New Investor Headaches, and my challenge to the experienced.

[William Baumann]

I have been a member of BiggerPockets for a short time here and longer on other sites and on every site I am a member of there is a reoccurring rant with regard to new investors, newbie WS, etc. And I understand where that frustration comes from and it comes from mainly wannabe investors that spent a ton of money on some BS GURU course, and even if it was legit, these wannabes then try to take shortcuts, as I hope these "guru" courses are not promoting that people try to sell property they don't own.

I completely agree that nobody should be trying to sell something they don't control. So I am on the side of the ranter on this point 100%.  

The one thing that does bother me though, and this example is not new, it is a very common statement, and I am in no means pointing anyone out in anyway as I agree with the statement, 

"Some jerk just tried to sell me a property they don't even own, I mean I know they are trying, but they need to start by working with someone who knows what they are doing before shopping deals."

This type of statement is the problem IMO and from my own experience, and I will use myself as an example. I have spent the last 6 months reading, studying, learning everything I can on real estate and being an investor. I feel I have a decent understanding, but I don't believe I have the confidence in the process to be comfortable, but I am pushing on forward. 

I spent 4 months alone on trying to find a REAL mentor, not some BS guru, not some flat foot investor trying to make money off being a "mentor" that knows as much or less than I do, I mean a real bonafide mentor, someone that is willing to to let a real investor (someone that has setup their entity, and are marketing themselves -website, social media, etc. not a wishful wannabe.) learn from them and the steps involved and the process from start to finish.

In those 4 months, not a single "investor" that is actually doing deals, has ever agreed to be a REAL mentor, and I have personally contacted hundreds, HUNDREDS. So those of us that are new, and still trying to get our first deal under our belt, are left to flounder in the field based on the information we are able to gather, and just try to do the best we can and pray we don't royally screw up. Sadly, I feel that most newcomers to real estate investing are interested because of the "GURU" trash that floods the internet, and TV.

BUT!, there is hope. And it can change. And the very things that annoy the heck out of active investors, can go away or at least be minimized. 

However, it will take the experienced investors to elicit that very change they so want to see. And as the saying goes "DON'T LIKE THE WORLD YOU SEE, CHANGE IT!" 

Be the helpful investor and Mentor a newbie investor. Yes, I know there are A LOT of wannabe time wasters you need to ignore. However, there are a lot of truly dedicated new investors, trying like to hell to do it right. Look at the histories of all the real estate experts that you listen to? Guess how 90% of them got their start. And if you were able to ask THEIR mentors, why they did it, it would be for the very same reason you should. Most New Investors have these 3 Yes's check marked next to their name:

YES, they are broke, many don't have a more than a few dimes in their pocket.

YES, they are going to need you to hold their hand, to an extent, through their first deal.

YES, it will take upto an hour a day of your efforts. (You waste that much time on candy crush)

Seem like a lot of work? Maybe, but think about how powerful that network connection will be? How many more deals could you now do, or parts of deals that you now benefit from that you wouldn't have before you helped develope an investor. 50% of any deal is better than 100% of a deal you never knew existed.

So I encourage you, empower you, and I CHALLENGE YOU, for myself and many other real "starving" investors out there, to take the Mentor Challenge, Mentor 1 new real investor this year. Just 1.  There were 28.1 Million real estate investors in 2012 (according to BP). If only 1% of these investors were to Mentor 1 new investor you would eliminate 281,000 rant causers and add that many more deals, that is $250,000 more that investors could make with only a $5K profit margin per deal at a 50% split.

TAKE THE MENTOR CHALLENGE!  MENTOR 1 INVESTOR THIS YEAR!