Female Investor Inquiries

[Krystle Little]

Good afternoon everyone! 

This question applies to the female investors..Has anyone run across any hurdles because of your gender? I am one who believes as long as an individual provides a great service/product that the gender should not matter. I'm unsure of how the client perceives it, but I was just curious.  I'm very new at investing and this was a question I always wondered about. 

[Lelith Walker]

Some contractors will play you for stupid when they see that you are a single woman.  If there is a man in the house they tend to do better work and charge less.  Some will even try to sleep with you.  I know some women who do thinking that they will save money but they do not.  They often get played.  When it comes to doing deals both men and women can be decent or grimy.  For me it is good to get to know a person for 6mo-1yr.  You do not have to be there friend just their track record and trustworthiness.  I still pray even after that.

[Ceril S.]

yeah - occasionally I consider taking on a fictional partner "Mr. X".....

[Karen Margrave]

@Krystle Little Here's a link to a blog post from a few years back that you might like. @Lelith Walker you are assuming that all contractors are men :) We're not. 

The thing to understand is that  we are not victims at the mercy of others. If you learn what you need to know to do the business that you are in, no matter what it is, and let that speak for itself. If you know your stuff, it doesn't matter what your gender is, people will respect you. But first, you have to believe it! 

Here's the link. WOMEN REAL ESTATE INVESTORS

[Karen Margrave]

Let's invite some other women in! @Sharon Vornholt @Ann Bellamy @Dawn Anastasi @Lynn Currie @Ann Watkins and tag some other women in too! 

[Brie Schmidt]

I couldn't agree with @Karen Margrave more.  I have always worked in a male dominated environment.  I don't view myself as different than them.  And if they think I am different than them... wait till you work with me.  Chances are I have bigger cajones than they do.

At my previous company they established a "woman's legion" to meet monthly and promote woman specific issues in the workplace, and TBH it pissed me off.  The second they defined themselves as a separate class or segment is the second they open themselves to be treated differently.  

[Dawn Anastasi]

Like it or not, some contractors do treat you differently.  I recently had a contractor ask me to run to the store to get two flexible water lines, and he looked nervous and asked if he should go with me.  When I said no, I can do it, he said to "just talk to a guy in the plumbing department, they'll help you out".  Like I can't read or something.  It was very condescending.

Being a woman does help with the rentals, as most people who come to view a rental are the woman.  The guy in the group doesn't usually seem to care where he lives as long as the woman is happy.  So I design the rentals to appeal to the women.  I put out fake flowers and air fresheners, and it does seem to appeal that way.  Guys don't always know to do these type of things.

[Krystle Little]

Hello @Lelith Walker!  I've heard and seen this all before regarding a certain type of treatment with women in some cases, in various circumstances.  That's something that will always be there, unfortunately. I'm looking to get into real estate investing solely as of right now, but hopefully I'll be able to persuade my husband to join me :) That's a good point you made about getting to know someone for a certain period of time.

Hi @Karen Margrave I will be sure to check out that blog post, I'm sure it will be helpful. I do believe it is important to be knowledgeable about your field. I feel an individual can do nothing but respect you if you are thorough in your niche. I plan to get educated on as much information as possible! I'm always looking for a way to evolve and learn new things. 

[Krystle Little]

Hello @Brie Schmidt  I love your attitude and well put!

Hello @Dawn Anastasi .. oh wow..unfortunately this comes with the territory. Sometimes females can be put into a box as far as what we're capable of doing at times. I just feel it's important to be on our "A" game and obtain as much knowledge as possible.  Thanks for all the responses!

[Sharon Vornholt]

Hi everyone -

I love this thread, and thanks @Karen Margrave for inviting me in.  I rarely get any flack from sellers. The only time I have had someone do that to me it was a male contractor or another investor that just happened to be male.  I usually stop them dead in their tracks by telling them I owned and operated a home inspection company for 17 years. 

I will say this; by and large it is a pretty even playing field today in most ways. It certainly wasn't like that when I started over 15 years ago. It was very much an "old boy's club". They pretended everything was equal at my REIA but in reality, they only left the door part of the way open for the women.

LOL @Brie Schmidt . Things like that have the same effect on me.  

Sharon

[Karen Margrave]

The thing is, know what you know, and don't be afraid to ask for help for those you don't .. even if it's from a man! The truth is, all of us can help each other and sometimes, it's just getting everyone out of their comfort zones, not taking things personally, and giving people the benefit of the doubt. There are a lot of situations where I know a lot more than the men in the room, and others where I don't, I'm ok with either one. 

[Ann Bellamy]

Honestly, I've never spent any time considering this.   If you assume people look at you differently, I think they will.  There are very few women hard money lenders, but if I have an issue, I don't assume it's because I'm looked at differently because of my gender.  I simply don't consider it.  If it impacts stuff, well then it does.  I shuffle up and deal around them.  I'm not a victim of their prejudices, I just keep going.   So I would stop worrying about whether they were looking at me differently and start worrying about how I could achieve whatever I set out to do.

Do contractors think I'm stupid because I'm a woman?  Yes, but not for long.  Eventually I find people I work well with.  My plow guy, who skipped my driveway, tried to tell me the 8 inches of snow in the driveway was only 3 inches because he had been there at midnight and plowed.  I refrained from telling him I could tell the difference between 3 inches and 8 inches.  :-)  I simply fired him.

[Krystle Little]

Hello @Sharon Vornholt , that's good to hear. I see the importance of being knowledgeable and having experience in my portfolio. This is just a starting point for me, but it's good to get various perspectives from other women.

@Karen Margrave  that is one thing I don't have a problem doing is asking for help! lol. Especially in a career such as real estate where mistakes can be costly. I'm open to whoever can offer the advice and information I need.

Hello @Ann Bellamy well put! I sometimes have a tendency to over think a lot of things and  I'm learning not to worry what others think or what the "norm" may be. Fear and doubt can easily creep in, but being the best person I can be all around personally and professionally, breaking barriers is what I strive to be. Thanks for your soundly advice!

[Lynn Currie]

It's funny that you ask this question. 

I've become pretty involved in my local RE community and I often find myself glancing around the room and smiling to myself. I think the Austin RE community is actually  more diverse the the city, itself. The desire to succeed seems to me the ultimate diversity tool.

That said, there are certain things that will always be a boys club. So be it. You can't control others, you can control you. In my previous life, this was much more of an obstacle. 

These are the things I know:

• You have to be able to speak the language. This means that you have to be able to talk finances and returns in concrete terms. A lot of women aren't taught this or expected to know it in other jobs. Learn it. It's not that hard. Most women know the concepts, they just don't know the language. The best part is that BP Nation will teach you.
• Other investors respect experience. If you've got the chops, they recognize it. 
• All boats rise together. The smarter your community is, the better you all do. This is an important concept that is lost by a lot of folks, but I believe is the key to making an extremely strong community.
• In real estate, if you can make people money or share real information that helps people achieve their goals, they don't care what gender, color, etc. you are. 
  

[Krystle Little]

@Lynn Currie that's great that everyone is there to achieve a common goal, regardless of ethnic background, gender, race, etc. The various types of people make it all the more interesting and different perspectives and ideas are able to manifest. Establishing a strong network is very important. Everyone can help each other so that it can be beneficial to all parties. "Speaking the language" is a work in progress for me right now, but I'll be there before I know it :) great post!

[Kim Joppie]

I haven't run into any problems.  In fact being a female has given me an ange I beleive!

[Kim Joppie]

*Angle!  whoopsie:)

[Karen Margrave]

One thing I've noticed in this thread are the assumptions. Everyone assumes that contractors are men! Not so. I am a licensed general contractor, and have been since 1993, and I know there are many others. What this shows is sometimes it's women that get in their own way, and put us all in a box. Stop it!