BiggerPockets

This is not a solicitation.

I would like some feedback from new and potential investors looking to get into this business.

Here is a scenario:
You go to your local REIA and meet an experienced investor in your area who is full time in the business and had done over 100 deals. He mentions that he is looking for an apprentice. He wants someone to work with him in his business and in return he will teach them the investing business.
He tells you upfront, he is going to have this apprentice do a lot of grunt work like collecting rents, taking pictures of properties, and running errands.
He also tells you he will introduce you to contractors, closing attorneys and realtors and give you more and more responsibility as you grow in your abilities. You will be with him regularly and get to watch him interact with customers and vendors as he runs his business.

Is that something that you would be interested in as a new investor or does it sound like the exerience investor is just trying to take advantage of you?

I think this depends on the student. If the student really wants to learn then they will be ok doing the grunt work while they learn. If they are lazy the it really doesn't matter either way. The thing is that the mentor is spending his or her valuable time teaching. If the student isn't paying the mentor anything for the lessons, then the mentor might as well get some grunt work done.

This is exactly what I thought was being presented by the local NR guys. The sign reads "Real estate investor seeks apprentice 20,000.00 Call --------"

What I didn't realize till later was they want you to pay 20,000.00 for their course.

Deceptive advertising at best. If they were offering a yearly salary of 20k to learn the ropes I likely would have been interested as long as the terms were right (I didn't have to sign a no competition agreement etc)

I have had many "apprentices" work with me this way... I bring them in, they do the legwork, I teach, and I pay them 25% of any deals we close that they "handled".

I take advantage of them and they take advantage of me... but both in a positive way. :)

My current partner was a newbie I took on this way, and he's done so well... like I said, he's now my partner, lol.

Nick

lol :) What did you study? :) Was this when you were a tow truck driver?

I am also looking for a Mentor - for a specific area - l multi-family real estate investments out of state for cash flow. ( am personally located in Santa Cruz, CA.

Answering your question, I would definitely step up and do grunt work.
However, I also work for Realtor.com as a product manager, so I have other professional expertise I can help whoever mentors me - like marketing, online user experiences, web copy, project management, property analysis, deal finding, researching emerging markets

I am definitely willing to use my skill set, in trade for experience and a small piece of a deal.

Great question!
Thanks for asking it

Hi Edwin,

When looking for a mentor, it's really best to work with someone whose personality clicks with yours and also understands what you are trying to do. (i.e. learn the ropes). There are so many investors out there with various experience levels. When entering a business relationship, I always make it a point to make sure the people I decide to work with are easy to work with personality wise. Again, this is a case by case basis. I don't recommend working with anyone you don't feel comfortable working with. In my opinion, it has to be a comfortable relationship for both parties. Everyone has a different style and way of doing things. And, it shows through personality. Hope that helps!

Has anyone ever done this? On either side of the table?

I'd love to hear what worked and what didn't.