The world of real estate is a quite daunting and challenging one. The industry is wide and divided into various segments.
One of the most popular is real estate development. Another is investing. Yet another is lending. Due to the opportunities that abound in these various segments, several persons have ventured into them.
This has created intense competition, making it difficult for industry players to carve a niche for themselves in all the various areas. However, there have been some that have achieved remarkable feats, notwithstanding.
He is a renowned developer, an astute real estate investor, a leading real estate agent and lender, who is not only successful in one sector of real estate, but in all the major segments. Among other things, he is a managing partner at mortgage credit firm, LendPlus.
What are the challenges you faced at the early stages of your career?
I strongly believe that challenges are there to build you and equip you with important skills and mindsets. So, I will say challenges are always welcome.
One of those challenges that I faced quite early was lack of access. If you don’t have the right industry access, it might be difficult for you to get some deals done.
Also, there was some significant exposure gap which led to me making some mistakes early on. And there was the usual lack of funding to finance projects.
How did you overcome those challenges?
Overtime, I was committed and had some firm resolve to confront my challenges. For lack of access for instance, I knew I had to become good so that I would be sought out.
I started to seek knowledge everywhere I could find. I knew the importance of mentors, so I actively worked on getting one. It wasn’t easy at first to get anyone to bet on me but overtime a couple of people did see the potential in me.
As per funding, I leveraged the power of collaboration to source and pull funds. So, as I do tell aspiring industry participants, expect those challenges and prepare for them.
What will you attribute your success in this industry to?
I won’t say one particular trait is attributable, really. It was a combination of several factors.
Apart from the regular – tenacity, diligence, hard work – I think I have a knack for learning almost endlessly. Amongst other things, I make it a habit to learn from others who are more knowledgeable than I am on a subject matter.
What principles do you adhere to in lending?
The lending game is a quite risky one. One thing that will help you in succeeding at it is seeing things a bit differently from others. Issuing mortgage and arranging financing for housing and real estate projects can be seen as a way of betting on people and on projects.
You are betting on the potential homeowners and on the property to be acquired. Therefore, you should undertake a careful analysis of both. This might go beyond looking at mere models.
What is your advice for aspiring real estate practitioners, especially in the lending space?
I will have to say that there are no specific rules to follow to achieve success in this industry, but a few tips can go a long way. These tips can be seen in my blog, where I share actionable advice to various participants in the real estate space based on the wealth of experience I have garnered over the years.
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