A number of years ago I was sitting with a group of friends, and one of our other friend’s name came up. By this point in life he’d done very well for himself by investing in real estate early.
As we were sitting there talking about how he’d become rich, and had a lifestyle that many will only dream of, I was surprised by the comments that followed next.
We all agreed that we’d love to be rich and have that lifestyle, but then the most common objection I hear about real estate starting coming out…
“Yeah he’s done well for himself, but I don’t want to get phone calls at two in the morning to change lightbulbs and fix leaky toilets.”
Good grief!
If I had a dime for every time I’ve heard this.
Could it happen?
Yes.
Is it common?
Absolutely not.
I’ve owned many properties, over many years, and not once have I ever gotten a call in the middle of the night to change a lightbulb, or fix a toilet.
In fact, I had one tenant completely redo the bathroom for me, for free!
Two things tend to happen psychologically that keep people from taking the step into becoming a real estate investor.
First, we lie to ourselves. We as humans have an incredible ability to tell ourselves something long enough that we start to believe it.
Ever heard someone say they’d love to win the lottery, and then turn around and say that all rich people are money grubbing scoundrels?
The truth is, because they don’t have it, and they don’t know how to get it….other than winning the lottery, they convince themselves that money is bad, or that it changes people.
The other thing that happens is the “fear of loss”.
This is such an interesting behaviour. We’re more scared of what we could lose, than what we could gain. This fear makes people procrastinate for years, sometimes decades.
As my partner Geoff always says, “I’d rather regret something I’ve done, than something I haven’t.”
I know what real estate investing has done for my life, and my financial future. Have I had challenges? Absolutely. The rewards have far outweighed the risks though.
So how do I overcome this fear?
By understanding that every year my money isn’t invested and growing, I’m losing far more future money than present money. I look at the long term. Sure the money I have in my bank account today feels good. But it’s not going to feel good in a few years when inflation has devalued its buying power and I still can’t afford the lifestyle I want.
Today we talk about some of my investing stories, and the things that keep most people out of the game far longer than they should, on the “Investment Property Income” podcast.
As the saying goes, “The best time to invest in real estate is ten years ago. The next best time is now.”
www.guidetothegrind.com
