Newbies: investing is not rocket science - don't let the gurus tell you otherwise

[Marcus Auerbach]

Alright, I just read a post from a guru pitching services on BP. I did not want to respond with what I really think, but let me tell you my story here instead.

In 2007 I went to a RichDad seminar: after the free Thursday night pitch, I signed up for the $300 weekend class. Sitting in a hotel conference room just outside of Milwaukee with probably 300 people I got a tour of every possible way how to make money in real estate followed by the obligatory pictures of checks cashed to proof the point. At the end of the weekend we were asked to sign up for courses. I believe about a dozen different ones, each one for $8,000. We were asked to select at least 6 and put them on a credit card - we would make the money back in no time, so the promise.

A few weeks later I got a call asking me why I did not sign up. And if I would be interested in a one year personal coaching for $3,500. That sounded more reasonable, so I signed up. Books came in the mail and my coach scheduled a (initailly) weekly call. I had material to study, home work to do, some field research and then to present to my coach every week. I asked my coach how many deals she had done and I always got a vague answer. I have to say the curriculum was very comprehensive, they covered everything from sandwich lease options to sub2. Felt like a college education and after you are done and get your first job, you realize you have to start learning all over again.

Eventually I bought my first duplex. I still own it, I think mostly for nostalgic reasons. A year later I had the confidence to buy another one and after that it was on. Fast forward in 2015 I quit my W2. Looking back I would say even though the course was interesting, it was not necessary and I took a gigantic detour, lost a year (with increadible buying opportunities - even though at the time it did not look like this) and could have bought a property instead. Buying a rental property and renting it out is not that hard. 

If you are new to this, here is what I want to tell you: buying rental properties is not complicated at it's core. Don't let anyone tell you different. People have done this literally for thousands of years. Read a couple books (Brandon Turner's are very step by step), find someone who has been doing this for a while and can guide you and probably most importantly: buy a quality property. You will never have a problem finding quality tenants. 90% of investors I have every met, who failed or gave up, had one thing in common: they bought in the hood. 

Nobody has ever regreted buying a quality property. Don't worry too much about how much the water bill is going to be exactly; if the bank is willing to finance your deal, you'll be good. The business model makes it actually really hard to really screw up in a big way. You won't go bankrupt over buying a duplex. I have bought plenty of bad deals: I overpaid, rehab ran 30k over budget, appraisal comes back low, contractors from hell, you name it - but real estate has that thing, a few years later it does not even matter anymore, even if you overpaid for the property.

Get comfortable not knowing everything before you start. You will figure things out when you have to. BP nation is here to help. And fellow local investors at a local REIA are always happy to help if you need advice. After doing this for 15 years I am still learning new tricks. You have to know it takes effort and a lot of time, play the long game, but it's totally worth it. Don't expect it to be easy or to make you rich quick. The years of buying cashflow with zero money are also over. We are back to normal: you will actually need some money to invest and a W2 to qualify for a loan. But plenty of investors have built their portfolio in similar markets. In the 80s interest rates used to be double of what they are today and people still succeeded.

Get started. Don't let anyone tell you you need to buy more guru courses before you are ready!