How To Speed Up Your Success

An experienced mentor can speed up your real estate success by 10 years!

In a perfect world, most beginners rise up and learn on the backs of the journeymen who have gone before them. As I said – that’s in a perfect world! Many newbies today treat experience like it’s old fashioned or gone out of style in their haste to pursue much quicker success.

As an “old timer” with more than 50 years in the trenches, I can tell you without hesitation, learning from experience will greatly increase your odds! I can’t begin to guess how many times my experienced mentor pointed me in the right direction when I stood confused at a fork in the road.

Learning to invest successfully hasn’t changed much in a hundred years or so – I’m guessing even longer! The opportunity for success remains constant. It was there when I started and it’s still here today. For those willing to learn and have the discipline to stick it out, it’s nearly impossible to avoid creating wealth if you’ll choose your teacher wisely.

One of the great joys afforded to “ol’ timers” like me who’ve had the pleasure of teaching others is to watch ‘em become millionaires – or at least, very wealthy. My seminar student and eventually my seminar assistant, Mr. Dan, is an excellent example. Dan chose the “old fashioned” method to learn about investing. 

He studied the business; he attended seminars and read lots of real estate books. Dan was very realistic about education and smart enough to know it would take some time, some investing – “trial and errors” and working the bugs out.

Almost from the beginning, Dan participated in my telephone mentoring service. Sometimes his calls seemed more like hand-holding rather than asking for advice. I can still remember how my mentor Bill helped me the same way. There’s one thing I’ll never forget, regardless of what we talked about, I always felt a whole lot better when I hung up the phone. 

Looking back today, after so many years have passed, I still consider Bill’s early help priceless! If I were asked to make an educated guess, I’d say having a knowledgeable mentor can help you cross the finish line at least 10 years faster than winging it on your own.

Suddenly one morning, bright ‘n early, my telephone mentoring line started ringing; Mr. Dan was on the other end. He sounded both excited and a little bit frightened all at the same time. 

Turns out, he had just been offered ten houses for sale, all in one bunch and the seller was offering to finance the whole deal. That got me excited!  I couldn’t wait for Dan to quit talkin’, so I think I just butt in! We’ll take ‘em all, I shouted! I don’t remember if I even asked Dan if he wanted 10 houses.

Most of my readers already know that multiple units and multiple houses are my specialty, so the offer hit me dead-center in my sweet spot! I can’t even dream of anything better. Multiple unit houses are the primary reason my bank deposits are much larger than my withdrawals.

Although my early mentor Bill guided me through some real money-making deals, none had the potential for earning the kind of profits as that ten house proposition to Dan. In fact, the longer we talked the better the deal got! Turns out, Dan had been tipped off about this private investor who owned lots of houses – he was selling out so he could to begin a new venture. His houses were all free ‘n clear (no mortgage debt) and he was willing to carry most of the financing with reasonable monthly payments. 

Ten houses in a bunch with seller financing had me really excited! But not near as excited as I was gonna get before Dan and I finished our conversation that morning. Since Dan had never acquired such a large group of houses in a single purchase before, our telephone conversation was mostly about the logistics; like maintenance, repairs and keeping them all rented. We discussed management and hiring a part-time helper. Just when I finally convinced Dan he could handle 10 houses fairly easy by making a few minor adjustments to what he was already doing, Dan whispered an even bigger surprise! He wants to sell me more, he said. For the few seconds I thought the line went dead! There was total silence – you could hear a pin drop. You mean he wants to sell more than ten, I said!

I can’t remember my exact words, but I said something like this; "When someone puts a million dollars in the palm of your hand – close your hand"! I told Dan that these kind of deals may only happen once in your lifetime. 

If we can satisfy the down payment requirement, let’s buy ‘em all. If we can take on 10 houses, let’s stretch out a bit and take on twenty.  Convincing Dan to purchase the first ten houses was one thing – but now twenty! My argument remained the same! You already have several years’ experience with several properties under your belt! This is a lifetime opportunity and an investor’s dream come true! Dan agreed!

Although no one could have predicted the future, Dan’s multiple house investment paid dividends much quicker than both of us might have guessed. Twenty houses in the $60,000 price range soon doubled in value as rental units became scarce and rents increased. Refinancing allowed Dan to open up his hand once again! This time to receive $1,000,000 cash from his equity.

Earlier I mentioned crossing the finish line 10 years faster with a mentor. I’m sure I’ll get no argument about that from Dan, although he was nowhere near finished at the time. Still, there’s no question that Dan’s investment career shifted into high gear after his multiple house purchase!

During my seminars it was somewhat common for students to tell me they had passed – or turned down deals because in their opinion – they needed more experience. I’ve often thought to myself how much better off they could be today if only they had taken the time to find an experienced mentor who could assist them.