The Pros and Cons of Having a Property Mentor

Mortgages & Money

If you’ve just entered the world of property investment you’ll be a bit short on contacts and no doubt still fumbling around for deals. So it makes sense then to consider hiring the services of a mentor. Or does it?

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In this article we’ll look at the pros and cons of having a guide on your shoulder, so to speak.

Why hiring a property mentor makes sense

Being new at anything doesn’t lend itself to having bags of confidence, or motivation for that matter. Having an expert on your side does though. He or she will make sure you jump in and take that great deal rather than allowing you to stand on the sidelines and hesitate because you’re ‘just not sure.’ He or she won’t allow that little knockback you’ve just had get in the way of your building up a property empire.

Confidence boost. Mentors are great at sharing their own strategy with clients. Knowing it worked for them, and in similar market conditions, should give you the confidence to plunge right in with your own ambitions.

Save time. Instead of having to negotiate your way through the jungles of paperwork and online property news sites out there, your mentor will highlight all you need to know. He or she will have been in the industry long enough to know who you should be reading and why.

Listen to you. Let’s face it, not everyone you know is going to share your passion for property investment. In fact, very few of your friends and family will. And that’s where a property mentor comes in. You and he/she can spend ages dissecting every little potential deal and ‘the one that got away.’

Make things happen quicker. Hire a property mentor and you’ll be forewarned about all those little stumbling blocks – the ones that will make you fall down the rungs again just as you’re coming to the profitable last square in that metaphorical game of property snakes and ladders. With the result you’ve got more chance of reaching the end goal quicker than if you were on your own.

Inherit contacts. If they’re feeling generous, who knows your mentor may even help you out with personal contacts. Mentors are, in fact, invaluable when it comes to networking and getting to know who’s who in your new world.

Why there’s no point in hiring a property mentor

Instead of spending hundreds of pounds (not to mention hours of your time) on a mentoring course, you could be using the cash to add to your down payment on a new buy to let or renovating that refurbishment property you’ve just bought at auction

Undermining your own strategy. Even if you feel extremely comfortable with your ‘slow burn’ strategy, it can be tempting to abandon it and go with the ‘get rich quick’ one your property mentor is advocating even if, in your heart of hearts, you know it’s not the right one for you.

No negatives. It’s a property mentor’s role to get you enthusiastic and motivated about your new property investment sideline/career. They won’t do that by pointing out the negative side of the industry (the laboriousness of being a landlord at times etc) so it can all seem rather rose-tinted to begin with.

End up alone. If the mentor you go for is more of a book and course type, then they’re not always going to be around. Chances are you’ll have to keep referring to the literature they’ve given you – which isn’t particularly motivating.

No guarantees. A mentor can advise on what worked for them and how they think your strategy has the best chance of being successful, but they can’t promise that you’ll make a profit. The hard work is yours when it comes down to it.

As you can see from the above, there are negatives and positives to hiring a property investment mentor. Just because it worked for your neighbour doesn’t mean it will for you. On the whole though, it does make sense to tap into someone’s expert knowledge, especially if it’s a field you’re not too sure about yourself. It’s what you do with that information afterwards that’s the important part.

Latest Investment: Empire Property Holdings have recently launched the property investment bond.

Alternatively, you have the option of working with professional property sources such as FJP Investment. We have the ability and the track record in delivering highly profitable investment property deals to investors all over the world. Ultimately, what it comes down to, is that it is your capital and you have the final decision as to where you invest the funds.