When I write and teach and mentor other people about how to become real estate investors, I frequently tell them that it is easy to do. Those who have never done a real estate investment deal might look at my claim and wonder skeptically if it's as easy as I suggest.
What makes it easy is that most of the work of real estate investing can be outsourced and automated if the investor sets up their real estate business properly (using the right team, tools, and technology).
But I have never suggested that you will never work again. Instead, I've always promoted the idea of working smarter, not harder, and I often try to challenge people's personal definition of work. (Most people think of work as "necessary but not enjoyable" while I find the "work" of real estate investing to be a lot of fun... keep reading because I'll explain what I mean and show you why this type of "work" isn't really work at all).
So what is the "work" of real estate investing? (Note: I'm talking specifically about wholesaling although these two skills are also true for other types of real estate investing).
Before I reveal it to you, I want to say this: If you want to be a successful real estate investor, there are really only two things that you need to do, and everything else can (and should) be outsourced. Successful real estate investors learn and master the following two things...
1. A real estate investor must build relationships.
As a real estate investor, part of your "work" is to build relationships. Ultimately, you will build 3 different types of relationships: You will build short-term relationships with potential sellers who have a property that you want to put under contract. You will build longer-term relationships with your team (who help you do deals). And, you will build longer-term relationships with investor-buyers who you will wholesale the contracts to. Building relationships requires you to meet others (not always face-to-face – I build relationships virtually).
To build relationships, capture attention by communicating to the interests and needs of that particular group (i.e. sellers, your team, or investor-buyers). Ask many questions. Take an interest in the other person. Build bridges by finding common points. Make your own goals clear. Be empathetic.
2. A real estate investor must help people.
As a real estate investor, you will help people to get what they want. This might sound weird so let me put it into other terms: You will do deals! And the secret to doing a deal is to get what you want while helping the other person get what they want. I love making deals. I love it so much, I'm called "the DM", which means "The Deal Maker". But ultimately, I'm helping people get what they want. By doing a deal, I help sellers sell their property and I help investor-buyers buy a property. The deal itself is made up of the negotiation between me and the seller over the terms of the deal, and between me and the investor-buyer over the terms of the deal.
To do deals successfully, you need to first have that relationship (mentioned above) and you need to understand the needs and motivations of the person you're doing the deal with. What do they want? How important is it to them? And, is there common ground (or some "give-and-take") between what you want and what they want? Finally, how can you be creative to ensure that everyone goes away from the deal happy?
The "work" of real estate investing isn't really work at all. It might be called "work" because it's the thing you have to do in order to BE a real estate investor but building relationships and helping other people is fun, easy, and can be done virtually... and it's two activities that we do all the time anyway at home or with friends. Now you're just applying it to your real estate investing business to make money.
Your friend and mentor,
Mark Evans DM,DN
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