10. Excel at relationships
Real estate is a relationships business. If you don’t know how to treat people and build deep relationships, you won’t last long. You need to interact well with tenants, vendors, other real estate professionals and commercial property investors.
9. Have solid financials
Without reliable financials, how will you know how your investment is performing? What’s its internal rate of return? Is it a good time to sell? To refinance?
8. Know property values
Knowing your property’s market value is essential. This not only applies to getting a fair price when you sell an apartment building, or office or retail property, but accuracy in rental rates as well.
7. Be ready to handle fires
This isn’t one of those things you want to have to scramble for at the last minute when your building is already smoking. Make sure you have a team in place to handle any issue, whether it’s financial, legal, insurance, or construction-related.
6. Be open to paying brokerage commissions
Vacancies are lost income. If you can rent a space faster by paying a brokerage commission, pay it. Losing months of rent to avoid it is not a winning gamble.
5. Know landlord-tenant laws
Massachusetts has extensive landlord-tenant laws, and they aren’t very forgiving to landlords who break them.
4. Have a good insurance agent
Insurance companies didn’t become financial giants by paying every claim. Make sure you have a strong insurance agent that will properly protect your assets.
3. Vendors and value
Vendor selection can make all the difference in the profitability of any commercial property or apartment complex. Don’t hire the cheapest vendor. Look for the best value.
2. Technology can help
Everything from marketing, rent collection, bookkeeping, banking and managing tenant interactions can benefit from it.
1. Investor field can grow
Changing federal securities laws have created new and interesting possibilities for real estate financing. While these laws are new and untested, they may provide more opportunity for investors to own real estate as part of a balanced portfolio.
