How to Go From Zero to Diamond with Ricky Carruth

Whether you’re a real estate agent or a W-2 employee, investing in real estate investing should top your list when it comes to building wealth. However, there’s a right way and a wrong way to do it, so you have to have a mindful approach to real estate investing.

With 20 years of experience in the real estate business, both as an agent and investor, Ricky Carruth, the founder of Zero to Diamond, shares these strategies in real estate investing:

1. Prepare for the worst-case scenario.

You have to think about the worst-case scenario in whatever you're getting into. If you're taking investor money or if you're betting everything you have on it, prepare for the worst-case scenario where you could still do a home run. If you've got disposable income that you don't care if you lose, have a worst-case scenario where you still end up okay. Be very smart and think about worst-case scenarios with the money that you can't lose. 

2. Make sure you don’t double your debt.

The real estate investing world is a lot colder. It's cold, hard numbers, or the numbers work. Whereas being a real estate agent is more about helping people rather than closing deals, building that database, and building your name and reputation. And so, you can't just double the cost of debt in an industry where it is cold, hard numbers.

3. If you’re a real estate agent, seriously think about investing.

A lot of real estate agents don't buy real estate because they lack an investing mindset. There has to be a mindset shift of using your money to make more money. Real estate is going to increase in value so you want to own assets over cash.

4. Invest for the long-term.

You can make so much more money in appreciation over the lifetime because any property is going to be worth more in 10 or 20 years. However, be careful with short-term appreciation which can be a horrible game to play. 

Again, think long-term. Buying real estate on the current cash flow and looking at it from a 10 to 20-year standpoint is the kind of mindset you should be in.

If you want to learn more about real estate investing in this current real estate landscape, check out www.trustgreene.com/podcast/zen/030.