Frustrated with her phone, Stefanie stopped by the house to see if I could help her troubleshoot why she wasn’t getting her calls and texts. In addition to being an investor in real estate, I’m also a bit of a small gadget tech guru—remnants of my former profession. So, friends and family tend to hit me up when they need help. When I reminded Stef that her phone was a dinosaur and that she should just get a new one, she quipped that she was starting to get the feeling that she was in the market for a new everything—especially a new career. I knew she’d been thinking about leaving her desk job to start flipping houses like me, but she’d never seriously broached the subject. Still, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when she finally came right out and asked, “How do you become a real estate investor?” while I was turning her old phone over in my hand, marveling that it had lasted this long. I told her that if she promised to upgrade her phone, I’d promise to help her upgrade her career.

How Do You Become an Expert Real Estate Investor?

The beauty of technology today is that more people than ever have the kind of access to information and exposure to new ideas that they might not have otherwise been aware of. Investing in real estate is a perfect example. With all the house flipping and other real estate-related shows on the tube, leaving a corporate job to start buying, rehabbing, and selling houses no longer seems that far-fetched. It’s how Stefanie first got hooked on the idea.

Of course, the issue with the popularization of these real estate investing shows is that the reality of how to become an expert investor and maintain a successful career is rarely, if ever, addressed. And, there’s a lot of misinformation out there anyway—on TV, online, and in books. But, becoming a real estate investor in your own right is possible. If you don’t have a friend who’s also a seasoned investor to ask how, here’s what you should do:

• Get the right training. It’s not easy distinguishing between legitimate investment training programs and those designed to grab your cash in exchange for gimmicks—but, it’s critical. The right real estate investor training courses will set you up to find the best deals as well as teach you how to close on them. They’ll also help you learn how to run rehab numbers, estimate returns, and determine whether you should sell an investment property or keep it. And, classes will be taught by educators who are successful investors themselves within a timeframe that gets you out from behind the desk and into the field as soon as possible. If none of these criteria fit the program you’ve found, reconsider the source and find courses that do.
• Get the right mentor. It’s equally important to find a real estate investing mentor who’s interested, and invested, in moving your career forward. Just because you’re out of the classroom and in the field doesn’t mean the possibility of making mistakes, or the potential for learning from them, stops. With a seasoned investor at the ready to offer guidance, however, you can skip a lot of missteps simply by having someone to reach out to for advice. Unfortunately, there are a lot of charlatans out there who claim they can usher you through a rough deal or propel your business to the next level, only to take your money and waste your time. So, always check references and proof of results.
• Get the right network. Even with the best training behind you and a great mentor beside you, you won’t get far without the right team of professionals to help you. From rehab experts to real estate agents, having strong relationships with other pros in the field is a crucial element to creating a good business out of flipping houses. To help develop those connections, take the time to network with other, more experienced investors in your area who can make reliable recommendations without feeling threatened by the competition. When it comes to affordably funding your project or getting renovation tips for your property, the last thing you want is to be steered in the wrong direction—or to be without any.
• Get the right tools. Before you buy your first investment property, get the right tools to ensure you’re finding the best deals. Ideally, you should have a lead generation system that brings motivated sellers of distressed properties to you and a means to valuate real estate investment opportunities quickly when they arrive. Real estate investing is a competitive industry. So, every potential deal is worth considering, but not necessarily worth buying. You’ll improve your chances of making good decisions if you’ve got great tools to help you.
• Get the right plan. To further safeguard against making mistakes when beginning to buy and sell homes for profit, get clear about your goals and strategize your plan for achieving them. This may begin with identifying your family’s financial objectives and your tolerance for risk, both of which play a role in determining how big and how fast you want to try to build your business. Then, you’ll want to establish certain benchmarks that serve as motivation for staying on track so that you can reach your goals in a way that works for you. It doesn’t have to be complicated, but having a real estate investment plan in place can help you keep your objectives, and your path, clear.

When put together, each of these pieces can help make the question of becoming a successful real estate investor a little less puzzling. You’ll still have to add a lot of elbow grease to the mix. But, with the right team of experts behind you as you make your way toward buying your first of many properties, the “how” to become an investor could quickly change to “when.”

Propel Your Career Forward With a Ready-made Team of Experts Behind You

Like Stefanie, I toyed with the idea of becoming a real estate investor long before I broached the subject with a well-seasoned, and very successful, investor I knew. The thought of leaving my cushy tech job held me back for a long time, especially because I liked what I did for a living. The problem was, I didn’t love what I was doing. And, quite honestly, I was overwhelmed by the prospect of changing careers after having invested so much money, time, and energy into becoming an expert in a different field.

But, when I heard that by becoming an independently owned and operated HomeVestors® franchisee, I could start investing faster than if I went at it alone, I was hooked. I received comprehensive one-week initial training, followed by one-on-one mentoring from my seasoned Development Agent anytime specific questions arose, and ongoing support from my regional network of HomeVestors® franchisees whenever I needed it. I even got access to some of the best tools and resources required to help me find good deals to build a great career. HomeVestors® made learning to invest in real estate much easier than I could have asked for. So much so, in fact, that I often wish I’d done it sooner.

Stop thinking about investing in real estate. Take action on becoming an expert investor by contacting HomeVestors® today!

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