Rental Property Investor · Largo, FL · Member since 2017 · 23 posts · 2 votes
I am seeking to become a real estate investor through purchasing rental properties but I have not done that yet. I do have a 40-hour week job doing something different and I plan on leaving my job to focus on real estate full time but I then become overwhelmed by fear and then have the approach/avoidance conflict play out. I keep delaying the time that I plan to leave my job for real estate investing.
The fear I face is a "catastrophic event" playing out in my head where I then have to deal with every obstacle put in my way to purchasing real estate. I envision myself failing and then being broke and homeless. I then get into real panic attacks where I then can't eat and then have to do deep breathing to try to calm myself down.
Does anyone have advice on how I can deal with this condition?
Real Estate Consultant · USA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 751 votes
6y
@Mark Weinberg You shouldn't leave your day job until you have enough experience that you are confident in what you are doing. Only you can decide when that is. Also, you need to have a clear plan mapped out about what your goals and objectives are and what strategies you want to employ. Rentals won't necessarily provide a regular income and are more of a long-term growth strategy. You need to look at other strategies in the short term to provide a replacement income.
Real Estate Consultant · USA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 751 votes
6y
@Mark Weinberg You shouldn't leave your day job until you have enough experience that you are confident in what you are doing. Only you can decide when that is. Also, you need to have a clear plan mapped out about what your goals and objectives are and what strategies you want to employ. Rentals won't necessarily provide a regular income and are more of a long-term growth strategy. You need to look at other strategies in the short term to provide a replacement income.
@Mark Weinberg You shouldn't leave your day job until you have enough experience that you are confident in what you are doing. Only you can decide when that is. Also, you need to have a clear plan mapped out about what your goals and objectives are and what strategies you want to employ. Rentals won't necessarily provide a regular income and are more of a long-term growth strategy. You need to look at other strategies in the short term to provide a replacement income.
I didn't quit my day job until it was nearly impossible time-wise for me to do both REI and my day job, and I had a very flexible day job. There's no reason to quit your day job until you're so busy managing all of your projects that you can't keep up with the day job and you're making as much (or more) in RE as you were with the day job.
As far as anxiety and REI, take it literally one day at a time. It sounds like, in your head, you've built up this hectic and scary empire you have to manage while you're juggling flaming knives. It's not that deep. Buy a house, rent it out. If you like the process and results, do it again using lessons learned from the first one to do the second one just a bit better.
Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
6y
I 100% agree with the others. Take small steps. Of course buying a house may not feel like a small step, but if you work with a good realtor, get it inspected, do your homework, etc, there’s really not a huge amount that can go horribly wrong.
Worst case should be making a bit less than you expected. Tenants should still be paying down your mortgage, you should be still seeing a little cash flow, etc. then you decide whether you want to take another step, or just step back and relax.
There should be no point that your taking a step off a cliff blindfolded... if there is, you’re doing something wrong!!
Investor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2015 · 625 posts · 601 votes
6y
@Mark Weinberg Don't quit your job. I worked full time for 5 years and self managed and rehabbed houses the entire time non stop. I'd still be working if I didn't have another project unrelated to real estate I'm getting up and running. For me the job was super helpful for getting financeing and just keeping me stable so I could let the real estate do what it was going to do after I got it rented and let it pay for any issues that might come up. Now that I have strung some units together there really isn't anything to worry about, I just need to manage it right and the cash flow is good. Just keep working and get a couple rentals running and see how you like it and go from there.
Investor · Tampa, FL · Member since 2019 · 25 posts · 13 votes
6y
Hi Mark,
It's good to see a local here. I'm in the Tampa Bay area. I would suggest doing some self education. Start by reading Brandon Turner's book titled The Book on Rental Property Investing. I would also suggest hanging out with other real estate investors. Two great groups are the Tampa REIA and the Suncoast REIA. I am a member of both. I hope this helps. Hope to see you one day.