First timer should I seek a mentor?

Question

What’s up BP family! I just recently found BP and have been loving the site so far. As you can tell I’m a newbie to the game and I wanted to just see what everyone thinks about obtaining a mentor to reduce the first time deal risk as I have 0 experience but I’m very eager and willing to learn. So far I’ve been listening to the pod cast real estate rookie and it’s been great information and very inspirational on how everyone is basically a newbie and just went for it and surprisingly had good success just by taking the first step and sticking through it till the end. Any suggestions would be helpful and thanks In advance for the help! 😊

Dale Degagne · Answer

@Larry Turowski this.@Andrew M Amezquita - lots of "coaches" out there who will ask for $1000/m to coach you. Maybe it is worth it but I don't think so at the beginning.Think about the first time you work out. You probably don't need a personal trainer. You need to talk to your friends who go to the gym. If you don't have friends who work out then join a club or go to a group class. Once you have a few under your belt maybe you can justify the coaching to help you scale.

Guy Gimenez · Answer

1. Never risk more money than you can lose without losing sleep. 2. Your most important asset will be your relationships. Build them daily. With the right relationships you'll have everything you need to to succeed...money, skills, knowledge, advice, etc. 3. Jumping into investing (as so many advise others to do) is the worst advice you'll ever get. That is no way to start a business, much less a self-sustaining, long term business. Education is a must. Learning is a daily activity. Spend at least 3 hours per day (or night) learning about one aspect of investing until you have a solid understanding of that strategy. Then move to the next strategy. Before seeking a mentor/coach, learn some investing basics so you can speak intelligently with a future mentor. 4. Understand that there are more scammers in this industry than you could ever imagine...many of them are ready to take your money because they are good at detecting those who don't know what they don't know. Trust must be earned...it can't be bought. Social media is chocked full of pretenders...believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see. If someone you're considering working with makes a claim, they should be able to back it up. If they can't or won't, it's time to move on. 5. You'll need time AND money when starting business. Marketing is essential and it's only purpose is to create a phone call, text, email or form fill (from your website). Leads are the lifeblood of a business. Treat them like gold...they're expensive so don't waste a single one. Know what to say, how to say it and when to say it when a lead comes in. Then know who to contact in your circle that can help you monetize the lead. The one thing I regret in my business is not understanding early on the power of relational capital. I wanted to build a business on my own without any help from others. I missed out on hundreds of thousands of dollars because of it. Fortunately, I hired a coach who put me on the right path (8 years into my journey) and to this day I still focus on building relationships. The lifetime value of the right relationships can't be overlooked.

Larry Turowski · Answer

@Andrew M Amezquita mentoring is great but it doesn’t have to be paid or professional. You are getting a little bit right here on the forum. (I’m not a fan of most professional real estate coaching as many here can attest.)I would suggest you start by looking for local mentoring, jointing a local real estate investor association (REIA). And then take investors out for a coffee. Ask them how they started, what they do, etc. You’ll be surprised how helpful people are.

Andrew M Amezquita · Answer

thank you @everyone for the replies I really do appreciate you guys taking your time out of your day to give me a some information! :) I seen a few mentions of a (REIA) or real estate groups, how do you go about finding a local group like this?

Nathan Murith · Answer

Hello @Andrew M Amezquita, welcome come BiggerPockets on congratulations on doing the work!!!Well done reaching out here and getting to exchange and know people. One of the first things you will get to know and understand is real estate is a people and relationship business.There are so many opinions and resources out there, that is one of the biggest risks when you get stared. Just going down the information rabbit hole and ultimately end up with analysis paralysis.In any case, we love to talk real estate and help others. We set aside a few hours a week just to give back and help people get started. Happy to provide any tools, tips, resources, information we have that you find useful.Please do not hesitate to reach out, connect and DM me. happy to continue the conversation and help however we can.

Theresa Harris · Answer

Go to some local real estate groups. Make sure you know what you are getting into (have you bought a house before, understand the expenses and financing and know your tenancy rules). Most people don't need a mentor, but you need to have a basic understanding of how real estate works. As Larry mentioned, mentoring doesn't have to cost you anything.Any seminars where you have to pay, be very careful most are scams and only want your money. If a deal seems to good to be true, it probably is.

Katelyn Andrews · Answer

@Andrew M Amezquita just wanted to welcome you to the game!!! 🎊🎂🎉