At first blush, you may think “no, absolutely not.” After all, we are amid a global crisis with some states and countries still under lockdown.

This uncertainty can stall you from looking toward the future when travel restrictions are lifted, and life and business return to some normalcy.

During a crisis, it is not uncommon for people to make decisions out of panic. When bookings drop, some existing property owners may feel desperate and opt to sell at a lower price than they should. Lenders may offer lower interest rates during these economic downturns or have properties available as a short sale.

All of which could make this the perfect time to invest in vacation rental property.

But like other investing opportunities, it’s best to make your decision based on facts and data.

Booking sites such as Airbnb, VRBO, and others have made finding properties for today’s traveler much easier. With the increase in travelers preferring vacation homes over hotels, an investment in rental property is a wise decision with the potential for a great return on your investment.

Before diving in headfirst, consider realistic drawbacks.

Count the costs before buying a vacation rental property. Here are some of the questions you should ask yourself first.

Can you afford it? 

Verify your finances to make sure this investment fits within your budget. Strapping yourself for cash is not a wise decision during any economic climate.

What if no one rents your property?

It’s a worst-case scenario that no one wants to think about. Perhaps the location is undesirable, or the price is too high, or the property is too small, or the area is facing another economic crisis. Whatever the reason, would you be able to weather the storm if you went without rental income for several weeks or perhaps even months?

Remember that this is also your investment. 

Choose a location and property you and your family will enjoy. Perhaps if it’s not rented for a few weeks out of a year, you all could travel there and build great memories. Either way, the property would still be useful if it’s somewhere you could benefit from traveling to.

If owning a vacation rental property sounds appealing, where do you begin?

If you’ve counted the costs and decided that you’re ready to make this investment happen, here are some ideas of where to start.

For starters, do your research.

Location is key to a successful vacation rental investment. Choose a destination that attracts travelers. Properties in warm climates or with access to beaches and amenities may be popular. But properties near parks, lakes, or other attractions may have a similar draw. Apartments or lofts in metropolitan cities or cottages in mountainside towns may be equally appealing.

Once you’ve narrowed down your location, research properties for sale. Analyze market rates to ensure a good return on your investment.

When searching for rental property, keep these things in mind:

1. Does the property need repairs like a new roof or windows?
2. In what condition are the appliances and heating/cooling systems?
3. What will repair or renovations cost, and how long will they take?
4. Why is the current owner selling?
5. What types of renters did they have in the past?
6. What enhancements can you make to attract more renters?

Consider all actual costs.

Besides the initial investment, furnishings, repairs, or desired renovations, there are other costs in owning a vacation rental property. This would include insurance, utilities, maintenance, and property taxes.

Properties located within communities may have Homeowners’ Association (HOA) fees to cover maintenance of common areas like landscaping, or shared facilities such as a clubhouse, fitness center, or swimming pool.

In addition to this, there can be other fees that must be considered like leasehold or fee simple, which are essentially a “rental fee” or a charge imposed for the land upon which the property sits.

Unless you plan to handle the daily running of your rental, you might want to consider hiring a Property Management Company to assist with bookings, scheduling, and cleaning. Some states even require this as a part of ownership.

And don’t forget advertising. To get an edge above your competition, you may consider hiring a marketing firm to attract renters.

Understand short-term rental laws in your area.

Restrictions vary from one community to another. Check if your area limits the number of rental properties allowed, or if the owner must live on site or not. Some cities have length-of-stay laws, limiting guests to a maximum stay of 30 days. Other communities regulate the type of structure allowed as a rental or require owners to obtain a rental license.

If you plan on managing your vacation rental on your own, you’ll want to read up on your state and local government’s tax laws since some states require you to collect sales taxes or hotel taxes from your guests. Collecting and processing these taxes would be another step to consider when owning a vacation rental and managing it yourself.

These are just a few of the important factors you should pay attention to when determining if buying that vacation property is worth the investment or not.

Should you buy a vacation rental in 2020?

At the end of the day, this decision should be made after you do your homework on whether it’s right for you or not. There are some distinct opportunities in today’s market for some great deals on this type of investment property. But, it’s important to do your research quickly because eventually this crisis will end and when it does, the deals on vacation rentals might not be as advantageous as they are right now.

Do you have the right tools you need to find the best vacation property deals? 

When it comes to real estate investing, having the right tools and systems can make all the difference in finding that beachfront property or mountain view property before your competition does.

If you’re looking to become a serious real estate investor who owns multiple properties including vacation rentals, you’ll need a plan for how you’ll find and locate your motivated sellers, and how you’ll manage leads.

Like with any business, it’s important to look at what industry experts and professionals are using to grow their businesses. It doesn’t make sense to spend time trying to do things manually and less efficiently when there are innovative systems and tools that can help you do things better and faster.

Here are some of the tools and systems we recommend:

Obtaining property lists is an important step in finding the right properties to fit your vacation rental needs, as well as to locate highly motivated sellers. Back in the day investors would use spreadsheets to manage these lead lists, but manual tracking and filtering just doesn’t make sense in 2020.

Now, you can save time and money by using a cloud-based property list stack filtering and fulfillment service like Property List Manager. This service helps you save both time and money by using the power of data and algorithms to import your lists, stack them, and then sort and filter the addresses to target your most highly motivated leads. With a built-in mapping system, PLM is an incredibly efficient way to streamline your property lists.

A Real Estate Investing CRM is another “must have” for managing your prospects, tracking leads and managing them, running personalized follow up and touchpoint campaigns, and handling every aspect of the sales life cycle. Our Grow CRM was built by real estate investors for real estate investors and allows you to manage every aspect of the sales life-cycle in one system with automated efficiency.

Finding motivated sellers and closing deals is a marathon, not a sprint. Investing in the right systems and software that help you optimize relationships and minimize time-consuming processes can make the difference between having a mediocre business and an amazing business.

For a limited time only, we’re running an unprecedented deal on both our Grow CRM and our Property List Manager together, making these systems more affordable than ever before.

Are you looking at a way to spend your coronavirus stimulus check? 

If you’re still working right now and if you see your stimulus check as something that makes sense to invest, vacation rental properties might be the choice for you. Either way, this article has some ideas on what you can do to make your stimulus check go a little further.

A menu of options for sellers to choose from.

Hatch Realty offers their clients a menu of options to choose from when selling their homes. Their menu includes:

• Traditional listing.
• Traditional listing, plus an interest free loan of up to $10,000 for upgrades to maximize the seller’s home value.
• A snap offer— Sellers get a cash offer within 96 hours. While this is a more aggressive offer, sellers get a first class experience when it comes to convenience and certainty.

RealEstateInvestor.com is one of Erik’s secret ingredients for success.

Erik never considered himself to be a real estate investor until a few years ago, even though he’d technically been investing in real estate since 2012. But instead of fearing the rise of the inevitable iBuyer movement, Erik decided to embrace it head on and take the power back in his company’s hands.

One of the tools that has helped Erik find success as an iBuyer is REIgnyte’s Managed Services program—formerly called REIvault—which he mentions on his website as being been instrumental in helping him get the word out.

Here’s what he has to say about REIgnyte during our interview with him this week.

“RealEstateInvestor.com’s analytics and insights for providing the right marketing materials to the right sellers has been invaluable to the building of our own iBuyer program. Utilizing those tools has been the biggest catalyst for our growth over all other mediums we’ve tried. The return on investment we’ve had just in the short period of time we’ve been with them has been the most positive over any other dollars we’ve infused into this program.” —Erik Hatch about Hatch Realty’s Snap Offers

Let’s look at the numbers:

Erik Hatch has been in real estate full time since 2011 and has been investing in real estate since 2012. Hatch Real Estate closes over 600 traditional deals each year, and in 2018 they started flipping homes.

He also joined RealEstateInvestor.com as an REIgnyte Managed Services member—formerly REIvault—in late 2018.

We asked him to quantify his results with us and here’s how many investment deals he’s been closing on top of his traditional listings:

• End of 2018- Closed 5 Deals
• Full Year of 2019- 25 Deals
• So Far in 2020- 10 Deals Already! (As of March 20, 2020.)

“We have had massive success with this since our inception. I’ve created a whole additional arm to my business via our SNAP offer program.” —Erik Hatch says about RealEstateInvestor.com

Here are a few things Erik says that he loves about RealEstateInvestor.com:

• He has more hours to work on his business and not in his business.
• It gets people to raise their hands. The people that are coming out of the woodwork aren’t their typical residential real estate clients—so they’re now widening their net.
• With our program they identify those that want to sell to them (as their 1st wholesale offer); they identify people that want a higher price (so they shop it to other wholesalers); and they identify people that want to list the traditional route with their brokerage.

“I used to go to all these houses and walk through them with the contractors and the inspectors. I basically served as my own general contractor. Now I have a system that operates beautifully – with two full time staff members, a great general contractor, and I’m buying 3-5 houses each month by simply answering a handful of emails thanks to RealEstateInvestor.com. Now I have time back and a machine running.” —Erik Hatch, Hatch Realty and Snap Offers

Would Erik Hatch Recommend REIgnyte Managed Services To Others?

We asked Erik if he would refer REIgnyte Managed Services to other Hybrid real estate agents and real estate investors and he said: “Yes. We have, and we will continue to do so.”

Thanks Erik!

Our team at RealEstateInvestor.com is incredibly grateful for our wonderful members like Erik Hatch. Erik is a great example of a beacon of light in his community and in the real estate industry. We love that he’s taking the iBuyer movement head on, embracing life as a hybrid agent and investor, and helping others do the same along the way. It’s members like Erik and his team that make us strive to be the best we can be at RealEstateInvestor.com!

Be sure to read this article we wrote based on our interview with Erik Hatch!

Erik took the time to give his thoughts on how the Coronavirus is changing the industry and what real estate entrepreneurs need to be doing right now as they’re safer at home. Read the article we wrote about this interview here.

Link to next article. Or add that article to this and simply make this a long form article.

Our team at Realestateinvestor.com had the opportunity to meet with real estate superstar Jeff Cohn this week—virtually of course—to learn more about his experience with us as a three year Managed Service Member with RealEstateInvestor.com.

Our Managed Service Membership is a highly personalized service for professional real estate investors and agents who are focused on growing and working on their business, instead of in their business. This membership is most well known for our sales and marketing team that handles the lead generation and appointment qualification allowing our members to work with the most motivated sellers in their market.

Who’s Jeff Cohn? 

Jeff Cohn is an industry leader and innovator whose team of real estate agents has sold more than 5,000 units for $1 Billion in sales over the past 13-years. Today, he’s also the nationally renowned speaker and host of The Team Building Podcast, the founder and CEO of Elite Real Estate Systems, and the new CEO of a tech-powered real estate market center in Omaha called kwELITE.

After Jeff shared the highlights of his customer journey with us as a real estate investor, our conversation naturally shifted to what’s been on everybody’s minds lately…

Life and business after the “Safer at Home” days of the Coronavirus pandemic.

From shelter in place orders to staged business openings and threats of second waves, many business owners have been working hard to keep their fear in check as our nation has navigated through multiple unprecedented stages this year.

Historical data shows that real estate entrepreneurs often make more money during times of economic hardship. But in order to seize this opportunity, they need to keep their head in the game and not give into fear and distractions.

We asked Jeff Cohn if he had any advice for real estate business owners who want to make the most of this upcoming market opportunity. Here’s what he shared.

Real estate entrepreneurs need to be more solution-oriented than ever before.

Providing multiple options and solutions for sellers is the key to being a modern real estate entrepreneur. Jeff has been embracing this for years by giving traditional sellers the option to list traditionally or take an instant offer that’s a guaranteed sale for less money. Essentially he’s been an iBuyer since before the term became popular.

Whether you have a few more weeks left at home, or you’re opening up for business right now, there’s never been a better time to get your menu of solutions fine-tuned.

What kind of solutions? 

Let’s look at some of the solutions sellers will be looking for in this new market.

Some sellers will need to sell their homes fast. 

Sellers who’ve lost their jobs or need to move closer to loved ones will need to move fast. Conventional listings often require a longer process than selling a home to a real estate investor. Every agent should either offer instant offers themselves, or partner with an investor. The same goes for investors being able to offer sellers a traditional listing by partnering with an agent. Here’s what Jeff had to say about this.

“Every appointment you go on in the investment world you can list traditionally. And every appointment you go on in the traditional real estate world, you can buy as an investment property. They feed each other. You just need to build the right team of agents and investors.”

Some sellers will take a lower offer if it means a guaranteed sale. 

Since we don’t have a guaranteed timeline of when the world will recover from the coronavirus, or what the final toll on our economy will look like, sellers will take guarantees where they can get them. This includes taking an offer that’s 30% below market price if it comes with a guaranteed sale, and a 7-day closing. Jeff’s team has been offering a solution like this to prospective sellers for years and it’s helped him achieve great business growth.

Sellers won’t want people in their homes for tours or contractors making repairs. 

Some sellers don’t even want their agent or investor to come in, much less a bunch of strangers during property showings and the home repair processes.

Since we’re in uncharted waters, it’s hard to predict if seller fear over having strangers in their home will dissipate once the coronavirus eases up, or if virtual touring and inspections will become a new norm. Either way, it’s important to come up with your solution for what you’ll do if a seller refuses to allow anyone in their home for tours or inspections, and if they want to only meet virtually with you. Here’s what Jeff has to say about this.

“The ultimate future agent who will survive and beat out the big-box shops has to give the consumer a virtual and a physical option.”

Jeff’s uses a solution called VRLY.

Jeff’s team at kwELITE utilizes a top-notch virtual marketing service called VRLY for all of their listings. Since they had this in place on all of their listings prior to the coronavirus, their agents haven’t missed a step when it comes to selling homes. It’s no surprise that they had a record making month last month despite the disadvantage of a pandemic.

Here’s how he’s adjusted for giving instant offer quotes.

When it comes to making instant offers, Jeff’s team can even do virtual tours where they have the seller show them around the home while on Facetime, Skype, or another similar video conferencing app.

Clients will need a low stress experience. 

Needless to say, the stress is real right now.

Real estate entrepreneurs should utilize options and solutions like Jeff shared, to help mitigate the stress that comes with the home buying and selling process. Jeff’s team is pioneering this mission at kwELITE through his vision expressed below.

“Our one-stop-shop tech-powered office provides clients a simple, customized home buying and selling experience. Enjoy the flexibility of meeting with your real estate agent, mortgage lender, title company, and insurance agent – in person or virtually – at every step of the transaction.” 

If you’d like to learn more about what Jeff and his team are doing, follow him on Instagram @JeffMCohn.

We appreciate our members like Jeff who are committed to being beacons of light in our industry.

We hope that this article has given you a few places to start when it comes to building a solutions menu for your clients. If you’re looking for more tactical advice for running your business right now during or after the coronavirus pandemic, we invite you to join our REI Beacon Facebook Group and our live webinars on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The links are below.

• Live Q&As with Experts Every Tuesday at 12PM PST in the Beacon Group

• Live Strategy Sessions with Industry Pros Every Thursday at 1PM PST in the Beacon Group

We’re all about providing solutions for real estate entrepreneurs! 

Our mission at RealEstateInvestor.com is to provide real estate investors like you with solutions to help build, grow and scale your business. We’ve created a platform that nurtures every relationship, matches interests, and qualifies leads, enabling investors and agents to make more money while working less.

We measure our success by the quality of life your business affords you, and the quality of relationships we’re able to help cultivate.

We invite you to check out our full menu of solutions here.

Jeff Cohn owns multiple successful businesses in the real estate industry and Dynamic Properties—which he owns alongside business partner Clint Bartlett—is no doubt one of them.

Dynamic Properties is focused solely on real estate investing and has grown year over year for the past several years. And their plan for 2020 does not include slowing down due to the Coronavirus pandemic. In fact, it’s quite the opposite…

With an unprecedented market opportunity in the near future for real estate investors who are ready to take action now, Jeff and Clint have set high goals and plan to reach them.

This year they’re planning to increase their real estate investment purchasing from 50 properties in 2019 to 100 properties in 2020! Plus, they’re estimating that this will allow them to add more than $10-million in revenue generating doors to their bottom line!

Needless to say, these are exciting projections and our team at RealEstateInvestor.com is proud to be on this ride with them.

Keep reading to learn more about Jeff Cohn and Clint Bartlett’s experience using our services to help grow their real estate investment business.

Jeff saw RealEstateInvestor.com as a solution provider for his real estate investment company.

As a successful serial entrepreneur and business visionary, Jeff understands the importance of embracing technology and services that enable him to work faster and smarter. It’s this perpetual hunt for innovative workplace solutions that led him to RealEstateInvestor.com, where he and his investment business partner Clint Bartlett have been Managed Services members for several years now.

The Early Days of Dynamic Properties and Real Estate Investing.

Having bought investment properties here and there since 2011, Jeff Cohn has always seen the value of investing in real estate. But building his brand and an award winning team in the traditional real estate sector took priority over becoming a full-time investor for the most part.

Jeff joined business partner Clint Bartlett in 2014 in an endeavor to open up their Nebraska based real estate investment company. At first, they started small, with both Jeff and Clint running the business part-time and flipping a handful of deals each year as a pastime pursuit.

“The beauty of what I’ve found from a business standpoint is that real estate agents and real estate investors run parallel. If you’ve built a real estate investment company, then you could have a full scope real estate team by bringing on a few agents. And the same thing goes in the other direction. Agencies should have a few real estate investors as well. They feed each other.” —Jeff Cohn

Going All In To Grow And Scale Their Real Estate Investment Company.

In 2016 things changed when Clint Bartlett decided to make the move to full time real estate investing in order to help grow and scale Dynamic Properties.

With a desire to take this business from hobby to empire, both Jeff and Clint attended an event where they met Gary Boomershine of what is today called RealEstateInvestor.com. (Previously called REIvault.)

At that event, Gary shared about how our team of sales professionals works our member’s leads in their preferred zip codes, weeding out the tire kickers, and making appointments with highly motivated sellers for our members. This allows our members to spend less time on the phone and more time closing deals with those motivated sellers in order to grow their businesses faster

After learning more about the solutions RealEstateInvestor.com had to offer, including our CRM that allows them to track results in real time, Jeff and Clint decided to give our managed services a try in late 2016. They’ve been members ever since.

Here’s what Jeff Cohn had to share about their experience with RealEstateInvestor.com:

“A lot of the growth we’ve had has been while working with RealEstateInvestor.com.” —Jeff Cohn

Hard Work And Bold Moves Pays Off.

Like many of our other member success stories, making bold moves and taking massive action pays off. We’ve seen this time and time again where that extra effort and attention can be game changers for business owners.

Here’s what Clint Bartlett has to share about this:

“Up until June of 2016, this was a pastime pursuit for both Jeff and myself. I made this my full-time career, which also helped catapult our performance.” —Clint Bartlett

Let’s See Some Numbers! A Timeline Of Dynamic Properties Growth.

Numbers speak! Let’s look at some of the numbers Jeff and Clint have seen as Dynamic Properties has grown over the years, including since they joined RealEstateInvestor.com as Managed Service members at the end of 2016:

• 2014 Established Dynamic Properties, LLC (3 Deals)
• 2015 (5 Deals)
• 2016 (8 Deals & 5 Rental Doors)
  • June 2016 is when Clint Bartlett went full time, and the 4th quarter is when they signed on as RealEstateInvestor.com Managed Service Members.
• 2017 (22 Deals & 20 Rental Doors!)
• 2018 (56 Deals & 20 Rental Doors!)
• 2019 (50 Deals & 20 Rental Doors!)

Their 2020 Goal: To close 100 Deals AND add an additional $10 million in value with new Rental Doors!

Wow, this is some amazing growth!

Way to go Jeff Cohn and Clint Bartlett at Dynamic Properties! We have zero doubt that you’ll hit your 2020 projections this year.

Why They Recommend RealEstateInvestor.com To Others.

As an entrepreneur in multiple facets of the real estate world, Jeff sees the value of leveraging systems and resources to grow more dynamic businesses. This includes utilizing our RealEstateInvestor.com Managed Services to help work lead lists and to fast track only the most motivated sellers directly to Dynamic Properties inbox.

Seeing our service as a benefit for real estate investors who are serious about growing their businesses, both Jeff and Clint help to refer industry peers to RealEstateInvestor.com.

Thank you Jeff and Clint!

We love our real estate community!

Our team at RealEstateInvestor.com loves seeing amazing growth stories like this one from our members who are busy building real estate empires. Thank you Jeff Cohn and Clint Bartlett for allowing us to be a part of your journey!

To see what’s going on at Dynamic Properties, check out their Facebook page and give them a “Like.”

But Wait, There’s More…

We were thrilled to be able to get some advice from real estate superstar Jeff Cohn while we were on the phone together. He shared his thoughts about running a real estate business during and after the Coronavirus pandemic, and he had so many great nuggets of wisdom to share that we decided to write an entirely new article on it. Be sure to read this article here.

Learn More About Jeff Cohn Below:

Jeff Cohn is an award winning real estate entrepreneur, nationally renowned speaker, and the CEO of Elite Real Estate Systems and KW Elite. He’s most well-known for leading the fastest growing real estate team in history, selling more than 5,000 units for $1 Billion in sales over the past 13-years, and taking home 2019’s top selling team in the world award with Berkshire Hathaway. He’s a nationally renowned speaker and the host of The Team Building Podcast. He also owns ancillary businesses in Title, Mortgage, Insurance, and Real Estate Investing.

Follow Jeff Cohn on Instagram @JeffMCohn!

According to BiggerPockets.com there are 28.1 million Americans who consider themselves to be real estate investors. That equates to 1 out of every 8 American adults. This statistic can be staggering, perhaps even terrifying for those of us real estate investors who are in this business for the long haul. But what does this statistic really mean? Is the market truly oversaturated? And how can new and existing real estate investors make it to the top with this much competition?

The sea of real estate investing entrepreneurs.

If you’ve ever been to Times Square during a celebration, New Orleans during Mardi Gras, or Black Friday shopping, you’ve likely experienced the intensity of being in a herd of people jam-packed so tightly together that personal space is nonexistent and all you can do is shuffle your feet forward and pray you don’t fall because nobody’s going to stop.

Now imagine what that scene would look like if you tried to stuff 28.1 million Americans who consider themselves to be real estate investors, into a place like that…

If Times Square can only hold 51,000 people, 28.1 million people would be outright ridiculous! We’d look like a massive sea of real estate investors stacked together tighter than sardines in a tiny tin can. Forget trying to shuffle forward inch by inch to get anywhere. After all, with millions of people surrounding you, it would be nearly impossible to see more than 10 feet ahead at any time…

Is anyone else feeling a bit claustrophobic in here? Or is it just me?

Let’s look at how different types of investors would navigate the sea of real estate entrepreneurs.

The investors who are looking for easy money will see that sea filled with 28.1 million competitors and throw in the towel before even trying to attempt stepping foot in it.

Some other investors will start their way into the sea with excitement and fervor. Then after spending a few months trying to push and scoot their way through that crowd, they’ll exhaust themselves. Burned out, they’ll look for the nearest emergency exit that leads them out of the sea and back to their previous careers.

Now, there are also the investors who will simply dip their toes into the sea. They might have a rental property, perhaps they’ll even try to flip a house. But that’s the extent of it. They’re counted in that 28.1 million people statistic making it relatively disproportioned when looking at the career investors. But these are the people who’re simply looking for a little bit of passive income to help with retirement or residual income.

What about the serious real estate investors like us?

The serious real estate investors know the best way to navigate the sea.

Among the sea of people there will be the few investors who want this bad enough that they’re ready to fight for their dream. They’re wise and they understand that alone the sea will be impossible to break through. But together, they can use their strength and momentum to help pull each other forward.

They communicate with others like them by passing messages back and forth through their pipeline, and eventually they pool together their combined resources to form a chain. And one by one, they heave and pull, moving each other forward a few feet at a time. They repeat this same process again and again saving investor after investor.

Day after day they use all of the resources at their disposal and the power of each other’s strength and momentum to pull additional real estate investors out of that sea of 28.1 million and onto the land of success.

Alone they didn’t stand a chance, but together they not only survived, they thrived.

Successful real estate entrepreneurs invest in each other.

What do the most successful leaders in real estate have in common? They understand and utilize one of the most powerful resources available in life—People. Their ability to cultivate strong relationships is what drives their success. It’s what separates them from the sea of 28.1 million.

They understand that relationships are about give and take. Sometimes they’re learning from others. Other times they’re teaching and mentoring. They understand that there’s more than enough real business out there to go around, so they give their ideas and suggestions freely to their community.

At RealEstateInvestor.com we’re a community. 

Being real estate investors ourselves, we understand the value of working together and investing in relationships. So much so that we measure our success by the quality of life your business affords you, and the quality of relationships we’re able to help you cultivate.

If you’re feeling like you’re alone and stuck or drowning in that sea of 28.1 million, we want to extend our hand out to you. We can help save you… Ask us how.

Want to meet our community in person and learn from industry experts?

We’re highly active on social media and post daily content to help you become the BEST, most successful real estate investor you can be! Be sure to like our Real Estate Investor Facebook Page for daily content!

Julia loved her career as a wife and mother and never expected to have to work outside of the home. But, life threw her family a curveball in 2002 when her husband became one of the 30,000 innocent employees who lost everything after the infamous WorldCom accounting scandal and bankruptcy filing. Along with thousands of people, Julia’s family lost not only the income and benefits their family depended on, but every single penny they had saved for retirement.

Faced with needing to take her career outside of the home, Julia pulled herself up by the bootstraps and got to working on a solution. That solution was real estate, and it’s ultimately what led her to RealEstateInvestor.com. (Read her full real estate investing story here.)

Julia’s focused on making a measurable difference at RealEstateInvestor.com.

Julia’s committed to making a measurable difference in the lives of our members, our team, and our community. Her passion for relationship fostering, coaching, and encouraging are among the many admirable traits that make her a beloved part of our company and our community. For fun, we decided to ask a few people to share with us either a fictional job title or a nickname that best describes how Julia is making a measurable difference in the lives of others. Here are a some of those answers:

Mama Bear- She guards our team and our members fiercely and protectively watches to make sure that nobody gets left behind. She’s always looking for ways to solve problems and make things better.

Leader of Team Culture- Our company culture is a huge part of what we all love about working for RealEstateInvestor.com, and Julia is big on making sure it stays that way.

Our Moral Compass- As the accountability coach for our leadership team, Gary calls Julia their moral compass. Our core values are another thing we all love about this company, and Julia makes sure we’re always moving in the right direction.

The Closer- If there’s a challenge or a problem, Julia’s usually called in because of her uncanny ability to find solutions and to make things happen.

Jolly Julia- Twice a day Julia hosts motivational calls with our overseas phone teams that she affectionately refers to as our Sales Ninjas. Our sales ninja’s may live across the world, but Julia always makes them feel like they’re just as much a part of our family here. During these calls, Julia makes sure our sales ninjas are happy, pumped up, and that they have all the training and resources they need in order to land more qualified sellers for our members.

We asked Julia what she loves most about our company, here’s what she said:

“Our culture and our core values is what makes our company great. We have an interwoven team atmosphere where we’re all willing to jump in and help each other. We understand that everything we do is for the combined result of the company. We work hard, but we have fun too. I love that we’re a bottom up company, versus a top down. We take input and go and do things based on that philosophy. That allows us to be the best versions of ourselves that we can be. At the end of the day, we’re all part of one big family. That’s what keeps us outwardly focused and committed to making a measurable difference in each other’s lives and in the lives of our members.” —Julia Jordan, Senior Director of Success

Let’s get personal! Getting to know Julia Jordan.

Julia is a southern girl to the core who lives with her husband on a 25-acre ranch in North Texas. In true real estate investor fashion, she leases out 22 of those acres to a neighboring rancher as a grazing lease for his herd of cows and one stubborn mule. Julia starts her day off at 5am with a cup of coffee in one hand and her Bible in the other. She’s powered by Jesus and energized by spending quality time with the people she loves. When she’s not working, Julia can be found spoiling her grandkids, devouring books, cooking southern dishes, or working in her garden. She affectionately refers to “porch time” as one of her favorite ways to partake in self-care. Porch time includes unwinding on her oversized porch where she can watch the animals graze from her favorite rocking chair.

HERE’S OUR FAVORITE ANSWER FROM JULIA’S TEAM SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW:

We Asked Julia: If you could have any super power, what super power would you choose and why?

Julia Answered: “I feel like the Holy Spirit in me is my super power and I don’t really need another one.”

I don’t know about you, but I had dreams of working remote and traveling the world with my family, while bringing in a nice passive revenue stream that allowed me to do all of that. But little did I know that I’d trade my 40-hour a week career with benefits for an 80-hour week of pounding the pavement and barely seeing my family…

That of course was over a decade ago. Well before I learned the secret of delegating my way to success, utilizing shared resources, and maximizing my daily schedule.

But prior to that, I was flopping all over the place manually analyzing deals, networking, throwing new marketing strategies up and seeing if anything sticks, and so on. I was zig-zagging all over every day. I still remember many times where I’d turn my computer off at midnight and go straight to bed, only to lay awake for several hours thinking about how I felt like I literally got nothing done. I felt defeated and I had little to gain for it.

No free time, no life…

The business I was trying to build was stealing days, weeks, months, and ultimately years from my life. I missed out on so many important family events in those first few years.

I can’t count how many times I considered just calling it quits. I thought, I might as well go back to my old career where I worked a normal schedule and could actually see my family.At least there I would get insurance benefits, weekends off, vacations, and actually have a life.

After all, I pursued this dream in real estate because I wanted a better life for my family and myself. And that was not happening… Yet.

This schedule of misery repeated over and over again until I finally realized that the key was in the problem itself. I was losing time and my schedule sucked. So I needed to fix that by reclaiming my time, and fixing my schedule.

Setting a strict real estate investing schedule is fundamental for success.

My story isn’t unique. In fact, this is one of the top questions I get asked when I coach real estate investors. If you think about it logically, this challenge makes a lot of sense. Most of us worked in careers prior to jumping into investing fulltime. And in those careers we had a consistent daily schedule with project deadlines and scheduled meetings that kept us in line.

But when you first jump into your own business like I did, you have to set your own deadlines and scheduled meetings. And if you don’t, you’re likely to spin your wheels all day long and feel like you’ve accomplished very little.

This is why one of the fundamental rules of success for real estate entrepreneurs is to create a powerhouse schedule and stick to it. Make it a habit and own it. Like any new habit, this won’t be easy at first. But once you start reclaiming hours to spend doing the things you love, this success cycle will keep on spinning.

Here’s an example of a real estate investing schedule that worked for me.

5:00 a.m. Wake up early. If you can wake up an hour early, you can reclaim five extra hours in your work week. This allows you to fit in exercise, a shower, and leaves time for a meditation or for you to read something that energizes and encourages you.

6:00 a.m. – 7:30 a.m. Instead of thinking you can do the things you love to do in the evenings after work, consider doing them at the beginning of your day too. Spend time with family and friends. Engage in your favorite hobby.

7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Review all of your current deals that are in progress. See where that rehab is at, contact all parties in your deals to make sure all is on track for closing. Get your pulse first on what you have in the works to make sure it all deals goes smoothly.

9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Work on growing your pipeline. Make some calls, go to a networking meeting, send some emails. If you grow your pipeline daily, your business will stay on track for reaching your goals.

10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Check your emails and voicemails. Use this time to respond so it’s done in a timely manner. This builds trust and dependability with the people you work with.

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Never lunch alone! Okay, this might not be practical every day. But try to make time to have lunch with one to two new contacts a week.

1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Let’s generate some leads. Spend time marketing and looking for leads. Work on your social media and email newsletters. Call mortgage brokers, real estate agents, and wholesalers to see if you can work with them. This time should be all about networking and lead generating.

2:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. This is the perfect time to fit in unplanned events, meetings, closing, doctor’s appointments, etc. If you have a set time in your daily schedule, you’ll have an easier time making appointments without worrying that you’re going to mess up your work day.

5:00 p.m. or 6:00 p.m. STOP WORKING! With the exception of weekly or monthly networking events or meetings that happen late, you need to have a firm cut off time for your work day. Otherwise you could be working until 4:00 a.m. like I did in the beginning.

Your Schedule Will Always Be Flexible.

Yes, you need a strict schedule. But sometimes things just don’t go as planned. You might end up working late, or having to skip some of the tasks. That’s life. So if this happens, just try to get back on schedule tomorrow.

Your Dream Is Possible!

If you keep your schedule going, then before you know it you’ll be at the point where you’ve built a successful business and can afford to hire a sales team to do the daily work for you. That’s when you’ll get to live out your dream of financial freedom, traveling, and time freedom you always wanted.

Our team at RealEstateInvestor.com believes in you! Reach out to us and ask us how we can help you get more of your time back this year. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

We recently sat down with successful real estate investor Erik Hatch from Hatch Realty to get his thoughts on the state of the industry, specifically about how Coronavirus is changing our industry. As a hybrid real estate agent-investor who’s leading the pack, he had some great insights. Enough so, that we decided to write a completely separate article on it.

Who’s Erik Hatch? And why you should care about his thoughts…

Erik Hatch is the owner of Hatch Realty and Snap Offers and a leader in our industry. His brokerage helps the people in the Fargo-Moorhead area of North Dakota. He’s a multi-award winning real estate agent and his brokerage has also brought home multiple “industry best” awards. Their motto is:

“We are in the business of helping people: We just happen to sell real estate.”

Hatch Realty is unique because they offer a menu of options to their sellers instead of simply offering traditional listing services. Here’s a few of the options sellers can pick from with them:

• A traditional listing.
• A traditional listing, plus an interest free loan of up to $10,000 for upgrades to maximize the seller’s home value.
• A snap offer— Sellers get a cash offer within 96 hours. It’s a more aggressive offer, but sellers get the benefits of both convenience and certainty. Something we can all use a lot of right now…

Why sellers need your offer more than ever right now.

Erik shares about the temperature of clients right now. He says they’re fearful, riddled with anxiety, and uncertainty is plaguing them. With so much change and multiple economic issues stemming from the Coronavirus, they’re clinging to any certainty they can get ahold of. This means that real estate investor’s offers are more attractive than ever before! Especially offers coming from real estate agents they trust…

“Money is no longer the biggest pain point for sellers. Actually, money has never really been their biggest pain point. It’s uncertainty and interruptions that are their two biggest plagues at the moment.

That Uncertainty has now been amplified ten-fold! Whether the coronavirus blows over next week, or it sits here for months, we need to be offering options. I also think we need to get more aggressive with our offers unfortunately—for the sellers—because we need to buy for what the real estate market is going to present itself tomorrow, and not what it is today.”

Buy for what the real estate market is going to be tomorrow…

When we spoke to Erik he mentioned that his instant Offers and iBuyer Offers are getting more aggressive. While it’s unfortunately not going to be as financially lucrative for sellers, real estate investors assume risk when they make offers.

To protect their investment and keep themselves from being upside down, real estate investors have to be looking at what the market will present itself like tomorrow, and not just where it’s at today. The offers real estate investors might have made in January of 2020 could differ greatly today.

This is an unprecedented time, and unlike previous recessions, this potential post-coronavirus recession hit with little to now forewarning. With that said, a seller might have gotten an offer in January 2020 for $100,000, but if they didn’t accept it back then, that offer could have dropped to $70,000 today, just two months later.

Erik urges real estate investors to be forward thinking when investing. This can be a very lucrative time if investors go about business the smart way and if they’re intentional in their actions. Especially since we don’t know the speed of which this virus will pass through, nor the final economic toll it will have on our nation.

Agents who haven’t had the time to become iBuyers should use their time at home wisely.

These past few years have been rewarding for agents and brokerages with robust business. Because of this, a lot of real estate agents simply haven’t had the time to truly focus on whether they should or shouldn’t embrace the new iBuyer movement. According to Erik Hatch, if there ever was a time to do so, now is the time.

Large iBuyers like Zillow, OpenDoor, and RedFin who typically buy real estate in bulk have suspended their iBuyer movement for the moment. Erik says this is a huge sign of these two things:

1. There’s an opportunity that presents itself today for real estate investors and hybrid agent-investors who have to compete against these large Wall Street backed companies in the future.
2. And, those iBuyer corporations are probably waiting until the market stabilizes so they can jump back in. This will likely drop prices even more, making it a lucrative market for all of us.

Here’s how he thinks real estate agents should use their time while remaining safer at home:

Why real estate agents will have an advantage in the iBuyer movement…

“If you don’t have your ducks in order, if you haven’t lined up your strategy, or gotten your financing options in order, then you’re going to be that much further behind when the market opens back up. You need to use this time to do your prep work, due diligence, get that financing in order, and get your relationships in order. The time to do this is now! Get ready to go and start curating those relationships yesterday.”

Real estate agents who choose to go hybrid and offer options to their sellers like Hatch Realty offers will likely see a highly lucrative future over the next few years.

Why is that?

Because most real estate agents already have curated relationships!

Real estate agents have been building a brand under their name for years. This will help them when it comes time to help sellers in their community who are riddled with uncertainty and fear. They’re going to be looking for someone they can trust during this time. Agents are a great place to start.

Advice for real estate agents who are new to hybrid agent-investing:

“Hopefully you’ve already built a brand that people know, like, and trust. This is why realtors will be able to easily jump in as investors during this time. They’ve developed mind share and market share in a traditional setting! Their relationships are already curated, giving them a leg up on the competition.”

What about real estate investors or hybrid agent-investors already in the game?

Now is the time to go through your backlist of clients. We’re seeing a trend where sellers who were contacted upwards to a year ago are starting to raise their hands now. This is the time to make sure you’re staying in contact with those agents and developing a re-engagement strategy like the one we have for our members at RealEstateInvestor.com.

Your marketing and re-engagement strategy today could lead to dozens of closings down the road.

Final thoughts from Erik Hatch on the real estate market after the coronavirus:

“Understanding what sellers are feeling in tomorrow’s market should dictate the marketing that you do today. The market today is riddled with uncertainty, and it’s riddled with fear, and anxiety. We need to stand apart from the crowd and the competition with the message we have and the marketing we do. The most successful real estate entrepreneurs will give their sellers a choice that includes certainty, while their competition doesn’t offer this.

Our Snap Offer isn’t a gimmick and it’s not a catchphrase. Our value proposition is at such a higher level than what anybody else is able to offer right now on a traditional real estate deal because we provide options. And we can offer sellers certainty…”

What do we think about Erik’s advice to real estate entrepreneurs?

He’s spot on!

We’ve been shouting it from the rooftops over on our REI Beacon Facebook Group. Now is the time to work on getting your business prepared and getting ready to hit the ground running when the market opens its floodgates. We’re facing an unprecedented opportunity that those who start preparing now will reap the greatest reward.

We’re ready to help you get started.

We can help you start reaching out to sellers now so you can get those curated relationships started. Plus, we offer products and services that scale with you as your business scales, so that once you’re with us you can grow, grow, grow!

Let us guide you through this time… For FREE:

We’re committed to helping guide you through these uncharted waters. Join our free Facebook group and take advantage of our free resources, peer networking, and expert training here:

• Live Q&A’s with Experts Every Tuesday at 12PM PST
• Live Strategy Sessions with Industry Pros Every Thursday at 1PM PST

Stay safe everyone!