Insurance is one of society’s necessary evils. So many times, paying our premiums seems like a waste…until we have to make a claim, that is! Whether we like it or not, property insurance is an unavoidable expense in real estate investing. And with insurance premiums set to hit a record high in 2024, investors are feeling the cash flow squeeze.

We’re always evaluating the best way to secure our best financial future. There are countless strategies at your disposal – a hundred different assets to invest in and even more strategies to utilize. One of the most popular avenues of investment, however, is the stock market. While the S&P 500 has been on a rapid upward swing since 2020, 2022 saw a turn.

Real estate investment is the top choice for the wealthy worldwide. If you want a piece of that pie, getting started is easy but succeeding is another matter entirely!

“Expectation vs reality” is a popular form of internet listicle, often sharing the stories of duped customers expecting an amazing product for a cheap price. When that's the set up, the reality is never short of disappointing. 

As with just about everyone, real estate investors can fall prey to hype. While the tried-and-true ways to invest still reign supreme, there are new trends constantly popping up—flavors of the week that don’t last and rarely deliver on their promises.

In real estate investment, hype can look like a lot of different things...

Ahhh. There’s nothing like a shiny new year to reinvigorate the spirit! Even if your 2015 was less-than-satisfactory, now is the time to start the year off on the right foot. To dust yourself off, renew your resolve, and get sh...., umm, get stuff done!  (Kerry Espuga would be frowning at me right now for using non-words like umm!)

If this is the year you’ve chosen to make the leap into real estate investment, great! If you’re a brand new investor, you’ve got a lot of work to do. Some of the biggest mistakes you can make will be right here, in the beginning.

So whether you are experienced or new, there are some steps you can take right now to start your passive investment path on the right foot.  We’ve got a few words of advice here and hope this helps you get going:

For investors just starting out, everything can be more than a little overwhelming. Your financial future is something to be excited about, but there’s never a shortage of apprehension. There will be days when you ask yourself what you’ve gotten yourself into! It’s a little daunting to look at the success of other real estate investors, which can be both inspiring and intimidating.

In the beginning, your goals will either seem out of reach, or you’ll be expecting to reach them overnight. Neither is true: but with the right mindset, persistence, and dedication, you’ll get closer and closer to achieving the goals you’re after. 

Want to know a good place to start? Here it is.

Being young isn’t easy. Granted, there are a lot of perks: energy, imagination, ambition...but there’s also a lack of experience that’s unavoidable and looked down upon by most seasoned professionals.  Unfortunately, looking down upon young real estate investors seems to be a past time for those who have been real estate investing for a while.

Young folks have a lot to offer, not only to their current generation, but to older, more seasoned investors, too. We all have to start somewhere, after all — why not start investing in real estate when we’re young?

It seems odd to open by telling real estate investors how to fail. Sometimes, though, the best advice comes from being told what not to do! While there are always individual circumstances in real estate investment and advice should be taken with a grain of salt, there are certain principles to the business that are universal.  One of them is to never call a buyer a "loser" as the sign points out.  I promise you....that has never happened on our end!  

We have worked with nearly 1,000 investors at this point and there are certain actions that we can all identify as "trouble" for real estate investors.   How you refer to a buyer is an easy one. Here are five REALLY EASY to identify trouble points to watch out for as a real estate investor.  They may not be as obvious as the picture above, but they are crucial and often self inflicted so they are critical to be aware of!  Take notes and shoot us any questions you may have.

To quote the wise William Shakespeare, “To invest in real estate, or to not invest in real estate, that is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune…”