What's Your Excuse For Not Investing

Investor Mindset
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What's Your Excuse For Not Investing

Eric Medemar
Real Estate Coach · Grand Rapids, MI · Member since 2008 · 204 posts · 188 votes

You can either make excuses or make progress, but never both!

Every year I talk to countess "Investors" who:

* Have been thinking about investing
* Have been reading about investing
* Have a friend who failed at investing so that means you'll fail (The elusive friend)
* Are saving for a down payment
* Are Waiting for rates to go down
* Are Waiting to finish their real estate course
* Are Waiting for their mentor to tell them to buy
* Are Waiting for summer (insert any season), to get started
* Are Waiting for the market to straighten out
* Waiting till they can afford it
* Waiting till they get a promotion
* Waiting till their friend or relative can partner with them
* Trying to read just one more book, then they will get going
* Waiting till they buy their own house
* Waiting till they get a raise
* Waiting to graduate from college
* Waiting till their friend or family member becomes a realtor
* Waiting to be married
* Waiting till they contribute their maximum to a 401k
* Waiting till they get done working on their own home

Then after giving me their excuse for waiting to start investing they ask:

* What happens if the toilet gets clogged?
* What happens if the furnace gos bad?
* What happens if tenant ruins the house?
* What happens if the roof leaks?
* What happens if the tenant doesn't pay?
* What happens if someone breaks a window?
* What happens if someone leaves a broken down car at the house?

If they don't have the question, they usually tell me about a friend or relative who had one of the above happen.

The questions that they SHOULD be asking but NEVER do:

* What happens if I don't start investing now?
* How many homes do I need to buy in order to retire comfortably?
* If you could share with me your best idea, what would it be?
* What kind of money am I leaving on the table by not investing?
* How does the stock market compare to real estate? (that doesn't even deserve an answer)
* How can I use real estate to make my dreams come true?
* What would I do with an extra $500 or even $5,000 a month in cash flow?
* How will my family react when I retire 10-20 years earlier?
* What are my broke friends going to think when I show up in my Porsche?

99% of people share this problem: If a family member or friend needed $500, most people would need a ton of convincing to loan it to them, and if it wasn't repaid it would surely be a BIG problem, some people would even lose friend over such a small amount of money. But that same person could care less about the $500-$10,000 a month that they will lose each and every month for the rest of their life by not investing in real estate.

Why doesn't anybody pay attention to their opportunity cost?

I used to be a tight a##, then one day I got to thinking.

What if instead of worrying about ways to save money, I started just focusing on ways to make it?

That simple question changed my whole life.

Hopefully most of you are making progress and not excuses, but......

I would love to hear the excuses that are holding your back, or how you have actually overcame the excuse trap

1Reply
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Most Popular Reply

Jay DeCima
Redding, CA · Member since 2016 · 224 posts · 143 votes
10y

Eric

THE TIMING IS PERFECT TODAY

If the train left the depot without you before, this is your time and opportunity to catch up! You can now buy properties with seller financing and cash flow that make sense. For many, it’s a second chance to buy real estate that can lead to financial freedom. Today, you can often start with cash flow, build a second income and even switch to full-time real estate investing. It’s truly the perfect real estate investor storm. The opportunity is right now! It’s time to learn the basics and get started without delay!

Rents are actually increasing as more homeowners lose their houses and are forced into renting. Income property prices have shrunk to 20 year lows, just like houses, however, the financing for older rental units that I mostly recommend, can now be negotiated between the buyers and sellers. In other words, we’re once again back toseller financing where cash flow can be automatically structured in the deal. No longer are small-time investors stuck with what the bank says.

Right now is a perfect time to consider income-producing properties! Done correctly, these properties offer fail-proof investing – plus the income (rents) is indexed to regular living costs, which provides protection against inflation. For W-2 wage earners attempting to save money for retirement, acquiring small apartments offers the perfect business opportunity.

Good luck.

Fixer Jay DeCima

1Reply
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  • Adrian Pillow
    General Contractor · Warrenton, VA · Member since 2008 · 72 posts · 10 votes
    18y

    I LOVE this post! You are preaching the truth.

    My excuse at the moment is Fear and Ignorance. Similar to the FUD factor.

    Fear of making a bad deal because of ignorance of what I NEED to know to make an educated decision(s).

    I am quickly fixing the ignorance part with lots of reading of RE books and with the excellent info and helpers on Bigger Pockets.

    Soon oh very soon deals will be made :) Actually I am in the process of building my "team" for RE deals. Also I am hoping to finance a little bit differently than hard money lenders, but I will keep it to myself until it comes to fruition. If it works I will share how I did it.

    Thanks for the excellent post.

    0Reply
  • Nissean Johnson
    St. Louis, MO · Member since 2008 · 25 posts · 0 votes
    18y

    I will be the first to admit I make excuses. What I think is holding me back is my lack of knoweledge, money, and people. As far as the knoweledge goes I am taking a real estate appraisal course, in a REI club, read books and news. As far as money goes I am saving $500 a month and trying to network to be a birddog or work for someone for the time being. As far as people, I am everday trying to work on my networking skills. Working on getting to know more people and some day find life long partners. I know I could be doing a lot more, just trying to find what that is. :violin:

    0Reply
  • Dean George
    Portland, OR · Member since 2008 · 33 posts · 2 votes
    18y

    Not yet convinced that pouring my time and energy into RE will yield appreciably better results than pouring it into the businesses I already own.

    Been spending lots of time doing math about it all, and the business continues to win out with cash flow, profitability, and wealth accumulation compared to time and energy expended on RE investment.

    I'm still very interested in the idea, but I need to be convinced before I go down the road. A crowd of people all clamoring to doing something is usually a sign that I don't want to be doing that.

    0Reply
  • Chris Pelletier
    Real Estate Investor · Northfield, MA · Member since 2008 · 101 posts · 0 votes
    18y

    Still waiting for SOMEBODY to accept one of our offers. But...atleast now we ARE making offers!!!! We will find the right motivated seller if we keep moving forward. Love this post.

    0Reply
  • Marvin Eason
    Real Estate Investor · Oceanside, CA · Member since 2008 · 38 posts · 0 votes
    18y

    My excuses:

    I need a car, the metro doesn't reach my REI meetings and I don't know anyone who goes to the meeting who lives in my area!

    I am working on getting my credit back up to par.

    But I am trying to buy the house I am renting in as my first rental property, I am in charge of the house per the owner, so I am collecting rents, and we will have our final roommate (potential roommate) to check out the last room available on Apr 9th.

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Inspector · Garden City, MI · Member since 2008 · 18 posts · 0 votes
    18y

    My excuse is that I dont have any money, I am living paycheck to paycheck, my credit sucks which is what Im working on fixing, I dont know much about Investing, but I am learning alot on this website. I was thinking about birddogging or if I could find a mentor to show me the ropes that would be great. I do think it will take me 4 years to get any money to invest, but once I do I will start investing, but until then I will learn as much as I can.

    0Reply
  • Bob McIntosh
    Real Estate Investor · Hoboken, NJ · Member since 2008 · 230 posts · 6 votes
    18y

    For me its finding enough money to start. In my area any decent investment property is selling for $500K or more (many of the good ones are closer to a mil) so its been difficult to find $150K - $200k for a down payment...

    0Reply
  • Marvin Eason
    Real Estate Investor · Oceanside, CA · Member since 2008 · 38 posts · 0 votes
    18y
    Originally posted by "Ashamann01":
    For me its finding enough money to start. In my area any decent investment property is selling for $500K or more (many of the good ones are closer to a mil) so its been difficult to find $150K - $200k for a down payment...

    Have you spoken with a mortgage broker? You can get properties using as little as 3% down so that's 15k not 150k...to get started.

    0Reply
  • Greg Shaw
    kingston, Ontario · Member since 2008 · 19 posts · 1 vote
    18y

    My excuse "was" I am waiting for the right property that I will feel comfortable enough with to take that first giant step.
    It finally happened and in the end I am glad I waited because failure is not an option.

    0Reply
  • Bob McIntosh
    Real Estate Investor · Hoboken, NJ · Member since 2008 · 230 posts · 6 votes
    18y
    Originally posted by "MarvinE":
    Originally posted by "Ashamann01":
    For me its finding enough money to start. In my area any decent investment property is selling for $500K or more (many of the good ones are closer to a mil) so its been difficult to find $150K - $200k for a down payment...

    Have you spoken with a mortgage broker? You can get properties using as little as 3% down so that's 15k not 150k...to get started.

    I have spoken to about 6 mortgage brokers, and not one of them would accept less than a 20% (most wanted 25% - 30%) down payment for an investment only property. If I were owner occupied as my first property I could get away with something lower, but I am not looking to do that right now.

    0Reply
  • Grand Wally
    Real Estate Investor · Louisville, KY · Member since 2008 · 159 posts · 13 votes
    18y

    Ashamann01:

    My first deal I spent $87 on at closing (eighty seven dollars!) to cover some legal stuff. Find a deal with a LTV ratio good enough to cover the down payment, ask the seller to pay some of closing and there you go.....

    I see you are in Hoboken and I hear there are some expensive properties up there...have you done an analysis of a radius within 30 miles of Hoboken to see if there are cheaper properties in those areas?

    0Reply
  • Marvin Eason
    Real Estate Investor · Oceanside, CA · Member since 2008 · 38 posts · 0 votes
    18y
    Originally posted by "Ashamann01":
    Originally posted by "MarvinE":
    Originally posted by "Ashamann01":
    For me its finding enough money to start. In my area any decent investment property is selling for $500K or more (many of the good ones are closer to a mil) so its been difficult to find $150K - $200k for a down payment...

    Have you spoken with a mortgage broker? You can get properties using as little as 3% down so that's 15k not 150k...to get started.

    I have spoken to about 6 mortgage brokers, and not one of them would accept less than a 20% (most wanted 25% - 30%) down payment for an investment only property. If I were owner occupied as my first property I could get away with something lower, but I am not looking to do that right now.

    Ah maybe that's what it is then, I will be an owner occupying my first investment property.

    0Reply
  • Bob McIntosh
    Real Estate Investor · Hoboken, NJ · Member since 2008 · 230 posts · 6 votes
    18y
    Originally posted by "gkimmer":
    Ashamann01:

    My first deal I spent $87 on at closing (eighty seven dollars!) to cover some legal stuff. Find a deal with a LTV ratio good enough to cover the down payment, ask the seller to pay some of closing and there you go.....

    I see you are in Hoboken and I hear there are some expensive properties up there...have you done an analysis of a radius within 30 miles of Hoboken to see if there are cheaper properties in those areas?

    There are certainly cheaper properties the further away from Manhattan you get, however I am particularly interested in staying close to Manhattan (1/3 because its still appreciating despite the market everywhere else, 1/3 because I live in that area so that makes PM easer, and 1/3 because a 20 mile drive here could mean an hour or more because of traffic), so maybe I am just being to picky...

    0Reply
  • Will BarnardPro Member
    Moderator
    Developer · Santa Clarita, CA · Member since 2008 · 15k+ posts · 10k+ votes
    18y

    Just to quote a few of my favorite lines on this subject:
    The rich act in spite of fear while others allow fear to stop them.
    Rich people do what others think about doing.
    Adopt wealthy ways of thinking.
    AND MY FAVORITE:
    The greatest mistake in life you can make is to continuously be afraid you will make one!

    That all said, everyone, including myself, is scared the first time. The only way to overcome the fear is to Just do it! Get eductaed first, do not buy RE blindly which WILL be a mistake. You can also get someone on your "team" who is veru experienced to assist you in this business. That is how I got started.

    In today's market, I suggest the buy and hold strategy and acquire as much as you can without over-extending and always do your due diligence.

    Good luck to all and happy investing!

    Podcast Guest on Show #130
    0Reply
  • Aaron Mikottis
    Architect · Joliet, IL · Member since 2015 · 207 posts · 119 votes
    10y
    I am incredibly busy working on getting my architectural license, working freelance, and working lots of overtime at my day job. That's not going to stop me, though! Just got an offer accepted yesterday. Here's to making 2016 the highest earning year to date.
    0Reply
  • Jay DeCima
    Redding, CA · Member since 2016 · 224 posts · 143 votes
    10y

    Eric

    THE TIMING IS PERFECT TODAY

    If the train left the depot without you before, this is your time and opportunity to catch up! You can now buy properties with seller financing and cash flow that make sense. For many, it’s a second chance to buy real estate that can lead to financial freedom. Today, you can often start with cash flow, build a second income and even switch to full-time real estate investing. It’s truly the perfect real estate investor storm. The opportunity is right now! It’s time to learn the basics and get started without delay!

    Rents are actually increasing as more homeowners lose their houses and are forced into renting. Income property prices have shrunk to 20 year lows, just like houses, however, the financing for older rental units that I mostly recommend, can now be negotiated between the buyers and sellers. In other words, we’re once again back toseller financing where cash flow can be automatically structured in the deal. No longer are small-time investors stuck with what the bank says.

    Right now is a perfect time to consider income-producing properties! Done correctly, these properties offer fail-proof investing – plus the income (rents) is indexed to regular living costs, which provides protection against inflation. For W-2 wage earners attempting to save money for retirement, acquiring small apartments offers the perfect business opportunity.

    Good luck.

    Fixer Jay DeCima

    1Reply
  • Rob McGahen
    Pensacola, FL · Member since 2016 · 50 posts · 51 votes
    10y

    My two excuses are not yet having the knowledge (but I'm working on that every day), and convincing my wife.

    Anyone have experience on convincing a spouse?

    0Reply
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