9 “Boring” Investing Habits That Will Actually Make You Rich

0:00Most people think successful real estate investors have some secret strategy. A special lender, a market no one else knows about, insider access to off-market deals. They don't. What they do have, though, is habits. Boring, repeatable habits that they do over and over, deal after deal, year after year. Following a process, getting better and better at this process, while everyone else is chasing the next shiny strategy they heard about on social media. And this is good news because habits are things anyone can implement. It doesn't matter how much experience you have, how much cash you have, what market you're in.

0:46If you can develop the habits of the best investors, you can succeed in this business and achieve your financial goals. Today, I'm giving you the nine most important habits of successful investors and you should steal every single one.

1:05Hey everyone, welcome back to the BiggerPockets podcast. I'm Dave Meyer. I have been investing for 16 years now. I've talked to hundreds of investors on this show. And at this point, I think I have a good grasp on what separates the best investors from the okay ones or from the people who never actually get started. And what differentiates these people is probably not what you think. The investors who actually win long-term don't have wildly different strategies from everyone else. They don't live in some perfect market, and they definitely aren't even necessarily the smartest people. They just have the best habits.

1:46The things you do repeatedly in your business, in my opinion, are more important than any one deal or resource. Habits are in your control. They can scale with you. And they're accessible to every single person in the BiggerPockets community. So today we're breaking down the nine habits of successful mom and pop real estate investors. The actual behaviors we're talking about, not just the mindset fluff you hear about. We're talking actual behaviors that separate the people who build real wealth from the people who stay on the sidelines, or the people who buy one property and quit, or those who wind up getting themselves in trouble.

2:25Some of these habits may feel obvious. Some of them might sting a little bit because sometimes we need a little taste of bitter medicine. But if you can build even three or four of these habits into how you invest, you're gonna be ahead of most people in this space. Let's get into it. Habit number one of successful real estate investors is patience. This might be the single biggest differentiator between investors who build wealth in real estate and investors who flame out. Because the reality of this industry is that real estate is not a get rich quick scheme. It is very difficult to get rich quick in real estate.

3:07The way you should think about it is get rich for sure. The wealth that comes from real estate comes from being in the market a long time, not being perfectly timed in the market, not taking huge swings and trying to get everything all in one deal. What really allows people to build that wealth is staying power, staying power, being in the market a long time. And patience is absolutely key to that. And I want to be clear about patience because patience can sound kind of passive. But today on the show, we are talking about habits. And so I want to talk about how patience can actually be a behavior.

3:50So what patience looks like as an actual habit for real estate investors are number one, not stretching and buying deals that are too thin. This to me, number one red flag in real estate investing. It's very hard to lose if you only buy deals that are sure things. But only finding sure things takes time. So this is what I mean by patience as a practice. Learn to say no to a lot of deals. Learn to go back to the seller one more time and push for that extra concession. That's what patience actually looks like as a practice. Because it is easy to get excited when you see a deal. It's easy to get excited when you catch the bug with real estate and you want to go out and buy that next deal or that first deal.

4:37I get it. I feel the same thing. That's why it has to become a habit. Take time and develop the skill of taking a deep breath, running your numbers the second time, running it the third time. Call your investor friend to make sure that your underwriting criteria are correct. Not selling something out of a panic. Patience is actually a skill that you can build. And it is one that is perfectly suited for real estate investing. You can't sell a property quickly. You can't buy a property that quickly. We're talking about weeks or months. It's not like opening Robinhood and selling something. Patience is your best friend as a real estate investor.

5:18And don't mistake patience with a lack of ambition. I'm not saying you shouldn't go out and buy as many good deals as you can. What I'm saying is wait for the good deals. Then go buy as many as you can, but be willing to wait until the absolute right deal comes to you because it will come. Real estate takes time. You are not gonna be at a disadvantage if you wait two to three months to buy that next deal instead of two to three weeks. You will be better off for it, actually. So that is the number one habit of being a real estate investor, being patient. The second habit of successful real estate investors is knowing your why and always thinking about that.

6:01This is a skill that is difficult and it actually gets harder the more you get into building your real estate career. It is easy at the beginning to know why you're doing something. Maybe you have a bill that you need to pay. Maybe you're feeling insecure in your retirement plan. Maybe your family needs some extra capital to do something. It's easy at the beginning, But something happens as you start building wealth in real estate, as you start to have a little bit of success. You kind of lose sight of why you got into it in the first place. It's happened to me. It's happened to pretty much every real estate investor I know.

6:43You wind up getting shiny object syndrome or FOMO because you listen to this podcast maybe and hear all the exciting, cool stuff that real estate investors are doing. but the habit you need to develop before you buy any deal, before you make any decision as a real estate investor is to orient it all to that original goal. And your goal can change. It doesn't have to stay the same. I've been pretty open on the show talking about how my goals have absolutely changed over the 16 years, but I always update my goals and know why I'm doing this. What is my next deal for? Is it for cashflow? Is it to increase the risk in my portfolio to take more swings?

7:26Is it to get me over the line to my retirement where I can stop working and quit my job? All of these things should be going through your head with every single decision that you make. Because the reality about real estate is there's a million different ways to do it. There's no right answer. Should you sell? Should you refinance? Should you invest into a property? the answer is gonna be different for each of us. Even if we had the same property, there is no right answer, which is why you need to force yourself as a habit. Every time you make a big decision in investing, why are you doing this?

8:03Is this decision in line with my long-term strategy? If you can do that, if you can build this habit and make this the number one framework for how you make decisions, you are going to be successful in real estate. The way I see most people lose their way in this industry and make bad decisions is not because they're bad investors. It's because they get away from what they're good at and what they want to be doing. So many times I've heard people start flipping just because they know flippers who make a lot of money, but they don't really want to be a flipper. They don't have time to be a flipper.

8:39They don't have the skill to be a flipper. And that's how they get in trouble. It's not because they're a bad investor. They're probably a great rental property investor, but it's because they did something that wasn't really aligned with who they are and what they wanted to do. So practice this habit. Next time you're making a decision about whether to renovate a unit or to sell a property, think back to your long-term goals and orient your entire decision-making process around that goal. And I promise you, not only will the decision become easier to make, you will make the right decisions much more frequently.

9:14So that's habit number two. Habit number three, this is a big one. Network relentlessly, but intentionally. Networking, so important as a real estate investor. It's why BiggerPockets exists in the first place. Go on biggerpockets.com. You can network with people all the time. But be deliberate about networking. I mean, so many people at meetups are like, I'm just trying to build my network. Who are you trying to build your network with? Because personally, I love networking, but I'm not just trying to get more connections on LinkedIn or stacks of business cards next time I go to a meetup. There are specific people that I want to meet, and there are specific people that I think I can help.

9:58And that is exactly the kind of crossover you should be looking for in your networking. Who can help me and who can I help? It is a mutualistic relationship. You cannot just go out and try and quote unquote network by telling people your name and what you're after. It's not gonna work. The way you network is by giving, not by asking, by offering to help people. There's a great concept called the thank you economy. It's all about this, how giving and being productive and helpful to other people help you build your network faster. And that eventually when you need something, you'll have all the goodwill and all the connections that you ever need.

10:38so get good at this finding the networking is easy right you can do local meetups go on biggerpockets.com come to bpcon come to all of our bigger pockets events it's the best place you can possibly network it's just thousands of people just like you who you can help and who can help you but the habit that you need to work on the behavior is finding mutual benefit that is where the value of networking really, really exists. Can you help an agent? Can you help a contractor? Can you help a wholesaler? Can you make introductions for them? Can you give them business? Those are the things that you can give.

11:18And then when you need something, those people are very likely to offer that in return. So don't just network for the sake of it. It is not a numbers game where you have to go out and say, I'm gonna network with 100 people. Find five or 10 great connections. that will be way more valuable than giving out your business card to 200 people, guaranteed. So work on this behavior, work on this as a habit, finding mutual benefit, find ways to give to your network so that when you need something, you've already created that mutual benefit and goodwill and you'll find that your career and your portfolio will grow faster than ever based on that network.

11:58All right, those are our first three habits. Just to recap, number one is patience big on patience, especially in this kind of market. Number two, knowing your why and framing your decision-making around your long-term goals. Number three is networking relentlessly, but with intention. We've got six more killer habits that you should be using, but we got to take a quick break. We'll be right back. Summer bookings sound great until someone slips by the pool, gets hurt on your dock, or damages your property during a long holiday weekend. A lot of short-term rental investors don't realize their standard policy may leave gaps when it comes to short-term rental activity.

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14:56Welcome back to the BiggerPockets podcast. I'm Dave Meyer. Today, we're going through nine habits of successful real estate investors. We're onto habit number four, which is treating your tenants like customers and team like employees. In other words, be a good person to work with. This should be self-evident, but I see so many real estate investors do this poorly. Your tenants are your customers. Treat them like that. Treat them as the valuable, important part of your business that they are. Your agent, technically they work for you, but there's a reason we call it a bigger pockets, your team, not your service providers.

15:40They are on your team. Be a good person to work with. Put yourself in their shoes. If you're a tenant, would you want to rent from you? Think about that in a hard way, right? I think for a lot of real estate investors, the answer is probably no. Like if you were renting from you, you'd probably not like you as a landlord. That stinks. That's not a good way to run a business. You should make your business something that is mutually beneficial for everyone. That is how great investors succeed. This is a habit that I see across all great investors. They are the ones who build goodwill with their tenants, who want to stay, who take care of their property.

16:24They have great relationships with agents who want to give them deals because they know it's going to go well. Property managers who want to do the best for you because you treat them right. You treat them with respect. This is so easy to do. It's just a habit that you have to develop. It is a mindset that you need to adapt. So next time you interact with your tenants, think about how to make that as great an experience for both of you as possible. Next time you talk to your agent, ask them what you can do to help them. Don't just treat it like a one-way relationship. If you are hiring an employee at a corporate job or any job, part of your responsibility as that person's manager is to help them develop their career.

17:08Think of it the same way. How do you help your property manager build their career? How do you help your agent build your career? If you do that, I promise you, you're gonna get better deals. Now, you don't have to do it expecting to get something out of it, but if you do it in a way that is genuine and authentic and you actually wanna help, you're gonna grow. You're gonna hit your goals faster. So number four habit, be a good person to work with. Treat your tenants like customers and treat your team like employees. Habit number five, this one I love. This is a little bit controversial. Reinvest before lifestyle inflation.

17:46Now, if you've heard this concept of lifestyle creep or lifestyle inflation, people have strong opinions on it. I personally actually believe that a little bit of lifestyle creep and lifestyle inflation is okay, but it can't be right away. That's why the habit here is reinvesting first. Think about your financial goals, your portfolio goals, and feed that first. So if you start making a little bit of cash flow, if you do a burr or a flip and you build a little bit of equity, before you buy yourself something nice to celebrate a deal, which I think is totally fine, figure out what number you need to do that next deal.

18:27So just as an example, right? Maybe you do a flip, you make 30 grand. That's awesome. And you wanna go take your family on vacation to celebrate. Good. I know some people will disagree with that, but I think you should. But before you do that, What's the next deal you're going to do? How much money do you need for that next deal? If the answer is 30 grand, you may delay that vacation a little bit. If the answer is 25 grand, go take a vacation. It doesn't need to be a$5 ,000 vacation. Don't just spend it because you have it, but go take the vacation and reinvest the rest. You don't have to do this after every deal.

19:03In fact, I don't recommend you do it after every deal, but I think there are certain points in your life. If you hit a milestone, if you haven't taken a vacation in a while, if you need a new car, you can inflate your lifestyle a little bit. I've gone on the record on the show many times saying, not only do I think lifestyle inflation is okay, I think it's kind of the point of real estate investing. Most people are here because they want to improve their lifestyle. That doesn't necessarily mean for everyone spending a ton of money. Maybe it means taking a little bit of time off. Maybe it means putting more money into your kid's college fund.

19:37You know, like you don't have to be frivolous with it, but using some of your money and not reinvesting 100 percent, I think is OK. But if you are on a plan and have a long term goal, feed that first before you inflate your lifestyle, because then you can have both. It's not one or the other. You don't have to decide between growing your portfolio and incrementally improving your lifestyle. If you feed your investment in your next deal first, then you don't have questions or qualms about inflating your lifestyle a little bit because you've already hit the goal part and that other marginal part that you're investing into your lifestyle is something you've earned and that you should enjoy and be proud of.

20:21So this is the habit. This is the real skill that you can do. Like this takes a couple hours after every deal, after every deal, say, what am I thinking about doing next? How much of my profit do I need to set aside for that next deal and to be on track with my long-term goals? And what can I realistically plow back into my lifestyle? There have been times in my life where the answer is 100 % reinvestment. That's for a lot of people how it works at the beginning. But once you start to scale, you can sort of fiddle with it a little bit. Go on vacation, trade in your old car to something that you want.

20:58I don't know what people want to spend their money on, but it's okay. As long as you're still on track for that long-term goal. For me personally, I am okay for my long-term goals taking a year or two longer so that I can enjoy the 10 years I'm going to spend building it. That's just me. Some people might say, I want to reinvest 100 % to get to, you know, to retire as soon as possible, in which case reinvest. But if you're like me and you want to enjoy some of the benefits now, this is the way to have both, to grow and to enjoy your life right now. So habit five, reinvest before you lifestyle inflate.

21:39Habit number six. Oh, this is a hard one. This is one people struggle with, but it's so important. Habit number six is investing consistently. Or in other words, don't try to time the market. Successful investors continue to operate despite the hype, despite the noise, despite everything that's going on, even when it's not that great of a market. If you're familiar with the concept of dollar cost averaging, I've talked about it many times on the show, but it's a principle from stock investing where people basically, they say, I'm going to invest$100 a month into the S &P 500 or$1 ,000 a month.

22:21And no matter what, you do that no matter what's going on in the market. And by doing that, you're sort of being humble and admitting, I don't know. I can't time the market. It's not possible. And so what I'm going to do instead is tie my performance as an investor to the long-term performance of the stock market. And the same thing goes with real estate investing. If you buy at consistent intervals over a long period of time, you're essentially saying that I want to do at least as well as the long-term performance of the US housing market, which is a pretty good track record. That is a humble, proven approach to investing in real estate, investing in anything, really, being consistent and not trying to time the market.

23:03I do this all day. I look at the the housing market as much as anyone in the world, I would say. And I can't time the market. I can't. You know, I have ideas. I have hypotheses. I have feces that I use to guide my own investing. But more than anything, I just try and be consistent to invest in any kind of climate. Be patient. Right. This is a balancing act. You have to be patient and invest consistently. So when I say invest consistently, I'm like, I'm going to keep investing once a year. Now, if I go 15 months because I can't find a deal right at that year mark, that's okay. But what I want to do is have my buy box, have my criteria, and as reasonably consistent as I can be, keep investing.

23:49That's the way long-term investors win. This is a proven habit in every asset class, and it's one I highly encourage you to develop. Be consistent. Do not try and time the market. just be disciplined about what you buy, be patient and invest at consistent intervals. I know that one's hard. I really do. It's hard for everyone. It's hard for me too, but it is a proven one that really does work. All right, we're through habit number six. And just a reminder of the three we just did, we did habit four, which is treating tenants like customers and your team like your employee. Habit five is reinvesting before lifestyle inflation.

24:29And number six is not trying to time the market and investing consistently using the principles of dollar cost averaging. Those are six great habits you should try and master yourself, but we have three more that we're going to get to right after this quick break.

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