I have been taking inventory of our Real Estate purchases and how much they are worth today and have learned one simple lesson. Why on earth did we sell the home on Metropolitan way or the home on Diana way when we didn't get any money for it. We practically sold them for what we paid and worse considering that we lost $50,000 when we sold the unit in Park City. Why did I get pressured to selling it for such a low price? Today all those properties are worth a half of a million dollars. But live and learn!
I was looking on line at some condos to buy for Mandy since she needs to move out of where they have been living for the past three years and get into their own place, I came across this post on Facebook that I agree with.
From an on line source:
I was looking on line at some condos to buy for Mandy since she needs to move out of where they have been living for the past three years and get into their own place, I came across this post on Facebook that I agree with.
From an on line source:
One time I had a boss who was obsessed with the
book, The 7 Habits of
Highly Effective People. He’s not alone. The book has 3,176 reviews on
Amazon – with 72% being a 5-star rating! As part of a performance improvement program,
my boss make me read the book. As such, I went through a personal coaching
session where every week we went over a chapter and how it applied to my job.
The meetings started at 6:00 a.m. and I actually looked forward to them because
I got so much out of this book!
We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. ~ Aristotle
Hopefully this guide will help you become more
profitable in your real estate business.
Let’s get started!
Habit 1: Be Proactive
I want you to be completely realistic when you read
this article. How much of your workday yesterday was “reactive” versus
“proactive”?
How can you grow and get what you want accomplished if
you are spending most of your day in “reactive” mode?
To change this, most would assume that I am going to
recommend to set a schedule and stick to it. However, that’s the second part.
The first part is that you need to create a vision
statement.
What ultimate goal are you trying
to reach?
My vision is this:
To build enough recurring cash-flow and paid-off real
estate to travel more, spend more time with family, and to give
more to organization and my Church.
Habit 2: Begin With The End In Mind
To truly change you need to rescript how you think and
act. Additionally, you need to change how you portray yourself to others. You
have a vision now, but let’s also put together a mission statement.
One major thing I am working on is a personal mission
statement.
This is an example of what could be Vero's personal
mission statement:
•
Succeed at home first.
•
Seek and merit divine help.
•
Never compromise with honesty.
•
Remember the people involved.
•
Hear both sides before judging
•
Obtain counsel of others.
•
Defend those who are absent.
•
Be sincere yet decisive.
•
Develop on new proficiency a year.
•
Plan tomorrow’s work today.
•
Hustle while you wait.
•
Maintain a positive attitude.
•
Keep a sense of humor.
•
Be orderly in person and in work.
•
Do not fear mistakes – fear only the absence of creative,
constructive, and corrective responses to those mistakes.
•
Facilitate the success of subordinates.
•
Listen twice as much as you speak.
•
Concentrate all abilities and efforts on the task at
hand, not worrying about the next job or promotion.
Habit 3: Put First Things First
Things which matter most must
next be at the mercy of things which matter least. – Goethe
Habit three is the personal fruit, the practical
fulfillment of Habit one and Habit
two. The truly devout 7 Habits Cultist use a time management
matrix.
Time Management Matrix
Urgent
|
Not Urgent
|
|
Important
|
Quadrant
1
•
•
Crisis
•
•
Pressing problems
•
•
Deadline driven projects
•
|
Quadrant
2
•
•
Relationship building
•
•
Finding new opportunities
•
•
Long-term planning
•
•
Preventive activities
•
•
Personal growth
•
•
Recreation
•
|
Not Important
|
Quadrant
3
•
•
Interruptions
•
•
Emails, calls, meetings
•
•
Popular activities
•
•
Proximate, pressing matters
•
|
Quadrant
4
•
•
Trivial, busy work
•
•
Time wasters
•
•
Some calls and emails
•
•
Pleasant activities
•
|
I have seen several of my superiors use it
effectively.
Be incredibly self-aware of your
most valuable asset: your time.
Importantly, remember that it is daily habits that
will help you accomplish your ultimate vision.
You are going to have to really focus on this habit if
you are a real estate investor on the side, while managing a full-time job and
a family. This is not easy at all. Be incredibly self-aware of your most
valuable asset: your time.
Habit 4: Think Win-Win
Admittedly, I am extremely bad at this habit.
I’m an analytical type and extremely brief and to the
point. However, in real estate you have to communicate with various types of
people. Specifically, you have to communicate with several different types of
communicators than yourselves:
•
Realtors
•
Sellers
•
Buyers
•
Loan Officers
•
Title Companies
•
Tenants
All of these people represent not only different
professions, but different values and different communication styles. Even
though I am short and to the point, most people prefer and long explanation of
why you want something done a certain way.
Think about an upcoming interaction. How are you going
to keep a high courage balanced with a high consideration?
Habit 5: Seek First To Understand, Then To Be
Understood
This is yet another habit that I am not naturally good
at. I am a fast action-taker. As such, I sometime react prematurely to events.
It would be a lot better if I had learned to completely understand the other
persons point of view first.
My parents constantly repeated the old adage,
attributed to Mark Twain:
It is better to keep your mouth
closed and let people think you area fool than to open it and remove all doubt.
When attending meetings, I’m amazed at the
miscommunication simply how people use words differently.
A lot of people react prematurely and sometimes cause
an unnecessary fight.
Always Seek First To Understand.
Instead of reacting to something that immediately tips
you off, say:
“Let me make sure I understand, what I’m hearing you
say is [ repeat back your version of what you heard ]”
This does 2 things:
1 It
obviously makes sure you understand their point of view
2 It
gives you a couple of seconds to calm down – if you were about to blow your lid
If you are presenting something, base this off
empathy. Make the presentation about not only your audience, but your point of
view.
Habit 6: Synergize
It’s virtually impossible to do anything in real
estate by yourself.
In transactions I’m involved in as a real estate
investor it is typical that the borrower and seller have opposing views.
However, it doesn’t have to be like this.
For example,I’m currently trying to purchase some land
for both timber and recreational use. This land has been for sale for 3 years
and the seller hasn’t had a single offer. It’s already priced well below
market. My first offer was to lease the land for a year then purchase it. My
goal was to see if I wanted use of the land.
The seller simply responded to my offer with a “no” –
he has no interest in leasing the land.
Instead of getting my feelings hurt and forgetting
about the deal, I dig-in and question what is the best outcome. I
ultimately find out that after 3 years, he just wants to be “done with the
property.”
I emphatically ask:
How valuable would it be then if
I paid in cash and could close in 7 days?
This forced him to not just view me as an adversary
but a helpful business partner.
How are you trying to synergize with people who are
currently viewing you as an adversary?
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw
This chapter starts with a story about someone who is
too busy sawing a tree down, to stop and sharpen it.
Habit seven is really all about yourself. After all,
how can you take care of others if you yourself are not ok?
A group of young entrepreneurs gathered on Necker
Island and asked Richard Branson,”how do you become more productive?”
How do you become more
productive?
He leaned back and thought for a second. Then he said,
“Work Out.”
It’s not what you would immediately think of when
becoming more productive. However, have you ever regretted taking 30 minutes
off of your day to workout? I know I haven’t. I come back a lot more energized
and ready to work some more.
Don’t forget to take care of yourself everyday and
sharpen the saw!
Summary
I highly encourage all of you to read it with someone
older than you, to help mentor you through the principles.
In the summary of the book it has a diagram of: The
Upward Spiral
Where you Learn, Commit and Do
You have not learned several habits of the most
effective people.
What are you going to commit to?
What are you going to do?
Further Reading: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective
People
About Jimmy Moncrief
Jimmy is a multifamily real estate
investor and bank credit officer. He has written a complimentary bank
negotiating guide on how to get around the 80% LTV rule which can be found at http://realestatefinancehq.com/
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