Saturday, March 20, 2010

Overcoming Fear In Real Estate Investing

This is for anyone who has ever had a little bit of fear keeping them from doing deals. Fear and faith are really the opposite and I want to delve into the psychology of investing and overcoming your fears so that you can take the steps forward that you need to. Nothing great is never easy and it always takes a leap of faith to accomplish something.

So, you investors out there who have never done a deal, this is for you. For those of you who know you know this business and have the tools and education to do this, this will help you too. Everybody has been there.

I sat next to a woman not too long ago at a real estate investing seminar and she told me that she had spent over $40,000 on her investing education. She had almost every book and tape available to her. She knew so much, she could teach ME the business! I asked her many questions and she knew her stuff. I asked her why she hadn’t bought a house and she told me it’s because she never had the opportunity. I asked her why she never put an ad in the paper, and her response was, “I was afraid that someone might call”. I said that that’s what we do, don’t let fear stop you! I told her she could write herself a script and if they call, she could follow the script, and she might end up buying a house. Her exact words then were, “I was afraid if I bought a house, I wouldn’t know how to get rid of it!”

If you have the education and you really want to do this business, but haven’t pulled the trigger, read on. Fear and faith are the opposites of one another. If you’ve got the faith that you are going to achieve with the fear that you won’t, it will always overlap. Deep down in your heart, you do believe you can do this, don’t you? If you didn’t believe you can do this, you wouldn’t be receiving this Newsletter, right? Would you spend the time learning about this business if you didn’t truly believe that you could do it?

Here are some tips to overcome fear:

Have a mentor. You don’t have to join a high-price coaching program to mentor you. Your mentor can be a real estate investor at your local real estate investor club that you struck a good chord with. Ask them if they mind if you give them a call once in awhile with a question or two. They probably won’t mind if you call them once a week and talk for 10 minutes.

Another way to handle it is through meeting someone in your area who is doing deals. Just let them know that you get deals coming across your desk, and you are not sure if they are good. Let them know that you are looking to do your first deal. Ask them if they mind if you give them a call to run it by them and maybe you can do the deal together and split it? Let them know you will do the work but you just need someone to run it by. A lot of investors will take you up on it and will even tell you they don’t need your money.

It could be a realtor that works with investors or even a landlord that owns a handful of houses or apartment buildings that has been around awhile. It could be a mortgage lender. Funding is a huge part of this business. Nobody knows the mortgage business more than a mortgage lender. The key is to get out there. Don’t sit in your office or sit in your living room thinking about all of the problems that could go wrong. You’ve got to network. If it wasn’t for networking, I wouldn’t be in the business. I went to as many real estate investment clubs as I could and I got to meet people, and slowly over time I all of a sudden knew the business. And you are always learning. You can’t be afraid to get out there, reach out, shake someone’s hand, and get to know them and ask some questions.

Another idea is a mastermind group with other members. There is nothing that has helped me more in my business is a mastermind group and talking to other investors. Sometimes you just need a pat on the back or a kick in the butt to get going so you are not so afraid. Don’t let fear overwhelm you!

The types of deals you can begin with are wholesale deals, bird-dogging, or option deals. There are no risks with these. With an option deal, you find a pretty house at a good price and get an option to buy it. You tell the Seller up front that you may never buy this house. Let them know you are getting an option on it so you can buy it if you want. Tell them the truth. Let them know that you are going to try to find someone else to buy it for a little bit more. Let them know that when you go to bed at night, that you are thinking about their house, and when you wake up in the morning, you’ll be thinking about their house. And you will also be thinking about their house in all of that awake time in between, looking for someone to buy your house from me when the time comes. Tell them not to get their hopes up too much. What is your risk? Maybe you will give them $50 or $100 as an option deposit. Again, what is your risk? Nothing! And you haven’t risked your integrity, because you told him up front that you might never buy the house. Same thing goes with a wholesale deal. If you are wholesaling, (typically we don’t tell the seller we are going to find someone else to buy it from us), but you could if you are afraid to go back to the seller and tell them you are not buying it. If you are dealing with the right sellers, they don’t care WHAT you told them, as long as you are trying to help them out with their problem. With wholesaling, what risk do you take? If you don’t find somebody to buy the house, you walk away from the deal.

What are you afraid of? Sometimes, “the only thing to fear is fear itself”. I know it’s an old adage, but it’s the truth. There is nothing to be afraid of.

Even with short sales, you have nothing to be afraid of. You are telling the seller up front that you are going to try to work with the bank to get it cheap enough so we can buy. Let them know up front that you can’t buy it if the bank doesn’t work with you. So, what have you got to lose? Don’t let that fear overwhelm you.

Do wholesale deals, option deals, short sales (which are a lot of work), or even bird-dog for other people. Be up front with people if you find a good deal.

Remember, everyone in this business got some help when they first started. One deal turns into two, two deals turn into three. But, you have to do that first one. Concentrate just on one type of deal then. I suggest not doing a sub-to or a rehab for your first deal, if you are nervous. Pick a wholesale or an option deal for your first one.

You can do this business! If I can do this, as well as a thousand other people, so can you! Turn your fear into faith. Wake up every morning and say, “Yes, I can!”.

To Learn more about real estate, watch videos, get free reports and more, go to: www.RealEstateInvestorPlus.com.


No comments:

Post a Comment