Are you serious about real estate?  Sure, you might argue that you’re reading the blogs, keeping up to date with the subprime crisis, and knocking the housing bubble.  A significant interest is one thing, but you can tell those who are really serious about the market and real estate investment by taking a quick sneak peek at their rolodex.  Here’s what you’ll probably find:

Real Estate Agents and Brokers Galore

Part of being a successful real estate investor is putting together a crack team of experts that will advise and share their experienced viewpoint on a whim.  Having plenty of agent friends helps investors keep an eye on upcoming bargains even before the properties show up on the market publically.  It’s true that the savvy find the best deals first and having a team of insiders working for you is exactly what makes it possible.

Friends in the Finance Business

It’s true, if you look at a person successful in real estate’s rolodex, you’ll surely find a host of contacts in the mortgage and finance business.  Every deal put together needs to be backed by funding and more often than not, the experts prefer to uses OPM (other people’s money).  It helps leverage the maximum bang for the investment buck.  Of course, many times the investors will be backed by private financing rather than traditional mortgages.

Plenty of “A” Professionals

The rolodex is practically guaranteed to contain a couple of really frequently used contacts (otherwise known as team members).  By title, they’ll be under “A.”  If you guessed real estate attorneys and accountants, you’d be absolutely correct.  In fact, being able to rely on both of these pros at a moments notice is imperative when trying to put a real estate deal together, no matter how big or small.

Experts of the Trade

And possibly even more important than any of the team members highlighted above, you can count on a successful real estate investor keeping the names and numbers of their favorite tradespeople on hand and nearby.  Working with a trusted, select group of expert property inspectors and construction gurus is part of the well oiled real estate investing machine that brings success to those who work it.

So there you have it.  These are the team members who keep savvy investors in the business of investing – the people who make things happen.