How do you become a millionaire real estate investor in 8 steps?

There are eight steps you must follow to become a millionaire with real estate. Below are the 8 steps and a checklist you can download.

Step 1 – Prepare To Invest

• Find your financial freedom number & set your financial goals

• Assess your resources

Once you achieve clarity about what you want to do, it’s time to get started on how you are going to do it. That’s right: it’s time to tally up your resources.
You need 5 main resources to invest in real estate. These resources are:
(money, time, relationships, education & experience)

• Educate yourself on investing

Education is crucial for successfully investing in real estate. If you’re uneducated you can invest in the wrong thing or possibly worse, you can miss out on the many opportunities to invest in the right thing and to build wealth.

Step 2 – Pick Your Asset Class and Strategy

Choose the asset class (e.g., single family, land, industrial, vacation rental) & asset investment strategy (Fix and Flip, Buy and Hold, Offshore Investing, Wholesaling, Turnkey Investing, Syndications) that works best for your goals.

Step 3 – Find the Right Property Market

In real estate investing, the top three rules are 1. location, 2. location, and 3. location. Where you buy is more important than what you buy. If you’re investing in the wrong property market (for example, a market where no one wants to live), you could very well lose money.

You could have the most beautiful property, but if it’s in a swamp you are very unlikely to have any tenants who want to live there.

On the other hand, what might be considered a shack in many other parts, set in the hottest part of the hot market will be swooped up for the top dollar.

I had a friend who lived in a 200-square-foot studio in the West Village in Manhattan for four years and paid over $900 a month for that tiny space in the 1990s! Now I’m sure some other tenant is currently paying double or triple what she paid for that space and considers themselves lucky to be able to do so. The owner of that studio has a good fortune (and the good sense) to have snapped up a property in a hot market when the “getting was good.”

Evaluate market and choose a profitable submarket (I recommend that you use the "7 Money-Making Market" criteria that I teach.)

Step 4 – Build the Right Team

Real estate is a team sport. Depending on your deal you need a solid team comprised of a realtor/broker, lender, insurance broker, property manager, contractor, CPAs, attorneys, mentors, and/or investing partners.

If any member of your team is weak, you will have a weak foundation to build on and your investment may not work.

• Evaluate who your need on your team (e.g., broker, lender, insurance agent, contractor)

• Locate potential team members.

• Conduct due diligence on potential team members.

• Finalize your team.

Step 5 – Acquire the Right Property

The right property is the one that helps you meet your goals, is in the right location, and is priced right.

To acquire the right property, you'll need to negotiate with the seller on price and terms, and conduct proper due diligence on the property (e.g., check property conditions, title, financials)

Step 6 – Get the Right Financing

Determine how best to structure the financing for your purchase (e.g., all cash, loan, seller financing, JV, or Syndication). Then, apply for and obtain a loan (if applicable)

Step 7 – Manage Properties

• If Self-Managing, set up systems for finding & screening tenants, rent collection & maintenance.

• If Using 3rd Party Property Management, set up systems for monitoring and accountability of results.

Step 8 – Buy More!

• Assess how your new property has moved you towards your financial freedom and other financial goals.

• Leverage what you have learned and put into place from the above to acquire more properties.