How To Build A Durable System To Balance Your Job & Real Estate Investing in 2023
A 5-step system to build a real estate portfolio for busy professionals
Welcome back, fellow Hybrids!
I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday.
In today’s newsletter, I’ll discuss a 5-step system for balancing your full-time job with real estate investing.
(Today’s issue takes ~4 minutes to read)
Balancing real estate investing with a full-time job can be challenging, but it is possible with careful planning and organization.
Unfortunately, most people fail before they even start due to a lack of process.
Without a system, you will tread water & eventually quit.
Here is a common sequence of inner dialogue for people with no system:
"I don't have time to search for deals"
"There's too much paperwork involved"
"These numbers make my eyes glaze over"
"This isn't worth the effort"
Success won't come overnight. However, there are simple steps you can take to put yourself in a position to succeed:
Step 1: Set clear goals & priorities
Before you start investing in real estate, it's important to be clear about what you want to achieve.
Are you looking to generate “passive” income? (Hint: Owning rental real estate is not passive)
Are you hoping to flip properties for a quick profit?
Morgan Housel, author of the bestselling book The Psychology of Money had this advice:
“Figure out what game you’re playing, then play it (and only it).
So few investors do this. Maybe they have a vague idea of their game, but they haven’t clearly defined it. And when they don’t know what game they’re playing, they’re at risk of taking their cues and advice from people playing different games, which can lead to risks they didn’t intend and outcomes they didn’t imagine.”
If you work 50 hours a week and have 3 kids, you probably won’t get much helpful advice from a bachelor wholesaler that works on real estate 7 days a week.
Set goals that align with YOUR priorities!
Step 2: Get organized
Yes, investing in real estate requires a lot of paperwork…Luckily we live in an age where organizing your digital life is easier than ever before.
I suggest setting up the following:
Google Drive or Dropbox to quickly save any research, deal sheets, reference files, etc.
Email folders for daily listing updates from your agent, Zillow or Redfin
(If you don‘t separate these, your inbox will be a zoo…)
Start there, nice and simple.
We will get into additional technology below.
Step 3: Delegate & outsource
As a full-time employee, you likely can’t make & take calls during the work day. (Or can you?)
That's where delegation and outsourcing can come in handy. This can come in many forms.
Examples include:
Property Managers
Collect & deposit rent
Schedule & coordinate repairs
Process & screen tenant applications
Real Estate Agents
Curate listings based on your investing criteria
Conduct virtual showings or video walkthroughs of a prospective property
Coordinate transaction deals for purchases & sales
Virtual Assistants
Researching properties & filtering prospective deals (so you only receive listings within your parameters)
Add/update/remove listings for rental units
Digital file management and auditing
Addressing renter issues & scheduling repairs
These are only a few out of hundreds of examples of how you can outsource some of the tedious daily work to professionals.
NOTE: If you are looking for a VA, I have been thrilled with Accelstone. Reply or DM me on Twitter if you want me to make an introduction.
Step 4: Utilize technology & automate where possible
Today’s world is packed with tools and resources available to help you manage your real estate investments without encroaching on your full-time job.
My “Tech Stack” includes the following:
Apartments.com for rent collection & contract management
TenantCloud for communication with my property manager
Zillow Rental Manager for listings & rental applications
Stessa for bookkeeping and reporting (lots of automation options)
DealCheck for analyzing deals in 5 minutes or less
All of these tools take processes that used to be incredibly cumbersome and boiled them down into bite-sized chunks.
Instead of doomscrolling on your breaks at work, try analyzing a few deals.
Step 5: Be patient
Ok, so technically, this isn't a tactical step...but it's a necessary one.
Real estate investing takes time and patience. It's important to be prepared for the ups and downs that come with the market and to stay committed to your goals even when things get tough.
I’ll end with good news.
The systems you set up to buy your first property can be leveraged to buy your 2nd, 3rd & 4th properties.
Build an efficient system upfront and put yourself in a position to scale effectively, no matter how busy the rest of your life gets. You’ll thank yourself later.
Happy New Year in advance! See you next week.
-Aaron