How to find a mentor when seeking to scale as a first-gen investor?

[Andrea Lopez]

Hello all, 

I'm closing on my first multi-family in a few weeks just outside of Newark, in East Orange, NJ and am a first-generation homebuyer in the states, wondering where can I make connections in multifamily.

I'm a Newark native and have been in Jersey City for the last 7 years, where I have invested in my education and career to achieve what I've always wanted by my mid-20s- a six figure career in the city. 

Now that that's done, I'd really like to go full-throttle into my life-long goal, multifamily/apartment building investing. Newark and JC are hot markets right now which I've been following closely but have been incredibly difficult for me to get into especially after the pandemic due to the all-cash investors and higher net worth individuals moving into the area. 

I'd really like to learn how to scale and feel really confident I can do so in either city, but have come to realize there's much too much to learn and doing so by reading online will take forever. College- I've figured out & done on my own, my corporate career- I've also done on my own, now it's time to really put myself out there. 

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks! 

[Zachary Ware]

Hey Andrea,

I've learned that there are two different types of mentors. 1 is paid and 1 is unpaid. The unpaid will be more like a relationship/friend/family member/ etc. It is great to have someone like this around you but you can only ask so much of them. On the other hand, there are paid mentors who you pick to help you with specific problems. Many people sell this as a service, and some of them seem to actually be worth it. I would vet who you pick very carefully if you plan on getting a paid mentor. This is a great place to find mentors and also local networking events can be a great resource.