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Stephen Covey’s book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” is certainly a game changer when it comes to self-improvement, getting more done and living a life you are proud of. The lessons from that book are also directly applicable to and will dictate your success as a buy-rehab-rent-refinance-repeat or BRRRR strategy investor. We want to walk through the principles of that book and show you how the lessons learned there should carry over to your BRRRR investing.
Real estate investing and applying the BRRRR method to fuel your real estate portfolio are, at their heart, a business. The quality of the relationships that you develop with your lenders, deal finders, wholesalers, contractors, property managers, tenants and real estate agents, which are all essential to your success as a BRRRR investor, will stem from the quality of your character. Keep your word, pay on time, do not nickel and dime those who are crucial to your success, do as you say you will. Your relationships, which you are responsible for cultivating, will be the most crucial aspect of your ultimate results.
Success will stem from happiness and positivity, not the other way around. BRRRR investing and real estate in general have their ups and downs. Take a long-term perspective and know that if you are applying sound principles consistently that you will find the success and financial freedom you are likely seeking. That inevitability should allow you to view all challenges along the way with an optimistic attitude.
You control your life and your path to success, nobody else. This means that you need to be proactive when it comes to building your real estate portfolio. Nobody is going to just knock on your door with deals (at least at the start) or as a tenant looking for a place to rent. Nobody else is going to take the time to appropriately vet the team of agents, lenders, contractors and property managers you will have to construct. You have to put a team and systems in place to fuel your success. Laziness is the antidote for success.
If this were easy, everyone would do it. How are you going to react in the tough moments of real estate investing? That is a choice you can make and control. When the next problem strikes in your next BRRRR deal, you need to be in charge of your emotions and response. 1000s of people were real estate investors before you and countless others will be real estate investors after you. Chances are, any problem that you see someone else will already have dealt with. It is important to stay calm and manage your emotions in these circumstances as you will inevitably be able to do your best thinking as your stress level is reduced. We are always here to help guide you as well if you need a second opinion on any issue you are having with your BRRRR projects.
Your success as a real estate investor requires you to have a clear vision of what you hope to achieve. After all, how can you measure success without an established objective you are aiming to reach? Is your goal to build a massive portfolio? Do you want to purchase one property a year? Do you have a set amount of passive income that you want to achieve with your BRRRR property portfolio? Know where you need to go so you can take the steps necessary to take you down that path.
As an investor, you will have a big network of people you will depend on for your success as a BRRRR investor. See point 1 above to see the folks that will comprise just a part of that network. What do you want them to say to themselves about you when they think of you? What qualities do you want them to convey about you to others? What ethics do you value in others that make you want to recommend someone to another person? Live the values as a real estate investor that you want to leap to the forefront of the minds of those people in your success network.
Focus your energies first on those things that are the most urgent. The things that are most urgent are those that, if done correctly, will play the biggest part in the success you desire. In real estate investing, usually these are the things that most people least like to do such as interviewing real estate agents, contractors, lenders and property managers to build their team first or understanding how to appropriately analyze deals so that they are getting the math right every time. Anyone can comb Zillow or other real estate sites for deals, but that is the easiest part. Build the foundations of your team and take daily actions that emphasize those actions that will give you the best return on investment of your time before tackling the little things that show up in each BRRRR project.
Part of making great BRRRR deals and establishing a reputation as someone who people want to work with is thinking about deals on a win-win basis. For example, being cheap with contractors is destined to bring you unmotivated contractors with lackluster talent. Trying to skimp when it comes to real estate agents is going to cause them to never bring you deals they hear of. Treating people you purchase properties from in a disrespectful manner is a message that will travel to other potential sellers. Negotiate hard, but remember that long-term value almost always outweighs short-term results.
Be courteous, have integrity and keep your word. Follow the golden rule and you will be fine. It is so simple that we often forget it, or over-complicate things.
Being a great listener is going to bring you great BRRRR projects. Maybe a potential seller mentions something to you that indicates their motivations for selling that you can use to your benefit. Maybe someone in your network is telling you about a new neighborhood, market or trend that could give you an advantage over other competing investors. Seek first to understand rather than to be understood. People love to hear themselves talk and will be happy to share their thoughts with you. You, as a savvy BRRRR investor, will reap the value of that exercise in listening to others.
No great BRRRR investor can do it alone. You need a team of lenders, deal-finders, agents, contractors and others who care about your success because your goals and theirs are directly aligned. Use the abilities and resources of others and bring them along for the ride both financially and from a value perspective. There is so much you likely do not know or do not have the time to do yourself. The team you took time to build as a first priority is your lifeline here. Surround yourself with people who are great at the things you are not.
You can never be a great BRRRR investor over the long-term if you do not take care of yourself. Educate and fuel your mind. Provide your body with the rest, exercise and nutrition it needs to be in a peak state. Develop the social skills you need to work successfully with others and build an incredible team of people who love working with you. Foster the emotional intelligence necessary to view your BRRRR investing always through an optimistic prism and to handle the ups and downs that come with building a great real estate portfolio and reaching the financial freedom you are seeking. Continue growing your financial intelligence.
To make your entire investing experience easier, I hope you consider checking out what BRRRRInvest.com has to offer for those following the BRRRR method for building a real estate portfolio. Our solution can help you in many aspects of investing, including analyzing deals through our BRRRR calculator and real estate deal analyzer, generating offer letters and even editing and signing fill-in-the-blank template contracts prepared by professional attorneys with your tenants, contractors and property managers. Get access to our your risk-free, free trial now and do more deals than before before! Learn more.
Source: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey
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