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3 Dumb Mistakes New Real Estate Investors Make

NeilUttamsingh

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New Real Estate Investors make a certain mistake over and over. I
have no idea why they keep on making this same mistake. I can`t
explain it.


What I can do is identify it, and offer recommendations as to how to avoid making it.


The mistake I see new investors make is:


Failing to get second opinions.


Let`s pretend that your car needs a tune up.


You take your car into your local auto body shop to get a quote on how much the work on your car is going to cost.


The manager of the auto shop quotes you a price. You don`t know if
the price is fair or not, given that you know nothing about cars.


What do you do?


Do you blindly accept the price?


Or do you seek out another quote before getting the work done?


I believe most people would answer by saying that they would get another quote.


I mean, after all, who would pay a price for something not knowing if that price was fair or not`right?


Well, dear real estate investors`


You will be surprised how often this happens in the real estate investing arena. Specifically with new real estate investors.


Here are 3 Dumb Mistakes New Real Estate Investors Make








ONE

Picking the wrong neighbourhood


As a new real estate investor, you have to do your due dilligence in
picking the right neighbourhood that you will invest in. Being new to
investing, you may know nothing about the neighbourhood that you are
about to invest in. If this is the case, you are probably learning
from and taking the advice of a more experienced real estate investor
or Realtor that knows that area well.


This is all fine and dandy but`


As a new real estate investor, you have to go one step further, and
get a second opinion on the neighbourhood from someone else. This
second opinion can come from another Realtor or another experienced
investor. The opinion has to come from someone who knows that area
well.


Why do you need a second opinion on the neighbourhood?



You need a second opinion because there may be something about the
neighbourhood that the Realtor you are working with or the investor
that is helping you does not know.


When I purchased one rental property, I bought it in a neighbourhood
that I had heard from a number of people was a good place to buy.
Based on this information, I chose this neighbourhood as the place that
I was going to buy. When I found the particular property that I was
going to buy, I bought that property, WITHOUT getting a second opinion
from another Realtor or investor.


Little did I know that I bought the property a couple of streets
over from a section of the neighbourhood that many investors avoided.
This smaller area, was avoided by a lot of investors because the tenant
profile was a little bit rough and the properties were run down.


Fortunately, the property that I ended up purchasing was a good one, and I have had no problems with it thus far.


However, if I had done some more due dilliigence and asked for a
second opinion of the neighbourhood, there is a chance that I would
have passed on this property, knowing that the neighbouring streets had
a rough tenant profile.

TWO


Paying the wrong price for a property


I have spoken to many real estate investors who have demonstrated
great excitement when talking about buying their first rental property.

However, it is disturbing to hear how people are over paying for their properties.


Why is this happening?


I think it has a lot to do with the emotions
that investors are feeling. They are new to the game, and excited to
get a deal done. When they are in the moment, they don`t take the time
to think if they are over paying or not`.because they just want to own
something.


When you are buying your first rental property, you need to take a
step back and get a second opinion on the price that you are paying for
the property.


You can get a second opinion on this by asking your Realtor to see
comparable properties that sold, or you can ask an experienced investor
that owns properties in that area how much properties are going for.


Further, you should never make your ultimate decision on how much
you are going to pay for a property based on one person`s opinion.
After all, they may not have your best interest at heart`


I have heard of cases where investors have purchased rental property
using a Realtor, and without even looking at any comparable sales.


If you chose to buy properties like this, how do you know if you paid the right price???


You have just overpaid $20,000 for the property.

THREE

Overpaying for renovations



Once a real estate investor has purchased their first rental property, they may be overly excited to renovate the property.


A lot of the time real estate investors will buy properties that
need some work done to them. Perhaps the home needs some new flooring
and a coat of paint. Or maybe the home needs to have it`s furnace
replaced, as the current one is a bit old. Or maybe all it needs is
some new tiles in the bathroom.


Whatever the case is, new real estate investors are making mistakes
when it comes to completing renovations on their first rental property.


A mistake that they are making is accepting whatever price is quoted to them by the first tradesperson they talk to.


For instance, if you need your floors and walls painted, you may get
a quote of $6,000 dollars by a handyman that was referred to you. Most
new real estate investors accept that first quote that they get, and
get the work completed based on that quote.


Very few investors, with their first property take the time to get multiple quotes from a number of handymen.


If you do this, you will be amazed at the range of pricing you will get`for the exact same work !!!


Here is a story that I will share with you, that hopefully drives home the importance of getting multiple quotes.


I was replacing the flooring in one of my renal properties.


I decided to deal with well known companies to get the job done.


I got a quote from a company who had multiple store locations in the
same city. I got a quote from one of the stores, however, I felt that
the store manager that I was dealing with wasn`t telling me the truth
about everything. I just got a funny feeling from him.


As such, I decided to go to another store location of the Company in
the same city. I got a quote from this location that was 50% cheaper
than the quote from the other store. Which resulted in over $1000 of
savings.

Nothing had changed regarding the quote`just the people, and store locations I was dealing with.

Had I just blindly gone with the first quote that I got, I would have been cheated.


Don`t make dumb mistakes. Get second opinions on everything!


Best Regards,


Neil Uttamsingh


ps: Let other people make dumb mistakes, not you! Be Smart and Subscribe to First Rental Property today!
 

Thomas Beyer

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a 4th one: having too high a mortgage, thus negative cash-flow, thus becoming a motivated seller

a 5th one: not having enough cash in reserve for (un)expected vacancies, repairs, lower rents, ...

a 6th one: poorly managing the asset once it is owned

a 7th one: being too impatient, on both the buy and the sell side

a 8th one: not finding the right balance between being too involved and being too uninvolved

a 9th one: getting too cozy with your tenants and not treating it like a business
 

NeilUttamsingh

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Great points Thomas!



In regards to your 9th point, I am sure you see this happen all the time. I know that I see this happen really often.



Further to this point, is that sometimes I see people becoming too 'buddy-buddy' with their tenants. They don't 'lay the law down' as they should whenever non payment issues arise.



They truly don't treat it like a business. It frustrates me to see this time and time again!



Why do people chose to do this?



All the best,

Neil.
 

kfort

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I would add poor screening and pre-screening to the list of mistakes I have made. Tonight I wasted about 2 hours because I forgot to ask how soon the applicant needed a place.... I also had 2 no-shows for viewings and one cancellation at 2pm for a 4pm viewing. The learning curve is steep but at least I'm learning.



Kris
 

NeilUttamsingh

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Kris,



Well said...



"The learning curve is steep but at least I'm learning."



Learning is key, because it makes us better. Hopefully, we then do not repeat the same mistakes.



Regards,

Neil.
 

LondonHomes

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Great list and very handy since I'm looking to make my first investment purchase at the moment.



I do believe that the #1 mistake of all new business is not having enough money available. Your list will ensure that I spend my money wisely.
 

NeilUttamsingh

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Hi Kathy,



I am more than happy to help. I am glad you enjoyed the list. I hope your first investment goes well.



Don't be afraid to post any questions on myREINspace if you need any guidance.



You will be able to get great advice here from a lot of people who are willing to help.



As an aside, I checked out your blog with great interest.



I attended The University of Western Ontario for my undergrad, so I am a fan of London.



I always found the London real estate market fascinating. Especially with all of the student housing!



Have you decided on what property type you are going to purchase?



Best Regards,

Neil.
 

Thomas Beyer

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[quote user=LondonHomes]... I do believe that the #1 mistake of all new business is not having enough money available. Your list will ensure that I spend my money wisely.




that is partially true only .. as you can overcome lack of cash with

a) joint venture partners, and

b) experience to find creative buy-solutions (say with a VTB) or option-ti-purchase + flip skills ..



both take time to develop though .. and to get this experience some cash is usually required to buy 2 or 3 properties to build a basic skill set so one can do a) or b) !
 

LondonHomes

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[quote user=NeilUttamsingh]As an aside, I checked out your blog with great interest.



I attended The University of Western Ontario for my undergrad, so I am a fan of London.



I always found the London real estate market fascinating. Especially with all of the student housing!



Have you decided on what property type you are going to purchase?





Hi Neil,



Thanks for checking out my blog. I glad you have got some good memories of your time in London / UWO. Things have changed in the student rental market over the last few years as UWO has built a lot of new student housing and city council has put in bylaws to limit the number of unrelated people living in a home. As a result student housing needs to be a lot closer to the school and of better quality. The days of buying a shack and converting everyroom into a bedroom are over.



Since you offered let me ask you, your thoughts on a potential student housing investment.



I know of 3 units which are not listed on MLS, I can pick 1 up for $245,000 they currently have 3 bedrooms and net $1,200 / month. The property has the potential to add another bedroom thus pushing the net to $1,700 / month. The great things about these properities is that they close to the school and in good condition so they are easy to rent.



Would 1 of these be a good first investment?
 

housingrental

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No 1 of those would not be a good first investment

The numbers do not provide a sufficient margin of safety for a student housing investor
 

NeilUttamsingh

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Hi Kathy,



I personally do not have any experience with student housing.

However, Adam has posted his comments above.

He is a well respected authority on student housing, so I would strongly consider taking his advice.



All the best,

Neil.
 

LondonHomes

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[quote user=housingrental]No 1 of those would not be a good first investment

The numbers do not provide a sufficient margin of safety for a student housing investor





Thanks for your input.

I figured with an additional renter it would be possible to get the property over the 8% income level.

However, I'll take your advice and keep looking.
 
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