I have been the fortunate student of a few mentors and find them the best source of both experience and motivation. Each of them has what I would call a substantial portfolio of properties covering residential, commercial and industrial.

You need to get one to help you grow as a business person and as an investor. Nothing is new in the real estate world, just different techniques for different markets. Find people who are prepared to teach and mould you into a better business person and investor, and you are halfway to success already.

My first mentor was a carpet sales man who found a way out of working by buying properties in two’s and three’s. He would go in with investors and buy two houses at a discount for buying the two. He would get the return on one fof the houses and the investor would get the return on the other. After two years he would either sell the house and keep the capital growth or refinance it and buy it in his name. He did this for a while as this was the only way he could get going without having much money.

He then went into more deals and went in with other investments, where his contribution was the leg work and the investors were just the money people.

His portfolio is now close to $10 million and keeps growing substantially I find, each time I ring him for advice or just a chat. He did come from nothing and now enjoys traveling around the world on his cashflow from the investments he made.

Th other is a distant mentor, in so much as he and I have never met. We do business on the internet and emails together, sometimes on the phone, but we have never physically met. He is a broker with vast experience in all real estate issues. He has brought me deals that have out shot anything I managed to find.

So where do you find these guys? I found mine just by seeing who was doing what and buying where, etc. I had to prove that I was keen enough to work at what he asked me and try to complete things for him.

Find people who have been successful and copy what they have done. Get in contact with agents who may have buyers who could be a potential mentor. Ask for appointments and get asking questions.

Find out who is doing what at the big end of town and ring their secretaries!

Have a clear plan of what you want out of it as you may get a lot of closed doors, but ask for an interview to discuss investments and property and see where it leads you.

Getting a mentor to run you through your plan, is like doing it for free. Both risk free and capital free.

Don Christie

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