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Are You Collecting Tools or Building a House?
December 30, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Education is Worthwhile But Do Your Due Diligence
Ken Clay, Keller Williams Realty 336 782-1237
After some thought, I decided to encourage you to learn as much as you can while spending as little as possible. Whether you are new to investing or been at it a while, you’ll soon learn that there are tons of ways to spend money in this business trying to learn “the secret”, “the system”, “the greatest thing since sliced bread”, etc. Go to the free seminars. Listen to the conference calls. But keep a firm grasp on your wallet & credit cards. Some are worthwhile, most aren’t. Some give you something you can’t learn elsewhere, most don’t.
One great resource is http://www.johntreed.com. He has a whole section on gurus. You may disagree w/ his take on some of them, but he tells you WHY he thinks as he does. This is a great place to do due diligence before spending $. Even if your guru of choice isn’t reviewed, I suggest you randomly sample as many reviews as you have time for – good bad & indifferent. Will give you a cheap education on the thoughts/theories in our little niche of the economy and give you some cautionary tales. Check ebay to see if someone is selling the program there. Might want to find out why they are. Also, check w/ the group. Somebody has probably bought what you are getting ready to buy. Find out what they think.
Education is VERY valuable, but I recommend that when you are going to pay for it, do so out of profits already made. There are too many free/real world sources to learn from. Almost all worthwhile sources recommend putting a team together. This team is likely to have more practical experience combined for your market than any guru. I know folks who’ve spent enough to have funded their 1st rental and haven’t done a deal yet! There are folks in the group who will work with you to do an analysis of where you are & what resources you can bring. With that in mind, certain types of real estate investing may be better for you. Then you can focus on learning those, rather than spending time on something that may not be right for you, or not right in your current situation. This is the type of conversation I have had with my most successful clients. I’ll take the email w/ info to begin this dialogue.
I revised this blog based on Angus’ and the other presentations tonight (12/03/07). If you weren’t there, you missed some of the best “real world” testimony that I have seen. I wasn’t going to “toot the Realtor horn” in this blog, but 2 of the 3 basically said their Realtor was a crucial part of their team. The third person’s presentation was a cautionary tale on why you need professionals involved in your transactions. Fortunately, his situation has turned out good for him, but with WAY harder work than most investors are interested in. With the assets & situation that he/his family were in, he might have found a much safer investment using professionals. But it is a good illustration – it is hard to screw up a good deal if you have the resources.
(If you like this blog, maybe we’ll start another one on using professionals – when & where. I have a whole other life experience on this subject! From the buyer side. If you haven’t recognized, I do have strong opinions. I feel they are founded, but I always welcome a well reasoned challenge. The point of this is to create dialogue!)
A great quote from an internet guru, not a real estate guru is: “Are You Collecting Tools or Building a House?
Do you suffer from lack of focus? Learn to just say no to some of the new courses, products and fads being introduced. Turn down irrelevant
ebooks, webinars and teleconferences. You don’t need to become a human library … you need to become profitable! If a carpenter were to spend
all his time reviewing and buying more tools for his tool chest, he would never get around to building the house”.- Rob Toth
So you’re going to keep your wallet tight. Good for you! How do you proceed? If you’re in a REIA, or other group, LISTEN! Not only to the content, but who asks the good ? Who offers supplemental information for the knowledge of the group. Who gets recommendations when others are presenting or discussions are going on is important (consider the source [folks who are "officials" are usually reluctant to give outright endorsements {when given, being subject to scrutiny, are usually good}, "mere members" or guests tend to give more sincere but more limited in experience endorsements; when vendors give other vendor endorsements [and no cross interests that haven't been clearly identified] it is usually at least as good as the endorsing vendor). That may make them a good resource. Given time in a group, you’ll find those that are ethical & responsive Network & listen.
Don’t cast judgement on the 1st or 2nd opinion you hear. Trust more to the source and their credentials & WHO HAS DONE DEALS W/THEM. The rest is hearsay. If you think you ought to go w/ someone, but you’ve heard some poison (it happens in groups), bring it up! Best done one on one – eyeball to eyeball. That’s when you get the gut. Trust it! Because your RE life will depend on it. I’m not talking about “like”! I’m talking about trust! Spend the money you make with people you like. Make the money with people you can trust. You don’t have to particularly like them. Some of your best resources will be “abrupt” folks! When they find out you are serious, you’ll find a warmer reception than you will as a “wannabe”.
Bottom line – if you are going to be an investor, INVEST! Take the time & use the free resources thru networking to determine WHERE to spend your time & resources based on YOUR circumstances. Create a strategy so you can focus. Inventory your assets/resources to create a strategy that has potential for success. Consult with folks w/ more experience. Apply those resources!
I am a resource providing customized internet access thru ListingBook and more detailed searches for clients through the MLS. I offer free consultatitons to evaluate your “temperature for RE investment ” and advise on where you are best to enter the game.
Let me know when I may help!
