Top 5 Mind Hacks for Investors during the Coronavirus
It takes time to become comfortable with change, especially when it affects both your professional and personal life. Despite the uncertain times, your real estate investing goals shouldn’t change and you are more than capable of achieving your real estate dreams, crisis be damned.
In fact, we may be about to enter an era of unmatched opportunity. The question is: are you able to see the opportunity while everyone else is seeing chaos? It all starts with your mindset and creating a plan for yourself to stay productive and growing when most people have given in to inertia. Truth is, deals are still happening, money is still flowing, and it’s the investors who are able to cut through the noise that are going to come out of this ahead of the pack.
In part one of this two-part series, here are 5 actionable steps that you can take to make sure you are going to come out of this crisis a better investor than you were before:
1. Say No to Inaction and Paralysis
When there is so much uncertainty in the world and you start stressing out, it’s human nature to shut down. Don’t fall into this trap. We’ve had at least three weeks to complain and despair and binge Netflix. We are now facing at least another month of social distancing and quarantine. It’s time to view the changing landscape as an opportunity, because one thing is certain: we will get through this crisis, and when we do, you’ll want to look back and say you used this time to do something with it.
You may have to pivot a bit to reach your goals. Use this time to learn how to do it. While it’s true that we can’t predict what’s going to happen a couple of months from now, don’t get stuck on the long-term. Focus on the next week so you have a bite-sized portion of your goal that you can wrap your head around. Devise a plan of action each day and stay focused so that you are inching towards your goals each and every day. When you take things day-by-day and chunk-by-chunk, it helps keep you from feeling overwhelmed. Setting a daily routine is key. Stick to it and end each day having done at least one thing that will inch you closer to your goals. And always remember this: the fastest way to results is action.
2. Call Your Leads
Your initial impulse may be to wait until this is over to reach out to your motivated sellers. We invite you to re-think that. With all of the time we’re spending at home, homeowners are primed to take your call and have meaningful conversations about their situation. Guess what? We’re all craving human interaction, and so that call that could be seen as an annoyance just a few weeks ago could now be perceived as a great way to engage with the outside world. Talking to your leads allows you to get a feel for them and their situation in a way that’s more meaningful than through email and direct mail. You can also get the information you need quicker.
You’ll be reaching your leads at a time when they may be more motivated than ever. Just this week, 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment, adding to the 17 million jobs lost to this crisis. Folks are hurting and headed towards foreclosure. Now is the time to help them get out of a bad situation before it gets worse.
As a MyHouseDeals member, you should be looking at new deals and calling sellers every day. We post dozens of new deals for you every day.
3. Take Advantage of Digital Tools to Screen or “Visit” a Property
While it’s true that you can’t visit properties in person at the moment, don’t let this hold you back. With all of the technology we have at our disposal today, it’s easy to get just as good of a gauge of a property virtually as it is in person. In fact, many investors, even before the coronavirus, opt to avoid visiting properties in person altogether. At MyHouseDeals, our members post pictures and videos of their properties with detailed descriptions. If you’re a Premium member, you have access to Google Street View for the vast majority of properties on our website. This gives you a 360-degree view of the property from the comfort of your couch.
Now more than ever, consider virtual tour tools, live video walkthroughs, and present solid numbers that will inspire trust and transparency in your counterparts. And don’t underestimate the power of comps—use solid comps to confirm your estimates and you should be able to make pretty confident offers.
Finally, we are also seeing extended option periods and contingency clauses built into contracts to allow for delayed inspection and appraisal. This will protect you from any issues not initially uncovered from your due diligence and give you an out from a less appealing deal. Your lender will be a great partner in determining a good strategy for those options.
4. Refinance Your Loans
If you hold mortgage loans for your rentals (or even for your primary residence, for that matter), it is a great time to consider refinancing them. With the average 30-year fixed mortgage interest rate at an all-time low of 3.45%, buying houses has never been cheaper. Contact your bank to find out if they can refinance your existing loan or reach out to other lenders to find out what programs they offer. It is likely you’ll be able to save a considerable chunk of cash if you can take advantage of these basement rates we have now.
Additionally, if you are shopping for rental properties, talk to your bank or lender about which programs they have active (many have frozen new loans while the coronavirus crisis is playing itself out) and find out if you can prequalify for them. A current pre-qual letter from a credible lender will be appealing to sellers and wholesalers right now. At MyHouseDeals, we can match you to lenders for both short-term and long-term mortgage-type loans. Take advantage of this tool if you don’t already have a go-to lender or are looking to shop around for good deals.
5. Get the Attention of Private Lenders
It’s true, many people took a beating in the stock market in the last few weeks. But it’s also true that many cashed out at the first dip and are now parking their cash until the markets are more stable or trending up again. This is true during any economic downturn. Volatility in the stock market is traditionally a great time to attract private lenders to real estate, where investors can earn higher returns than they would by parking their money in a low-yield instrument.
If you already use private money to fund your deals, now is a great time to activate your network and get them ready for what is sure to be a feeding frenzy in the months to come. If you need to beef up your private money bona fides, that’s a great way to spend your coronavirus quarantine. MyHouseDeals members have access to an exclusive list of private lenders. If you’re interested in learning more about private lending, we also have a comprehensive step-by-step program called Private Money Mastery that we offer to our members.
Start putting these five action steps into action now. Devise a plan and make sure you are addressing at least one of them each day. We’ll be posting Part II with action items five through 10 soon so make sure to check our blog!
