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52 explained that there are several companies working to develop products and tech that can automatically sense and map that sort of damage in the early stages, so it can be repaired before it becomes a full-blown disaster. "at allows you to avoid things like mold growth, remediation, and health claims," Miller added. "Anything that can help you be proactive, it helps the property manager keep a happier resident." TAKING THE PLUNGE Sells recommends that potential investors looking to dip their toes into the water start with one simple adage: start small, lose small. "Start with something that isn't going to require you to leverage the pension that you worked 20 years for," Sells said. "I started in 1998, so I've been through the NASDAQ crash, the last housing crash, and when the market was strong. Distressed real estate is always there." Sells recommended avoiding coaching programs, weekend workshops, and the advice of HGTV. Instead, he suggested that investors visit property auctions to meet the people who have been in this game for a long time. Auctions, Sells suggests, are also a chance for investors to play out a hypothetical investment to see what questions arise along the way. "Do mock deals," Sells said. "Pretend that you're buying that three-bedroom, two- bath that's being sold on the auction steps in Augusta, Georgia next month. Go through the motions of what you think it would take to repair it, and all the steps involved." Perhaps the most important advice, Beit-Or suggests, is to take the time to be strategic. What are you looking for? What sort of returns are you looking for? How long are you looking to be involved? "A lot of people just jump in because they're following the herd," Beit-Or said. "ey're not even spending a few minutes to ask themselves the important questions. Are you buying with cash or financing? What are your fears and concerns? If you have that conversation with yourself, it will be easier for you to come up and say, 'e right thing for me to do is lower-end, single-family homes,' or whatever strategy you come around to." Single-family homes can prove to be an ideal entry point for investors, Beit-Or advised, but only if they take the time to do that initial self-examination and planning. "It's not about following," he said. "It's about defining your path today, or tomorrow, or next year." "ere are so many different ways to go about it," Ortner said, "whether you're looking for higher home price appreciation over the long term or you want to invest in something that's higher yield. It's important to understand what you're trying to get out of it and how long your hold period is." ankfully, technological advances have made it easier than ever to be strategic, as the days of investors being hampered by geography have largely fallen by the wayside. Investors aren't limited to properties in their own backyards, and there are an abundance of tools and tech that streamline the process of finding the right properties in the right markets— even if that market is on the other side of the country. "It's always great to have the homes you can go see, touch, and feel, but if you are someone who wants to put money into the space and you're sitting in San Francisco or New York or in LA where really buying a home to rent doesn't make a lot of sense financially, that doesn't mean you can't play the game," Ortner said. Be diverse and resourceful, Tenenbaum suggests. "You can't be distracted by shiny objects. You have to let things matriculate and filter and work. You can't say, 'I tried this for five minutes, it didn't work, I'm going to go on to something else.' You'll be a jack of all trades and a master of nothing." "If a property looks too good to be true, it often is." —Kevin Ortner, CEO, Renters Warehouse