Why real estate? Who is it for? What can you expect? When do you start? Where do I go?
Real Property i.e. Real Estate Investing is a fantastic, interesting, and opportunistic place to spend your time.
The world of REI is much like any other business or place to spend your time. Its not productive or rewarding just by being there. You have to put in the work and time to acquire the knowledge and tools. But its not like assembly instructions, you can’t just open and book and put it all together. (even if you read a lot of assembly books, and attend classes on it.)
Why? Well that is easy. I like fixing things and problem solving. Mix that with the fact that I get true enjoyment from bringing things back to life and here I am. But for you it may be a different passion, and as long as the sole motivation isn’t money then you will likely find success. There are so many avenues to acquire revenue from real estate that you can literally start at the bottom and make more than those funding their start at the top. From wholeselling to owner financed deals you can find a way to make money without really having any to start. Good money. Thats not true in most industries.
You love it or you don’t. Some people push themselves past frustration and enjoy the challenges, others just want a regular paycheck and take out.
Who? Everyone really, but for completely different reasons. The bottom line is that this really is a service business and you must be willing to be in service of everyone to succeed. From the person you purchase the property from (taking a problem property off their hands) to the person renting/buying from you, (your clients) its your literal duty to provide them with honest service to the best of your ability. Half assing things at any point will cause issues from there forward. You cant’ expect a savior to come along or people to be wiling to do for you, without a reward. Do you enjoy people and problem solving? Then maybe real estate investments are for you.
(if you aren’t a people person or don’t enjoy problem solving then there are plenty of opportunities to service investors on their journey with far less interactions. i.e. estimator, deal analysis, hard money lender, etc.)
What to expect? A lot of information. Some is a hit, some a miss. You will feel overwhelmed and lost, a lot. You will 100% waste time chasing things that don’t work out, and you will either learn from that or you will burn out down the same dead ends. To find a deal is the most important aspect and figuring out IF it is a deal can be rough. Whatever you do, don’t believe the numbers; verify the numbers (always). Property value and repair cost have A LOT of opinion in them, and who’s opinion determines a lot of your ROI (return on investment). Chase the deals, don’t waste time, don’t get emotional, don’t believe anyones numbers, don’t settle just to do a deal (its not a deal if the numbers aren’t right.) and don’t give up. You’ll know after that first deal if you are cut out for this, and if you do it right you will at least know without also losing time/money figuring it out.
Time is more valuable than money. You can’t get more time with all the money, but you can get more money with time.
When do you start? Now, by reading this you obviously have already taken steps and that is a start. How fast things go from here is completely up to you.
Not all who wander are wondering.
Where do I go? Find a niche, the thing about real estate investing that interest you, start there. If you have a full time job and a family you are taking care of, well, find some space. Get online and track down tax lien property owners, use your credit to do bridge/hard money loans, find a partner that needs something you can provide. Invest the time in really ensuring your success by building a successful team that doesn’t waste your time. Its all you have.
Have questions? Well, I’d hope so….
Reach out now to set up a free consultation and lets get you going!
