Focus is good for a tough market

A colleague has shared the following blogpost by Seth Godin with me. Even though it talks about how to stand out from the crowd as a real estate agent, I found it quite applicable for us, investors, as well. Especially in this tough real estate market, when sellers abound and the battle for buyers’ attention is only getting fiercer. How will you stand out as an investor wholesaling your property, flipping your property, or even trying to get your property rented. It’s through focus, says Seth. Become a super-expert in what you do: specialize in a zip code, in a particular property type, in a particular investing strategy. Possibilities are endless really, in creating a niche that is yours and only yours. Become that person that everyone will think of when they think of, say, a short sale, a lease-option, etc. Raise your visibility by giving talks, seminars, blogging. Seth gives a great idea in his post: have relevant clubs and organizations meet in your office. That’s one other way to become the hub and the absolute authority. Simply awesome! In short… Get creative. Do what others aren’t doing. And become an expert.

At the risk of sounding unoriginal… Use the current technologies to help you. Get out in the blogosphere. Get on Facebook. Get on Meetup. It amazes me how few real estate investors I know are on Facebook. Think about it.. If you are renting your apartments to the 20-somethings and 30-somethings, that’s where they are. So you have to be there too. And it’s a great way to spread your message very quickly and virally. (And besides, Facebook is no longer for folks under 35). Become the blogging / Facebook expert of lease-options in zip code 12345.

Here is to your wealth in 2008!