Rodrigo Afanador
Aug 22, 2017 · 3 min read

Five Lessons in Five Years in Real Estate

Ever since I began my real estate journey five years ago, I have been part of CREIA as either a member or a board officer. While brainstorming what I should pen for my last “President’s Message,” it was impossible to not replay the last five years backwards: the moments of defeat and victory, the first deal, the worst deal, the best deal. While looking back over the past five years five lessons have stood out to me. Although the following are my list I would encourage everyone to take the time to jot down the lessons they are learning so they have the opportunity to reflect back on them

1. Be focused and take aggressive action

Whatever niche you decide to pursue, FOCUS (Follow One Course Until Successful) on it and go all in! If you decide to pursue rental properties, take aggressive action every day until that process has been systematized. If your original goal was to buy one rental a year, double or triple that goal and push yourself to be creative in how to make that happen. Focus on your chosen niche and go all in. I essentially wasted my first year in real estate as I had “shinny penny syndrome” and made no progress because I kept changing my area of focus. Aggressive action without focus is simply chaos. “Chaos” perfectly summarized my first year. It was not until I decided to focus solely on wholesaling houses that I started to close deals on a consistent basis.

2. Ask for what you want

The price and terms are subjective; however, I always, always ask for my “perfect world” price and terms. This could be an extremely low cash price or a no-money-down or a no-interest owner-finance deal. I am continually surprised by how often people will say yes just because I was willing to ask for what I wanted. Clearly stating that making a profit is my goal has allowed me to be aggressive about the numbers without running over people’s feelings. One of my closing statements when negotiating often is, “There is no way I can do this deal unless I am able to make a profit and make the numbers work on my end, no matter how much I like you. I get in trouble when I don’t put food on the table at my house…” Be upfront that you need to make money on the deal, ask for what you want, and allow yourself to be surprised if and when they agree.

3. Be Patient

Timing is key! This is a continual lesson that I am working through: How to balance the big picture versus the small picture. Naturally, I am a big picture thinker that likes to dream big and look for immediate results. Real estate has forced me to learn and value patience. Real estate is a long-term play where making decisions today will have a positive impact five, ten, or even twenty years from now. Falling in love with the journey and the process is key.

4. Relationships are everything

I do not recall from whom or where I heard this quote, but I have found it to be true day in and day out, “People do business with people that they know, like and trust.” Follow through on your commitments, regardless of how big or small they are. Showing up on time, returning calls, and responding to emails are all small actions that will eventually pay huge dividends. Real estate is a business in which things can wrong at times, so showing up and tackling adversity head on is quintessential for longevity. Strong relationships are built slowly over time, Gary Vaynerchuk puts it best, “Doing the right thing is always the right thing.”

5. Fortune is in the follow up

There are few phrases — if any — that are more popular in real estate than “Fortune is in the follow up.” There is so much value in this simple and memorable phrase because it is pure gold. Consistently, the best deals I am part of come from months, and in some cases years, of persistent follow up. This is not only true in regards to sellers, but also in regards to developing good relationships. Follow up with sellers and with those in your network are important. Bring value to each follow up and those in your network will appreciate every contact you make with them.

Let me know which of five lessons is the most helpful to you.

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Rodrigo Afanador

Written by

Rodrigo Afanador is a passionate business owner and committed community volunteer. Born in Colombia living in Asheville. Real Estate investor and mountain biker

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