First Rental Property

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are doing well.

Today’s blog post was inspired by Jason Hanson at the Bigger Pockets Real Estate Blog.   Jason’s recent article was titled The #2 reason real estate investors don’t become successful (and what to do about it)

In Jason’s article he raised a couple of great point which I would like to speak further on.

As a new real estate investor reading this post, pay special attention to these points, as this applies directly to you.

In Jason’s article, he describes a book that he read about John D. Rockefeller.  In the book, Rockefeller explained that most people never become successful because they have a ‘lack of concentration’.

I could not agree with this statement more.

As Jason articulates in his article, if you never put in a consistent effort in growing your real estate business, it will never happen.

What I enjoyed the most about Jason’s blog post was a statement that he made.  I have provided the statement below, and below the statement, I will give my interpretation.  Here is the statement:

“In short, if you want to be rich (in any business) have a long-term focus and don’t let anything distract you. Also, I highly recommend writing yourself a promise and signing it and looking at it every time you think of doing something else.”

Jason is bang on with his first point.  New real estate investors, please pay attention.  Jason says that, “if you want to be rich (in any business) have a long term focus and don’t let anything distract you.”

This is great advice because in the real world of real estate investing, distractions are all around us.  Distractions could come in the form of other business ventures that we are thinking about pursuing, or distractions could simply be unproductive time spent on less important tasks.

Being focused, and not being distracted are key to success as a real estate investor.

Further, Jason makes a recommendation that I really like.  He suggests writing down a promise to yourself, signing it, and looking at it every time you think of doing something else. (other than staying committed to real estate investing)

This sounds like a really simple thing to do.  However, the act of doing this can be extremely powerful.

So in summary:

• Real Estate investors fail often because they have a lack of concentration.
• In order to stay focused, have a long term vision and don’t let anything or anyone derail you from your path.
• Make a written promise to yourself, sign it, and look at it every time you think of bailing from real estate investing.

Thanks again Jason for your great post.

Best Regards,

Neil Uttamsingh.

PS: To keep up to date with my blog, enter your e-mail address on the LEFT hand side of the blog.  To receive The First Rental Property Newsletter, enter your e-mail address on the RIGHT hand side of the blog.  In the Newsletter, experienced real estate investors will be sharing with you how they purchased their first rental property.  They will also share some ‘tips’ and ‘tricks’ with you as to how to buy your first rental property.

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for reading the first part of this two part blog post.

Here is Part I, in case you missed it…

How to find a trustworthy real estate mentor Part I

In this post we will finish off what we started.  In Part I, I shared with you one recommendation that you can take in order to find a real estate mentor.  Below, I have included my second recommendation.  Enjoy the post, and as always, feel free to leave your comments in the comments section below.

How to find a trustworthy real estate mentor

2) Follow People on-line

In today’s market, one of the best ways to find a real estate mentor is by following the online real estate community. Clearly, there are many real estate investing forums that real estate investors visit on a consistent basis. 2 very popular and very good forums are Josh Dorkin’s Bigger Pockets and Don R. Campbell’s MyReinSpace.

On these online real estate forums you will often read about real estate investors who are taking a lot of action, and actively buying real estate.

Keep note of the people that you meet on these forums that are putting their money where their mouth is and investing in real estate.

It is these investors that you will be able to go to in the future and ask many of the real estate questions that you have.

Also, there are real estate entrepreneurs who frequently visit these forums that offer mentor-ship for a certain fee. As part of this fee, they may also offer you workshops and specific training courses.

If you are a new real estate investor, it is very important to know that you do not have to pay for mentor-ship. There are many real estate investors out there with experience who would gladly share their advice and experiences with you free of charge.

On the other hand, there are some great real estate investors and real estate entrepreneurs out there that offer excellent mentor-ship programs.

Tom and Nick Karadza of Rock Star Real Estate Inc. are very well known within the online real estate community. They are brothers who are very down to earth and who offer excellent mentor-ship programs to new real estate investors, among many other things. If you are new to real estate investing, I highly recommend that you check out Tom and Nick Karadza.

So the next time you visit these real estate forums mentioned above (Bigger Pockets and MyReinSpace), take some time to read the comments of other real estate investors.

If you like what you are reading from a certain individual on a particular real estate forum, take the leap of faith and ask them some real estate related questions. Most people are more than willing to help, and would gladly answer any questions that you may have.

It is within these online real estate forums where a lot of mentoring takes place.

To keep up to date with my blog, enter your e-mail address on the LEFT side of the blog.

To sign up for The First Rental Property Newsletter, enter your name and e-mail address on the RIGHT hand side of the blog.

As a subscriber to the Newsletter, you will receive interviews that I have conducted with experienced real estate investors. In these interviews, they will be sharing with you their experiences when they bought their first rental property.

Onwards and Upwards!

Neil Uttamsingh.

How to find a trustworthy real estate mentor Part I

Hi Everyone,

One of the realizations that you must make early on in your real estate investing career is that you will need a mentor.

Every real estate investor who has achieved any sort of success has had a mentor at some point.

Mentors play a huge role in the development of a novice real estate investor.

A mentor is someone that you can watch, listen, and learn from their experience.  You can take away certain tidbits of information from them, that help you to become a better real estate investor.

Also, the relationship that you develop with your mentor can take on a more formal arrangement.  This arrangement can be one in which you meet with and discuss your goals and challenges on a more formal basis.

When investors are first staring out, they may not have a mentor, or even know how to go about locating one.

When I began my real estate investing career back in 2005, I did not have a mentor.  As time went on, I realized that in order to get better, I needed to search out a mentor who would be able to answer many of the questions that I had.

As my interest in real estate continued to develop, I began to have so many  questions that no one was able to answer for me.  As such, I realized that  a real estate mentor would be the only individual who would be able to answer these questions.

My first real estate mentor turned out to be the father of one of my friend’s.  At the time, he was the only person that I knew that had invested heavily in real estate, and who had achieved success doing so.

The important thing to note is that as a beginner to real estate investing, you have to be proactive and go out and find a real estate mentor.  A real estate mentor is not just going to fall out of the sky for you.  It is also important to note that finding a real estate mentor  is not the easiest thing to do, if you don’t know how.

To help you with the journey of finding a mentor, I have provided you with 2 recommendations to consider when seeking a mentor.

How to Find a Trustworthy Real Estate Mentor

1)  Word of Mouth

Ask people you know if they know of anyone investing in real estate.  You never know who might be an experienced real estate investor.  These experienced people are a wealth of knowledge.  It is important to ask around, because sometimes real estate investors are very secretive.  Believe it or not, but there is a breed of real estate investors that don’t openly share with people that they invest in real estate.  It has been my observation that these people are sometimes the older real estate investors, who have adopted an old school train of thought.  This old school train of thought is to not share with people what they do.  Sometimes these investors, if you get chatting with them and show an interest in real estate, can really open up.  These investors can often be the most knowledgeable of all real estate investors. This is because they have been investing in real estate over the long term, and have weathered the ups and downs of the economic cycle.  These investors are a great asset.  Get them on your side.

To read Part II of How to find a trustworthy real estate mentor, click on the link at the bottom of this blog post.

To keep up to date with my blog, enter your e-mail address on the LEFT hand side of the blog.

To sign up for The First Rental Property Newsletter, enter your name an e-mail address on the RIGHT hand side of the blog.

In the First Rental Property Newsletter, I will be providing you with interviews that I have conducted with experienced real estate investors.  In these interviews, they will share the experiences and challenges they had buying their first rental property.

Onwards and Upwards,

Neil Uttamsingh

How to find a trustworthy real estate mentor Part II

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOA5Mn4loBc[/youtube]

Hi Everyone,

I am very happy to share with you some good news.

Fellow Real Estate Investor and Blogger, Julie Broad of Rev N You is now a regular contributor on the BiggerPockets Real Estate Blog.

Her introductory article called, The Great Canadian Real Estate Opportunity is a must read for any aspiring real estate investor.

If you are an aspiring real estate investor, I highly recommend that you keep up to date with Julie’s articles on the BiggerPockets Real Estate Blog.

Here are the reasons why you should do this:

One

Julie is an experienced Canadian real estate investor. By following her articles and her comments, you will be able to gain an insight into the Canadian real estate market.  If you are looking to buy a property in Canada as your first rental property, pay close attention to what she has to say regarding Canada.

Two

In her article series, she will be commenting on certain States in the US where Canadians are buying real estate. If you are an American real estate investor, this will give you an insight into where Canadians are purchasing property.

Three

Julie is a well respected real estate blogger and investor. She presents the facts and is well intentioned. It is helpful to learn from people like this, because they are always willing to share their knowledge.

Four

Separate from her articles on the BiggerPockets Blog, she has 31 Free Real Estate Investing Videos that you can benefit from.  I have watched a number of these videos.  I think that the videos are very helpful to aspiring real estate investors looking to buy their first rental property.

Five

Finally, I believe that Julie is the best Canadian representative that we can have representing fellow Canadian Real Estate Investors and Bloggers on the BiggerPockets Real Estate Blog.

There you have it. Julie Broad has made the ‘big time’ on BiggerPockets. Keep up to date with her article series and you will learn a lot!

To keep up to date with my blog you can click on the orange RSS button at the top right hand corner of the blog. Or you can type in your e-mail address on the left hand side of the blog.