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Hi Everyone,

I hope you are doing well.

Today I would like to share with you some observations that I have made with regards to land lording.

Many people looking to invest in real estate never end up doing so because they become terrified of the concept of becoming a ‘landlord’.

Some of these aspiring real estate investors believe that once they become a ‘landlord’, they will become a hated person.  A hated person by their tenants, and perhaps a hated person by their friends and family (so they think).

There is a belief out there that all landlords are unappreciative, wealthy Land Barons, who do not have their tenants’ best interests at heart.

I can dispel that myth for you right now.

As with any walk of life, there are bad apples out there that ruin the reputation of the good.

Of course there are some terrible landlords out there that do the unspeakable of things.

We do not care about that group of people, because we are the ones that have to focus on ourselves, and what we are doing in order to create and maintain a good relationship with our tenants. After all, we cannot control other people’s actions, we can only control ourselves!

Personally, as I look back over the past 5 years, in which I have been a landlord, I can confidently say that I have taken serious initiative in order to maintain a good relationship with all of my tenants.

Becoming a landlord that your tenants both like and respect is not hard…

…It does however take effort and consistency.  You also have to be coming from a place of authenticity.  If you are not genuine in what your are doing, it is better to replace yourself with someone who is.

Here are some of the actions that I have taken over the past 5 years as a landlord.  I am continually learning myself and adjusting and tweaking what I do as time goes on.  You can use this list as a guide. Use this list as a resource as well.  These are things that have worked for me.  Maybe you can add to this list, or speak to other experienced and good landlords who will be able to add to the list.  Also, feel free to make recommendations to me as well, so I can add these to my list!

How to become the nicest landlord your tenants will ever have

• When interacting with them, listen 80% of the time, talk 20% of the time
• Do what you say you are going to do
• Return their phone calls and e-mails promptly (same day)
• Smile
• Be proactive — (contact them on a regular basis)
• Don’t let maintenance issues get out of control – deal with them. (now)
• When they first move into your property, give them a nice welcome present (I give a Welcome Basket)
• Around Christmas (a.k.a. ‘The Holiday Season”), drop off to them a present (again, I like giving a good ‘basket’ or a gift certificate)
• Don’t be reactive — (if you are a reactive landlord, in my opinion, you are not doing your job)
• In order to gain respect, you have to show respect.  –(show respect to your tenants)
• It is better to over communicate with them than under communicate

So there you have it!

The above list is by no means an exhaustive list, however, these are the things that I have done over the past 5 years, which have helped me to continually become a better landlord.  Again, feel free to add to the list with some of your recommendations!

To keep up to date with my blog, you can enter your e-mail address on the LEFT hand side of the blog.  In order to receive The First Rental Property Newsletter, you can enter your e-mail address on the RIGHT hand side of the blog.  In the Newsletter, experienced real estate investors will share with you how they bought their first rental property.  They will also share with you some valuable tips and tricks on how to get started as a real estate investor!

Best Regards,

Neil Uttamsingh

Hi Everyone,

I hope that you are all doing well.

It seems that lately, the topic of ‘fear’ has been on my mind, and for good reason as well.

As an active real estate investor, ‘fear’ should constantly surrounds you.

In my last post, I talked about how fear is constantly felt by experienced real estate investors. I described how these experienced real estate investors are able to decipher a secret to success. It is this very secret that gives them the confidence, focus and follow through in order to invest in real estate.

Today I want to talk about why I dislike fear so much.

I dislike fear so much because I have seen first hand how fear smothers the dreams of aspiring real estate investors.

I cannot count how many times, I have been contacted or approached by people that are interested in investing in real estate.  They come to me with such hesitation.

They are hesitant because they are afraid.

With this hesitation, they also show some excitement.  They are excited about the opportunities that investing in real estate will one day provide them with.

By nature, I thoroughly enjoy helping others, and I never turn down an opportunity to talk to someone about real estate investment, and share my knowledge with them.

I always pour my heart out and give them as much advice as I possibly can. I always share all the knowledge that I have, and I don’t keep any secrets as to how one can get started.

However, I know in the back of my mind, that the chances of this person’s success in real estate investment, lies only with them.  Time after time when I have conversations with people about getting started, despite how much time I have spent encouraging them and despite how much knowledge I have given them, I never know if they will ever succeed.

The reason why I dislike fear so much is that fear stops most of these people from ever doing anything.

Every single person that comes to me for advice, I tell them the same thing.

“You have to surround yourself with people that are investing in real estate, so that you can learn from them.”

This is a simple enough suggestion, right?

Wrong!

It is disappointing as to how few people take this advice.  The people that do take this advice (the minority) are the ones that forge ahead, become smarter, more confident, and become successful at investing in real estate.

The people that do not take this advice, are the ones that usually never get started.  They constantly stay limited with their knowledge of real estate, because they have no one to learn from. The people that they are surrounded by may be fantastic people, however, they may have no clue about anything related to real estate, business, or wealth creation.

When someone finally comes to the realization that the closest people in their lives, the ones that they love the most, may not have all the answers for them..that is when change starts to happen.

Aspiring real estate investors have to realize that you have to bring into your lives people with knowledge of real estate, people that you can learn from, and people that will push you to achieve more.

I can tell you this from experience, as I have learned so much from my friends and fellow colleagues at The Real Estate Investment Network. (REIN)

In my opinion, REIN  is the best network of real estate investors in North America.  I would be surprised if there was a group of equal integrity found anywhere else in the world.

To keep up to date with my blog, you can enter your e-mail address on the LEFT hand side of the blog.

To receive The First Rental Property Newsletter, you can enter your e-mail address on the RIGHT hand side of the blog.  In this newsletter, experienced real estate investors will share with you their experience of when they bought their first rental property.  They will also share with you some tips and tricks as to how to get started investing in real estate.

Best Regards,

Neil Uttamsingh.

Hi Everyone,

I hope that you are all doing well.

This week I closed on a rental property in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Yay!

The process of purchasing rental properties is becoming very familiar to me now.  The process almost feels automatic.  However, it wasn’t always that way…

One of the biggest discoveries that I have made recently, that I would like to share with new and prospective real estate investors is this…

There is a secret to becoming a successful real estate investor.

This ’secret’ as I like to call it, may not seem obvious at first.  The secret is however the linchpin to all future success in real estate investing.

Once you understand what this secret is, it is easy to see how some people become very good and experienced at real estate investing, while others who attempt to become successful, fail.

The secret is simply this…

Successful real estate investors are afraid of investing in real estate, however, they are able to manage this fear.

This may seem like a confusing statement.  It is however not confusing at all.  Let me explain…

No matter how successful a real estate investor becomes, the individual always experiences a degree of fear with regards to real estate investing.

This fear may be centered around having a vacant rental unit, selecting tenants, obtaining financing, or growing their real estate portfolio.

I know all about this fear because I experience it.

Here is where this blog post gets interesting… (if it has not already)

• Successful and experienced real estate investors are able to manage this fear.

The key to success is being able to manage this fear.

For example, as I mentioned above, I closed on a townhouse in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada this week.  With every property purchase that I have made, I have experienced a degree of fear.  More appropriately put, this fear has more so been anxiety that I have experienced.

I think that every experienced real estate investor feels some sort of anxiety or fear with each property acquisition, no matter how many properties they may have.

For myself, I was experiencing anxiety with regards to finding tenants for this property.  I was concerned that due to the time of the year (the end of summer), the property may sit vacant for a couple of months, as the rental market that I invest in, tends to slow down a bit come September.

New and aspiring real estate investors allow this fear to consume them.  Fear paralyzes them, and because of this, they end up never taking any action!  Which translates into….

NEVER BUYING THEIR FIRST RENTAL PROPERTY!!!

Experienced real estate investors are able to manage this fear because they are resourceful, and they know where to get answers when they need them.

For example, I am resourceful, and I rely on my real estate team.  Members of my real estate team have strengths that I do not.

I am become more confident about real estate investing because I know that my real estate team is good at what they do.

For example, my fear of having a vacant unit was quickly reduced when the property manager that I work with ADP Property Management, contacted me 2 days after my closing date, with a tenant that wants to move in September 1st.  If this works out with the tenant, they will move in simply 7 days after I closed on the property.  Not bad in my books!

Once again, I was able to manage this anxiety  by working with the right people.  My property manager has the knowledge and the network, in order to provide me with a list of potential tenants that I can chose from.

So as you can see, although I keep on plugging away as a real estate investor, there are still things that I am afraid of, or that I experience anxiety over.  In this example, it was the anxiety of having a vacant unit for 2 months plus…

I know how to eliminate and reduce this fear, because I know where to get answers.

This is the biggest difference between the experienced real estate investors and the investors just starting out.

The new investors trying to get things going, often do not know where to get the answers to their important questions.  They often do not know who the right people are to network with.  It is because of this, that many of the new investors fail at real estate investing, or don’t even start investing because they are too overwhelmed.

In order to become better as  a real estate investor, you have to understand and embrace the fact that you will be afraid of certain things, however, you have to forge ahead and manage those fears.

Your resourcefulness and the people you know in your real estate network will help you to manage and or eliminate these fears.

To keep up to date with my blog, you can enter your e-mail address  on the LEFT hand said of my blog.

To receive The First Rental Property Newsletter, you can enter your e-mail address on the RIGHT hand side of the blog.  In this newsletter, experienced real estate investors will share with you what they went through when they purchased their first rental property.  They will also share with you some tips and tricks that you can implement when you buy your first rental property.

Best Regards,

Neil.

Hi Everyone,

I hope that you are all doing well.

It has been some time since my last blog post.

I have spent some time enjoying the summer and travelling with my family.

Now that the summer is coming to an end here in Toronto, it is back to the ‘grind’.

Today I would like to talk to you a little bit about an age old debate that never seems to go away in the real estate investment world.  Quite frankly, this debate will never go away…

It is the debate surrounding:

Cash flow versus Appreciation.

More specifically, the question at hand is:

Is it better to buy investment real estate for cash flow or appreciation?

If you ask this question to any experienced real estate investor, who has been around for some time, and has invested in different stages of the market cycle, they will most likely tell you that they invest for cash flow.

I would like to turn this discussion on it’s head, and say that the most successful real estate investors are the ones that purchase for appreciation, not for cash flow.

When I first began my real estate investing career, I purchased for appreciation, simply because I did not know any better.  Purchasing for appreciation I thought was the only reason anyone would purchase real estate as an investment.

As time went on and I started to learn more about real estate, real estate investment, and the methods required in order to obtain financing on investment real estate, I started to buy for cash flow.

I started to buy for cash flow because I wanted to grow my real estate portfolio.

I wanted to buy property after property, and quickly discovered that I was only able to do this if in fact I purchased cash flowing properties.

Thanks to my amazing mortgage broker, Kevin Boughen, we were able to obtain financing on 4 properties within about a 2 year span.

As of August 2010, I have a portfolio of 5 single family residential homes.  3 of the homes I have purchased for cash flow, and the other 2 I have purchased for appreciation.

The largest gains in terms of equity appreciation that have occured have come from the properties that I have purchased for appreciation.

Today I was speaking with a very experienced real estate investor (who may be reading this).  Over the past 5 years, he has made 4 strategic purchases for appreciation.  After the 5 years, he currently still holds all 5 properties and has realized an appreciation gain of $500,000 from these 4 properties.

After a detailed discussion with him today, he really got me thinking.  Why would anyone buy for cash flow, when they could buy for appreciation and have much greater returns?

What do you think?

As a new real estate investor, should you buy for cash flow, or should you buy for appreciation?

To keep up to date with my blog, you can enter your e-mail address on the LEFT hand side of the blog.

To receive The First Rental Property Newsletter, you can enter your e-mail address on the RIGHT hand side of the blog.  In this newsletter, I will be interviewing experienced real estate investors.  They will describe their first rental property purchase and share with you some of the secrets to becoming a successful real estate investor!

Best Regards,

Neil.

Hi Everybody,

I hope you are all doing well.

Today I want to talk to you about your real estate network, and how powerful it truly can be.

When you are first starting out as a real estate investor, chances are that you have not established a solid network of like minded people.

The more time you spend involved with real estate investing, the more real estate investor meetings and investment groups you attend, the larger your network will become.

While you are attending all of these meetings, you are no doubt meeting a lot of people, who potentially will be able to help you down the road.

You are not going to stay in touch with all of the real estate investors that you meet along the way, rather, if you are able to make a handful of strong relationships with other investors, this in my belief is all you need at the end of the day.

Personally, I leverage from time to time on my network of fellow real estate investors. I have a small group of  real estate investors that I go to for advice whenever I do not know how to deal with an issue. (some of whom will be reading this post!)

The interesting observation I have made with this group is that, I consider most if not all of the people in the group to be smarter than  I am.  They are smarter than me when it comes to running a business, they have great instincts, and they are very smart entrepreneurs.

I feel no shame due to the fact that they are smarter than I am.  This is  because I know that whenever I need help with something and I go to one of these people for help, I am going to get very valuable feedback, which will help me to solve my problem.

As a new real estate investor just starting off, you want to establish a network of people that know more than you do, and who have more experience than you do investing in real estate.

Many novice investors make the mistake of establishing a network of fellow investors who have the same skill set as they do, or who have the same level of experience.

Although, you might be able to learn a thing or two from one another, when you are faced with a very difficult problem, chances are that no one in your network will be able to help you.

In summary, the greatest discovery that I have made about building an effective network of fellow real estate investors is to…

Surround yourself with a network of people that are smarter than you

It will take a while for you to realize the benefits of doing this.  For me, it took me over 2 years to realize how important and valuable the network was that I had established.

For example, today I was dealing with a challenging real estate investing issue.  As a result, I sent an e-mail out to a small group of fellow real estate investors, who have also become my friends.

Within a few hours, I recieved responses from them as to how I should deal with the issue that I was facing.

The advice that they provided me with, I am going to implement.  In addition, the advice that they provided will help me to effectively solve the current problem that I am facing.

The Power of your network is incredible.  Build it well, and take care of it.

To keep up to date with my blog, you can enter your e-mail address on the LEFT side of the blog.

To sign up for The First Rental Property Newsletter, you can enter your e-mail address on the RIGHT hand side of the blog.  In the newsletter, you will hear from experienced real estate investors as they describe their experience when they bought their first rental property.

Best Regards,

Neil Uttamsingh

Hi Everyone,

Today I am going to talk about, How to increase your chances of success as a real estate investor.

Sounds cool, does it not?!

In reality, increasing your chances of success as a real estate investor is quite simple.

Is that a bold statement for me to make?

Perhaps.

However, I can confidently make that statement as I have observed some very successful real estate investors over the past 5 years and have been able to learn from their mistakes. In addition, I have made some mistakes of my own that I have been able to learn from.

Rather that providing your with an extensive list on the “things that you can do in order to be more successful as a real estate investor”, I am going to discuss one topic.  This topic, again, may seem quite basic, but then again, everything is quite basic at the end of the day.

Here we go…

The number one way that I believe that you can increase your chances of success as a real estate investor is by…

Explaning to people what you do.

Some of you might be thinking at this point…”Neil, are you serious?!  Is that it?”

Well yes my dear real estate investors, that is it.

Here is how I have come to this conclusion.

1) The most successful real estate investors explain to other people very well what it is that they do.

Over the past five plus years as a real estate investor, I have met and been associated with probably hundreds of real estate investors.  Some of the most successful, in terms of numbers of properties purchased, can explain clearly to people what it is that they do.

Many people have coined this as the ‘Elevator Speech’, which is esentially explaining to people in a few short sentences what it is that you do.

For example, my short elevator speech would be,

“Hi my name is Neil.  I am a professional real estate investor.  I purchase positive cash flow condo townhouses on the ‘Mountain’ in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada with joint venture partners.”

I don’t want to talk about the elevator speech here because I have noticed that the elevator speech is what trips up a lot of real estate investors who are just starting out.

These new investors worry so much about the perfect words to say when someone asks them about what they do.

I have witnessed and spoken to a number of real estate investors that stress out so much about this… the dreaded elevator speech.

Here is where I want to simplify things.

I am not an anti-elevator speech guy by any means.  However, what I do believe is important, especially for the new real estate investors is to…

CLEARLY explain to others what it is that you do.

Why is it important to CLEARLY explain to others what is is that you do?

If you are an experienced real estate investor reading this, you know that 99% of the time when you tell someone that you are a real estate investor, they think that you are a Realtor.

This is an understandable assumption on the part of the person that you are speaking to.  They have assumed that you a Realtor because you have not explained to them clearly what it is that you do.  (I know because I have been guilty of this many times!)

Sure at the beginning, they may ask you…”You are a real estate investor?  Does that mean that you are a Realtor?  This is your cue to jump in there and explain to them clearly the difference between a real estate investor and a realtor, and specifically what it is that you do.

Personally, I was not that good at explaining what I did when I first started investing.  I would give people a brief explanation and expect them to fully understand what it is that I did.

After I was getting so many confused looks when I told people what I did, I began to realize that I was not CLEARLY explaining myself.

This experience has served as a great lesson for me.  If there is one piece of advice that I can give those of you just starting out as a real estate investor, it is this…

Be very good at explaining to others what it is that you do.  Being good at this will open up doors for you down the road.

The more people that know what you are doing means, the more people who may one day wish to participate with you in some capacity with your real estate investing.

To keep up to date with my blog, you can enter your e-mail address on the LEFT side of the blog.

To sign up for The First Rental Property Newsletter, you can enter your name and e-mail address on the RIGHT hand side of the blog.  In this newsletter, you will be able to read about and hear from experienced real estate investors and their experience when they purchased their first rental property.

Best Regards,

Neil.

Hi Everybody,

I am happy to announce that I have released the first audio podcast for First Rental Property in today’s blog post.

This audio podcast will be a first in a series of interviews with experienced real estate investors.

In each audio podcast, an experienced real estate investor will describe in detail their experience when they purchased their first rental property.

It is my intent that you will be able to pick up clues and tips from these investors, so that you can successfully take action and buy your first rental property.

These investors will have years of experience in real estate investing. The investment strategies that they use will differ. I encourage you to take notes while listening to these Podcast as well.  Learn as much as you can.

As time goes on, and the more Podcast you listen to, I guarantee you that you will begin to notice similarities among these investors.

In these audio podcasts, the following items will be discussed.

1) Where the investor purchased their first rental property?

The specific city or town, province or state, as well as country.

2) How much they paid for the property, and how much they put as a down payment?
This information will be important to know, so we can determine what their initial loan to value ratio was.

3) If the investor still owns the property.

In this first audio podcast, I have interviewed myself. I hope that you find value in listening to this interview. You can access the audio podcast by clicking on the following link…

Neil Uttamsingh’s First Rental Property Podcast

After listening to the podcast, if you have any questions, please leave your questions or comments in the comments section below.

As always, you can keep up to date with my blog by entering your e-mail address on the LEFT hand side of the blog.

To sign up for The First Rental Property Newsletter, you can enter your e-mail address on the RIGHT hand side of the blog. Via The First Rental Property Newsletter, you will receive more interviews with real estate investors who have purchased their first rental property.

Onwards and Upwards,
Neil Uttamsingh.

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for reading the first part of this two part blog post.

Here is Part I, in case you missed it…

How to find a trustworthy real estate mentor Part I

In this post we will finish off what we started.  In Part I, I shared with you one recommendation that you can take in order to find a real estate mentor.  Below, I have included my second recommendation.  Enjoy the post, and as always, feel free to leave your comments in the comments section below.

How to find a trustworthy real estate mentor

2) Follow People on-line

In today’s market, one of the best ways to find a real estate mentor is by following the online real estate community. Clearly, there are many real estate investing forums that real estate investors visit on a consistent basis. 2 very popular and very good forums are Josh Dorkin’s Bigger Pockets and Don R. Campbell’s MyReinSpace.

On these online real estate forums you will often read about real estate investors who are taking a lot of action, and actively buying real estate.

Keep note of the people that you meet on these forums that are putting their money where their mouth is and investing in real estate.

It is these investors that you will be able to go to in the future and ask many of the real estate questions that you have.

Also, there are real estate entrepreneurs who frequently visit these forums that offer mentor-ship for a certain fee. As part of this fee, they may also offer you workshops and specific training courses.

If you are a new real estate investor, it is very important to know that you do not have to pay for mentor-ship. There are many real estate investors out there with experience who would gladly share their advice and experiences with you free of charge.

On the other hand, there are some great real estate investors and real estate entrepreneurs out there that offer excellent mentor-ship programs.

Tom and Nick Karadza of Rock Star Real Estate Inc. are very well known within the online real estate community. They are brothers who are very down to earth and who offer excellent mentor-ship programs to new real estate investors, among many other things. If you are new to real estate investing, I highly recommend that you check out Tom and Nick Karadza.

So the next time you visit these real estate forums mentioned above (Bigger Pockets and MyReinSpace), take some time to read the comments of other real estate investors.

If you like what you are reading from a certain individual on a particular real estate forum, take the leap of faith and ask them some real estate related questions. Most people are more than willing to help, and would gladly answer any questions that you may have.

It is within these online real estate forums where a lot of mentoring takes place.

To keep up to date with my blog, enter your e-mail address on the LEFT side of the blog.

To sign up for The First Rental Property Newsletter, enter your name and e-mail address on the RIGHT hand side of the blog.

As a subscriber to the Newsletter, you will receive interviews that I have conducted with experienced real estate investors. In these interviews, they will be sharing with you their experiences when they bought their first rental property.

Onwards and Upwards!

Neil Uttamsingh.

How to find a trustworthy real estate mentor Part I

Hi Everyone,

One of the realizations that you must make early on in your real estate investing career is that you will need a mentor.

Every real estate investor who has achieved any sort of success has had a mentor at some point.

Mentors play a huge role in the development of a novice real estate investor.

A mentor is someone that you can watch, listen, and learn from their experience.  You can take away certain tidbits of information from them, that help you to become a better real estate investor.

Also, the relationship that you develop with your mentor can take on a more formal arrangement.  This arrangement can be one in which you meet with and discuss your goals and challenges on a more formal basis.

When investors are first staring out, they may not have a mentor, or even know how to go about locating one.

When I began my real estate investing career back in 2005, I did not have a mentor.  As time went on, I realized that in order to get better, I needed to search out a mentor who would be able to answer many of the questions that I had.

As my interest in real estate continued to develop, I began to have so many  questions that no one was able to answer for me.  As such, I realized that  a real estate mentor would be the only individual who would be able to answer these questions.

My first real estate mentor turned out to be the father of one of my friend’s.  At the time, he was the only person that I knew that had invested heavily in real estate, and who had achieved success doing so.

The important thing to note is that as a beginner to real estate investing, you have to be proactive and go out and find a real estate mentor.  A real estate mentor is not just going to fall out of the sky for you.  It is also important to note that finding a real estate mentor  is not the easiest thing to do, if you don’t know how.

To help you with the journey of finding a mentor, I have provided you with 2 recommendations to consider when seeking a mentor.

How to Find a Trustworthy Real Estate Mentor

1)  Word of Mouth

Ask people you know if they know of anyone investing in real estate.  You never know who might be an experienced real estate investor.  These experienced people are a wealth of knowledge.  It is important to ask around, because sometimes real estate investors are very secretive.  Believe it or not, but there is a breed of real estate investors that don’t openly share with people that they invest in real estate.  It has been my observation that these people are sometimes the older real estate investors, who have adopted an old school train of thought.  This old school train of thought is to not share with people what they do.  Sometimes these investors, if you get chatting with them and show an interest in real estate, can really open up.  These investors can often be the most knowledgeable of all real estate investors. This is because they have been investing in real estate over the long term, and have weathered the ups and downs of the economic cycle.  These investors are a great asset.  Get them on your side.

To read Part II of How to find a trustworthy real estate mentor, click on the link at the bottom of this blog post.

To keep up to date with my blog, enter your e-mail address on the LEFT hand side of the blog.

To sign up for The First Rental Property Newsletter, enter your name an e-mail address on the RIGHT hand side of the blog.

In the First Rental Property Newsletter, I will be providing you with interviews that I have conducted with experienced real estate investors.  In these interviews, they will share the experiences and challenges they had buying their first rental property.

Onwards and Upwards,

Neil Uttamsingh

How to find a trustworthy real estate mentor Part II

Hi Everyone,

Believe it or not, some people become obsessed with real estate investing.

This obsession often begins at the early stages when an investor is just starting out.

What does the obsession look like?

1. An individual obsessed with real estate investing may always be reading books related to real estate investing.  Not only would they be reading these such books.  These books would in fact be the only type of books that they would be reading.
2. An individual obsessed with real estate investing would also constantly be thinking about investing, and how they can increase the scope of their investing.  Once again, this would be the dominating thoughts in their head, and they would not give much thought to anything else other than real estate investing.
3. An individual obsessed with real estate investing would always be talking about real estate investing with others.  Perhaps they would be discussing their current real estate investments, or pitching joint venture ideas to people they know.  Again, the topic of real estate would be the only topic that they would want to talk about.

The only way to make sure that you don’t become obsessed with real estate investing is to obtain balance in your life.

How do you obtain balance in you life?

The only sure way to obtain balance in your life is to find something that you are equally  passionate about as real estate investing.

If you love real estate investing, find something that you love just as much.

How do you find something that you love just as much as real estate?

This is the tricky part because this ’something’ is sometimes not easily found.  The only way that I believe you can find this other ‘thing’ is to try many different things.

Perhaps you like to draw.  If so, focus some time each and every day to drawing. Try to become better with each passing day.

If you like sports, spend some time each day playing a particular sport, until you find a sport that you really, really enjoy.

If music is your interest, allocate some time each day to listen to music, or learn how to play an instrument.

Maybe you like to garden.  If so, spend time working in and improving your garden.

Why do you need balance in life?

I have concluded that being overly obsessed with real estate investing is not good.  I see a lot of people, both new and experienced investors who are obsessed with real estate investing.

In my books, this is not a good idea.

It is not a good idea because these people tend to derive their sense of self worth from their real estate investments.

If one day, they lost all of the rental properties they had, they would be left feeling very empty inside.

This void would be felt because they would have nothing else left in their lives that brought them the same level of fulfillment that their real estate investments did.

They would feel lifeless and discontent simply because they had put all their eggs in one basket.

The benefit of having balance

When we learn to put our eggs in more than one basket, we become happier and more focused.

For example, if you learn to both enjoy real estate investing and painting art work just as equally, if one of these interests departed your life for good (your rental property burns down in a fire), you would have another interest to fall back on (painting artwork), which would be able to bring you the same amount of joy.

If you don’t have balance in your life currently, search for something that brings you joy.

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Onwards and Upwards!

Neil Uttamsingh