When most people think of JL Collins, they think of smart stock and index fund investing. In his classic, The Simple Path to Wealth, JL lays out the foundational path that investors can follow to secure financial freedom simply, easily, and without a ton of stress. So it may come to many FI chasers’ surprise that JL has written a new book on real estate investing, and not index funds, the stock market, or our current state of high inflation.
In, How I Lost Money in Real Estate Before It Was Fashionable, JL lays out, quite candidly, how not to invest in real estate. And before you get mad about that type of advice on a BiggerPockets Podcast, please note that JL isn’t saying to NOT invest in real estate, but to invest in real estate in a smarter way than he did.
JL is the first to admit that real estate is a phenomenal way to build wealth, create passive income, and retire early. But, if you haven’t fulfilled your 250+ hours of real estate investing education, you probably shouldn’t be purchasing income properties. In today’s show, you’ll hear JL explicitly list out all the mistakes he made when investing, and how you can mitigate these risks and come out profitable instead!
Mindy:
Welcome to the BiggerPockets Money podcast show number 285, where we interviewed JL Collins and talk about losing money in real estate.
JL Collins:
My lawyer, Wayne, pointed out that there was no real practical way to enforce that because of the cost of litigation that it would take. So when YP said, “You don’t like it. Sue me,” he knew my hands were tied. Well, when Wayne was saying to me, “JL, you have to close. I mean, the law says that when essentially it’s done and you’re just down to a checklist, you have to close. You can’t keep canceling these closings like you’re doing,” and you can imagine what I said to Wayne. I said, “Let him sue me.”
Mindy:
Hello, hello, hello. Hello. My name is Mindy Jensen, and with me as always is my smart cookie co-host,…