The 6-Step Plan to get started in Real Estate Investing

The MREI (Millionaire Real Estate Investor) was one of the first books I read when getting started on my investing journey.  It's been years, but I recently reread it and was struck by how relevant the book is even though it was written twenty years ago. Of course there’s funny stuff like references to books on tape and $150k home prices (and weirdly, 7% interest rates), but Gary Keller's genius is that he breaks topics into simple models - simple enough that you get to fill in the blanks, and simple enough that they become timeless truths.

When people talk to me about real estate investing, the number one question they always ask me about investing is HOW TO GET STARTED.  Well, towards the end of the book, there’s a nice summary of how to get started so let me share :)

Step 1.  Get Motivated!

Visualize a life where you don’t HAVE to work.  What would you be doing?  What’s the monthly unearned cashflow you need to fund that life?  How much capital do you need invested to deliver that cashflow?  This syncs what you WANT with what you NEED, and gives you a goal to pull for when the work of it starts to feel tough.

Step 2.  Acquire Knowledge and Focus

Investors understand money and value.  Pick a real estate market and learn it.  Build your network.  Read books.  Take courses.  Be clear about what you need to focus on and master those things.  He says “learn to earn and niche to rich”.  Side note: Gary regularly teaches a class to young adults, and as part of it, he pulls out his phone and asks them if they know what model it is, how much it costs, etc.  They all know.  He asks them, if you saw this phone on sale for $500, would you buy it?  They all instantly know if that’s a deal or not.  Then he tells them “that’s the difference between you and me.  You know the value of shoes/phones/purses.  But me, I can drive past a piece of real estate, a building,  a business, and know instantly if it’s a deal or not.”

Step 3.  Generate Leads

Put your investing criteria on paper and memorize it.  Now go look for leads that meet your criteria.  Pick a few methods and go do it consistently.  Personally this is the part that is the hardest, but if done well, brings the most rewards.  Finding the right deals is one of the hardest parts of investing.

Next week I’ll share the last 3 steps.  Ready to start?