May
1

Are Real Estate Investors More Like Mechanics or Surgeons

Filed Under Real Estate Investing 

Harley Davidson

A mechanic was busy removing a cylinder head from the motor of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle when a well-known heart surgeon entered his shop.

The surgeon was waiting for the service manager to take a look at his bike when the mechanic shouted across the garage, “Hey, doc, can I ask you a question?”

The surgeon, a bit surprised, walked over. The mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag and asked, “Doc, look at this engine. I open its heart, take valves out, fix ‘em, put ‘em back in, and when I finish, it works just like new. So why do I get such a small salary and you get the really big bucks, when you and I are doing basically the same work?”

The surgeon smiled, leaned over, and whispered to the mechanic, “Try doing it with the engine running.”

What does this have to do with real estate investors?

Many investors approach real estate deals like the mechanic. They try to solve problems with textbook answers and forget they are dealing with people.

As an example, assume your property meets my buying criteria. I’ll pay cash, or the only other way I can buy your house is to take over the payments.

While both options may be true and are good things to say when talking to the seller, investors should take the surgeon’s approach and realize they are working with real, live people that want (and need) to be heard and listened to.

Real estate is a great business that can be financially rewarding, just remember to put people first and you’ll benefit in more ways than you can imagine. If your only focus is the money, people will “sense” this and many will not want to work with you or sell you their home.

Author: Gerald Romine

Comments

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.