Page 229 - Trump University Commercial Real Estate 101

Y ou’ll Never Get Rich by Y ourself

A mistake that I see many investors make is to get so excited about
putting a deal under contract that they skip the step of having the

property shopped. They eventually do find out about the problems,
but by then they ’ ve invested more time and money. There ’ s a greater
temptation to ignore or rationalize the problems at that point.
Your management company will be happy to provide this service,
because they look forward to being manager of the property as soon as
you close the deal.
The management company will also help to get the deal closed.
They ’ ll report to you on a weekly basis about occupancy, collections,
work orders, local issues — all the things you need to know in order to
negotiate successfully.
After you close on a property, you ’ ll need to manage the management
company. That means making sure you continue to get accurate reports
regularly. If reporting becomes spotty, it is the first sign that their eye is not

on the ball. It ’ s time to sit them down and tell them to get back on track.
Closely watch your collections, occupancy, and expenses. If the
management company starts to get lazy or does not perform up to
your expectations, you will see poor results in these areas fi rst. Give
them one warning to meet minimum standards. If they don ’ t meet
your specific performance goals for the next period, fi re them.

Contractors

The property manager may have identified a problem while she
shopped the property. After you raise that problem with the seller, you
may very well have a contractor visit the property to determine the
likely cost to fix the problem.

The best way to find contractors in the local market is from refer-
rals from brokers, property managers, attorneys, and all of your other
team members.
A good contractor is like gold. Do not become a doormat , but
do keep them happy. The best way to do this is always to pay them
on time, as I mentioned earlier. Don ’ t pay them before the job is

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