Real estate success? It happens by way of the many things you repeatedly do right, and it is your habits that ensure they get done. Here are some habits to develop for your real estate investing success.

Ask for people’s names, and tell them yours. People are your most valuable resource in real estate investing. The more you know, the more likely you are to find good properties, or buyers for your good properties. Get to know the right people too. Start with a real estate agent that gets many listings of the type you are interested in. Wouldn’t it be nice if he called you first?

Think numbers. Think people first, but know the relevant numbers. Ideally, when you look at a rental property, for example, you should be thinking about the income, the expenses, and the cap rate. You should be imagining how certain changes would allow you to raise the income, and what that would do to the value. Having a “feeling” about a property, and ignoring the numbers, gets investors into trouble. (more…)