NEVER BE INTIMIDATED BY THE BIG FISH!
I tell this to all new real estate investors. A lot of them are intimidated by people that have been investing in real estate for a long time. As a “newbie” you go to real estate meetings and hear stuff like this:
- “ I own 250 units!”
- “I’ve been a landlord for 50 years!”
- “I flip 100 houses a year!”
The list goes on. Don’t get me wrong…. you meet some great people that you can learn TONS of great stuff from.. but don’t let them intimidate you, and most of all.. DON’T let them hold you back from doing deals! Get the thought out of your head that “the more experienced investor will always close the deal”, OR “I will never find deals, the experienced investor finds them all!” These thoughts are crap and here are just a few reasons why:
1. HUNGER: The big fish isn’t always as hungry as the little fish. You are new, and passionate, and curious and working your ass off to get a deal! The big fish typically isn’t. A lot of the big fish just let deals come to them as they come. They don’t hunt anymore. They just wait for a deal to come along. Sometimes they don’t hunt because people bring them deals and they don’t have to hunt. Sometimes they don’t hunt because they have no desire to be that aggressive anymore. You CAN find deals they aren’t finding! Keep marketing and getting creative while they sit back and relax just waiting. AND.. instead of being intimidated by them.. form relationships with them! You want to learn from their experience. Bring them a deal to team up on! Wholesale them something! You will learn TONS!
2. ATTITUDE: The big fish sometimes gets a little cocky and forgets that he/she is here to help sellers! Sometimes they get so cocky they brush off potentially good deals. For example: I once had a seller call me about a 3 unit he wanted to sell for $120,000. It wasn’t worth 120k and he had been blown off by many experienced investors who wouldn’t take the time to talk to him because it wasn’t a “deal” right off the bat. I took the time to talk to the guy. I wasn’t cocky. I didn’t brush him off. I just asked him WHY he wanted to sell and what HIS goals were and what he was trying to accomplish. The end result? I picked up a 3 unit for 60k. Have patience and be kind. ALWAYS have the best interest of the seller in mind.. not your own. It pays off in the end.
3. DEAL PARAMETERS: Whether you are a big fish or a little fish we are all looking for different types of deals. Some investors buy only single family homes, some only buy multi-units, some investors only rehab and re-sell, some investors only buy and hold. JUST because something seems like “a deal”, doesn’t mean it’s a good fit for every investor in your area. Those that rehab to re-sell do not use the same parameters or formulas that I do as a buy and hold investor. Sometimes they have to make the home look WAY prettier and fix up WAY more stuff then I would if I know I’m just going to have a long term tenant in there. Some investors ONLY buy in certain school districts or certain areas of the county. NOT everyone is after the same thing. Some investors LOVE short sales, Bank owned properties, etc. and some investors won’t even touch these types of deals. Some investors only do off-market, private deals.
4. TOO MANY PROJECTS AT ONCE/TOO LITTLE MONEY: I have been in this boat already. Too many projects going on at once.. lots of money tied up in those projects.. business..is..crazy busy!!! I might not have time to keep up with my marketing, I am not out actively pursuing deals like I should.. I am COMPLETELY focused on the projects I have going on. There are enough deals out there and not ONE investor is going to take them ALL! Sometimes it’s a lack of time, sometimes it’s a lack of funds.
5. REAL ESTATE INVESTING IS NOT LIKE THE INFOMERCIALS: Believe it or not, despite what you see on TV and from people trying to sell you their “get rich quick” classes – there are some real estate investors out there that are perfectly happy with only doing 3 rehabs a year, or buying 5 properties a year. They have no desire to own 1 million units or do 60 rehabs a year. Every investor has a different long term plan and different path they are on. So they aren’t after EVERY.. SINGLE.. deal. They pick up a few here and there and then they are satisfied.
This is just the short list! There are even more reasons than this! So NEW INVESTORS – stop feeding yourself excuses! It’s self sabotage! Forge ahead and grab that first deal! And EXPERIENCED INVESTORS – sound off below about what stops you from doing “every deal!” We would love to hear from you!