BiggerPockets

If you knew what you know about real estate investing, what would you have done differently when you first began? What mistakes did you make early in your career?

I am a college student interested in real estate investing. I am in the process of obtaining my R.E salesperson license and I have money to immediately invest in real estate. What I really want, though, is to get direct experience within the industry through interning or shadowing etc..

Are there actually investors who are willing to take someone "under their wing?" If so, given the fact that I have little experience/knowledge, what are some ways that I could make myself stand out to an investor playing with the idea of becoming a mentor?

Thanks to all who reply for their help.

You have to ask how can you help others make money not how can someone else help you learn the ropes. It just doesn't work that way unless you are willing to pay a guru.

Get your real estate license. Selling real estate is a great way to learn business and see what tough and shrewd investors do.

Having money may allow you to do some not so great deals. Be careful, there are many that are good at getting their hands into your pockets.

Andrew, learn everything you can about real estate investing. While it can be helpful to have your license, I don't believe that it is necessarily a requirement. Here are some things I would suggest

-Join your local REI group ASAP. That is where you will find someone to mentor you and a lot of free education. I bought my first few deals from this group.

-Hang out on forums like Bigger Pockets and learn.

-Read blogs by other real estate investors. My blog is like a lot of others that are dedicated to teaching other investors. Most folks also are very willing to share their "mistakes" along with their successes.

The main thing you need to do, is invest in your education. While there are some great courses out there that are for sale, there is also a ton of free education just for investing a little of your time. And my hat's off to you for thinking about becoming a real estate investor while you're still in school.

Even if you choose another career, it's still a great idea to invest in real estate.

I am "dragging" my 10 year old granddaughter along with me this summer. So far, I haven't made her fall in love with this business, but she is learning about entrepreneurs and what they do. She has learned though that when a house is really smelly, that it is the "smell of money".

Good luck.

Hi Andrew,

I'm a Realtor(r) who doesn't "realt," and sometimes consider dropping it, but it's quite useful as a research tool on the MLS, so I keep it. The state Realtor association has a fine legal hotline, whose advice I bounce off of the advice from the excellent Prepaid Legal attorneys.

Sharon gives outstanding advice on this topic. Your winning smile connotes a confident attitude, both of which will help you in life. Treasure them both.

One of the better sets of advice I've seen is at www.BobParsons.Me. Bob founded GoDaddy. He has 16 Rules For Success. I bought and posted a copy of his poster. It's an MBA on a page. (I have an MBA scl.)

join real estate forum and be active there and be part of every ongoing discussion related to real estate help you in training about real estate and also help you in avoiding most common mistake done by freshers

Having access to the MLS is a great leg up. Learn to use excel and trend the market. Drill, year over year breakdowns once you get the data in excel and the formulas working.

I focus on 5 things when breaking markets down

1. Money in motion
2. Sales counts
3. Average sale price
4. Median sales price
5. Average SQFT and year built

The key is to find a market that is working. Once you find a market that is working you will have to determine is it Profitable? Can I gain Entry?

When it comes to the Investing side. it is all simple math.
There are a million reasons to fail, but few reasons to succeed. RISK with logic embedded can make a big difference in the outcome.

Learn to use public records. You can watch the peopel in town that are doing it right. Determine their margins and what they buy it for and then sell it for.

There are several ways to become an expert - I've tried most of the ways I know, but far prefer early ANALYSIS to the kind of analysis begun with "WHAT THE HECK WAS I THINKING" kind.

I am an expert at surviving errors and events brought both by me and by the outside world (so far). I only claim "expert" status because I've so far survived.