Real estate is an investment niche that’s not for everyone, if we’re perfectly honest. You have to be comfortable tolerating an at times uncomfortable level of risk and be willing to become a master of many trades.

But for those who have some guts, gumption and yes, cash on hand, it can bring lucrative rewards.

If you’re ready to give real estate investing a try or want to expand your existing portfolio, here are four key areas to focus on – and what you need to master with each if you want to go far.

Investing

To truly go far in real estate, you have to become a master of finance. It is a numbers game, after all. Not only do you generally need at least a 20 percent down payment, you also need to determine how you’re going to finance other parts of your investment property, including taxes, maintenance costs and other operational expenses.

Crunch the numbers, crunch them again, and when you’re not actively calculating costs for a specific property, spend your free time learning everything you can about finances and investment strategies.

Sales

Success in sales requires you to become a master of relationships. Understand what motivates your potential buyers, and commit time and effort to developing trustworthy relationships with them. Building up a strong network will pay dividends when it comes to your long-term real estate investment goals and strategy.

Property Management

Rental properties don’t run themselves. To efficiently manage one, 100 or 1,000 properties, you need to become a master of operations (or to hire one). Define your processes, create checklists and workflows, and hone your operational efficiency by streamlining each step in the process – from leasing and maintenance to unit turnover and everything in between. Find your flow and commit it to paper so it’s repeatable, sustainable and profitable.

Property Development

This real estate process requires you to become an expert in all 3 areas: investing, sales and property management. To engage in property development you must have the relational skills to buy and sell properties, the financial backing to fund it, and the property management know-how to revive existing properties or develop them from the ground up so they are rent-ready.

If you are interested in real estate investment or have questions about the market in Columbus, Ohio, please get in touch with us at RL Property Management.