Revealed: The Unwritten Rules Of Starting A Property Portfolio

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Search online and you’ll find all kinds of tips for building a property empire. Have you noticed that most of those “tips” all seem to offer similar help?

What you might have guessed is those online tips don’t tell you about the “unwritten rules”.

In other words, the details that people seem to learn the hard way through experience. As you can imagine, those unwritten rules are often costly and frustrating.

Today, I’d like to buck that trend. I want to lift the lid on those secrets. Why am I doing this? Because I don’t like seeing people get ripped off in the property industry.

So, the focus of today’s blog post is on property portfolios. Specifically, the hidden details you need to know. Check them out below, and feel free to share a link to this page with your friends!

 

Don’t Start Buying Properties if You have Debt

The first thing you should do is clear all your debt. I’m talking about things like personal loans and credit cards. The only exception, of course, is the mortgage on your own property.

Why should you be debt-free before you start investing? The answer is simple: you don’t want to end up in financial hell! Imagine if the property market took a nosedive one year.

Could you sustain any substantial losses? What would happen if you couldn’t get tenants to rent your properties?

Starting with a clean slate means you can save money for emergencies. So, if you need to cover mortgage payments on your investments, you won’t need to panic!

 

Become Friends with Your Local Real Estate Agents

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It’s not surprising that real estates have superior local knowledge. They know what kinds of prices properties get sold for each year. And they have a good idea of upcoming areas where values will rise.

It makes sense to maintain good working relationships with your local real estate agents. They can let you know when new properties come on the market that you might want to buy. And they can help you find tenants or buyers for your homes.

Of course, you should ensure you only work with ones that have a good track record. These are the agents that have close-knit teams.

Most importantly, they have a consistent analysis of trending markets and their values. Learn more about it from Bridgfords for an example. Stick with real estate agents like them and you’ll be fine! Avoid the poor performers.

 

Loyalty Doesn’t Exist When Getting a Mortgage

You’ll need to borrow money to buy your first and future properties. It’s no big deal; most investors do that. One big mistake many novice buyers make is sticking with the same lender.

They appear to do so out of a sense of loyalty.

Let’s be straight here. There is no such thing as loyalty in the business world! You should ALWAYS shop around for the best rates. If that means doing business with other lenders, so be it.

There’s nothing stopping you from borrowing money from other companies.

 

Take Out Mortgages with Long Terms

You might think that you’ll sell your properties in just five years or so and make a profit. You may also believe you don’t need a long-term mortgage on each home you buy.

It doesn’t matter how long you wish to keep your properties for. What you should always do is take out mortgages with long terms.  Here’s a few reasons why…

  • First of all, your monthly repayments will be lower.
  • Second, you can deal with any temporary financial setbacks easier.
  • And, third, you aren’t as high a risk when taking out new mortgages on future properties

 

Go With Your Gut Instinct

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When your subconscious is telling you something, you should listen to it. Sometimes, we invest in properties without considering the real risks of our actions.

And when we don’t listen to our inner selves, we end up making mistakes.

What I am trying to say is this: if something doesn’t feel right, walk away. There is no obligation to buy a particular property, no matter how sweet the deal appears. Something might seem great on paper.

But, when you scrutinize the smaller details, cracks might appear. And when that happens, you know that sweet deal is really just a rotten apple!

 

Make Friends with Builders and Electrician

I’ve already talked about how you should befriend some useful real estate contacts. Other people you should make friends with are builders and electricians. How can that help you?

The answer is simple. Befriending some skilled tradesmen can help you to save money. For example, you might get discounted rates because you give them regular work.

And they can offer you free help and advice that could potentially save you thousands.

Sure, the Internet is a great resource for finding stuff out. But, there are times where you need the opinion and help of experts in the offline world!

 

Only Work with People You Trust

There will be times where you may need to invest in properties with other people. It’s crucial that the people you invest with are trustworthy. The last thing you want is to hand over money to a con artist!

It’s important that you learn more about the people you engage with. What are their backgrounds? Do they invest in questionable property schemes? How safe is your money?

 

Work on Your Poker Face

When you view a property, real estate agents and homeowners will look at your body language. They want to find out whether the house or apartment in question interests you.

If you seem excited by what you see, they think they can avoid lowering the price with you!

That’s why it makes sense to be friendly but not show any emotion. Doing so is called having a poker face! Once you’ve seen the property, you can think about it once you leave.

And if you want to buy it, you should still keep your emotions to yourself! Take a look at this article on WikiHow if you want to know how to create a poker face.

 

Final Thoughts…

It all sounds a bit odd, I know. But, in some ways, buying property is a bit like playing a game. Except with this one, you need to know the unwritten rules to succeed. Hopefully, you’ll have learned a few of them from reading this blog post!

What things are you doing to see success when it comes to investing in real estate?  Share your thoughts, stories,c and comment below.

Cheers!

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