Newbie Real Estate Investor

Gaithersburg, MD · Member since 2016 · 5 posts · 1 vote

I am a newbie investor just starting out in the Baltimore, MD area and looking for an experienced investor to guide me as a mentor. I am in the education stage of my process but really want to jump on my first rental property by the end of the year. If someone is in the Baltimore area and wants ti connect, let me know!

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Alan C.

Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2015 · 155 posts · 166 votes

I agree with @Jonathan Greene.

You can pay big bucks for a mentor/guru, but most of them are not great teachers. Or you can figure out what skills you have that an experienced investor could use. It may have nothing to do directly with real estate. Maybe you have great computer tech skills, graphic design or are great at figuring out and writing up office systems. There's got to be something that you can offer in exchange for some training--even if it's detailing the investor's car!

You're best bet is to attend local investor meetings and find out who are the senior "players" and then find out what they need. Most likely, they will be open to helping you when you have a way to help them. They could be at a point where they are done and tired of the day-to-day minutiae of investing, but still like to do deals if there's enough profit or they find it interesting for the creativity of putting the deal together.

But you will need to demonstrate that you are serious. Most experienced investors are constantly approached by newbies who offer to "take them to lunch" so that they can pick their brain. The problem is that these experienced investors put a high value on their time and know that most newbies will never take action to be successful, so they only associate with other investors who are at their level or above.

Show them what you can do for them and they should respond in kind.

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Brian Bagdasarian
Investor · ME · Member since 2020 · 40 posts · 32 votes
6y
What model (BRRR, fix and flip, etc.) are you considering?
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Alex Cohen
OP
Gaithersburg, MD · Member since 2016 · 5 posts · 1 vote
6y
@Brian Bagdasarian I am currently most interested in the BRRRR method with rental properties to start out.
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Ozzy SirimsiBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 782 votes
6y
Most investors are buys, would you be able to help them in any way?
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Alex Cohen
OP
Gaithersburg, MD · Member since 2016 · 5 posts · 1 vote
6y
@Ozzy Sirimsi in what way would I need to help? I’m always up for a new task.
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Tim JacobPro Member
Real Estate Agent · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2016 · 520 posts · 379 votes
6y
I'd recommend getting an investors agent. They can help you analyze deals. They could give you some realistic advice in terms of what will actually cash flow, how difficult property management will be based on your asset, if you can get reliable property management which is an issue in parts of Baltimore, reasonable expectations for rehab, and they might even give you contractor references if you close with them and will include what those contractors are capable of. A good one can help you build a good business plan that will work
I have ample experience in pm and I invest if you want to talk about things.
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Jonathan GreeneBusiness Member
Real Estate Consultant · Madison, NJ · Member since 2016 · 6k+ posts · 7k+ votes
6y
@Alex Cohen when you are looking for a mentor in the REI space you need to have a pitch of what you can bring to the table so the mentor can get something out of it as well. Will you bird dog, make calls, check on properties, drive for dollars? What's your background? Construction experience? Number cruncher? REI are busy and won't stop to mentor just for fun, even if you are a cool person, they need to know there is something coming their way (not money) as well.

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Alan C.
Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2015 · 155 posts · 166 votes
6y
I agree with @Jonathan Greene.
You can pay big bucks for a mentor/guru, but most of them are not great teachers. Or you can figure out what skills you have that an experienced investor could use. It may have nothing to do directly with real estate. Maybe you have great computer tech skills, graphic design or are great at figuring out and writing up office systems. There's got to be something that you can offer in exchange for some training--even if it's detailing the investor's car!
You're best bet is to attend local investor meetings and find out who are the senior "players" and then find out what they need. Most likely, they will be open to helping you when you have a way to help them. They could be at a point where they are done and tired of the day-to-day minutiae of investing, but still like to do deals if there's enough profit or they find it interesting for the creativity of putting the deal together.
But you will need to demonstrate that you are serious. Most experienced investors are constantly approached by newbies who offer to "take them to lunch" so that they can pick their brain. The problem is that these experienced investors put a high value on their time and know that most newbies will never take action to be successful, so they only associate with other investors who are at their level or above.
Show them what you can do for them and they should respond in kind.
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