In this post, we ask the question: what exactly is it that creates property investment success?
We finish up our rundown of the 10 points of the Guerrilla Property Manifesto (you can find the start of this series here).
“The Guerrilla Property Investor operates within the confines of the law and has the highest ethical standards. Ethics can generate you referrals.” -- Guerrilla Property Manifesto, Point #9
It goes without saying that we as property investors should operate with the highest ethical standards...
But wouldn’t it be great to know that doing so could actually get us more business?
Now we all know that dealing with motivated sellers is one of the best ways to find highly discounted property (these people value things like speed, confidentiality and security above price).
But these sellers are often vulnerable: they may have debt issues or may just have experienced a divorce or bereavement.
And for that reason, we shouldn’t be going in there with a “do a deal at all costs” mentality...
Instead, we should go in with a “solve the seller’s problem” mentality...
So for example, if the seller is in financial difficulty and you spot that they have a really high interest rate on their mortgage then (assuming they would prefer to stay in their home), the right thing to do is *not* to buy their property...
Instead, you should advise them to see if they can get a better rate with their lender or offer to refer them to a mortgage advisor who can search the whole market for them.
If those options don’t work then you can talk about buying their property...
If you operate like this, then your reputation in the area will soon spread and you’ll end up getting referrals from people who’s problems you solved as well as those whose houses you bought.
You’ll also sleep better at night.
If you don’t currently have a system that can generate motivated seller leads at will, then take a look at this page here.
“The Guerrilla Property Investor has a focus that can cut steel. He does not get distracted by ‘shiny objects’ and carries his projects through to completion in record time.” -- Guerrilla Property Manifesto, Point #10
When I first started in property in 2003, I was on all the right forums, I read the right magazines and I went to the right networking events...
But I just couldn’t seem to make any headway...
Why?
Well one of the reasons was that I would jump from shiny object to shiny object: one minute I’d be looking at buy-to-let, the next minute I’d be into buying off-plan (a very popular strategy back then) ad the next minute I’d be into flipping.
I never stuck with one thing for long enough to allow myself to be successful...
But when I finally found my groove, my business went stratospheric...
I found something that worked and I stuck with it...
What worked?
Marketing for motivated sellers and then holding / packaging / flipping the deals that were generated...
It might not be super-sexy by the standards of some of the highfalutin strategies being peddled by some of the gurus these days...
But it’s proven, it works and it’s the bread and butter of some of the most successful property investors out there...
And if you want to take a peek at how we can streamline and automate this process for you, check out this page here.
You can go back to the start of the Guerrilla Property Manifesto here.
<< Back to Rental Property Investment from Property Investment Success
<< Back to Property Investment Blueprint from Property Investment Success