Women’s History Month is coming to an end. But we want to keep the spark lit, so we invite you to relive our Women in Real Estate panel: “We are here and we also invest.” Four real estate industry experts talked about their experiences, challenges, advice, and market perspectives after the Covid crisis for about an hour. And here are the highlights.
To start with, three of our guests revealed that investing in real estate wasn’t their first job option. Geovana Prieto-Martinez -independent investor and trainer at Real Estate IQ- said she began with a commercial business construction company. For Becky Kromminga -Director for Growth at Real Estate IQ-, teaching Maths was her main activity, while Kaylee McMahon -investor and licensed real estate broker in the state of Texas- was a personal concierge. However, they seem to enjoy their career to the fullest.
“For me, the best part is that you can help so many people just by working on one property. Plus, it’s a job that gives you the freedom to manage your time, so you can enjoy your family, be at home and do lots of other things.”
Sonia Medrano, Real Estate investor.
Prieto-Martinez and Kromminga concentrated on the changes and challenges that come with the work. For them, every day is different: new properties, new deals, new difficulties, new places, and new people. And they found that really exciting! Kaylee decided to focus on her platform, as she called it. “I’m free to choose whose lives I get to interact with and how I want to use my platform. We’re able to keep our business profitable but at the same time impact people’s lives. For me, it’s great to use this to empower women financially,” she explained.
3 things no one tells you about working in Real Estate
Though the work has many perks, there’s always a tricky part. Some difficulties are well known, but others might remain unspoken. And they could even jeopardize beginners’ careers.
More money, more problems. If you want to get into a big dog game and make a bunch of money, you’re going to have more problems. And for those problems, you’ll need a team of people to help you. So you’ve got to get over yourself and welcome them and their expertise.
Kaylee McMahon, Real Estate investor.
Geovana Prieto-Martinez considered that “no one tells you how hard this job is, how much work you have to put into.” But not only the work is a lot but also the information. Since she found seminars overwhelming, especially when she started, she felt motivated to create a system to give Latin people the foundations of the real estate business.
Sonia Medrano was more straightforward: for her, “everything is easy but contractors.” The four women agreed that sometimes it’s difficult to be heard and respected as an investor, not only with contractors but in general.
5 tips to start working in real estate
The conversation led to brainstorming about tips to keep in mind when starting in this industry, such as:
- Find a mentor to help with your first steps: it’s easy to find people who want to take advantage of you because you’re new and you’re a woman, so mentors are an excellent place to turn for advice.
- Don’t get discouraged by others, or, as Kaylee McMahon put it, “don’t let anyone’s inhumane behavior ruin your business. It’s not OK.”
- It doesn’t matter how much money you have; you can start a business with few or even nothing at all.
- Have a clear mindset: define your whys, establish your goals and find the desire to take action and do things.
- Don’t forget the network: try to connect with new people every day, go to networking events. It’s the best way for people to know you, find experts in different fields, and lenders.
The real estate industry after Covid-19
Lastly, the panel discussed a bit of what to expect after the Covid-19 crisis. They all agreed that June is the month to keep an eye on. The moratorium for evictions and foreclosures comes to an end, which should trigger many opportunities for investors. But as Geovana Martinez-Prieto urged, don’t forget ethics. “We need to be prepared for the next months, and that also means to treat people right, to be honest, and run our businesses in a very ethical way.”
Disclaimer: The blog articles are intended for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing in the content is designed to be legal or financial advice.
