BiggerPockets

Unfortunately the profession is sullied by a disproportionate share of quacks, charlatans, and snake oil salesmen. There are plenty of honest and respectable investors around, but the highly visible morons ruin things for the bulk of honest folks.

@Ibrahim S - that made me laugh way too much :)

As for being a "respectable" profession, I see it just as respectable as day trading. The biggest problem that we face is the media's portrayal of real estate investing. Just as there were a flood of stories of unscrupulous equity traders manipulating the market, supposedly causing the tipping of the market into the tailspin of 2008, I am constantly seeing new (ridiculous) stories and even laws revolving around specific, legitimate, real estate practices. Just look at Texas and South Carolina's stance on my specialty, Lease Options. I remember seeing a story not too long ago about an investor that sold houses on lease options specifically to people that could afford the down payment but were at very high risk of default or had to follow impossible-to-follow- rules of the lease agreement. This "investor" would take the down payment, and in a couple of months would kick the tenant/buyers out and start over again, stealing numerous families' life savings.

Just as Gordon Gekko was a blemish on the equity traders, there will always be dishonest people in every profession that will prompt the original question of this thread: is my profession legitimate, or just filled with con-artists? Because of this, being on the front lines with your customers is harder every year because there are just that many more news stories about someone bruising your profession's credibility.

Suck up!

I think being a real estate investor is one of the most rewarding careers available. If you want to call it a career. It has so many avanues that allow wealth creation, all you need to do is focus on one.

Of course some may be more frowned upon than others. Bandit signs, cold calls come with some negative feedback from the community. Development and re-development improves the community.

As others have said there are bad apples, as in any business.

We are actually solutions providers. If you think about some of the properties investors buy, there is nobody else to make the purchase. Is it better to allow the property to return to the dust or be the investor with vision to bring it back to life. If we don't think about our business as a true profession that helps people out of bad situations, who else will.

Well, most of us are... aren't we?

We could buy properties all day long and make a little profit. But most on here advocate searching for the good deals where you benefit from a situation... i.e. your "greed" drives you to seek larger profits.

But welcome to human nature. We all want more. As long as you approach that quest for more ethically, I don't see a problem with it. I believe people will respond to you and your profession based on how you present yourself. If you're intelligent, approachable, confident, and proud... they are going to assume you run your business on the up and up. Yes, I'm a landlord. I provide quality homes to people looking to rent. There's no embarrassment at all in what I do simply because I don't do anything in my dealings I should be embarrassed by.

Do I look for distressed home buyers to buy cheaper from? Sure! But I wasn't the one who caused them to be distressed. I'm simply a means to an end for them, I'm not a charity and no one should expect that of me. Am I a profiteer? Okay. I can live with that. I am fortunate enough to be in position to do well while others aren't... I have absolutely no issue with that.

There certainly are Eric, but the real estate quacks are more vocal. There is also no legitimate formal training program for the profession so people are more likely to encounter one of these people when they are the most vunerable...when they are first starting out.

I love it when Josh goes into "Inspirational Mode".

Having worn the hat of both an agent and an investor (and well.. a pre-maturely balding 27 year old who has grown accustomed to wearing a lot of hats, both figuratively and literally), I can say without a doubt that I have generally gotten better responses from people when I tell them I'm an investor as opposed to an agent.

Unfortunately... that's not setting the bar very high.

I think ultimately it comes down to how you carry it, personally. Are YOU proud of what you do? Are YOU running a respectable business? Are YOU acting with the integrity that legitimate business requires?

What I do as a flipper is really no different than any other business. In most businesses that sell things, the idea is to buy them at one price, do something, and then sell them at another price, with the second price being higher. Could be houses, could be shoes, could be cosmetics. How you buy, add value, and sell determines how successful you are. This is also true for the shoe store owner and the Mary Kay lady.

So if I'm running my business in a respectable fashion, then I would say I am in a respectable profession. If I'm not, then it's look in the mirror time.

Simple as that.

@Jake Kucheck - That's what drives me every day . . .
@Greg P. - I'm finally old enough to run. Maybe it is time to start a write-in campaign?

I always tell folks, when asked about my 'profession', that I operate a real estate investment company as well as an inner-city based youth mentoring organization. That sort of lets people know (or at least gives them the impression) that I'm one of the good guys who cares about the communities in which I invest.

Giving back to the community in a meaningful, hands-on manner can really tell people that you're in this for more than just the money.