First Rental Property

The journey continues.

Real Estate Investors are continually gaining more experience in the world of real estate investment. That is of course if they are the type of real estate investor who chooses to take continuous action.

Part One of The Evolution of a Real Estate Investor discussed the first 2 stages that a real estate investor experiences.

The first stage that occurs results in the real estate investor feeling that real estate does not exist. In this stage, the investor is definitely not an investor at all at this point. They have no interest in real estate and see no benefit in investing in a rental property.

As the investor moves into the second stage, this is where they find that something happens with real estate. In this stage, something significant happens in the real estate investor’s life with respect to real estate. As a result, they take notice of this occurrence.

We will now take a look at the third and fourth stages in the evolution of a real estate investor.

The Third Stage

You become interested in real estate

It is noteworthy to mention that there is a big difference between the second stage and the third stage. In the second stage – something happens with real estate, an investor’s interest in real estate has not yet developed. It is only in the third stage where a true interest in real estate begins to form. This stage is one of the most exciting stages. It is an exiting stage because the individual begins to see real estate in an entirely different light. What was once uninteresting houses or buildings, now becomes assets that cash flow. Once the individual’s interest develops, they will no longer view real estate the same as they did in the past. In this stage, you as the individual become very excited about the specific aspects of real estate that interests you. In my particular case, I became very interested and fascinated by all of the new development that was occurring in my town. I developed an extreme interest in the construction of new homes and subdivisions which I am still very interested in even today. As this interest develops, you may spend more time speaking to friends, family, or acquaintances about their experiences with real estate. At this point, you will really talk to anyone about real estate that is willing to have a conversation with you. You may be out in a public place such as a restaurant, and if someone 15 tables down from yours, sitting in the corner of the restaurant is having a conversation about real estate, you hone into this conversation, and can hear every word of it. This happens to me all the time when I am out and about. If people are having a conversation about real estate, I often, always listen very carefully.

The Fourth Stage

You begin to research real estate

Once again, there is a big difference if you compare this fourth stage to the previous third stage. In the third stage, your excitement level is high, and you are so thrilled about real estate that you just can’t contain your emotions. This is where stage three ends.

Stage Four is where you take things to the next level, and begin to make some serious progress towards your eventual purchase of a rental property. This is the stage where all of your research begins. This is a significant stage, because to this point, the real estate investor has never done this type of analysis before. Remember, the real estate investor has previously been at a point where they had felt that real estate did not exist. They were indifferent to real estate as an investment. Then they got to a stage where something happened with real estate that resulted in them becoming very excited and interested in it.

The research stage can vary dramatically for different real estate investors. It tends to vary due to the different and often limited resources that the real estate investor might have at their disposal at this stage of their evolutionary process.

In my case, my research was very basic, now that I take a look back upon it. For about a year, I spent time visiting the new development sites in my town. I would go into the sales offices at times, pick up floor plans for the homes as well as the price lists. I think I probably visited every new homes development in my town over the course of a year. There were a lot at that time. If I were guess, there were probably about 10 of these sales offices. I am sure that I visited some 2 or 3 times.

I would spend a lot of time also driving around in the new development sites and look at the new homes that had been constructed.

Some might consider these actions to be a waste of time. I would not disagree with those people. Waste of time, or not, the actions that I took were essential. They were essential because it allowed me to become more comfortable, it allowed me to learn more about new homes, and it gave me the confidence to move forward and take action when the time was right.