I started my RE career in 1976 after I finished college. That was only 47 years ago. Everyone in the business was middle-aged or older. There was no training, computers, calculators, and barely black-and-white copy machines. It was a different world then. We had 3 kinds of loans -- FHA 203b, VA, and 80 -10 & 10s.As a 25 year old. He's what I would tell my 18 year old self.
You can't rush the process: I started in Real Estate at 20... I'm now scaling the business faster due to being in the game for 5 years. Experience, trust and numerous connections built all begin snowballing with time. Only if you deliver a top class service/product consistently and if you work hard/are true to your word.
Soft skills are better than hard skills but you need to be competent: Networking, deal making and delegation will take you further than doing all the work yourself and trying to become the best at everything. Focus on an area where you can develop a competitive advantage and hit home runs. Do you want to squeeze every penny out of 5 properties and spend all your time on them or do you want to have 1000 properties managed but you have to pay out a little bit more on each one for specialists to upkeep them.
I have a bunch of other advice too but I don't want to take away from how powerful those two pieces are by themselves.
Andy Frisella once said something along the lines of "people don't stay in the game long enough to reap the real rewards".
It's only as the years go by that I see a lot of my friends jumping around from idea to idea, industry to industry. Never quite giving it enough time to reap the rewards of the snowball effect. I understand that at my age we can't criticize others for exploring different areas to see where they are best in as your 20's are a decade of discovery but it feels powerful being all in on Real Estate.
RE is a long-haul business. It's not a get-rich-quick scheme. I have made fortunes and lost fortunes. Over time I've done just fine.
If I was young and just starting out, I wouldn't want a thousand properties with small equities and an army of management/maintenance people. I'd take the 5 IF I can get them paid for and things under control. There's less of a chance of catastrophic failure. Then move up to larger properties when I have the experience and the cash in my bank to make it all work.
By the way. Even 47 years later, I'm not too good to do anything or any job. If a toilet needs to be cleaned, hand me the brush. I'll clean it. I carry little trash bags in my jacket pocket. When I see trash on my property, I pick it up and throw it away. If someone calls me, I talk to them about their issue. I drive my properties and I go look for myself. Yes, I have a crew. I don't have to do any of this anymore. BUT I still do my own bookkeeping. It's hard to rip me off when I'm the only one with my fingers in the cash box. I have friends who have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars through their CFO or bookkeeper.
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