Why There’s About To Be A New Class Of Real Estate Investor

The concept isn’t earth shattering in any way. What it is though is just short of the most overused phrase on the net, a paradigm shift. It’s not, of course. It’s more a subtle shift. That said, we’ve all had experiences in which we’ve witnessed incredible results/changes/consequences from so called subtle shifts. Here’s a simple yet illustrative example. I’ll use baseball. (grin)

A pitcher can subtly shift his grip on the ball by setting it more deeply in his hand, instead of using only his fingers and thumb. This very subtle change in grip allows him to throw the ball exactly the same way he throws his fastball. However, because of the slightly altered grip, the ball is literally incapable of gaining the velocity of his fastball. The consequence? The batter sees the pitcher’s arm behaving exactly like he’s throwing a fastball — yet instead of a 90+ miles an hour heat seeker, he gets an 81 mile an hour change-up. More often than not the batter is clearly fooled and either swings early and badly or stands there like a Popsicle, weakly watching the umpire’s right arm fly up, signaling what he’s already realized.

All from a single subtle shift.

The revolution in computers we’ve experienced the last 25 years hasn’t been subtle to say the least. However, it’s caused subtle shifts in how we perceive so many things. For instance, it was an exciting day for me when I received my first email. It was as if I knew I’d just passed through some sort of time portal — forever leaving the world in which I’d been born and raised. Same thing happened when I went to my first website. Though the computer age came upon all of us in one form or another like a 100 story tsunami, the changes generated have proven to be almost stealthy in their emergence as the norm in our lives. A simple example would be going to a friend’s new home. You’re not sure where you put the directions. Not a problem — ‘I’ll just mapquest it’. Or use your car’s GPS.

Real estate investing has been changed dramatically in much the same way. You can learn more about a property in another state in an hour than your parents ever knew about the house they lived in for 30 years. And you can do it while drinkin’ coffee in a Starbucks.

The subtle shift isn’t in our use of technology, or the information age, or even the best of all worlds, which is combining the two along with reliably professional analysis. No, our entry into the computer/information/technology age was anything but subtle. Indeed, it was the poster child for the above mentioned paradigm shift.

The subtle shift was something quite different — occasioning not unintended, but wholly unexpected consequences.

The most subtle of all was the shift in our comfort zones.

In the last 20 years I’ve watched in awe as my clients have morphed from being impressed by a fax machine, to using five forms of 21st century technology to invest in real estate located hours away by jet. Our collective comfort zones have been drastically transformed into accepting the concept of transacting much of our lives through a screen attached to a keyboard. Think about that a minute.

Comfort zone? It’s normal day to day business for us to receive a purchase contract via email, vet it, then forward it (or them) to our client. They then print it, sign/date/initial, scan it back into their computer, and we have it back in pristine condition.

Again, think about how subtly you’ve been brought lovingly along into what’s possible through modern technology. This isn’t new. Our grandparents/great grandparents were initially amazed by indoor plumbing. Then TV, washing machines and dishwashers, and the rest. Their comfort zones were also affected — their behavior changed as they became used to their new reality. I remember Grandma using a microwave to heat up her coffee. She was in second grade when the Wright brothers first flew.

The subtle shift in comfort zones has wrought an extreme change into the real estate investment world. John and Mary Smith are now legitimate players on the national stage. No longer are their options anchored to the local market.

This in turn has created a new class of real estate investor.

They’re regular folk — well adjusted to all the changes we’ve seen in the last couple generations or so. Just as Grandma and Grandpa had to plan far ahead for a 300 mile trip before World War II, those born just before and mostly after that time used to go through all kinds of logistics just to buy a simple small rental property half a mile away. I was one of those folks. My first MLS experience was reading the phone book like magazine in which it came. Now it’s irritating if it takes an extra three seconds to refresh itself on my laptop.

This new ‘class’ is taking full advantage of their new found ability to invest anywhere in the country they choose. They’re escaping local markets that may be moribund, holding other investors hostage to their own timidity. They’re learned how to maximize options which up ’till now have only been dreamed of.

And all because of an ever so subtle shift in their relative comfort zones.

Don’t be left behind. Allow yourself to understand and digest what’s so easily within your prudent grasp. In the end it’ll land you in a very comfortable place — the retirement zone.

Click these words, Contact BawldGuy, now! We’ll then shift to a phone conversation, and I promise it’ll be of great comfort. Have a good one.

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1. What’s Happening To The Middle Class? Pay Attention Real Estate Investors
2. California Real Estate Investor Sees His Texas Investments And Purrs
3. The First Time Real Estate Investor: A Chronology — Part I
4. The Real Estate Investor’s Review Of Relative Return
5. #1 Job of a Real Estate Investor — Plus Getting a Good Night’s Sleep