It is hard for me to believe that it has been almost 15 years since I bought my first rental property. Since then I have become much wiser (and older), but looking back I am still glad I got into real estate. Real estate has provided me with everything I need and more.
It is always kind of fun though to look back and think what you would have done had you had the knowledge you have now. Hindsight is of course 20/20, but what would I change if I could go back in time? What do I wish I knew then that I know now?
I Was Paying Too Much
Almost every real estate investor I have met has said they paid too much for their first investment property. I guess we simply did not fully know what we were doing. My first property was not a bad investment, but I did pay close to a retail price for it. I also wanted to live in one of the units and was moving from out of state so I was looking for something decent in a decent area and that can sort of blind you.
Looking back, I simply had a lack of knowledge, experience and other investors to bounce ideas off of. I really had no good way to know. Local REIA’s were the way to go back then and I had not really invested the time in that group I needed to yet. Today I think things are a bit easier with all of the information, blogs and forums out there on the internet. All of that was just getting started back them
I still own the property today even though I do not live there anymore. It performs well. But it could have been much better. The lessons learned were to no rush into a decision and to get to know your market better.
I Needed Help
Back then I thought I would (and could) do everything myself. This included cutting the grass, making repairs and keeping the books. I should have let all of that go and focused more on my business rather than the little stuff in my business. I should have hired people to do more of those things because if I had had more time then I could have focused more on my business. Looking back one of my main regrets is that I did not hire more people more quickly to help me grow my business.
The lesson here is to hire more help. You are not saving money by doing things yourself. It is actually costing you money because you are not growing your business.
Real Estate Investing Is A Business
This aspect of real estate investing had just had not sunk in yet. I thought I was just going to be a landlord and the materials I was studying were all about landlording. But I needed to also be studying and learning about business. Because by buying rental properties I was not only becoming a landlord, I was starting a business. Unfortunately I did not really think of my rental properties as a business until sometime later. If I had thought of my rental properties as a business and worked harder on my business I would have been able to do a lot more.
I Should Buy More!
Even though we here in Memphis are not in a high price appreciation market, real estate was cheaper back then and there was a lot less competition around. If I had been smarter, I would have bought and bought and bought. Once I had gotten my feet wet and gotten a feel for what I was doing I should have expanded a bit more. I did eventually but I guess I had to live and learn. The lesson here is that the old adage “don’t wait to buy real estate, buy real estate and wait” really is true.
The Takeaway
Get into real estate today. Do it while hiring people to help you and do not try to do it all yourself. Think of things as a business from the get go. Looking back fifteen years from now, you will be glad you did.
What do you wish you knew then that you know now? Please share with your comments.
