Its the end of the year, the time to reflect on the past and plan for the future. The time to dream dreams and make resolutions to achieve those dreams. One such resolution might be to get into real estate investing. There are many who dream of striking it big in real estate, but there are some who should not become a real estate investor at all. Who could this be? Read on to find out.
Someone Who Wants To Get Rich Quick
Being a real estate investor is not a get rich quick process. Instead, it takes time to build wealth with real estate, especially buy and hold real estate. Sure, some quick bucks can be made flipping houses and if you want to get into real estate investing you should consider doing some flips. But the real, long term wealth is in buying and holding. The old saying really is true – don’t wait to buy real estate, buy real estate and wait.
Someone Who Wants To Be Hands Off
Being a real estate investor is not hands off. In fact, the way to earn the best returns is to be very hands on. Being hands on will likely mean doing a lot of things yourself, at least at the very beginning while you learn the ropes to keep costs down. Being a real estate investor is more than just buying property. It is about building a business that will enable you to fulfill your dreams. Even if you choose to use a management company for your investments, you will have to manage the management. There is no way around it, being a real estate investor will be a hands on process.
Someone Who Wants To Invest and Forget
Real estate investing is not a way to park your money and forget about it. If you want to do that, you need to find and annuity with a guaranteed return. Real estate investing takes work. Work at finding investments, then managing and maintaining them. But, because there is work involved, the returns are some of the best you can get.
Someone Who Does Not Like Working With People
Real estate investing is a people oriented investment. To be successful with it, one has to work with many different people. Who are these people? There are property owners, Realtors, tenants, other investors, contractors, bankers, appraisers, accountants and lawyers just to name the ones I could quickly think of. All of these people are those that you will need to help you make the most of your investment. You have to be able to work with people as a real estate investor.
Someone Who Cannot Handle Mistakes
Real estate investing involves a lot of moving parts, a lot of different people and has a large learning curve. Because of these qualities, there are a lot of places to make a mistake and as a real estate investor, you will make mistakes. If you cannot handle making mistakes, learning from them and moving on the the next investment property, than look for someplace else to invest.
Who then should become a real estate investor? The answer is those that can and are willing to work towards making their investments be the best that they can be. If you can learn and adapt (which I think most can) than you can be a successful real estate investor. So dream big. Start to climb that learning curve and do not wait another year to get into real estate investing.
Readers, who would you add to the list of folks who should not get into real estate investing? Have any thoughts? Please share with your comments.
Kevin Perk is the founder and publisher of Smarterlandlording.com. He is the author of Advice From Experience To New Real Estate Investors. Subscribe to Smarterlandlording here. Contact Kevin here.
