Posted over 14 years ago

The Time to Educate Yourself Occurs Long Before You Need That Education!

"The idiocy that I come across everyday in this business"

Yes... that is correct... the IDIOT real estate investors who somehow have seemed to survive as real estate investors in this market and are still out there making really stupid mistakes.

I am only going to relate one example... though I could write chapter and verse on the things I see and hear daily.

So... here goes... I will try to keep the story and the RANT short!

I routinely cruise a variety of real estate investor message boards to see what is happening, what's selling at what price, what questions are being asked, and who may be asking them.

Recently I have noticed a lot of questions being asked about landlord/tenant issues. Having learned the "land lording" business from the ground up I am amazed at some of the questions I am seeing.

Take for example a recent question and I paraphrase... "the lease is up within 4 days, tenants have not signed new lease and have avoided me, do I have the right to throw their stuff out... what about the security deposit? They have now left me with at least a month of having to pay the mortgage."

I read stuff like this and I want to scream... I want to scream to this person that they do not deserve to own this or any property because they have no idea what they are doing... and quite possibly could end up in jail (perhaps only there will they learn the lesson of you need to know what you are doing if you are to succeed) as a result of their ignorance. In case you were wondering there is at least one and possibly two items in this investors comments above that in most localities could get them put in jail!

Now for those of you who want to give this person a break by pointing out... But, Pete they were trying to learn the process by asking the right questions... I would say to you...

"The time to educate yourself occurs long before you need that education"

To think that you can learn on the fly in this business, in this market... is just plain STUPID!

So why am I taking such a hard stand in this blog post? It's simple... no real estate investor needs to struggle like I have seen and heard in this market. No investor needs to put their family or financial situation as risk in this market.

There are plenty of lessons already learned by successful real estate investors that can ease the way for your success... But first you need to seek out those who have learned these lessons.

Oh... and for that investor with the pressing questions... I wish them the best of luck... and hope that at the very least they hire a qualified property manager before they get themselves into real trouble.

To Your Success...

Pete

If you found this post to be of value, I would be honored if you passed it on to others who may benefit.

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Peter R, Giardini is the founder of The Club, Real Estate Mastermind a National Real Estate Investor Coaching program whose philosophy is that real estate investing coaching/ mentoring can only be provided by experenced "local" coaches in a one-on-one environment. To find out more about The Club visit http://www.theclubmastermind.comor send an email to [email protected].

You can listen in and participate in Pete's Real Estate Investors' Mastermind radio show every Thursday night at 11:00PM on BlogTalkRadio... www.blogtalkradio.com/peter-giardini. Copyright 2009, All rights reserved.

Comments (8)

Great message Peter, landlords can quite easily get themselves in serious trouble. I have run across a number of tenants over the years that know the Landlord/Tenant laws inside out and how to take advantage of them. If a landlord rents out an illegal unit, in our state a tenant finding out that it is potentially unsafe could be awarded triple damages so they can find another place. Knowing the Landlord tenants laws for the state is absolutely necessary. Understanding the fair housing rules is basic as well. Knowing what should and can legally be put into a lease agreement is a must. Staying on top of these laws is important as well. Not knowing this is putting yourself in a high risk situation that seems to be getting riskier.

Account Closed, almost 14 years ago
Wow - well put Peter!! Practice makes PERMANENT! So if people practice stupidity.....well you know where I am going with this.

Alison Feliciano, almost 14 years ago
Sometimes learning by making mistakes "takes" better then formal education.

Don Konipol, almost 14 years ago
You pay for education either: 1. Up front learning vicariously or 2. By screwing up a deal and losing a lot of money Option 2 generally costs a large multiple of option 1.

Bryan Hancock, almost 14 years ago
Pete, The article you posted seems very useful to all. Thanks.

lloyd, over 14 years ago
Well put comments guys. Thanx

Peter Giardini, over 14 years ago
The only way "on the job training" helps is when you are an employee and not the owner.

Jim Wineinger, over 14 years ago
Great points, Pete! I don't think I've heard it put any better, so I'll repeat your point: "The time to educate yourself occurs long before you need that education!" If you jump in as a landlord without having the education to properly run your property, and think that "on-the-job training" is a smart move, then you are very wrong.

Joshua Dorkin, over 14 years ago