The Inspiring View From My Office (It’s Likely Not What You Think)

By Patrick Francey 

If you put ten real estate investors into a room together, you could easily end up with 20 different opinions about “the best investment strategies”…and they’ll all be correct.

Real estate investing is not a “one-property-style-or-strategy-fits-all” business. And like the many different investing opportunities, you can’t squeeze every real estate investor into the same box. Perhaps you’re a new investor just starting out and looking to buy your first property; perhaps you’re a seasoned investor with multiple properties. Perhaps you feel buy and hold single family residential or multi-family works best, or perhaps you see commercial or light industrial as the best direction. Perhaps you self-fund your renovate and flip projects; perhaps you’ve become an expert in joint ventures and creative financing. At the end of the day there’s a multitude of possibilities and strategies for investing in real estate.

Like a fingerprint, no two investors are truly alike. As the CEO of REIN, I am inspired to see how REIN Members take the foundational building blocks of real estate investing, combine them with their elevated skills and experiences, and then put all the pieces together in a unique and special way to create investing opportunities that works for them to achieve their goals.

For me, the diversity of opportunities is one of the best parts of investing in real estate. Yes, the financial gains are at the core, and yes, your access and ability to leverage your resources and relationships are critical, but the fact that you don’t have to fit into a single buying strategy or property type but can instead leverage your (or others) knowledge to achieve results is incredibly compelling.  For example, you can win by using your creativity and expertise to solve problems others can’t or don’t know how to solve, thereby creating opportunity others can’t see.  

The fact that I get to hear so many investors’ success stories makes my job incredibly rewarding. I never get tired of meeting investors at a REIN event who are excited to share with me about how investing has changed their lives. They describe their wins, (and yes, their struggles) but ultimately I get to hear how investing brings them closer to, or has been a vehicle for them to realize their goals, while living an authentic life that is congruent with their vision and values.

If you are investing (or for those just thinking about it) I have gathered some tips and observations to help you on your journey to create a powerful, prosperous, authentic, and purposeful business of investing in real estate for yourself:

• Since there are many strategies for investing, I encourage you to start with a focus on a single investing strategy. Be cautious of the temptation to jump from one type of investing opportunity to another without first clearly understanding the fundamentals. Become proficient and confident in completing diligence on an opportunity from finding the deal and doing the financial analysis to writing the offer and attaining financing. Almost every investor I know understands the value in having a clear focus. They have learned (often the hard way) that running from one strategy to another or chasing a deal can result in some less than desirable outcomes.
• It can never be overstated or said enough – you MUST surround yourself with a team of experts who clearly understand your vision. An investor-focused Realtor, mortgage broker, lawyer and accountant are the essential core of your team. Add to that a property manager, bookkeeper, and handyman and others depending on your strategy. 
• Consider other options! Yes, you should avoid the shiny object syndrome but as you become proficient in understanding and applying the fundamentals in one way of investing, remain open to ways of growing and expand your opportunities to invest. When I began investing in real estate I invested in older single family homes that I upgraded and held; whereas, now my primary focus is on finding new(er) turnkey opportunities. 
• I love the business of investing in real estate for its diversity and the opportunities that are created in helping others in overcoming their challenges, challenges that stretch us past our comfort zones as we solve them. It’s by going beyond what you know that you elevate and grow to new levels of success. For example, many REIN Members have created very profitable portfolios built with advanced problem solving strategies such as Rent to Own, Agreements For Sale, and Joint Ventures to name a few.
• In spite of the different types of investing you can do, real estate investing fundamentals remain the same. You’re investing in property, you’re looking for deals, you’re adding value, you’re crunching the numbers and doing due diligence, and you’re running it like a business. Focus on these fundamentals. That’s the basis for why our ACRE events are so successful and boast thousands of graduates who have gone on to transact over $4.5 billion worth of real estate. It’s because we build our foundation on the proven fundamentals.
• The fundamentals remain the same but there is no “right way” to invest.  Surround yourself with like-minded people who you can mutually share and leverage one another’s knowledge and experience. But be certain your investment decisions are made from a place that is in alignment with who you are, and congruent with your vision and values. (Hint: Take the time up-front to define your intention for investing, identify your vision and values.) It will help you in your decision-making process in choosing the investing strategy that best serves you.
• Take the time to help other investors, even if they don’t invest the same way you do. Since the fundamentals don’t change, your help as a single family residential rental-owner, for example, can still benefit someone who is facing challenges with a different strategy and buying opportunity.  The perspective from another set of eyes is often incredibly helpful. 

I love  the energy of our various REIN meetings and events and of hearing the buzz of people connecting, knowing that REIN Members are connecting and generously helping each other in a safe space (seeing each investor as a peer rather than someone who hasn’t discovered “the one true path” to enlightened investing).

The REIN Team is inspired to guide, lead and support investors and our Members to fulfill their intention for success, to provide people the information and education to invest wisely, and to grow a community of like-minded individuals driven to succeed.  

No two investors are truly alike, and that’s the encouraging part of real estate investing because it means that you can create your own path toward your own goals and vision of success, and REIN is designed to help you get there.

I and the REIN team, along with a community of REIN Members are an amazing resource to help you on your real estate investing journey, whether you’re just starting out or are an experienced veteran.

REIN is committed to continuing to expand the education and resources we provide you from the speakers and thought leaders we bring to the stage at REIN meetings, to the education and leadership we provide our Members to help grow as real estate investing entrepreneurs.

Patrick Francey is the CEO of REIN. As a serial entrepreneur he owns many businesses and has been a real estate investor for nearly 20 years. The majority of his holdings are located in Edmonton and Grande Prairie.

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