It took me years to find my “Sweet Spot” for investing in real estate.  I bought this program and that program, I argued with the guru’s/mentors/trainers, and regardless of what anyone tells you, you adapt your own style, talents and capabilities to your business, no matter if you bought someone else’s “blueprint to success” or not.  Here’s an incident that happened last week that made me very aware of differences in investing style and why:

At a closing just last week I was wholesaling a property to another  During the signing of documents, the buyer/investor taking over my property proclaimed that he authorized $2,000/month to a marketing company so he could get leads for real estate deals.

His comment, “The money is at the kitchen table”

Todd Whittingslow and I couldn’t have been more polar opposites at that moment.  His investing style and mine are totally different.  He has adopted a system for real estate investing that works for him, and I’ve developed a real estate investing system that works for me.  Both styles are very different, and yet we both have the same goals; for everyone to win in a real estate transaction AND make money.  Which is exactly what we did last Friday at a closing.

The last thing I personally want to do is sit with distressed sellers at their kitchen table, listening to their problems, lies, stories and dealing with issues that are inherently human.  It took me years to figure that out, along with some expensive marketing campaigns and doing what everyone says is necessary to be successful: getting out of my comfort zone.

I’ve since learned where my calling lies with real estate investing, and it’s not at the kitchen table.  For me, it’s a business to business model, for so many others, it’s a consumer to consumer model.  Luckily our styles met in the middle as I had a deal under contract that we both liked, and I chose to sell him that contract for a fee that and he felt was fair and would still be a money maker for him.  Again, the win/win scenario that is so important if you are in real estate regardless of your niche, especially if you want to be in real estate investing for the long term.

Our Differences

So why are some successful with Todd’s model, and some with my model?  The answer is so simple, so obvious, I’m embarrassed to say it took me so long to figure it out. It has to do with style, talents, experiences, risk tolerance, agility, and creative thinking.

Let’s do a quick comparison between Todd and me:

Todd: Extravert
Jean: Introvert

Todd: Sales Experience
Jean: Computer Consultant (nerd)

Todd: Risk Taker
Jean: Risk Taker

Todd: Creative
Jean: Creative

Todd: Team Builder
Jean: Lone Wolf

Todd: Loves Dogs
Jean: Loves only Golden Retrievers, otherwise love cats

Todd: Drives an old pick-up
Jean: Drives an old tin-can

Todd: Bends the rules here and there
Jean: Finds the loopholes

I can keep going, but you get the idea here.  Todd doesn’t mind walking up to strangers and starting a conversation and I would rather pull out a toenail than be forced to speak with a stranger.  Although people in my REI meet-up group wouldn’t know it, but I am an introvert and I love being behind the scenes, doing research, finding deals and making low-ball offers to banks and hedge funds.  For me, nobody’s feelings are hurt, and when they make a decision to enter in a transaction with me, it’s a business decision.  Not a personal decision.

There are times, though, when there are people I personally know that are in a stressful life situation and I’m the first one to see if I can help them.  But dealing with strangers is not my thing.  Todd and so many others are just fine dealing with strangers.

What about you?

Where do you see yourself in this business?  What kind of investor are you, or what do you want to be?