MBC Real Estate Investing is built on 4 core values: abundance, freedom, community, and reliability [1]. I want to go a little deeper into what these values mean to us, so that you have a better idea of whether or not our views align with yours. I believe that understand someone’s values is important to building a successful business relationship and want to provide you as much insight into ours as possible. This third article in the series focuses on community.
You are part of many communities – your family, your neighborhood, your work, your friends, and the people you get financial education from or invest with.
Hopefully, most of these communities are positive influences. Life is more fun when you are surrounded by great people. People you enjoy spending time with, who encourage you, who help you through the tough times, and are there to celebrate with you when you succeed.
At MBC, we are honored to be part of your broader investment community.
It is often said that real estate investing is a team sport. That makes it clear that to be successful you need to surround yourself with people that can help you. The team you choose to work with forms an important part of your investment community.
It starts with defining the roles that you need people to fill in your community (advisor, deal finder, property manager, real estate attorney, accountant, insurance agent, etc.) and understanding how you want to interact with each of them. Then you need to find great people to fill those roles. People who are passionate about being the best they can be in that position. People who can help you meet your goals (including growing with you), people you can learn from, people whose skills and abilities complement your own.
Your team needs to be aligned with you on values and the culture you establish for your team needs to reflect those values. For your investment team, you have complete control over who is part of your community. You determine who sits in which spots – who are your most trusted advisors, who manages your overall portfolio, and who manages individual investments. By putting the right people in the right spots, you are building an investment community that not only helps you get to your goals but that you enjoy spending time with.
This is an ongoing process as your needs will likely evolve over time. For example, you might start out with simple tax requirements, just filing a 1040 (or even a 1040-EZ). But then, you get into passive real estate investing, and start getting K-1s and possibly needing to file taxes in other states. A few years later, you might start your own partnership and need to generate K-1s.
As your situation and goals changes, your community needs to change as well. Either your current team adapts to your new needs, or you have to find new community that can. Either option is ok. While my preference is to keep working with the same people when possible, as my goals evolve I have had to make changes to my team to find members that are a better fit. While that can be uncomfortable at times, it is also natural.
Your investment community is an important group, and one that you have complete control over. A benefit of choosing that community well is that, as your investments grow and you start to get more time freedom, you are able to strengthen your other communities as well. Without financial stress, you have the ability to give more to the communities that are most important to you, doing things that are meaningful to you – whether that is travel, volunteering, or quiet time spent on reflection. You may also find that you have the time and resources to build or join new communities. The important thing is that you are able to both contribute to and benefit from all of the communities you chose to be part of.
At MBC we appreciate that you have chosen to include us as part of your investment community. We are motivated by the knowledge that, in a very small way, we are helping you build your own unique, supportive community.
Reach out or schedule a call if you would like to find out more about what we do and how we do it.
If you have any questions or comment about this post, please email them to me at blog@mbc-rei.com, I will reply to the questions that are straightforward and will turn the questions requiring more detailed answers into future blog posts.
For additional reading:
This article is my opinion only, it is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Always do your own research and due diligence. Always consult your lawyer for legal advice, CPA for tax advice, and financial advisor for financial advice.