How to achieve your real estate goals in 2019

Every new year is another opportunity to review, re-strategise and re-launch. In order to achieve your real estate goals, you need to keep the ball constantly in front of you.

The real estate investment landscape is constantly changing although it does not change as suddenly and dramatic as comparable investments such as stocks and shares.

Real estate investment is relatively stable and generally moves upwards in value over a long period of time. Nevertheless, it is imperative for you to plan and approach it systematically if you are an investor and you seek to make profit in a big way from it.

Before you begin planning for this year in earnest, I believe that you should review your real estate goals for 2018 and see how far or how close you are to achieving it, whether or not you achieve your goals. And what are the lessons that you could extract from your experience?

If you did not achieve your goal in the past year, don’t beat yourself down. There are lessons to be learnt from every failure however painful. If you achieved your goals for 2018, you can set your sight on achieving bigger ones this new year.

The key to success in any goal and in real estate investment is clarity. You need to state in very specific and measurable terms, the goals that you desire to achieve. Then spice your goals with a large dose of motivation by asking why you need to achieve those goals.

Are you interested in creating a steady cashflow that can support your current lifestyle? Are you thinking long term and considering the implication of investing in certain regions or industries? Is this your first property investment or you are an experienced property investor?

While we are all on the same journey, we are at different points on the journey. One thing that separates one person from another is knowledge. If you are new to real estate investment or you are venturing into an unfamiliar aspect of real estate investment, always start by bridging the gap between what you know and what you should know.

This does not require that you go back to school. However, what this often requires is that you associate with those with the knowledge who are willing to share with and mentor you. You will also have the opportunity to bounce ideas off them and seek guidance on your investment decisions.

A good goal should have a reasonable time frame for its achievement. Time is a very important element for success in real estate. Real estate investment is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It takes time and patience to search for and find the ideal property, if you have the capital.

It takes time and effort to find the property and the funds to buy the property. When you desire to sell, it takes time to market the property,conduct several inspections and conclude negotiation.

There are good buying times and there are bad buying seasons depending on where you are in the investment journey. If you are a seller, you are hoping to sell when the prices of properties are high. If you are a purchaser you desire to buy when the prices are low.

One of the things that could accelerate the achievement of your real estate goals is to join a community of likeminded people. This could be in the form of co-operative society or investment club. These groups usually have a fixed monthly contribution that helps you to set aside a percentage of your income for investment. A group of investors can also leverage their number to buy properties at a discount. They could also develop the property together and save lots of money. In my opinion, one of the most important benefits of belonging to groups like this is the mutual support and encouragement the participants are likely to give to one another.

As you begin to put these building blocks in place, I think it is better to concentrate your effort by finding your preferred real estate investment niche.

We are all unique individuals and understanding our uniqueness should guide our investment decisions. Real estate investment is diverse and wide.

You should start by focusing on a specific niche that you are comfortable with.

There are investors that focus strictly on buying and holding vacant land until they sense the right time to sell. There are investors that focus on rental properties and still some others are focused on commercial properties. Determine your niche and concentrate your resources on that area.

Written by Abiodun Doherty