1 big take away so far..

[Cody Barrett]

Hey guys! 

I have listened to all the podcasts and can't get enough. From blogs to forums to webinars.  The education is top notch.  After a year on BP and eating up all the info I can get, real estate is incredibly dense and all the greats made major mistakes during their journey.  Some expensive mistakes... 

Kind of a big realization for me.  Most, if not all, super successful RE investors on the podcasts, blogs, or wherever, took a really hard fall during their climb to the top.  Some big learning curves and costly ones but in the end it seemed to have paid off. Learning quickly and getting better right away is key for sure...   

That makes me nervous lol.. Like the inevitable just waiting for you to come around the corner so it can jump up and throw you off your game or halt your progress or sink your ship I guess.... If you have a favorite blog post, forum feed, or podcast, let me know so I can check it out!! Thanks guys! Always looking to grow. 

Cody

[Joe Fairless]

@Cody Barrett yes, if an investor hasn't made some mistakes they aren't being truthful or haven't been in the game long enough. When I was investing in single family homes I bought a place in DFW while living in NYC. It was a fixer-up and figured I could manage the process remotely....nope. 10k over budget PLUS the rent AFTER the improvements decreased $5. Turns out I didn't vet the market comps very well either. 

[Cody Barrett]

For sure.  I think getting out and sitting down with a pro would really open my eyes up to some of the pitfalls.  Fail forward I suppose lol. Thank you for sharing your experience! Market comps are something that I must get more familiar with so my returns can come close to the predictions.  

Thanks again  @Joe Fairless  

[Sarah Larbi]

You can learn from other people's mistakes and listen and learn all you can. One thing I have noticed is that as you get better, start doing your own deals, and become more experienced you will start doing things differently or better; and when you look back and think of your first deals there may be things you will realize you could have done differently. You may think of that as a mistake. Some are bigger than others but that's how you grow and improve.
Good luck and just go for it!

[Cody Barrett]

Definitely! I am going to attend my first REIA in Milwaukee for one of their monthly meetings. I am curious to know what it will be like. I look forward to hearing everyone's story. Thanks @Sarah Larbi good luck to you as well. 

[Svetlana Foley]

You will love the REIA! The number one thing for you to do is to determine your exact strategy, and stick to it until you have enough knowledge/income to expand. Are you going to do flips? Buy and hold? wholesale? price range? There are many different venues, and you really must determine from the outset exactly which way you want to go, then concentrate on learning/making connections/running your numbers for that one specific strategy. Best of luck!

[William Newman]

@Cody Barrett

You got this man! I was in your same position not that long ago. Listening to all of the podcasts and soaking up as much information as I could. BP is a great TOOL, but you will learn best by getting out there. If you do make a mistake, look at it as an opportunity to learn. In addition, don't necessarily "look"for the mistakes to come. If you are always looking for something, you will find it in anything. Stay focused, stay positive and look for success! Because even though you have heard many people talk about their mistakes, when you go into life prepared, they will be minimal. Lastly, don't be afraid to reach out to people who are doing exactly what you want to do. Learn from them, pull the trigger and take the world by storm!

[Cody Barrett]

Thanks @William Newman that really adds fuel to the fire.  I appreciate that feedback and advice big time! 

@Svetlana Foley that is really exciting to know! I can't wait to dive into the REIA. My strategy is buy and hold in multi units for high cashflows. My area can have some really solid opportunities when it comes to price ranges, I got my duplex at 89,500 that needed minor updating and no repairs. I am looking at an 8 unit building a few miles away that is listed at 440k. I don't see myself flipping because I want long term growth from each property. I would love to finance a 25+ unit building during 2017.

So now I am trying to focus my education around that particular strategy. I guess we will see haha! Thanks for the input !!

[Steve Vaughan]

A recurring theme in a lot of the early fails shared by the currently successful were due to a lack of control.  A partner, sponsor, contractor, lender deadline, etc almost took them out. 

Sure, 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing (hopefully), but to give up huge equity % of deals plus the headaches of answering to another person or entity because you didn't have the measly $10k or whatever to put into it yourself can have terminal consequences.  Sacrifice and save while learning the basic principles of RE. Control your investment.

The other main theme is growing too fast.   Went from one little rental or flip to 10 projects and an apt community for deal 2.  What?  Grow at your own pace.  Great discussion @Cody Barrett!

[Cody Barrett]

I always enjoy your insight @Steve Vaughan ! It really slows my thoughts down to evaluate my strategy, my current situation, and what my next move should be.  Excellent point in paragraph 2 Steve, something to really consider when learning about partners as I am now.. I am going to write that on my white board because I should definitely keep that in my mind every day, "control my investments, track and stay on top of what effects my properties."  Thanks again! 

[Noah Kurz]

Hey Cody,

Mistakes are inevitable, they show that you are stepping out of a comfort zone. I am an investor friendly real estate agent, and I see investors make mistakes close to everyday. A take away I have seen is that the most successful investors that stay in the game make mistakes and simply learn from them. The world of real estate is full of mistakes but the fact that you noticed that there will be mistakes will puts you ahead of many other investors. Learn as much as you can from others mistakes then go out and learn from your own. Remember where there is chaos there is opportunity. Make chaos and find the opportunity. Hope this helped, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to message me.

Noah Kurz

[Nastassja Dales]

My husband and I just started last year investing in real estate, and boy are we making plenty of mistakes! We thought we could handle rehabbing 2 houses, while working, and be finished within a year. 1.5 years later one house is done and the other is (hopefully) going to be finished by the end of July, but who knows. We didn't plan as well as we thought, relied on people who we shouldn't have and everything just took longer. The costs of holding these houses and the toll its taking on ourselves is hard! I think these mistakes are great learning experiences for the next investment. You can't be scared to make mistakes because you will never make big moves! Just be sure to remember the mistakes. Good luck!