One of the most common bits of information the Real estate investors always ask each other is “What tricks of the trade or inside tidbits can you share with me??” I always answer this question with a question…”What tools do you have in your investment toolbox?”
OK…Hey Doc..what do you mean “Tool Box”. Okay…let me explain it ad tell you the 3 important areas that make it up.
1) Grey matter tools: This is the in your head part of the tool box. It is the manner in which you think about investing, the guidelines you use to select investments as well as ALL the information you call on every time the prospect of an investment even shows its self. It is the investment filter you have developed for yourself.
Simply put..it is the mental list you use when you start thinking about investing. the “what’s, where’s and how much’s”.
IMPORTANT FACT: Any bookstore you go into has a billion books on Real estate investing. Buy them all…ok not all but you should have a EXTENSIVE collection of them. Why you ask??? Simply put…if you have a understanding of the information and tactics that are being read by other investors…you will actually understand the factors that they are using to buy/sell/screen potential investments. Knowing what information someone is useing to make a decision gives you and advantage.
The E-tool box: Your online tool box. What websites are you useing online over and over. Most real estate investors only use a few sites. I have found this can lead to a sort of tunnel vision or what I call “INFO INPUT SHUT DOWN”.
The answer is very easy it’s called the opt in newsletter/update. Here is how it works.
All you do is create an another email and use it to collect eamil updates from various websites. these are going to be websits that will add you to an emailing list and send you any updates/newsletters they send out.
Once you join an email list..no matter what stay with it for at least 6 months. (Not all great investment tidbits are sent out at first.) Email lists to get on are for: investment clubs, investment blogs, investment reference sites, etc, etc.
To me most pop up ad based newsletters are a waste of time. I prefer to find the newsletters that are written by people who ACTUALLY invest. I prefer to get reviews of SEVERAL porducts/methods or tools that some one else actually uses. Those to me are the gems that I try to subscribe too.
The most inportant sites to me are the ones that make the investing game easier. sites that offer me something for free or VERY little cost out of my pocket. Some websites have tools that you just cant wait to try out. (I will admit I have a few sites I visit daily just to play around on and try out the tools they offer) When you find them you will know it…once agian bookmark them.
3) Actual physical tools: these are the tools you can actually touch and use when you?re making offers, inspecting property, or doing any one of the other hundreds of things that a good investor does before making an investment commitment. Most of these tools fit in a small briefcase or shoulder bag. These tools can be anything from flashlights, small inspection tools, to calculators etc. So in a nut shell that is all there is to a tool box.
Build your tool box and USE IT.
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