convincing a spouse that real estate is for us

[Juan Aguilera]

I've been a bigger pockets member for some time now and I love seeing success stories. I'm obsessed with the Podcasts and reading discussions and forums. However, I haven't made the jump yet into real estate investing. It's not the my wife and I cant afford it. My wife is a nurse, and I'm a Union skilled Tradesman (Plumbing and Pipefitting). We can afford to make the jump perhaps a little easier than some. The problem for me, is convincing my wife that real estate can be as good of a retirement plan if not better, than perhaps traditional investment methods AKA......... 401K, Roth IRA, so on so forth. If anyone out there has had a similar situation, I'd like to hear how you went about breaking down the numbers and or perhaps a book that you turned your spouse or significant other onto, to get them on your side and see the bright side of Real Estate and the potential financial independence that can be achieved!

[Mike Sattem]

@Juan Aguilera,

Getting started is the hardest part. My wife was very worried when we started, becuase it was a realm she knew nothing about, and by her estimate, I knew just a touch more, which was a pretty scary endeavor when you are talking about $100K investments. I hunted the MLS and ran deal after deal until I started to find some that made sense, and then put together a presentation on paper for her to look at for herself. Because she knew so little, she was more afraid of the unknown, than any potential benefits could outweigh. Once it was on paper, and she could see how a single home would work, she said ok.