10 Pointers to Become a Successful Real Estate Investor

I am a real estate investor!

Now having 3 properties to my name, I guess I can officially call myself a “Real Estate Investor”. I want to first disclose that it is definitely not a fun and glamorous hobby, but I know that my kids will appreciate (or benefit) from this 15 years from now.  You see, I was one of those women who DID NOT want kids and just wanted to focus on my career goals (climb the Corporate Ladder with no personal liabilities…children) and earn my PhD, of course. All of a sudden, after earning my MBA, I wanted 5 children! Yes, you read that correctly… “5 kiddos”.

You know that saying “wait till your biological clock starts ticking”… well, it definitely ticked LOUD and CLEAR. I have 2 kids, and after giving birth to my son, I am now done as he is the equivalent to 4 boys, so in essence I made it to 5. You do not need to have a business background to get that joke.

Setting a future for my family

Having 3 properties and 5 kids (2 really) I realized that all I do now is work for my children. I want the best for them and I absolutely do not want to be a burden to them as I get older. On the contrary, I want to be able to provide to them what my immigrant parents were not (but always regretted) able to provide to me… a debt-free education and a debt-free property.

So, in my recently founded entrepreneurial mindset and advice instilled from a dear friend and business colleague, I went for it and began to invest in Real Estate.  In today’s society, you really don’t need much money to invest… TRUST ME!

Advice I can offer

Here are the 10 most important pointers that have worked for me:

1.      Your credit score is the key. So, if you haven’t pulled your credit report lately, please do so immediately and see what in the world you are being held accountable for that shouldn’t be there.

2.      If you are able to give a 20% down payment, DO IT! as this will avoid the additional PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance). PMI is basically additional cash you have to pay every month because you did not have a 20% down payment at the time of closing. However, you can give as little as 5%, 3% and based on some loan programs such as FHA you can even contribute a lower down payment (this is TRUE… as I tell my daughter…. “Google It”).