One of the first things I heard when I started going to seminars to learn the investing business was that I would need a “Dream Team” of professionals with whom I would be working in my new company. People who know and can handle the areas that I can’t or don’t want to. There are several professionals that we probably all need as well as a few more who will make our lives easier and/or keep us out of trouble.
I was very surprised when I heard that we need to have a real estate agent or broker on our team. I had always thought that they would be my competition and it took me some time to come around to the other view. You will want to partner up with a good realtor in what should be a symbiotic relationship. He or she will run across people who for some reason can’t list, but still need help getting out of a problem and it will work the other way as well. She may be willing to provide help with comps when you are attempting to price a property. He can be the person who presents your offers on properties that are listed with a realtor, and on, and on…
You will obviously need access to a good title agent who understands the sometimes different ways that we do business. Simultaneous closes are one type of transaction that aren’t done often in the regular real estate world and they need someone who is up to speed on them. A good mortgage broker is a real asset on the team.
Your attorney specializing in real estate law in your area is an essential part of your team. If you are in a state where you don’t use title companies to close your deals, then all the more so. You will need someone who understands the various real estate contracts, reviews all of your forms to ensure that they satisfy local laws and practices. Things like AITD’s, (All Inclusive Trust Deeds, sometimes called Wrap-Around Mortgages), can be very confusing.
You need an accountant who keeps up with and understands the ever-changing tax laws and keeps you out of trouble while minimizing the amount of damage that you are subjected to. Both the accountant and the attorney will be critical partners when you get into doing 1031 tax-free exchanges.
You’ll need access to home inspectors to look over the houses to identify all of the issues before you buy them and contractors to fix the small things and rehab the big ones.
Once you establish relationships with most of these professionals, it shouldn’t break the bank for you to use them. It will be a two-way street in that you will be providing them with significantly increase business so they will be likely to give you reduced rates in return.
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