Investor Self Assessment Worksheet
“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step” – Martin Luther King
This worksheet will help new and experienced investors create the momentum they need to take action and successfully invest in real state. Take this assessment seriously! It will get you to put your own personal energy, desires and passions into your investing plan. In doing that, investing will become much more appealing to you on a personal level and therefore actionable. If you don’t take this worksheet seriously, you are far less likely to achieve the momentum you need to put any investing knowledge you have into action. Remember, 80% of the people who get real estate education never do anything with the knowledge they get about real estate investing. If you don’t take this exercise and the presentation seriously, you are destined to be one of those 80% of people who completely waste a lot of their time and money in real estate investing and never make any money in it. So it’s critical that you fill this worksheet out as much as you can. Use the form as a template for a presentation to your discussion group. You will find your discussion group an abundance source of experience, wisdom and courage if you present to the group and call upon them for assistance with your plan. You may want to write things out in full sentences and then later convert them into point form so that you can effectively present them to your group and not just read off the page. If you are doing a presentation, make several copies of your completed worksheet to give to the other people in your discussion group.
Investor Name: Town/City I Live In: Town/City I Work In: Telephone: Email Address: Website: Present Occupation: Describe why you want to be involved in real estate investing.
What attracts you to real estate investing? Have you made attractive profits when selling your home? Have you seen others doing this? Are you dissatisfied with your current investments? Explain what the most appealing things are about real estate and investing in real estate for you.
What real estate investing strategy personally interests you most?
It’s important that you discover what investing strategy you like the most, that most suits your own personal interests and abilities. This is the strategy that you will have the most success with, both financially and for personal gratification. That strategy might be renovating a certain type of property in a particular area, or buying pre-construction condos, or buying foreign property in a place you love to visit.
Do you have any qualifications, certifications, specific skills or related experience to pursue this favorite strategy of yours?
It’s important to make a full inventory of specifically why this is your favorite strategy. Strut your stuff! This will help you take pride in your investing plan and get momentum. It will help you attract the resources you need to make your strategy a success. The more personal you make the information you put into this worksheet, the sooner you’ll achieve momentum and success with investing.
What personal barriers do you need to overcome to take action in real estate investing?
This is one of the most important parts of this worksheet. It can be the difference between moving forward and doing nothing. Talk about anything that you think is preventing you from investing in real estate. For instance, you may have a risk-averse spouse or partner that is uncertain or unwilling to invest in real estate. You may know someone who lost money investing in something. Your financial situation may be limiting you. You may not be very knowledgeable about real estate and investing strategies. Perhaps you have a fear of losing money or failure. Talk about all of these things! It may be painful or embarrassing to talk about some of them (especially with people you don’t know) in your presentation to your discussion group. But getting these issues out in the open will be the first step toward solving them, and a major step too. The experienced investors in your discussion group will likely have faced many of the same personal challenges you do and they will tell you how they overcame those challenges.
What is the first thing you want to achieve with your favorite investing strategy?
Think about a specific first goal that you want to achieve with your favorite strategy. It should be something realistic, yet something challenging. It’s more likely you would achieve a specific goal like making at least $50,000 per property deal than a vague goal such as “becoming rich”. The more specific your goal is, the easier it will be for you to plan on how you will achieve that goal. You’ll also find that a specific goal will better attract the resources you need for achieving that goal.
Why do you think you can achieve this goal?
Explain the specific reasons why you think you can achieve this goal. Be sure to point out any qualifications, certifications, skills or experience you noted above and tie them into why you think you can achieve this goal. Your reasons could be your own advanced skills or knowledge in area, market conditions, a specific great opportunity you’ve found, etc.
How do you plan to accomplish this goal?
Give an explanation as to how you plan to make your favorite investing strategy a success. Be specific and thorough. The experienced investors in your discussion group will be able to judge your plan and tell you how well it will work and let you know of any other things you must do to accomplish your goal.
How will you measure your success or failure with this strategy?
Indicate ways you will know you are succeeding with your favorite strategy. For example, state the minimum-maximum profit you expect to make on any deal, or state the minimum-maximum number of property deals you want to complete in one year.
When will you begin implementing this plan?
Give a specific date when you want to start putting this plan into action. This will be the date after you’ve finished all the education and research you want to do on this plan.
What is your exit strategy for your first goal? When will it occur?
An exit strategy is your plan for concluding your work on your preferred investing strategy. For instance, an exit strategy is selling a property. State when you expect to accomplish this for your next real estate transaction.
How much time per week do you have to pursue this investing strategy?
Make sure that you make sufficient time to fully implement your plan and succeed to the level you stated.
What help are you looking for with your investing plans?
Indicate anything that could help you along with pursuing your favorite strategy. It could be financing, joint venture partners, mentoring, research, etc. The people in your investors circle group will help you find the things you need to move forward.
Are there resources in Realty Connect’s library that you want to borrow? Which items?
It’s been estimated only 1 in 10 real estate investors do adequate research before buying a property. Doing research takes the guesswork and fear out of investing. Fear is really only a lack of knowledge of something. Lack of knowledge leads to uncertainty, uncertainty leads to doubt, and doubt leads to a fear to act. So take a look at Realty Connect’s list of items in our event library at the following link: http://www.realty-connect.us/Event_Library.html. Most items are linked to websites with more information about them. If there are any items which you want to borrow to help you with your favorite investing strategy, let us know. We’ll reserve them for you so that they’ll be waiting for you at the event you’re attending. Please note that you must pre-pay for your event ticket to be able reserve any library materials. This can be done online by credit card or mailing a cheque or money order to us prior to the event.
Recommended Resource For Effective Planning And Goal Setting Double Your Income Doing What You Love by Raymond Aaron with Sue Lacher
“Those who are victorious plan effectively and change decisively. They are like a great river that maintains its course but adjusts its flow. They are skilled in both planning and adapting and need not fear the result; for they win in advance” – Sun Tzu