“If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” – Unknown
Your first real estate investment should be a solid financial education
If you are like me, you’ve probably made a few mistakes in your investing career. Every successful real estate investor has made plenty of them. However, you can limit your mistakes and increase your odds of success by building a strong real estate investing financial education.
My biggest investing mistake happened because I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I didn’t have a team around me with experience to guide me away from danger and it cost me in both time and money. But that is a story for another day. Today, with all the education available, this does not have to be the case. You can limit your mistakes and make more money in real estate investing by having a solid real estate investing financial education.
On the flip side, by learning a few things at a seminar we attended, we were able to immediately apply what we learned to turn a potential disaster into a real asset. For example, we turned a potential $75,000 environmental mess on one of our properties, which was preventing us from being able to sell it, into a property we could sell, had a government program clean up the mess, and made a $125,000 profit. What was that seminar worth to us? Well… about $200,000 on that deal, and the event cost less than $1,000. Talk about return on investment.
Below are 4 things you can do today to start building your real estate investing.
Become a student of the industry. If you want to be successful in commercial real estate, read everything you can on it. If you want to be a successful multifamily investor, subscribe to newsletters and read blogs on multifamily real estate investing. There are numerous free information sites available including blogs, free reports, and industry publications. After that, buy a few really good books on the industry. It’s amazing how much information you can pick up that you can apply to your business.
Pick an area and focus. There are 100+ different ways to make money in real estate. Every guru has a system for making money. From short sales to flips to long term apartment investing, you can make money in any of them. However, you won’t make money in any of them if you don’t focus. Pick an area and be the best in it. Don’t spread yourself too thin always trying to find the next best thing. Real estate investing can be hard work. By picking an area and focusing, you will increase your odds of being successful. You can always try new things once you’ve started making money.
Find a mentor. The fastest way to take your investing to the next level is by finding a mentor in the industry that you can learn from. They can help you cut the learning curve dramatically. Find someone who is willing to teach and share with investing experience that can guide you along the way. A mentor can be instrumental in helping you take your investing career to a new level. They also have the experience you need to help you avoid major mistakes.
Invest with Experienced Investors. If you aren’t ready to go out on your own just yet, invest with experienced investors in the area you would like to be in. It’s a great way to learn hands-on while earning a return on your investment along the way. Investing with others will allow you to experience the entire investment process without trying to do it all yourself before you are ready. You will be able to walk through the properties. Look over how they evaluate properties. You can also view the offering materials and find out what makes a good investment. Review the monthly reports and learn the important measurements of successful real estate investments. Just be sure to do your homework before investing.
Building a solid real estate investing financial education is one of the best ways to limit costly mistakes in real estate investing. It will also help you make better investment decisions and in turn, more money. Education doesn’t have to cost a lot of money, but I can guarantee you this: whatever you spend building your investing education before investing will pay big dividends once you start investing.