How do I budget time

Question

Investing feels overwhelming, and I get stuck in analysis paralysis. How much of your free-time goes into research versus actual hands-on work on-site? I’d much rather be working with my hands than sitting in front of a PC

Rick Albert · Answer

When we get stuck in analysis paralysis there are a few things that come to mind:

1. Is what you are looking for realistic? Are your parameters keeping you in analysis mode because nothing works? It might require a realignment of expectations. I've been submitting offers and not getting counters. So I asked my Realtor if my expectations are unrealistic.

2. I know you want to get your hands dirty, but don't rush into anything. Not sure how long you have been looking but things take time.

3. What does your spreadsheet look like? Overtime, I've developed a spreadsheet that works for me. It allows me to analysis properties pretty fast.

4. Does it make sense to get a business partner? They analyze, you manage. You can provide some analysis.

JD Martin · Answer

Honestly, it shouldn't take you a whole ton of time to do research once you know what you want to do. Pick a focus and run with it. If you'd rather be working with your hands, then you sound like someone who is a prime candidate for a DIY rental rehab, for example. So let's say you like the idea of owning a single family rental house. Focus on an area (best ones are usually the ones you know). Now you have your area. How much do houses rent for in your area? How much do they sell for? Is there enough profit there to make it make sense? ETC.

Most people who get stuck in analysis paralysis either don't really want to be investors or are so terrified of making a mistake that they'd rather do nothing. At some point you have to accept that your first attempt may not be perfect, but if you set some guidelines and narrow your focus down to something that's achievable you should be on your way pretty quickly. And remember that time has a good way of healing most RE sins. If you hold long enough you virtually always make money.

JD Martin · Answer

I get it. I lost a boatload of money my first time around. But I lost because I sold. If I had held I would have eventually made around a quarter million instead of losing 100k+. I just consider it my expensive education.

If you clear your head to the idea that it is possible to lose money, but that there are ways to mitigate the possible downsides, you will be much more likely to take action.

Mitchell Gunlock · Answer

> are so terrified of making a mistake that they'd rather do nothing

I totally feel this. Reading this helps me see things more clearly.

Abel Curiel · Answer

Hey @Mitchell Gunlock,

What are you looking to accomplish? I see this is posted in the house-hack forum so I'll make the assumption that you want to owner-occupy your next investment.

To work more hands-on, you'll want to spend time searching for deals, analyzing deals, and networking/building a team.

Before your property search, I'd recommend speaking with a lender to find out how much you'll qualify for. This will help direct your search to the right areas, property types and price point.

If you're purchasing all-cash, skip that step.

Depending on your goal and preferred timeline for closing, the majority of your time should be spent searching for and analyzing deals.

Searching: Look at public listing sites; connect with an investor friendly agent and choose 1 to work with who can search MLS and off-market inventory; for additional off-market options, consider growing your own database of wholesalers and homeowners

Analyzing: Your agent can send comps and you can also search public listing sites for sold homes. In your analysis, look at local rental apartments to determine income potential of any properties of interest. The BP rental estimator tool is pretty good as well and is usually within about a 5-7% margin of error. Agents may also have macro data on historical data, local median sale prices, absorption rate, etc to help with your analyses and projections.

Networking/build a team: Attend local meetups, virtual meetups and stay active on forums like this.

A lot of this will be done in front of a PC unfortunately but if you cut out the noise, you'll be able to maximize your time.

Lastly, something that has helped me tremendously with respect to focus and improving efficiency is the pommodor technique.

These are all surface-level recommendations. The deeper issue behind analysis paralysis may be some underlying fear, hesitation, and/or anxiety that you have to uncover and work through. This is very common so don't feel discouraged by maybe having to do some "inner work" or whatever you want to call it.

Hope this helps!

Abel

How do I budget time

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