Property hunting can be fun, stress filled, and disappointment all wrapped together in one big ball of emotions. It’s definitely not all the glitz and glam that you see on HGTV. Budgets aren’t endless, and if you’re not working with all the right people you may end up with something you didn’t want in the first place.

Lets say you want to open an outdoor mall. You don’t just go out and say this is where I want it and these people are who is doing everything (unless you’ve been doing it awhile). Instead you want to find a real estate developer to go and scout properties for you. You want them to find a property in an area that would like an upscale outdoor mall, you want to make sure that you’ll have stores that want to go into that area and that people will come. Then you need to get design and all the logistics figured out. Could you do that on your own? I don’t think so.

I previously worked in a real estate office and while one side of it was residential the other was commercial development and that by far was my favorite. I learned the ins and outs of real estate development and the importance of a real estate developer that actually has experience and cares. And isn’t lazy! A lazy real estate developer is a money waster and who wants to waste money? From sky scrapers and subdivisions to strip malls and more I experienced the best and the worst of real estate development and now I am giving you five tips for finding your dream property. I also let you know qualities you should look for in a real estate developer.

5 Tips for Finding Your Dream Property

Know what you want

If you don’t know what you want, then how can someone find something that is right for you? The answer is simple, they can’t. While some properties can be developed and any kind of business can go into them. Some need more thought. For instance, if the goal is to have a coffee shop like Starbucks be one of the renters in the building, but you don’t have drive through space how do you expect they to go into that location? You need the right people to make the plans, scout out the area and ultimately get the property sold. Finding a real estate developer like Damon Becnel is quintessential to the completion of the project.

What is real estate development?

Real estate development or property development is a business process for a range of activities. These activities include but are not limited to renovation, re-lease of existing building, the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land. Real estate developers are hired to coordinate all of the activities. They basically convert the ideas on paper to real property.

What does a real estate developer do?

Real estate developers buy property or partner with landowners to develop a plan for what to build or rebuild on that specific property. Real estate developers will bring in investors and predict how much money the new homes or businesses will bring in. The real estate developers also manage the construction and are ultimately the ones that sell the project once it’s complete (or in some cases before it is complete).

5 characteristics of a great real estate developer

Like anything else, there are specific characteristics you should look for in a real estate developer. Here are five that are definitely important:

1. Education. Some of the most successful developers especially of investment properties attend college and study the foundations of developing real estate properties.

2. People skills. Does your real estate developer have good people skills? If the answer is no, you know they’re not for you. Having people skills is essential to not only the personal success of a real estate developer, but the success of the property as a whole.

3. Problem solving skills. This one is a no brainer. In real estate development things can change in a flash. The project might be going great and then bam problem, or maybe the deadline gets moved up. A good real estate developer stays calm and problem solves to reach a resolution.

4. Creativity. Anyone can create a cookie cutter of something else. Not everyone has a creative mindset to think out of the box and come up with something new. Plus you need to visualize what not only the inside looks like, but the outside as well.

5. Spot potential. While I may look at a lot and think wow this is disgusting and such a mess nothing will ever go here. A real estate developer will look at the potential of that piece of property and figure out if it will work for an upcoming project or a new development in general. I think this is the coolest part of the job, them being able to see something and know that it has all the potential in the world.

6. Tough decisions. Do they have the confidence to make tough decisions. All projects are not black and white. There is gray area and frankly every other color of the rainbow area. They have to be willing to say no, speak up when they don’t like something and just make the decisions that may not be the popular ones.

Before you start marketing any self-service business, it is essential to create a business marketing strategy. I have worked for multiple companies that do not have a marketing strategy, and therefore they are always rebuilding the department instead of just creating a plan. An effective marketing plan should include your goals and objectives, target market, services you offer, and marketing activities you\’d like to implement to achieve your goals. 

Since I have seen a lot of companies fail because they do not have a marketing plan I decided I am going to share with you X steps you should follow to develop a marketing strategy. 

How to develop a business marketing strategy

What is your market positioning?

To decide on what your market positioning is you need to know what your target market or niche is. Creating a marketing message that speaks to your target market will be more effective than one that speaks to the general population. When you specialize in an area of expertise, not only will it build credibility and trust with your consumers, but it will also help give you authority online.

Design a strong brand

When it comes to your brand there are a few elements you should have. This includes a mission statement, strong and readable long, and a brand style guide. Your mission statement tells consumers why for the business and what you can do for them. The mission statement is what builds a connection between you and your target audience. The style guide will be the final part of your branding and should include your visual identity and the values that surround it. This includes your logo and the ways it’s allowed to be used, fonts, images, and approved color palette. You’ll also want to have a few words that describe your brand values so people will be able to understand your business’s tone.

Build a great website

When you’re a service-based business, your ideal consumers are likely to visit you via your website. This means, your website is their first impression of you. You’ll want to make sure the website is easy to navigate, if you’re not savvy with the technical side of things then you should hire a web developer. Furthermore, if copywriting is not your strength, then your best bet is to hire a copywriting specialist whose copy will be better for conversions. 

Write a marketing plan

I know, I know – structure and accountability are not for everyone, but you definitely need a marketing plan. A marketing plan doesn’t have to be complicated, but it still needs to be there. It should include your objectives and what you want to achieve, activities that will help you achieve your goals, targets, and goals you’re setting and how will you measure and track performance.

Analyze your finances

Have you had your finances analyzed recently? If not, you may want to consider it, especially a SOX audit. You might be wondering what is SOX audit, great question let me give you the short version. An SOX audit is required by federal law, and analyzes IT area of your business and verifies that financial data is accurate within a 5% variance. Anything more can be warning bells to your auditor, and let’s be honest you don’t want to end up in an auditing nightmare.