The 3 Keys to Success for Beginners in Real Estate

Someone asked me recently to boil down the three keys to success in real estate investing.  I believe the three most important are:

• Attitude
• Action
• Education

Attitude is very important in any business, particularly real estate.  A slow, steady, get-rich SLOWLY mindset is needed.  You can't get rich quick and you  must have patience to succeed.  If you get the itch to buy your first property simply to buy a property, you will likely lose money.  Instead, pass up the mediocre deals and make your first transaction a real winner. Action is equally important.  You can't just talk about real estate or desire to be successful, you need to TAKE ACTION in the direction of your goals.  In fact, you must take MASSIVE action in pursuit of your goals.  It may take 100 offers or more a month to find that elusive "killer deal", which means more than 3 offers a day.  Don't just wait around for people to call on your advertise, make calls out of the paper, talk with realtors, knock on doors.  A great deal is sometimes luck, but luck favors the person who is out in the field making things happen. Education is the third key to success, but not just any knowledge.  Napoleon Hill in his book, "Think & Grow Rich" speaks of acquiring SPECIALIZED knowledge.  You need to become an expert in your field of endeavor, whether it be rentals, foreclosures or property flipping.  The more tools you have in your toolbox, the more likely you will succeed at closing deals, Abraham Lincoln said, "Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I'll spend three hours sharpening the axe".