Don't be a retail investor!

[Nate R.]

I'm haunted by Ben L.'s comment "Don't be a retail investor!" in the podcast on rental properties. This is also common advice in real estate investment books. Always buy at a discount, or, as Warren Buffett says, with a margin of safety.

I've been evaluating some turnkey opportunities and am close to pulling the trigger on one, but Ben's admonition is in the back of my mind, watering the seeds of doubt.

Is it really that big of a sin to pay the asking price if the cash flow makes sense? I am also trying to buy in an area that I believe will appreciate over the next few years. 

It's hard for me to conceive of how I can "buy below market" value in this market. If a property is below "market value", why is it even available at that price? Common sense dictates that those kinds of opportunities are ephemeral and elusive by their very nature.

This probably works with properties that need some kind of repair, or where there is value to be unlocked by some kind of zoning change, etc... I don't see how this applies to what I'm doing.