There Is No “Right Way” In Real Estate

My last post was about analyzing a good buy and hold deal.  In it I went through many of the criteria that I look at in evaluating if a potential deal is a good one or not.

A fellow investor and friend of mine read the post and we then had an e-mail discussion on a couple of the points.  He pointed out some of the criteria he uses and the logic behind his methods, which were very sound.  I did the same.

He is quite successful and good at what he does and it got me thinking that there just is no “right way” to do this business.  And that is one of the things that make the real estate investing business great.  As an investor, you can mold the business to fit you, or your customer’s needs based upon expectations or experiences.

However, you have to start somewhere.  You can go it alone if you want to, but I don’t recommend it.  If you are just starting out or fairly new to real estate investing here is what I suggest:

• Read all you can on real estate investing, business and entrepreneurship.  Even if the subject is not real estate, you need to get your mindset to that of a real estate investor and an entrepreneur.
• Join a local reia to network with other local investors.  The price of admission will be rewarded back to you many times over.
• Buy a few of the more respected “Guru” courses.  As I said you do not have to go it alone and you should not.  Some of these gurus have already invented the wheel and will provide you a sound base to get started that again will reward you many times over what you initially invest.  Some of the gurus I have invested in include:
• Mike Butler
• Alan Cowgill
• Robyn Thompson

• Once you do the above get out there and get a few deals under your belt!  You have read the books, bought the courses and attended the reia meetings.  Now do it!  There is no better teacher than experience.
• Once you get a few deals done, then you can begin to modify and refine the techniques you have learned to fit your particular niche.  You may want to focus on a particular area, or a particular form of real estate for example.
• As you become more and more experienced, you can begin to write your own business systems for your particular circumstances and who knows, maybe you become the guru.

Whatever you do, remember there is no “Right” or “One” way to do real estate investing.  There are so many different deals in so many different areas with so many different customers that the sky is literally the limit.

Until next time work smarter not harder!