How to Write a Real Estate Investment Business Plan + Free Sample Plan PDF

Elon Glucklich

Elon Glucklich

8 min. read

Updated February 19, 2024

Download a free one-page real estate investment sample business plan

With the worst of recent inflation in the rear-view mirror and interest rates projected to start falling in 2024, real estate investors see signs of optimism. 

New apartment construction is rising sharply . These new properties coming onto the market and the prospect of lower borrowing costs point to plenty of long-term opportunities for investors.

However, investing in real estate requires a sharp eye for market trends, as well as significant upfront resources. Investors need to understand the different strategies for securing financing, and how to manage their properties to increase their value before reselling.

A business plan reduces your likelihood of making a bad investment, because it gets you in the habit of organizing your market research, and updating it as conditions evolve. The plan ultimately helps align your investment strategies with your opportunities.

| Looking for a fix and flip , home inspection , or other type of plan? Browse the Bplans library of sample real estate business plans |

  • What should you include in a real estate investment business plan?

Here are the most common sections any real estate investor should consider including in their plan:

  • Executive summary
  • Company overview
  • Investment strategy
  • Market analysis
  • SWOT analysis
  • Financial plan and forecasts
  • Exit strategy

The length and depth of your business plan will vary depending on your business. For instance, a real estate investment firm with a national portfolio of office and apartment buildings is bound to have a more complex set of financial projections and supporting documents than an investor with single-family houses in a few markets.

Here’s an example of a real estate investment business plan outline.

sample business plan for property investment

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  • The 8 elements of an effective real estate investment business plan

1. Executive summary

Most business plans start with an executive summary outlining the business opportunity and the core strategies of your business. 

It’s the first section that most readers (including loan officers) will read. You’ll want to highlight any unique value or competitive edge you have, such as a track record of generating positive returns, or knowledge of a specific market. 

You should also give a high-level overview of your financial projections and anticipated returns, which you’ll go into greater detail on in the plan’s financial section. If you’re writing a business plan because you’re seeking bank financing or an investment, this is a good section to state your funding request and how you’ll use those funds.

2. Company overview 

The company overview describes your company’s operational and legal structure . 

List whether you have any partners, and detail your team’s experience, expertise, and roles within the company. Also, outline your portfolio, such as investing in residential properties, commercial buildings, or new development projects. 

3. Investment strategy

There are many ways to invest in real estate — buying homes to rent out, fixing and flipping houses, pooling your resources with partners into a real estate investment group, investing in real estate investment trusts, and more. Describe your strategy and why it will generate the highest returns.You should also describe your criteria for choosing properties to invest in, and whether your primary focus is to invest in a certain geographic region or a type of property, such as apartments or fixer-upper homes.

4. Market analysis

If you have any experience in investment real estate, you know how important market research is. Imagine paying $1 million for an apartment building and adding $100,000 on renovations, only to realize you can’t find tenants to pay the higher rents you want to charge.

That’s where a thorough market analysis comes in. It helps you understand the landscape you’re operating in. 

Use resources like the U.S. Census Bureau to research your target market’s age, income, and population trends. Look online for local data about real estate prices and how they’ve changed over time, or reach out to local realtors to get a feel for the market.

You should also try to determine how much investment activity is taking place in the market and who you’re competing with for opportunities. 

Many cities and larger towns with development departments make their building permit databases available online, since permits are typically public records. Reviewing permit records can show you how much development activity is already occurring where you plan to invest.

5. SWOT analysis

Because of the risks involved in real estate investment, a SWOT analysis can be a helpful exercise. It’s a strategic way of evaluating your company’s internal and external environment (think about your company’s financial health as an internal factor, and interest rates as an external factor).

The SWOT analysis gets you thinking about your company’s:

Strengths: What you do well , and what unique resources you have.

Weaknesses: What you need to improve on, what resources you lack, or what your competitors do better than you.

Opportunities: What are the current opportunities you want to take advantage of?

Threats: What factors could expose your company to risk, or what might competitors do to harm your position?

6. Financial plan and forecasts

Your financial plan should provide a detailed view of the expected financial performance of your real estate investments. Include income statements , cash flow forecasts , and balance sheets projecting the next 3-5 years. 

List the assumptions you used in your projections, such as rental income changes from rent increases or unrealized revenue due to certain amounts of vacant commercial space. 

You should also include a break-even analysis. This calculates when you expect a property’s operating income to exceed the debt taken to buy and maintain it.

7. Exit strategy

If you’re writing your business plan for investors, detailing your exit strategy will clarify their pathways for realizing their returns. It also trains you to think about the long-term timeline for your investments and how to maximize their value. 

Consider strategies that will help you maximize your profits, like refinancing your properties or looking into potential tax-deferral opportunities like a 1031 exchange.

8. Appendix

The appendix is an optional section at the end of your business plan. It’s where you include additional documents that support your business plan but don’t fit in the plan. This might include your detailed market research data, financial tables not covered in the main sections of the plan, legal documents, or permit records.

  • Key considerations for writing a real estate investment business plan

To write a business plan that you can use as a guide for your decision making, consider places in the plan to emphasize these key points.

1. Develop a niche

If you’re a small investor or just starting, focus on carving out a specific niche for your investment strategy instead of trying to compete in multiple real estate segments. This could mean concentrating on a particular property type, such as multi-family homes, commercial real estate, or foreclosure properties, and diversifying your portfolio only after you’ve developed some traction. Or, you may decide to focus only on the segment you have the greatest advantage in.

2. Understand your risks

Real estate investment is inherently risky. 

Market dynamics, regulatory changes, and economic fluctuations can all impact the performance of your investments. 

As you compile research for your market analysis, dedicate time to conduct a detailed risk analysis to understand these factors and their potential impact on your investments. This includes assessing location-specific risks, economic cycles, and tenant or occupancy issues. 

Writing these out before they happen will help you think of strategies to mitigate these risks if they actually occur.

3. Network and develop market knowledge

Building a strong network with other real estate professionals, such as brokers and contractors, can provide valuable insights into the markets you hope to operate in. Document in your business plan how you will cultivate these relationships — you can include timelines for developing contacts in the milestones section of your plan.

Also, try to keep up to date on current events in the area, especially news about the regional economy. Look into the tax climate in the area, as well. All of this helps you build a deeper understanding of your market dynamics, and helps validate your investment strategy — or gives you reasons to reconsider.

4. Consider help with your financials

Even if you have the financial background to write financial forecasts, you may want to leave room in your budget for accounting support. 

If you’re starting or investing in an unfamiliar market, a CPA will help you navigate tricky tax issues that could throw off your projections. 

Include the expense of hiring an accountant in your plan if you decide to bring one on, and describe their role, whether it’s helping with budgeting, tax planning, or financial analysis.

  • Download your free real estate investment one page sample business plan

Download your free real estate investment sample business plan right now, or explore the Bplans gallery of over 550 sample business plans if you want to see plans for other industries.

You can also see how other real estate businesses have written their plans by checking out our free library of real estate business plans .

There are many reasons why real estate investors should write a business plan . Not only does it demonstrate credibility to the banks or investors you want to fund your acquisitions — it also increases your chances for growth , and gives you a strategy to manage your finances for the long term.

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Content Author: Elon Glucklich

Elon is a marketing specialist at Palo Alto Software, working with consultants, accountants, business instructors and others who use LivePlan at scale. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism and an MBA from the University of Oregon.

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Real Estate Investing & Rental Management | How To

How to Write a Real Estate Investment Business Plan (+ Free Template)

Published September 22, 2023

Published Sep 22, 2023

Gina Baker

REVIEWED BY: Gina Baker

Jealie Dacanay

WRITTEN BY: Jealie Dacanay

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  • 1 Write Your Mission & Vision Statement
  • 2 Conduct a SWOT Analysis
  • 3 Choose a Real Estate Business Investing Model
  • 4 Set Specific & Measurable Goals
  • 5 Write a Company Summary
  • 6 Determine Your Financial Plan
  • 7 Perform a Rental Market Analysis
  • 8 Create a Marketing Plan
  • 9 Build a Team & Implement Systems
  • 10 Have an Exit Strategy
  • 11 Bottom Line

A real estate investment business plan is a guide with actionable steps for determining how you’ll operate your real estate investing business. It also indicates how you’ll measure your business’ success. The plan outlines your mission and vision statement, lets you conduct a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis, and sets goals in place. It’s similar to a business plan for any business, but the objectives are geared toward how you will manage the business, grow your investment, and secure funding.

We’ve created a free real estate investment business plan template for you to download and use as a guide as you read through the article and learn how to write a business plan for real estate investment:

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Free Real Estate Investment Business Plan Template

Preview of Real Estate Investment Business Plan Template.

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1. write your mission & vision statement.

Every real estate investment business plan should begin with a concrete mission statement and vision. A mission statement declares actions and strategies the organization will use—serving as its North Star in achieving its business or investment objectives. A strong mission statement directs a real estate business, keeps teams accountable, inspires customers, and helps you measure success.

Before you compose your mission statement, you need to think about the following questions to do it effectively:

  • What exactly is our business? The answer should encompass the essential functions of your real estate organization.
  • How are we doing it? The response must explain your real estate goals and methods based on your core principles.
  • Who are we doing it for? The response explains who your primary market is.
  • What are our guiding principles? The “why” for your real estate company’s existence.

Oak Tree Capital website mission statement header.

Mission statement example (Source: Oak Tree Capital )

The example above provides the mission statement of Oak Tree Capital. As a real estate investment business, it’s clear what its ultimate business objective is and how it will approach investing with integrity to maximize profit. Essentially, the investment company will drive monetary results—while maintaining its moral principles.

On the other hand, vision statements differ slightly from mission statements. They’re a bit more inspirational and provide some direction for future planning and execution of business investment strategies. Vision statements touch on a company’s desires and purpose beyond day-to-day operational activity. A vision statement outlines what the business desires to be once its mission statement is achieved.

For more mission statement examples, read our 16 Small Business Mission Statement Examples & Why They Inspire article and download our free mission statement template to get started.

If you want to write a vision statement that is truly aspirational and motivating, you should include your significant stakeholders as well as words that describe your products, services, values, initiatives, and goals. It would be best if you also answer the following questions:

  • What is the primary goal of your organization?
  • What are the key strengths of your business?
  • What are the core values of your company?
  • How do you aim to change the world as a business?
  • What kind of global influence do you want your business to have?
  • What needs and wants does your company have?
  • How would the world be different if our organization achieved its goals?

In the example below from Aguila Real Estate, it hopes to be the preferred real estate company in its market.

Example of a real estate vision statement.

Example of a vision statement (Source: Aguila Real Estate )

To make it easier, download our free template and follow our steps to create a vision statement for your small business. Take a look also at our 12 Inspiring Vision Statement Examples for Small Businesses in 2023 article to better understand how to create an impactful vision statement.

2. Conduct a SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis section of your real estate investing business plan template helps identify a business’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This tool enables real estate investors to identify internal areas of improvement within their business through their strengths and weaknesses.

The opportunities and threats can assist with motivating a team to take actions that keep them ahead of an ever-changing real estate landscape. For a real estate business investor, the SWOT analysis is aimed at helping grow and protect investments over time.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Specifically for real estate investing, strengths and weaknesses correlate with the investment properties’ success and touch on items that will drive investment growth. The strengths can be the property’s location, condition, available amenities, and decreased vacancy. All of these items contribute to the success of a property.

On the contrary, the weaknesses include small unit sizes, excessive expenditures (finances to repair, upgrade, properties to acquire), low rents, and low cap rates. These weaknesses indicate less money is being collected and a lower overall return on investment (ROI). They are all factors that limit cash flow into the business and are internal factors that an investor can change.

See below for an example of strengths and weaknesses that could be included in a SWOT analysis:

Opportunities & Threats

Opportunities and threats are external factors that can affect an investment business. You don’t have control over these items, but you can maneuver your business to take advantage of the opportunities or mitigate any long-term effects of external threats. Opportunities relating to investment properties can be receiving certification with a city as a preferred development or having excess equity.

However, threats to an investment property do not need to be particularly connected to the property itself. They can be factors that affect your overall business. For example, interest rates may be high, which cuts your profits if you obtain a mortgage during that time frame.

An example of possible opportunities and threats for an investment business could be:

After creating your SWOT analysis, an investor can use these factors to develop business goals to support your strengths and opportunities while implementing change to combat the weaknesses and threats you anticipate. It also helps investors prioritize what items need to be addressed to succeed. These factors in a SWOT can change as the business grows, so don’t forget to revisit this portion and continuously reevaluate your SWOT.

3. Choose a Real Estate Business Investing Model

The core of real estate investing is to purchase and sell properties for a profit. How to make that profit is a factor in identifying your investment model. Different investing models are beneficial to an investor at different times.

For example, when interest rates are low, you may consider selling your property altogether. When interest rates are high and it is more difficult for people to obtain a mortgage, you may choose to rent out your properties instead. Sometimes, you must try a few models to see what works best for your business, given your area of expertise.

We’ve identified some investment business models to consider:

  • Buy and hold: This strategy mainly involves renting out the property and earning regular rental income. This is also considered the BRRRR method : buy, rehab, rent, refinance, and repeat until you have increased your portfolio.
  • Flipping properties : Flipping a property entails purchasing, adding value, and selling it higher than the investment costs. Many investors have a set profitability number they would like to hit but should consider market fluctuations on what they can realistically receive during the sale.
  • Owner-occupied: Investors can live in the property while renting out extra units to reduce their housing costs and have rental income coming in simultaneously. This model is best if you own multifamily units, especially duplexes, triplexes, or fourplexes . It’s also a great way to understand the complexities of being a landlord. You can transition your unit to another renter when you want to move.
  • Turnkey: Buying a turnkey property is the best option for investors who wish to enter the real estate market without having to deal with renovations or tenant management. It’s a practical way for seasoned investors to diversify their portfolios with fewer time commitments.

Investors don’t have to stick to one model, and they can have a few of these investment models within their portfolio, depending on how much effort they would like to put into each property. Before choosing an investment model, consider which will help you meet your investing goals most efficiently.

Read our Investing in Real Estate: The 14-Tip Guide for Beginners article to learn how real estate investment works and other investing business models. Also, if you’re new to real estate investing and are looking for foundational knowledge to get started or seeking information about the best online courses for real estate investing, look at our The 13 Best Real Estate Investing Courses Online 2023 article.

4. Set Specific & Measurable Goals

The next step to completing a real estate investment business plan for real estate investing is to set SMART goals. SMART is an acronym that stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Creating goals that contain all of the criteria of SMART goals results in extremely specific goals, provides focus, and sets an investor up for achieving the goals. The process of creating these goals takes some experience and continued practice.

An investor’s goals can consist of small short-term goals and more monumental long-term goals. Whether big or small, ideal goals will propel your business forward. For example, your end goal could be having a specific number of properties in your portfolio or setting a particular return on investment (ROI) you want to achieve annually.

Remember that your SMART goals don’t always have to be property-related just because you’re an investor. They can be goals that help you improve your networking or public speaking skills that can also add to a growing business.

Example of improving goals with SMART in mind:

Begin creating SMART goals with an initial goal. Then, take that initial goal and break it down into the different SMART components. SMART goals leave no room for error or confusion. The specific, measurable, and time-bound criteria identify the exact components for success.

However, the relevant and achievable parts of the goal require a little extra work to identify. The relevancy should align with your company’s mission, and extra research must be performed to ensure the goal is attainable.

Initial goal: Receive a 5% return on investment from the property

Smart goal:

  • Specific: I want to achieve a 5% return on the 99 Park Place property.
  • Measurable: The goal is to sell it for greater than or equal to $499,000.
  • Achievable: The current market value for a two-bedroom in Chicago is selling for $500,000 and growing by 1% yearly.
  • Relevant: I aim to meet my overall portfolio returns by 20% annually.
  • Time-bound: I want to offload this property in the next three years.

5. Write a Company Summary

The company summary section of a business plan for investors is a high-level overview, giving insight into your business, its services, goals, and mission, and how you differentiate yourself from your competition. Other items that can be included in this overview are business legal structure, business location, and business goals. The company summary is beneficial if you want to involve outside investors or partners in your business.

Choueri Real Estate company summary

​​Example company profile from Choueri Real Estate

A company summary is customizable to your target audience. If you’re using this section to recruit high-level executives to your team, center it around business operations and corporate culture. However, if you’re looking to target funding and develop investor relationships for a new project, then you should include investor-specific topics relating to profitability, investment strategy, and company business structure.

Partners and outside investors will want to consider your company’s specific legal business structure to know what types of liabilities are at hand. Legal business structure determines how taxes are charged and paid and what legal entity owns the assets. This information helps determine how the liabilities are separated from personal assets. For example, if a tenant wants to seek legal damages against the landlord and the property is owned by an LLC, personal assets like your personal home will not be at risk.

6. Determine Your Financial Plan

The most essential part of creating a real estate investing business is the financial aspect since much of the business involves purchasing, managing, and selling real estate. To buy real estate initially, you’ll have to determine where funding will come from. Funding can come from your personal assets, a line of credit, or external investors.

A few options are available to real estate investors when obtaining a loan to purchase properties. The lending options available to most real estate investors include the following:

  • Mortgage: This is one of the most common means of obtaining financing. A financial institution will provide money based on a borrower’s credit score and ability to repay the loan.
  • Federal Housing Authority (FHA) loans : This loan is secured by the FHA to assist with getting you a low down payment or lower closing costs, and sometimes easily obtain credit. There are some restrictions to qualify for this loan—but it could be suitable for newer investors who want to begin investing starting with their primary home.
  • Home equity line of credit (HELOC) : If you currently have property, obtain a HELOC by using your current property to secure the line of credit and borrow against the equity in your property. As you repay the loan, your available balance on the line of credit gets replenished.
  • Private lenders : These are lenders who are not financial institutions. These individual lenders typically have fewer restrictions than traditional lenders and will lend money to individuals who can grow their investments.
  • Hard-money loans : This loan requires a hard asset to be leveraged for money. For example, you can put up the home you want to purchase as the asset for cash upfront, and the hard-money loan will be paid back once the home is sold or other funding is secured. This is great for short-term deals due to quick approval and little upfront money.

After funding is obtained to purchase property, financial projections help investors understand their financial standing. These projections can tell you potential income, profits, and when you may need additional funding in the future. Similar to lending options, these calculations are specific to your investing model. If you’re not planning to rent out the property, then calculations like gross rent multiplier are not applicable.

For more information on what is needed to obtain financing, read our articles Investment Property Financing & Requirements and 5 Best Crowdfunding Sites for Investors 2023 .

Additional Investment Calculations

In a rental property business plan, it’s important to use a rental property calculator to determine a property’s potential return on investment. The calculator considers various factors, such as purchase price, operating expenses, monthly income, or vacancy rates, to determine whether a property is a good investment.

Click on the tabs below for the other important calculations all investors should be aware of when purchasing and managing rental properties :

  • Gross Operating Income
  • Gross Rent Multiplier
  • Vacancy Rate

The gross operating income (GOI) calculates the amount of rent and income received from a property minus any vacancy. It doesn’t take into account other expenses. It tells an investor how much income they’ll make after some assumed losses with vacancy.

GOI = Total rent + Other income – Vacancy losses

The capitalization (cap) rate calculates the return on investment (ROI) of a property. This equation is used to compare the return of one building to another. The higher the cap rate, the better since the purchase price is low.

Cap Rate = Net operating income / Purchase price

The gross rent multiplier (GRM) is a factor that helps determine a property’s potential profitability. It can be used to compare perspective buildings to determine which one is the better deal.

GRM = Property price / Gross annual income

The vacancy rate calculates the vacancy percentage of all your investment properties during a specific period. Percentage helps an investor determine how their property performs given current market conditions. If you have a high vacancy rate, you must determine the cause. Perhaps your asking rents are too high for the current housing market.

Vacancy Rate Formula = # of Vacant Units x 100 / Total # of Units

Cash flow is the movement of money in and out of your business, also known as net operating income. In an ideal scenario, investors will bring in more income than expenses, thus showing profit and a positive cash flow. Positive cash flow allows investors to decide how to use that profit. They can invest it in growing their portfolio or increasing their cash reserves for unexpected expenses.

Cash Flow = Gross rental income – Total expenses

Investors can use their current cash flow to forecast future cash flows, which will give you an idea of how much profit you will see over a specific period. Use past cash flow information to determine if there are any trends. For example, during the summer, your water expenses increase, or possibly every few months, you see an increase in property repairs. Consider these trends when estimating future cash flows and compare actual numbers to determine if your forecasting is accurate.

Use the template below to forecast future cash flow for six months and determine how much cash flow reserves you will have:

Cash Flow Template

Cash flow forecast template.

💡 Quick tip:

In addition to the template, investing in property management software like TenantCloud will set you up for success. The free plan from TenantCloud will help you list apartments, collect rent payments, and screen applicants to maximize profits and minimize vacancies.

7. Perform a Rental Market Analysis

While determining what properties to purchase, investors should perform a rental market analysis (RMA) to gauge the investment potential of a rental property. The RMA consists of running comparables against current units on the market and collecting data that may affect your rental rate to understand if the rental property in question is a solid long-term investment. The analysis helps determine the average rental rate and future rent if you want to make any property upgrades.

Fit Small Business rental market analysis template.

Investors can use resources like Zillow to pull comparable property information and gather information on unit layout, building amenities, rental concessions offered, or listing prices. Once the information is gathered, the spreadsheet itemizes the average, median, highest, and lowest rent. When such information is available, it also provides an average price per square foot compared to the subject property. With this information, investors can decide whether the subject property is worth the investment.

Read our 10 Best States to Invest in Real Estate (& 5 Worst) in 2023 article to better understand which states yield a positive cash flow, build equity, and have long-term profitability.

8. Create a Marketing Plan

Once you determine which property to invest in, investors should identify a marketing plan to list the vacant units. Some investors offload the marketing and advertising to real estate agents and brokerages, which will also collect a fee for renting out the property. Refer to some of the best real estate marketing materials to get started, or use our free real estate marketing plan template to lay out your objectives and tactics.

Image of Fit Small Business' free real estate marketing plan template.

A real estate marketing plan should include your goals, budget, target market, competitors, feasible marketing strategies, and unique selling offers. In addition, it’s crucial to balance your strategy and split your potential marketing plans into categories, like print materials, online ads, email, and social media, so that you can be very specific with your goals and metrics.

Here are some of the real estate marketing mediums to include as you set your marketing goals:

  • Real estate website and landing pages
  • Email marketing
  • SMS and text message marketing
  • Real estate ads
  • Social media marketing
  • Print marketing materials
  • Real estate signs

Download our marketing plan template by visiting our article Free Real Estate Marketing Plan Template & Strategy Guide .

9. Build a Team & Implement Systems

As a new investor, you may be unable to hire an entire team of employees to help perform research, run analysis, property management , and accounting duties. It is best to have a list of vendors you can rely on to assist you with purchasing, rehabilitating, and buying or selling your investment properties. Find vendors you trust so you can free yourself from having to micromanage them and know they have your best interest and the interest of your investments in mind.

Here are a few people you want to include on your team:

  • Contractors
  • Electricians
  • Property managers
  • Accountants

You should also utilize real estate investing apps and property intelligence software like Baselane that relieve you of manually performing daily duties to keep your investments profitable.

 .

Automated rent collection feature (Source: Baselane )

Baselane is an all-in-one solution—from banking to rent collection, bookkeeping, reporting, and analytics. This software will help you efficiently manage your portfolio and eliminate the need for manual tasks. Learn more about how Baselane can make you a better property owner.

Visit Baselane

If you’re looking for more tools to help you get started, improve your portfolio management, and streamline your operations, read our 6 Best Real Estate Software for Investors 2023 article. We listed the six best software tools available for real estate investing based on affordability, customer reviews, features, and support to assist you in finding the best software that suits your needs.

10. Have an Exit Strategy

Since an investor’s money is tied up in the properties they own until they choose to sell, deciding when to sell or liquidate to get access to your money is part of an investor’s overall real estate exit strategy. The exit strategy for a real estate investment business is a plan for when an investor would like to remove themself from a deal or the business altogether. It helps weigh the different scenarios to minimize business risks and maximize the total return on investments.

A few exit strategy examples are:

The factors that an investor should consider when devising an exit strategy are minimizing financial loss, recouping as much of their original investment as possible, and avoiding any unseen fees that will cut into profits like tax consequences. An investor’s plan should always be to grow their original investment, but unforeseen circumstances may occur that will require you to plan on when to cut your losses as well.

Bottom Line

Before launching a successful real estate investment business, you must have an efficient business plan, aligning your strategies with your business objectives. Our real estate investment business plan template can help get you started. These plans act as a roadmap so you can focus on the steps required to grow your business. Business plans evolve, so continuously revisit and improve your strategies. There is no right or wrong way to write a real estate investor business plan as long as it is used to achieve your goals.

About the Author

Jealie Dacanay

Find Jealie On LinkedIn

Jealie Dacanay

Jealie is a staff writer expert focusing on real estate education, lead generation, marketing, and investing. She has always seen writing as an opportunity to apply her knowledge and express her ideas. Over the years and through her internship at a real estate developer in the Philippines, Camella, she developed and discovered essential skills for producing high-quality online content.

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Real Estate Investment Business Plan

sample business plan for property investment

Things to Consider Before Writing a Real Estate Investment Business Plan

Select the right property location.

Selecting the right location to invest in is one of the primary requirements for a real estate business’s success. You should select the location based on what is the potential of infrastructural development in the area. Is it a preferable location for commercialization and urbanization or not? You should always keep these things in mind to ensure the maximum possible returns on your investment.

Know the purpose of your investment

Do your research, know all of your options, how can a real estate investment business plan help you.

You may want to start investing as soon as possible, after all, investments take time to grow, right? But just like a stitch in time saves nine, a real estate investment business plan can help your investment business prosper in the future even if it seems time-consuming at the moment.

It can help you design a proper business model and formulate a great business growth strategy. Moreover, it can also help you track your progress along the way.

All in all, it can make your investments way smoother than going about without a business plan.

Chalking out Your Business Plan

The real estate sector is one of the most profitable sectors to invest in. Many investors swear by it as a bankable source of secondary income.

Not just that, the real estate investment market increased from 9.6 trillion dollars in 2019 to 10.5 trillion dollars in 2020. Although it may take time, investment in the housing market can help your money grow.

And though the above information invests in the real estate sector as a rosy prospect, it can go horribly wrong without a proper business plan and investment strategy.

Read on to find out what a business plan can do for your investment business.

Real estate investment business plan outline

This is the standard real estate investment business plan outline which will cover all important sections that you should include in your business plan.

  • Purpose of the Plan
  • Introduction
  • The Problem
  • The Solution
  • A fundamental change in the US housing market
  • All three legs of the apartment investment stool are in place
  • Weak Housing Market
  • Competitive Advantage
  • Business Model
  • Growth Opportunity
  • Corporate Structure Overview
  • Source and Use of Funds
  • Return on Investment
  • Mission Statement
  • Business Objectives
  • Legal Structure
  • Company Ownership
  • Location and Premises
  • Intellectual Property
  • CREI Business Model
  • Revenue Projections
  • The Amount of Investment Funds Requested
  • Business Benefits
  • Investment Repayments
  • Good Investment Trends in Apartment Rentals
  • Rent Spikes Coming For a Good Investment in Apartment Buildings
  • Apartments Continue as Good Investment Through 2012 and Beyond
  • Apartment Buildings Going From Good Investment to Great
  • Filling Basic Needs Makes for a Good Investment
  • More Americans renting by choice
  • The Apartment Building Investment Triple Opportunity Is Right Now
  • Internet Growth Allows Renters to Locate Good Apartments
  • Industry Participants
  • Competitive Advantages
  • Strategic Initiatives?
  • Brand Strategy
  • Provide Individuals, Families, and Businesses with Quality Rental Properties at an Affordable Price.
  • Positioning Statement
  • Pricing Strategy
  • Sales Strategy
  • Sales Forecast
  • Sales Programs
  • Strategic Alliances
  • Social networking websites
  • Email campaigns
  • SEO (Search Engine Optimization) PPC
  • Banner advertisements
  • Search Engine Optimization
  • Organizational Structure
  • SWOT Analysis
  • Key Assumptions
  • Key Financial Indicators
  • Explanation of Break-even Analysis
  • Business Ratios
  • Long-term Plan and Financial Highlights
  • Projected Income Statement
  • Projected Cash Flow
  • Projected Balance Sheet

How to Write a Real Estate Investment Business Plan?

A real estate investment business plan consists of several key areas that must be included in it and add things that would be unique to you and your business.

Also, there are several ways in which you can write a business plan including online business plan software and pre-designed templates. You can choose the method that works best for your individual needs.

What to Include in a Real Estate Investment Business Plan?

Although a business plan should be customized as per the needs of an individual and market situation, there are certain areas that every real estate investment business plan must include. They are as follows:

1. Executive Summary

The executive summary section is the first and foremost section of your business plan. It consists of what your entire business stands for. It focuses on everything ranging from opportunities and threats, competitive advantages your business has, the structure of the current market as well as the financial needs of the business.

Most importantly for a real estate investment business plan, it would also consist of the prospective return of investment one can expect from the business as well as the expected duration of time for that growth to happen.

2. Business Concept and Revenue Model

This section would include the type of investment concept and revenue model you plan on following with your business. So, before writing this section it is a good practice to analyze the current trends in the market as well as your own finances, to find the concept that fits the best for you in the current market situation.

In this section, you can also include methods of tracking the progress of your investments.

3. Market Analysis

Whenever one starts a new business it is mandatory to carry out market analysis to flourish in it. It not only helps you in understanding the market, but it also helps you in choosing the right strategy for your own business.

For example, in the US rent spikes and increasing demand for rental accommodations make the rent department an extremely profitable segment in the real estate market. A thorough analysis of the market can thus help you choose the most favorable market segment as well as the best locality to invest in.

4. Growth Strategy

In this section, you should include the milestones you plan on having for your investment business. It helps you set well-defined tasks to achieve those milestones and keeps you motivated while doing the same. Also, with the help of milestones, you can always pinpoint when and where you are going wrong and need a shift in direction.

5. Web Plan

Having a web presence can be immensely helpful in building your network and reaching out to potential partners and organizations that can help you grow.

For building an online presence you can use various tools like social media, email marketing, optimized web pages, etc.

6. Management Summary

This segment includes information regarding the roles and responsibilities of the people in your business. The people in your business are a major aspect that decides its success or downfall, therefore a thorough detail of their work and progress is an essential part of your business plan.

7. SWOT Analysis

Carrying out a SWOT analysis before writing your business plan can make the process faster, easier, and way more well-defined. Hence, including it in your business plan is always a good idea.

8. Financial analysis

Even though financial analysis is crucial for any business, it is especially important for investment businesses. In this section, you can include the time required to reach the break-even point, the projected growth of your business, long-term finances as well and strategies to deal with potential changes in the market.

Download a sample real estate investment business plan

Need help writing your business plan from scratch? Here you go; download our free real estate investment business plan pdf to start.

It’s a modern business plan template specifically designed for your real estate investment. Use the example business plan as a guide for writing your own.

The Quickest Way to turn a Business Idea into a Business Plan

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Frequently asked questions, do you need a business plan for real estate investing.

Indeed. Whether you plan to start a real estate investing, development, or mortgage broker business—you need a solid business plan to make your real estate business a runaway success. You can use Upmetrics’ real estate & rental business plan templates to get started writing your plan.

What's the importance of a marketing strategy in a real estate investment business plan?

Marketing strategy is a key component of your real estate investment business plan. Whether it is about achieving certain business goals or helping your investors understand your plan to maximize their return on investment—an impactful marketing strategy is the way to do it!

Here are a few pointers to help you understand the importance of having an impactful marketing strategy:

  • It provides your business an edge over your competitors.
  • It helps investors better understand your business and growth potential.
  • It helps you develop products with the best profit potential.
  • It helps you set accurate pricing for your products or services.

What is the easiest way to write your real estate investment business plan?

A lot of research is necessary for writing a business plan, but you can write your plan most efficiently with the help of any real estate investment business plan example and edit it as per your need. You can also quickly finish your plan in just a few hours or less with the help of our business planning tool .

How do I write a good market analysis in a real estate investment business plan?

Market analysis is one of the key components of your business plan that requires deep research and a thorough understanding of your industry.

We can categorize the process of writing a good market analysis section into the following steps:

  • Stating the objective of your market analysis—e.g., investor funding.
  • Industry study—market size, growth potential, market trends, etc.
  • Identifying target market—based on user behavior and demographics.
  • Analyzing direct and indirect competitors.
  • Calculating market share—understanding TAM, SAM, and SOM.
  • Knowing regulations and restrictions
  • Organizing data and writing the first draft.

Writing a marketing analysis section can be overwhelming, but using ChatGPT for market research can make things easier.

About the Author

sample business plan for property investment

Vinay Kevadiya

Vinay Kevadiya is the founder and CEO of Upmetrics, the #1 business planning software. His ultimate goal with Upmetrics is to revolutionize how entrepreneurs create, manage, and execute their business plans. He enjoys sharing his insights on business planning and other relevant topics through his articles and blog posts. Read more

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How To Write A Real Estate Business Plan

sample business plan for property investment

What is a real estate business plan?

8 must-haves in a business plan

How to write a business plan

Real estate business plan tips

Success in the real estate investing industry won’t happen overnight, and it definitely won’t happen without proper planning or implementation. For entrepreneurs, a  real estate development business plan can serve as a road map to all of your business operations. Simply put, a real estate business plan will serve an essential role in forming your investing career.

Investors will need to strategize several key elements to create a successful business plan. These include future goals, company values, financing strategies, and more. Once complete, a business plan can create the foundation for smooth operations and outline a future with unlimited potential for your investing career. Keep reading to learn how to create a real estate investment business plan today.

What Is A Real Estate Investing Business Plan?

A real estate business plan is a living document that provides the framework for business operations and goals. A business plan will include future goals for the company and organized steps to get there. While business plans can vary from investor to investor, they will typically include planning for one to five years at a time.

Drafting a business plan for real estate investing purposes is, without a doubt, one of the single most important steps a new investor can take. An REI business plan will help you avoid potential obstacles while simultaneously placing you in a position to succeed. It is a blueprint to follow when things are going according to plan and even when they veer off course. If for nothing else, a real estate company’s business plan will ensure that investors know which steps to follow to achieve their goals. In many ways, nothing is more valuable to today’s investors. It is the plan, after all, to follow the most direct path to success.

real estate investing business plan

8 Must-Haves In A Real Estate Business Plan

As a whole, a real estate business plan should address a company’s short and long-term goals. To accurately portray a company’s vision, the right business plan will require more information than a future vision. A strong real estate investing business plan will provide a detailed look at its ins and outs. This can include the organizational structure, financial information, marketing outline, and more.  When done right, it will serve as a comprehensive overview for anyone who interacts with your business, whether internally or externally.

That said, creating an REI business plan will require a persistent attention to detail. For new investors drafting a real estate company business plan may seem like a daunting task, and quite honestly it is. The secret is knowing which ingredients must be added (and when). Below are seven must-haves for a well executed business plan:

Outline the company values and mission statement.

Break down future goals into short and long term.

Strategize the strengths and weaknesses of the company.

Formulate the best investment strategy for each property and your respective goals.

Include potential marketing and branding efforts.

State how the company will be financed (and by whom).

Explain who is working for the business.

Answer any “what ifs” with backup plans and exit strategies.

These components matter the most, and a quality real estate business plan will delve into each category to ensure maximum optimization.

A company vision statement is essentially your mission statement and values. While these may not be the first step in planning your company, a vision will be crucial to the success of your business. Company values will guide you through investment decisions and inspire others to work with your business time and time again. They should align potential employees, lenders, and possible tenants with the motivations behind your company.

Before writing your company vision, think through examples you like both in and out of the real estate industry. Is there a company whose values you identify with? Or, are there mission statements you dislike? Use other companies as a starting point when creating your own set of values. Feel free to reach out to your mentor or other network connections for feedback as you plan. Most importantly, think about the qualities you value and how they can fit into your business plan.

Goals are one of the most important elements in a successful business plan. This is because not only do goals provide an end goal for your company, but they also outline the steps required to get there. It can be helpful to think about goals in two categories: short-term and long-term. Long-term goals will typically outline your plans for the company. These can include ideal investment types, profit numbers, and company size. Short-term goals are the smaller, actionable steps required to get there.

For example, one long-term business goal could be to land four wholesale deals by the end of the year. Short-term goals will make this more achievable by breaking it into smaller steps. A few short-term goals that might help you land those four wholesale deals could be to create a direct mail campaign for your market area, establish a buyers list with 50 contacts, and secure your first property under contract. Breaking down long-term goals is a great way to hold yourself accountable, create deadlines and accomplish what you set out to.

3. SWOT Analysis

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. A SWOT analysis involves thinking through each of these areas as you evaluate your company and potential competitors. This framework allows business owners to better understand what is working for the company and identify potential areas for improvement. SWOT analyses are used across industries as a way to create more actionable solutions to potential issues.

To think through a SWOT analysis for your real estate business plan, first, identify your company’s potential strengths and weaknesses. Do you have high-quality tenants? Are you struggling to raise capital? Be honest with yourself as you write out each category. Then, take a step back and look at your market area and competitors to identify threats and opportunities. A potential threat could be whether or not your rental prices are in line with comparable properties. On the other hand, a potential opportunity could boost your property’s amenities to be more competitive in the area.

4. Investment Strategy

Any good real estate investment business plan requires the ability to implement a sound investment strategy. If for nothing else, there are several exit strategies a business may execute to secure profits: rehabbing, wholesaling, and renting — to name a few. Investors will want to analyze their market and determine which strategy will best suit their goals. Those with long-term retirement goals may want to consider leaning heavily into rental properties. However, those without the funds to build a rental portfolio may want to consider getting started by wholesaling. Whatever the case may be, now is the time to figure out what you want to do with each property you come across. It is important to note, however, that this strategy will change from property to property. Therefore, investors need to determine their exit strategy based on the asset and their current goals. This section needs to be added to a real estate investment business plan because it will come in handy once a prospective deal is found.

5. Marketing Plan

While marketing may seem like the cherry on top of a sound business plan, marketing efforts will actually play an integral role in your business’s foundation. A marketing plan should include your business logo, website, social media outlets, and advertising efforts. Together these elements can build a solid brand for your business, which will help you build a strong business reputation and ultimately build trust with investors, clients, and more.

First, to plan your marketing, think about how your brand can illustrate the company values and mission statement you have created. Consider the ways you can incorporate your vision into your logo or website. Remember, in addition to attracting new clients, marketing efforts can also help maintain relationships with existing connections. For a step by step guide to drafting a real estate marketing plan , be sure to read this guide.

6. Financing Plan

Writing the financial portion of a business plan can be tricky, especially if you are starting your business. As a general rule, a financial plan will include the income statement, cash flow, and balance sheet for a business. A financial plan should also include short and long-term goals regarding the profits and losses of a company. Together, this information will help make business decisions, raise capital, and report on business performance.

Perhaps the most important factor when creating a financial plan is accuracy. While many investors want to report on high profits or low losses, manipulating data will not boost your business performance in any way. Come up with a system of organization that works for you and always ensure your financial statements are authentic. As a whole, a financial plan should help you identify what is and isn’t working for your business.

7. Teams & Small Business Systems

No successful business plan is complete without an outline of the operations and management. Think: how your business is being run and by whom. This information will include the organizational structure, office management (if any), and an outline of any ongoing projects or properties. Investors can even include future goals for team growth and operational changes when planning this information.

Even if you are just starting or have yet to launch your business, it is still necessary to plan your business structure. Start by planning what tasks you will be responsible for, and look for areas you will need help with. If you have a business partner, think through your strengths and weaknesses and look for areas you can best complement each other. For additional guidance, set up a meeting with your real estate mentor. They can provide valuable insights into their own business structure, which can serve as a jumping-off point for your planning.

8. Exit Strategies & Back Up Plans

Believe it or not, every successful company out there has a backup plan. Businesses fail every day, but investors can position themselves to survive even the worst-case scenario by creating a backup plan. That’s why it’s crucial to strategize alternative exit strategies and backup plans for your investment business. These will help you create a plan of action if something goes wrong and help you address any potential problems before they happen.

This section of a business plan should answer all of the “what if” questions a potential lender, employee, or client might have. What if a property remains on the market for longer than expected? What if a seller backs out before closing? What if a property has a higher than average vacancy rate? These questions (and many more) are worth thinking through as you create your business plan.

How To Write A Real Estate Investment Business Plan: Template

The impact of a truly great real estate investment business plan can last for the duration of your entire career, whereas a poor plan can get in the way of your future goals. The truth is: a real estate business plan is of the utmost importance, and as a new investor it deserves your undivided attention. Again, writing a business plan for real estate investing is no simple task, but it can be done correctly. Follow our real estate investment business plan template to ensure you get it right the first time around:

Write an executive summary that provides a birds eye view of the company.

Include a description of company goals and how you plan to achieve them.

Demonstrate your expertise with a thorough market analysis.

Specify who is working at your company and their qualifications.

Summarize what products and services your business has to offer.

Outline the intended marketing strategy for each aspect of your business.

1. Executive Summary

The first step is to define your mission and vision. In a nutshell, your executive summary is a snapshot of your business as a whole, and it will generally include a mission statement, company description, growth data, products and services, financial strategy, and future aspirations. This is the “why” of your business plan, and it should be clearly defined.

2. Company Description

The next step is to examine your business and provide a high-level review of the various elements, including goals and how you intend to achieve them. Investors should describe the nature of their business, as well as their targeted marketplace. Explain how services or products will meet said needs, address specific customers, organizations, or businesses the company will serve, and explain the competitive advantage the business offers.

3. Market Analysis

This section will identify and illustrate your knowledge of the industry. It will generally consist of information about your target market, including distinguishing characteristics, size, market shares, and pricing and gross margin targets. A thorough market outline will also include your SWOT analysis.

4. Organization & Management

This is where you explain who does what in your business. This section should include your company’s organizational structure, details of the ownership, profiles on the management team, and qualifications. While this may seem unnecessary as a real estate investor, the people reading your business plan may want to know who’s in charge. Make sure you leave no stone unturned.

5. Services Or Products

What are you selling? How will it benefit your customers? This is the part of your real estate business plan where you provide information on your product or service, including its benefits over competitors. In essence, it will offer a description of your product/service, details on its life cycle, information on intellectual property, as well as research and development activities, which could include future R&D activities and efforts. Since real estate investment is more of a service, beginner investors must identify why their service is better than others in the industry. It could include experience.

6. Marketing Strategy

A marketing strategy will generally encompass how a business owner intends to market or sell their product and service. This includes a market penetration strategy, a plan for future growth, distribution channels, and a comprehensive communication strategy. When creating a marketing strategy for a real estate business plan, investors should think about how they plan to identify and contact new leads. They should then think about the various communication options: social media, direct mail, a company website, etc. Your business plan’s marketing portion should essentially cover the practical steps of operating and growing your business.

real estate investor business plan

Additional Real Estate Business Plan Tips

A successful business plan is no impossible to create; however, it will take time to get it right. Here are a few extra tips to keep in mind as you develop a plan for your real estate investing business:

Tailor Your Executive Summary To Different Audiences: An executive summary will open your business plan and introduce the company. Though the bulk of your business plan will remain consistent, the executive summary should be tailored to the specific audience at hand. A business plan is not only for you but potential investors, lenders, and clients. Keep your intended audience in mind when drafting the executive summary and answer any potential questions they may have.

Articulate What You Want: Too often, investors working on their business plan will hide what they are looking for, whether it be funding or a joint venture. Do not bury the lede when trying to get your point across. Be clear about your goals up front in a business plan, and get your point across early.

Prove You Know The Market: When you write the company description, it is crucial to include information about your market area. This could include average sale prices, median income, vacancy rates, and more. If you intend to acquire rental properties, you may even want to go a step further and answer questions about new developments and housing trends. Show that you have your finger on the pulse of a market, and your business plan will be much more compelling for those who read it.

Do Homework On The Competition: Many real estate business plans fail to fully analyze the competition. This may be partly because it can be difficult to see what your competitors are doing, unlike a business with tangible products. While you won’t get a tour of a competitor’s company, you can play prospect and see what they offer. Subscribe to their newsletter, check out their website, or visit their open house. Getting a first-hand look at what others are doing in your market can greatly help create a business plan.

Be Realistic With Your Operations & Management: It can be easy to overestimate your projections when creating a business plan, specifically when it comes to the organization and management section. Some investors will claim they do everything themselves, while others predict hiring a much larger team than they do. It is important to really think through how your business will operate regularly. When writing your business plan, be realistic about what needs to be done and who will be doing it.

Create Example Deals: At this point, investors will want to find a way to illustrate their plans moving forward. Literally or figuratively, illustrate the steps involved in future deals: purchases, cash flow, appreciation, sales, trades, 1031 exchanges, cash-on-cash return, and more. Doing so should give investors a good idea of what their deals will look like in the future. While it’s not guaranteed to happen, envisioning things has a way of making them easier in the future.

Schedule Business Update Sessions: Your real estate business plan is not an ironclad document that you complete and then never look at again. It’s an evolving outline that should continually be reviewed and tweaked. One good technique is to schedule regular review sessions to go over your business plan. Look for ways to improve and streamline your business plan so it’s as clear and persuasive as you want it to be.

Reevauating Your Real Estate Business Plan

A business plan will serve as a guide for every decision you make in your company, which is exactly why it should be reevaluated regularly. It is recommended to reassess your business plan each year to account for growth and changes. This will allow you to update your business goals, accounting books, and organizational structures. While you want to avoid changing things like your logo or branding too frequently, it can be helpful to update department budgets or business procedures each year.

The size of your business is crucial to keep in mind as you reevaluate annually. Not only in terms of employees and management structures but also in terms of marketing plans and business activities. Always incorporate new expenses and income into your business plan to help ensure you make the most of your resources. This will help your business stay on an upward trajectory over time and allow you to stay focused on your end goals.

Above all else, a  real estate development business plan will be inspiring and informative. It should reveal why your business is more than just a dream and include actionable steps to make your vision a reality. No matter where you are with your investing career, a detailed business plan can guide your future in more ways than one. After all, a thorough plan will anticipate the best path to success. Follow the template above as you plan your real estate business, and make sure it’s a good one.

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How to Create a Real Estate Investment Business Plan for Residential Rental Properties (Free Template)

sample business plan for property investment

Ready to unlock the potential of real estate investment and build your financial future? Whether you’re an experienced investor or just starting out , crafting a well-thought-out business plan is critical if you're to succeed in the world of residential rental properties. 

This article will guide you through the essential steps, considerations, and components of creating a real estate investment business plan. Plus, we've got a valuable free template to make your journey even more manageable.

Why You Need a Business Plan for Real Estate Investment

Crafting an effective real estate investment business plan is about more than paperwork; it's about turning your aspirations into achievements.

Creating a formalized business plan for your real estate investment venture is tantamount to success. It forces you—the investor—to organize your thoughts, feelings, goals, and ideas moving forward in the business in a single, powerful document. 

Remember, this is a living document meant to be flexible as your business grows or changes tactics over the years. It keeps you on target, helps expand your business, and keeps your financial goals on track. 

It’s also a helpful document for potential investors, creditors, and partners to peruse before pursuing a business venture with you. 

And speaking of collaborators, finding sample real estate investment business plans or a template to download to get you started is a good idea. But before diving into that, let's look at a few general considerations that will shape your plan.

General Considerations for a Real Estate Investment Business Plan

Before you start actually writing your business plan, there are a few general considerations to keep in mind:

  • The Why. When you start any new venture, it’s good to know you’ve got the strength to realize your goals, even when things get tricky. Defining why you’re embarking upon this real estate investment journey is necessary if you want  to reach your destination. Why do you want to invest in real estate? To create financial independence? To serve the community? To provide for your family? Everyone’s “why” is unique to them. As such, your underlying motivation should be the starting point of creating a business plan. Everything follows from this origin.
  • Financial Goals. Next, it’s wise to consider your financial goals. What are you hoping to accomplish financially? This is a business, and having defined financial goals will help keep your real estate investments trending in the right direction. 
  • Timeline. When do you want to achieve all this? Are you taking this business from now until retirement or looking to flip a few houses before the decade closes? Having a general timeline in mind when planning means you’ll be realistic about what goals you can accomplish. 
  • Real Estate Investment Strategy. There are countless ways to jumpstart your real estate investments. Doing a bit of research to discover which real estate investment strategies best suit your financial goals and desired timeline will ensure your business plan is realistic moving forward.

These considerations form the foundation of your real estate investment business plan. But how do you piece it together and create a comprehensive, winning document? 

Spoiler alert: Property managers can be your secret weapon in crafting an airtight plan and guiding you through your investment journey. 

But first, let's explore the essential components of your business plan and how a property manager can make the process smoother.

Essential Components of a Business Plan for Real Estate Investment 

A well-thought-out business plan for real estate investment should help you secure the financing and partnerships needed to bring your dream to fruition. 

To do this, it must include the following components:

  • Executive Summary: a bird’s eye view. The first section of a business plan is like an abstract for a research paper. Here, you’ll introduce the plan and give an overview of what comes later in the document. 
  • Define your team. Who are you bringing on this journey? What are their qualifications? This section can attract new investors and partners by touting the team's accomplishments. 
  • Outline marketing strategy. A business plan won’t succeed without a marketing strategy to connect with potential clients, in this case, future tenants. Your real estate business plan must include understanding the need for top-quality marketing and a method to market your business successfully. Will you run social media ads? Rent local billboard space? 
  • Demonstrate initiative and a willingness to learn. Include a section to show that you know this industry, have researched the competition, and are aware of local real estate market trends and areas for growth. This will communicate to potential investors you’re willing to put in the elbow grease it takes to succeed long-term in this business. 
  • Describe the “What”. What services will you offer? What type of properties will you invest in? What are the next steps to your plan moving forward? 

As you dive deeper into your real estate investment journey, remember that the strength of every property manager relationship reflects the property owner's dedication. 

How to Create a Residential Real Estate Business Plan Quickly 

If you're looking to create a residential real estate business plan quickly, here are a few must-have tips to get you started:

  • Define: Mission. Vision. Values. A business is only as strong as its “big three” pillars: the mission, vision, and values. Begin your business plan by defining what the purpose of your business is (its mission), your plan to bring this mission to life (vision), and the values that will guide your actions when the going gets tough. Careful consideration of these will give you clarity when finding team members to build your business later on. You need people who click with what your business stands for. 
  • Identify short and long-term goals. A real estate business is only as successful as it prepares to be. Remember the adage: if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Spending time identifying short (3-12 months out) and long (1-5 years in the future) term goals gives you and your team ways to mark the journey to success with well-defined milestones. 
  • Figure out the finances. How will you fund your business? There are many ways to find capital to bring your real estate business plan to life, but you may have to get creative. And you’ll need to stay organized and on task to bring your financial goals to fruition. 
  • Find the perfect property manager. The quickest way to accomplish this magnificent business plan you’re creating? Hire a property manager to help you skip the grunt work. But while finding the right manager for your business isn’t easy—you’ll need to research and interview several property managers before you get a feel for what’s best for you—the road will be much less bumpy with a solid business plan in hand. 

How a Property Manager Can Help You Create a Real Estate Investment Business Plan

A property manager can help you create a real estate investment business plan in five important  ways. 

  • Provide you with insights into the local real estate market.
  • Help you identify and evaluate potential investment properties.
  • Help you develop a marketing strategy to attract tenants.
  • Help you manage your finances and keep track of your expenses.
  • Provide you with guidance and support throughout the investment process.

When you enter property manager interviews armed with a robust business plan, you demonstrate your commitment and pave the way for a successful partnership. 

Ultimately, creating the ideal business plan for real estate investment begins with you. Every property manager relationship is only as strong as the drive of the property owner. 

Download APM’s free sample real estate investment business plan template to get started.

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Your 10 Step Guide to Building a Real Estate Investing Business Plan

Real estate empires grow from a blueprint, not last-minute hunches. This guide outlines how to create a real estate investing business plan to help you navigate market dynamics, seek funding, and add to your team so that you can successfully grow your business.

sample business plan for property investment

Let’s be honest, the idea of drafting a formal real estate investing business plan probably doesn’t excite you. After all, you got into real estate investing to scout deals and transform properties, not write novels full of financial projections.

But experienced investors know a solid plan spells the difference between profitability and major headaches. It forces clarity on direction and feasibility before you sink hundreds of thousands into property purchases and rehabs.

Think of your business plan as a blueprint for success tailored to your unique investment goals and market conditions. Whether you currently own a few rentals or are launching a full-fledged development firm, a plan guides decisions, aligns partners, and demonstrates viability to secure financing.

So how do you build one effectively without needless complexity? What key strategy areas require your focus? Let’s explore components that set you up for growth while avoiding common first-timer pitfalls. With realistic planning as your foundation, your investing journey can start smooth and stay the course.

What is a real estate investing business plan?

At its core, a real estate investment business plan is simply a strategic guide outlining your intended real estate approach. It defines target markets, preferred project types based on expertise, capital sources, growth strategy, key operational procedures, and other investment specifics tailored to your situation.

View your plan as an evolving document rather than a rigid static rulebook collecting dust. It should provide goalposts and guardrails as markets shift over time and new opportunities appear. You'll be able to refer back to the plan to confirm that these new opportunities align with proven tactics that yield predictable returns.

Detailed upfront planning provides a sound foundation for confident direction. It protects stakeholders by identifying potential pitfalls and mitigation strategies before costly surprises trip up the stability of your real estate business.

So, it's worth it to take the time and develop a customized plan aligned to your niche, resources, and risk tolerance. While initially tedious, the practice of putting together your strategic real estate business plan ultimately provides clarity and confidence moving forward.

Importance of having a business plan

Now that we’ve defined what a business plan is, let’s explore why having one matters — especially if you want to grow a successful real estate investment company.

Have you considered what originally attracted you to investing in properties? Whether it was rehabbing flips, acquiring rentals, or simply a lucrative hobby, your motivations and ideal path can get lost in the daily distractions of life. That’s where an intentional business plan provides clarity and conviction moving forward.

Reasons every real estate investor should prioritize planning are:

  • Goals and vision : You might be wanting to quit your day job and focus on real estate full time, or you might simply want to generate some extra income on the side. Either way, a business plan forces you to define what success looks like for you.
  • Due diligence : Creating a plan forces you to research the real estate markets you want to invest in — analyzing sales, rents, permits, zoning, demographics, and growth projections. This helps you objectively identify high-potential neighborhoods and properties rather than relying on hearsay or intuition.
  • Funding and financing : Lenders and potential investors will want to review your business plan to evaluate the viability and profitability of your real estate investment business before offering any financing . A complete plan builds credibility and confidence with stakeholders.
  • Guide decision-making : It's easy to get distracted by the latest real estate seminar or shiny new construction techniques. But sticking to the parameters and strategies laid out in your plan prevents you from making hasty changes or going down rabbit holes.
  • Identify potential risks : There are always things that can unexpectedly go wrong: what if interest rates spike and make your loans unaffordable, or your best tenants move out and unreliable folks move in? Brainstorming these scenarios in advance allows you to minimize risks and have contingency plans.
  • Systemize operations : As you grow, how will you scale operations? A business plan helps you identify areas that will require attention as your business evolves, like creating maintenance checklists for rentals, standardizing lease agreements , or automating accounting procedures.
  • Build the right team : Your business plan provides guidance on the team you'll need for your business. Know if you require a real estate agent to help you find deals or a property manager to handle tenant complaints at 2 AM.
  • Track progress : Your plan helps you compare things like actual rehab costs, rental occupancy rates, cash flow, etc. to your initial projections and determine whether you're on track.  You can then make adjustments as needed.
  • Maintain strategy : As you scale your operations with new hires or partnerships, you'll want to maintain direction in alignment with your original business plan. For example, if you are considering new verticals like commercial real estate, does evaluation criteria match your proven risk metrics and return hurdles? A real estate business plan keeps everyone focused on the same goals as your business grows.

What to include in a real estate investment business plan

A good real estate investing business plan covers everything from business goals to financing strategy. Here are the ten key elements you should include:

1. Executive summary

The executive summary provides a high-level overview of your real estate investment business plan. It briefly describes your company mission, objectives, competitive advantages, growth strategies, team strengths, and financial outlook.

Think of it as the elevator pitch for your business plan, and write it last after you have completed the full plan. Limit it to 1-2 pages at most.

Make your executive summary compelling and motivate investors or lenders to learn more. Be sure to also summarize your past successes and experiences to build credibility.

2. Company description

The company description section provides background details on your real estate investment company. Keep this section brief, but use it to legitimize your business and team.

  • Business model : Explain your core business model and investment strategies. Will you primarily flip properties, buy and hold rentals, conduct wholesale deals, or use another approach?
  • Company history and achievements : Provide a brief timeline of your company's history, including its formation, past projects, key milestones, and achievements.
  • Legal business structure : Identify your corporate structure, such as LLC , S-Corp , C-Corp, or sole proprietorship.
  • Office location : Provide your company's office address, which lends you credibility. If you are initially working from home, consider establishing a local PO Box or virtual address.
  • Founders and key team members : Introduce your founders and key team members. Highlight relevant real estate, finance, management expertise, and credentials.
  • Past projects : Provide an overview of any successful prior real estate projects your company or founders have executed.
  • Competitive advantages : Explain unique resources, systems, or other strengths that give your company an edge over competitors. These could be proprietary analytic models, contractor relationships, deal access, or specialized expertise.
  • Technologies and tools : Discuss technologies, software programs, or tools your company uses to streamline processes and optimize operations.

3. Market analysis

The market analysis section validates whether your real estate investment strategy makes sense in a given area.

Conduct detailed research from multiple sources to create realistic real estate investment market projections and identify potentially profitable opportunities.

Outline why certain neighborhoods, property types, or price points pique your interest more than others.

Your market analysis should dig deep into factors like:

  • Local sales and rental price trends : Analyze pricing history and current trends for both sales and rents. Look at different property types, sizes, and neighborhoods.
  • Housing inventory and demand analysis : Research the balance of supply and demand and how that impacts prices. Is the market undersupplied or oversupplied?
  • Market growth projections : Review forecasts from real estate analysts on expected market growth or decline in coming years. Incorporate these projections into your analysis.
  • Competitor analysis : Identify other real estate investors actively acquiring or managing properties in your target areas. Look at their business models and strategies.
  • Target neighborhood and property analysis : Provide an in-depth analysis of your chosen neighborhoods and target property types. Outline positive attributes, risks, and opportunities.
  • Demographic analysis : Analyze the demographics of potential tenants or homebuyers for your target properties. Factors like income, age, and family size impact demand.
  • Local construction and renovation costs : Research materials and labor costs for accurate budgets and understand the permitting process and timelines.
  • Regional economic outlook : Factor in projections for job growth, new employers, infrastructure projects, and how they may impact the real estate market.

4. SWOT analysis

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Conducting a SWOT analysis means stepping back from day-to-day business to assess your broader position and path from a strategic lens.

Internal strengths for your real estate investment business may include an experienced team skilled in major rehab projects, strong contractor relationships, or access to private lending capital. Weaknesses might be limited staff for handling tenant maintenance issues across a growing rental portfolio or only having a small number of referral partners for deal flow.

External opportunities can come from accelerating population growth and development in your target market, new zoning favorable to multifamily housing, or record-low mortgage interest rates. Threats could be rising material prices that hurt your flip margins, laws imposing restrictions on non-primary residence owners, or an oversupply of new luxury rentals, allowing tenants to be choosy.

The SWOT analysis highlights strengths to double down on and risks to mitigate in the real estate market.

5. Financial projections

The financial plan helps for both internal preparation and attracting investors. For real estate companies, the financial plan section should cover:

  • Startup costs : Include the expected startup costs involved to start your investment project, such as getting licenses and permits or paying for legal fees.
  • Profit and loss forecasts : Create projected profit and loss statements that outline what you think your revenues and expenses will be over the next 3-5 years.
  • Cash flow projections : Put together projected cash flow statements that show expected cash flow for each month.
  • Return on investment projections : Project your company's expected ROI over time under the different investment scenarios.
  • Funding requirements : Based on your forecasts, detail exactly how much capital you will need to start and operate your business until it is profitable. Specify whether you plan to use debt or equity financing.

6. Investment strategy

The investment strategy outlines your niche — will you focus on flipping, buying rentals, commercial properties, or a blend? Define any geographic targets like certain cities or zip codes backed by your research on growth potential.

Specify your criteria for ideal investment properties based on your goals. Decide which factors — age, size, layout, condition, or price point — matter most to you.

You can also use this section to explain how you plan to find deals, whether that's by scouting listed properties, attending foreclosure auctions, or networking to create off-market opportunities.

Clearly conveying your approach allows lenders and potential private investors to grasp your niche, planned pursuits, and process for finding deals. Having a strong strategy that summarizes how you locate, evaluate and capture deals matching your investing thesis can increase lender and private investor confidence in your ability to execute.

7. Marketing plan

Real estate marketing can’t just be an afterthought; it helps attract profitable deals, financing, and tenants to your business, making it a necessary component of your business plan to prioritize.

Components of your marketing plan can include:

  • Networking: Actively networking at local real estate meetups puts you directly in front of promising off-market opportunities and partnerships with motivated sellers, lenders and contractors in your community.
  • Social media: Consistently nurturing your social media presence can also pay off to help you find opportunities or potential investors.
  • Direct marketing: Never underestimate old school direct marketing — sending postcards to addresses with outdated “We Buy Houses” signs or calling the For Sale by Owners numbers from public listings can help you reach motivated sellers.
  • Listings management: Note that marketing does not end once you own property. To keep rental vacancies filled, leverage listing sites that can publish your units to a wide audience of prospective tenants.

8. Operations plan

Without systems, real estate investors struggle through renovations plagued by cost overruns, shoddy contractors who never call back, and frustrating tenants who always pay late . The operations component of your plan should consider aspects like:

  • Renovations: Ever lined up a contractor who juggles too many clients and leaves your projects languishing? Create standardized processes for accurate scoping, vetting subs, enforcing deadlines contractually, and maintaining contingency funds.
  • Business technologies: As your portfolio grows, tasks like tracking income, expenses , assets, and communicating with tenants can quickly overwhelm. Identify technologies early on that help centralize details to avoid getting swamped. Look into property management platforms that automate listings, tenant screening , digitized lease agreements, maintenance work order flows, and communications.
  • Insurance: Tenants or contractors can sometimes damage assets. Discuss landlord insurance policies to protect you against lawsuits, natural disasters, and major property repairs as you scale up.

9. Team structure

If you plan to grow your team beyond just yourself or a few partners, your business plan should outline your organization's key roles and responsibilities. This helps you consider what positions you may need to fill as your company scales.

  • Partners or co-founders: These are the main decision-makers and equity holders. Outline their background, skills, and the value they bring.
  • Property manager: This person handles day-to-day management of properties, tenants and maintenance issues.
  • Bookkeeper: You may need daily help managing bank accounts, invoices, taxes, and financial reporting.
  • Contractors and project managers : You'll need trusted renovations, repairs, and landscaping contractors. Dedicated project managers help oversee large jobs.
  • Leasing agents : As you grow and add more properties, leasing agents handle showings, applications, and signing new tenants.
  • Real estate attorneys : Real estate investing requires proper legal filings and compliance. Attorneys can help you manage this risk.

10. Exit strategies

Every wise investor plans their exit strategy upfront before acquiring a property. Will you aim to flip the asset quickly or retain it as a rental long-term? What factors determine ideal timing and the right profit margin for you to walk away?

Build flexibility into your strategy, as markets move in unpredictable ways. Especially with flips, have contingency plans if your listing gets lowballs or no offers. Be willing to rent short-term, refinance and hold if possible, convert to condos, or just patiently wait until the market changes. Having reserves and backup options allows you to avoid a distress sale.

Also include plans for strategies after a property sale, like a 1031 exchange to defer capital gains taxes and reinvest in another property. You may want to use sale proceeds to reduce or clear outstanding debts, enhancing cash flow and financial standing.

Tips for your real estate business plan 

Now that you know what to include, consider the following four tips to help your real estate investment business plan stand out.

1. Be detailed and specific

Resist the urge to gloss over details as you put together your plan. Drill down on the specifics for parameters like:

  • Target purchase and rehab costs.
  • Timelines for completing projects.
  • Minimum profit margins.
  • Maximum allowable vacancy rates .
  • Minimum cash reserves.

2. Refine and update regularly

Markets change, so don't create your business plan and file it away. Review your plan regularly to see how market conditions and your actual results compare to projections.

Make adjustments as needed. Tweak your approach if your rehabs are going over budget or your properties aren't selling as quickly as expected.

Aim to update your full plan annually at a minimum. Even if your overall strategy remains consistent, refresh the details around market factors, financials, tactics, risks, and projections.

3. Seek expert feedback

Before implementing your new real estate investment business plan, seek feedback from advisors who can identify potential issues or weaknesses.

Ask experienced real estate investors in your area to review your plan and provide constructive input. It's also a good idea to share your plan and numbers with your CPA and legal counsel as well.

4. Keep it simple

While specificity is good, don't over complicate your business plan to the point where it becomes difficult to follow. You want to inform readers without confusing them.

The goal is for stakeholders, such as co-investors, lenders, and partners, to easily digest your plan and understand it after a quick skim. Make it easy for readers to grasp your reasons behind focusing on a given area or project type based on market conditions and opportunity.

A property investment business plan fit to your goals

After finally finishing your business plan, you’re probably eager to dive into tangible investments rather than tweaking spreadsheets. But in the real estate industry, even experienced investors periodically step back and update strategies.

Approach your business plan as a living document that evolves as the market shifts, as you create new partnerships, or when you need to make changes in strategy. Set reminders to revisit quarterly and confirm your activities of today still align with the vision from day one.

Solid planning is proven to improve outcomes in dynamic industries like real estate investing. Though preparation isn’t glamorous, it pays dividends. Thoughtfully constructing your playbook puts the odds of executing successfully in your favor.

With a solid blueprint backed by your research, you’re now ready to capture the best real estate investment opportunities.

Business plan real estate investor FAQs

How do i stay flexible and adapt my business plan to changes in the market.

To stay flexible, review your real estate investing business plan regularly and update it based on changes in market conditions, trends, and opportunities. If things change in the market, find ways to adapt your strategy. This can include your goals, target market, financing, and even your exit plans.

How do I know if my real estate investing business plan is effective?

You'll know your business plan is effective if you're meeting the key objectives and metrics you outlined. Let's say your plan called for you to purchase a certain number of properties and achieve a specific cash flow or rate of return. If you're falling short, you can use the plan to course-correct.

Are there any specific software or tools for creating a real estate investing business plan?

Azibo is a helpful software tool for creating real estate investing business plans. This comprehensive platform has templates and tools to build out key sections of your plan. Its robust accounting and financial capabilities help construct accurate statements and projections.

Incorporating Azibo's online rent collection allows you to model cash flows. By centralizing lease documents , accounting, and portfolio management, Azibo streamlines the process of putting together a strategically sound real estate business plan.

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Nichole co-founded Gateway Private Equity Group, with a history of investments in single-family and multi-family properties, and now a specialization in hotel real estate investments. She is also the creator of NicsGuide.com, a blog dedicated to real estate investing.

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How to Write a Real Estate Investment Business Plan: Complete Guide

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Mike Blankenship

Last updated on December 19, 2023

sample business plan for property investment

Building an investing business without a real estate investment business plan is sort of like riding a bike without handlebars. 

You might be able to do it… but why would you? 

It’s far easier and more practical to set out on your venture with a business plan that outlines things like your lead-flow, where you’ll find funding, and which market(s) you’ll operate. 

Plus, according to Entrepreneur, having a business plan increases your chances of growth by 30%. 

Download Now: Free marketing plan video and a downloadable guide

So don’t skip this critical first step. 

Here’s how to do it. 

Real Estate Investment Business Plan Guide

In this article we’re going to discuss:

  • What is a real estate investment business plan?
  • Create your mission and vision
  • Run market analysis
  • Choose your business model(s)
  • Determine your business goals
  • Find funding / Cash buyers
  • Identify lead-flow source
  • Gather property analysis information
  • Create your brand
  • Set growth milestones
  • Plan to Delegate

What is a Real Estate Investment Business Plan and Why Does it Matter?

A real estate investment business plan is a document that outlines your goals, your vision, and your plan for growing the business . 

It should detail the real estate business model you’re going to pursue, your chosen method for lead-gen, how you’ll find funding, and how you plan to close deals. 

The kit and caboodle. 

It shouldn’t be overly complicated. 

Whether this real estate investment business plan is only for your personal use or to present to someone else, simplicity is best. Be thorough, be clear, but don’t over-explain what you’re going to do. 

As far as why you should have a business plan, consider that it gives you a 30% better chance of growing your business. 

Also, consider that setting out  without  a plan would be like — full of unexpected twists and turns — is that something you want to do? 

Probably not. 

It’s worth taking a few days or weeks to put together a business plan, even if it’s just for your own sake. By the time you’re complete, you’ll have greater confidence in the business you’re setting out to build. 

And an entrepreneur’s confidence is everything. 

How to Create Your Real Estate Investment Business Plan

Now we get into the nitty-gritty. 

How do you create your real estate investment business plan? Here are the 10 steps!

1. Create Your Mission & Vision

This can be considered your “summary” section. You might not think that you need a mission statement or vision for your real estate business. 

And you don’t. 

We know a lot of real estate investors (many of our members, in fact) don’t have a clear mission or vision that they’ve outlined — and they’re successful regardless. 

But if you’re just getting started…

Then we think it’s a worthwhile use of your time. 

Because if you don’t know why you’re going to build your real estate investing business, if you don’t see what purpose it serves on a personal and professional level, then it’s not going to be very exciting to you. 

You can either use this time to create a mission for your business… or a mission statement for you as it relates to growing your business (depending on your goals).

For instance…

  • Our mission is to create affordable house opportunities in the Roseburg, Oregon community. 
  • Our mission is to provide homeowners with an exceptional experience when selling their properties for cash. 

Or you could go a more personal route…

  • My mission is to create a business that supports my family. 
  • My mission is to build a company that gives me more time for what matters most to me.

Or you could do both…

  • My mission is to create a business that supports my family, and my business’ mission is to provide homeowners with an exceptional experience when selling their properties for cash. 

Either way, it’s good to think about this before getting started. 

Because if you know why you’re going to build your business — and if, ideally, that reason resonates with you — then you’ll be more excited and determined to work hard toward your goals. 

It is also an excellent opportunity to outline the core values you’ll adhere to within your business as Brian Rockwell does on his website …

add core value to your real estate website

With this information in hand, you’re ready to move on to the next step. 

2. Run Competitive Market Analysis

Which market are you going to operate in? 

That might be an easy question to answer — if you’re just going to operate in the town where you live, fair enough. 

But it’s worth keeping in mind that today’s technology has made it possible to become a real estate investor in any market from pretty much any location (remotely). 

So if the market you’re in is lacking in opportunity, then you might consider investing elsewhere. 

How do you know which market to choose? 

Here are the 10 top real estate markets for investors, according to our own Carrot member data of over 7000 accounts, based on lead volume…

  • Atlanta, GA
  • Houston, TX
  • Chicago, IL
  • Charlotte, NC
  • New York, NY
  • Los Angeles, CA
  • Orlando, FL
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Phoenix, AZ

And here are the top 20 states…

  • North Carolina
  • Pennsylvania
  • Oregon 

That’ll give you some ideas. 

But what makes a market good or bad for real estate investors? Here are some metrics to pay attention to when you’re doing your research. 

  • Median Home Value — This will tell you how much the average home sells for in the market, which will impact whether you’ll be willing to operate there. Because obviously, you want to play with numbers that feel reasonable to you. 
  • Median Home Value Increase Year Over Year — Ideally, you want to invest in a market where homes are appreciating every year. And a positive increase in this metric is a good sign that the properties you invest in will continue to increase in value. 
  • Occupied Housing Rate — A high housing occupancy rate means it’s easy to find tenants, and there’s a healthy demand for housing. That’s a good sign. 
  • Median Rent — This is the average cost of rent in the market and will give you a good idea of how much you’ll be able to charge on any rentals you own. 
  • Median Rent Increase Year Over Year — If you’re going to buy rentals, it’s a good sign if rental costs increase every year.
  • Population Growth — When the population grows, it creates demand for housing, both rentals and on the MLS. That’s a good sign for a real estate investor. 
  • Job Growth — Job growth is a sign of a healthy economy and indicates that you’ll have an easier time capitalizing on your real estate investments. 

Fortunately, all of this research is super easy to do on Google. 

You can just type in the market and the metric in Google and you’ll get meaningful results. 

Thank god for technology. 

Want more freedom & impact?

From Mindset to Marketing, join our CEO as he unlocks the best stories, tactics, and strategies from America’s top investors and agents on the CarrotCast . If you want to grow your business, you need to check it out!

3. Choose Your Business Model(s)

There’s not just one real estate business model . 

There are many. 

And the market you’re in — as well as your business goals — will determine which business model you choose. 

Here’s a brief overview of each…

  • Wholesaling — Is a prevalent business model in the real estate world. Wholesalers find deals and flip them to other cash buyers for an assignment fee, typically somewhere between $5,000 to $10,000. It’s low risk and requires little capital upfront (you can get started with as little as $2,000). 
  • Wholetailing — Wholetailing is a mix between wholesaling and house flipping. A wholetailer will find a deal, do some very minor repairs (if any), and sell the house on the MLS themselves. It results in large profits with far less work. But wholetail deals are hard to come by. 
  • BRRRR — This stands for Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat. It’s a long-term process for buying and holding rental properties. It’s a great way to build net worth and create generational wealth. 
  • Flipping — House flipping is the most popularized real estate investing method. It consists of purchasing distressed properties, fixing them up, and selling them at a good profit on the MLS, often making upwards of $100,000 per deal. However, this method involves much more risk than the other methods and each deal takes a lot longer to complete. 

If you’re just getting started, then we recommend choosing just one business model and doing that until you’ve mastered it. 

Down the road, you will likely want to use multiple business models. 

We know the most successful real estate investors are wholesalers, wholesalers, flippers,  and  they own some rental properties. 

That allows them to make the most of every opportunity that comes their way. 

But again… to start, just choose one. 

4. Determine Your Business Goals

At this point, you should have a pretty clear idea of why you’re going to build your real estate investing business. 

Are you going to build it because you want to make an impact in your community? Because you want more financial freedom? Because you want more time freedom? 

All of the above? 

Whatever the case, now it’s time to set some goals related to your mission for the business. 

Remember the SMART acronym for goal setting…

Start by thinking about how much money you’d like to make per month — this should be the first income threshold that you’re excited to hit.

Let’s pretend you said $10,000 per month. 

Okay, now take a look at your business model. How many properties do you need to have cash-flowing to hit that number? How many deals do you have to do per month? How many flips? 

Try to be as realistic with your numbers as possible. 

Here are some baselines to consider for the different business models at the $10k/month threshold…

  • Wholesaling – 2-3 Deals Per Month
  • Wholetailing – 2-3 Deals Per Month
  • BRRRR – $1 Million in Assets
  • Flipping – 1-2 Flips Per Year

Now you have a general idea of the results you’ll need to hit your first income threshold. 

But we haven’t talked about overhead costs. 

How much will you need to spend to get those results? 

Your answer to that question will be influenced by the market analysis you already did. But it’s pretty standard for the price of finding a deal to hover around $2,000 for a real estate investor (if you’re doing your own advertising). 

So now you’re spending $2,000 per deal, or whatever your specific number is. That’s going to have an impact on how much money you’re making. So now we can adjust your goals to be more realistic for hitting that $10k per month marker…

  • Wholesaling – 4-5 Deals Per Month
  • Wholetailing – 4-5 Deals Per Month
  • BRRRR – $1.5 Million in Assets
  • Flipping – 2-3 Flips Per Year

The idea here is to figure out how many deals you’ll have to do per month to hit your income goals. 

Then work that back into figuring out how much you’ll need to spend every month to realistically and predictably hit your goals. 

At $2k per deal and intending to hit $10k/month, here’s what your deal-finding costs might look like…

  • Wholesaling – 4-5 Deals Per Month – $8k-$10k/month
  • Wholetailing – 4-5 Deals Per Month – $8k-$10k/month
  • BRRRR – $1.5 Million in Assets – $6k-$8k/month
  • Flipping – 2-3 Flips Per Year – $4k-$6k/month

That should give you a baseline. 

How do those numbers look? 

If they feel too high for you right now, lower your initial goal — you want to make your first goal something that you know you can accomplish. 

Then, as you gain experience, you can increase your goals and make more money down the road. 

Free Real Estate Marketing Plan Template

Take our short survey to find out where you struggle most with your online marketing strategy. Generate your free marketing plan video and downloadable guide to increase lead generation and conversion, gain momentum, and stand out in your market:

real estate marketing plan generator

Download your marketing plan template here.

5. Find Funding / Cash Buyers

Are you going to fund your own deals or find private investors ? Or maybe you’re going to get a business loan from a bank? 

If you’re just starting as a wholesaler or wholetailer, then it’s recommended funding your own first few deals — that should only cost $2,000 to $5,000… and why overcomplicate things in the beginning when you’re still trying to learn the ropes? 

However, as a wholesaler or wholetailer, you’ll still need to find some cash buyers. 

Here’s a great video that’ll teach you how to do that…

How To Find A Cash Buyer For Your Wholesale Deal

To consistently grow your cash buyer list (which is an important part of the wholesaling and wholestailing business model), we also recommend creating a buyer website like this…

Cash Buyer - Investment Property Website

Learn more about creating your cash buyer website with Carrot over here . 

To scale, you might seek out other sources of funding. 

Here are some options…

  • Bank Loan — Getting a loan from a bank might be the most straightforward strategy if you’re just getting started. But keep in mind that the requirements for a loan on an investment property will be more stringent than the requirements were for your primary residence mortgage. And the interest rate will likely be higher as well. For that reason, you might seek out some of the other options. 
  • Hard Money — Hard money loans come from companies that specifically serve real estate investors. They are easier and faster to secure than a bank loan and hard money lenders typically base their approval of the loan on the quality of the investment property rather than the investor’s financial standing. 
  • Private Money — Whereas a hard money loan comes from a company; a private money loan comes from an individual with a good chunk of capital they’re looking to invest. That could be a friend, family member, coworker, and acquaintance. Interest rates and terms on these loans are typically very flexible and the interest rate is usually quite good. Private money is an excellent option for real estate investors looking to scale their business. 

But before you seek out funding from those sources, get clear on what exactly you’re going to use those funds for. 

Finding funding is even more critical. In fact — if you’re flipping properties or using the BRRRR method. 

(It’s a key part of the BRRRR method)

You’ll likely want to use hard money or private money to fund your deals as you grow your business.

But how do you find and secure those loans? 

Hard money lenders are easy to find — just Google for hard money lenders in your area and call the companies that pop up to get more details. 

Private money (which usually has more favorable terms than hard money) is a bit trickier to find but not at all impossible. 

To find private money lenders, you can…

  • Tell Friends & Family — This should be the first thing you do. Tell everyone you can about the business you’re building and the returns you can offer investors. Then ask them if they know anyone who might be interested in investing. 
  • Network — After you’ve exhausted all your friends and family, make a point of getting to know people everywhere you go. The easiest way to do this is to wear branded clothing so people ask about what you do. Talk to people at coffee shops, grocery stores, movie theaters, and anywhere else that you frequent. You never know who you might meet. 
  • Attend Foreclosure Auctions — Foreclosure auctions are jam-packed with people who have cash-on-hand to buy properties. These people might also be interested in investing in your real estate endeavors. Or they might know where to find private money. Either way, it’s in your interest to build relationships with these people. Attend foreclosure auctions and bring some business cards. 

Here are some tips on finding private money lenders…

How to Find Private Money Lenders for Real Estate Investing

6. Identify Lead-Flow Source

Now let’s talk about how you will generate a consistent flow of motivated leads for your business. 

Because no matter which of the business models you’ve chosen… you’re going to need to find motivated sellers.

And you’re going to need to find those people every single month. 

There are essentially two parts to a successful lead generation strategy for real estate investing business. 

Both pieces are critical… 

  • The Short Term — We call this “hamster-wheel marketing” because it requires you to  keep working  and  spending money  to generate leads. Examples include Facebook ads, direct mail, bandit signs, cold calling, driving for dollars, and other tit-for-tat strategies that will burn you out if you’re not careful.
  • The Long Term — We call this “evergreen marketing” because it requires an upfront investment… but that investment pays off for years and years to come. Examples include increasing brand awareness for your business in your target market(s) and improving your website’s SEO , so that motivated sellers find you . 

Short-term tactics are critical when you’re first starting — in fact, they are likely going to be your only source of leads for at least the first few months. 

Here are some more details on the most popular and effective methods… 

  • Tax default mailing lists
  • Vacant house lists
  • Expired listing lists
  • Pre-foreclosure lists
  • Out-of-state landlord lists
  • Cold Calling — This might be more uncomfortable than stubbing your toe on a piece of furniture, but it can still be effective for finding motivated sellers. We have an article all about colding calling — it even has scripts for you to use. 
  • Facebook Ads — Facebook ads is another excellent method for generating leads so long as you have a high-converting website to send them to . If you don’t, get yourself a Carrot website . Each Carrot site is built to convert. Here are some more details about running successful ads on Facebook for your real estate investing business.
  • Google Ads — Google Ads is one of the most popular platforms for real estate professionals needing to provide quick results with a minimal to high investment depending on markets.

But over time, the goal is to invest in more long-term evergreen marketing tactics so that you can get off the hamster wheel and build a more sustainable business. 

Check out the video below to learn more about the critical distinction between short-term and long-term marketing. 

At Carrot, we’ve created an online marketing system that makes generating leads super easy and simple for real estate investors. 

And it’s 100% evergreen. 

Here’s an example of one of our members’ websites that converts like crazy…

sample business plan for property investment

Try our free Marketing Plan Generator here.

7. Gather Property Analysis Information

We just talked about how you can generate leads.

But once someone calls you, once you’re checking out a property… How will you  know  if the property is a good fit for your chosen business model? 

After all, not every property will be a fit. 

First, ask the following questions when the seller calls…

  • What is the address of the house you want to sell?
  • How many bedrooms, bathrooms does it have?
  • Does it have a garage, basement, or pool?
  • If you were going to list it with a Realtor, what repairs and/or updating would you say would be needed?
  • How much is owed on the house?
  • Do you have an asking price in mind?
  • Is the house behind on payments?
  • If I come out and look at the property and make you a cash offer to buy it ‘As-Is’ and close as soon as you want, what would be the least you would be willing to take?

That will provide you with a lot of critical information about what you’re dealing with. 

Next, once you’re off the phone, do a bit of due diligence and look at what nearby properties of similar size have sold for in the last 90 days or so — that should give you a ballpark idea for the after-repair value of the property. 

If you decide that the property sounds promising, you’ll want to walk through it and take pictures of anything and everything that’ll need to be repaired. 

Back at the office, estimate the cost of those repairs — here’s a great resource from REISift that’ll help you estimate rehab costs . 

You’ll need to go through this entire process regardless of your business model so that you understand your max offer on the property. 

So how do you calculate your max offer? 

Use the 75% rule — check out this video from Ryan Dossey…

What Is The 75 Percent Rule In Wholesaling And Flipping Houses?

With that, you’ll know how much to pay for the property, how much to spend on repairs, and how much it’ll sell for. 

The more you streamline this part of the process, the better. 

8. Create Your Brand

Building a company is one thing. 

Building an easily recognizable brand and known to be reputable in your marketplace is quite another.

But that’s an integral part of the process. Consider some of these statistics…

  • Using a signature color can increase brand recognition by 80 percent.
  • It takes about 50 milliseconds (0.05 seconds) for people to form an opinion about your website.
  • Consistent presentation of a brand has seen to increase revenue by 33 percent.
  • 66 percent of consumers think transparency is one of the most attractive qualities in a brand.

When it comes to building a real estate investing brand, your goals are to…

  • Establish Rapport 
  • Create Easy Recognizability
  • Dominate The Conversation

The first step in this process is building an online presence – that means creating a high-converting website (i.e., one that systematically turns visitors into leads by capturing their contact information), running advertisements, and ranking in Google for important keywords. 

That’s what we can help you with at Carrot . 

Out of the box, our website templates are built to convert visitors into leads – and you can customize them however you want with your branding materials…

real estate investment business plan - branding

You’ll even receive immediate text notifications when someone signs up to be a lead so that you can contact them right away (speed is the name of the game!). 

Having a high-converting website is ground zero for brand-building success. If you don’t have a website that systematically converts visitors into leads, then every dollar you spend on advertising is going to be wasted. 

So that’s where we start. 

Once you’ve got your website up and running, then – if you’re on our Content Pro or Advanced Marketer plan – we’ll provide you with blog posts every single month that are written to rank in Google for high-value keywords relevant to your specific market …

real estate investor blog posts

You just upload, make some minor tweaks, and publish – and the more you publish, the more traffic you’ll drive. 

To help you become a true authority in your market, we also have the following tools…

  • Keyword Ranking Tracker
  • SEO Tool For Optimizing All Pages
  • Text Notifications For Leads
  • World-Class Support
  • Campaign Tracking Links
  • Coaching Calls

We want to make generating leads as easy as possible for you… so you can focus on closing deals and growing your business. 

You can try us here risk-free for 30 days. 

If you get yourself a Carrot website, that’ll take care of the “Dominate The Conversation” part of the branding process.

But what about these parts? 

Super easy. 

Establishing rapport is simply a matter of putting testimonials and case studies on your website. The more of these you have, the more people will trust your brand when they arrive on your website for the first time. 

real estate investor testimonials

As for creating an easily recognizable brand, create a simple branding package…

  • Brand Colors

And then be consistent across all platforms. Use the same colors, font, logo, and brand name on everything – online and offline. 

That’ll make it feel like you’re everywhere – which is what you want. 

So there you go. 

That’s how you create a brand identity as a real estate investor. You’ll know you’ve done it right if people are coming to you out of nowhere – because a friend of a friend told them about you. 

And if you want a brand that dominates your market without all of the footwork, we’ve got just the thing – it’s called the Authority Leader Plan … and we’ll do everything for you. 

9. Set Growth Milestones

Okay – let’s pretend that you’ve taken all of the steps above. 

You’ve got yourself a functioning business and brand with funding, you’ve got consistent lead-flow, and you’re even closing some deals. 

Now what? 

Well… you want to grow, of course!

You don’t just want to do one deal per month… you want to do three, five, or even ten deals per month.

You want to make more money, increase your net worth, grow your business, and have a significant impact. 

How do you do that? 

First, you set new goals and milestones for your business’ growth – how many deals do you want to be doing per month in 6 months? In a year? 

Then break those goals down by quarter – and turn them into actionable to-dos. 

For example, if you’re currently doing one deal per month and you want to be doing five deals per month by the end of Q2, here’s what your goals might look like…

  • Send 10,000 Mailers Per Month
  • Spend $5,000 on Facebook Ads Per Month
  • Hire Salesperson To Answer Phone
  • Hire Acquisition Manager
  • Create Workflow Process

Or maybe it’ll look a bit different. Make your to-dos as realistic as possible so that if you do those things … you’re virtually guaranteed to hit your goals. 

After all, what’s the point of having goals if you’re not going to hit them? 

All in all…

Set milestone goals to grow your business, turn those into to-dos and break them down by quarter. The next and final step of your real estate investment business plan might be even more important… 

10. Plan To Delegate

At some point, every real estate investor has to come to terms with a straightforward fact…

You can’t build the business of your dreams on your own . You need to delegate .

You’ve got to partner with other people, build critical relationships, hire people, manage people, create systems and processes to streamline your team’s workflow, and lots more. 

One of the most important areas that deserve a highlight is your client communications and satisfaction. Consider setting up a robust cloud contact center software to manage all the communications that will lead to long-term partnerships.

Building a business isn’t so much about hustling and bustling as it is about putting the right pieces in the right place. 

How do you scale your business? 

The answer is quite simple: you do the same things you’re doing now… but at scale – that means hiring people, training people, and creating clean-cut systems. 

That’s how you grow your business. 

Automate, delegate, and step outside of your business as much as possible to build a real estate investment company that serves you rather than enslaves you. 

Final Thoughts on Real Estate Investment Business Plan

What more is there? 

You know how to create a mission and vision statement, run market analysis, choose an REI business model, set goals, find funding, generate leads, analyze properties, create a brand, set long-term growth milestones, and delegate. 

All that’s left is action. 

And reach out anytime with questions – we’re always here to help!

sample business plan for property investment

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The Impact Investor | ESG Investing Blog

The Impact Investor | ESG Investing Blog

Investing for financial return is only part of the equation.

12 Best Real Estate Investing Business Plan Templates

Updated on September 26, 2023

Our posts may contain links from our affiliate partners. This supports helps support the site as we donate 10% of all profits to sustainability organizations that align with our values. However, this does not influence our opinions or ratings. Please read our Terms and Conditions for more information.

Investing in real estate can be lucrative, regardless of whether you make it your primary business or a side hustle. It can be a great source of ongoing income and profits from appreciation. Investing in real estate is also an excellent way to build wealth. These are some real estate investing business plan templates to help you get started.

Table of Contents

Key Components of a Real Estate Investment Business Plan

Executive summary, company description, industry analysis, investment strategy, customer analysis, competitive analysis, marketing plan, operations plan, management team, financial plan, best real estate investing business plan templates, 1. growthink, 2. fit small business, 3. upmetrics, 4. fortunebuilders, 5. businessplantemplate.com, 6. planbuildr, 7. real estate investing.org, 10. wiki download, 12. property geek, frequently asked questions, do i need a business plan if i want to buy a couple of houses and flip them, must i hire a consultant to help me develop a business plan for my real estate business.

However, real estate investing requires a business plan, as with all business ventures. A business plan is necessary to guide your decision-making and growth and help you finance your real estate and business operations.

A real estate investing business plan includes several components.

The executive summary introduces your business and provides an overview of your business and the contents of your business plan. It describes how you plan to succeed at your business. It also includes your mission and vision statement.

Your mission and vision statement articulates the values and direction of your real estate business. It is the guiding star that you use for developing your strategy. The mission statement should inspire customers and your team.

You’ll develop your mission and vision statement first, and your strategy will fit your vision. To create your mission and vision statement, consider companies that you admire. (They can be from any industry.) Then, find their mission and vision statements and use them to develop your own.

Your executive summary is the first part of your plan. However, you wait to write the executive summary after you’ve written the rest of the plan.

Your business plan should contain a brief overview of your company, your management team, and your expertise. It describes your legal structure, such as whether you are an S-Corp., LLC, or corporation.

It also describes the type of real estate investing business you will operate; for example, do you plan to make long-term investments in rental properties or embrace a short-term investment strategy where you buy a fixer-upper, renovate it and sell it quickly at a profit?

You’ll provide further details on your company in the rest of the business plan.

This section includes a market analysis, including any market trends that may affect your business. Writing this section requires that you research the business, which educates you. It also should prove to potential funding sources that you are knowledgeable.

The industry analysis section should include answers to several questions, such as

  • How big is the market?
  • Is it increasing or decreasing?
  • What trends are affecting the industry?
  • Who are your key competitors?

See Related: Predictive Analytics in Banking: Enhancing Financial Decision-making

Although you briefly mention your strategy for your investment properties in the company description, you’ll deal with it in depth. You’ll also discuss how your strategy will help you meet your business and personal goals.

For example, you may purchase real estate and want to focus on long-term investments that produce income while also appreciating. However, until you can build up sufficient capital, you may engage in wholesaling, where you put a contract on a home and then find an investor to buy it.

Your strategy should also include the types of properties you will invest in, for example, single-family homes, apartment buildings, or commercial properties. If your investments are within a specific geography, you’ll also list that geography in this section.

The customer analysis section briefly overviews your target customers, for example, renters or home buyers. A well-researched customer analysis will break their target market into demographic and psychographic groups.

The competitive analysis section overviews your competitors, their target market, products and services, and marketing share. Many real estate business plans also analyze their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT), especially concerning their competitors. A SWOT analysis is an excellent way to find solutions to potential challenges.

The SWOT analysis starts with strengths and weaknesses. You might consider questions such as

  • Are you successful at finding high-quality tenants?
  • What is your track record in identifying good properties to renovate and sell?
  • What is your competitive advantage, i.e., what do you do better than your competitors?
  • How successful are you at raising capital?

The SWOT analysis also looks at opportunities and threats. A potential opportunity could be a new subway stop opening near a property you own that could boost its desirability or an opportunity to increase amenities at one of your apartment complexes. A threat could be a competitor renting similar properties at a lower price.

The marketing plan is a critical component of any business plan. The marketing plan should include

  • Your business logo. Your logo should reflect your mission statement in some way.
  • The value proposition of your real estate investing business. The value proposition is what the business offers customers that is unique.
  • Promotions strategy, including how you’ll gain referrals, use the Internet and social media, advertise in publications, and undertake other promotions.
  • Your plan to develop, maintain, and grow relationships with potential customers.
  • The type of products or services you will offer are property management services, renovated homes, or brokerage services.
  • Your pricing strategy and how that compares with competitors.

The Operations Plan describes how you operate from day to day. It includes information on how you:

  • Find properties to acquire
  • Oversee renovations
  • Market properties when you wish to sell them
  • Determine when to sell

It also should include information on how your company’s organizational structure is organized, the status of specific projects, milestones you expect to reach and when, and the steps you’ll take to reach them.

See Related: Free Financial Advisors to Start Financial Planning

You’ll have briefly discussed the expertise of your management team as a whole. You want to provide details in your real estate investment business plan. Highlight the experience of each key team member, emphasizing how each member will help you reach your business goals.

If you feel your team lacks experience, consider assembling an advisory board of experienced real estate professionals and noting the board’s existence in this section.

Also, note if you plan to hire additional managers as your real estate investment business reaches certain milestones. List what experience and skills you’ll seek in your new hires.

Financial information is a significant component of a real estate investment business plan. Begin this section by specifying the source of your revenue as well as what drives your costs. If the purpose of your business plan is to receive funding, state the amount of funding you need and what you’ll use it for.

Then, include financial projections for your real estate investment property and business for the next five years. You’ll include several types of financial statements in your financial plan. In each statement, you’ll also include the assumptions you used to arrive at the projects.

Income Statement

The income statement (or profit and loss statement) shows the revenues minus the costs to show the amount of profit. To derive your revenue projections, you’ll need to assume a certain level of sales or number of rental units at a specific price.

Your costs would include maintenance, repair, or renovation costs, salaries and commissions, office rent (if any), marketing costs, and the cost of utilities and software. Do market research to base your assumptions on reality as much as possible.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet is a snapshot of the assets and liabilities of your real estate investing business at a specific time. You’ll project assets, such as cash, real estate, and accounts receivables, for each of the five years. You’ll also project liabilities, such as debt and accounts payable. You’ll also launch the amount of equity for each of the five years.

Cash Flow Statements

The cash flow situation of a real estate investment business can significantly affect its success. Some businesses turn a profit but end up in bankruptcy because their cash flow is insufficient to pay bills when they are due.

For example, suppose a new commercial tenant requests a significant build-out. You’ll have to front the money to make the improvements and may not recoup it until the tenant has paid six months or more of rent. You may also have other expenses during that time.

If you have no other source of income, you could run out of money before you recoup your investment. Remember to list the assumptions that led you to project the cash flow as you did.

If potential funding sources will be scrutinizing your plan, add an appendix. The appendix might include all the documents related to your financial plans, such as leases and a potential exit strategy, as needed.

See Related: Best Green Companies to Invest in 2023

Writing a business plan requires considerable research and strategy skills. It also requires a significant time commitment. Templates help reduce the time you need to write your business plan.

Many types of organizations offer business plan templates that you can download for free, although you may have to leave your email. Here are free business plan templates for the real estate investor.

Growthink Homepage

Growthink  is a consulting firm that helps companies develop business plans and raise capital. Its co-founders, Dave Lavinsky and Jay Turo, graduated from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA and started Growthink to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses. The company’s values are “Integrity,” “Courage,” and “Positivity.”

Lavinsky  has designed  a real estate investing business plan template that includes most of the key elements above. Lavinsky also provides advice on how to complete each section.

Fit Small Business Homepage

Fit Small Business  is an online publication to answer questions from small business owners across all industries. It has industry-specific experts and a management team that supports the experts. The company, founded in 2013, claims 80,000 readers.

The publication provides tips on how to write your vision and mission statement, complete your SWOT analysis, and choose an investing model. It also provides tips on measuring business success, writing a company summary, and developing a financial plan. Its business plan template is free and  downloadable.

Upmetrics Homepage

Upmetrics  is a data analysis and data management software company. Its software is designed to help startups plan. Based in India, its software is used worldwide.

The company aims to help spark business growth, promote job creation, and help foster personal wealth. In addition to software, the company’s website offers several small business guides and resources.

The company provides 200 sample business plans across several industries, including  one  for a real estate investing business. It also explains the various sections of the plan and tips on completing the sections.

See Related: Best Real Estate Investment Websites

FortuneBuilders Homepage

FortuneBuilders  teaches people how to invest in real estate through courses, coaching, books, and podcasts. Its four founders have considerable experience in the real estate investment market, having invested more than $1 billion in residential and commercial properties.

They still manage real estate projects, generally 25 to 40 at a time. They also provide additional information through their blogs.

FortuneBuilders  bases its  real estate investing business plan template around eight “must-haves,” including a mission statement, goals, strengths and weakness analysis, investment strategy for each property, marketing plan, management team bios, explanation of financing, and answers to “what if” questions. The introduction to its full business planning template also has excellent information to help you determine whether you are likely to succeed in the real estate investment business.

BusinessPlanTemplate.com Homepage

BusinessPlanTemplate.com  has over 250 customizable business plans for small businesses across many industries. Dave Lavinsky, also a co-founder of Growthink, founded BusinessPlanTemplate.com more than 20 years ago, and BusinessPlanTemplate.com is a subsidiary of Growthink.

The company claims to be a leading resource for business plan templates. In addition to templates, it includes advice on writing a business plan.

The company  template  for a real estate investment business is highly detailed, with more than a page on how to write each of the nine sections. It is also updated for 2023.

PlanBuildr Homepage

PlanBuildr  is another Growthink company founded by Dave Lavinsky, who serves as its president. The company’s management team has deep entrepreneurial experience. Lavinsky, a managing partner in several other entrepreneurial ventures, previously worked as a marketing consultant.

Jay Turo is the CEO. Turo works with Lavinsky in many of his other ventures. He has an MBA and a bachelor’s degree in international business.

The PlanBuildr real estate investment business plan template includes  sections  on the investment company’s success factors and most of the standard business plan sections. The customizable plan is also downloadable.

Real Estate Investing.org Homepage

Real Estate Investing.org  aims to help families “replace their income with passive income.” The company claims to have more than 25,000 investors.

It has articles and stories to help real estate investors succeed. Its values include having an abundance mindset and always empowering others.

Founder Eric Bowlin is an experienced real estate investor who has managed a portfolio of 450 properties. Real Estate Investing.org’s business plan template provides extensive advice on successfully projecting financials.

It also provides some information on other sections of the  plan.  Although you can download a plan for free, the plan’s information includes a link to a business plan software solution that you purchase.

IncFile Homepage

IncFile  helps small businesses manage the paperwork for forming or dissolving a new business or obtaining a trademark. The company also helps businesses develop an annual report and provides a free tax consultation.

It features a lot of information on business entity types. It claims to have more than 1 million customers.

IncFile’s blog contains several guides for startups, including a guide and template for a business plan for a real estate investment business. In addition to the more common sections of the business plan, it also  includes a section  on a backup business plan writing too. It links with a  template.

Carrot Homepage

Carrot  is an online lead generation hub for real estate agents and investors. The company says its members convert leads at a rate of seven times that of nonmembers and earn a profit that is $14,000 greater on each lead.

Carrot also provides SEO and other tools to help real estate business owners market and run their businesses. CEO Trevor Mauch is an experienced real estate investor with expertise in inbound marketing.

Carrot also includes advice on how a real estate investment business can develop a business plan. Its  free template  includes an executive summary, business description, competitive analysis, building credibility section, and marketing strategy.

See Related: Ways to Start Investing in Apartment Buildings

More than 19,000 people have downloaded the Wiki Download real estate investment business template. Available in a PDF or Microsoft Word format, the 12-page document outlines the business plan and uses questions to take you through developing a simple real estate investment plan yourself.

Sections include the executive summary, market analysis, implementation plan (operations plan), marketing efforts, sales strategy, financial forecasts, and assumptions.

Truic Homepage

Truic  provides business services such as business organization, accounting, and business banking. It provides many of these services through partners and receives a referral commission.

It also provides classes on setting up a small business. The company is mainly focused on helping LLCs.

Truic offers many guides for small business owners; the real estate investment business template is one of those guides. Truic’s real estate business plan guide primarily aims at those who invest in and sell residential properties. Its  template  also differs slightly from others because it starts from the owner’s financial goals.

The owner decides how much they wish to earn, then defines the amount of revenue required, and then the number of houses that must be purchased. It also offers advice on tailoring your business plan to potential readers, including lenders and investors.

Property Geek Homepage

Property Geek’s  business plan template is aimed at property investment businesses. Rob Dix, a writer, founded Property Geek in 2012, and property soon became his life. He later launched Property Hub, which offers free courses and a YouTube channel, and created an investment app called Portfolio.

He also has written books and podcasts on property investment issues. He aims to make property investment fun. His website offers investment strategy, financing, property management software, and tax advice.

Property Geek’s real estate investment business plan development starts by determining goals. Then, you build a strategy to get from where you are now to the goal you hope to achieve.

Much of the strategy is developed around compensating for a lack of cash. The site offers a  free downloadable  business plan worksheet.

A business plan will help you succeed at any real estate investment endeavor, no matter the scale or time frame. Startups with plans are likelier to launch and grow than those without.

No, many companies in the real estate industry offer free worksheets and templates for real estate investment businesses. They also provide advice on writing the plan. Most real estate investors can complete the business plan with these resources. If you need additional advice, you can generally obtain it through the SBA or another nonprofit.

Related Resources

  • Proven Ways to Start Investing in Apartment Complexes
  • Ways to Start Investing in Small Business
  • What is the Impact of Foreigners Investing In US Real Estate?

Avatar of The Impact Investor

Kyle Kroeger, esteemed Purdue University alum and accomplished finance professional, brings a decade of invaluable experience from diverse finance roles in both small and large firms. An astute investor himself, Kyle adeptly navigates the spheres of corporate and client-side finance, always guiding with a principal investor’s sharp acumen.

Hailing from a lineage of industrious Midwestern entrepreneurs and creatives, his business instincts are deeply ingrained. This background fuels his entrepreneurial spirit and underpins his commitment to responsible investment. As the Founder and Owner of The Impact Investor, Kyle fervently advocates for increased awareness of ethically invested funds, empowering individuals to make judicious investment decisions.

Striving to marry financial prudence with positive societal impact, Kyle imparts practical strategies for saving and investing, underlined by a robust ethos of conscientious capitalism. His ambition transcends personal gain, aiming instead to spark transformative global change through the power of responsible investment.

When not immersed in the world of finance, he’s continually captivated by the cultural richness of new cities, relishing the opportunity to learn from diverse societies. This passion for travel is eloquently documented on his site, ViaTravelers.com, where you can delve into his unique experiences via his author profile.

BPM REIA

Real Estate Investing Business Plan

Ready to dive into the world of real estate investing? Embarking on this journey can be exciting and profitable, but it’s essential to be well-prepared and have a solid business plan in place. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the crucial steps of crafting your real estate investing business plan, from defining your investment goals to assembling a skilled team. Set yourself up for success and turn your real estate dreams into reality.

real estate business plan

Key Takeaways

  • Real estate investing requires a comprehensive business plan to optimize decision-making and utilize resources.
  • SMART goals, market research, financial planning & projections are essential for successful real estate investments.
  • Building a team of professionals and implementing efficient systems can help investors prepare for potential risks & challenges.

The Importance of a Real Estate Investing Business Plan

A well-crafted real estate investing business plan includes the following elements:

  • Mission and vision statement
  • SWOT analysis
  • Clearly defined short-term and long-term goals
  • Tailored investment strategy
  • Comprehensive market research
  • Robust marketing plan
  • Detailed financial plan
  • Experienced real estate team

This estate investment business plan, complete with an executive summary, serves as a roadmap to guide decision-making, track progress, and attract potential investors in the real estate market.

A business plan greatly enhances your chances of success in real estate investing, setting you apart as a proactive entrepreneur within the realm of property investment. A well-prepared plan allows you to anticipate potential opportunities and threats and make informed decisions, which is crucial in the ever-changing real estate investment market. In this context, having multiple business plans can be beneficial for diversifying your investment portfolio.

Essentially, a robust real estate investing business plan offers a strategic blueprint for maneuvering through the property market. It ensures:

  • The efficient use of resources
  • Optimal decision-making
  • The ability to adapt to market trends
  • Ultimately leading to a thriving real estate investment business.

Defining Your Real Estate Investment Goals

Establishing clear, measurable, and achievable goals in your real estate investing business plan offers direction and sets you on the path to attaining those goals in the real estate investment market. Utilizing the SMART acronym—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound—ensures that your goals provide clear guidance and are attainable within a reasonable timeframe.

Examples of short-term and long-term goals for a real estate investment business could include having a predetermined number of properties in your portfolio or setting a desired return on investment (ROI) to be achieved on an annual basis. Aligning your personal objectives with your business objectives is vital, as the success of your real estate investment business relies on your dedication, enthusiasm, and drive, as well as your ability to adapt to market trends in the real estate industry.

Establishing your investment goals lays the groundwork for a prosperous real estate venture. This clarity helps you stay focused and motivated, ensuring that you consistently make strategic and informed decisions that drive your business forward.

Selecting Your Real Estate Investment Niche

The fundamental principle of real estate investing is to acquire and dispose of properties for financial gain in the real estate industry. Selecting a specific real estate investment niche, such as residential, commercial, or industrial properties, is crucial for maximizing profits. The location of your real estate business plays a significant role in guaranteeing the highest possible returns on investment. Real estate investment businesses should carefully consider these factors to ensure success.

Long-term real estate investments can also consider options such as real estate investment trust, real estate investment company stocks, and other alternatives. Potential issues, like a lack of low-income housing, inefficient management, elevated eviction rates, or a surplus/deficit of a particular type of real estate, can create investment opportunities in the industry.

Selecting a distinct investment niche combined with rigorous research, allows for the identification of profitable opportunities and risk mitigation. This targeted approach allows you to focus on a specialized market segment and develop a deep understanding of the trends and dynamics at play, ultimately leading to better investment decisions.

Crafting Your Real Estate Investment Strategy

Constructing a bespoke investment strategy based on your goals, niche, and market analysis guarantees a successful and lucrative real estate venture. Real estate investment strategies may include:

  • A low-risk, slow-roll strategy of maintaining long-term investments
  • House flipping for potential quick profits
  • Investing in multi-family apartment buildings

Formulating a customized investment strategy based on your objectives, specialization, and market analysis also ensures a prosperous and lucrative real estate venture. Your investment strategy should include exit strategies such as rehabbing, wholesaling, and renting, which can help secure profits and protect your investments. Establishing metrics for measuring success in your real estate investing business plan is essential in monitoring progress and making judicious investments.

An astutely designed investment strategy offers a transparent route to tread, enabling the making of strategic decisions that coincide with your broader business objectives. This approach helps minimize risks and maximize returns, setting your real estate investment business on the path to success.

Conducting Comprehensive Market Research

Conducting market research in real estate investing is essential for staying informed and foreseeing changes due to external influences. A comprehensive market analysis, including a SWOT analysis, is crucial in understanding the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats before launching your business.

A comprehensive market analysis can assist in selecting the most advantageous market segment and the optimal locality for investment. A thorough market analysis is essential in a real estate investing business plan to identify trends, opportunities, and potential challenges in the target market, thus providing the necessary information to make informed investment decisions.

Comprehensive market research equips you to:

  • Recognize trends, opportunities, and potential hurdles in your target market
  • Make well-informed investment decisions
  • Stay ahead of the curve and seize lucrative opportunities
  • Ensure the growth and success of your real estate investment business.

Developing a Robust Marketing Plan

Developing a marketing strategy for your real estate investment business can help establish a strong brand, foster trust with investors and clients, and promote your services. A marketing plan should encompass the strategy for identifying and concluding transactions, essentials for sustaining profitability per transaction, and expenditure for each transaction. The marketing strategy in a real estate investing business plan demonstrates the methods and locations utilized for marketing and acquiring new customers.

Various marketing strategies are available for real estate investing businesses, such as Facebook advertisements and search engine optimization. The specific area of real estate you focus on significantly influences the emphasis placed on marketing and the strategies you choose.

real estate aerial shot

A solid marketing plan is indispensable for drawing in leads, enhancing brand visibility, and cementing a powerful presence within the property market. By implementing effective marketing strategies, you can reach your target audience, generate interest in your business, and ultimately, drive growth and success.

Financial Planning and Projections

Developing a detailed financial plan for your real estate investment business is essential for financial stability and growth. Your financial plan should include:

  • Income statement
  • Cash flow statement
  • Balance sheet
  • Short-term and long-term goals regarding profits and losses

By creating a comprehensive financial plan, including projections for income, expenses, and cash flow, you can ensure the success of your real estate investment business.

Accuracy in crafting a financial plan is crucial, as it allows you to identify areas that are and are not performing well for your business. Investing in real estate requires careful consideration of many costs, including:

  • Closing fees
  • Property management
  • Repairs and maintenance

All of these must be taken into account to ensure a successful investment.

An all-inclusive financial plan aids in tracking your business’s performance, pinpointing possible issues, and making well-informed decisions to secure its longevity. By keeping a close eye on your income, expenses, and cash flow, you can maintain financial stability and support the continued growth of your real estate investment business.

Building Your Real Estate Team

Having a real estate team can optimize productivity and bolster your business. Essential roles for a successful real estate investment team include:

  • Acquisition manager
  • Real estate lawyer
  • Money lender
  • Project manager
  • Civil engineer
  • Property manager

Expert-trained representatives can answer incoming calls, converse with motivated sellers, ask pertinent questions, and arrange subsequent appointments with the investor or their Acquisitions Manager.

Real estate investors should have vendors on their team to assist with purchasing, rehabilitating, and buying or selling investment properties. A strong real estate team not only supports your business operations but also contributes to the overall success of your real estate investment ventures.

Real Estate Investing Mentors

BPM REIA is a comprehensive real estate investing mentorship program that offers educational resources and mentorship on real estate investing strategies. Collaborating with BPM REIA offers advantageous insights, direction, and assistance in constructing a prosperous investment venture.

BPM REIA offers:

  • Educational and mentoring resources on real estate investing strategies
  • Assistance in streamlining the investment process and attaining financial freedom
  • Guidance and support in establishing a strong and dependable power team to ensure the success of your real estate investment business.

Partnering with real estate investing mentors, such as BPM REIA, can provide you with valuable insights, guidance, and support to build a successful investment business. Their expertise and experience can help you navigate the complexities of the industry and make informed decisions, ultimately leading to greater success and financial freedom.

Implementing Efficient Systems and Processes

Instituting effective systems and processes in real estate investment is crucial for streamlining daily operations, enhancing productivity, and expanding your real estate investment business. Best practices for implementing efficient systems and processes include:

  • Constructing systems and policies for scaling and growth
  • Instituting property search, evaluation, marketing, and lead generation systems
  • Instituting follow-up systems

Examples of efficient systems and processes in the real estate investment industry include lead generation systems, follow-up systems, marketing systems, bookkeeping systems, and real estate appraisals and field inspection automation. Reinvesting into your business is essential for delegating and automating daily operations, such as responding to emails, developing marketing strategies, communicating with sellers, gathering buyer data, and purchasing profitable properties.

Implementing efficient systems and processes allows for the optimization of daily operations, enhancement of productivity, and expansion of your real estate venture. This approach allows you to:

  • Focus on strategic decision-making
  • Focus on growth
  • Ensure that your business remains competitive and successful in the ever-changing real estate industry.

Preparing for Challenges and Risks

Having a contingency plan or escape route in the event of an unfavorable outcome, anticipating potential issues before they arise, and taking precautionary measures to safeguard investments and guarantee long-term success are all crucial elements of real estate investing. Real estate investment requires an exit strategy. This plan outlines how an investor will dissociate themselves from a deal or the business..

When formulating an exit strategy, consider reducing financial losses, recovering as much of your original investment as possible, and avoiding any unanticipated fees that could reduce profits, such as tax implications. Potential lenders, employees, and clients may inquire about scenarios such as extended market times, seller cancellations prior to closing, and higher than average vacancy rates. These should all be accounted for in your exit strategies and backup plans.

Preparing for possible obstacles and risks helps safeguard your investments and guarantees the longevity of your property investment venture. Developing contingency plans and exit strategies allows you to navigate unforeseen obstacles and make strategic adjustments as needed, ensuring that your business remains resilient and adaptable in a dynamic industry.

Frequently Asked Questions

To write a real estate investor business plan, establish your vision, outline short-term and long-term goals, take inventory of your current finances, conduct market research, develop an investment strategy, and create a marketing plan.

Yes, a business plan is necessary for real estate investing as it can help you to navigate potential obstacles and set yourself up for success.

LLCs are the recommended option for real estate investments, as they offer limited liability protection. However, it is still ultimately a personal decision as to whether an LLC is the right choice for your particular investment.

Real estate investing can be a highly profitable opportunity offering both income and appreciation potential. It also provides diversification benefits, making it an attractive investment for those seeking portfolio balance.

In conclusion, crafting a comprehensive real estate investing business plan is vital for success in the industry. By defining your investment goals, selecting a niche, developing a tailored investment strategy, conducting market research, creating a robust marketing plan, and assembling a skilled team, you set the foundation for a thriving real estate investment business. By preparing for challenges and risks and implementing efficient systems and processes, you can navigate the complexities of the industry and build a successful, profitable business that stands the test of time.

  • Making a property investment business plan
  • Rental yield calculations
  • Property investment strategies
  • How to quit your job and invest in property

Setting investment goals

  • Are property training courses worth the money?
  • Do you need a property mentor?
  • The process of buying an investment property
  • How to evaluate a property investment
  • Property assessment checklist
  • The 4 types of property deal I look for (and why)
  • How to find a property sourcer
  • Deciding where to invest
  • How to flip a house: the ultimate guide
  • Rent-To-Rent: The ultimate guide
  • Lease Options explained
  • Lending against property
  • Lessons from running a letting agency
  • How to get started with limited funds
  • Mortgages: The ultimate guide
  • Mortgages for limited companies
  • New mortgage rules: rental cover and portfolio landlords
  • Interest-only vs repayment mortgages
  • Bridging finance: the ultimate guide
  • Property joint venture agreements – The ultimate guide
  • Recycling your cash
  • Self-manage or use a letting agent?
  • Landlord insurance guide
  • How to find tenants
  • Writing a tenancy agreement
  • What does self-managing a property involve?
  • Rent guarantee insurance
  • The 18-year property cycle
  • Will London house prices crash?
  • Avoiding Inheritance Tax
  • Exit strategies
  • Mortgage interest relief
  • Buying through a company

How to create a rental property business plan (and why you need one)

Last updated: 21 October 2022

Take it from someone who’s spoken to a lot of investors over the last few years: almost everyone who achieves great success started out with a solid plan.

All businesses start out with a plan . Even if that plan is just “I think I can buy this widget for £1 and sell it for £1.50”, it’s still a statement of what the business will do and how it will make a profit.

But many – in fact, most – wannabe property investors start out without even the most basic of plans. Often, people have nothing more than vague thoughts like “ property prices go up, so it’s a good investment ” or “ most wealthy people seem to own property ”.

It might feel like sitting around planning is just delaying you from getting out to look at properties and start making money. But take it from someone who’s spoken to a lot of investors over the last few years: almost everyone who achieves great success started out with a solid plan.

(Or to put it another, more painful way: almost everyone who didn’t start with a plan ends up disappointed with where they end up – however much effort, money and time they put in.)

What does a rental property business plan look like?

It certainly doesn't need to be 100 spiral-bound pages of projections and fancy charts. In fact, the best plan would be so simple that it fits on the back of an index card – meaning that you can commit it to memory and use it to drive every decision you make.

In order to get to that simplicity though, you might need to do some seriously brain-straining thinking first.

It's not easy, but it is simple: your plan basically just needs to set out…

Where you are now

  • Where you want to get to, and
  • What actions you're going to take to bridge the gap

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To give a cheesy analogy, you can't plan a route unless you know where you're starting from.

Working out your starting point is the easiest part, because it involves information that's either known or easily knowable to you.

You'll need to be clear about:

  • The amount of money you've got to invest
  • The amount of savings you can allocate to property investment in future years
  • The time you can invest each week or month
  • The skills and knowledge you can apply to your property business

Note that I said it was the easiest part, but still not easy – because it involves honesty about what you can commit, and self-knowledge to determine where your strengths lie.

Knowing how much money you've got to invest should be straightforward, but it's probably worthwhile speaking to a mortgage broker to check that you'll have borrowing options – because this will determine your total investment figure. A broker will also be able to tell you about your options around releasing equity from your own home, if that's something you want to consider.

I'd also strongly encourage you to consider what “emergency fund” you want to keep in cash, and deduct that from your total investable funds. I suggest having at least six months' expenses in the bank at all times: the last thing you want is to plough every last penny into investments, then lose your job the next day and be unable to pay your bills.

Where you want to get to

So now you know where you're starting from, where do you want to end up? In other words, what's your goal?

Yes, you want to be “rich”, or “secure”, or “build a future” – but what does that actually mean, in pounds and pence terms, for you?

And just as importantly, when do you want to have achieved that?

You might be surprised by how much thought is involved in answering these questions properly. It's easy to throw around terms like “enough to fund my lifestyle” and assume that it might involve an income of £10,000 per month, but it's another matter entirely to look honestly at your ideal lifestyle and determine what a genuinely meaningful figure is.

The same is true for “when” – and it's an often-ignored factor that actually cuts to the heart of the most basic of investment decisions.

For example, take a choice between two properties:

  • Property 1 will give a return on your investment of 15% but will probably never increase in value
  • Property 2 will give a return of 7% but has the potential to double in value over the next decade.

If your goal is to create a certain monthly income within three years, the Property 1 is likely to be a better choice. Growth is unlikely to happen to any great extent over that time, so you need to optimise for cash in the bank right now.

On the other hand, if you have a decade before you want to have achieved your goal, Property 2 is probably the better bet. It very much is a “bet” because you're taking something of a gamble on capital growth, but it's got a lot of time to happen – and when it does, your returns will dwarf the higher rental income you'd have made from the other property.

That's just one example of why making even simple decisions in your property business are impossible without having that most basic ingredient of your plan: where you ultimately want to end up, and when.

So, by this point in the plan you need to:

  • Assess your finances to build up an honest picture of where you are now
  • Put some serious thought into where you want to get to, and when

If you need help with this goal-setting process, I co-own Property Hub Invest which offers free strategy meetings . It's often easier to work this stuff out in conversation with someone who knows their stuff, rather than doing it all in your own head.

That's a great start, but for most people it'll produce an uncomfortable insight: the gap between where you are and where you want to be seems impossibly large! With the resources you've got now, how are you possibly going to reach your goal in a sensible period of time?

Well, that's where it's time to start thinking about the details of the third step: the strategy you'll use to pursue your goal.

A strategy to bridge the gap

The steps you take to get from Point A to Point Z are what's commonly referred to as your strategy – and strategy is a vital component of your business plan.

The way I like to think about strategy is the way you compensate for a lack of cash . It's an unusual way to look at it, but I find it useful – because it tells you (given your timeframe and your goal) how much heavy-lifting your strategy will need to do to keep you on track.

Think of it like this: if you had £10m in the bank and your goal was to make an income of £5,000 per month within a year, you wouldn't need any strategy at all . You could just use your £10m to buy any properties, anywhere – you wouldn't need to maximise the rent, manage them well or even keep them all occupied at all times! You'd be able to buy so much property that you really couldn't fail.

Sure, it'd be a pretty stupid thing to do – you should really have had a more ambitious goal – but you get the point.

Obviously, most of us aren't in that position – and that's why we need a strategy.

So, just what position are you in?

A rule of thumb

A handy way of looking at it is to take the amount of money you've got to invest in property, and assume that you can get a 5% annual return on that money (ROI) – which is a rough rule-of-thumb for a normal property bought with a 75% mortgage.

So, if you've got £100,000, you can generate a (pre-tax) profit of £5,000 per year – or £416 per month.

That's unlikely to be enough to hit most people's goals – but then there's the time factor. If you save up the rental income for 20 years, you'll be able to buy another batch of properties just like the first – so you'll now have income of £832 per month.

If you're happy with that, then you've already got your strategy: buy properties that will give you your desired ROI, then wait!

Portfolio-building strategies

But most people will want more than that: we've hardly been talking about life-changing sums, and 20 years is a long time to wait before you can buy again!

This is where more of an advanced strategy comes in, allowing you to get better results, faster.

This might include:

  • Buying properties and adding value, so you can refinance at the higher value and buy your next property more quickly ( learn more about this strategy )
  • Buying properties at a discount, allowing you again to refinance at the higher value and move on to the next one
  • Turning properties into HMOs, so you can generate a higher ROI on them
  • “Flipping” properties for a profit, so you can replenish your cash more quickly ( read my guide to flipping )

…or something else entirely.

I go into different strategies in enormous detail in my book, The Complete Guide To Property Investment .

Simply appreciating the need for one of these strategies from the start is a really big deal.

Most people don't: they'll rush in, use all their money to buy properties that generate (say) £500 profit per month, then…what? They'll be stuck – because they didn't go in with a plan for how they were going to get to their target number . They'll effectively be starting from scratch, having to scrape together the money to go again.

It's extremely common, and it doesn't surprise me – but it does frustrate me. If they'd started with just a bit of time making a plan, they wouldn't have made this mistake – because it would have become very obvious that they wouldn't reach their goal without applying some strategy.

Any of the strategies I listed (or a different one, or a combination of several of them), when applied effectively, can get you to where you need to be. But that's not to say that all of them will be equally good for you. Each of them has different risk factors, requires different time commitments, are suited to different skill sets, and so on.

That's why this is your business plan: copying someone else's homework isn't going to do you any good, because their skills, attributes and preferences will be different from yours.

For example, one person's plan might be to get their hands dirty by renovating properties for resale – completing two projects per year, and using the profits to buy an HMO. Within five years they'll have five HMOs, which will give them all the income they need.

Someone else might be hopeless at anything hands-on, but a master negotiator. Their plan could be to buy at enough of a discount that they can pull at least half of their funds back out again by refinancing – and keep doing that until in ten years' time they have 15 single-let properties giving them their target income figure.

(That's why when someone emails me asking if their strategy “sounds good”, I have to say that I don't know: usually it sounds like on paper like it would work for someone , but I have no idea if they're the right person to execute it.)

So, coming up with your strategy involves:

  • Starting with an assessment of where you are now
  • Deciding where you want to get to, and by when
  • Seeing how far you'll fall short by just buying “normal” properties
  • Thinking about your own skills, time and preferences to choose which strategy (or strategies) you'll use to fill in the gap

It might take a while, and that's OK – it's not an easy decision . To take the pressure off though, remember: your plan isn't set in stone. It's important to start with a clear vision and not get distracted by every new opportunity that comes your way, but every plan is just a starting point: you'll be seeing what works, reviewing and adjusting course along the way.

Once you've got a strategy down on paper, that's a huge step – and you should congratulate yourself, because it's a step that most people will never make (and will suffer for).

But of course, the act of writing the plan isn't going to magic it into existence: you need to get out there and execute on the plan.

Turning your property business plan into action

Having an appropriate goal and a solid strategy to get you there are essential, sure – but nothing is going to happen until you actually take the steps that are necessary to execute that strategy.

If you don't take the time to identify the steps and make a plan to carry them out, you'll end up in “pulling an all-nighter the day before your homework is due in” mode. And you don't want that: it's no good setting a five-year goal, feeling all virtuous for being such a strategic and big-picture thinker, then realising in four years and 364 days that you've not actually got any closer towards making it a reality!

So let's get those steps in place. And the good news is…it's really simple. (The best things usually are.)

Breaking it down

However big, ambitious and far in the future a goal seems to be, all goals are achieved in exactly the same way : by breaking them down into individual tasks, and working through those tasks one by one.

As you work through those tasks, it’s important to have sub-goals as “checkpoints” along the way.

Sub-goals are how you stay on track: by setting a deadline for each sub-goal, you can make sure that your progress is fast enough. They also keep you motivated, because it means you’ll always have a small “win” on the horizon: you won’t just be looking at the main goal (potentially) years off in the future. Think of them as mile markers at the side of a marathon course.

To put it another way:

Small task + Small task + Small task = Sub-goal Sub-goal + Sub-goal + Sub-goal = Overall goal

It's those small daily tasks that are the foundations of your achievement. And that's the beauty of a good plan: all you need to concentrate on is ticking off your tasks each day, and your overall goal is achieved automatically!

So, this final step in your plan is about breaking that big goal down into sub-goals, and those sub-goals down into bite-sized individual tasks. That's it!

As you break it down, there are a few things I find are useful to think about…

One-off tasks v recurring tasks

Your business will have two types of task:

  • One-off tasks , like finding a mortgage broker
  • Recurring tasks , like viewing properties and making offers

These two types of task will both appear in your weekly, monthly and quarterly to-do lists. A useful way of planning your time is to start by filling in your recurring tasks – like going through portals to find new potential acquisitions every day, and calling agents to follow up on offers once per week – then adding your recurring tasks on top.

By thinking about both types, you'll make sure you're not dropping the ball on the important day-by-day stuff, but you're also not ignoring the big-picture one-offs that are going to make a huge difference to your business in the long run.

The first, simplest step

Just like you break a goal down into sub-goals and sub-goals down into tasks, I favour breaking every one-off task down into the smallest possible unit .

For example, “find a mortgage broker” could be an important one-off task for you, but it's not something you can just sit down and do until it's done. Because it seems nebulous and you can never identify a block of time when you can do it from start to finish, you can end up never doing it at all.

Instead, you'll make yourself feel better by ticking off smaller tasks that seem easier – but are often less important.

The solution is to break every task down into as many sub-tasks as possible. So instead of “find a mortgage broker”, the tasks become :

  • Email 3 contacts to ask for recommendations
  • Post on The Property Hub forum to ask for recommendations
  • Email everyone who is recommended to set up a quick call
  • Draw up a shortlist of 2-3 people to have a longer conversation with
  • Pick a winner

Doesn't that seem much easier already? You can imagine sitting down and bashing out the first task in five minutes right now, then you're underway!

Who will do each job?

Here's a potential lightbulb moment: you don't have to do everything in your business yourself.

Any business has different “functions”, or departments – like sales, manufacturing, and admin. A property business is no exception.

The basic functions of all property businesses are the same:

  • Acquisition
  • Refurbishment
  • Refinancing/selling

The types of task that fall within each function will depend on your business plan. For example, if your aim is to find properties you can buy “below market value”, acquisition could be a major part of the business – involving direct-to-vendor marketing, networking with estate agents, and attending auctions.

On the other hand, if your model involves buying properties that you think will experience strong capital growth, there could be a lot more tasks in the “research” part of the business – and acquisition could be very straightforward once you’ve identified the opportunity itself.

Could you do every task within every function yourself? Maybe.

Could the business achieve better results if you bring in specialists to do what they do best? Definitely .

You could go big and employ an assistant to view properties and make offers for you, or just make sure you outsource functions like management and accountancy to the relevant professionals.

Whatever you do, once you start thinking about your property venture as a business with various departments, you'll start to break away from the idea that this is something you have to do all on your own – and that's a very powerful insight.

OK, this has been a long one – but we've covered a lot of ground.

To recap, those critical steps are:

  • Assess where you are now
  • Work out where you want to be, and by when
  • Outline a strategy to get you there
  • Fill in the detail, to get you from “big picture” to individual steps

It's a process that's worked for me, and I've seen it work for many investors I've encouraged to put it into action too.

Its power is in its simplicity: you take the time to intelligently decide exactly what you need to do, then you figure out a way to (to borrow a registered trademark) just do it . As long as you show up and work through your to-do list each day, the big, scary, long-term goal takes care of itself!

Of course, you'll need to assess your progress and adjust course along the way: nothing will pan out exactly as expected, and there's a lot that can change over a timespan of several years.

But by having your plan, what you won't do is get distracted by every new idea that comes your way – researching HMOs one day, and holiday lets the next – and end up getting nowhere.

(You'd be amazed by how many plan-less people that description fits to a tee.)

So now you know how to put a property business plan together. It's not a plan that will necessarily get you funding from the bank, but it's something more important than that: a plan you can use every day to make sure you stay on track to hit your goals.

The one thing that every successful investor does

sample business plan for property investment

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The ultimate guide to a successful property investment business plan.

The Ultimate Guide To A Successful Property Investment Business Plan

It’s not a secret that successful property investment is all about creating the right business plan. It can be overwhelming to get started, especially when you begin to see the amount of information out there. Here at Aspen Woolf we want to take some of that terrifying pressure off you and give you a quick checklist in order to make the most strategic business plan for yourself and your property investment needs.

“The starting point for any good business plan is to decide on an overall goal.”

The starting point for any good business plan, as well as a property investment one is to decide on an overall goal. This might seem like an obvious first step to some, whereas many seem to be skipping it. A sound plan is more important than you think. 

Namely, if you don’t know what you’re aiming for, then how do you know if you’re making progress or not? How would you even know how to get there if you don’t know where you’re going? Consider your investment goals carefully, as they will be the ground pillars of your business plan. 

One of the most common pitfalls of many investors is not being clear on those goals. Even skipping thinking about them altogether. This, in turn, manifests itself as both a poorly made business plan and also a potential financial catastrophe.

Another problem of a poor quality business plan for property investment is that investors focus too much on the financials. And still, a lot of people get repeatedly rejected by lenders when applying for funding. It’s easy to feel disheartened and hopeless because it seems like you’ll never get funded and you won’t ever be able to start your property investment business. 

So what’s the solution? The answer is simple: you need to focus on the quality of your investment property business plan, not the quantity of information in it. A well-written business plan will give you a better chance of getting approved for funding, and it will also help you to clarify your goals and strategies. 

Here are 10 tips to make your property investment business plan stand out:

1) know your target market  .

This will help you determine what type of property to purchase, what location to invest in, and how to appeal to your target market. Think about these questions: Do you want an apartment that may have regular renters for a longer period of time? Would you prefer to target the student market and invest in an HMO? Or do you want to rent out a house with the goal of selling for profit within a few years? 

You can find more information about making passive income from property investment, here .

2) Have a clear investment strategy 

This will help you stay focused and on track, and will make it easier to track your progress. Just having a sound investment strategy will enable you to know the types of property to invest in and when narrowing your target market to those that will work best for you.

3) Understand your financing options 

This will help you secure the best possible financing for your investment. Typical property finance options see lenders require at least 25% of the property price down, and sometimes a higher down payment of 30% may be required depending on the property and your financial situation.

4) Make sure your business plan is realistic 

This will help you avoid making any unrealistic assumptions that could lead to problems down the road. It’s important that the objectives set for your business plan are realistic and deliverable. However complex it may seem to be as a whole, the property investment business plan needs to be easily understood by both you and the people whose job it is to make it work. 

5) Have a solid exit strategy 

investment business plan tips

6) Have a professional team in place 

This will help you with the day-to-day management of your investment. Building a great property buying team requires that you consider what kind of qualities you want from the individual.

7) Stay organized and keep good records 

This will help you track your progress and make tax time a breeze. Keeping proper records is essential if you plan to make a claim against your rental property. There are a number of important documents you need to hold on to.

8) Keep your expenses in check 

This will help you stretch your profits further. Think about what “emergency fund” you want to keep in cash, and deduct that from your total investable funds. You should have at least six months’ expenses in the bank at all times. Just to be on the safe side.

9) Understand the risks involved 

This will help you make smart investment decisions and avoid any unnecessary risks. If you’d like to know more about the risks involved with investing in a piece of property, check out this article .

10) Have patience 

property investment business plan

If you can follow these tips, you’ll be well on your way to writing a successful property investment business plan. 

Investing in property can be a lucrative avenue and this ultimate guide can help you on your way to getting onto the property ladder in the UK, successfully. Just remember to ensure your property investment business plan is bulletproof. Also, you need to fully understand your responsibilities, get to know the market, potential yields and scope for capital growth on the property, as well as staying up to date on property trends. To talk to our experts and gain strategic advice on making a property investment, get in touch today.

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sample real estate investing business plan

Sample Real Estate Investing Business Plan

If you’ve been scouring the web trying to find a sample business plan so you can get your real estate investing business off the ground, look no further.

On this page, I will provide you a real, sample real estate investing business plan.

I will also give you step-by-step instructions to help you create your own business plan so you can stop sitting around and start investing in real estate.

sample real estate investing business plan

Need a Business Plan Before Investing in Real Estate?

Real estate financial projections, real estate is predictable, and your numbers should be too, business financial plan, how to write a real estate investing business plan..

I put together this infographic which will help break down the elements of planning (and backward planning), then we’ll pick it up on the other side with more information about crafting your sample business plan.

There are a lot of paths to go down in our quest to achieve  financial independence  and create a long-term residual income. With a business plan, you are: ** Nearly 2x more likely to succeed than those without a plan ** **49% more likely to grow than those without a plan** ** 2x as likely to get investment capital ** ** 30% more growth potential than those without a plan **

planning

Writing Your Business Plan

Before you even start typing, you need to know your goals and write them down. The infographic above has an example of how to backward plan and fill in the blanks.

Alright, now that you have a general idea of where you are going and how you will get there, you are ready to start writing your business plan.

What You Need Before Starting Your Investing Business Plan

Before you get started writing your business plan, you need to put together a few pieces of information:

  • Business plan writing software (I use  LivePlan )
  • Your  target market
  • Your  analysis criteria
  • How you will  find real estate deals
  • How you plan to  finance your properties
  • How you plan to rent/sell your properties (exit strategy).

1) Start Writing the Pitch

The first thing I like to do is write the pitch. Imagine yourself on a 30-second elevator ride to the 10th floor of some building, and you happen to be riding along with the CEO, or finance manager of some investing firm. What could you say to that person in 30 seconds to make them want to sit down and hear more?

real estate investing business plan pitch

That’s your pitch.

Click on the image to see an example of a “pitch” (it’s just a fictitious company I made up for this example).

The  business plan writing  software that I use puts this all together for me and even hosts it on a unique webpage so I can email the pitch if I want. Obviously, you don’t have to get that fancy – you could even put something together in PowerPoint if you want.

Writing this pitch is going to help you start working on a few important details:

The Real Estate Problem You are Solving (and Your Solution)

This is how you will position yourself and be better than everybody else…and fully expect it to change over time.

  • When we first started investing, we focused on student rentals. More specifically, we realized that foreign students had a hard time finding good apartments and trusting their rent and security deposit wouldn’t be stolen before they arrived in the United States.
  • Though that was our focus, we also bought other buildings if the numbers made sense…and our mission changed to acquiring under-valued properties and using my expertise to renovate them cheaply.
  • Finally, as we grew, we have incorporated those other things into our target investments but now we are focused on building systems that other smaller landlords couldn’t have in place.

The great thing about real estate, when compared to other startup businesses, is the financials are already out there for you. You can easily look at any property and get the current owner’s proforma rent (rent and expenses on paper under ideal circumstances).

In other industries, you may be stuck guessing what your retail demand will be, what your advertising, marketing, and other overhead might be.

In real estate, it’s easy to find and easy to estimate in the absence of actual numbers. My point is, there is no reason why your financials section shouldn’t be  amazing . It should be spot on so you can impress whoever your lender will be.

Since the financial section should be easy to figure out, it’s what I like to work on second.

2) Create an Amazing Financial Forecast

The financial forecast should be pretty boring and not hard for you to determine.

There is nothing terribly exciting about the financial section of a business plan. There is even less excitement with real estate financials. If you aren’t actively buying more property, then your revenue and expenses should literally never change.

And in this example, you can see how I plan for absolutely no change throughout most of 2016 for this made-up company.

But then something happens – I plan to buy more property!

But then it flatlines again.

Your banker, financier, or private lender will know real estate inside and out. They will know how much people spend on maintenance, collections, etc.

So, if the numbers in your plan are out of line, they will see it.

If you’re lucky, they will assume it’s a simple mistake, let you amend the numbers and move on… or they may think you’re a novice and it could jeopardize your financing. So spend more time on this section than any other

Honestly, I probably spend 3 or 4 hours just making up numbers for this example. It would take me a few days to get everything perfect if I were using this for funding.

3) The Rest of the Business Plan

Maybe it seems weird that I just throw it all together at the end, but in real estate, it’s pretty true. If you’ve created a solid plan utilizing the backward planning method, then created a pitch and did a solid job on your financials, the rest of the plan will fill itself in.

Sure, there may be a few areas that you haven’t put thought into yet, but that’s the purpose of the business plan.

The great thing is, the pitch uses these categories as well, so it gives you a great starting place.

Here is a quick breakdown of the real estate business plan categories

Executive Summary

The  Executive Summary  is a brief outline of the company’s purpose and goals and should include:

  • A brief description of products and services. For real estate, this could mean single family vs multi-family, self-storage, commercial, etc.
  • A summary of objectives.
  • A solid description of the market. How is your niche growing and what does the future look like in your particular market?
  • Financial justification. What your profit margins look like and how you plan to make money. Include growth potential
  • An overview of funding requirements.

Find your Business Opportunity

Every business finds an  Opportunity  to exploit. Essentially, opportunities are created by problems which you will solve. There may be a lack of low-income housing, or on the opposite side, a lack of luxury apartments. Other problems may be poor management, high eviction rates, or a lack/excess of a particular type of real estate.

It may be helpful to answer these  four questions  to help you define your opportunity:

  • Where do you make your money?  – What niche of the market will you operate in?
  • How do you spend your time?  – Will you focus on management, maintenance, finding investments, etc.
  • Who do you sell?  – Are your target tenants businesses, low-income, high-income, students, or something else.
  • What do you sell them?  – Are you selling tiny (green) homes to high-income individuals or large homes to middle-income people with families?

Execution of your Business Plan

Writing the execution part of your business plan isn’t always easy because it includes some big sections. In the execution section, you will have Operations, Marketing & Sales, Milestones, Metrics, and anything else that will affect your investments on a day-to-day basis.

Operations  –  This includes technology you may use (property management software), locations, management plan, and anything else that affects the day-to-day operations of your business and investments.

Marketing & Sales  –  This may include how you plan to stage and rent properties or to sell your real estate. From online listings all the way down to your concept for showings.

Milestones –  How fast do you want to grow, when will you raise rents, when do you want to hire your first employee… anything can be a milestone and it’s unique to your particular investing strategy.

Metrics –  It’s important to determine how you measure success. There are many ways to measure this, but in real estate, it could be the number of units, yearly income, or net worth among other things.

Company Profile

The  company profile  section is where you “sell” the management team and history of the company. If you have a lot of experience in real estate, then really highlight it in this section.

If you don’t have a strong real estate background (a lot of new investors have very little experience) then focus on talking about your “team” such as your real estate agent, accountant, attorney, contractors, and other professionals

Remember all the numbers you worked on before? Well, this is the where they go.

Try not to create pages and pages of useless graphs, charts, or spreadsheets. Try to put the important information up front, and tuck supporting spreadsheets in the back as a reference.

Another note – profit is really important in business, but cash-flow is more important. In real estate, it’s quite possible that a company can be profitable but cash-flow negative. It’s also possible to exhaust cash reserves and fail to meet debt obligations, even if you planned on earning a fortune in just a few months.

Your financial section should show your solid cash-flow management plan.

Don’t forget to download your free sample real estate investing business plan

Wrapping up Your Real Estate Investment Business Plan

The design is an important last step. People are more likely to read through your business plan and judge it’s content if it has a beautiful and easy to read design. Spend plenty of time making it colorful, make the headings pop, and work hard to draw attention to the areas you want to highlight.

With that last piece of advice, I hope I’ve been able to give you some specific advice about real estate investing and your business plan.

Check out  LivePlan  and give it a shot. It’s an amazing product!

And if you haven’t already yet, get a copy of the free business plan for real estate investors

Eric Bowlin

Eric Bowlin has 15 years of experience in the real estate industry and is a real estate investor, author, speaker, real estate agent, and coach. He focuses on multifamily, house flipping. and wholesaling and has owned over 470 units of multifamily.

Eric spends his time with his family, growing his businesses, diversifying his income, and teaching others how to achieve financial independence through real estate.

You may have seen Eric on Forbes, Bigger Pockets, Trulia, WiseBread, TheStreet, Inc, The Texan, Dallas Morning News, dozens of podcasts, and many others.

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Home     expert insights     paul wilson     Exclusive: an insight into my Property Investment Business Plan

Exclusive: an insight into my Property Investment Business Plan

By Paul Wilson

Published 28 Dec, 2014

In order to make smart, rational and informed financial decisions you need to plan ahead and take all of the variables into consideration, now and for in the future.

Behind every successful business and investor is a creative, well-thought out and strategic business plan. As an investor and a property coach, I suggest you do the same.

Ideally, you should have one Plan per property, and a Master Plan for your portfolio.

  • Under normal trading times
  • In a falling market
  • In a rising market

I hope these few insights into my Property Investment Business Plan have given new life to your existing properties, and set up the framework for future investment planning.

What do you include in your Plan? Share your knowledge below to help fellow investors.

Read more expert advice articles by Paul

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READ MORE: Expert Insights

Paul Wilson is an Independent Property Investing Expert and the founder of We Find Houses, Educating Property Investors & We Find Finance. Paul has been educating and coaching investors since 2001. Paul provides valuable, independent guidance and support by teaching strategies on how you can invest successfully while protecting yourself from commission hungry sales agents and property spruikers. 

Read more articles by Paul Wilson

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Property Development Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Property Development Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your Property Development business plan.

We have helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their property development companies.

Below is a template to help you create each section of your Property Development business plan.

Executive Summary

Business overview.

Redstone Development is a new property development company located in Salt Lake City, Utah. We focus on residential property development for single-family and multi-family homes. We handle all steps of the process, from sourcing the land to selling the finished property. Redstone Development aims to be the most trusted source of affordable housing in the Salt Lake City metro area.

Redstone Development is owned and operated by Jack Grant, a real estate development industry veteran who is well-versed in the entire property development process. Jack has over 30 years of experience developing residential properties and holds a Master’s in Real Estate Development. His education, experience, and industry connections will ensure that Redstone Development becomes one of the area’s most successful property development businesses.

Product Offering

Redstone Development will handle the entire development process, including sourcing land, securing all necessary approvals and permits, construction, and sale of the finished property.

The company focuses on building single-family homes and multi-family apartment complexes in the heart of Salt Lake City. All projects are designed to make these homes aesthetically appealing and luxurious. However, they will also be affordable to ensure that anyone in the Salt Lake City area can afford to live in our properties.

Customer Focus

Redstone Development will serve home buyers and real estate investors who live and work in Salt Lake City, Utah, or the surrounding area. Salt Lake City is a growing city in need of additional housing. More people come to this beautiful city every year, which reduces the number of available homes and apartment units. Therefore, we will target buyers who are struggling to find affordable housing.

Furthermore, there are thousands of first-time home buyers in the area. These buyers are an ideal target market for the company.

Management Team

Redstone Development will be owned and operated by Jack Grant. He recruited his former administrative assistant, Sheila Johnson, to be his Office Manager and help manage the office and operations.

Jack has over 30 years of experience developing residential properties and worked for several of our competitors. He also holds a Master’s in Real Estate Development from the University of Utah. His education, experience, and industry connections will ensure that Redstone Development becomes one of the area’s most successful real estate development businesses.

Sheila Johnson has been Jack Grant’s loyal administrative assistant for over ten years at a former property development firm. Jack relies strongly on Sheila’s diligence, attention to detail, and focus when organizing his clients, schedule, and files. Sheila has worked in the property development industry for so long that she understands all aspects required to run a successful property development company.

Jack will also employ several other full-time and part-time staff to assist with all aspects of running a real estate development business.

Success Factors

Redstone Development will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

  • Location: Redstone Development’s office is near the center of town, in the shopping district of the city. It is visible from the street, where many residents shop for both day-to-day and luxury items.
  • Client-oriented service: Redstone Development will have a full-time assistant with property development experience to keep in contact with clients and answer their everyday questions. Jack realizes the importance of accessibility and will further keep in touch with his clients through monthly newsletters.
  • Management: Jack has been highly successful working in the property development sector. His unique qualifications will serve customers in a much more sophisticated manner than many of Redstone Development’s competitors.
  • Relationships: Having worked and lived in the community his whole life, Jack knows many local leaders, real estate agents, and other influencers in the local property development industry.

Financial Highlights

Redstone Development is seeking $1,000,000 in debt financing to launch its property development business. The funding will be dedicated to purchasing our first property, construction costs, securing the office space, and purchasing office equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated toward six months of overhead costs, including payroll, rent, and marketing costs. The breakout of the funding is below:

  • Office space build-out: $50,000
  • Office equipment, supplies, and materials: $20,000
  • Land purchase and construction expenses: $530,000
  • Six months of overhead expenses (payroll, rent, utilities): $250,000
  • Marketing costs: $50,000
  • Working capital: $100,000

The following graph below outlines the pro forma financial projections for Redstone Development.

sample business plan for property investment

Company Overview

Who is redstone development.

Redstone Development is a new property development company located in Salt Lake City, Utah. We focus on residential property development for single-family and multi-family homes. We handle all steps of the property development process, from sourcing the land to selling the finished property. Redstone Development aims to be the most trusted source of affordable housing in the Salt Lake City metro area.

Redstone Development is owned and operated by Jack Grant, who is a real estate development industry veteran and well-versed in the entire property development process. Jack has over 30 years of experience developing residential properties and holds a Master’s in Real Estate Development. His education, experience, and industry connections will ensure that Redstone Development becomes one of the area’s most successful property development businesses.

Redstone Development’s History

After 30 years of working in the property development industry, Jack Grant began researching what it would take to create his own property development company. This included a thorough analysis of the costs, market, demographics, and competition. Jack has compiled enough information to develop his business plan and approach investors.

Once his market analysis was complete, Jack began surveying the local office spaces available and located an ideal location for the property development headquarters. Jack incorporated Redstone Development as a Limited Liability Corporation on October 1st, 2022.

Once the lease is finalized on the office space, renovations can be completed to make the office a welcoming environment to meet with clients.

Since incorporation, Redstone Development has achieved the following milestones:

  • Located available office space for rent that is ideal for meeting with clients
  • Identified the first property to develop
  • Developed the company’s name, logo, and website
  • Hired an interior designer for the decor and furniture layout
  • Determined equipment and fixture requirements
  • Began recruiting key employees

Redstone Development’s Services

Redstone Development will handle the entire property development process, including sourcing land, securing all necessary approvals and permits, construction, and sale of the finished property.

Industry Analysis

The real estate and property development industries have been strong over the past few years. As of 2021, the real estate industry was valued at $3.69 trillion and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.2% from now until 2030.

This growth will be driven by increasing demand for personal housing. Millennials and Gen-Z are beginning to rent their first apartments or buy their first homes. After years of living with family or roommates, they are ready to have a space to call their own. This trend is leading to a substantial demand for housing that many cities are struggling to supply.

The main challenge to the property development industry is the decrease in market size in the land development industry. Over the past five years, the industry saw an average annual decline of 0.7%. However, we believe that the pandemic was a considerable factor in this decline. Currently, the land development market is valued at $12 billion USD, and we expect it to grow substantially due to the growth of similar industries and the increasing demand for housing, as mentioned above.

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market.

Redstone Development will serve home buyers and real estate investors in Salt Lake City, Utah, and its surrounding areas.

The community of Salt Lake City has thousands of first-time home buyers, residential real estate investment firms, and people looking for affordable housing options in the area. The company will also target millennials specifically since the majority of first-time home buyers are in this age group.

The precise demographics for Salt Lake City, Utah are:

Customer Segmentation

Redstone Development will primarily target the following customer profiles:

  • Home buyers
  • Real estate investors
  • Millennials
  • Apartment/Condominium management companies

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

Redstone Development will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.

Upscale Property Developers, Inc.

Upscale Property Developers, Inc. is a property development company in Salt Lake City. In business for over 40 years, Upscale Property Developers, Inc. provides oversight for the entire property development process for new single-family and multi-family residences, commercial offices, and government buildings across the area. Upscale Property Developers, Inc also offers a variety of property renovation, demolition, and revitalization services for existing buildings.

Although Upscale Property Developers, Inc. provides homes with a luxury aesthetic, they are also the most expensive property developments on the market, thus resulting in many first-time home buyers being priced out of the market.

Premium Property Development Solutions

Established in 1990, Premium Property Development Solutions is a property developer of new commercial and residential properties in Salt Lake City. The company specializes in eco-friendly building materials and upscale design options for individual and corporate clients. Clients can customize their building design or choose from a variety of standard design options. The company employs experienced property developers and designers who are well-versed in green building design.

Premium Property Development Solutions is more affordable than Upscale Property Developers Inc. but is still out of most first-time home buyers’ price ranges.

Salt Lake Residential

Salt Lake Residential is also a local property development company that manages the complete property development process from sourcing and permitting to construction and sale. They are mostly known for their unique apartment complex designs but are equipped to take on a variety of different builds. The company has been in business for about ten years and has developed a reputation for building quality homes for affordable prices.

Although Salt Lake Residential has a similar value proposition of luxury homes at affordable prices, this company lacks the green building and eco-efficiency component to their business model, thus losing out on business from eco-conscious home buyers.

Competitive Advantage

Redstone Development enjoys several advantages over its competitors. Those advantages include:

  • Location: Redstone Development’s office is near the center of town, in the city’s shopping district. It is visible from the street, where many residents shop for both day-to-day and luxury items.

Marketing Plan

Brand & value proposition.

Redstone Development will offer the following unique value proposition to its clientele:

  • Service built on long-term relationships and personal attention
  • Big-firm expertise in a small-firm environment
  • Client-focused property development, where the company’s interests are aligned with the client
  • Effective project management
  • Affordable pricing

Promotions Strategy

The promotions strategy for Redstone Development is as follows:

Website/SEO

Redstone Development will invest heavily in developing a professional website that displays all of the features and benefits of the property development company. It will also invest heavily in SEO so the brand’s website will appear at the top of search engine results.

Social Media

Redstone Development will invest heavily in a social media advertising campaign. The marketing manager will create the company’s social media accounts and invest in ads on all social media platforms. It will use targeted marketing to appeal to the target demographics.

Print Advertising

The company will invest in professionally designed advertisements to be printed in real estate publications. Redstone Development will also list its properties for sale in key local publications, including newspapers, area magazines, and its own newsletter.

Community Events/Organizations

The company will promote itself by distributing marketing materials and participating in local community events, such as local festivals, business networking, or sporting events.

Redstone Development’s pricing will be moderate so consumers feel they receive great value when purchasing properties from the company.

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for Redstone Development.

Operation Functions:

  • Jack Grant will be the Owner and President of the company. He will oversee all staff and manage client relations. He will also oversee all major aspects of the development projects. Jack has spent the past year recruiting the following staff:
  • Sheila Johnson – Office Manager who will manage the office administration, client files, and accounts payable.
  • Kenneth Bohannon – Staff Accountant will provide all client accounting, tax payments, and monthly financial reporting.
  • Beth Martinez – Marketing Manager who will provide all marketing for Redstone Development and each property it manages.
  • Jack will also hire a team of architects, engineers, interior designers, and contractors to design and build the properties.

Milestones:

The following are a series of steps that lead to our vision of long-term success. Redstone Development expects to achieve the following milestones in the following six months:

1/1/202X         Finalize lease agreement

2/1/202X         Design and build out Redstone Development

3/1/202X         Hire and train initial staff

4/1/202X         Purchase first property for development

5/1/202X         Kickoff of promotional campaign

6/1/202X         Find second property for development

Jack has over 30 years of experience developing residential properties and worked for several of our competitors. He also holds a Master’s in Real Estate Development from the University of Utah. His education, experience, and industry connections will ensure that Redstone Development becomes one of the area’s most successful property development businesses.

Jack will also employ several other full-time and part-time staff to assist with all aspects of running a real estate development business as outlined in the Operations Plan.

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

Redstone Development’s revenues will come primarily from the sale of completed properties. The company will sell new single-family homes, multi-family townhomes, and apartment complexes/condominium properties to individual buyers and investors.

The cost drivers will be the overhead costs required to staff a property development office. The expenses will be the payroll cost, rent, utilities, office supplies, and marketing materials.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

Key assumptions.

The following outlines the key assumptions required to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and to pay off the startup business loan.

  • Average monthly payroll expenses: $50,000
  • Office lease per year: $100,000

Financial Projections

Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, property development business plan faqs, what is a property development business plan.

A property development business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your property development business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.

You can easily complete your Property Development business plan using our Property Development Business Plan Template here .

What are the Main Types of Property Development Businesses?

There are a number of different kinds of property development businesses , some examples include: Single-family detached housing, Multifamily housing, Developing and Subdividing Lots, and Commercial buildings.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Real Estate Development Business Plan?

Property Development businesses are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding. This is true for a real estate developer business plan and a real estate investment business plan template.

What are the Steps To Start a Property Development Business?

Starting a property development business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.

1. Write A Property Development Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed real estate development company business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include market research on the real estate market and potential target market size, information the services you will offer, marketing strategies, pricing details and a solid financial plan.  

2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your property development business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your property development business is in compliance with local laws.

3. Register Your Property Development Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your property development business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws. 

4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your property development business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms. 

5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations. 

6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events. 

7. Acquire Necessary Property Development Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your property development business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation. 

8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your property development business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising.

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Sample Property Management Business Plan

Growthink.com Property Management Business Plan Template

Writing a business plan is a crucial step in starting a property management business. Not only does it provide structure and guidance for the future, but it also helps to create funding opportunities and attract potential investors. For aspiring property management business owners, having access to a sample property management business plan can be especially helpful in providing direction and gaining insight into how to draft their own property management business plan.

Download our Ultimate Property Management Business Plan Template

Having a thorough business plan in place is critical for any successful property management venture. It will serve as the foundation for your operations, setting out the goals and objectives that will help guide your decisions and actions. A well-written business plan can give you clarity on realistic financial projections and help you secure financing from lenders or investors. A property management business plan example can be a great resource to draw upon when creating your own plan, making sure that all the key components are included in your document.

The property management business plan sample below will give you an idea of what one should look like. It is not as comprehensive and successful in raising capital for your property management as Growthink’s Ultimate Property Management Business Plan Template , but it can help you write a property management business plan of your own.

Property Management Business Plan Example – AssetGuard Properties

Table of contents, executive summary, company overview, industry analysis, customer analysis, competitive analysis, marketing plan, operations plan, management team, financial plan.

AssetGuard Properties is a forward-thinking property management company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, dedicated to providing top-tier property management services. Our mission is to simplify the property management process for our clients while enhancing the value and profitability of their real estate assets. We specialize in managing residential properties, offering a comprehensive suite of services designed to meet the unique needs of property owners and tenants alike. Our focus on technology and customer service sets us apart in the industry, ensuring efficient operations and high satisfaction rates among clients and tenants. By leveraging our expertise and innovative approaches, we aim to become a leader in the property management sector in Tulsa and beyond.

Our success is built on a foundation of key factors and accomplishments. Firstly, our in-depth understanding of the Tulsa real estate market allows us to provide tailored advice and services to our clients. The implementation of cutting-edge technology for property management has significantly increased our operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. Additionally, our team’s expertise in marketing and customer service has helped us quickly build a robust portfolio of properties. We have established strong relationships with local vendors and contractors, ensuring cost-effective maintenance and repair services. Our proactive approach to obtaining necessary licenses and certifications has positioned us favorably within regulatory frameworks, setting the stage for a successful launch and sustained growth.

The property management industry is experiencing significant growth, driven by increasing demand for residential rental properties and the complexities of managing these assets. The trend towards professional management services among property owners who seek to maximize profitability while minimizing hassles is a key growth driver. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, this trend is mirrored by a robust real estate market with a growing inventory of rental properties. The industry’s competitive landscape is shaped by both large-scale companies and smaller, localized firms offering property management services. AssetGuard Properties is well-positioned to capitalize on these industry dynamics through our focus on customer service, technology integration, and local market expertise.

Our target customers are property owners and investors in the Tulsa area who own one or more residential rental properties. These clients range from individual property owners to real estate investment groups seeking professional management services to optimize their property’s profitability and minimize operational hassles. Our customer analysis has identified a demand for property management services that provide value through efficient operations, effective tenant management, and strategic marketing to keep occupancy rates high. AssetGuard Properties addresses these needs by offering comprehensive management solutions tailored to the unique requirements of each client, ensuring their investment properties are well-managed and profitable.

Top Competitors: PropertyManagePro, RealEstateGuardians, TulsaPropertyMasters.

Competitive Advantages: AssetGuard Properties distinguishes itself through a strong emphasis on technology and customer service, enabling more efficient property management and higher satisfaction among clients and tenants. Our deep understanding of the Tulsa market and our ability to build strong relationships with local vendors also provide us with an edge in offering cost-effective and quality services.

Our marketing plan focuses on highlighting our comprehensive property management services, competitive pricing, and the value we bring to property owners and investors. We offer a range of services from tenant screening to maintenance, all tailored to meet the diverse needs of our clients, ensuring their properties are well-maintained and profitable. Pricing is structured competitively to offer great value while ensuring our services’ sustainability. Promotional strategies include a strategic marketing campaign leveraging both digital (social media, SEO, targeted online ads) and traditional advertising mediums (local newspapers, property investment seminars) to build brand awareness in Tulsa. By demonstrating our expertise and value proposition, we aim to attract and retain a growing base of satisfied clients.

Our operations plan outlines key processes and milestones critical to our success. This includes obtaining all necessary licenses and certifications, launching our business with a strong marketing campaign, and building a portfolio of managed properties. We will implement efficient property management systems and software for seamless operations, recruit and train a skilled team, and strive to achieve a positive cash flow. Milestones include reaching $15,000/month in revenue and establishing strong local vendor relationships. Regularly reviewing and adjusting our business strategy based on performance and market trends will ensure our sustained growth and success in the property management industry.

Our management team comprises seasoned professionals with extensive experience in property management, real estate, and customer service. This diverse expertise ensures that all aspects of our business, from operational efficiency to client relations, are managed with the highest standards of professionalism and integrity. Our team’s leadership is dedicated to fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement, driving AssetGuard Properties towards achieving its goals and setting new benchmarks in the property management industry.

Welcome to AssetGuard Properties, a new Property Management company serving customers in Tulsa, OK. As a local business, we’re proud to fill the gap in high-quality property management services within the area. Our commitment to excellence and understanding of the local market sets us apart, ensuring that our clients receive the best possible service.

At AssetGuard Properties, our range of services is designed to meet all your property management needs. This includes Property Marketing and Advertising to ensure your property gets the visibility it deserves, Tenant Screening and Placement to find reliable tenants, Rent Collection and Financial Management to streamline your income, Property Maintenance and Repairs to keep your investment in top condition, and Lease Agreement Management to ensure all legalities are properly handled. Our comprehensive services are tailored to maximize your property’s potential while minimizing your stress.

Our base in Tulsa, OK, positions us perfectly to serve local customers with an understanding and appreciation of the community. This local insight enhances our ability to manage properties effectively and respond promptly to both property owners and tenants’ needs.

AssetGuard Properties stands out as a leader in the property management industry for several reasons. Firstly, our founder brings valuable experience from successfully running a property management business, ensuring that we’re built on a foundation of proven strategies and insights. Secondly, our commitment to offering better services than our competition means that we’re always striving to innovate and improve, ensuring our clients receive unparalleled service.

Since our establishment on January 7, 2024, as a Sole Proprietorship, we’ve made significant strides in building our brand. Our achievements include the creation of a distinctive logo, the development of our company name, and securing a prime location for our operations. These accomplishments mark the beginning of our journey towards becoming the leading property management service in Tulsa, OK.

The Property Management industry in the United States is a thriving sector, with a current market size estimated to be around $88 billion. This industry encompasses a wide range of services, including residential and commercial property management, real estate asset management, and maintenance services.

Market research indicates that the Property Management industry is expected to experience steady growth in the coming years. By 2025, the market size is projected to reach $116 billion, driven by factors such as increasing urbanization, growing demand for rental properties, and the rise of property management technology solutions.

Recent trends in the Property Management industry, such as the adoption of cloud-based property management software, the focus on sustainability and energy efficiency in property management practices, and the increasing demand for professional property management services, bode well for AssetGuard Properties. As a new player in the market serving customers in Tulsa, OK, AssetGuard Properties is well-positioned to capitalize on these trends and establish a strong presence in the industry.

Below is a description of our target customers and their core needs.

Target Customers

AssetGuard Properties will target a diverse range of customers, with a primary focus on local residents in need of property management services. This segment includes homeowners who are seeking to rent out their properties but lack the time or expertise to manage them effectively. These customers will benefit from AssetGuard’s comprehensive management solutions, which are designed to maximize rental income while minimizing the hassle and time commitment for property owners.

The company will also cater to real estate investors who own multiple properties or are looking to expand their portfolios within Tulsa. Recognizing the unique needs of this customer segment, AssetGuard Properties will tailor their services to support investors in optimizing the performance of their rental properties. This includes offering market analysis, tenant placement, and maintenance services, all of which will be crucial for investors aiming to achieve high occupancy rates and return on investment.

Another important customer segment for AssetGuard Properties consists of tenants looking for rental properties. By maintaining a portfolio of well-managed and appealing properties, AssetGuard will attract tenants seeking quality rentals in the Tulsa area. The company will ensure tenant satisfaction through responsive customer service and efficient handling of maintenance requests, therefore building a loyal tenant base that contributes to the stability and profitability of the managed properties.

Customer Needs

AssetGuard Properties caters to the needs of residents who prioritize high-quality property management services. These individuals expect responsive and effective management that can promptly address any issues that arise, ensuring their living experience remains comfortable and hassle-free. This includes everything from regular maintenance to emergency repairs, all handled with professionalism and care.

Moreover, AssetGuard Properties understands the importance of clear communication and transparency between property managers and residents. Customers can expect regular updates regarding any changes or developments concerning their residence. This commitment to open dialogue builds trust and ensures that residents are always informed and involved in the management of their homes.

In addition to the basics, AssetGuard Properties also recognizes the evolving needs of modern residents. This includes the integration of technology in property management, offering digital solutions for payment processing, service requests, and communication. Such conveniences cater to the lifestyle of today’s renters, who expect efficiency and modern amenities in their living environments.

AssetGuard Properties’s competitors include the following companies:

Sunstone Property Management offers comprehensive property management services tailored to both residential and commercial properties. Their services range from tenant screening and leasing to maintenance and financial reporting. Sunstone Property Management operates primarily in the Tulsa, OK area, focusing on high-quality residential units and commercial spaces. The company structures its pricing based on the property type and services required, offering competitive rates that appeal to property owners looking for value and quality. Sunstone is known for its efficient use of technology in property management, which enhances communication with property owners and tenants. However, their specialization in high-end properties may limit their appeal to a broader market segment.

Bates & Assoc Realty specializes in real estate sales and property management services, including marketing properties, tenant placement, rent collection, and property maintenance. They cater to residential properties, with a strong presence in the Tulsa, OK region. Their pricing model is competitive, offering tiered services to meet different property owners’ needs. Bates & Assoc Realty generates significant revenue from both property management fees and real estate transactions, indicating a robust and diverse business model. The company boasts a strong local market knowledge, giving them an edge in property valuation and marketing. Nevertheless, their focus on real estate sales alongside property management could dilute their focus and potentially affect the quality of property management services.

PMI Green Country provides a wide array of property management solutions that include residential, commercial, and association management. Their services encompass all aspects of property management, from tenant screening and leasing to maintenance and beyond. PMI Green Country serves the Tulsa, OK area, and its surroundings, catering to a diverse clientele that includes single-family homes, apartment complexes, and commercial properties. They offer a flexible pricing model that adjusts to the size and complexity of the property being managed, making them accessible to a wide range of property owners. PMI Green Country is part of a larger national franchise, which gives them access to a vast network of resources and expertise in property management. However, being part of a national franchise might limit their ability to customize services to the unique needs of the Tulsa market.

Competitive Advantages

At AssetGuard Properties, we pride ourselves on delivering unparalleled property management services, setting us apart from the competition. Our approach is deeply rooted in understanding the unique needs of each property owner and tenant, allowing us to tailor our services for optimal satisfaction. We leverage the latest technology to streamline operations, from maintenance requests to rent collection, ensuring efficiency and convenience for all parties involved. This commitment to excellence and innovation in service delivery not only enhances the value of the properties we manage but also fosters a sense of trust and reliability among our clients.

Furthermore, our team comprises seasoned professionals with extensive knowledge and experience in the real estate and property management industry. This expertise enables us to offer insightful advice and strategic solutions that maximize returns and minimize risks for property owners. Additionally, our strong local presence in Tulsa, OK, equips us with an in-depth understanding of the market dynamics, allowing us to position properties advantageously. By choosing AssetGuard Properties, clients can expect a partnership that not only elevates their property management experience but also contributes significantly to their investment’s success. Our dedication to excellence, combined with our competitive edge in service quality and market intelligence, makes us the preferred choice for property management needs.

Our marketing plan, included below, details our products/services, pricing and promotions plan.

Products and Services

At AssetGuard Properties, we understand the value of your real estate investment and the importance of maintaining its integrity and profitability. We offer a comprehensive suite of property management services designed to alleviate the burden from property owners, ensuring their assets are well-managed and lucrative. Our services cater to all aspects of property management, from marketing and tenant placement to maintenance and financial oversight.

Our Property Marketing and Advertising service ensures your property doesn’t stay vacant for long. We employ a blend of traditional and digital marketing strategies to attract a wide pool of potential tenants. By showcasing your property in its best light, we aim to secure reliable tenants swiftly. This service is priced at an average of $250, which includes listing your property on top real estate websites, social media platforms, and conducting open houses.

Tenant Screening and Placement is another critical service we offer. Finding the right tenant is paramount to a stress-free property management experience. Our comprehensive screening process includes background checks, credit checks, employment verification, and previous landlord references. This rigorous process ensures that only the most qualified tenants occupy your property. For this invaluable peace of mind, our clients can expect to invest around $100 per tenant screening.

Rent Collection and Financial Management are essential to maintaining the cash flow of your investment. We provide a streamlined process for tenants to pay their rent, reducing late payments and ensuring consistent revenue. Additionally, we offer detailed financial reporting for property owners, including income statements and expense reports. This service is available for an average fee of 8-10% of the monthly rent collected, ensuring that your financial interests are expertly managed.

Property Maintenance and Repairs are inevitable in property management. Our goal is to preserve the value of your property through regular maintenance and prompt, efficient repair work when necessary. We have established relationships with trusted contractors and service providers to ensure quality work at competitive prices. The cost for this service varies depending on the nature of the maintenance or repair but expect to pay a management fee of 10-15% on top of the actual repair costs.

Lastly, Lease Agreement Management is vital to ensure that the terms of the lease are upheld by both parties. We handle everything from lease drafting to enforcement, including renewals and terminations. Our expertise in local real estate laws ensures that your lease agreements are comprehensive and compliant. This service is offered at a flat rate of $200 per lease agreement, providing peace of mind that all legal and procedural bases are covered.

At AssetGuard Properties, we pride ourselves on being a full-service property management solution that meets the diverse needs of property owners in Tulsa, OK. Our competitive pricing, combined with our commitment to excellence, makes us the ideal partner for your property management needs.

Promotions Plan

AssetGuard Properties harnesses the power of online marketing to attract customers, utilizing a multifaceted approach to ensure visibility and engagement. The company will deploy a robust digital marketing strategy, incorporating search engine optimization (SEO) to improve their website’s ranking on search engine results pages. This ensures that when potential customers in Tulsa, OK, search for property management services, AssetGuard Properties appears prominently.

Social media platforms will also play a crucial role in their promotional efforts. AssetGuard Properties will create and maintain active profiles on major social networks, including Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Through these channels, the company will share valuable content, property listings, and customer testimonials to build a community and engage directly with potential clients. Paid advertising campaigns on these platforms will target specific demographics, ensuring that promotional materials reach those most likely to require property management services.

Email marketing campaigns will further bolster AssetGuard Properties’ promotional activities. By gathering email addresses through their website and social media channels, the company will send out newsletters, special offers, and updates about new listings or services. This direct line of communication will keep the company top-of-mind for current and potential clients.

Beyond digital efforts, AssetGuard Properties will engage in local community events and sponsorships. Participation in local fairs, property expos, and community gatherings will increase brand visibility and allow for face-to-face interaction with potential customers. Sponsorship of local sports teams or events can also enhance their reputation as a community-oriented business.

Referral programs will incentivize existing clients to refer friends and family, creating a word-of-mouth marketing channel that can be highly effective in building trust and expanding the customer base. Offering discounts or other benefits for successful referrals will motivate current clients to share their positive experiences with others.

In summary, AssetGuard Properties will employ a comprehensive promotional strategy that combines online marketing with community engagement and referral programs. By leveraging the power of SEO, social media, email marketing, local events, and referral incentives, AssetGuard Properties aims to attract and retain customers in Tulsa, OK, establishing itself as a leading property management service in the area.

Our Operations Plan details:

  • The key day-to-day processes that our business performs to serve our customers
  • The key business milestones that our company expects to accomplish as we grow

Key Operational Processes

To ensure the success of AssetGuard Properties, there are several key day-to-day operational processes that we will perform.

  • Maintain open and effective communication channels with property owners and tenants to address any concerns, requests, or feedback in a timely manner.
  • Conduct regular inspections of managed properties to ensure they are in good condition and comply with local housing standards and regulations.
  • Coordinate maintenance and repair work by hiring and overseeing reliable contractors, ensuring that work is completed satisfactorily and within budget.
  • Manage financial operations, including rent collection, payment of bills and taxes, and generating monthly financial reports for property owners.
  • Advertise and market vacant properties through various channels to minimize vacancy periods and attract suitable tenants.
  • Screen potential tenants by conducting background and credit checks to ensure they meet the rental criteria.
  • Handle lease agreements, renewals, and terminations, ensuring all documentation is accurate and legally compliant.
  • Provide exceptional customer service to both property owners and tenants to build and maintain positive relationships.
  • Stay informed about local real estate market trends and property laws to offer knowledgeable advice and services to clients.
  • Implement efficient property management software to streamline operations, from tenant screening to maintenance requests and financial reporting.

AssetGuard Properties expects to complete the following milestones in the coming months in order to ensure its success:

  • Obtain Necessary Licenses and Certifications : Secure all required local, state, and federal licenses for operating a property management business in Tulsa, OK. This includes any specific property management or real estate broker licenses that may be required by Oklahoma law.
  • Launch Our Property Management Business : Officially launch AssetGuard Properties with a strategic marketing campaign to build awareness in the Tulsa area. This includes developing a strong brand identity, creating an engaging website, and utilizing social media and local advertising to reach potential clients.
  • Build a Robust Property Portfolio : Acquire a portfolio of properties to manage that will generate consistent revenue. This involves networking with property owners, real estate agents, and investors to showcase the value AssetGuard Properties can bring to their investments.
  • Implement Efficient Operational Systems : Develop and implement efficient property management systems and software that will allow for effective management of properties, including tenant screening, lease management, maintenance requests, and financial reporting. This will ensure high customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
  • Hire and Train Qualified Staff : Recruit and train a team of professionals with expertise in property management, customer service, and maintenance. This ensures that all properties are managed effectively and that tenants and property owners receive high-quality service.
  • Achieve a Positive Cash Flow : Focus on reaching operational efficiency and financial stability by achieving a positive cash flow. This involves managing expenses carefully while growing the revenue base by increasing the number of managed properties and possibly adjusting the fee structure to remain competitive yet profitable.
  • Get to $15,000/Month in Revenue : Implement strategies to grow monthly revenue to at least $15,000. This could involve expanding the property portfolio, optimizing the fee structure for services provided, and seeking additional revenue streams related to property management such as maintenance and renovation services.
  • Establish Strong Relationships with Local Vendors and Contractors : Build a network of reliable and cost-effective local vendors and contractors for maintenance and repair services. This will help in managing operational costs effectively and ensuring quick and quality service to the managed properties.
  • Implement a Customer Feedback Loop : Develop a system for collecting and analyzing feedback from both property owners and tenants. Use this feedback to continually improve service offerings and customer satisfaction, which in turn will help in retaining clients and attracting new ones through positive word-of-mouth.
  • Review and Adjust Business Strategy : Regularly review the business performance against set goals and industry trends. Be prepared to adjust the business strategy, marketing efforts, and operational processes based on performance data, customer feedback, and changing market conditions to ensure sustained growth and success.

AssetGuard Properties management team, which includes the following members, has the experience and expertise to successfully execute on our business plan:

Kaylee Richardson, CEO

Kaylee Richardson, CEO, brings a wealth of experience to AssetGuard Properties, underpinned by a proven track record in the property management sector. With an entrepreneurial spirit, Kaylee has previously demonstrated her capability by successfully running a property management business. Her expertise not only lies in managing and scaling businesses effectively but also in understanding the intricacies of the real estate market and customer needs. Kaylee’s leadership is expected to drive AssetGuard Properties towards achieving its vision by leveraging her strategic thinking, operational excellence, and commitment to service quality.

To reach our growth goals, AssetGuard Properties requires initial funding to cover startup costs, operational expenses, and marketing initiatives. This investment will enable us to quickly establish our brand, build a strong property portfolio, and achieve operational efficiency. Our financial projections indicate that with the right level of funding, we can reach our revenue targets, achieve a positive cash flow within the first year of operations, and sustain long-term growth. Our plan outlines a clear path to profitability, ensuring a solid return on investment for our financial backers.

Financial Statements

Balance sheet.

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Income Statement

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Cash Flow Statement

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Property Management Business Plan Example PDF

Download our Property Management Business Plan PDF here. This is a free property management business plan example to help you get started on your own property management plan.  

How to Finish Your Property Management Business Plan in 1 Day!

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your property management business plan?

With Growthink’s Ultimate Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!

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    Property 1 will give a return on your investment of 15% but will probably never increase in value. Property 2 will give a return of 7% but has the potential to double in value over the next decade. If your goal is to create a certain monthly income within three years, the Property 1 is likely to be a better choice.

  14. How to Write a Rental Property Business Plan

    Here's how to create a business plan for your rental property investment in five steps. 1. Identify the Main Goal of Your Rental Business. The first page of your rental property business plan typically consists of an executive summary, which briefly covers the different topics you'll be explaining in your document.

  15. Property Investment Business Plan

    5) Have a solid exit strategy. This will help you maximize your profits and protect your investment. Essentially, an exit strategy describes how you intend to exit your investment, which means selling the property as part of your property business plan. Your investment goals will play a big part in this decision.

  16. Sample Real Estate Investing Business Plan

    Writing Your Business Plan. What You Need Before Starting Your Investing Business Plan. 1) Start Writing the Pitch. The Real Estate Problem You are Solving (and Your Solution) Real Estate Financial Projections. 2) Create an Amazing Financial Forecast. Real Estate is predictable, and your numbers should be too. 3) The Rest of the Business Plan.

  17. 8+ SAMPLE Property Investment Plan in PDF

    A property investment plan pdf is a solid basis in and of itself. It is the culmination of data analysis and demonstrating the investment's promise. There is a logic to be followed and pursued. It also functions as a guide and a record. When you reflect back on your success, you'll realize that your strategy worked.

  18. Exclusive: an insight into my Property Investment Business Plan

    Behind every successful business and investor is a creative, well-thought out and strategic business plan. As an investor and a property coach, I suggest you do the same. Ideally, you should have one Plan per property, and a Master Plan for your portfolio. Let's look at the basics of a good Property Investment Business Plan: Executive Summary

  19. Rental Properties Business Plan Template (2024)

    Six months of overhead expenses (payroll, rent, utilities): $350,000. Marketing costs: $50,000. Working capital: $60,000. Easily complete your Rental Properties business plan! Download the Rental Properties business plan template (including a customizable financial model) to your computer here <-.

  20. Property Development Business Plan Template (2024)

    The real estate and property development industries have been strong over the past few years. As of 2021, the real estate industry was valued at $3.69 trillion and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.2% from now until 2030. This growth will be driven by increasing demand for personal housing.

  21. Sample Property Management Business Plan

    The Property Management industry in the United States is a thriving sector, with a current market size estimated to be around $88 billion. This industry encompasses a wide range of services, including residential and commercial property management, real estate asset management, and maintenance services.