DRIVE YOUR REAL ESTATE
Anyone else out there have or had a 16 year old? Driving lessons sure are fun, aren’t they? And because our kids are close in age, we’ll just finish with one, when we’ll start teaching the next. Oh joy!?!
Real estate investing is a lot like driving a car.
First, someone drives you around (you rent or hang out at Chateau Mom & Dad). Then you learn to drive. Maybe you read the manuals, or at least enough to pass the test. In the real estate investing community, this is where many people read books, join communities (like the Fearless Real Estate Investors, the Real Estate Investment Network or Keyspire), take courses, and/or hire a coach.
Then there’s the heart stopping moment when someone hands you the keys! The fear and exhilaration are very similar for the car and the house.
Now the learning continues with Real World experience. Yikes! Many people LOVE this part. They are the driver now! They are independent, making choices and in control. Those keys, or that FOB, literally opens doors you hadn’t even fully imagined yet.
On the flip side, we know some people, of all ages, who don’t like driving. Some of them prefer buses, subways, trains, and other forms of mass transit—for a variety of reasons. In the real estate investing world, this is akin to investing in a REIT (Real Estate Investing Trust). You still get to your destination, with a group of other people. This isn’t our specialty, but there are some fantastic REIT’s out there.
We know other people who don’t like driving and have chosen to hire a driver. Sometimes it’s an Uber, sometimes they use a cab, and sometimes they hire a chauffeur. This is where driving becomes like a partnership. Again, you still arrive at your destination. But now, there is a lot of work you don’t need to do:
- No parking (especially parallel parking!)
- No need to figure out the directions and follow a map – or Google
- No car washes
- No repairs
- No changing flat tires or switching to snow tires
With the chauffeur or other hired driver, you just call when you’re ready to go.
In the real estate investing community, hiring a chauffeur is like a Joint Venture partnership, or private lending. You still need to know where you’re going; however, someone else is doing most of the work for you:
- No scouring the neighbourhoods for ideal cash-flowing properties
- No tenant screening
- No 2 am toilet repairs
- No evictions
- Most of the paperwork is given to you, to share with your accountant
As you progress along your journey with real estate investments, you may love driving your own car, your own investment property, your own portfolio! Or you may lose some of that exhilaration you first had. Some people will prefer to hire out, or partner. Neither option is good nor bad—it’s about your time, energy and preference. You can still control the drive to the destination.
We are chauffeurs (not just for our kids!). We are working partners. Anytime you want to chat about opportunities or real estate investing in general, we’d love to connect. We also work with busy and stressed people who are transitioning from a DIY approach—to just being the money partner. @MtnEdgeRenovates @MtnEdgeDevelops.
