Getting Started in Real Estate Investing: Teens & Early Twenties

I spent the past year flipping properties, talking to homeowners, realtors, and brokers and while I don’t have as much experience as a lot of other investors, there is one thing I do know quite a lot about; being 20.


I hear a lot of young people start with the attitude of “What homeowner wants to talk to a 20 year old punk?”


Well you’re probably right with that attitude. No one wants to talk to a punk, no matter how old they are. Homeowners are ok with speaking with 20 year old professionals though.


Being a Professional Real Estate Investor
What image are you portraying as a Real Estate Investor?

If you are a young person wanting to start in Real Estate Investing I would suggest you evaluate these few areas in your life:


It’s important to think of your RE persona as a hat you wear. I don’t advocate anyone pretend to be someone they are not, but I do support people putting their best foot forward when they can.


Attire

This might be something personal for me, but I tend to feel a certain way depending on how I’m dressed. For me wearing casual professional attire helps me focus on how I’m interacting as a professional RE Investor.


I’m not suggesting you overdress, but wearing your favorite pair of pre-faded jeans and new sweet kicks to talk with a homeowner might not be appropriate!


I would suggest you find a few comfortable casual professional outfits to wear when meeting with RE people. For example: I spent the past year in Tucson AZ where the summers get quite hot. I usually wore khaki dress shorts, and a polo shirt.


Speech
If people only could evaluate you on your appearance than being young and investing in RE would be difficult. Fortunately you have a few opportunities with every interaction to speak intelligently with confidence and instill a sense of professionalism in the person you are talking with.


Evaluate who you are talking to. If you are sitting down to talk shop with a middle-aged experienced broker; throwing in urban pop slang is not going to make communicating any easier. You also might want to work on controlling certain words you automatically put in your speech patterns like, “Dude, Like, Hella, Bling Bling…”


I would suggest spending an hour a day reading RE material to develop your REI vocabulary. Once you have a solid foundation you’ll learn ten fold using that foundation in day to day REI conversations.



Confidence
This is by far the most important attribute of a young investor. It’s easy to get wrapped up in your own personal noise and paralyze yourself before you can even start.


Here is a sample plan for building your REI confidence:

- Read, Read and Read
Read as much as you can. Not only will you learn valuable information on how to negotiate or draw up deals, you’ll also begin to build your REI lexicon.


- Make Phone Calls
A great way to start using your new REI knowledge is to practice calling ads. You can practice asking your questions and finding the numbers you need to evaluate a deal without having the pressure of face to face communication.


- Challenge Yourself
Make sure you are always pushing your comfort level. If you are getting comfortable making calls, try door knocking.


- Networking
Start networking. Attend local REI meetings, and begin to build your team. Having all your team members in place will make you more confident in being able to facilitate a Real Estate transaction. Get comfortable telling people what you are doing.


- Be, Do
Don’t talk in future tense. Be a Real Estate Investor; don’t plan on being one in the future. Take action, make calls, find deals, and make offers. You’ll learn more doing than you ever will reading books or forums.



Communication
I’ve already touched on speech but communication goes far past how you talk. We are in the age of technology and we communicate in person, on the phone and online.


What does your voicemail message say?
I’m all for having a voicemail message that makes your friends laugh, but not if it is a number you give out for REI.


What is your email address?
I would recommend using something like a variation of your name for your REI endeavors. Example: dmonsef@hotmail.com or darius@invalesco.com if you have an appropriate domain name.


drinkdrankdrunk2003@hotmail.com is not an appropriate email to use for REI!! Be aware of what your email address is saying to your RE associates.


How do you organize your thoughts in email / online?

Do yOU LiKe to AltERnate fOnt tYpes?


Do u use correct grammar 4 your audience?


Every word program has a grammar and spell checker. Use it.


If there is a final thing I can stress it is find someone to learn from. It’s great to find people your own age to use as a support group, but there is nothing more valuable than someone who has already made your mistakes for you.