The Biggest Mistakes You Seen Being Made by First Timers

[Jonno Rushbrook]

Hey guys, absolutely love this site and everyone on it. I'm just about to jump into the Buy & Hold side of REI and just wondering if anyone has any classic mistakes that they would see a first timer like me make consistently.

*Insert a quote about learning from the mistakes of others etc etc.

Would really appreciate the heads up so I can make a smart move into Buy & Hold investing.

Cheers :)

[Steve Rozenberg]

Never factoring in for problems with maintenance or vacancy issues, buying too many homes in too short of a period without letting any problems work themselves out before buying more. (20 homes in a year and a half, then another 15 over the next 2 years)

I was undercapitalized on my acquisitions and thought that buying more properties and letting the cashflow from the other rentals offset any cash infusions I might need.

Lastly trying to have a cheap business model (Cheap vendors, cheap properties, cheap everything) not the best way to operate because all I attracted were other cheap minded people only interested in taking my money and not having a common goal.