Thursday, December 28, 2006
You could be new to real estate, or might have reached the high level; the following would help to further Jump-Start your real estate investing career.
Move around with compatible People
Creative real estate is nontraditional that simply means most people don't like it. Thus most people speaking to you may say it won't work. Most attorneys and other professionals would criticize it, as it sounds unusual. You need to keep in mind that these people are unsuccessful or do not know to do business in this field.
The first thing you need to do is to join a local real estate association. You could find a complete list there. These local associations would help you keep your thoughts in the right place and to prove that it really does work. If in case you do not find a group, form a "mastermind" group, which meets up once a week.
Have a Team
Do not wait for people to come and join your team. You should find the following players for your team:
- Attorney - Preferably one, who does real estate investing deals for himself as well as for others.
- Insurance Agent - Find one, who knows land contracts, landlords, etc.
- CPA - Find one CPA, who is aggressive and has his own real estate.
- Contractor - One who would give you free estimation's and knows how to "cut corners" in the right places.
- Mortgage Broker - One who is confidence, very creative and experienced with real estate investors.
- Partner - Only in case you require it for money or experience.
- Mentor - Someone you could always call to smooth out the rough spots.
Keep Educated
"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance" is a popular saying. You could lose more money with just a mistake than you could learn how to avoid one. Even if you have been in a business for years together, you need to keep you self educated on current trends and laws. It is better to attend real estate seminars which provides good information, gives way to more income and prevents a lawsuit.
Treat This as a Business
People are attracted to real estate investing because of the fast buck that it promises to the investors. In fact real estate profit takes months even after years of cultivating customers. You need to treat it like other business. Give it time, effort, attention and perfect professionalism, and you would find it flourish to its best.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
But of course, there are still pitfalls to the idea of partnership. Many friendships and even family relations have been insolvent due to misunderstanding, negligence, ineptitude, or could be just plain bad luck related with doing business, not to mention the economic impact of partnerships left wrong. To avoid these awful cost, you need to have a formal partnership agreement drafted by an attorney, and you must always start your partnership as an official, legal business entity.
General Partnership
A general partnership can be established by the simple act of doing business. It does not have to be registered by any governmental or official body, though it could be further formalized with a written agreement. Legally, there is defense for you from the liabilities your partnership generates that means that your personal assets can come under assault by litigants beside your business. Additionally, your business assets can even be seized for actions related to the offenses of your partners. In other words, do not work as a general partnership if you are engaged in an ongoing business relationship with any partners.
Incorporation
A well established superior business entity and the most popular are called a corporation. By incorporation, you with your partners are establishing a legally distinct business entity with its own equal social security number. Thus, unlike a general partnership, incorporation is lawful separate from any and all "partners", or more precise could be "shareholders".
There are many benefits to incorporating. Since they are lawfully distinct, shareholders could not be held responsible for the actions of the corporation. In other words, if a corporation in which you're partners is sued, your personal assets are safe. Think about it - if you own any stock, could you lose your house if the company is sued? Of course not, your losses are limited to your investment. There are some cases in which partners could be held apt in a small corporation, but in many cases you would be protected from liabilities of the business and, more significant, the misdeeds of your business partners and employees.