Love him or hate him, President Trump has made a name for himself in real estate. Here are some ways you can make the best deals like the Commander in Chief. Some of this is specific to real estate investing, while some of it's just common sense and classic Trump flair.
Prepare yourself for hard work. Get ready to put in the long hours. You didn't think you'd get rich by golfing all day, did you? Trump says he puts in at least ten hours a day, seven days a week, and to get an edge, he only sleeps four hours a day. After doing the math, you'll find that this leaves ten hours per day for golf after all.
Get guidance from a seasoned mentor. A good mentor will give you a head start and help keep you from making mistakes and wasting time and money. Trump's mentor had him closing his first multimillion-dollar deal while still going to college. It doesn't hurt that this mentor was his dad, Fred Trump. Lesson: try to have a millionaire real estate mogul as your father.
Start small, but think big. Here’s a solid nugget of investing wisdom. Acquire foreclosures and turn them around for rental or a quick sale. Early on, Trump and his father turned around a foreclosed 1,200 unit apartment complex in Cincinnati, Ohio by doing some remodeling and enforcing some no-nonsense rent collection policies. Trump says, “You have to set realistic goals – it’s the think big philosophy combined with pragmatic thinking.” Get a few of these foreclosure deals under your belt and you'll be well on your way to moving up to the million-dollar closings.
Use government policies to your advantage. Donald Trump told ABC news, “I've used the laws of this country to pare debt... We'll have the company. We'll throw it into a chapter. We'll negotiate with the banks. We'll make a fantastic deal. You know, it's like on ‘The Apprentice.’ It’s not personal. It's just business.”
Be seen. Get your name and your face out there. Frequent the Chamber of Commerce events. Create a quality website and mind the details. Create profiles on all the social media platforms and use them. Trump has made Twitter his own press office.
Fill in the gaps. As Trump says, “If your competition is better than you are, you need to offer some quality they lack.” Assess your local market down to the finest detail and make sure you’re visibly offering the very things they lack.
Be responsible. Follow through with your commitments. If you’re managing rental properties, for instance, don’t fail to follow through with handling liabilities, repairs and unwanted tenants. Trump says, “Most landlords wouldn’t want a tenant like me, but that’s why most tenants want a landlord like me: Being a perfectionist works to their benefit.”
Believe in yourself. Trump is his biggest supporter, and Trump says he always wins. “The first thing you’ve got to do in order to win is believe in yourself,” says Marc Anidjar, attorney and co-founder of Anidjar & Levine.
Never give up. There will be setbacks and failures here and there. People might tell you to change your strategy or to give up, but just keep your head down and put your shoulders into it.
Don't be afraid to go your own way. After reading all these lessons, feel free to ignore them. Trump has never hesitated to ditch the well-worn path in favor of doing things his own way, so neither should you. In the high-stakes investment game, if you follow the herd, you'll probably follow them right over the cliff too.
Make it an art, not a means to make more money. Wanting to make money is simply not enough. In the opening paragraph of Donald Trump's book The Art of the Deal he wrote, "I don't do it for the money. I've got enough, much more than I'll ever need. I do it to do it. Deals are my art form. Other people paint beautifully on canvas or write wonderful poetry. I like making deals, preferably big deals. That's how I get my kicks."
So there you have it. With this advice under your belt, go out there and make some big, beautiful real estate deals.
