What advice would you give to a new investor?
1. Find a coach/mentor in your area Who can you turn to for guidance? Most importantly, with anyone you turn to, make sure they’re successfully doing what they want to do, and talk to others you’ve helped before committing your time and/or money.
Real estate investing is not a solo business. You need attorneys, CPAs (experts in real estate investments), contractors, subcontractors, real estate agents, title companies, closing attorneys, inspectors, appraisers, etc. Find someone who has walked the minefield before you and can help you save time and money.
Should you pay them for their time? Absolutely. If they are willing to share with you what they have learned over years of their own time and effort, they have paid for their skills in one way or another and what you will get from them is worth paying for. If they’re not worth paying for, they’re not worth following.
And don’t just approach your peers; reach out to those in a better position than you. Jim Rohn said, “You are the average of the 5 best people you hang out with.” If you want to improve in any area, find someone to follow who is doing much better than you.
two. Get involved with a peer group that knows more than you. Go to all the meetings you can. For real estate investors, that usually means local REIA meetings (real estate investor association meetings you can find at NationalREIA.com). Also check out MeetUp.com and any local homeowners association meetings. Owners are already doing business and can be a great source of information as well as potential buyers and sellers to work with.
3. Set goals. Make a plan. How many houses do you want to buy in the next 12 months? How much do you want to be worth in 5 years? As you write your goals, include strategies to achieve them. Do you want to buy 10 houses in the next 12 months? Break that down into chunks to figure out what you need to do each month to make those goals a reality.
Four. Buy real estate. If you haven’t started yet, get started! If you are buying, buy more. If he doesn’t, 10 years will have passed and he will be kicking himself for not buying everything he could today. The way to really learn is by doing. Books and seminars are great, but he won’t know what he knows and doesn’t know until he jumps in and starts shopping for himself.
It’s a worn cliche “there has never been a better time to buy real estate”, but it’s true. I think that is always true. Sure, you have to adjust your methods and strategies based on the economy and where you invest, but everyone works, shops and lives somewhere. If you don’t own it, someone else will.
Get an education, connect with a mentor, make a plan and buy real estate.
What can you add?
