Whether you are a first-time real estate investor or a seasoned pro, you will recognize that the real estate investing business can be quite time consuming and requires you to wear many hats. You have to somehow source properties, manage a team of real estate professionals, deal with the daily tasks of running your business, and somehow effectively accomplish this all on your own. It is the investors who are organized and learn how to properly manage their time who will have the greatest chance of success.
Set a Schedule
You may have wanted to become a real estate investor so you can be your own boss, but don’t allow that newfound freedom make you forget how to wake up ready for the workday ahead of you. Even if you are working from home as you grow your real estate business instead of sitting in an office, sharpen those time management skills so you efficiently get stuff accomplished.
Just as teachers will create lesson plans for their classes so they know each day what they’ll be teaching, investors should make a to-do list and organize their time so they know when they will be working on each task. Give yourself a set time to answer emails, catch up on voicemails or phone calls, and schedule important appointments or confirm pre-existing ones so you are all ready to start the day. Depending on the person, some investors may even find it helpful to set a schedule the night before, so they know what they will be waking up to the following morning.
Use Technology to Your Advantage
It is the 21st century, so rather than having to make it more difficult on yourself doing certain tasks, let technology help do it for you. Anything that can save you more time will help speed things along so you can start checking items off that to-do list. For instance, use an online calendar that can sync up to all your electronic devices like phones, tablets or laptops, so you can easily keep track of your daily schedule even after you leave the house.
Rather than spending extra hours balancing your company’s bookkeeping or calculating expenses and profits by hand, use software that will do this for you and reduce the amount of time that could then be spent on other things. Even if you aren’t well-versed in certain financial aspects of the business, utilizing technological tools can be extremely beneficial in streamlining your day.
Rental investors may find rental property software an especially useful technological tool for better organizing their investments. Rental property software, like those offered through the property management company Cozy, are designed to allow investors to input their properties’ information, list the property, screen for tenants, and collect monthly rent. Using this technology can help rental investors more efficiently manage their days and leave them more time to handle other issues.
When in Doubt, Hire Help
This may be the most vital piece of advice. If you are trying to avoid wearing too many hats, hire others to wear some of the hats for you. Whether you are fixing and flipping a property or are being a landlord for a buy and hold investment, it can become overwhelming trying to juggle all the different components. Investors should play to their strengths, so hiring outside help and building a team of real estate professionals will help increase your business’s productivity. It may cost you a bit more having all these people involved, but it will ultimately help you better manage your time in areas you aren’t skilled with so you can focus on specific parts of the business that need more of your attention.
- If you are a busy investor, hire an assistant or sourcing manager to try and locate your properties for you.
- When you are ready to renovate, unless you are capable of fully rehabbing a property all by yourself, find a reliable contractor to do the job for you.
- If you have a lot of properties in the process of being fixed, hire a property manager to oversee the daily tasks on some of them since you can’t be in five places at once.
- Let a real estate agent market your investments when they are ready to either be sold or rented.
- Keep a real estate lawyer on retainer so they’ll understand all the legal issues that investors need to be aware of and you won’t have to worry about spending hours examining documents you aren’t familiar with.
- Have an accountant keep track of your books, so you are confident your finances are accurate.
- If renting out your property, consider hiring a property management company to manage the unit, especially if you are renting out multiple properties in the same area. You may not have enough time to give your full attention to each one.
Conclusion
Whatever you can do as an investor to manage your time more effectively will ultimately be beneficial to you both now and in the long run. Keep yourself organized and delegate your time to tasks that urgently need your attention rather than trying to tackle every problem at once. Don’t allow the many pieces involved in real estate investing overwhelm you. It is important to not only create a schedule but stick to it. It isn’t what you plan to do in theory, but rather how you execute it that will determine your success in real estate investing.
