Finding Opportunities in a Competitive Market

Everyone’s got it – Real Estate FOMO.

Pop culture has made flipping houses seem very appealing, and a great way to make money fast. Because of this, the market is super tight. When everybody is looking to make a deal, how do you find opportunities that can actually make you money in such a competitive market?

1 – Consider What You Want

When looking for the less competitive opportunities that fit your situation, it’s important to remember that a good deal for you may actually be a terrible deal for me, and vice versa. There are so many factors that go into this decision. Finding your niche depends on your experience, risk comfort level, time frame and goals. An early investor or someone just getting into flipping might need to allow themselves more margin for safety and room to make mistakes in order to create some profit.

Consider what fires you up. What excites you? This may direct you to AirBNB investments rather than commercial real estate deals. Discovering the ethos of who you are as an investor is very important. It plays into the way you approach investing and what opportunities you’ll actually be able to pursue.

2 – Leverage Others

The typical standpoint of real estate investors is to leverage a unit using a mortgage and finance. I also like to consider leveraging other people & their efforts, their knowledge and their mistakes. You don’t have to repeat those mistakes by trying to reinvent the wheel. It is a common myth that you have to do it all and figure it out by yourself. Leveraging others can be as simple as reading books. Books are oftentimes a decade or two of experiences condensed into three hours. Leverage is the biggest thing that you can ever tap into. It exponentially moves you 10, 20 years ahead of where you are now.

3 – Capitalize on Your Strengths

When asked where somebody should start, I say it depends on what their skill sets are. Are you good at raising money, being a salesperson and helping to share the vision? Do you have experience in construction? Maybe you’re an attorney, or have a high net worth. Find out what you’re already naturally inclined at and focus on that. Using the makeup of who you are as a person is one of the best ways to establish your investment criteria & the way that you approach a deal. I’ve found the best success in finding out what I’m already pretty good at and doubling down on that, while finding other people for the weaknesses that I suck at.

The world needs more people living their purpose and their passion, who are super fired up by their one or two things.

By considering what your actual goals are, who can help you get there and what role you’re best suited to play, you can look for the more specific deals that give you a competitive advantage. This looks different for everyone. So don’t get distracted by what others are doing, but focus on what you’re doing and stick with it. The rest will follow.

For more thoughts on discovering what you want and building your team, check out my podcast interview with Justin Maven on the Money Maven Project.