Helping a newby friend

[Derek Walvoord]

I have a friend that wants to start in Real Estate, and she and her husband are trying to figure out what to do.  This is the email I sent to her after we had breakfast last Saturday and she tried to sum up some takeaways. Maybe it might be interesting to some other new people.  For context, I have been around Real Estate for over a decade and have done a few deals.  So, I am not really new, but by no means a pro.

Cool. Good luck!

Those seem like reasonable takeaways. The real takeaway might be that Real Estate is a scary business that is waaaaaaay outside most of our comfort zones. Even after a few of these, I still don't really know or feel like I know what I am doing.

That doesn't mean not to do it, but it is a risk. Calculated, but a risk. I often have to ask myself, what is real real potential downside here, not my crazy overreaction (the current project is really worth about the same, so we could sell it and take a minor loss. I often blow it up in my mind into us being put out on the street, losing our home, being mortified etc)

Maybe the other thing to remember is that it is the business of handling the weird unexpected things as they come to you. It really is real-time problem solving. Today, some guy showed up at our job site claiming that the workers were not allowed to be there and that he was calling the police. Really, the previous owner hadn't told his crew that they didn't need to winterize the unit again. Fun. But, we got through it with a minimum of excitement.

I think pulling the trigger on the first deal/project is the main thing. Just try and make it a small bet, and not a bet-the-farm one.

I can't wait to hear what happens!

Derek