Back Icon Back to Blog

Three Keys to Successful Investing 

 

Want to be successful in your investing? Focus on these 3 keys…

 

There are a lot of factors that we look at when digging into investments. Yet, we often get distracted from some of the most important elements. Here are three critical keys to truly profiting from investments, and creating sustainable results that will last.

 

Minimize Fees

 

In his recent book ‘Money – Mastering the Game’, Tony Robbins reveals that one of the biggest threats to our financial futures and profitable investments are fees. In the world of real estate, individuals could face a barrage of multiple layers of fees with mortgages, brokerage, and banking: Many of which don’t make sense or are confusing. This can be what depletes potential double digit gross returns, down to what may actually be negative yields once you count inflation. It is important to differentiate junk fees from legitimate fees in your investments and obtain quality, professional advice. You usually get what you pay for. However, by investing smarter we can strip away many of these layers, and get good returns, with good management.

 

Minimize Taxes

 

Smart investors prioritize taxes when investing. They take them head on, instead of just burying their heads in the sand. Taxes can take a 30-40% chunk right off the top of your returns. That dramatically changes what you thought you were going to get from an investment. Fortunately, there are some investments which offer tax breaks, and vehicles for investing which the IRS has established to allow investors to enjoy tax deferred or tax-free investments. Use these and you will not only stay in the black when others fall into the red, but you can generate out-sized returns, and build wealth and income much faster. Imagine being able to invest 40% more each year?

 

Diversify

 

No matter how carefully you select investments things can happen. Markets can change, corrections can happen or even natural disasters can come along. If you have all your money in one type of investment, or one asset, you are facing risks every day. Even within the same sector or asset class, you want to hold multiple units. When you are in multiple locations you’ll most always be able to generate income and have a cushion, no matter what happens externally.

 

Summary

We can use all types of fancy calculations and weigh all kinds of metrics when evaluating investments. If you are not watching the fees, watching the taxes, and fail to stay diversified, you could find your profits not being so profitable!

A lot of getting the best ROI comes down to smart due diligence, intensive research and knowing ALL the numbers.  

Ready to invest in real estate?

We make real estate investing simpler, more transparent, and accessible to individual investors.

Jacob Blackett

Originally from Reno, Nevada, Jacob began his real estate career in 2010 as a sophomore at the University of Nevada, Reno, when he bought and sold his first two residential “fix and flip” properties in Southern California.

In 2014 Jacob founded Holdfolio and by the end of 2019, Holdfolio had amassed a rental portfolio of 141 single-family homes and 412 apartment units. At this time Holdfolio was fully vertically integrated, meaning they were operating every aspect of the investment cycle which included acquisitions, procuring bank loans, raising capital from investors, running a full-service property management company, a licensed construction company, and performing their own asset management.

Fueled by low interest rates and strong rent growth, real estate values increased steadily and dramatically between 2010 and 2020, and by early 2020 Holdfolio could not pay as much as other firms on new acquisitions. Jacob took this as an opportunity to sell all of Holdfolio’s holdings and pivot the business model to see more deal flow and invest with much larger and more experienced firms, which is how Holdfolio operates today.

Follow Jacob on:

Ready to invest in real estate?

We make real estate investing simpler, more transparent, and accessible to individual investors.