Strong Advocacy | Personalized Service | Real Solutions

Watch out for these common real estate investment errors

Many Minnesota residents look for investment opportunities whenever possible. You may have recently begun thinking about testing the waters in real estate investment and are now looking for more information on how to make such an endeavor work for you. Investing in real estate certainly can prove lucrative, but it also comes with significant risks.

Before you start making any major moves in terms of your investments, you may want to be aware of some common missteps that prospective investors, especially first-time investors, fall victim to. By knowing ahead of time, you may have the ability to avoid the same issues on your investment journey.

Common errors

It is important to note that real estate investment is not a get rich quick scheme. You will need to invest not only your funds but also your time and effort in ensuring that you know what you are getting into and the risks involved. Thinking that one can simply start buying property and turning a profit is one mistake that inexperienced investors could make, and some others include:

  • Not becoming knowledgeable on types of investors, types of investments, the location of the property, the condition of the property, the real estate market in the area and more
  • Not creating a plan of action that details the type of property you are interested in, what you want the purchase to accomplish, whether you plan to rent or flip the property, and other goals
  • Not reviewing comparable property in the area and overpaying for property
  • Not comparing financing options and getting an unfavorable loan
  • Not thinking local enough and basing decisions on national real estate statistics rather than information specific to a particular Minnesota area
  • Not knowing when to pass on a property or when repairs may be more costly than expected

Another mistake that is common among inexperienced investors is trying to do everything by themselves. They may think that they could save money by acting as their own real estate agent, repairman, inspector and other roles instead of calling in the professionals. However, this could prove more detrimental than expected as new investors often do not have the trained eye that most professionals in these areas do. As a result, it may be worthwhile to consider how to get the right help as you dive into real estate investment.