Making Money is Easy When You’re Taking Action

One of the most common complaints uttered by brand new real estate investors is, “I’m not making any money…and I don’t know why!” If this describes you, keep reading, because developed an easy-to-use system to all but guarantee that you will make money in this industry.

Keep Score – One of the most important things you can do to help guarantee that you’ll make money is to keep score. On a daily basis, log all time spent on real estate investing activities. Make sure to separate money-making and non-money-making activities. Money-making activities are things like writing offers, negotiating, closing deals, dealing with contractors, etc.

Non-money-making activities are things that won’t earn you immediate money: Reading articles, studying courses, etc. While non-money-making activities are important, you have to jump in the game and actually play ball. REIA meetings, planning, and education are all important to your success, but they are the equivalent of suiting up for a game and showing up at the ball park. You can’t score unless you actually step up to the plate and take a swing.

Keep Moving – One of the realities of real estate investing is that you won’t always get an immediate answer to offers written. Sometimes sellers want to think it over, play a waiting game, or even decide how serious they are about selling. You have to keep moving, regardless of what happens, so if you’re not actively negotiating with a seller (or several sellers), keep prospecting for additional properties.
Try to always have multiple offers in the hopper at any given time. You might be negotiating with a seller, but that doesn’t stop you from putting another property under contract or looking at additional properties. Stagnation is your worst enemy, so always be moving.

Keep Your Head Up – Always be on the lookout for new opportunities – and be ready to react to these opportunities immediately. You may see a potential property you could look into or hear about a property from a friend or a co-worker.
These new opportunities are all around you, but you have to look for them and seize the moment immediately. Why put something on a to-do list that you might never get to? Keep your eyes open and react immediately.

Don’t look Back – Regardless of how skilled you are at negotiating deals, writing offers, or putting yourself in position to score, the reality is that even the most skilled real estate investors won’t close every deal they go to work on.
When you strike out, go back to the dugout with your head held high. Move on to the next deal and learn from your past mistakes. A mistake or a misstep is a learning opportunity that can come in handy the next time you step up to the plate.

If you keep these principles in mind on a daily basis, making money won’t be a problem for you. Daily attention to activities that give you the potential to move into scoring position are critical to your success as a real estate investor. Regardless of whether you score by reaching one base at a time or by stepping up to the plate and crushing a high and tight fastball into the center field bleachers, the result is the same.

In real estate investing, a score is a score. When you score, you’re increasing the size of your portfolio, making money, and living a dream that millions of Americans would kill to have. So get suited up and head to the ball park. Just make sure you come ready to play. I know I will.