The Rise of the Echo Chamber Investor

[Jonathan Greene]

I've noticed a trend over the past eighteen months (maybe forever) of investors only looking for advice inside of an echo chamber. They come to the forums in search of someone to only validate their question or issue and if you try to ask them more questions, they don't want to hear it. I am wondering if it's because COVID made everyone a potential investor with misplaced bravado or if the newer investors think us old dogs don't know what we are doing anymore. Hint: not much has changed, real estate is about relationships, it always will be. Technology won't change that.

The echo chamber investor is the most likely one to lose their money on a deal because they only want back pats and don't listen to constructive criticism. I find a lot of investors getting bent out of shape in the forums when they get criticism as if another point of view on their "too good to be true" deal is an affront to their ability to scale. I am not sure if it's a fragility issue or a participation trophy issue, but to become a great investor, you have to be open to diverse feedback, even if it's sometimes sarcastic when you think you found the deal of the century still on the market after 816 days in Scottsdale where every investor whets their beak every day.

Anyone else seeing this? I worry for the investor who continually get told to go for it and just do the deal because if they are only looking for that response, it's not hard to find, but it may get them in a lot of trouble. I think every investor needs someone who tells them the truth on their deals. Without that, you will take more lumps than you need to. Thoughts?