Newbie - Aren't you glad you didn't start investing?

Question

With everything that's going on (covid-19, lockdowns, unemployment, closures), I can guarantee that a bunch of new investors are happy that they didn't start investing yet.  This is where they are happy their limiting beliefs overpowered that ambition to start investing.  Am I wrong?

JD Martin · Answer

I doubt you're wrong. Sometimes fate can save you from yourself. On the other hand, the old saying, "the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the next best time is today" applies to most things in life. You can 'overpay' for real estate today and almost certainly be fine and profitable if you can let time work its magic. So some of those same people will miss out on a lifetime of investment because they became terrified to take action due to issues they couldn't control. For those people there will always be another Corona virus.

Kirk R. · Answer

hindsight is 20/20 sometimes.  although as time progresses what we saw yesterday sometimes appears much different.  Most people if they could see exactly how much work was involved & where the destination would be would do nothing!  Like me I wouldn't have taken many of paths I have.  But I also wouldn't have ended up where i am without taking those "failed" paths.

I asked this question to my self yesterday.  I have alot of hard knocks from Real Estate.  I'm definitely not a baller like some on here.  But owning real estate has given me what I consider success & happiness.  Without all the bumps & bruises along the way, I might not have realized that I am happy & fairly content.

ask a newbie your question right now, they would say they are glad they didn't start.

In 5 years,ask someone that closed a deal/busted their 1st deal yesterday, guessing large percentage are gonna be glad they took a shot whether they succeeded or failed.  & probably be ahead of those that didn't do anything!

not suggesting newbies run face first into a wall at this point! lol

Matt Crusinberry · Answer

@Lamont Marable, I think it depends on the person. If a new investor found a great deal and executed it, they're going to be fine. If they put themselves in a strong financial position, bought with cash flow, have reserves, acquired long term debt, they'll be fine in any  market condition. I am a strong proponent of people being able to do deals in any market or market cycle.

Kyle Bambu · Answer

I'd like to jump in and give my two cents. Like @Mitchell Irwin I will be graduating this May and moving out to Phoenix for a full-time position. I started wholesaling at the beginning of the new year, and I have been actively searching for properties in the Phoenix area. At the beginning of March, I pulled the trigger and made an offer on a property. I still fully intend to close on the property by the first week of April even with all this craziness going on. Worst case scenario, I'll have to pay my full mortgage every month without support from renting out rooms. I've already determined that I can afford to do that. However, I believe I already have a lot of built in equity with this property and plenty of options ranging from just selling it immediately to mowing down the house on the property and building 12 units on it (20k sqft lot in the city lol). I wouldn't let this craziness affect when you jump in. As long as you buy right, you are already setting yourself up for higher chances of success. This should be over in a couple months and then we'll be back to business like usual.

Mitchell Irwin · Answer

Love the thread. I thought it would be fun to weigh in, being a newbie myself. I will be graduating from college in May and have been looking forward to beginning my full-time day job as well as beginning my real estate investing portfolio. I recently accepted a position, part-time until graduation going full-time after. After years of studying and discussing REI with others, I am finally ready to dive in. My plan is to house hack (Small Multifamily w/ FHA loan). I have been contemplating whether or not to try to get a pre-approval and go for a couple of properties I've been eyeing. I continued to be motivated enough to go for it until recent local "stay-at-home" orders have left me wondering. Planning to have tenants paying rent and me being paid from my day job on top of a cash flowing deal had me feeling fine until the fear of tenants and/or myself not being paid after the new stay at home orders. I thought, even if my full-time position is delayed, I could rent both sides for a while and stay living at home with my parents to keep the deal safe. Again, assuming my tenants could make rent. Being fresh out of college I do not have many funds to cushion myself.

With the very rapid shift from safe to very risky investments because of this, I plan to hold off for now. I am so eager to jump in but I am thinking I need to hold off at the moment and see where things go.

Acquiring a deal a month or two ago would definitely have been easier than it would be now, however, I would now be very fearful of what might come financially as discussed above. As much as I want to begin my investing, I do feel somewhat lucky at the moment, given the circumstances. But also unlucky, as I am ready to begin my investing and now have the means to do so.

I will be keeping a close eye on local trends in the coming weeks. Additionally, as soon as I know for sure that I will be seeing full-time pay on the first of June, I will be searching for deals.

Nathan Crumback · Answer

I don't think you're wrong but I would be ecstatic if I was a new investor and didn't pull the trigger. Playing devil's advocate, we could have the reverse statement: it's probably a guarantee that a lot of experienced/season investors are sweating it right now because they invested in a property/properties where the numbers didn't make sense.

Eitherway, I hope the BP community is ready to support and encourage the newbies to capitalize on this downturn and to help the established investors that are struggling to find viable solutions to help keep them afloat.

Jay Helms · Answer

@Lamont Marable - yes you are wrong but, it depends on your view on the world. I’ve surrounded myself with folks who are still working, hustling and closing deals even though they have been furloughed from their w2. Now’s the time to take action even if it’s continuing education and virtual networking like what will happen at the W2CapSummit.com

Dustin Morris · Answer

@Lamont Marable

This is definitely an interesting question to pose and you are pulling upon the fact that limiting beliefs hold people back especially newbies. Other investors may see how things play out over the next several weeks before acting also. It can be nerve racking with the uncertainty but just like anything there’s always a reason to not jump in and get started. Whether it’s your first deal or your next one getting past what’s holding you back is critical. The current situation could create some good opportunities for investors who are ready to act. For newbies if they can push themselves to be ready to act right before things clear up they may be setting themselves up for some good opportunities also.

Newbie - Aren't you glad you didn't start investing?

Most Popular Reply