- Real estate investing is a beneficial way for real estate agents to prepare for retirement and make extra money.
Most real estate agents believe that fix-and-flip investing is too risky: the long holding times, all the things that can go wrong, budgets overruns, etc.
And then there’s the hassle of getting someone to manage the project, dealing with contractors and finding the funds to buy the property.
But is investing really as risky as most people think it is?
I used to think it was, until I found out something that most agents don’t know.
You see, I used to be just as scared as the average agent, and even though I now buy over 100 houses a year, I actually became a real estate investor completely by accident.
This accident happened the day I bumped into a seller who only wanted to sell to an investor.
After giving my best listing presentation to this seller, she kept telling me the same thing over and over: “I really don’t want to list this house with an agent. I want to sell to an investor and be done with the house.”
She told me that I could find an investor to buy her home, but in no uncertain terms was she going to list the house with me or anyone else. She didn’t want open houses, inspections and financing contingencies that came with a traditional listing.
I left the appointment surprised. After all, I expressed to her that she may be able get a higher price if she were to just make a few small repairs and list the home with me.
The home was in a great location, and I knew there would be a lot of demand for her property. I just couldn’t understand why she would want to go this route.
On my ride home, I was racking my brain for potential investors that I may be able to call. After thinking about it some more, the thought hit me that changed my career forever: “Why don’t I buy the house myself?”
Instead of bringing the house to one of my investors to buy, I decided to propose a partnership with them. Even though I didn’t have the cash or contracting skills, I had this great investment opportunity.
Ten years later, this partnership arrangement has now turned into over 1,000 homes purchased. The reason this partnership worked is because of all of the value that I brought to the table as an agent, and you can do the same for your career too.