Episode 3: One Thing After Another
In real estate investing, sometimes one thing happens after another. Sometimes you can't find a deal. You talk to sellers and agents, thinking you have a deal, and it falls through. Maybe the title is bad, the seller wasn't serious about selling, the house has severe issues not worth correcting at the price you're buying the property for. It can seem like, one after another, you can make a deal work.
Then, you find a deal, but you need insurance, HUD statement, escrow, an attorney, keep the seller informed, and find the money to get the deal done. You close on the property, you need to do work to create equity, you have contractors who are late or don't finish the job. An investor changes their mind. Something happens with your credit.
Maybe multiple buyers want the same pieces of property. Maybe you are dealing with city regulations.
[04:30] When it feels like "one thing after another" -- I have to focus on the fact that it is absolutely true. One bad tenant after another, one missed payment after another, one bad contractor after another. In between those, are amazing opportunities to increase your family's wealth. That's why I invest in rental real estate.
I get one rental check after another, one rental payment after another, and it continues increasing. I build one relationship after another. If you're unhappy with the contractors you're hiring, examine your process. Are you picking up just "anyone" off Craigslist with no references?
[06:30] Readjust your mindset to focus on the positive in your real estate business. Think about the great people you meet along the way: funders, bankers, insurance folks, tenants, contractors. One after another! You don't know how much you can benefit (or give) until you meet them. There's always an opportunity. "One thing after another" also looks like the tax depreciation I get every year.
[09:00] I look at one thing after another that is growing my property and myself. If I look at the "bad" and want to quit, I also have to look at the great things that make me say, I want to grow even further.