Homeowner · Denver, CO · Member since 2013 · 65 posts · 23 votes
Hi all –
I'm going to start posting here pretty frequently and start a member blog here on BiggerPockets and I want to know what you want to know about starting or growign your business.
What is it that scares you? It doesn't matter if you don't have a business yet and are paralyzed or if you are already killing it and don't know where to go next.
Go ahead and list your fears here. If you don't think you have any, then list your desires because, if you desire something that you don't have, then the only thing holding you back is your fear.
I'm really looking forward to building out a good list and even more excited to helping many of you through any difficulties that you may have.
Real Estate Agent · Silver Spring, MD · Member since 2014 · 112 posts · 44 votes
11y
I'm an introvert and have figured out ways to work with my strengths over the years. I think my biggest fear is wondering if it's the right time. I realize there will never be a right time. My biggest fear is knowing the right things to say.
I believe that we overtime can overcome many of these fears, through practice and support. I've dealt with inaction but the way I have gotten over that is listening to experienced investors speak humbly. Witnessing that they don't know everything and they just did it anyway and will figure out the rest. Yes in some circumstances you can mitigate risk but you certainly can't completely eliminate it.
I think meditation before doing something fearful is important. Whenever I have a fear about something, I think through it, all of the worse possible outcomes, then I think of my why.
An inspirational moment occurred to me a few weeks ago. I took my son to the Concert for Valor and we listened to Veterans and their stories of how they risk their lives every day because of honor, because they said they would and because they had a huge enough why. It made my fears feel very minuscule compared to what they face. I laughed at myself when I think that I'm afraid to speak to a seller lol.
Our fears compared to others fears aren't that big at all. Fear = Face Everything And Rise or Face it Explore it Accept it Respond.
Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2014 · 659 posts · 536 votes
11y
Very interesting concept.
My fears have diminished greatly over the years. This is especially true when it comes to business.
I do agree that fear is the primary factor holding us back. I also feel that we can be content enough that we do not charge ahead recklessly in order to try to obtain all of our desires.
Residential Real Estate Broker · Washington, Washington D.C. · Member since 2013 · 150 posts · 77 votes
11y
My biggest fear is losing money on a bad investment.
My next biggest fear is having to evict a tenant. My rentals are in Washington DC which has some of the most tenant-friendly/tenant-biased laws and protections in the country.
Rental Property Investor · Henderson, NV · Member since 2013 · 96 posts · 33 votes
11y
My biggest fear is that I quit my day job and live off rental income and then my market turns into Detroit. I'm diversified with stocks/bonds/alternatives so that in the unlikely event my market does turn into Detroit, it won't be a complete disaster for me.
My biggest fear is that I quit my day job and live off rental income and then my market turns into Detroit. I'm diversified with stocks/bonds/alternatives so that in the unlikely event my market does turn into Detroit, it won't be a complete disaster for me.
well in the Detroit burbs you can buy properties for 40-50k and rent them out for 900 so that isn't so bad
Brownstown, MI · Member since 2014 · 344 posts · 98 votes
11y
I fear over analyzing my way out of deals. I already did this twice in the recent past but I gained some lessons from it and now I'm about to make 2 deals. But I tend to worry and second guess my decisions due to a lack of confidence and lack of trusting the math. Hopefully with experience this will change.
My biggest fear is that I quit my day job and live off rental income and then my market turns into Detroit. I'm diversified with stocks/bonds/alternatives so that in the unlikely event my market does turn into Detroit, it won't be a complete disaster for me.
well in the Detroit burbs you can buy properties for 40-50k and rent them out for 900 so that isn't so bad
Those numbers do sound pretty good. Out of curiosity, do you know what the longer term trends on rents and home prices in the Detroit suburbs have been? How much would these houses that currently rent for $900 have rented for in the past? How much would they have sold for in the past?
As long as rental rates keep pace with inflation and vacancy is manageable, it does take the sting out of declining home prices. I just don't have enough data to know if that was the case. If both rents and prices declined dramatically, that would be a problem.
Investor · Washington, DC · Member since 2014 · 54 posts · 28 votes
11y
Like most people on this site; my biggest fear is losing other investor's money on a bad property investment deal. Obviously there are no guarantees in any financial transaction and I could probably deal with it if it is my own money but I don't want to ever be in a position to tell an investor that they may not get the expected ROI.
I am fortunate that this hasn't happened but It is something that always bothers when I think about it.
My biggest fear is that I quit my day job and live off rental income and then my market turns into Detroit. I'm diversified with stocks/bonds/alternatives so that in the unlikely event my market does turn into Detroit, it won't be a complete disaster for me.
well in the Detroit burbs you can buy properties for 40-50k and rent them out for 900 so that isn't so bad
Those numbers do sound pretty good. Out of curiosity, do you know what the longer term trends on rents and home prices in the Detroit suburbs have been? How much would these houses that currently rent for $900 have rented for in the past? How much would they have sold for in the past?
As long as rental rates keep pace with inflation and vacancy is manageable, it does take the sting out of declining home prices. I just don't have enough data to know if that was the case. If both rents and prices declined dramatically, that would be a problem.
Well the prices have been all over the place. All my properties are free and clear so the it would have to be a total meltdown. Even when Michigan got hammered all my parents property stay full with happy renters. There will always be a good rental market in the burbs of Detroit.
Greensboro, NC · Member since 2013 · 31 posts · 5 votes
11y
I've thought about my fears quite extensively and I think the biggest thing for me is going in blind. I've been thinking about purchasing properties to rent out and I know that there is a bounty of information on this site but I'm still the type of person that would like to see the process. That and the fact that I'm still a holdout for a permanent full-time work position (currently working temp) have kept me extremely hesitant on making a move.
Aurora, CO · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
11y
I am afraid of something bad happening to my tenants that I might have prevented. (I've had plenty of bad happen to various tenants , but so far nothing that I would have any reason to feel responsible for.) I have a competent and careful manager and more than adequate insurance... but sh*t happens. I've read posts here on BP about fires and other disasters, and I hope it never happens on my watch.
Real Estate Investor · Fenton, MI · Member since 2008 · 946 posts · 153 votes
11y
I fear buying a house with a VERY expensive hidden problem. I am seriously thinking of taking a home inspector class. Most houses I bid on will not allow for the contingency of a professional home inspector.
Real Estate Agent · Silver Spring, MD · Member since 2014 · 112 posts · 44 votes
11y
I'm an introvert and have figured out ways to work with my strengths over the years. I think my biggest fear is wondering if it's the right time. I realize there will never be a right time. My biggest fear is knowing the right things to say.
I believe that we overtime can overcome many of these fears, through practice and support. I've dealt with inaction but the way I have gotten over that is listening to experienced investors speak humbly. Witnessing that they don't know everything and they just did it anyway and will figure out the rest. Yes in some circumstances you can mitigate risk but you certainly can't completely eliminate it.
I think meditation before doing something fearful is important. Whenever I have a fear about something, I think through it, all of the worse possible outcomes, then I think of my why.
An inspirational moment occurred to me a few weeks ago. I took my son to the Concert for Valor and we listened to Veterans and their stories of how they risk their lives every day because of honor, because they said they would and because they had a huge enough why. It made my fears feel very minuscule compared to what they face. I laughed at myself when I think that I'm afraid to speak to a seller lol.
Our fears compared to others fears aren't that big at all. Fear = Face Everything And Rise or Face it Explore it Accept it Respond.
Involved In Real Estate · Hyattsville , MD · Member since 2011 · 298 posts · 256 votes
11y
Right now my biggest fear is that I'm expanding my business too quickly- I'm going from literally what I did all of 2014 as far as flipping for the year to doing that in the next month and its scary to acquire a ton of properties at once there is the fear of failure lots of What IF's but I think even bigger than that fear is that I will die poor so I will do whatever it takes to be as far away from the poverty line as possible.
Real Estate Investor · Palatine, IL · Member since 2014 · 102 posts · 22 votes
11y
Originally posted by @Account Closed:
My biggest fear is having one the 500 pound, retarded, newport inhaling, ghetto baltimore cows running at me full speed like I'm a winning keno ticket
OMG me too!!
Seriously though, what I fear most is looking back on the past few days or weeks and realizing I did nothing to improve my situation, or even worse, that I did something to sabotage or undermine my situation, putting me back days or weeks to square one. I'm afraid of giving into temptation and ruining what right now amounts to 12 days of progress and counting.
Investor · Kernersville, NC · Member since 2014 · 27 posts · 14 votes
11y
My biggest fear is that all of the well intentioned who are telling me every RE horror story they know to convince me that I do not want to be a real estate investor are right. This community has helped me minimize this fear to a manageable level and I am moving forward. Every so often though it rears it's head and I re-examine all of my reasons for doing this as well as all of the advice and calculations I am following to minimize my risk and I breath easier:)