First Rental Property

Hi Everybody,

I made an observation some time ago that people are afraid of real estate investors.

To the average person, real estate investing is like a mysterious black magic.  People don’t understand how real estate investors do what they do.

I had always noticed and come to accept that not everyone is interested in real estate or real estate investing.  That is fine, and I am cool with that.  People have different interests in life, and that is the way the world should be.

• However, one observation that I have made is that sometimes people who ARE interested in real estate investing,  aspiring real estate investors if you will, are afraid of experienced real estate investors.

Why is it that aspiring real estate investors are sometimes afraid of experienced real estate investors?

Truthfully, I have not been able to fully figure this out yet, however, I do have a number of ideas as to why this is the case.

Here they are in no particular order:

People are afraid of the unknown

A real estate investor has travelled a path that not many other people have travelled.  As an example, in Canada, less than 3% of the Canadian population owns more than one property, which means that less than 3% of the population also has more than one mortgage.  (reference: Peter Kinch)

That means that less than 3 out of 100 people would have ever owned more than one property at any given time, and had more than one mortgage.

Given the example above, clearly real estate investors are in the minority.

Since real estate investors in the MINORITY…

They are often not understood by the MAJORITY.

As such, aspiring real estate investors sometimes are intimidated to ask questions of more experienced real estate investors.

This intimidation can simply come from the fact that newer real estate investors don’t fully understand how the experienced investors were able to get started as an investor, or how they were able to build a large portfolio of rental properties.

People are afraid of rejection

Aspiring real estate investors often have a lot of hope and conviction that they will one day become a successful real estate investor.

These newer real estate investors sometimes follow more experienced real estate investors, in order to see what they are doing.  (As an example, I have a lot of new and aspiring real estate investors who are following this blog, in order to see what I am up to.)

Sometimes newer real estate investors never end up asking experienced real estate investors any questions or for any advice.

I believe this is the case because sometimes newer real estate investors are concerned as to how the experienced real estate investor will react.

Aspiring real estate investors sometimes have the fear that if they ask experienced real estate investors for help, the experienced real estate investor will refuse to help them.

This could be because the experienced real estate investors is too ‘busy’, or because they have no desire to help those in need.

Nothing Ventured.  Nothing Gained.

If you are a new real estate investor, and you need help getting started, you must leverage upon the  experienced real estate investors.

It is true, that at the beginning, there are going to be a lot of things you do not know about real estate investing.  That is normal and that is okay.

• There are a lot of things that I don’t know.  What I do know is that I will continue to grow and become a better real estate investor by seeking the guidance of real estate investors who have more experience than I do. 
  

Not Everyone is Willing to Help You

New real estate investors, take note.

Just because someone is an experienced real estate investor, this does not mean that they will be willing to help you.

All is not lost though if you encounter an unhelpful and experienced real estate investor.

If you approach experienced investors with questions and for help, and you do not get a warm response from them, do not be concerned.  There are so many people out there who have experience with real estate investing who would be more than happy to help you.  So don’t lose any sleep if someone IS NOT willing to help you.

These People Are Willing To Help You

If you do not follow them already, you really should because they are very nice, down to earth, genuine real estate investors and educators.  They are fellow Canadians, Julie Broad and Dave Peniuk.  They are two people who are doing a great job helping and educating new real estate investors.

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Onwards and Upwards!

Neil Uttamsingh.

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