Looking for a real estate investing mentor to help guide you?
You’re in the right place. A real estate mentor can help you get past analysis paralysis and buy your first property, avoid costly mistakes, and get it right from the start.
Want to learn more? Read on.
In this article, we’ll talk about:
- What does a real estate mentor do?
- What is the best real estate investing mentorship program for you?
- How to find a mentor for real estate investing
- Is a real estate mentor worth it?
- How much does a real estate investing mentorship program cost?
How much does a real estate investing mentorship program cost?
What does a real estate mentor do?
97% of people with a mentor say that they are valuable. But what do mentors do?
A real estate mentor is an experienced real estate investor who helps you create a strategy for you to succeed in the real estate investment industry. They share advice, guidance, and insights based on their own experience to help mentees navigate real estate investing, including property acquisition, financing, management, and overall success.
Now, there are two kinds of mentors: paid coaching and mentor-mentee relationships.
If you want to get personalized and dedicated support, have clear goals, and maximize your chances of getting a return on your investment, paid real estate mentors can help you achieve those.
On the other hand, unpaid mentor-mentee relationships typically require a network. You need to build an organic relationship with someone in the field who is willing to give you some of their time to guide you.
This type of mentorship takes a lot longer to establish and there’s not that same focus on specific, time-limited goals.
However, no matter what type of mentor you choose, I highly recommend looking for one as you start your real estate investment journey. Ultimately, someone who has done what you want to achieve can help you avoid costly mistakes that could ruin your real estate investment strategy.
I should know – I lost $30,000 on my first property because of some simple mistakes that I now help my clients avoid!
And that’s just one mistake. There are plenty more challenges and roadblocks that keep you from succeeding in real estate investing.
For example, I have plenty of clients who say they were held back by analysis paralysis – for years! Just like Kali:
But how do you know which type of mentorship program is for you? Let’s talk about it.
What is the best real estate investing mentorship program for you?
There are different types of mentorships you can do in the real estate investment industry.
They are:
- One-on-one mentorship: This is typically a paid mentorship with a personal mentor. You get personalized, one-to-one help defining your goals and creating a strategy that works for you. Your mentor will meet with you at scheduled times to make sure you are progressing and answer your questions, keep you accountable, and help you work through your challenges. You also get the value of one-on-one time with an expert who has been in your shoes. This is the most customized mentorship program for real estate investors.
- Group mentorship: Group mentorship is when you are part of a mastermind consisting of other real estate investors. These are typically paid mentorships. The groups can vary in size; sometimes there are fewer than 10 people in a group and sometimes there are hundreds of people. It depends on the program. The benefit of this type of program is that you can learn from your mentor and the other participants as they go through their investment journeys. It’s also a great opportunity to network with others in your field. Everyone has a different perspective and you can gain insight from each of them to come up with your own way of doing things.
- Apprenticeship: An apprenticeship is typically a mentor-mentee relationship. As an apprentice, you shadow a real estate investor in their day-to-day activities or train with them. In return, you pay a percentage of your earnings once you start investing on your own. This usually also requires a much larger full time commitment. Many apprenticeship mentors may be picky with whom they choose to take on since they have to devote much more time to it.
Which type of mentorship program is right for you?
It depends on your goals and how you prefer to learn.
If you want undivided attention and a customized strategy to get you started, one-on-one mentorship is for you.
But if you learn best in a group, like getting more than one perspective, and want more networking opportunities, a group program is best.
And if you learn well on the job, have the time to commit, and already have connections to successful real estate investors, maybe an apprenticeship will work for you.
Now you know what type of mentor you’re looking for, let’s talk about how to find one.
How to find a mentor for real estate investing
To find a real estate investing mentor, you need to:
- Identify your real estate investment goals
- Assess your mentor’s experience
- Understand your own risk tolerance
- Understand where you can find a real estate mentor
- Assess if the mentorship program is right for you
Let’s talk about each of these steps in detail.
1. Identify your real estate investment goals
What do you want to achieve with your real estate investing?
How much do you want to make? Where are you looking to invest?
Is this side income or a gateway to early retirement?
For me, I wanted to retire early and achieve financial freedom.
And because of my success in student housing real estate investing, I managed to retire at 31. Obviously, this didn’t happen overnight – I had a plan in place and worked towards those goals.
By defining your goals, you and your mentor can better assess whether you’re the right fit.
When thinking about your goals, they should be specific and achievable.
You might want to be a millionaire one day, but you might not achieve that in one year.
A good real estate mentor will help you set achievable timeframes before you start working with them.
And that knowledge comes from experience.
Speaking of experience…
2. Assess your mentor’s experience
If you’re hiring a real estate mentor, you want to make sure they can help you with your specific goals.
For example, I help people invest in single-family student housing.
That’s how I created a successful real estate investment business and left my day job and it’s a strategy I see as the best fit for newbie real estate investors.
If you want to achieve those same results, I can help you! Just like I’ve helped other clients get real results and avoid common mistakes.
But I don’t invest in large multifamily properties or apartments (for various reasons that I talk about in this article).
So I don’t work with people who want to specialize in large multifamily investing. If that’s the type of property you want to invest in, your best bet is to work with someone who does specialize in large multifamily.
A good way to gauge a mentor’s experience is to look at their referrals.
What are their past clients saying about them?
For example, here are just a few of the things my past clients have to say about my services:
Get clear on what you want to achieve and see if the mentor you’re considering can help you.
3. Understand your own risk tolerance
Should you be investing in real estate?
After all, real estate investing is not a smooth ride. It takes hard work and risk-tolerance.
So the question is, how much risk are you willing to take?
Get clear on your numbers and how much you have to spend on your first investment properties.
Understanding your financial situation and risk tolerance will help you decide on which real estate mentor to hire.
For example, I work with clients who want to get their first property within the next year and maximize profits straight away.
They should usually be able to put down 15-20% on a home straight away so that they can make the most of the program.
Other real estate investing mentors might have a lower or higher threshold for how much you need to invest. Or require that you have your first property already.
Next up: Where to find real estate mentors.
4. Understand where you can find a real estate mentor
There are a lot of places you can find a real estate mentor:
- Your existing network
- BiggerPockets
- Online forums (such as Reddit)
- Online communities (such as Facebook groups)
- Local real estate associations
- Social media (such as LinkedIn, Instagram, X)
- Google search
For instance, many of my clients find me because of my speaking engagements or podcasts I’ve been interviewed on. I’ve also been featured in publications like Business Insider and Bigger Pockets – and those are places people refer to when they want to work with me.
Use a variety of sources to find the best possible options for you.
Ultimately, finding a mentor comes down to finding someone who is trustworthy, can help you achieve your goals, and who you aspire to be in regards to their rental portfolio someday.
Book calls with the mentors you’re interested in and ask valuable questions about their work.
For example:
- How long have you been a real estate investor?
- Do you have experience working with students in my situation? (for example with my budget, in my location, and so on)
- How do we meet? What type of support will I get?
- Do you think my goals are realistic? If not, what do you think would be realistic for where I’m starting?
The next step is to assess the program.
5. Assess if the mentorship program is right for you
Now that you’ve found a shortlist of potential real estate mentors, look at what they are offering.
Does the mentorship program offer what you’re looking for?
Here are some factors to consider:
- What are the requirements? Maybe you want to find your first investment property. In that case, check that your mentor will help you with that. Or maybe you already have a property and want help with finding tenants – check the program to see if it focuses on the areas you want.
- How much support do you get? Some people want to see their mentor every week, while others are happy with a meeting once a month and email support in between. It depends on your schedule.
- What type of support do you get? If you are looking for more of an apprenticeship, you might want to shadow your mentor. On the other hand, you may prefer a more consultant-coaching arrangement with your mentor.
- How much does the program cost? Is it within your budget? Can you pay in installments?
Answering these questions will help you find the exact program that works for you.
Next, we talk about whether a real estate mentor is worth it.
Is a real estate mentor worth it?
Yes, a real estate mentor can be worth it.
In fact, a study by Harvard Business Review showed that 70% of CEOs with mentors say their mentors helped them avoid expensive mistakes and become better business owners faster.
But if you want your mentorship to be worth it, you need to be “coachable.”
If you’re “coachable,” you can get the most out of your program.
Here’s how to become more “coachable”:
Be open-minded
A key part of being a successful real estate investor is your mindset.
If you’re not open to being coached, you won’t get the same mindset shifts you could have with the right mindset.
After all, your mentor has achieved what you want in the real estate industry, so stay open to their feedback and let go of your ego.
Changing your thinking is how you get from where you are to where you want to be.
Take action
Mindset is important, but the real shifts happen when you take action.
I see so many newbie real estate investors holding back on taking action because of fears, which leaves them in analysis paralysis.
So be open to talking through these fears and obstacles with your mentor. Because it’s only by conquering these mental barriers that you’ll be able to successfully invest.
If you don’t follow through by taking action, you’ll struggle to progress from a newbie to an established investor and reach financial freedom.
Working with a mentor will make the journey a little easier. But it’s not easy.
To become a successful real estate investor, you have to be willing to sacrifice and put in the hard work.
What does “doing the work” mean? Here’s a video on actions I took to save for my first investment house:
Be self-led
Mentoring and coaching do not mean that all of the work is done for you.
If you want to build a real estate investment business and become an entrepreneur, you won’t learn much if you just expect someone to do all the work for you.
Though a mentor will provide the guidance, it is up to you to be proactive and get the work done.
Does that mean you’ll be unsupported?
Not at all. Your mentor is there to answer questions, help you strategize, and troubleshoot any challenges you face.
At the beginning of working together, you and your mentor will create a roadmap for the next actions to take.
But don’t wait for your mentor to decide on what to do at each turn. Use a combination of your own research and your mentor’s guidance to make decisions for yourself too.
That way, you’ll also gain more confidence as a real estate investor and trust your own judgment.
In the end, you don’t want to always rely on somebody else. Rather you want to take your mentor’s teachings and build something of your own. Something you will have for life.
Be patient
It’s true. You are more likely to get to your goals with the help of a mentor than you would alone.
For example, I started real estate investing with no guidance and spent a whole year making mistakes.
It took me a lot of trial and error to figure it out. Today, I have a multiple six-figure portfolio. But I definitely didn’t start out there – and if I had mentorship support, I would have achieved my goals much faster.
I now help clients avoid the mistakes I made so that they can get on a faster track to success.
But here’s the thing: the “fast track” is still not “get rich quick.”
Real estate investing takes time.
There are still a lot of steps you need to learn. And some stages naturally take more time.
Finding and buying your first house can take a couple months, as well as finding tenants for your rental property. It depends on the housing market and your property’s location.
So you need to be patient.
Your mentor will help you figure out realistic milestones and timeframes but it’s up to you to stay the course.
How much does a real estate investing mentorship program cost?
The cost of a real estate investing mentorship program can vary anywhere from a few thousand dollars to multiple six figures.
But, on average, you can expect it to cost between $2,000 and $25,000. You can see my rates here.
It depends on the mentor’s expertise, length of the program, and the amount of support you get.
Is it possible to get a free real estate mentor?
Yes. But really great free mentors are hard to come by because they are usually busy building their own lives and empire. It just isn’t worth it for them to spend hours teaching somebody without getting anything in return.
Typically, you must establish a relationship with that mentor and it’s way less structured than hiring a real estate investing mentor.
When you invest in a paid program, you can expect a results-focused approach and guaranteed support throughout your time working together.
That way you’re more likely to get a tangible result.
Next steps
And that’s how you find a real estate investing mentor!
While you can figure it out on your own, starting out in this industry is overwhelming.
I built a multiple six-figure student housing investment portfolio and it’s my mission to help others do the same so they can have more freedom with their time and enjoy better lives.
If you want my help to achieve financial freedom through real estate investing, check out my coaching services.
Read more:
How to Successfully Rent to College Students
How to Find Student Housing Investment Opportunities
