Have you set a goal?

Real Estate investing is a dream that millions upon millions of people have. Many people dream of having income coming in every month or every quarter. This income might allow them to quit their job, fund their retirement or allow them to accomplish a number of different things. The sad reality as that many never make the leap and get involved with real estate investing. In my long real estate career, I have seen this all to often, and it usually revolves around a common theme. Most people never properly set goals and make a good plan to achieve their goals.

So, here is my question to you: Have you set a goal to invest in real estate? If you have, but have not accomplish your goal, my next question would be why not?

If you set a goal, was it a realistic goal? Did you start small or go for the gusto?

Any time I work with a new investor I always want to know what their goals are. If they have goals, I want to review them together and then give them feedback on the viability of their goals. If you are broke and have never bought a rental property, it might be hard for you to buy a 500 unit apartment complex on your first try. Nothing is impossible, yet that might be an uphill battle. You might need to get a partner, a mentor, or a number of other things to make that happen.

The best advice I can give to someone just starting out is to be realistic about what you want to do, and what you do not want to do. For example, if you do not want to do the daily operations, then find someone that will. This can be a friend that wants to invest and do the daily operations or find a General Partner (lead investor) and then invest with them. Then you just put up the money and get a check.

If you want to be hands on and have never owned a property, then you might want to start with a single-family rental to learn the ropes and then go on from there. Set a goal of buying your first property, rather than setting a goal of buying 100 properties. After you buy that first one and you know you like it, then set that bigger goal. They say the first one is the hardest for a reason. It’s usually because that is where the biggest learning curve is. After that you have more knowledge and a better idea of what you want.

So set goals for yourself, be realistic and start with a small goal. Once you hit that, it will be much easier to set and accomplish bigger goals!