Is anyone else terrified?

[Nicholas DeLouisa Jr]

Hi,

So, I read the Ultimate Beginner's Guide, and I'm reading blog posts and listening to podcasts, and making a list of books to buy, and all of it is overwhelming me to a fairly large degree.

Everyone talks about Analysis Paralysis, but I think it's really about FEAR.  I don't have a lot and I don't want to lose it.  I screwed up my credit when I was a kid and have worked my a** off to fix it as best I can, so it's too important to me to risk it now.

I'm afraid to ask for a mentor because I'm not sure I have anything to offer in this business that could be useful for someone, and I don't like the idea of some generous person taking me under his/her wing and guiding me and I can't return the favor.  I know I can do grunt work - painting, cleaning, hauling, etc. - but because of my job I don't have a lot of time to do that stuff.  So, I don't want to feel like I'm using someone.

I'm getting married in February, and while I have the full support of Future Wifey, I know that we have to keep all of this secret from her family because they are too judgmental and critical and any conversation with them ends in, "You shouldn't do that," and "why didn't you do this," etc., even when I know they have absolutely no idea what they're talking about.  (example: I'm an electrician, they know I'm an electrician, but her grandfather still tries to 'teach' me about wiring a house.)  But FW hates keeping things from them and if I ask her to do that it will stress her out every time she talks to any of them.

I can go right now to a real estate agent's office and say, "Hi, my name is Nick, and I want to invest in some property," and when he starts asking me questions, most of my answers will be either, "I don't know," or, "What does that mean?"  I can read the books and memorize the lingo, and I'm pretty adept at math so understanding formulas won't be a problem.  But I feel like when I listen to people talk about this stuff, I'm lost.  Even things I thought I knew, I apparently misunderstood.

Ugghhhh

But I guess all of that is ok, because I know I'm green right now, a newborn, I'm just screaming a little bit.  Maybe it's because I'm hungry ...

-Nick

[Aaron Mazzrillo]

I got my undergraduate degree in computer science (programming). I landed my first internship during my last few months of my senior year. We used to have a weekly department luncheon in the conference room where myself, all the other programmers and the department head would sit around the large conference table. It would always be a group conversation with the department head asking questions and the individual programmers providing answers, assisting each other in providing answers and, frankly I'm not really sure, but bouncing other computer type stuff ideas off one another. 

Yes, I was an OK programmer and I could understand how to complete a task, but I was nowhere on the level of my coworkers even though I had just about completed a 4 year degree of intensive study. They could talk in depth about how different languages interfaced and all kinds of other software and hardware issues I was absolutely clueless about. Long story short, instead of asking questions, I kept my head buried in my sandwich and just hoped nobody asked me any questions. A few months later, I quit never to program again except the occasional webpage. 

I knew that business wasn't for me. Even though I could do my job, I felt absolutely lost the rest of the time. The big difference between you and I is that I would never have gone online to a forum to read posts about programming issues. I really wasn't interested. I only entered that field of work because I thought it would be financially rewarding. So, I'm not saying real estate isn't for you because I don't know why you want to pursue this business, but maybe that is something you need to seriously think about. Unlike your future in-laws, lots of people here will tell you keep at it, study more, read more, network more, take your time etc. However, I (and many others) have a very successful business that essentially buys property from people who realize this business isn't for them and they want out of it so badly, they take huge discounts in sales price just to go to bed that night knowing they never have to deal with another house, sometimes even the one they live in, or tenant ever again. Yes, real estate can be unbelievably financially rewarding, but it can also take you way past negative very quickly. I know single family house investors that to this day, even though they have lots of rentals and a high equity net worth, still have lots of debt lingering from deals gone wrong in the past.

Of course, I'm playing devil's advocate here. I think in time, if you continue to study and apply yourself, you will figure it out, but I want you seriously consider both sides. Real estate has been a tough road and there have been many nights I've laid awake wondering how the hell I was ever going to come out of many deals. Funny thing though, no matter what happened, I always woke up the next day with my arms, my legs, my hands and eyes, my prior knowledge, a little more experience, another interesting and sometimes funny story and even when I lost money, things always worked out OK. 

Don't be so terrified about losing money. Doesn't sound like you have much anyway so what are you really so afraid of losing? You know the answer to bad credit? You just have to walk into the gas station and pay cash. You lose the luxury of swiping your card at the pump. I have perfect credit and I still can't get a bank loan so what else really is there? Other than my credit cards, I don't have much use for credit. Doesn't help my run faster or get discounts on groceries. Just a stupid number. And I tell you what, I REALLY wish I had horrible credit when I first got started. It would have forced me to do much better deals than what I did which was going down to the bank and borrowing money. That turned out to be a complete disaster - multiple times. The only disclosure a bank should really make you sign is one that clearly states "We are not here to help you make money. We only have our own self interest in mind 100% of the time. You never come first. Please step on the carpet at your own risk." 

Linger longer. Hang around other investors that are doing deals. There's nothing to be afraid of. And terrified? That is much to strong a word.