Why Are Some Real Estate Investors More Successful Than Others?

Seth,

I think your question is GREAT.

I'll chime in after 36 years of real estate investing, and feeling successful at it over the last 18, but having had many not-successful years. (And man, some REALLY bad real estate stuff - I mean B. A. D.)

Most important thing I ever learned investing in real estate is how much I don't know. I'm forever humbled by the many new things I continue to learn.

Big turning point for me in real estate investing was when I really sat down and defined a long term plan and then focused everything I did from that day on (in real estate investing) on working that plan.

(OH - I'm personally not smart enough to have figured that out - another guy was doing that and I copied him.)

Before that, I went helter-skelter from deal to deal, a real gunslinger, buying this, selling that, "oh - there's another deal ! Wait a minute, maybe we could exchange!" No plan, no clue - I'd change directions before and after lunch! It was madness.

Things got way better after the change, though. The most telling sign was through the last downturn. Sure, I lost some equity, but overall, I didn't "miss a meal," and am now better off than I was going into the downturn.

For whatever it's worth, that was my big lesson. I do observe many people in real estate investing with great questions, like, "What do you think of duplexes?" or "Hey, what about Riverside - do you think Riverside is a good investment?"

And the answer can only be a number of questions, about their plans, their overall belief about the market, their goals, their investable dollars, their tolerance for risk, and most important, their big, long term plan - and unfortunately many of them are like I was - they have no master plan.

Does this help at all? I guess I really feel that I've been both people you asked about, the unsuccessful r.e. investor and the successful r.e. investor.

Great question, Seth.

Joffrey

Source: http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/61/topics/80550-why-are-some-real-estate-investors-more-successful-than-others

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