What Is a Real Estate Mentor and How Can You Find One?

In This Article

Real estate mentors are very powerful allies to have in your corner. They’re real estate industry experts with years of experience and wonderful teachers who can help guide you through the most challenging problems and provide the most relevant guidance when we least expect it. Not only that, but mentors are valuable resources who can provide incredible insights into very specific areas of your personal life as well.

It seems like every would-be entrepreneur, whether in real estate or elsewhere, is looking for a mentor—and with good reason. On the other hand, experienced real estate mentors can be seen as advisors who will do a lot of hand-holding through all the possible challenges on the journey to success. That’s not quite the case.

In this article, we’ll talk about what a real estate mentor is and how to find one.

What Is a Real Estate Mentor?

Mentor is a broadly used term. They can be anything from coaches or bosses with whom you interact for eight to 10 hours per day to a friend whose counsel you seek a few times per week to, in this case, a successful real estate investor you meet with just a handful of times for specific advice.

As with any relationship, working with a real estate coach or mentor requires a give and take from both sides. Sometimes that means being attentive and grateful. In other situations, it could mean a dedicated effort and long-term commitment to helping your mentor achieve their higher objectives.

A real estate mentor is not someone you only contact when you need something. Don’t go to your mentors with small, trivial problems or discuss a bad day. Mentors aren’t there to help with vague questions or directional life decisions (“What career should I choose?” or “Should I invest in real estate?” or “When will I see success with real estate investing?”).

You will need to find out for yourself what kind of mentor you want and what kind of mentee you want to be. Ask these questions to yourself:

• Do you want someone to discuss personal issues with?
• Do you strictly want guidance on real estate and nothing else?
• Do you need close support or occasional advice?

Now that we’ve defined what a good real estate mentor really is and the kind of mentor-mentee relationship you want, here’s how to find real estate mentors and what to do before reaching out to them.

What Does a Mentor Do?

Finding a real estate mentor is the first step, but understanding what they do is the second. As you venture into the real estate space, the best real estate mentor helps you with the whole picture. From finding a property to assisting with a real estate deal, a mentor shapes your career in the industry from start to finish.

What Types of Mentorship Are There?

A real estate mentorship program is available in various forms depending on what works best for you. Here are the most common types of real estate mentorships:

Apprenticeship

If you want to experience the reality of being in the industry, an apprenticeship is perfect for you. As an apprentice, you can shadow a real estate industry expert or, for a more hands-on approach, choose to have intense training sessions.

An example of an apprenticeship is shadowing a major real estate investor in the area for a few weeks to determine if they are the right real estate mentor for you.

One-on-one mentorship

The real estate mentor can hone in on helping you grow and succeed in your real estate business. This type of real estate mentorship program is considered one of the more personal, and it’s really up to the parties involved how often and how long to meet.

Group mentorship

What’s better than a bunch of potential mentors in one room? This mentorship contains small and large mastermind groups of real estate mentors and offers a great way to network with industry professionals.

Where to Find a Real Estate Mentor

If you’re wondering where to find a real estate mentor, there are several places where you could potentially look. The easiest places to start are:

Your network

Odds are, you may already have a potential mentor that you know. Even better, they know you! Crack open your list of contacts and start connecting! You may find a few successful real estate investors in there.

Social networks

It turns out that your potential real estate mentors are also online. You can find them on social media, online forums (like the BiggerPockets Forums), and YouTube. These networks give you access to real estate investors who are experts in their own niches.

At work

Whether you work at an office or remotely, you’re likely connected with someone at work who can guide you as a mentor.

Networking events

Conventions, meetups, and webinars can present plenty of opportunities for you to connect with possible real estate investors who can act as mentors. Remember, they’re also doing their own learning, so you can easily be found in the same places! For those that prefer an in-person interaction, finding local real estate investors wherever you go is possible. Just remember to introduce yourself to as many people as possible.

Who Can Be a Real Estate Mentor?

Just about anyone involved in real estate investing can be a mentor. As you build your network of professionals, you’ll meet and work with people with all different backgrounds and skill sets. Consider what type of mentor will give you the best guidance.

For instance, you may want to find a lender as your mentor to learn more about closing deals. Or, if you want to learn how to find the best deals before they hit the market, consider an agent as your mentor. You can find an agent in your market using BiggerPockets’ agent match.

How Much Does a Real Estate Mentor Cost?

Believe it or not, many real estate mentors offer their valuable insight for free. However, when you start to grow your real estate business and sign up for an official real estate mentorship program, the price can vary from a few hundred to even a few thousand, based on your needs. Sometimes, a specific type of real estate investor serving as a mentor will be interested in mentoring you in return for splitting some of the profits of your first few deals.

What You Should Do Before Looking for a Mentor

Before looking for a real estate mentor, here are a few things you want to do before venturing out.

1. Become a mentor yourself

Everyone can mentor others and help them achieve their goals. Everyone has a skill set that others need or want to develop—and you don’t have to be successful in real estate yet. It’s important to give back and not just take.

Think of the areas in your life where you could help someone pursue their goals. Some options include:

• Tutoring a high school student
• Volunteering during a financial crisis
• Teaching classes on basic personal finance
• Meeting with new real estate investors looking to buy their first property

Nothing is quite as rewarding as seeing a student or former mentee become successful. It’s amazing to watch a motivated personality achieve what they set out to do—and for them to attribute at least some of their success to you is an incredible feeling! Positive feedback from a mentee will more than make your day!

Being a mentor will teach you the behaviors mentors don’t appreciate. Mentors don’t like answering thoughtless questions twice. Mentors don’t like badgering. Most of all, mentors don’t like laziness.

2. Define and commit to your goals

It’s hard for someone to help you if you’re unsure what you want from them. Often, folks looking for good mentors have vague goals or switch goals week-to-week and month-to-month. Figure out where you want to get to before asking for directions.

3. Announce your intentions

Make your intentions clear on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, BiggerPockets, and everywhere else in between. Announcing your intentions loudly and repeatedly to everyone you come across can open several opportunities for you. You can meet incredible real estate mentors and connect with real estate professionals who have the capacity to help you succeed.

Announce your intentions to the world and see who responds. Anytime you meet someone new, steer the conversation in that direction and see if it sparks interest. Find like-minded individuals in your current network with the same objectives or interests.

4. Identify those who can and want to help you

Let’s say your goal was to get started investing in real estate. Great mentors might be a small-time real estate investors with a few investment properties or someone recently purchasing their first investment property. On the other hand, a poor choice might have been to seek the guidance of a billionaire real estate investor, who may be unable to tailor an investment strategy to you.

Find a real estate investing mentor who aligns with your goals and has a successful track record in your investment interest. Take their advice, and then do what they say. Truly experienced investors can help skyrocket your real estate career.

5. Take action and express gratitude

Not every mentor will work out, and it is not in your best interest to follow all of the advice real estate professionals give. But if you are looking for a mentor to regularly and repeatedly return to with challenges, you must take action based on their counsel and then express gratitude.

Here are a few ways you can express gratitude to your mentor:

• Buy them a cup of coffee
• Send them a thank you card or email
• Give them a shout-out on social media with a nice message
• Send them an edible arrangement, flowers, or chocolates

Additionally, you will want to verbally express your gratitude to them in person.

6. Figure out why you need a real estate mentor

When you’re sick, you look for the best doctor, and when your car breaks down, you go to the best mechanic in the region. You don’t watch YouTube videos or attend courses on how to do open-heart surgery or, for that matter, repair your car’s clutch.

The experts you go to are invaluable because they have a lot of knowledge and experience. And if you wanted to do your car repairs yourself, you would go out and learn from a mechanic or get someone to show you, not by just watching tutorials on YouTube.

In the same way, real estate is a very dynamic kind of business. So, getting a mentor to guide you through it all is like getting a mechanic to help you. If you want your real estate business to be successful, you have to go to those already where you want to end up professionally.

7. Identify the kind of real estate mentor you would like

Understanding why you need a mentor and getting a real estate mentor that matches that need are two different things. When you set out to find a mentor you’d like to work with, start identifying the kind of mentor you’d like.

Choose people who know how real estate markets work and who have been there and done that. They should know the market trends and offer advice on the right thing to do. They should also help identify pitfalls.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Geographical reach: Pick someone who is easily accessible and within the same geographical location as you. Your local real estate investment association may help you find a great real estate investing mentor.
• People you admire: Find someone with qualities that you’d like to have.
• Real-life lessons: Opt for a real estate mentor who won’t just put you in some classroom setting but will let you see what they do and how they do it.
• Be ready to rough it out: Be open to their criticism, and don’t expect your mentor to do the work for you.

Once you have found someone you admire in real estate, get to know them better before approaching them.

8. Learn who your mentor is

When researching to get to know the real estate mentor you want to approach, you want to keep an eye open for any red flags. Here are two ways to gather information on your prospective real estate mentor.

• Search for them online: Look into their social media profiles and reviews to understand what kind of person they are and how they operate. Check out their work ethic and try to find out if there are elements you would rather not associate with. Also, keep an eye open for negativity or shady business about that person.
• View their content: Once you’ve ruled out any red flags, view their real estate content and look for any interviews or what they’ve posted online. How an expert in real estate explains a topic will help you understand whether they are easy to follow and if you’ll benefit from their mentoring.

Reach Out to a Mentor

This isn’t always as easy as it sounds. When you find someone you’d like to learn from, asking them to teach you can be tough. And then there’s the aspect of whether money will be involved. And if they agree to mentor you for free, would it be a good match? Finding the right real estate mentor for you takes time.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when looking for a real estate mentor:

• Relationships: Treat your real estate mentor like a best friend and trust them completely.
• Paid or unpaid: How much does a real estate mentor cost? Most real estate mentors don’t accept anything in return for their one on one mentorship sessions. However, you may want to confirm that before committing to them.
• Give and take: Mentoring is not just about taking from the mentor; it should be a win-win situation for both of you. Make yourself meaningful and useful to your real estate investing mentor as well.

While hard work and persistence can get you anywhere, great real estate mentors are experts who can take you to your goal quickly and with fewer pitfalls. They can provide valuable insights that are rare and teach through example.

Find Success in Real Estate

By now, you should know what a real estate mentor is, where you can find one, and what you should do before reaching out to them.

By following these processes, you can build an incredible mentor-mentee relationship and experience success in your real estate career. While hard work and persistence can get you anywhere, real estate investing mentors are experts who can take you to your goal quickly and with fewer pitfalls.

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.