You read a book or purchased a mail order real estate investing program.  You may have even attended a weekend boot camp on a specific real estate investing technique.  You are now ready to get rich buying and selling real estate.  There are many good sources of information on the subject of real estate investing.  You will even find some on television infomercials and intensive boot camps.

But just because you have a real estate purchase agreement in hand does not mean that you will succeed as a real estate entrepreneur.  If you want to truly be successful in the field of real estate investing, you need to lay down a foundation on which you can build a successful business.

This article will give you seven steps you can take to lay that foundation.  The business you want to build is only as solid and the foundation you lay.  As a general contractor I can attest to the importance of a good, level foundation.  Your layout works well and everything fits in it’s proper place.  If it is out of square you will have a fight on your hands for the entire project.  Nothing will fit correctly.  If you have not foundation, you will likely wind up with a “junker” that has little value (ever tried getting a bank loan on a house without a foundation?).

By the same token, if a foundation is not solid the building will fail at some point.  The first tell-tale signs of a bad foundation may be drywall cracking and nails popping.  At some point the floor may start to sag.  If that happens a contractor will be called in to do major surgery on the foundation and then repair the damage to the house.

So, let’s build a good, solid foundation on which we can build a successful real estate empire.  Although this list is not all inclusive or listed in order of importance, the first foundation building block is:

Education

If you want to succeed as a professional real estate investor you must invest in education.  Without an education you live life like you’re hoping to win the lottery.  Someone once said, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”  Whoever said that is right.

Associate with like minded people.

My advice is to avoid negative thinkers.  Life is too short for you to surround yourself with people who bring you down.  Spend time with people who will build you up and offer good constructive advice.   There is nothing impossible for you.  You are only limited by what you think to be true.  Shakespeare wrote:  “There is nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so.”  There is real power, either for good or bad, in the words we speak and think.

As a real estate investor, meet regularly with a positive group of real estate investors.  If you can’t find a group, start one.  The local real estate investment club I lead was born that way. 

Build a Success Team

Building a team is one of the most important things you will do.  You need people to call to fill in some of the blanks for you and give you advice on how to accomplish your goals.  But don’t wait until you have a deal in place to build your team.  Have them in place by the time you have deal on the table.

My success team includes:

            A Mortgage Broker

B. Title Company

C.     Tax Expert

D. Attorney

E. Mentor

F. Insurance Agent

G.    Real Estate Broker

Be Tenacious

“We can do anything as long as we stick to it long enough.”  So said Helen Keller and she was right.

© 2008 by Don Loyd

Order Don’s new book, “Creating Wealth for Women.”  You can find it at www.CreatingWealthForWomen.net.