A property guru has revealed the most common mistakes people make when buying and selling a house – and claims you can cash in even during a bad housing market.
Justin Giles, 38, is a real estate investor and mentor from Atlanta, US, who has a net worth of $14 million (£12.19 million) – a sum he has accumulated from building an impressive property portfolio.
The self-made millionaire has amassed a steady following online (@topfundmanager) with 212,000 followers, and is now sharing his tips for people struggling during the turbulent global economy.
“You can make money in any market – good or bad,” Justin, who learned the tricks of the trade from his mum, who is a real estate broker, told JamPrime.com.
“I purchased my first home for $110,000 (£97,400).
“It had two bedrooms and one bathroom in a great area.
We sold it quick and made a $25,000 (£22,100) profit and I went onto the next deal. “You don’t need cash or credit to buy homes.
“You don’t even need a background in real estate.
“You just need the strategies to get you there, and I’m your guy.”
From why you shouldn’t go crazy on interior to how to tackle a bad market, here are some of the property guru’s top tips
HOW TO MAKE MONEY FROM A BAD MARKET
Selling and buying homes can be a nerve-wracking business.
The stakes are high and Justin can relate to people’s concerns, having himself lost a huge chunk of cash during the 2008 financial crash.
He said: “Buyers and sellers often have a hard time when price points go up.
“But this can actually be a blessing in disguise – if you can learn how to source deals others can’t find. “Some strategies I use include targeting estates of people who have passed away.
“A lot the people that inherit properties don’t always want them or know that value. as a result, that is opportunity.
“I also help people offload homes that they are defaulting on, targeting people who are getting divorced or filing for bankruptcy etc.
“Take risks but do your research first, and make sure you always have a buffer in the bank.
“Play a long game.
“To achieve millionaire status, you need to own enough property that if you were to pull out all equity, you’d still have plenty left in the bank.
“Bad markets are the best time to buy, because properties are cheap.
“Markets are in cycles but it’s an upward-up-and-down motion, which means that even if things dip, they’ll most likely recover down the line.
“Take advantage of the ‘down; market, because you probably won’t see the property at that price 10 years from now.”
RENT, REFINANCE, REPEAT
For his second tip, Justin tackles ‘house flipping’.
He explains that many people are often too eager to make a sale from a renovated home, when they would actually be better off renting it out for a longer period and refinancing.
The property guru said: “When they’re starting out, most people want to flip homes.
“The best way to do it is to first buy, then renovate, rent, refinance and repeat.
“That way you build your net worth.
“Selling homes is cool but keeping them is building generational wealth for your family.”
DON’T OVERDO IT
Whether you’re looking to flip a house or improve your own home before selling it on, Justin stresses not to overdo the interior.
Stick to practical improvements, ditch the dreamy DIY.
He said: “Don’t over-improve homes. “The more you do to a house, the more potential profit you may lose.
“Not everyone has your taste.
“The best thing to do is give someone a canvas so they can paint their own picture; that means leaving the houses as neutral as possible.”
The same rule applies to buyers. Don’t buy in haste; if you can’t see yourself living in the property or believe it will need so much work that it will eat up your profits down the line, you might be better off walking away.
Justin said: “For anyone looking to buy real estate as an investment always ask yourself – would I live here myself?
“If this is a no, it is more than likely a lot of other people wouldn’t want to live in it either.
“That means it’s probably not a good deal and will be a hard sell.
“You also need to ask yourself if you would feel safe living here – if the answer is no, this is also likely going to make it harder to sell in the future.”
DON’T IGNORE THE FLOOR PLANS
Many people glaze over floor plans, opting to get a ‘real’ feel when they view the property instead.
Justin believes that this is a mistake.
He said: “I also encourage people to take a good look at the floor plans.
“If this doesn’t make sense to you, then it is less likely to make you money in the future too.
“If the floor plan is obsolete, such as homes that are a three bedroom and one bathroom, or have awkward floor plans, those properties may be hard sells.
“For example, if you just have one bathroom and three bedrooms, that is a problem. “Imagine you have a cook out and everyone needs to use your one bathroom after eating some bad beans, you’re going to want to burn that bathroom.
“People think about these things, you want your guest to have their own bathroom.
Not everyone needs to use yours. “Always ask yourself, ‘would I be happy with this floor plan?’
“If the answer is no, more than likely it maybe the same for others as well.”
USE OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY
It might sound a little odd but if your aim is to build a portfolio, rather than just buy one house as your primary abode, then a great way to do so is to use “other people’s money”.
Justin said: “To get the most out of your money, leverage, use OPM (other people’s money) and let your money stretch.
“You will be able to do more deals because you can use the bank as leverage.
“Imagine you have $100,000; you find 10 great deals for $100,000 that you can make $30,000 respectively off each home.
“If you just use your cash to buy one, then you only make $30,000 off the one deal.
“However, if you finance and use other people’s money (the bank in this example) and the bank only needs 10% down payment on each home, you can buy all 10 houses with that same $100,000.
“And make 10 times more cash!
“This is why leverage is so important.”
