Buying Rental Properties: Why it's Never too Late to Start

I've wanted to invest in real estate ever since I can remember, but didn't get started until a few years ago. My father was a contractor for a short time and  purchased a few distressed homes and renovated them to sell. Since the area in which we lived didn't have a strong housing market, he had to rent them out instead, and later sold them on land contract - several times over. I can still recall my parents' frustration with being unable to sell the houses, and then dealing with tenants who couldn't manage to pay their rent each month. In the end they made some money, but not what they had hoped for. Since my parents didn't share the details of their finances with their six children, I wasn't privy to the full experience; however, I had a strong hunch that it should have gone differently even though I was quite young at the time. 

For years I held back the urge to buy because of the negative feedback from others, the resistance from my spouse, and my own lack of courage. I look back on some properties that I considered a decade ago, and in 20/20 hindsight can see what a great investment they would have been. I finally took the plunge in the spring of 2016 and bought a single family pocket listing from a broker friend, and something clicked. I quickly pulled out some money from a retirement account that was taking a loss each month to make down payments on two more. These were all purchased with conventional loans. Fast forward two years, and I have six single family homes and one duplex, and am anxious to start investing in larger multi-family properties. While I sometimes regret not investing sooner, there are some advantages to starting later:

• Financial Stability: Since I was already financially established with a great credit score, it was easy to get financing. After years of working W-2 jobs, I had access to funds for down payments, so lenders were always happy to work with me, and to offer great interest rates.
• Life Experience: Having years of work/life experience, I've made better decisions in buying and managing my investments. The average cash on cash return for my properties is 23%, and the cap rates range from 13%-22%. Fully understanding what these numbers mean - and how to obtain them -  before investing has made a huge impact on how I buy, and how I walk away from deals.
• Fear: Everyone is afraid sometimes, but our fears are fluid. What scares you in your twenties isn't the same as your thirties, or forties, and so on. I find that I have very little fear these days, so I don't let much stop me. However, what does stop me is potentially critical, and (hopefully) I'm savvy enough to sniff it out. 
• Perspective: Failures don't seem as deep, and successes don't seem as grand. Because neither are permanent. You are only as good as your last deal, but your potential going forward is unlimited.
• The Game: I'm a competitive person by nature, and when I was child I disliked playing Monopoly because it seemed there was too much luck involved. You were never in control of your own destiny because one roll of the dice could put you into bankruptcy - or jail! Now that I've fully grasped the concept of real estate as a game, not only is it a lucrative investment, but it's also a competitive sport. 

If you've dreamed of owning investment properties but haven't managed to find enough reasons to do it, now might be the time. It's never too early - or too late - to start.