Finding Great Investment Opportunities

I’ve heard it said “look at one-hundred properties, make offers on ten, and close escrow on one.” There is a bit of truth in this cliche.  I look at several potential investment opportunities every day and very few of them work out.  If you are a good investor, you learn to evaluate deals quickly without investing too many resources.  I can say no to a deal in 60 seconds, but it can take a few days or weeks of study to say yes.

The first step in finding great investments is to write down your personal investment philosophy.  If you know what you are looking for and you articulate it, you will radically improve the odds of finding what you are looking for.  This may seem over simplified, but 95% of the people I meet cannot articulate what their investment criteria are.  How can you find something if you don’t know what you are looking for?  If you don’t have a personal investment philosophy, please call me and I will coach you through writing one.  It’s a free call, and I bet I will surprise you with how productive our time together is.

The second step is communicate your personal investment philosophy to people who have access to great deals.  THE BEST DEALS ARE NOT ON THE MLS!  They are not on loopnet, or some website somewhere.  The best deals never make it to the market.  Insider trading in real estate is the way fortunes are made AND it’s perfectly legal.  I never publish my deals on craigslist for some stranger to call.  Are you kidding?  When I have a great deal, I give a phone call to my business partners or I’ll send an email or a phone call to my list of best clients.  I am fortunate to have created great access to deal flow.  People bring me off market deals all of the time.  Sometimes the deals come from readers like you.  Recently, I’ve been getting a lot of great deal flow directly from banks because they know I represent a reputable investment fund.  If you want access to great investments, by all means don’t keep it a secret.

After you’ve articulated your personal investment philosophy to someone who has access to deal flow, it’s important to analyze opportunities quickly, thoroughly, and unemotionally.  I could write an entire book on the subject.  The best way I know how to learn real estate due diligence is on one of my investor field trips.

Evaluating investment opportunities can be very time consuming.  I spent this entire week doing due diligence on a property I’ve decided not to buy.  On one hand, I am frustrated I wasted a week of my life investigating a property that will not make me any money.  On the other hand, had I moved forward with the purchase I would have wasted far more time and resources. One of the best things about investing in group investments is someone else has filtered through hundreds of deals to find the opportunistic needle in the haystack. Then they assembled a mountain of due diligence information into a neat little package for your review.

If you want to be a relatively passive investor or you have limited experience, focus on hassle-free cash flow investments such as:

• Brand new, positive cashflow homes with 100% financing. Yes, this is possible!  Call me and I’ll show you how.
• Group investments (real estate syndication) in apartments or development projects managed by a professional.
• Private lending with the assistance of a mentor.

If you are interested in being a hassle-free cashflow investor, let me know and you’ll be added to our distribution list for investment opportunities.  Better yet, give me a call and we can customize a financial solution for you based on where you’re at now and where you want to be.

If you want to be an active real estate investor, consider soliciting the help of an professional investor such as myself to be your mentor partner on your first few deals.

Real estate can be exciting. It can also be profitable enough to noticeable improve your lifestyle. Don’t take things too seriously or too personally.  Be nice to everyone.  Continually strive for more balance in your life.  Take the middle path.

I wish you much success and happiness, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

David Campbell
Real Estate Investor / Developer / Financial Mentor
Founder of Hassle-Free Cash Flow Investing
707-373-9966
David@hasslefreecashflowinvesting.com