Biggest Lesson Learned (i.e. Biggest Mistake Made)...

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I am going through some analysis-paralysis and second-guessing myself, as this will be one of the biggest financial decisions my husband and I will be making - aside from buying our primary residence - which I wish we could do all over again with what I now know. I can make all kinds of excuses to talk myself out of this. The numbers worked, but now I'm second-guessing the numbers. I have no experience with any rehab projects and have even shied away from re-grouting our own bathtub tiles for fear of ruining something. My offer is going to be too low - I'm just wasting everyone's time. All I see right now is a number of possible mistakes, failures, and losing a lot of money (for us). I know this is just part of the process for us - and hope to be back on top of everything again as we move forward.  

I read everything in this forum to learn as much as I can, and I love the success stories; however, I would love to hear all about the other side. I think a lot of us can learn from others' missteps and would love to read about them as well. 

As my husband and I try to move forward, I would love to hear some of your biggest/baddest lessons learned in REI. Did you make them in the beginning of your REI experience or later, after years of experience? What went wrong? What could you have done better? How much did you lose? How did you recover?

I hope to some of you guys would be willing to share your (more negative) experiences and maybe even brag about how you bounced back and continued in REI.

[Thomas S.]

You are wise to be cautious. Most that have failed, and the number far exceeds the number that succeed, are not on here and you will never hear from them. They failed badly and probably are still trying to recover years later. My only failure was due to the technology crash back at the turn of the century and was miniscule at $25K. Not really a good example for a real estate forum and obviously not what you are seeking.

The reality is that although many may suggest you jump in and learn the ropes this is usually the advice that those that failed followed.  

Knowledge is mandatory however until that knowledge gives you the personal confidence to move forward you are not ready. Analysis paralysis is baloney. It is your common-sense telling you that you still lack confidence in yourself to move forward. It is an innate survival instinct. Mentally you must gain personal confidence then all that remains is fear of the unknown. A twinge of that will exist in every deal regardless of your level of expertise. 

Moving forward it is also mandatory you reach the mental state of accepting you can lose it all but still feel confident it is worth the risk. Once the thought of losing everything is no longer a mental block you will be ready. Although very few actually succeed take comfort in the fact that everyone survives their failure.