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One Essential Trait Every Real Estate Investor Needs

Marcus Maloney
3 min read
One Essential Trait Every Real Estate Investor Needs

There are many things that a Real Estate Investor must know. Some of these things depend on the niche that you will be working in, but there is one principle that supersedes all.

Some of the general things that must be known are: why do you want to become a Real Estate Investor, how will you get started, what area to get started in, what location to purchase your first acquisition and how to build a successful team. These questions are great to have answered, but there is one thing you did not know you needed, but you will need to learn quickly. This one thing is a necessity in order to become successful in any entrepreneurial venture. Some people call it thick skin, but I prefer the term “resilient.”

Overcoming Adversity

Criticism and adversity will present itself on every occasion, not only when starting out, but along your journey. You will face opposition from sellers, agents, buyers, contractors, other investors and even family members, but those who are resilient will be able to overcome any obstacle.

Related: Real Estate Investing Fears and How You Can Overcome Them

William Arthur Ward, a well-known educational scholar, depicts adversity as presenting two results.  “Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records.” There are only 2 options: quit or continue to pursue and exceed your goals.

There are thousands of books, many of which are best sellers that stress the importance of resiliency. The majority of Academy Award winning films for Best Picture are movies that address an actor/actress overcoming some form of adversity. Motivational speaking is a billion dollar business because adversity triumphs many. There is a direct correlation between those who succeed in life and their resilience.

Those who live in mediocrity often have a view through the lens of the glass being half empty.

If at First You Don’t Succeed…

Starting out in real estate investing, the key is to buy right. In order to find the right acquisition you will either have to put in numerous offers on properties listed on the MLS, or you will have to send tons of direct mail and speak to hundreds of sellers to find the deal.

In any case the first actionable step when speaking with a seller is to engage them, find out their motivation and present an offer. The best case scenario is to receive a “YES,” but the likelihood of that occurring is very slim. This is when you will receive a lot of negative responses that can easily play on your psyche if you do not have tenacity and aren’t resilient.

Related: What was your biggest fear or concern in starting real estate investing?

I often speak to nearly 50 or more potential sellers a day. This can be a difficult task at times because it is easy to start questioning yourself. Is it supposed to be this difficult? Why are so many sellers irate when I ask them about buying their house? Why am I calling these people?

It is easy to become dejected and want to give up when you hear most of the negative response from sellers. This is when your faith has to kick in. You have to believe in whatever will provide you with the confidence to get you over the hump.

Remember — you are not the first person to face adversity when starting out.

Conclusion

I know this topic is not going to give you some strategic advantage immediately or give you vast amounts of wealth in one year as some gurus will like to entice you with, but everyone who is successful no matter their level of success has to be resilient.

Do you have a particular situation that almost caused you to give up? What did you do to keep moving forward? And is there anything you can say to encourage someone else that may be facing adversity?

I would love to hear what you had to overcome, and I know it will inspire other readers!

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.