons why
your offer provides them with the
Justify Your Offer most ideal outcome and stress the
fairness and reasonableness of
your offer. Disclose the details and
explain the costs involved in the
sale to show full transparency and
demonstrate your professionalism.

If the seller seems apprehensive

or like they need some more time
to think over the deal, offer to
let them sleep on it. Try to have
them sign the agreement with the
Sleep On It understanding that if they change
their mind within a window of time it
can be canceled. Oftentimes sellers
won’t want to let go of a deal once
they have it.

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 Have confidence in your original
offer. If the seller wants to negotiate,
stand your ground and walk away
if need be. In some cases, taking
the deal away will end up making
the seller appreciate and want your
original deal. This strategy works
when you do your homework and
make it the best deal you’re willing
to make. While this may sound
Take Away the Deal like a simple technique, it can be
very effective. Offer to withdraw
the offer and watch your seller’s
response. This strategy is especially
helpful for sellers who are time-
consuming and don’t seem like they
will progress toward closing. You
demonstrate your confidence in
your product by being willing to let
the seller go.

Take control of the options and

show them why your deal is one
they should say “yes” to. In this
real estate closing technique, you
provide several options to your
seller that all point to closing. No
is not an option which makes it
more difficult for the seller to say
no, and the seller feels like they
All Options Point to Yes have power because they get to
decide between multiple options.
For example, does your seller want
all cash or financing? Do they want
to sell quickly at a lower price to
you or wait for an agent on your
team? Discovering the answers to
these questions will help you to get
the sale, while still presenting them
appealing options.

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 Pampering your seller can be a
successful strategy. Focus on
making your motivated sellers feel
like everything is about them and
present all the benefits they stand
to gain with the deal. If possible,
add bonuses that will make sellers
Focus on the Seller feel like they are getting something
special that’s just for them. If your
seller needs money to move out
of the house, offer to pay for those
expenses, so they can get out in
a shorter time frame. This added
incentive may be the thing that
closes the deal.

Allow your seller to envision the

deal when it’s closed. A great way
to do this is to talk to the seller as if
they’ve already decided to sell. You
change their focus to the future and
allow them to see all the benefits
that closing this deal offers to them.
Assume the Deal With every conversation, act as if
Is Closed they are
moving forward. Ask your seller
if they would like to sign the
deal electronically or on paper.
By doing this, you assume the
deal is happening and show your
confidence.

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 Some sellers may not be ready to
sign the deal and while you don’t
want to give up on them, you
cannot wait forever for a decision.
Instead, select a date on the
Set the Date calendar and suggest that they
make their decision by that date.
This sets the parameters for when
you will hear from them and gives
them time to consider their options.

If you want a deep dive on the art of negotiation, I highly recommend checking
out a few different books, “Never Split the Difference” by Christopher Voss. Or Chad
Carson’s “Small and Mighty Real Estate Investor: How to Reach Financial Freedom
with Fewer Rental Properties” has a section on negotiation.

Remember you may want the real estate deal, but it is important to make sure that
you are truly finding what’s best to help them while also benefitting you. Not just
find the biggest benefit for yourself.

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Exit Strategies

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Wholesale
After you’ve closed the deal, where do you go from there? Well, that depends upon
your exit strategies. Are you looking to wholesale, flip, or hold the property as a
rental? First, let’s dive into wholesaling.

Wholesale
In wholesaling, you’re exchanging the contract of the property. You find the
seller and agree on a price for the property and then you sell that contract to
your potential buyer. You make the difference between the purchase price of the
contract from the buyer and what was promised to the seller. Essentially you’re the
middle man.

So if you use this strategy, you won’t have to secure financing for yourself to buy
the property unless you double close. However, you will have to find a buyer for the
property. Here are a few tips for securing a buyer for your property.

1. Post on Facebook Marketplace

This social media platform offers a fantastic opportunity to connect with
potential buyers in your local area and beyond. List your properties on Facebook
Marketplace, making sure to include plenty of clear, high-quality photos and a
detailed, honest description of the property. Monitor your posts for comments and
messages from interested buyers, and don’t be afraid to reach out to them directly
if they seem like a good fit.

Important Legal Note: As a wholesaler without a real estate license, you can only
advertise properties you have an equitable interest in (i.e., properties you have
under contract). It is crucial to have the property under contract before advertising
it on platforms like Facebook Marketplace. Be sure to market the contract to
the property and not the property itself. Also, check the laws in your areas for
wholesalers because each state is different when it comes to restrictions on
wholesaling real estate.

2. Get a Referral from an Agent

Real estate agents often work with buyers who are interested in investment

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properties. Reach out to an agent you trust and ask if they have any clients who
might be interested in your properties. Be sure to let the agent know the specifics,
such as the price range and type of property you’re wholesaling. A good agent will
be able to introduce you to potential buyers who fit these criteria.

3. Share Your Deals on Social Media

In addition to posting on Facebook Marketplace, consider sharing your deals on
other social media platforms as well. This could be a personal post or a message to
groups you belong to that are related to real estate investing. The more people who
see your deals, the more likely you are to find a buyer.

One strategy that has worked well for other wholesalers is to share their property
deals on social media and wait for interested parties to contact them directly. A
relative or friend may see your post and want to invest in your property – or they
could refer someone they know who may be interested.

4. Google “We Buy Houses” in Your City

Another effective method to find buyers for your wholesale deals is to Google “We
Buy Houses” in your city. The top results are likely to be other local investors or
wholesalers who may be interested in partnering up for a joint venture. Reach out
to them and discuss your properties – you’re likely to find that many are more than
happy to work together on deals.

Remember, it’s important to treat these potential buyers as partners in the

transaction. Make sure you both agree on the terms of the partnership, including
splitting the assignment fee and putting the agreement in writing.

5. Leverage your Title Company

Lastly, if you’ve done a few deals already and have a good relationship with a title
company, ask them for help. Many title companies work with investors and can give
you a list of clients who have recently bought properties in your area. Reach out to
these potential buyers, introduce yourself, and let them know what properties you
have available.

However, it’s important to note that you should only use this method if you’ve
already established a relationship with the title company. They’ll be more likely to
share this information with you if they know you’re a serious and reputable investor.

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Flipping
In house flipping you are actually buying the property, repairing it, and then selling
it. The profit you make will be that final sale price minus the purchase price and
renovation costs.

However, since you are actually purchasing and renovating the property, you’ll need
to secure financing for the deal. There are a variety of different avenues you can
choose to finance a deal, like private money, traditional mortgages, hard money
loans, private investors, or personal funds. You could even wholesale properties to
build up the capital to fund your flips when you first start.

After you secure financing for your deal, develop a renovation budget and start
renovating! Be sure to develop a renovation plan that balances cost-effectiveness
with the market demand. Also, plan for contingencies and unexpected expenses
because occasionally things will pop up in the midst of a project. Focus on
improvements that add value and appeal to potential buyers. Obtain multiple
quotes from contractors, set a realistic renovation budget, and closely manage the
construction process to stay on track.

Once the renovations are complete, develop a marketing strategy to attract

potential buyers. You can utilize online listing services, staging, professional
photography, and open houses to showcase the different property features. To set
your sale price, look at market analysis, and comps, or work with a real estate agent.
You don’t need an agent to help sell your property, but if you feel like you need an
assist go for it!

If you’re interested in a deep dive with one expert investor’s approach to flipping
you can check out Tom Zeeb’s, “How to Correctly Flip Houses for a Profit: The
Fastest Way to More Deals, More Profits, and More Freedom!”

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Buy and Hold / Rentals
In this exit strategy, you will be buying the property for the plans of renting it out
once renovations have been done. You’ll need to secure financing and renovate,
but not find a buyer since you are holding onto the property. The profit of buy and
hold properties is a long-term game versus instant gratification. Your profit will in the
end be what you collect in rent minus the mortgage payment and any additional
expenses.

Before deciding to keep a property as a rental it is important to calculate whether

a property will cash flow at the fair market price for rentals in your area. If those
calculations check out and the property will cash flow at the rate then it is a green
light for the rest of the process.

Similar to the flipping strategy you’ll need to acquire your financing and make any
necessary renovations to the property. Once the renovations are done, then it is
time for the rental process to begin.

You’ll need to determine if you are going to self-manage the rental or hire a
professional property management company to handle the day-to-day operations.
Even if you hire a property management company it is still important that you know
the day-to-day operations for your particular property, so you know what to expect
and hold the company accountable for.

After you determine if you are going to manage the property or hire that process,
you’ll need to find qualified tenants (based on qualification factors you set) and then
rent out the property. Once the property is occupied you’ll be able to collect the
rental income to cover expenses and potentially realize long-term appreciation.

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