It seems when you have come up with the greatest plan, someone else had a different idea. My first adventures into real estate investments were frustrating, difficult, and I made all the mistakes we were trained not to make.
We pulled in a contractor we had worked with before and was in between large projects so he needed to keep his team busy. They figured this was just a mom & pop operation and could slack off. After being out of town for 2 weeks, we rolled into the project on a Sunday evening. Needless to say, the beer cans in the trash, junk and packaging from materials all over the garage and various rooms, the lack of progress – they did not finish painting but installed the new hinges and door knobs to take the picture to get the next draw… The point being, we did not keep strict eyes on the project and they took advantage of us.
Finally we finished an amazing home in a prestigious neighborhood that was sought after so we were ready to list it.
If you have ever used a real estate agent (Realtor or not), you know they are trained to do things a certain way, and that is just their way. And your buyer agent may or may not be the best listing agent. They are different niches with very different skills so be aware. We listed with our buying agent as much to make up for the lost deals that she spent time on (about 15 of them in the same 6 months). While not a major mistake in her case, there were better options we could have made.
Point being, even when we were professionals in the bigger real estate industry, we were novices in the passive investing world. It opened my eyes to the many disadvantages of being hands off in a new market with a new team. Always remember this is a business, aside from your role in real estate, if any, and you have to vet and manage the people you hire.
There is always room to learn and grow. I strive to educate myself on new trends, emerging markets, out of the box perspectives or ideas on creative deal structuring. I have mastered many of these skills, and now am able to share my expertise with my clients in creating their legacy by investing for generational wealth.
I am excited to bring this dream to fruition in the coming months and hope you join me for the journey!