Dustin Mathews – Even if You Are An Expert in Investing in Real Estate, You Must Do Your Homework

Nov 18, 2019

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Dustin Mathews is the co-founder and Chief Education Officer of wealthfit.com; an online learning startup focused on teaching all the stuff you never learned in school about money investing and entrepreneurship.

He's also the host of the Get Wealth Fit podcast where he's had the chance to get inside the heads of top investors and famous people like Rich Dad Robert Kiyosaki, racing legend Danica Patrick, Kevin Harrington from Shark Tank, Marquis Jets founder, Jesse, Olympic medalists Shannon Miller, and Seal Team six leader Rob O'Neill.

“Whatever your goal is, whether it’s investing, do one small action a day to build momentum, and you'll surprise yourself at what you can achieve.”

Dustin Mathews

Worst investment ever

It helps to follow your own investing in real estate advice

Dustin’s worst investment ever was his first home, a condo in Florida. In Florida, back in 2007/2008, you literally could buy a piece of property, and it would go up by $100,000 or $50,000, depending on where it was.

The condo he bought was on the water and seemed to be a smart move. The reason why he didn't think that it would be a bad investment was that he had a mentor who was running a company, ironically called Foreclosures Daily.

The mentor was teaching him how to buy and sell real estate, and together they were teaching others how to buy and sell foreclosure properties. He felt confident that he knew enough to invest in real estate. So he bought a condo on the water without doing any background research or any of the things that he advised his students to do before investing in real estate. What could go wrong anyway?

Buying on an interest-only mortgage

Now the big mistake was not buying the condo but buying it on an interest-only mortgage. He never planned to stay in the condo. He was going to do what everyone was saying to do. Buy it, live in it for two years, and then move out and buy a new property and trade up.

So he figured that because he was only looking to invest in real estate, he would do an adjustable-rate mortgage interest only. Unfortunately, the market turned in 2008 and property values dropped. His mortgage payment became more than what the condo was worth. Eventually, the bubble burst, and now he was facing foreclosure.

While he had always taught people not to walk away from foreclosed homes, he walked away from his condo, gave up on it, and gave it back to the bank.

Lessons learned

Do your due diligence

It's so easy to get excited about whatever investment that is currently hot and that everyone is talking about. Don’t get caught up in the hype. Take time to do your due diligence to confirm that, indeed, the investment is good for you too. You may realize that despite the hype, this isn’t the right time or investment for you.

Educate yourself

Even though Dustin was working in a real estate company, teaching real estate investing, he was so caught up in the job, the KPIs and the metrics that he wasn't absorbing that education for himself.

So even if you’re an experienced investor, make the time to educate yourself about every piece of investment you set your eyes on. If possible, consult other people that don't have a vested interest in your stake.

Andrew’s takeaways

Don’t get overhyped

You may get caught up in the hype. Slow down, stay cool and take time to observe and understand things. This will help you make informed decisions.

Experts are the worst

Many people have probably lost more than they have made in the stock market over a long period, because of overconfidence. Being seasoned investors, being in the market, and on top of it, they assume their investments will be safe, so they go in blindly.

It’s okay to feel shameful of your loss

People, even experts, will always make mistakes when investing. It’s okay to feel embarrassed about your investment decisions that go wrong. Face it, and move on.

Actionable advice

The next hot company is always going to be there, the next hot stock is always going to be there, it's just human nature, and so there's always going to be a hot new option. So take the time to slow down, do your due diligence, and find out if that is the right deal for the long haul.

No. 1 goal for next the 12 months

Dustin’s goal is to be better with his time and have fewer and stronger relationships because, over time, he has learned that it's important to take the time and invest in the right relationships.