Posts Tagged ‘real estate mentor’

About Real Estate Partnerships: Mentors in Real Estate Investing

by Rob J. Nani

Changes in the real estate market create new niches and investment strategies. One must be able to work well with the changes as this is one area of investing that is constantly changing and updating. If you are new at real estate investing, you should begin working with a mentor and complete some transactions with a partner to reduce your financial and liability risk. A mentor will help you to avoid the common mistakes made by many real estate investors. Begin to educate yourself; do some research on the internet, attend seminars and join a real estate investing association.

What should you look for in a real estate partner or mentor?

The first and most important issue is finding someone who you can work well with; someone who shares some of your interests and goals in succeeding in real estate investing. Your first real estate partnership should be worked with someone who will also be a good mentor; someone with years of active experience and one who is successful. Meet as many real estate investors as you can; talk to them about what they are doing and how it is working for them. Many experienced investors are looking for partners; some are looking for new people to mentor.

Take your time and find a partner or mentor who is open and honest; one you can trust to steer you in the right direction. Finding real estate investors to work with is the easy part. Once you get started, you will find that there are a lot of people you need to know, including investors, brokers, property managers, rehab contractors, title companies, mortgage lenders, insurance providers and anyone who services real estate investors. A successful investor has all the necessary connections.

A good real estate partner to work with is one who has had experience at handling a variety of transactions in our constantly changing market. He will have several different exit strategies he likes to use and he will know which one works best for each transaction. He should be able to show you some examples of deals he’s made in the past that show profit. A good real estate partner is one who has a wealth of experience; a good mentor is one who will share their knowledge with you.

What do you want from the real estate partnership?

Find a good mentor and discuss the possibility of a partnership. Be sure to discuss issues like your degree of involvement in management, the amount of your investment and your responsibilities. Are you looking for a partnership where you simply invest money and the partner does the work? Are you looking at commercial, residential, vacation resorts or any certain type of property to invest in? Do you want to hold property for cash flow or is wholesaling your preference? Maybe there is a new niche in the market that you are interested in.

You are no-doubt thinking about financial gain; you must make a good profit form the partnership, no matter what type of transactions you’re working or what your degree of involvement is. Does the anticipated profit match the degree of risk in the deal? How safe is the investment?

Liability exposure is something to be considered in the real estate investing world. Will the partnership be set up as a corporation or limited liability company? Will your personal assets be protected should something go wrong? Be sure to address these issues with your partner.

The ideal person to work with as a real estate mentor is one who will explain all the important issues so that you have a clear understanding. You should be comfortable with your financial investment, personal responsibility and the amount of profit made from the deal.

Considering the condition of the real estate market today, a lot of people feel they should think twice about investing. The experienced real estate investor is seeing things quite differently. With a high supply of homes and few buyers, the prices of real estate are very low. This is a buyers’ market and it is a great time to invest in real estate.

Join a real estate investors association or a landlords’ club. Attend seminars and meetings; surround yourself with other people in the real estate investing field, discover who is successful and begin to model your program after them. Develop a relationship with someone who will make a great real estate partner and mentor and you will be off to a great start in real estate investing.

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