5 Things All St. Louis Real Estate Investors Need to Know
If you’re just getting started in St. Louis real estate investing, then you have a lot to learn. With so many different terms and strategies, St. Louis real estate investment is a lot to take in, and if you don’t do your homework, you won’t make good investment decisions.
To start you off, here are five things all St. Louis real estate investors should know.
Keep Your Passion and Profit in Balance
Any business person will tell you that the first key to success if passion. You need to have passion in order to really take off in St. Louis real estate. Some investors, however, let their passions overrule sound logic, and it can hurt their profits.
Make sure you keep your passions and profits in balance. If your passion isn’t making a profit, then it’s time to change your strategy. Once you establish yourself, then you can focus more on your passion, but in the beginning, focus on the profits.
Focus on a Niche
You may want to be a jack-of-all-trades, but when you’re starting in St. Louis real estate, being really good at one type of investing is actually a stronger skill. For example, you may be great at finding rental properties in highly desirable St. Louis areas. You have fantastic contacts with realtors, and you have a great network to help you find good renters.
If so, then you shouldn’t venture into house flipping just yet. You may not have the right contacts with contractors, and you might not understand the house flipping market as well as you do other markets. Get good at one skill and then consider moving on. You’ll make more of a profit by mastering one skill than by being moderately good at a few of them.
Find Smarter Ways to Work
As the old saying goes, “Work smarter, not harder.” Focus on making every hour of your day productive. If some aspect of your business, such as property management, is sucking up too much of your time, hire someone who can take that task off your hands. You’ll be able to concentrate on other matters and not have to worry about your property.
Follow the Numbers
St. Louis real estate investing is all about profits, and if you’re not making any money, then it’s time to rethink your strategy. No matter how much you love a property, you always have to make sure the numbers show a profit for you. Sacrificing profits for a property will come back to haunt you in the end, so always do your number crunching first before buying a St. Louis property.
Discover How to Say “No”
As an investor, you will start hundreds of deals for St. Louis properties, but as they progress, you won’t always want to go through with the deal. The seller may raise the price or the home inspection may turn up structural issues with the home, which can cost big bucks to repair. When these issues come up, it’s important to know how to walk away.
Not every deal will go in your favor, and when the numbers no longer add up, you need to say no. Always have a firm grasp on your numbers as your deals progress so you never lose sight of your investment.