Home : The Five Critical Habits of Real Estate Success

The Five Critical Habits of Real Estate Success

Posted by Michael Sexton on 3/26/2007 at 9:26 PM
Posted in Real Estate

In his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey observed that a lot of our success is built on the small habits that we cultivate daily. That principle applies to real estate investing too. If you observe successful real estate investors and developers, you will see that they have cultivated some highly effective habits too:

Habit #1: Being curious. Successful real estate investors hunger to learn something new every day. One day, they will learn all about a new kind of mortgage. The next day, it will be a new kind of insulation. Their learning never stops.

Habit #2: Staying flexible. Only supple people triumph in real estate, because things change so quickly. One year it makes no sense to invest in a certain city; the next year, it is hot. One year adjustable mortgages seem ideal; the next year, they make no sense. Inflexible, opinionated people cannot adapt quickly enough to survive. To win, you have to stay open-minded and agile.

Habit #3: Looking at properties. You can learn a lot about real estate by reading books or Web surfing. But you cannot learn everything that way. After all, it is called real estate because it is all about real things: land, concrete and wood. That is why top investors never stop looking at properties. Doing so provides information that they can never find in books. Is the ground in one part of town mushy underfoot, for example? Are houses made by a particular builder more solid-feeling than others? Nobody is going to tell you that kind of thing; you need to get out there and see for yourself.

Habit #4: Cultivating the gift of gab. Nearly all successful investors love to chat with everyone they see in the course of their days - with shopkeepers, pedestrians, police officers and virtually anyone else who can offer insights on what is happening in different communities. If you don’t like talking to people, you are not going to make it in the real estate business.

Habit #5: Reading real estate ads - obsessively. Your friends and family members might wonder why you sit there reading all those property listings every day. (Sometimes, you might wonder why you are doing it too.) But just as stock market investors pore over stock listings, successful real estate investors are addicted to property ads. Reading those ads daily, over a period of years, builds a broad knowledge base that no book could ever provide.

If this kind of thinking makes sense to you - and I believe that it should - I invite you to join us in Trump University’s Real Estate Investor Training Program. The time to start cultivating winning habits and knowledge about real estate is now.

Michael Sexton is President of Trump University.

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10 Comments

Posted by member1546256 on 03/27/2007 12:13 PM

hi michael,
i totally agree with your 5 critical habits of real estate succes, may i add in 2 more which are relevant to where i am staying i.e. Singapore:

Keeping eyes, ears open to the government estate planning/direction/ & property market trend this will give first hand information on which area is hot and what is not!
lastly networking with the good professional real estate brokers, bankers and lawyers; these people are good sources of information on the ground

Posted by u243520 on 03/27/2007 2:04 PM

Great habits, but we forgot one - to treat it as a business. Most real estate investors fail becuase they do not work the real estate business, they get caught up in the hype and fail to plan.

What you can take away from investors such as Mr. trump is that you need to understadn the value of your project and how you are going to cash flow, hold for equity appreciation and continue to build the empire. Too many inexpereinced investors look for the fast buck and thatis why they get burned.

Posted by jhaynes on 03/27/2007 2:08 PM

Great tips. I hang my license at RE/MAX of Buckhead in Atlanta GA where there are numerous successful agents. I love to ask questions and I have heard these from some of the other agents and agree completely. You really need to get out there with business cards and talk to EVERYONE!!! It will be a little hard at first but if you expect someone to say no when you ask if they would like to or know someone who would like to buy or sell a home, then it becomes much easier. ALWAYS HAVE BUSINESS CARDS ON YOU

Posted by member1257936 on 03/27/2007 2:34 PM

As a Builder/Developer (3-4 small projects at a time) Broker team in the Seattle area my husband and I do keep close tabs on local multiple listings, craigslist, the Times, Little Nickel and FSBO’s but haven't been reading real estate ads daily. Usually Wednesday and on weekends. I hadn't viewed ads as a vast knowledge base other than in market analysis, inventory and setting prices for our own projects. Thanks for the info we'll give it a whirl.

Regards, Elaine S.

Posted by member1544719 on 03/27/2007 4:28 PM

I'd like to modify habit #4 to the gift of Listening. Asking a few pertinent questions will illicit a wealth of information from individuals who like to talk. The longer I stay silent, the more information I'm given.

Posted by member1540473 on 03/27/2007 8:46 PM

Very good article, as are the others - again know how to use the passion emotion and when not to. Numbers and emotions - it does work - in any endeavor (spelling??) If you want - You Can Have it. Check out free advertising and like said Listen Listen Listen. Also ask ask ask. It isn't personal, it is only business Best of luck? Best of working a defined plan. Many happy returns!!!

Posted by member1516804 on 03/27/2007 10:28 PM

One must have a vison of what a Dump can be turned into People pay a lot of money for someone elses Vison that they could not see for them self . Brown fields are being turned into Fabulous Real Estae Properties Once garbe strewen art infested locations have been turned into multi million dollar Condos and Homes just because someone took a chance and made they vison come to fruition Build Your Vison and they will come with millions in hand to give to you

Posted by member1483533 on 03/28/2007 9:48 AM

I agree with The Five Critical Habits ,And I also know from reading what you said . There are only so much that can be taught and the rest are habits that we form about ourself.

Posted by member1547509 on 03/29/2007 12:30 PM

I've just started preparing to buy my first home. As a college student, I want to be a careful and possible when investing my money. I've done a lot of research and I really appreciate the "5 critical habits", as well as the other information in the Trump Blog.
Another website, based in Chicago, has helped me a lot. It's called Villa Lola Properties and the website is http://www.villalolaproperties.com/
If you click on the "buyer" tab upon entering, there are several hints for first time home buyers. Check it out!

Posted by member1541181 on 04/06/2007 7:00 AM

Dear MIchael

My comments in your blog, I shall present as in following

Comment on habit #2
Flexibility in the real estates business must be rational and controlled. The focus in flexibility, in my opinion must be headed for two options: things to be dismissed and things to be approved. Once an issue (real estate) is considered not worthy to deal with, must be prioritized as second in importance level. It is completely wrong if we consider as dismissed the things that are not important for the very moment. Lets keep them for an another time! Things (real estates) that are prioritized as very important must be developed and headed to higher levels of action. Learning the skills of flexibility helps the agents to challenge the bargainers and potential buyers by producing their facts and positive elements of a property.
Comment on habit #3.
It is very important to collect necessary "evidence" for your business. By looking the other properties you may see other interesting facts. Why? Because… Different people have various tastes and economical chances, so it is reflected in their properties. Or, different states apply various standards of habitual facilities, and may be you need them. For example: imagine you that in certain areas of an antique town renovation is prohibited, so you as an agent have to tell it to the purchaser, or better saying let them know.
Facts about properties sometimes help you to challenge the potential contractors in a bargain, because when talking to final price, they may attack you with their facts, and only facts let them persuade their final decision for purchasing a real estate or not.

Best regards

Driton

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