Cultivate Your Real Estate "FARM"

-Be a Postman!?

By David Krebsbach, Investor / Realtor
Keller Williams Realty - Allen

Were you raised as a "farm boy or girl?" Or were you one of those "city slickers?" Well, either way, we goin' to the farm today! No, I don't mean the usual kind of farm; we're talkin' about Real Estate here. I'm talkin' about your Real Estate FARM! What? You don't have one?! Well, you better get one if you're going to become a serious player in the real estate investor world.

Let's talk about what a "Farm" is, how you develop one, and why you should do it. We all started out as "newbies", "greenhorns", "greenies", or something. That's ok, that's where you start. But how do you get to the point where you are "experienced", an "expert", "veteran", or "pro?" Well, a Farm is an excellent way to get there (it's a good way to make some good money, too!).

You may have heard of the concept of looking at 100 houses to learn how much houses are worth. Pick yourself a neighborhood near you that has small "starter" homes (first-time homes). Probably in the $30,000-$75,000 range. Find a neighborhood that is approx. 20-40 years old. This is because these neighborhoods are old enough to need repair, remodeling, and general fix-up and can be bought cheaply, often with easy terms.

Drive up and down EVERY street. Look at EVERY house. Write down EVERY house which is for sale. Call the number on EVERY For-Sale sign. Ask EVERY question you can think of about the property. Walk up to EVERY house for sale. Knock on the door. Ask about the house. If no one is home, knock on the neighbor's door. Ask them if they know anything about the house or how to reach the owner. Do the same for EVERY vacant house in the neighborhood, whether there's a For-Sale sign or not. Talk to the postman, he knows who is interested in selling in the neighborhood. He sees these people EVERY day. He knows what's going on in the area. He's like the old-time barber at the barber shop. He talks to everybody and knows what's going on in the area. He sees these people and their houses every day. And they love to talk to him.

Whenever you pass anywhere near this area, drive through the neighborhood. Look for new signs of deteriorated property, new For-Sale signs, anyone who is currently remodeling, talk to the construction workers, etc. You will find other investors this way. Talk to them. Find out what they're doing and looking for. Find out what they know about the area. For crying out loud - NETWORK! with them. That's the reason we're here at AIREO talking about this stuff.

Develop your farm. Make this your area of expertise. Buy, fix-up, rent, resell, flip, do whatever you like. But get to know this area, and everyone in it, like your own backyard. NETWORK with the people who live there. YOU WILL BECOME AN EXPERT, VETERAN, PRO. This is your Farm. You will find it easy to find and make deals in this area, because you will have the knowledge, familiarity, and confidence. You will do these deals over and over again. You will make a nice profit each time and gain more and more expertise and confidence.

Even after you branch out and do bigger/better deals elsewhere, it's always nice to have your farm where you can go back and do another quick deal. Make a buck, between other deals. There's nothing like going back to the good ol' farm.