How Do I Approach A Possible mentor

Question

Hello all,

Seeing that I am new to the world of real estate, I was wondering if it is weird to approach a possible mentor in this way.

To set the stage I have a friend from high school that is a wholesaler and I drive past this beautiful little four-plex every day. You might be able to see where this is going. So, I asked my friend "Hey man I drive past this fourplex every day I am wondering if I could ever find one of those to buy one day." My friend the wholesaler says, "Well give me the address, town, and a description of the place and I'll see if I can find some info on it.". Being super new to real estate I did not know that you could find any house and see how much someone paid for it when they paid for it, phone numbers, addresses for the owners if tied to their LLC, and more! I was so happy, confused, and now nervous to call the man that owns the beautiful Fourplex.

I am sorry for making the story so long, but I need to spell everything out, but I need help on how to approach this call. Do I get pre-approved before calling him to see if he wants to sell? Do I just call and ask if he is looking for a mentee? Is it normal for a person that owns multiple properties to get skip traced and called like this often?

Basically, I want to buy the fourplex but to have an up-and-coming real estate investor in the market I want to get into as a mentor seems more valuable to me. Is it weird to just call from a skip trace like this?

Once again, I am sorry for all the questions I appreciate any help I can get!

-Kristopher Kelly Delaware RE Newbie investor

Nathan Gesner · Answer

I would not call him and ask him to be your mentor. That's just creepy. And how do you even know if he's successful? Maybe it's his only property, he inherited it, and it's managed by a property manager?If you want a mentor, find a real estate investing group where you can really meet people, get to know them, and try to find someone you fit well with. Build a relationship, even if it's done in a short time, and then approach them about mentorship. Remember: don't just ask to get something; offer to give something of value in exchange for their time.A lot of people cold-call to see if the owner wants to sell. I've been calling storage units in my area to look for potential sellers. One said he wanted to sell, received my offer, said he would talk to his CPA and get back to me, then he ghosted. Another got angry at me and told me her husband was a REALTOR and didn't appreciate the call. Whatever. Another one told me she is "ready to wash my hands of this property" and sent me the financials. I will be making an offer on it this week.Read up on how to cold-call. Make notes so you have a game plan before you dial the number. What will you say, what will you ask, what will you do if they're interested? Be honest. You may strike gold your first try, or it could take you 200 calls before someone responds positively. You're not doing anything illegal or immoral, so just make the calls.

Kristopher Kelly · Answer

@Ola Dantis Wow calling me out of my first love... but she was the one... Just kidding thank you for the slap in the face ha-ha! I must write these posts better I ran the numbers, and I would cashflow $1000+ with me living in one of the units then after moving out about $1850. My goal this year is to get to $1,500 in cash flow so this deal would be perfect. I must remember not to rush it is only January 12. It's only beautiful because it is one of the few I’ve seen and there is plenty of fish in the sea ha-ha. Thank you for the insight and I will find something of value to offer before bothering anyone as being a possible mentee. I am slowly learning a lot about posting and using this platform to further my education. Thank you for your reply, Sir.

Ola Dantis · Answer

@Kristopher Kelly Welcome to BP!!! First, you are making the very first mistake of Real Estate Investing: Falling in love with the deal! I can sense the love in the air you have for this property all the way here at my office, and you almost roped me into a love triangle lol! 😂 Listen, this piece of property may be the most beautiful fourplex ever built in your town but it could also be the most cashflow starved fourplex in your town. Perhaps, the owner spent too much on rehabbing or building it and the thing is just losing money month in, month out. You can never forget to analyse a deal first to see if the numbers make sense. As for mentorship, you can approach many people here on BP who would be willing to mentor if you are willing to be of value to them, meaning you help them with something they need. It's a 2-way street. More importantly, before reaching out to potential mentors, self-education is extremely important. To answer your question: Break up with this deal emotionally and rekindle your love for the numbers of this deal. Now, if you need to get started on how to analyse a deal, start with BP ultimate guide or watch some YouTube videos. Hope that helps somewhat. Good luck!

Bruce Hereford · Answer

You don't have to call the person, you could write them a letter. I now have a mentor from a letter I wrote to him 10 months ago. We've had numerous conversations and meet up a couple times a month to discuss real estate and life in general. Knowing he owned several pieces of rental property, I simply asked if I could talk to him about the rental business as I was interested in learning about it. He called me and we hit it off. I wasn't going to talk about buying property from him unless he mentioned it, and he did, several conversations in. But the point of this is there's nothing wrong with calling or sending a letter to have a conversation. I have had several with experienced investors and most all of them have shared information with me that has been beneficial. The more people you talk to, the more you learn and possibly build a relationship with. So I strongly suggest you reach out to him in whatever way you are comfortable with.

Kristopher Kelly · Answer

@Nathan G.Thank you for the insight, Sir. I will not call then unless offering something in return or making an offer on the place. My friend saw that he has about 10 units. He is just getting started I guess I just thought it would be cool to have a more experienced newer person as a mentor, but I totally see what you are saying in how creepy that would be ha-ha. I will research calling and making offers thank you for your time, Sir. -Kristopher Kelly Delaware Newbie Investor