Having an open mind in commercial real estate is imperative to being successful.
Most older investors who have had some degree of success in the past whether through luck, through timing or through inheritance are not gurus in real estate. Keeping an open mind and an ear open to suggestions from experienced professionals that have gone through all of the good and bad times of real estate cycles is a wise thing to consider.
If you’re the type of individual that goes to Google search and declares themselves a medical genius because you were looking up how to cure your own illness instead of going to a doctor, this article is written for you.
Unless you’ve gone through 40 to 50 years of different real estate cycles, up and down, financing, managing, leasing, fixing and selling you have not experienced the full benefit or harm that a piece of commercial real estate can result in.
Book learning is one thing, true experience is another.
Considering yourself an expert because two or three times you’ve made some money in real estate, because you happened to get lucky and bought in a down-cycle and sold in an up-cycle doesn’t declare you as a guru.
Opening up your mind to alternative strategies through experienced real estate people is the wise choice before moving forward.
When you go to choose a lawyer, a CPA or a doctor you’re looking for someone who has vast knowledge, more experience and gives you better odds of coming out ahead.
It is the same for commercial real estate decisions.
I can’t tell you how many people I talk to a year that do 1031 trades but are flabbergasted when I tell them they’re not aware of all the trade vehicles and options they have in a trade.
Many investors have an unrealistic view of a fair return that has little risk with a nice tax shelter and a better appreciation chance in the future.
It is my job to inform them of the good, the bad and the ugly of every type of commercial real estate investment and let the investor choose from the vast options that they have after listening and not being stubborn. Sometimes past strategies that have worked in different financial and economic times are not the proper ones in today’s world.
It is perfectly fine for an investor to debate, argue or state their opinion, but NO excuse not to be willing to listen to fresh ideas from experienced commercial real estate pros.
