What value do you put on your image?

Wichita, KS · Member since 2018 · 29 posts · 9 votes

6y

Big value. I used to be an agent, and your image as an agent is incredibly important. I never worried too much about my car, opting for a pretty cheap and cheap to run prius.

0 Reply

Jill F.

Investor · Akron, OH · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 4k+ votes

6y

I drive (poorly according to most accounts) a 'landlord beater' 2006 Honda Odyssey mini-van with 250,000 miles. I think when we get past the build up phase of our rental company in the next year or two, we'll get a new car in order to try and make the good old mini-van last longer for hauling. I'm chubby and old but my clothes mostly match and I have lots of shoes and I'm kind. (And I'm a sailor and I can cuss like one if you make me mad enough) ;) That's my image. LOL

12 Reply

Jose Juarez

Waco, TX · Member since 2018 · 30 posts · 14 votes

6y

I recently retired from a career in PR. Image is everything.

3 Reply

Syed H.

Developer · NY/NJ/PA · Member since 2018 · 758 posts · 935 votes

6y

It depends.

If you are an agent, Image matters 100%. Once you start competing with the top 5% of brokers, you need to look the part. Initially, it's not important. No one buys a $100,000 car and then becomes successful.

If you are an investor/operator, track record matters not your image. I show up in a hoodie half the time now. I've never had an issue raising money or winning a deal.

Remember, image goes both ways. It might be "impressive" to show up in a fancy car, but all your vendors, contractors, employees, and most importantly tenants; etc, also think you have all the money in the world.

17 Reply

Nathan GesnerBusiness Member

Moderator

Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes

6y

I believe there's value to dressing nicely, but I don't personally do it. I wear comfortable, clean clothes that allow me to work in the office or crawl under a house. If it's a hot summer, I've been known to wear shorts and flip-flops.

Personally, I'm skeptical of anyone that tries to be the best-dressed in the room. It makes me wonder if they're attempting to compensate for something they lack. I expect people to dress commensurate with their profession and/or their peers.

And if someone refuses to work with me because of the way I dress, I would be OK with that.

The DIY Landlord Book4.7248 Reviews

Website View Page

24 Reply

Scott Mac

Austin, TX · Member since 2019 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes

6y

Originally posted by @Jason Ridout:

I worked in the automotive repair industry for over 15 years where my image was not of major relevance. Employees wore coveralls and had no personal dealings with the public. You don't need to look like a rockstar to fix cars.

When I became an investor and then got my real estate license, it was a bit of an eye opener. I always dressed in clean clothes and shaved, but coming from the automotive industry I never understood the value of how you present yourself. Now I buy decent clothes that fit well and make sure I'm well dressed anytime I'm seen by the public. I have started priding myself on being the best dressed person in a room. People notice the bested dressed person in the room. Like David Greene says, he doesn't have to wear a suit when he sells houses, but it makes the job that much easier.

Where do you draw the line? I used to view spending $75 on a nice shirt a total waste of money, but now I feel confidant and people are more willing to believe you are a professional by looking the part. That $75 shirt might earn the trust of a client that earns me thousands of dollars. Now I'm looking at my car. It's a 2011 midsize sedan (think Honda Accord) and it looks presentable. Is that adequate? If I'm a successful investor and top realtor, wouldn't I drive a nicer car? Are top realtors successful because they drive a nice car, or do they drive a nice car because they are successful?

I'm not a fan of dumping $20,000 on a car that is just a liability. I'm happy in a $4,000 simple car, but what image am I presenting?

My friend, who owns over ten investment properties now, drives a $500 Dodge Caravan that has dents on every panel. It looks awful. I think it's great that he focuses his money on investments, not liabilities like cars, but what do other people think of him? Is a contractor or fellow investor going to take him serious?

How much is my image worth? I won't go dump $50,000 on a car, and anything I buy would be a cash purchase (thanks investments!) but even at $20,000, is that money better spent by parking it in more real estate, or will the confidence people gain in me by driving a nicer car have a better ROI?

Hi Jason,

Here's a YouTube channel you might like: https://www.youtube.com/user/RealMenRealStyle

Good Luck!

1 Reply

Account Closed

Specialist · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2012 · 865 posts · 351 votes

6y

@Jason Ridout it depends.... If I’m meeting a seller, buyer, or renter it is usually in a long sleeve button down shirt with nice jeans. Something I wear a sports jacket with this, but not in the summer. When I have speaking engagements I wear a suit and tie.

For a realtor it may be different and I have never been a realtor. The realtor that I work with primarily dresses in dress slacks and wears a button down shirt with a tie.

I have a private money lender that wears very old jeans and you would not know he had money just by looking at him.

I have a friend that has bought 2 to 3 times more houses than me and he looks more like a beach bum and refuses to change. I guess his self confidence and work ethic pushes him forward regardsless. I tried to tell him that he wouldn’t have to try so hard if he looked a little more groomed and well dressed, but he does well regardless.

2 Reply

Account Closed

Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

6y

@Jason Ridout

I wear a $12 T-shirt and drive a 15 year old rusty truck that I do work on myself. I can walk into any dive bar and for right in. And I’ve bought enough houses that my day job is fairly optional for me at this point. I’d rather have that than any shiny shirt and $400 jeans. Looking the part doesn’t make you the part, results does.

11 Reply

Jason Ridout

OP

Rental Property Investor · parksville, bc · Member since 2017 · 153 posts · 148 votes

6y

@Account Closed

Yes, but how much easier is it to get the results when you put yourself at the advantage of looking the part?

I do my best to not judge the book by the cover, but if I've got two contractors with equal qualifications standing in front of me and one is wearing a wife beater, looks like he hasn't showered in two weeks and has a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and the other has a collared shirt with a company logo and doesn't look like someone I'd cross the street to try to avoid, I'm going to try the guy that looks professional first.

5 Reply

Account Closed

Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

6y

@Jason Ridout

I’ve never found being ugly a disadvantage when owning/ operating real estate. When selling it? Yes. When pretending to know what you’re doing on Instagram trying to leverage a free pair of tight work pants? Probably yes. But not buying and holding.

I walked into a lender last Friday with a 4” binder, full table of contents, every single doc they would ever ask me for to get financing. Tight tight deadline. The manager asked me “how did you do all this, I worked tech for a decade and even I couldn’t do this”.

That binder said more than my tattoos old jeans and a 2005 F150 did.

5 Reply

Charlotte Dunford

Investor · Johns Creek, GA · Member since 2017 · 463 posts · 488 votes

6y

Dressing well is very important. I think it shows that you respect other people and you take the meeting/occasion/conversation seriously. It also makes you feel more confident and that you take care of yourself. Why would your customer/investor/tenants trust you to take care of them if you can't even take care of yourself?

5 Reply

Charlotte Dunford

Investor · Johns Creek, GA · Member since 2017 · 463 posts · 488 votes

6y

It doesn't mean that you have to drive a Bentley or get Chanel bags. It doesn't even need to be fancy. It just need to be professional, clean, and that it fits who you are.

3 Reply

Jim K.

Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes

6y

If you are ever a minimally successful self-managing landlord, you live by a code: never outdress or outdrive your tenants. So you wear a uniform anywhere your tenants could see you.

I've built up all my business with the same bank. They know me well. They also know my financials. No one expects me to dress professionally at my bank. They might ask me who died if they saw me in a suit.

22 Reply

Jill F.

Investor · Akron, OH · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 4k+ votes

6y

I decided to come back to this thread, because my original response was off the cuff. Really, I think, it is a luxury to have the choice of cultivating a 'professional image' or not and still getting ahead financially. You are way more likely to get away with it ignoring image if you are accepted or were born a member of an social/economic class where people actually have 'investments' and/or you already have money.

5 Reply

Jason Ridout

OP

Rental Property Investor · parksville, bc · Member since 2017 · 153 posts · 148 votes

6y

@Jim K. I agree with not out dressing your tenants. Envy is an ugly emotion and many tenants resent that they are making the landlord wealthy. I have two separate vehicles and always drive the lesser vehicle to meet tenants. Nothing could make your tenant hate you faster than waving money in their face.

I understand you've build a reputation at your bank and they appreciate the numbers, not how you look presenting them, but what if you didn't have the reputation yet? Would it hurt or help your reputation if you showed up dressed well?

3 Reply

John Teachout

Rental Property Investor · Concord, GA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes

6y

Most tenants see me in work clothes which means they're covered with paint and caulk stains, probably have some red Georgia clay on them and probably a few burn holes in the ratty tee shirts from welding. However, I fix the broken stuff and they know I own their house.

It doesn't bother me at all to be out in public with nasty work clothes on as long as they're dirty enough to show they're "work clothes". I have clean clothes too and do use them. As far as "image", for what I do, it's not important. For our side gig, I wear a hard hat and run chainsaws. I don't dress up for that either...

3 Reply

Jim K.

Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes

6y

Originally posted by @Jason Ridout:

@Jim K. I agree with not out dressing your tenants. Envy is an ugly emotion and many tenants resent that they are making the landlord wealthy. I have two separate vehicles and always drive the lesser vehicle to meet tenants. Nothing could make your tenant hate you faster than waving money in their face.

I understand you've build a reputation at your bank and they appreciate the numbers, not how you look presenting them, but what if you didn't have the reputation yet? Would it hurt or help your reputation if you showed up dressed well?

Well, if you're in the same property class, you have to get rid of the lesser and greater stuff. I don't know what's worse, driving the BMW to see the tenants and driving it everywhere all over town, or driving the landlord beater to see the tenants and having them catch a glimpse of you in the BMW when they go to see the same movie that you do.

Again, however, my advice is for local self-managing landlords, and I am in the low C-class SFR space. It may work very differently for others, I don't know. Last year, when one of my tenants learned that I was going to Italy for my next vacation, the next time she paid me the rent she referred to it as "topping off your wad." It doesn't take much.

With the bank...are you borrowing money to buy self-managed rental properties? If that's the case, it doesn't matter if you wear a tie or not, as long as you're clean and neat. The credit score is going to tell them what they need to know, and you trying to press their subconscious buttons by showing up in a suit might even set off alarm bells. Why is this guy trying so hard?

Most people want more money and never figure out that the only reason they want it is so that they can spend more money, so they can buy more nice things and treat themselves more nicely. If you're one of those people, Jason, nothing I say is going to help, because most people, given more money, can only get into more debt. That's the wisest thing Robery Kiyosaki's ever written. Anyone who belongs to that group and can't change is destined to stay broke, no matter how much money they make.

4 Reply

Steve Vaughan

Rental Property Investor · East Wenatchee, WA · Member since 2014 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes

6y

The theme I'm seeing from landlords like Kris, Jim and Jill (and I) is... let my stats do the talking. Dressing up to me is wearing something with only a little bit of paint on it. Title co's banks, sellers, tenants (my circle) couldn't care less.

Depends a lot on whether you have a job or not and your personality type it looks like. Realtors and specialists will have to value their 'image' much differently.

I may try dressing nicely for a week between naps but I bet I'll hate it. Good discusson👍

9 Reply

Scott Passman

Rental Property Investor · Batavia, IL · Member since 2018 · 452 posts · 672 votes

6y

"My friend, who owns over ten investment properties now, drives a $500 Dodge Caravan that has dents on every panel. It looks awful. I think it's great that he focuses his money on investments, not liabilities like cars, but what do other people think of him? Is a contractor or fellow investor going to take him serious?"

I feel like if your primary concern was whether or not you need to "look the part" to be successful, then you answered your own question in regards to your friend. He is obviously doing just find while looking "awful". You can be very successful without spending ridiculous amount of money on vanity items so that others will think differently of you. That is just an excuse that a lot our society uses to rationalize their decisions to spend more money and buy nicer things they don't actually need. You can look really nice and present yourself well without spending a ton of money on high-end stuff. If wearing really expensive clothes and driving a newer and more luxurious car make you feel better and if you feel it truly adds value to your life, then that's fine. But call it like it is. Fooling yourself into believing you need that stuff in order to be successful will only lead you down an increasingly expensive path with no end and has led many people to some tough times regardless of their success and level of income.

3 Reply

Jim K.

Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes

6y

I've come to suspect more and more that a lot of it simply has to do with culture. I'm Greek. To my mind, there are few things more ridiculous, more pathetic than a Greek flaunting his money. I've met quite a few seemingly wealthy, ostentatious, overdressed, vain Greeks. If I tried to describe the misery of these people's lives, you might not believe me. And their kids are always a trainwreck.

I've also met one or two self-made, understated millionaires among the Greeks. They're some of the most wonderful people I know. There's a peace and a joy about them that you can feel. They have decent, respectful marriages. They have some crappy, good-for-nothing kids too, don't get me wrong, but at least their kids have a chance. It's not trash and kitsch all day long with them.

2 Reply

James Wise

Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 30k+ posts · 20k+ votes

6y

Originally posted by @Jason Ridout:

I worked in the automotive repair industry for over 15 years where my image was not of major relevance. Employees wore coveralls and had no personal dealings with the public. You don't need to look like a rockstar to fix cars.

When I became an investor and then got my real estate license, it was a bit of an eye opener. I always dressed in clean clothes and shaved, but coming from the automotive industry I never understood the value of how you present yourself. Now I buy decent clothes that fit well and make sure I'm well dressed anytime I'm seen by the public. I have started priding myself on being the best dressed person in a room. People notice the bested dressed person in the room. Like David Greene says, he doesn't have to wear a suit when he sells houses, but it makes the job that much easier.

Where do you draw the line? I used to view spending $75 on a nice shirt a total waste of money, but now I feel confidant and people are more willing to believe you are a professional by looking the part. That $75 shirt might earn the trust of a client that earns me thousands of dollars. Now I'm looking at my car. It's a 2011 midsize sedan (think Honda Accord) and it looks presentable. Is that adequate? If I'm a successful investor and top realtor, wouldn't I drive a nicer car? Are top realtors successful because they drive a nice car, or do they drive a nice car because they are successful?

I'm not a fan of dumping $20,000 on a car that is just a liability. I'm happy in a $4,000 simple car, but what image am I presenting?

My friend, who owns over ten investment properties now, drives a $500 Dodge Caravan that has dents on every panel. It looks awful. I think it's great that he focuses his money on investments, not liabilities like cars, but what do other people think of him? Is a contractor or fellow investor going to take him serious?

How much is my image worth? I won't go dump $50,000 on a car, and anything I buy would be a cash purchase (thanks investments!) but even at $20,000, is that money better spent by parking it in more real estate, or will the confidence people gain in me by driving a nicer car have a better ROI?

You are getting a lot of advice from landlords. Landlords aren't in the sales business. Sounds like you are trying to be in the sales business so their advice isn't relevant to your situation. A $4,000 car is a beater. You don't need a BMW but you can't expect to be taken seriously in a beater like that.

5 Reply

Brian Ellis

Rental Property Investor · South shore, MA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

6y

My profile picture is probably the nicest shirt I own, and it was $15 at TJ Maxx. I don't even think its buttoned correctly.

I have had maybe two outfits that are considered "nice", and they both got ruined from joint compound, paint, and caulk.

My tenants see me get dirty, mowing the lawn, changing toilets, and everything else that isn't pretty. I do however, drive a fairly decent truck, and it hasn't changed my ability to be a good landlord. My tenants respect me for the most part. If I drove a Mercedes (which I couldn't afford) then I think it would be a different scenario.

In my line of work, where I work in a family owned manufacturing business, my workers respect me because I am willing to roll up my sleeves and work. I have noticed getting more production out of them when their boss is asking them to do something he is willing to do. And not just pointing fingers and demanding things wearing a freshly dry-cleaned outfit. Same thing goes for being a landlord. Now if your in the sales end of RE, then I can see that being a different story. But im not interested in that.

4 Reply

Doug Pintarch

Rental Property Investor · Harrisburg, PA · Member since 2018 · 369 posts · 406 votes

6y

Originally posted by @Nathan Gesner:

I believe there's value to dressing nicely, but I don't personally do it. I wear comfortable, clean clothes that allow me to work in the office or crawl under a house. If it's a hot summer, I've been known to wear shorts and flip-flops.

Personally, I'm skeptical of anyone that tries to be the best-dressed in the room. It makes me wonder if they're attempting to compensate for something they lack. I expect people to dress commensurate with their profession and/or their peers.

And if someone refuses to work with me because of the way I dress, I would be OK with that.

Same philosophy here. For me it's more projection than presentation. If you dress comfortable to yourself, not ostentatious OR slovenly and you project confidence and your attitude matches that you'll be fine in any crowd. And if I'm not fine then I pick another crowd. If a guy is wearing a thousand dollar suit and it's obvious he doesn't know how to tie his tie properly and he keeps pulling his shirt cuffs out from under his jacket sleeves every time he straightens his arms...

well, you get my point.

2 Reply

Pete Winslow

Rental Property Investor · Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2019 · 23 posts · 21 votes

6y

I generally dress in nice jeans and a collared shirt at the minimum when I am meeting with a lender, my agent, or any potential tenants. I want to show them respect, but I do not want to flash any money.

I also drive a mid 2010s Honda Accord which is a vast upgrade from my 2001 Chevy Cavalier beater. The sedans don't scream that you have money, but they show you are able to take care of yourself. I say no sense in putting the extra $20K into a new car if you can keep rolling that into investments. If it's something you want to treat yourself with because you have truly earned it, then do it for you! Not because it will help your image.

5 Reply

Account Closed

Rental Property Investor · Twin Cities, MN · Member since 2019 · 122 posts · 150 votes

6y

@Jason Ridout

I dress well and drive a 1 year old Sierra.

I'm 40 years old, and comfortable with who I am and around my clients.

When I put together a partnership to buy an apartment building - how seriously would someone take me if I drove a late model dodge caravan or wore flip flops.

My equity partners are successful, clean cut ‐ well dressed people.

Surround yourself with the people you would like to be represented by, and take yourself seriously.

On a side note, shop for your clothes, cars stocks and properties in the same fashion. Find a good deal.

4 Reply

What value do you put on your image?

What value do you put on your image?

Most Popular Reply

74 Replies