Are you wondering how to find a real estate mentor?
If you’re like most real estate investors, you’ve done everything you’re supposed to do, such as:
- Learned the market
- Gained an understanding of how to measure financial metrics
- Started filling your deal pipeline
At this point, you wish you had someone with experience to bounce your ideas off. You tell yourself that having a mentor would give that extra piece of the success puzzle.
In this article, we’ll show you how to find a real estate mentor.
You’ll learn essential aspects of the process, such as types of mentorship, how to set expectations, the pros and cons of real estate mentorship, and where to find your mentor.
What Is a Real Estate Mentor?
You’ll typically find that a real estate mentor is older than you. This scenario doesn’t always play out, depending on your age when starting your real investing journey. However, a good mentor needs years of experience to help you through a variety of situations.
Your mentor provides the following:
- Guidance
- Feedback
- Advice
As you learn how to find a real estate mentor, make sure you look for someone years ahead of you so you can benefit from the relationship through their experience.
Types of Mentorship
When finding a real estate mentor, you should know that different types of mentorship exist. Think through what you need based on your preferred learning style, educational requirements, and availability. Here are three types of real estate mentorship to consider:
Apprenticeships represent an excellent way to get started with investing. It’s a way to go along with your mentor so they can help you with hands-on advice. You might work at their real estate office to learn or go with them while they close deals. An internship like this lets you get your feet wet without jumping into your own sales immediately.
1:1 coaching offers an excellent method for receiving mentorship. You might hop on regular zoom or phone calls to discuss upcoming deals you’re considering. Your mentor guides you with personalized advice about specific transactions. Regular coaching calls help you remain consistent.
A third way to receive real estate mentoring enters the picture as group masterminds. These can work on zoom or even in person. A group of like-minded investors gets together, and they learn from the mentor. If you can’t find a local mentor, look at this option because the location doesn’t matter if you join a quality zoom group mastermind coaching program.
Go Into a Real Estate Mentorship with Reasonable Expectations
When you want to know how to find a real estate mentor, you should know that real estate mentors don’t enjoy babysitting their mentees.
Mentorship starts a long-term business relationship. It takes time for a mentor to pass all their earned wisdom to you. They’ll provide guidance, but they won’t teach you everything. Your willingness to get your hands dirty in the real world must fill those gaps.
These ideas should help you enter a mentoring relationship with the correct expectations.
Find a mentor with similar core values. Life and business values often intersect when investing in real estate. You should have similar views about how to treat people and how to work deals fairly.
You’ll benefit more from advice and guidance if your investment style and strategy match your mentor’s methods.
A good mentor is a busy person. They’re working on their own deals. They have places to get to. Give your mentor a great reason to take you under their wing. Take action on their advice. Nothing frustrates a real estate mentor more than a mentee scared to enter the game.
Look for ways to benefit your mentor as well. Can you help them with their deals? Make sure the relationship becomes a win/win situation.
Myths About Mentoring in Real Estate
Some people sit around thinking they’ll somehow get discovered by a mentor who walks up and offers the mentorship. That doesn’t happen in the real world. Go out and proactively search for a good mentor.
It’s a myth that you ask someone to mentor you, and they instantly say yes. It’s probably happened a time or two. However, it’s more likely that you’ll first build a relationship with an investor who has experience. Then, that relationship turns into a mentor/mentee bond naturally over time.
Mentorship in real estate isn’t a one-way street. While some mentees think it is, the best mentorships provide value to both parties involved.
The biggest myth exists in the minds of some mentees who expect their mentors to provide direct “yes” or “no” answers about each deal. This won’t happen often. Sometimes a mentor will guide you into a situation, let you make a small mistake, and then use that as a lesson.
Why Do You Want a Mentor?
It goes back to expectations. Ask yourself why you want a real estate mentor? If you expect a mentor to spoon-feed you information and deals, you need to adjust your thinking before engaging any potential mentor.
It’s like Daniel and Mr. Myagi in The Karate Kid. Daniel wanted to learn to fight immediately. Mr. Myagi taught him the philosophy of karate first so that Daniel could become better in the long run.
Use these questions to understand your personal investing philosophy and to decide if you’re ready for mentorship.
- Why are you investing in real estate?
- How much prior success should your mentor possess?
- Do you respect your mentor?
- What’s your level of risk management?
You can’t find the correct mentor for you if you’re wishy-washy about why you’re investing in the first place. What are your goals? Do you want to invest for long-term cash flow, or would you instead flip homes for immediate gains? Are you looking for a wholesale real estate mentor?
The answers to those questions will dictate which mentor fits you best.
Make sure you have faith in your mentor’s prior success. The definition of success varies from person to person. However, make sure that you have 100% confidence in your real estate mentor’s ability to take you where you want to go.
It’s difficult to respect another investor entirely when you doubt their capabilities. You’ll end up second-guessing all their guidance and advice.
Your mentor must respect you as well. If a real estate mentor thinks they are wasting their time with you, you aren’t going to receive value from the relationship. Make sure that mutual respect exists before committing to mentorship.
Finding a mentor in real estate requires that you both come to the table with similar risk profiles.
Every investment brings risk into the picture. Your success depends on minimizing risk while maximizing profits. There’s a risk involved with renting properties. What if you can’t fill a vacancy? Risk occurs with a flipping business. What if you uncover unexpected problems after closing?
Mutual respect can’t exist when your mentor values the buy and hold strategy, and you’re looking for a similar rush to winning in Vegas.
Advantages and Disadvantages To Having a Mentor
As you learn more about how to find a real estate mentor, understand that pros and cons exist with a mentor/mentee relationship.
Real estate mentors bring plenty of positives into your life as they shorten your learning curve, help you find great deals, and get you into profitable situations.
Mentors don’t always offer similar benefits compared to others. Some mentors are expensive to hire.
Let’s look at the pros and cons of working with a mentor so that you can be confident in your decision based on your requirements.
Pros of Using a Real Estate Mentor
- They provide structure to avoid mistakes while taking proper action.
- You get personalized 1:1 advice to guide you into achieving your cash flow goals.
- A mentor can shorten your timeframe when learning investment details.
Cons of Using a Real Estate Mentor
- Not every mentor is worth your time. Some teach more effectively than others.
- Some mentors may talk a big game without delivering results to your business.
- Some real investors charge tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
What Should You Look For in a Real Estate Mentor?
Now that you know the pros and cons of working with a real estate mentor let’s equip you with ideas to help you understand how to identify quality mentors.
- Look for a mentor who possesses good communication skills, shows a passion for teaching passionate students, and brings a structured education system to the table.
- A mentor should have an expert understanding of real estate tax law. Can your mentor teach you how to defer capital gains, for instance, via a 1031 exchange? Do they know how to use deductions to reduce your rental property’s taxable income?
- Find a real estate mentor who thoroughly understands your financial goals and investment objectives. With those goals in mind, ask them if they’re confident about advising you on the best way to look at adding value, protecting cash flow, and obtaining the proper financing.
- A great mentor offers strong people skills. They should exhibit high ethical standards and good listening skills. The best mentors are honest, positive, and patient.
- Make sure your real estate mentor will hold you accountable for your goals. You don’t want to work with someone who lets you slide back into bad habits or who doesn’t care when you let limiting beliefs stop you from progressing with investing.
- Your mentor should have insights and knowledge about tenant profiles, markets, and asset classes to most effectively guide you into the best investment opportunities.
- Look for a mentor familiar with analyzing rental properties. Do they know how to use metrics like net cash flow, IRR, cap rate, yield, and cash-on-cash?
Where To Find a Real Estate Mentor
You don’t necessarily need to pay for real estate mentorship. You might find a mentor by asking a real estate network colleague, a friend, a real estate agent, or a real estate broker to mentor you.
Remember that all successful real estate mentors keep themselves busy. Some of them might not have the skills, desire, or time to mentor others. They might not feel like you’re ready for mentorship and will say no to you.
One of the best ways to find a real estate mentor is to ask yourself how you can help their business before asking them to help you.
If you don’t know anyone personally, then you can search for professional mentors. Check your local real estate investors association to see if they’ve set up a mentoring program.
Search online for “Chicago rehabbing mentorship” or “Albany wholesaling mentor.” Other options include asking for referrals on BiggerPockets or LinkedIn.
Tips For Getting the Most Out of Real Estate Mentorship
A lack of commitment hurts many mentees. Don’t go into a mentoring relationship unless you’re 100% committed to the process. It’s incredible how many people pay a lot of money for mentorship and then fail to put the advice into action.
Use the resources provided by your mentor, whether that’s via:
- 1:1 coaching
- Written training
- Video resources
- Group coaching
Commit to learning the material to the best of your ability. Work to make sure it sinks into your brain effectively.
After you learn new skills from your real estate mentor, go out and take the proper action. Following through on the activities brought forth by a mentor on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis will eventually get you where you want to go. If you’re unclear about your next steps, then speak up and ask your mentor for more clarity.
Look at this experience like you’re going to college. Take advantage of all the information, advice, and guidance and give yourself the best chances for success.
Conclusion
Now you know how to find a mentor for real estate. Knowing how to do something and doing it in the real world is what separates successful investors from dreamers.
Your next step is to determine why you’re investing in real estate. Get clarity there, and then start looking for the mentor who fits you best.