A younger person recently asked me, “After 30 years of real estate investing, what would you do differently?”
It’s a pretty good question, and it really made me think. At first, I was thinking like Frank Sinatra that I wouldn’t change a thing because “I did it my way.”
I quickly woke up and realized that’s nonsense; there are plenty of things I would have done differently. So, here goes.
I Regret Not Starting My Real Estate Business Earlier
When I first started out, I thought I needed to work several jobs and save my own money to do my real estate deals, and I was only focused on buy and hold properties.
What I didn’t realize at the time was that this was a get-rich-slow strategy. I had been too busy making other people rich — everyone from builders and developers to apartment owners and real estate brokers. At the time, I was still a painting contractor and a real estate agent.
One of my biggest regrets is that I waited so long to quit my day job (although I do still keep my real estate license) and go into real estate investing full-time. I would’ve started my “I buy houses” business much earlier. I would’ve done more wholesaling and flips. And I would’ve utilized hard money for my deals earlier on in my investing career.
