How To Overcome Your Fear And Move Forward In Real Estate Investing

How To Overcome Your Fear And Move Forward In Real Estate Investing

Successful real estate investing is about bringing a lot of pieces together – sellers, buyers, money, timing, location, value, and so much more. And most investors will tell you: Successful real estate investing is also about overcoming your fears.

We’re not born as real estate investors, and we don’t learn how to do it in school. The only way we learn is by being taught by someone else and then practicing through trial and error. It’s the “trial and error” part that scares us. We’re hardwired to avoid failure to the extent that we can even have a physical reaction (sweating, increased heartrate, shortness of breath) to the thought of risk.

But just because there are risks, and we fear them, doesn’t mean we should avoid real estate investing. If people avoided fear and risk altogether, we wouldn’t have electricity. Or cars. Or North America. We’d be stuck in a cave somewhere, hoping that the saber-toothed tiger isn’t prowling around outside.

People advance in spite of their fears. If you want to advance in real estate investing in spite of your fears, here’s how to do it:

1. Listen to your fear. Fear is there for a reason, even if it needs to be overcome. Listen to your fear and learn from it. Identify what it’s trying to warn you about. List the risks, worries, problems you fear and make that a priority list to address and mitigate as much as possible.

2. Get educated. Knowledge shines a light on the shadowy unknown that encourages our fear. Getting educated – through reading, a REIN membership, attending events, mentorship, working with other investors, asking lots of questions, participating in a community like myreinspace – will help you know the truth and eliminate fear. Education should be an ongoing commitment; a journey, never a destination.

3. Partner with others. This is a powerful way to invest. If you’re just starting out, partner with others who are more experienced then you. Be willing to invest some sweat equity in exchange for an “in-the-trenches” practical experience. As you grow, you’ll continue to partner because partnering is a powerful practice in investing.

4. Take it one step at a time. One of the reasons we feel fear is because we view all the necessary actions at the same time. This “onslaught” of required activity becomes overwhelming and we physiologically respond in the same was as we would if we perceived a threat. Instead, make a list of everything you need to do in your investment but only look at one step at a time. You don’t need to do everything, just the next thing.

5. Take baby steps. If the next thing still seems like too much, break it down even further. For example, if putting an offer on a property seems like too big and scary of a step, break it down even further:

Step 1. Decide what you’re going to offer.

Step 2. Tell the seller.

Step 3. Wait for a counter-offer.

Step 4. Consider the counter offer.

Step 5. Reply to their counter-offer.

Fear – it’s a natural instinct and there’s nothing wrong with it. But we shouldn’t let it control us or keep us from pursuing our real estate investing goals. Instead, we can use it as a guide to help us if we learn to move forward anyway.

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