So what is my real estate investment strategy anyway?

Many people lately have been asking me what my real estate investment focus is. I can understand why, since right now I don't have a lot of details on what I'm working on in my blog. That's because its a whole bunch of NOTHIN' at the moment. I'm working on changing that, new marketing materials have been ordered and some new ideas will soon be implemented. So much happened in the first half of this year that was totally unexpected and really threw me off track, and made me reevaluate and have to start over in some ways. I can't believe that half the year is gone already, but I'm glad to be getting back in the saddle now instead of later!

But back to the question, what is my focus? In theory that's simple, I buy rental properties that I can hold for monthly cash flow and long term equity gain. I acquire these properties sub2 or with seller financing and then put a small amount of money and/or elbow grease into them to get them rental ready. I need monthly cash flow because I need some stability in my currently very sporadic small income, and long term gain because I have ended up with no retirement plan and know that Uncle Sam isn't going to be able to help me by the time I'm ready for retirement, I have to help myself.

In practice, its not so simple. The many leads that come in with every new marketing push usually means I end up exploring other areas of real estate investing that aren't necessarily my focus. So many of them are good leads, just not what I planned to be looking at. Some need short sales, some need cash or financing to get the seller out of a short term loan, some need so much repair that I couldn't possibly use them, some are in areas that won't rent well or are in areas that I personally just won't go into. You know the drill. All those who have done any marketing for properties gets calls and emails from every type of seller, not just the ones you actually want.

So I usually end up getting all involved with properties that don't help me towards my goals. Most of the time I'm okay with this. There is a lot to be said for learning the ropes on multiple investment strategies, and I never think it hurts to get out there an make more offers. Very often these "other" leads and offers don't end up going anywhere for me, whether because of my own lack of knowledge, my lack of interest, or something else I'm not really sure. But I do know that I certainly wouldn't mind becoming what Dave Lindahl calls a "transaction engineer" and being able to close more of these other leads more effectively. Working on that too, reading a lot and learning more about what others are doing, and getting some practice on those leads doesn't hurt. (don't worry, I never screw the sellers, if things don't work out I always refer them to others in my network that should be able to help them better than I can)

I know I need to "get paid" more often for all the time I end up putting into some of these deals though. Having them fall apart with nothing to show for my efforts really stinks. So I joined a new group in my area, the Richmond Wholesalers, with the thinking that rather than waste my time on these properties that don't fit my model and end up not getting anything out of them for whatever reason, I could at least be trying to wholesale them and make a few thousand for the effort. Duh, you say? Well yes, but I will tell you of my own previous wholesaling experiences and the fates of several other wholesalers I know in a future post. Lets just say its not as much of a no-brainer as you might think.

So there's my focus for those of you wondering. Buy and hold rental properties in decent condition with creative terms, and wholesale anything else interesting that comes my way. Lets see how far I get in this round of marketing keeping that focus on the straight and narrow.