The Property Investors Back 3 Plan (Part 1)

If you ignore the doom and gloom and focus on your property portfolio, there's a few things that need taking care of in the back 3 months of 2008.

Please forgive the americanism of the phrase "back 3 plan" but I worked for a large american firm for 6 years and it rubbed off on me.

So, lets look at the areas which you should be focusing on for the remainder of the year:

Lets Reduce

1. Expenses. A crucial component for surving these testing times is keeping your expenses under control. You need to really step back and look at what is going on in your business and justify every expense that goes out of your accounts - do you need to be a member of 5 forums, do you need that membership site, are you paying the least for your utilities etc. I've managed to shave off around £350 per month this year so far just through going through expenses in detail - and I know there is more to be had!


2. Time. Its really important to step back and look at what you are spending your time on and is it the most productive use of your time. Surfing the internet, chatting on IM, watching TV or talking on the phone to a colleague may be fun activities but they won't help you make your goals (I'm assuming that you've set some right?). So, start by cutting out some of the wasted time and re-focus your productive time on making things happen - you'll be surprised at how much you get done.


3. Effort. What is it that you are good at - what really ticks the boxes for you and makes work seem so effortless for you? Its all about recognizing your strengths and playing to them. For instance, you may be great at generating leads but not so good at negotiating them so why not connect with a negotiation service who will negotiate top discounts on your leads for you whilst you focus on generating more leads? You may be a whizz at doing deals but struggle to manage your properties so find somebody that really enjoys doing this to allow you to focus your efforts on more productive ventures. Outsource, joint venture or just hire but don't carry on doing everything because you can't be good at it all.

Next time, I'll focus on the next three steps which is all about Maintaining.

For more strategies and guides to building a cashflow positive portfolio, visit my website at www.yourhmoexpert.com