5 Real Estate Investing "Don'ts" to Avoid at All Costs

Massachusetts Real Estate Careers with Tom Cafarella

Today, let’s take a look at some real estate investing “do’s” and “don’ts.” Knowing what to avoid and what to do instead can really boost your success.

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Today, I want to let you in on the things you shouldn’t be doing when it comes to marketing in real estate, as well as explain what you should do instead. These tips have been compiled over countless hours and millions of dollars spent on motivated seller marketing.
1. Don’t market only when you need a deal. This is the biggest mistake I see newer real estate investors make. I call it the “real estate investing hangover.” New investors run around, market, find a great deal, then stop marketing. These investors spend all of their time on the fix and flip or on trying to wholesale the property. Then, all of a sudden, they wake up one day with no deals.
This is the real estate hangover I’m talking about. You get paid for the deal you just closed only to realize you don’t have any other deals in the works. In order to get face to face with motivated sellers, you must be constantly marketing. Don’t just market when you need a deal; you need to market all the time.
2. Don’t market to the same list as everyone else. Lists of absentee owners, notices of default, and people behind on their mortgage are the same lists that everyone else will be pursuing. In fact, so many people market to these lists that your odds of getting a deal from them are very low. The name of the game in real estate investing is to have as little competition as possible on a home sale.
Instead of buying a motivated seller list, you should build a database of the homes in your market that you want to buy. To do this, you’ll first need to create a property avatar—a list of all characteristics of a home. In other words, make a list of the property characteristics that you like.
Then, add the avatar of the particular seller. Ask yourself, what kind of sellers tend to sell to you? For me, the people who sell to me generally have equity and have lived in their home a long time. When you make a list of the kinds of properties you like and a list of the kinds of sellers who are likely to make a deal with you, and then combine those lists, you are setting yourself up for success.

Don’t just market when you need a deal; you need to market all the time.

3. Don’t buy a super expensive website. This is one thing I see newer investors doing all the time. As someone who has made this mistake myself, I can tell you that the thousands you’re spending aren’t worth it. You may end up with a gorgeous website, but this shouldn’t be the goal of your online presence. Your website needs to convert leads. Of course there’s nothing wrong with having a website that looks nice, but it isn’t entirely necessary. The main focus should be capturing contact information from people who visit it.
Personally, I use Investor Carrot. Investor Carrot is a website company that creates sites specifically for real estate investors. Investor Carrot sites are designed to convert. Also, using Investor Carrot is actually less expensive than hiring a website developer.
4. Don’t spend your marketing dollars on mass media campaigns. When you advertise on television, radio, and billboards, you’re paying to reach people who have homes you don’t even want to buy. Instead of mass media advertising, focus your money and energy on targeted advertising. Utilize mailers, cold calling, and internet ads to generate leads.
5. Don’t drive for dollars. If you aren’t familiar with the concept, driving for dollars is when you drive through neighborhoods you'd like to buy in to find beat-up properties. Doing this is a huge waste of time. There is no correlation between a beat-up property and a seller who wants to sell at a discount. When you target beat-up homes, you’re cutting out your very best deals. In this market, your best deals are actually sellers who are willing to sell at a discount and whose properties are actually in decent shape.
Motivated sellers sell based on a specific life situation, not because their home isn’t in good shape. So, don’t drive for dollars. Instead, spend hours actually prospecting to the people in your database.
All of the mistakes I’ve shared today are things that have cost me money in the past. Aside from simply sharing this list, there is another way I’d like to help you make better investment choices. My team and I are partnering with investors in markets across the United States. We only make money when you make money. With that being said, if you would like to learn more about my marketing systems, visit www.realestateinvestingiseasy.com and enter your email. After you’ve provided your email, you will be prompted to watch a webinar that will go over key marketing strategies.
Even if you aren’t interested in working with me, I still highly recommend visiting this website. Doing so will give you access to two major benefits. First, you’ll gain access to my private Facebook group called “Questions for Tom.” There, you can ask me questions anytime, and I will personally answer them within 24 hours.
The second benefit you gain from entering your email to this website is that you will get free tickets to all of my in-person training events.
If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.