How to Find a Real Estate Investing Mentor—the Basics

In this blog post, I want to share a few best practices for how to find and approach a real estate mentor.

How to Find a Seasoned Real Estate Mentor

The best way to find a seasoned investor in your area is to simply go to where investors hangout.

My first suggestion is to start your search on BiggerPockets. This site is your one-stop shop for everything real estate, and it is an amazing way to network with other investors.

When searching for investors on BiggerPockets, I suggest using keyword alerts to find local investors in your area.

For example, if you’re based out of Indianapolis, your keyword alerts can include “Indianapolis,” “investor,” “Indianapolis wholesaling,” “Indianapolis wholesaler,” etc. Once you have your keyword alerts set, you will receive an email each time your keywords are used in a post. This will allow you to keep an eye on those who post frequently using your keywords.

I also recommend attending your local Real Estate Investors Association (REIA) meeting, because a lot of investors hang out there, and it’s an amazing way to connect with local investors in your market.

If you’re a licensed agent and have access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), you can search for cash buyers who have purchase properties in your market in the past six months.

You can also utilize Meetup. There are tons of real estate investor meetings you can attend and connect with investors that way.

So now that you know where to find investors, I bet you’re wondering, “Well, how do I approach a seasoned investor?”

Here’s my advice.

Don’t Ask to be Mentored

At my wholesaling company, we receive lots of requests each week from people who want us to mentor them. But that’s not the way you want to go about it.

Think about it: When you find someone who you’re interested in dating or potentially marrying, do you approach them by immediately asking them to marry you?

No way! That would be so weird! The first time you meet someone, you don’t ask them to marry you. You get to know them first. You foster a relationship, and then maybe one day you pop the big question.

The same thing follows for approaching a mentor.

It All Boils Down to Relationship

Real estate is all about relationships, and you need to make sure the both of you fit well together. The hope is that you will mutually benefit from the relationship.

Once your potential mentor has been identified, invite him or her out for coffee or lunch, and spend time developing a relationship. Truly get to know one another.

In your first meeting, I recommend asking these questions:

• What are your core values?
• In life, what are some things you’re passionate about?
• What kind of investing do you do? And how do you do it?
• What would be your suggestions for me, as a complete beginner?
• Do you partner on deals on a case-by-case basis?

Discover Their Needs

Real estate investors are extremely busy people. They already have a lot on their plates. If they decide to take on a mentee, they will be giving up time they may otherwise put into their own business, their team, or their family. Being a mentor is a time commitment.

Give your would-be mentor a reason to take time to invest in you.

If I were a newbie investor, here’s what I would do

When approaching a potential mentor, I would take the word “mentor” out of my vocabulary. I’d ask one of these two questions instead:

“How can I bring you value?”

“Hey, is there anything I can help you out with?”

This approach is more inviting because it’s not self-centered. Instead, it’s a great way to build a relationship with an experienced wholesaler like myself by bringing value to the investor.

You can do this by figuring out a way to get hired at your would-be mentor’s company. Even if they’re not hiring, find a way to justify a job.

If your potential mentor runs a small business, find areas of opportunity where their business is lacking. Offer to help in that area. Offer to drive for dollars, clean offices, take motivated-seller calls, manage properties, scope land—whatever it is, your communications should come across as simply eager to help and learn.

Create and Add Value

Look for opportunities to create and add value somehow. If you see the opportunity, you can run after it.

When I was working for the timber guy, I didn’t know how to operate the machinery. I knew I couldn’t add value in that area, but I also knew that any entrepreneur in the real estate business needs deals. Investors can never have enough deals, because that’s how they make money. So I added value by helping my mentor find land deals, and the deals were a huge value to him.

Jaren’s Story (One of our team members)

Jaren was moving to Indianapolis from Oakland, California. At the time, although he had experience in both fields, he wasn’t for sure if he wanted to pursue real estate or marketing.

After moving to Indianapolis, he decided to obtain his real estate license. He began searching for someone ethical to work for.

He first tapped into his network for recommendations by asking Brandon Turner from BiggerPockets to connect him with reputable investors in the Indianapolis area. Brandon provided Jaren with a list of names.

Jaren first connected with Stephen Barton, whom I was mentoring at the time. I eventually sat down with Jaren, and the entire focus of the conversation revolved around how he could add value to my wholesaling business.

Jaren was a licensed in real estate, but at the time, we didn’t need him in that capacity. However, I knew nothing about social media. So I put Jaren in charge of social media and content, because that is where he was needed most at that time.

Guys, Jaren took this opportunity and he ran with it!

Although he was only working part time, he continued looking for opportunities to add value. He worked around the clock to produce content, and he wrote our very first ebook.

Regardless of how much I was paying him at the time, I saw the hunger in Jaren. I saw the value he brought to my business. Very quickly he worked his way up to a full-time position. He went from working part time managing our social media accounts to transitioning to our sales and marketing manager—and he now serves as our dispositions manager, podcast cohost, and real estate broker!

Jaren’s story is a wonderful example of how to add value!

I gave Jaren an inch, and he ran a mile with the opportunity he had been given.

One Last Big Tip

If you want to get in great with an investor, find a way to bring in some deals. That will get you noticed in a huge way and immediately add value to your reputation. Every investor is looking for deals. And if you can partner with them on deals, you will bring value while putting some money in your pocket.

Conclusion

Well there you have it guys.

The most important nugget I hope you take away from this post is to develop a genuine relationship with your potential mentor and add value to your mentor’s life and business!

Have a humble heart. Seek guidance and mentorship through servanthood. The greater the relationship you foster with your mentor, the more your mentor will invest in you.

If you follow these simple practices, I almost guarantee success with a seasoned investor.