What were some mistake you've made in real estate investing?

Question

I'm going to start off by saying that I am extremely new to social networking sites, I have none but this one honestly and I'm 20 years old. I want to make real estate my profession. I am very knowledgeable of what to do ( I think ) but I'm more interest on what I must avoid. My main worry is; is school a essential? I am currently attending a university as a sophomore and I find myself not at all interested in school but fascinated by economics. I've always been called a "hustler", always made ends meet, always been told I'm manipulative, and that I constantly think of new ideas. All I talk about is real estate, how I would make a profit, how I would get people interested in my properties, I even have a business plan that I've been working on for a year (that I'm constantly changing), but I want to learn from the wise; What should I avoid doing? What are some of your biggest real estate regrets?

Paul Timmins · Answer

@Lauren Lucas

Welcome

You will pay one way or another for your learnings.

Two Rules of Real Estate investing Rule #1 you never fall in love with the property you fall in love with the numbers. Rule #2 NEVER forget rule #1.

Good luck

Paul

Scott W. · Answer

if you're manipulative you will never make it in anything. integrity is so important in business.

stay in school! go to a junior college to keep your costs low. why not offer to work for a real estate investor for free (sweeping, menial work) in exchange for him/her teaching the works.

my biggest mistake was approving a couple for a renter who was not even close to 3 times the rent. they had always paid the rent on time in the past and always paid me on time - even had $16k in the bank! - but looking back, it was just too risky and could've wound up disastrous.

Dawn Anastasi · Answer

Lauren,

If your current classes don't interest you, how about taking some real estate classes?

Chris Masons · Answer

Hi Lauren,

Welcome to the forum. you will find a wealth of information and great people around here. One things for sure I sure wish this site was around when I started out!!

You sound very motivated and eager to get started which is a great thing. Having a passion fto get started is a great first step!

As far as dos and don'ts best thing would be to do is find a local Real Estate investing club and start attending some meetings and start to network with others who have similar interests as you.

If I can give you any one piece of advice when getting involved in real estate it would be to know your area you are investing in and due your due dilligence. Having a good feel for where you are investing in can really put you a step up from the next guy.

As far as school, I wouldn't consider leaving school, why not pursue both. College is a great place to learn economics and maybe even some accounting that can be useful in Real Estate.

Sounds like you have a bright future in front of you!

regards,
Chris

Landon S. · Answer

Lauren,

I was an Econ nerd in college. Most students don't like the subject or struggle in the classes. Keep with Econ if it is something that makes you excited to learn!

Learning about markets, knowing how/why certain things happen in our economy can be applied back to RE.

Best of luck!

Ellis San Jose · Answer

One of my mistakes was chasing equity before cash flow.  Early on I would place a priority of finding transactions that had a high upside & never got too excited about cash flow.  " Flipper fever" is what I call it.

If I had done the opposite I would have had financial freedom earlier because you can't eat equity.  Monthly reliable cash flow is the lifeblood you need to stay in the game. The worst position to be in is when you need desperately to close a deal for living expenses & to pay bills.

Brian K. · Answer

I have to agree with Scott W you don't want to be a manipulative person in this business.

Stay in school and find something that will help complement your REI.

My biggest mistake Not getting involved in REI sooner, procrastinating.

Tony Reale · Answer

Go after your passion. Mine was real estate and I hated school. I was horrible at it. I went to college and joined a fraternity way to immature. I loved those days then, and now at 36, don't look at those days as a positive in my life or a good thing for my career.............except now many years later, my attorney is an old fraternity brother, my accountant was an old fraternity brother,  and my business partner is an old fraternity brother. Real estate is a relationship business. If you don't get anything out of the classes at least make some life long friends out of it! These guys make me tons of money, and I them, but the greatest thing about it is at 36 years old I can show up to a closing, dressed in a suit,  on a huge house where my accountant, also dressed in a suit,  and I will make good money and still remind him of that time he pissed in his luggage at the Kentucky derby 16 years ago! Sorry for the foul language guys but this is still one of my greatest loves in life. You don't make friends like the ones you made when you were young and you don't make business relationships the same way.

Account Closed · Answer

I have made a plethora of mistakes over the years. I have lost more money that most hope to make in Real Estate. I have been at it for decades. I would like to tell you one thing that was a large mistake, but my experiences will vary from yours.

I agree about the junior college or local community college path.

The other thing is this. Your post immediately put me off. The arrogance that came from a person that has never accomplished a deal is extremely off-putting and honestly should be reigned in immediately. Trust me, I am learning something new every day. Each deal teaches me something new. Just bought another property today actually.

The biggest mistake I see a majority of people that have come and gone through the years... "OVER-CONFIDENCE" and the inability to be humble enough to admit shortcomings and ask for assistance.

What were some mistake you've made in real estate investing?

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