The Most Important Thing in Real Estate

So what is the most important thing when it comes to real estate investing? Most say the top 3 things is location, location, location... that isn't even close to the answer!  If that were true everyone would buy all the properties in just a handful of markets and that would be it.  There are success stories from all over the globe that turned out right,  likewise there are struggling investors even in the hottest markets.

Some say it's having a strong buyers list, but unless you can find the deal, analyze it, negotiate the deal, fund the deal, you could have thousands of buyers and never do the deal.  Just in that process alone there are multiple things that are important that could make or break your career as an investor.

Still others say it's having money to be able to purchase the good deals quickly.  That too is not the answer.  There are countless times that someone has all the money they need and purchase a great property, in the right location, and in a short amount of time they lose it all.  Sometimes the greatest deals found are the ones that come from someone else's failure.  So why can one investor make money on a property when another investor failed?  How can a guy with no money or credit succeed when the guy with deep pockets fail?  The answer (in my mind) is simple... it's not what you think you know, it's who you know!

Nobody can ever know everything about everything.  That's why there are multiple specialists in every field when it comes to business.  Even at McDonalds (probably the most successful business model on the planet) there isn't 10 people doing 10 jobs.  Each person only does 1 job and gets good at it.  The girl at the register doesn't take your order then run to the back and make the burger, then go get your fries, come up pour your drink, then go to the drive through window and hand you your meal. The funniest thing is McDonalds does it with a bunch of high school kids that have never worked another job in their life! 

So why in real estate do so many investors think they can do it if McDonalds knows they can't.  We think we can do it all.  I'll find a great deal, I'll use my own money, I'll analyze it, fix it, rent it, then manage it, keep good records of it all so I don't get hit hard at the end of the year for taxes, and by some miracle have the time to build a business that lets me do it multiple times over!  It's just not the possible.  Sure you can do all of those things and maybe over the course of several years build it up enough to replace your J.O.B. but isn't that what you just created for yourself - another job? 

By now everyone reading this is probably thinking - "I'm so depressed.  Why am I doing this real estate thing when it is nearly impossible to succeed?"  Fear not, because if you are reading this you already found the answer!  It's called networking.  It's going to websites like Bigger Pockets and taking the time to learn from others.  It's about building relationships with people that have been there, done that, willing to give you the T shirt because you might be able to help me on the next one.  It's about taking what you know, doing it well, identifying what you don't, and finding the people that can fill in the missing pieces.  A puzzle isn't just one big picture, but rather many little pieces working together to complete the bigger picture.  Some are small with only a few pieces.  Those are fun for some to put together, yet others have hundreds of pieces and take lots of time and effort.  The question is do you want to keep putting together small puzzles like you did when you first started or do you want to grow into an intricate masterpiece of business?

This is the revelation that came to me over coffee this morning while pondering how I was going to complete my never ending task list.  I decided to share this with all of you in hope that I could inspire others to grow just as I am searching to grow.  If this does so inspire you feel free to send me a colleague request, drop me a line, share your story with others, because in the big box of puzzle pieces you never know the big picture until you put it all together!  I'm just another piece looking for the right match to create something special I can be proud of and say "look what WE did... together".