I CALL BULLSHIT
If you can’t at least articulate the investment you’d like to own
I spend a considerable amount of time speaking with business owners. And inevitably every week I get more than one request to “bring me a real estate investment”. When I probe them for investment parameters a typical response is “anything that makes sense”. If you’re one of those types then I call bullshit. You are not a real estate investor.
If you’ve spent anytime on Instagram then you know there are a million and one posers saying they are “lifestyle” entrepreneurs. They want you to believe it because they post a picture of themselves sitting in a luxury car, plane, or boat. They are akin to the business owner that claims to be an investor, but who can’t at least articulate the investment they’d like to own.
Yet, it’s common knowledge that none of these Insta posers have ever built any type of business that would enable them to buy these toys. In fact, if that’s the way they “invest” their money you’d be wise to run as far away from them as fast as possible. Taking their advise will make you poor real quick.
If you’re not currently a real estate investor that’s ok, but be real about it.
All experiencd real estate investors were once prospective investors. They gained investment experience by learning what types of investment variables would work for their investment appetite, available investment capital, and level of investment experience.
An experienced real estate professional can be a useful resource as a prospective investor works through their first real estate investment, but the professional also needs guidance from the investor.
A real estate professional cannot intuit what type of property you might desire to buy, how much capital you have to put into a deal, or how you might finance the acquisition.
They can, however, provide important advice on all the variable investment attributes that are required to invest successfully. In order to dispense that advice the prospective investor needs to be honest with themselves, and then convey their desires and investment criteria to the real estate professional.
Personally I try to avoid any bullshit, life’s to short for that shit. If you aren’t an experienced real estate investor but would like to be then honest candor is the best policy.
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Christopher Telles (@tellesio) is a 5x entrepreneur in CRE. Currently looking to connect and collaborate with CRETech and RETech entrepreneurs, and Venture Capital investors investing into the space.
Chris is the CEO of Space Standard a boutique #CRE brokerage in #DTLA. Alway’s looking for new gigs, you can follow him on twitter @tellesio or send an email by clicking on the email envelope icon in the About area below.
