The Best Thing I Heard at a Real Estate Meetup Last Night

[Jonathan Greene]

Me: "Where do you want to invest?"

Them: "Anywhere."

Me: <dies inside and throws up in mouth>

Them: "Cashflow, you know."

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No. This is not how you invest in real estate. You are just asking to be sold a bill of goods with no real value. New investors get so eager that they will react positively to anyone who tells them a deal has good cashflow, or cash on cash return, or <insert acronym that no one uses in real life>. Don't go to real estate meetups and be open to any investment. You would be better served leaving all your money on the counter and letting pigeons peck at it for a while.

If you want to be a real estate investor, you have to know which markets are good or at least ask smart questions of experts about why some markets perform better than others. This is the reason many fully open to the public RE meetups are boring for seasoned investors. Because even when you try and help, you get vague answers or regurgitated nomenclature from the BP forums.

There are always new investors in the forums asking questions. Some very good, with background of where they are and how much they know, and some very bad, literally "How do I invest?" The only way you will find a mentor in RE or at a RE meetup is to bring something to the table. Maybe you are new, but what skills do you have that could help someone? Are you willing to bird dog? What can you do for a seasoned investor besides just take their knowledge. If you know this, you will do way better than this guy did last night.