About working with American service providers and how to build a winning team

#יםמהשבוי Yona Shuman #Post4

There is no doubt that building a local winning team is one of the keys to success for remote investment in real estate in the USA. In today's post we will talk a little about how to build such a team and how to work with service providers in the US.

First, we will talk about some highlights in working with service providers in the US: 

-Shyness: no matter who you're talking to, don't shy away. If you are shy and afraid to make many calls and communicate with new people, you will not progress.

- People: You have to remember that real estate is a people business. Although we deal in still real estate, the real estate business requires communication with people and a lot of it.

I can share that one of the things that has contributed to the accelerated growth of our company is the fact that we make as many calls as necessary with people until we find exactly what we are looking for.

-Decision: Know exactly what you are looking for and be very clear about what you are looking for when talking to a potential service provider.

-Negotiation: Don't be afraid to negotiate when someone offers a service. For example, don't be afraid to ask to change the terms of the contract presented to you by the service provider if something doesn't seem right to you. Remember, it takes two to tango.

-Desperation: like everything in life, you must not be desperate in the real estate business either. If there is something in the service provider that does not match what you are looking for, do not compromise and keep looking until you find the right service provider for your needs. Remember, there are plenty of fish in the sea.

And if we are dealing with desperation, I assume that those who have done some real estate (in the US or anywhere else in the world) already know that among contractors there are more deaths of relatives than any other segment of the population (according to their reports to clients at least). The fact that their grandmother can die at least 15 times is definitely unique. If this sounds familiar to you, you deserve better. Don't be desperate and compromise. It's time to look for another contractor.

So where do we find a service provider that will suit us? There are several steps in the search for them, we will demonstrate about contractors:

- Facebook groups of real estate investors in your investment area: A simple search with the word "contractor" will give you enough results to start making calls, although you should research them carefully because you did not get a reliable recommendation about them from people you know.

- Search on Google and Facebook: search for the name of the city you are investing in + search title on Google Maps and Facebook. For example "Cleveland Contractor". Sort the reviews by new reviews and read them on Google Maps and Facebook.

Do not take everything that is written for granted, but you can learn a lot about the service provider by reading the reviews about it. If you encounter a bad review, check whether the contractor responded and tried to fix the problem? Are there a lot of bad reviews in general?

Read the details of the work performed by the service provider from the review and check if it is suitable for the service you need.

- Communication with investors in your investment area: try to make connections with investors in your investment area, write an introductory post in local real estate groups and forums like BiggerPockets and start making connections with other investors. In addition, you may be surprised but in most of the major metros in the US there is a dedicated Facebook/Telegram group for Israeli real estate investors that Israelis have created to communicate with each other.

It is very important to get to know more real estate investors and try to get recommendations on good contractors from them. Of course you will need to establish a good relationship with the other investors as they will not hand over all their winning team immediately. As the acquaintance deepens and you also help other investors, communication and mutual help will develop.

Try to get as many details from the recommender as possible about the service provider: what kind of work did they do? Did they meet the deadlines? Was the pricing fair? How was the communication with them?

Ask for some photos to see their work visually. Of course, the depth of the research on a service provider will be according to the size of the work we need. If we are looking for a contractor for a large job, we will invest a lot in his inspection, and if it is about replacing a handle for $50, we will inspect, but in a more basic way and we will find out during the work.

And finally, a word about the importance of communication and the response time of the service provider. You can learn a lot about a service provider by observing their communication patterns.

We know there are many deadlines when working in real estate and you want someone who will answer you on time and solve your problems in real time.

In conclusion, invest in building your team and don't compromise. Communicate well with them, remember that they are human beings and develop a friendly and lasting relationship with them and adhere to a high standard of work. 

Successfully 

In the photos: a property we purchased and renovated for rental in Euclid USA