 When
I'm at networking events, one of the frequent questions I get is,
"Jason, if you had to start over again, what would you do differently?"
And you know, that's one of the most important questions that I
remember asking many of my early mentors.
The sad thing is that I still made mistakes even though I did take
their advice. And because most of their advice was not about the
mistakes, I ended up committing some. My mentor’s advice was about the
importance of learning creative real estate and not putting money down
on deals. And I did listen to that invaluable advice.
You see, that is one of the biggest mistakes new investors make. They
only invest in foreclosures and they end up spending all of their cash
when putting 10% down or 20% down on a property. I personally have
never purchased a foreclosure and never will. It's a lot more
profitable to simply take over people's loans where you never have to
put any money down. However, as I said, that is not the crucial mistake I made. Here's what mistakes I made and what I would do differently:
Number One
The first mistake I made was not surrounding myself with successful
investors early on. I was young and stupid and thought because I had
read a few books on real estate that I was an "expert."
Also, I didn't know that REIAs (real estate investing associations),
mentors, or mastermind groups even existed. Finally, when I learned
about these mysterious things called REIA meetings, I met a few
successful investors who pounded into my head the importance of
networking and learning from others. So, I of course listened and got a
successful investor to guide me---it's the fastest way to riches since
only a fool would want to re-invent the wheel. Now, a lot of you may be
saying to yourself, “I can't afford a guide/mentor, or I can't afford
to invest in my education, what should I do?” Well, attend your REIA
meetings and pick the brains of the most successful investors there.
Hang around them as much as you can. Offer to take them to lunch. Do
everything you can to "suck their brains dry."
“Once you learn how to generate leads 'at will'
you never have to worry about money again.”
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