Decision Making Advice

[Alex Diaz]

Does anyone have any tips on decision making for a new investor. For example trying to move the numbers around too much to make a deal work or just overall letting emotions dictate your decisions when looking for real estate and getting overwhelmed from all the other things you have on your plate at the same time as trying to start off investing, thanks in advance.

[Joe Villeneuve]

Throw away the emotions.  NEVER rearrange the numbers to make a deal work.  The results will be lies you will end up paying for on steroids later, and later, and later, and...

[Eric Caulley]

Been there, done that.  Don't want to do it again.

[Jordan Catapano]

Hey Alex, I'm a relatively new investor with two SFH rentals right now. My biggest advice is to know what you are looking for in advance, so that when it comes up you are ready to act. Our last purchase was in November 2021, and I spent a lot of time looking at sample properties on Redfin etc, and running scenario after scenario in a spreadsheet to see what types of properties (size, location, condition, etc) would "work." Once I had this narrowed down, I contacted my agent to look for the specifics I gave him, and within a week we saw and put an offer on the property we ended up buying. It rented out quickly and the numbers aligned to give us the cashflow we were looking for. For me, the math dictated everything, so I didn't have to factor emotions into it.

[Joshua Janus]

Quote from @Alex Diaz:

Does anyone have any tips on decision making for a new investor. For example trying to move the numbers around too much to make a deal work or just overall letting emotions dictate your decisions when looking for real estate and getting overwhelmed from all the other things you have on your plate at the same time as trying to start off investing, thanks in advance.

 Use a consistent formula and approach for every deal and don't swindle or shift when you come across a deal you WANT to make work, just keep it the same. The numbers are key and can be the majority of the deal, but the actual asset, location and condition are extremely important as well and those aren't broken down numerically. At the end of the day when you truly take all of those factors into play, there isn't much room left for emotion. It's just a house, and the goal is to buy as many as you can. Just be smart!

[Carlos Ptriawan]

Like in every business, the key thing is to study the cons and triple verify the assumptions. Most folks/agents/brokers only talk about the pro and avoid the cons/the difficult part. For example, in this rental business, the biggest mistake investors could make is not ready for surprise repair and maintenance.