Patience is the New Sexy

My earliest memories of the “easy money in real estate” genre came from infomercials on late night TV. If you are too young to remember these, or just want to relive some of the golden oldies, check out some of these beauties below. They all have a few comical things in common: Rolls Royce’s, yachts and bikinis. And that they can all be yours in short order if you sign up for the class. It turned out you can get rich quick in real estate, by selling classes on how to get rich quick in real estate. The more things change, the more they stay the same. I could have done a 90 minute video of modern day versions.

Every responsible person knows that no one ever accomplished anything really significant, like becoming wealthy, without work, risk and patience. Of course there are lottery winners, scions of a family fortune, and the occasional and unlikely lightning strike, but none of those can be counted on. For most of us, it’s work, risk and patience. We know this, but the genre persists.

TV flipper shows. Get rich quick blogs and events. Even Zillow snatching headlines by “Getting into Flipping”.

There are some common patterns that run thought much of the flipping genre. They are selling the impossible dream – that in a transparent market that is in full recovery mode, there are still plenty of people who will sell you their house at a deep discount. Those are needles in a haystack. The convenience of a quick sale is worth a few points in discount, but the opportunities that do exist to get a steal almost always involve taking advantage of the misery and misfortune of someone else. “Systems” that can identify desperate people with very limited options, or earn the trust of unsophisticated folks who don’t know the real value of their house, and might be willing to believe the wrong person. (There is a reason we call it a steal.)

I can hear some of my friends and colleagues, “But Greg, there is lots of money to be made!”

Not really, unless you want to build a business that turns you into a hamster on a wheel. Close a deal, cash your check, get back on the wheel and find another sucker. No thanks.

Flippers who are going to take issue with this should answer one important question first. What created more wealth for you and your family? The houses you flipped or the houses you kept? Winning in the real estate investing game is measured by how big your stake is. How much America have you been able to accumulate ownership of? How much passive income? How much annual, glacial appreciation are you gaining? How financially bulletproof have you made your grandkids and their grandkids?

Let’s join together and let the Rolex’s and Lamborghini’s fade to the background. Concentrate on picking winning markets. Buy assets that will be in demand for as long as the eye can see, both for rent and for sale. Whether you are an experienced entrepreneur in real estate investing, as aspiring one, or a fund manager dipping your toe into SFR for the first time, this is not a trade. It’s a business. And every great business takes time, attention, skills, and most of all, patience.