Is Real Estate Investing For You: The Honest Answer

Real estate investing is a fantastic place to spend your time.

It is also not productive or rewarding just by being there. You have to put in the work to acquire the knowledge and the tools. And it is not like assembly instructions. You cannot just open a book and put it together. You can read every book ever written about it and attend every class available and still walk into your first deal completely unprepared for what is actually in front of you.

I know because I have watched it happen hundreds of times.

Why Real Estate

I like fixing things and solving problems. I get genuine enjoyment from bringing things back to life. That is why I am here after 25 years. For you it may be something different. But as long as the sole motivation is not money you will likely find your way.

There are so many ways to generate revenue from real estate that you can literally start at the bottom and make more than the people who funded their start at the top. From wholesaling to owner financed deals you can find a way to make real money without having any to start. That is not true in most industries.

You love it or you don't. Some people push themselves past the frustration and enjoy the challenge. Others just want a regular paycheck and takeout. Both are valid. Only one of them belongs in real estate.

Who Is This Actually For

Everyone, for completely different reasons. But the bottom line is that this is a service business and you have to be willing to be in service of everyone to succeed.

From the person you purchase the property from — you are taking a problem off their hands — to the person renting or buying from you, your job is honest service to the best of your ability at every point in the transaction. Half doing things at any stage causes problems from that point forward. You cannot expect a savior to come along. Do you enjoy people and problem solving. Then maybe real estate is for you.

If you are not a people person or do not enjoy problem solving there are still plenty of opportunities to serve investors on their journey with far less direct interaction. Estimating, deal analysis, hard money lending. The ecosystem is large enough for every skill set.

What to Expect

A lot of information. Some of it useful, some of it not. You will feel overwhelmed and lost regularly. You will waste time chasing things that do not work out and you will either learn from that or burn out going down the same dead ends repeatedly.

Finding a deal is the most important skill in this business and figuring out whether something actually is a deal is harder than most people expect before they try it.

Whatever you do do not believe the numbers. Verify the numbers. Always. Property value and repair cost have a lot of opinion in them and whose opinion you rely on determines a significant portion of your return on investment.

Chase the deals. Do not waste time. Do not get emotional. Do not believe anyone's numbers without verifying them. Do not settle just to do a deal. It is not a deal if the numbers are not right.

You will know after the first deal whether you are cut out for this. If you do it right you will know without also losing time and money figuring it out.

The Most Important Thing I Can Tell You

Time is more valuable than money.

You cannot get more time with all the money in the world. But you can get more money with time. Every decision you make in this business is really a decision about time. Treat it accordingly.

When Do You Start

Now. By reading this you have already taken a step. How fast things move from here is completely up to you.

Where Do You Go

Find the thing about real estate investing that interests you and start there. If you have a full time job and a family find the space. Get online and track down tax lien property owners. Use your credit for bridge or hard money loans. Find a partner who needs something you can provide.

Invest your time in building a team that does not waste it. Because time is all you actually have.

Have questions? Good. That means you are paying attention.
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