5 Things to Look for in a Commercial Real Estate Mentor

Are you looking for a commercial real estate mentor? I was mentored in commercial real estate by the top minds of the time in this business, and it made all the difference in the world, getting me to where I am today. In this post you’ll discover 5 things every fledgling commercial real estate investor should look for in a mentor so that you can safely fast track your path to success and financial freedom.

 
When I started out investing in commercial real estate, my long terms goals included financial freedom so that I could work less and have more choices with my time but I also wanted to build generational wealth for my family. To achieve this, I sought out the right commercial real estate mentorship to guide me. And I ended up working with some of the leading commercial real estate mentors of that era. Now more than twenty years later, as the leading commercial investing mentor, I want to share with you 5 things to look for in a commercial real estate mentor.

1. National Experience
2. Gray Hairs
3. Proven Mentor
4. Tools & Resources
5. Mutually Aligned Financial Interests

#1: National Experience

There are 3 reasons why it’s important your commercial real estate mentor has national experience (and not just experience in one specific location).

Reason # 1 – Perspective: When you have national experience, your perspective is different because you’re able to track what’s happening in other markets across the country. This enables you to follow the prosperity trends so that you don’t miss out on opportunities. If you don’t have that national perspective, missed opportunities will be the result.

Reason # 2 – Secondary Markets: If you live in a prosperous city or expensive area in a big city, deals with good cash flow and good returns are hard to come by. However, when you have a national perspective, you’re able to keep track of where the greener grass is, and that greener grass can be found in the secondary markets.

You probably don’t want to do a deal in an expensive market and buy at a 3% or 5% cap rate. However, the secondary markets that are around this market are just as good. By having a national perspective on where the prosperity trends are, you can find the most prominent secondary markets. This will give you a higher return on investment.

Reason # 3 – Broaden Your Horizons: Dealing nationwide will broaden your horizon and help you get the complete picture. Having the complete picture on something gives you understanding which makes the decision-making process easier.

So, when you have a real estate mentor with national experience; your perspective is different than a local person, you know where the greener grass is in secondary markets with a high ROI, and you can broaden your horizon and get the complete picture. As a result you’re going to get the best deals.

#2: Gray Hairs

Does the commercial advisor you’re looking to work with have the gray hairs that can only come with experience? Have they successfully navigated several market collapses? Have they seen twenty plus years of ups and downs? This is important because commercial real estate is cyclical with an up cycle, a sideways cycle, and then you have the down cycle. You need to know what to do, when to do it and how to do it in each of those cycles. Learning how to do that over twenty plus years enables you to maximize all of the opportunities to be had.

One of my commercial real estate mentors also said, “Don’t go into business with someone without a limp.” What he meant was that you need to have a mentor that has gone through adversity and not only survived but thrived from it. No one who is successful escapes adversity. Without exception, you will face unprecedented times at some point in your life, and you will be thankful for the gray-haired mentor.

#3: Proven Mentor

There are many successful commercial real estate investors out there. Most of those commercial tycoons are not good mentors. They would rather be boating, golfing or acquiring more properties rather than teaching a newbie the ropes. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Most people do not have the gift of coaching/mentoring AND the gift of being highly successful in commerce.

I personally have been wired differently. I get great satisfaction from helping others buy their first 20-unit apartment building. Even though I am financially free, I get more gratification from mentoring someone to success in real estate than vacationing or living a life of leisure.

What’s a proven mentor look like?

• They have the patience, skills, and passion to get across what they’re trying to communicate, making sure you understand it.
• They have a servant’s heart when coaching. The definition of a servant’s heart is they believe that it is more blessed to give than to receive. How do you know they’re like that? It shows in their teaching.
• Proof of good mentoring in action.

What is proof of good mentoring in action? One example is my number one rated YouTube channel on commercial real estate investing. The comments are full of people praising my ability to communicate complicated topics clearly and understandably. But even more powerful evidence of a proven mentor are the results of the mentees, which are shown in our Real Deals.

You need to learn from a commercial real estate investor with national experience and gray hairs (but no limp) that also has proven to be a great mentor too.

#4: Tools and Resources

Mentoring is more than just telling someone what to do. Imagine having all the best information on how to achieve something but lacking the tools to get it accomplished? Without the right tools, you can’t get the results you want. However, if your real estate mentor can not only provide great advice and leadership but also the necessary tools to get the job done, then results can be life changing.

Furthermore, limiting yourself to just one person to be mentored by will constrain you to the inevitable, unavoidable interruptions that all people experience in life from time to time. Instead, you want to work with an advisor that has a team of resources for you to draw from. That way, you always have the support you need, regardless if you mentor is unavailable at that moment to help you. At Commercial Property Advisors, we mentor as a team, providing our Proteges the resources to always have the support they need.

So now you know that in addition to national experience, gray hairs and a track record of success as a commercial real estate mentor, you’re also looking for a group that has all the right tools and abundant resources too.

#5: Mutually Aligned Financially Interests

Finally, you must have mutually aligned financial interests with your mentoring team to ensure the relationship is as economically productive and sustainable as it can be. Commercial real estate takes time to produce tremendous results and therefore you want your mentor to win financially when you win so that both parties are economically motivated to see it through for the long haul. Each party needs to invest into the mentorship upfront and then each party needs to win or lose based on the results. Our Protege Program was structured with this exact requirement in mind. The Protege invests upfront to be mentored by our team and we commit to being available to mentor that person (along with providing tools, resources, trainings, etc). Therefore, both parties invest into the mentorship upfront. Then, we share in the net profits 50/50 so the mentor only wins when the Protege wins. This simple arrangement is paramount to a healthy and productive mentoring relationship.

Brokers are NOT Mentors!: Some novices mistakenly assume that a commercial real estate broker can take the place of a mentor. After all, a broker can help you find, negotiate, structure and close a deal, he/she can refer you to financing options as well as help connect you with a property manager. In fact, we have some helpful resources on choosing the right commercial real estate broker. However, brokers have a fundamental conflict of interest that disqualifies them from being a mentor. Brokers only get paid when you buy (or sell). They do not get paid if you decide not to buy (or sell). Regardless of what they may tell you, they are financially motivated to convince you to complete the transaction, even if it is not in your best interest. Therefore, their financial interests are mis-aligned from you. Furthermore, there is another inherent flaw when working with brokers who have enough experience and wherewithal to invest in commercial real estate. If they come across a great deal, they are going to acquire it themselves before ever letting you know about it. In turn, only the second-rate deals (that they pass on) will ever be presented to you. Therefore, while establishing relationships with brokers may provide some value in your investing career in certain situations, they are not mentors!

Apply to our Protege Program

Our mentoring program achieves all 5 of these requirements. We have extensive national experience, plenty of gray hairs (but no limp), have proven ourselves to be the very best in the industry, provide all of the right tools and resources and our financial interests are aligned with our mentees. Apply to our Protege Program below now:

Protege Program Application