Greed. What's it costing you?

[Brandon Hicks]

What's better, to lose $20-25k over 20-25 years or to lose $400-500k over the same timeframe? Congratulations if you answered $20-25k, you have a better shot at becoming a multi-millionaire entrepreneur than a well-educated banker I met with awhile back. Here's the example: Awhile back I had negotiated a no money down deal on an apartment building. The banker I was discussing the deal with said my price was too high. The sellers were not willing to go lower and I didn't really have any leverage since I was asking them to hold all the paper as I had no money. Sure I could've found a partner with the down payment and bought with a commercial financing upfront but I'd be losing way more over the long run to the partner than by overpaying 5 percent. Had the deal closed, I'm confident I would've made $400+k on the deal in 20 years. Well worth over paying a little up front.