Toward the end of 2004, when I left the corporate world to finally begin focusing on real-estate investing, I was bombarded with a lot of books, recommended by those who wanted to help me succeed. For someone like me who knew absolutely nothing about real estate, I had no clue where to start, let alone which books were worth my time and which ones were not.
If you find yourself at a similar starting point, you need not waste time as I did. Simply focus on the book mentioned below. Don’t bother reading any other book; or sign up for any expensive training programs – at least, not until you will have read the book and figured out what questions to ask of a good coach(es).
It is true that you get a nugget of good advice from every investment book that you read and every training program in which you participate. Realistically, however, unless your efforts are focused on the actual act of investing, you are simply delaying the inevitable, which is to START investing.
When I started out, among multitudes of other books, I remember a few people – especially those who worked at Keller Williams Realty – mention the book, “The Millionaire Real Estate Investor” by Gary Keller, Dave Jenks, and Jay Papasan. It was published in 2005, about the time I was starting to get serious about acquiring investment properties. For a complete newbie at the time, the title seemed a bit over the top – at least, to me. Consequently, in addition to having been overwhelmed with the number of other recommended books, I never read this one – until now. Yes, 17 years later and with plenty of financial scars to show for it.
If I could turn back the clock, I would read this book before any other book, and from cover to cover the first time. Immediately thereafter, if not sooner, I would find out who the best coach/mentor is that can walk me through how to evaluate leads. Learn how to work the numbers – to make a solid profit starting with the very first deal. I could have avoided many potential headaches by going straight to this book, followed by focusing on implementing what I just read.
After disastrous mistakes, I was looking for someone who teaches how to evaluate deals, beyond the basic formula of:
Maximum Allowable Offer = After Repair Value x 65% – Repair Cost
Today, I feel quite fortunate to have as my coach one of those who also happened to be mentioned in the Keller book. Pure coincidence.
If I had known him 15 years ago, I am likely to have been able to avoid the financial disaster from which I am finally, slowly recovering. Then again, because I was flush with cash then, it is possible that I would not have known to appreciate the value of what he teaches.
Regardless, what counts is that he is my coach at a point in my investing career when I can truly appreciate it, which is now.
Happy investing!
