Timur Yusufov
Timur Yusufov is a
real estate expert who works in the field of property renovations. He is the
founder of Unique Homes, LLC and has completed some of the most challenging
projects in Maryland. Courtesy of his talents, Timur
Yusufov has an outstanding
track record where he renovated homes that were more than a century old.
Additionally, his role as the Chief Financial Officer in his company allows him
to dominate the administrative side of the business just as much as the
practical one.
Why did you decide to pursue property renovations instead of traditional real estate projects?
I wanted to do something that was hands-on and required me to spend time
outside of the office. Unlike a lot of entrepreneurs who work with passive
income, I enjoy working proactively. In other words, spending eight to ten
hours working on a property that I am trying to flip is one of the highlights
of my business model.
Additionally, the way that my company is set up, I get to experience a
combination of both worlds where I am building things while still staying in
touch with my entrepreneurial instincts. After all, you have to know which
properties will be worthy of restoration and which ones you should never get
involved with.
What do you think about the overall state of real estate in the nation?
Well, according to recent calculations, the one-year change in the average home
prices is approximately 7 percent. Moreover, it is expected that the prices
will keep rising and grow by another 7.5 percent by 2020. We are also in one of
the hottest sellers’ markets ever recorded, with most properties available for
only about three months before they are purchased. So, from a seller’s
perspective, all of the recent developments are indicative of many more
profitable days to come.
Based on these trends, interest in real estate has been growing steadily for a
number of years now. Real estate has become a focus area for a number of
start-up companies that are trying to revolutionize the way in which people
invest in real estate. For instance, you can be a partial property owner by
using a simple mobile app nowadays. All of this leads me to believe that
entrepreneurs who are investing in this sector will be better off a year from
now.
How do you secure financing for your real estate projects?
Most of my financing comes from an independent group of investors who are
financially involved with my business. They provide the capital that I require
to initiate a transaction. Then, I purchase a property and spend some time
renovating it. Afterward, I sell it for a much larger price than I originally
bought it for. So, those investors get their funds returned to them with a
hefty gain. As far as my income, I get to keep a portion of the revenue once
everyone else has been paid.
Do you have any other business interests outside of real estate?
Absolutely. I invested in everything from a rehabilitation center for injuries
and a pharmacy, to a supplement line and a daycare business. That means that my
portfolio is incredibly diverse as most of these ventures have no common
denominator in the market. Thus, if anything goes wrong in the supplement
industry, per se, I will only be exposed to loss to the extent of my investment
in that particular market. Meanwhile, my interests in the pharmacy,
rehabilitation center, and daycare industries will continue to provide decent
returns that are most likely going to compensate for the hypothetical
loss.
What would you advise a young businessman or woman who is trying to decide if they should buy their first property?
Listen to your intuition. Obviously, do a good deal of research and try to find
tangible evidence that you are looking at a profitable investment. In the end,
however, do not ignore that feeling in your stomach that is telling you to
close the deal as soon as possible.
I had many instances in my career where I did the contrary to what my intuition
told me to do. In almost all of those cases, I was proven to be wrong. For
instance, getting in on a project that you do not feel comfortable with because
the numbers look mind-blowing is just as bad as not buying a property because
you want to be 100-percent sure that it is a good decision. Given how you can
never be completely certain with real estate investing, sometimes your gut
feeling is the only confirmation you need!
