{"id":97148,"date":"2020-07-19T05:00:46","date_gmt":"2020-07-19T11:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/renewsblog\/?p=97148"},"modified":"2021-03-16T13:50:14","modified_gmt":"2021-03-16T19:50:14","slug":"know-this-before-you-invest-in-real-estate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/know-this-before-you-invest-in-real-estate","title":{"rendered":"The No. 1 Thing to Know Before You Invest in Real Estate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today I\u2019m talking to all of you newbies out there about the number one thing you need to know before you invest in real estate. <\/span><\/p>\n

The most important thing to know is this: You should focus on people first\u2014before anything else. I speak to so many investors every single day it\u2019s mind-boggling. And one common trend that I\u2019ve seen among them is they all think they\u2019re experts. You\u2019re not an expert just because you did a Google search or checked out some statistics on a data platform or Zillow. Looking at the Estimate and speaking to an agent and having them send you a pro forma doesn’t make you an expert either.<\/span><\/p>\n

Forget the Statistics<\/h2>\n

You can\u2019t focus on stats and demographics of a particular area. Forget about employment. Forget about capital appreciation projections. And forget about population. Honestly, the stats and demographics are not going to make you money. It\u2019s the people. It\u2019s the team on the ground who you are going to trust with your hard-earned money, who are going to be your eyes and ears\u2014heart and soul\u2014in that particular area. I don\u2019t care if you\u2019re investing in your own backyard. Someone will always know more than you do.<\/span><\/p>\n

Related:<\/strong>\u00a06 Aspects of Real Estate Investing You MUST Understand Before Your First Deal<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

With that in mind, surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. It\u2019s something that I\u2019m very good at doing. I quit school at the age of 14. I can hardly type. And I can hardly read. My math skills are shockingly poor. (Thank god for the calculator.) But I am smart enough to surround myself with people who are smarter than I am, and are doing the things that I can\u2019t do (or don\u2019t want to do). <\/span><\/p>\n

Check out the book Think and Grow Rich<\/a><\/em>\u00a0by Napoleon Hill. There is a section where Henry Ford speaks about something really cool. He talks about pressing a button on his desk to summon any man who could answer any question that he needed to be answered. That has really stuck with me. I\u2019ve always gone about my real estate endeavors by surrounding myself with amazing, smart, awesome people who I could trust. People who are going to be my eyes and ears and heart and soul in real estate and in other industries.<\/span><\/p>\n