David Willan — Real Estate Investor Hailing From the Midwest Who Knows How to Do Things the Right Way!
By Jonathan Wright
The real estate industry is a lucrative one, agreed. But it is always more enticing to find some success stories that make you believe that if you invest your time, money, and energy in the right way, the real estate industry will not only be lucrative for you but will have many growth opportunities with it.
Dave Willan is one of those successful entrepreneurs who have made a mark in the real estate industry by his groundbreaking investments in the right direction.
Let’s look into his journey in the real estate industry and see how he became so successful.
Starting Out
David Willan bought his first apartment building at the age of 18 years old. Willan is quoted as saying, “When I was about 12 I went with my grandfather to collect rent. I will never forget what it felt like to watch him walk up to a door, knock, and have someone open it and hand him a wad of money. At that moment I knew I wanted to own apartments.”
He has always had the same philosophy on what type of property to invest in. He believes in not building any expensive houses in the suburbs; instead, he aims to “provide alternative financing for unconventional buyers to build homes in Northeast Ohio’s thriving urban neighborhoods.”
How Did He Succeed?
Behind every successful man, there is a…. mindset. David Willan has always been very particular about keep notes of his financial records.
Willan tweeted on Twitter: “Maintaining a good set of tight books is critical to running a successful business. You need to know where every dollar is combining from-and going. Banks won’t take you seriously without good accounting. And if you have outside equity investors, you have to be accountable to them.”
We admit that in every business, it is highly important to keep track of the financial records. However, if you are in the real estate business, you need to have tighter records because each penny counts (very literally).
Business Tricks:
Read below to find the real estate business tricks Willan engaged in that took him to the heights:
1. Target a Market
David Willan believes that it is essential to target a market. In an interview, he said that the key to their success is targeting a market and continuing to do so. He makes sure to build houses under $150,000 as most buyers can afford houses under this range. His idea is unique since most builders are now going out of the $150,000 cap even though most people cannot afford them.
2. Understanding the Market
Understanding the market is very, very, very important. If there is a demand for tea in the market and making coffee more, the chances are that the business idea is bound to fail. David Willan analyzed that most people are now looking for houses in the urban areas, and hence he initiated specialties in building urban development.
David Willan has made sure to keep the houses’ costs low as to increase the demand for them, and it’s safe to say it’s been working for him.
Others Strategies You Might Want to Learn from David
Let’s face it…succeeding in real estate takes much more than effort — it takes understanding of the way things work and most importantly, following the footsteps of those who are doing things right!
In case you’re curious, here are some additional strategies that David has used over the years…
· Purchase value-add single and multi-family real estate utilizing capital on hand and short-term bridge financing
· Renovate purchases with bridge funding
· Refinance with long term rental financing after four to six months of ownership seasoning based on the increased value
· Take out all, or almost all, capital invested
· Manage and reinvest the cash flow
With over 1,000 Real Estate deals under his belt as principal, following the Dave Willan route seems the way to go.
