With the endless changes in our real estate markets, real estate professionals are beginning to pay attention to the sound of new sources of commission income. Some real estate agents avoided or shunned terms such as “cap rate” and “cash yield”. Terms that only “smart” and “numbers-oriented” people use to determine whether a real estate purchase is a “good deal” or not. Most real estate bros have attended real estate school because they are excited and passionate about the promise of selling real estate and making a fantastic living. That said, “times are changing”. Even if you live in a hot market where residential real estate sells out in 2-3 days, there’s an old-school approach to real estate that’s growing faster by the day…Residential real estate investors.

This savvy group of real estate investors is bringing the real estate industry and the world of real estate investing into a new era! We no longer accept the crazy volatility of the Dow Jones and NASDAQ families. Unwilling to accept the investment practices of their ancestors, these investors don’t care about returns above the traditional 5-6% on their Roth or IRA accounts. These investors are bold and often aggressive. Today’s real estate investors are looking for quick fixes and change, high appreciation and strong monthly cash flow. Gaining a foothold by investing in their own hometown is just the beginning, as serious investors are looking to outlets outside their own backyard to other more promising and profitable regions. You can say well, how does this elderly person see his investment opportunities? For starters, the age of these poachers ranges from 28 to 68 years old. From the “Rich Dad Poor Dad” book series to the magical presence of Trump in “The Apprentice”, young real estate entrepreneurs are realizing their dreams at the rate of 3 to 5 acquisitions per year! Has that caught your attention now? The typical investor has a good to excellent credit rating. Excellent cash reserves or hidden resources from partners with cash, and the willingness to close the deal at almost any cost. The best kept secret of all is that these investing beasts travel in packs. The place where they see each other is very close behind. In other words, they know the people you need to know to further grow your investor database. If the real estate professional does a good job, satisfied clients will likely recommend many of their fellow investors. Not only investor clients, but also your day-to-day real estate business. Admit it, if you can show your clients how savvy you are with their biggest personal real estate purchase, don’t you think they’ll outperform their “trusted real estate advisors” when it comes to buying a home, from a basic condo or beach? ? home?

What if you haven’t focused on the real estate investment industry? And you think that all sounds pretty good, let’s give it a try. The first question to ask yourself is who your clients have worked with or explored their real estate investment options in the past 3-4 months. Statistically, 6 out of 10 clients have considered investing in real estate or have already started before their real estate agent has time to blink. Has that caught your attention now? How about the fact that in less than a year I increased my annual commissions by 30% simply by positioning myself within my core clientele? All I did was let them know that I was ready, willing and able to start helping them with their “real estate investing” needs. What I learned in the first year is that if I could create an environment for my clients to learn about real estate investing, they would appreciate it in many ways… More importantly again, they would call me before drafting a contract and I would make sure I was involved in every contract I wanted to make a real estate purchase. In a short time, 30% rose to 45% and more. Even if you’re not interested in expanding your customer base, at least consider protecting the territory you’ve invested in for so long and the financial resources to maintain their loyalty.