Stay Detached & Patient

As mentioned above, buying real estate takes work. That work multiplies tenfold if you want to find a good deal – which you better as an investor, or else what’s the point?

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Many novice investors get emotionally attached to the first property that attracts their interest. They love the location and think, “I would love to retire here,” or they love the kitchen or the mosaic tile in the second upstairs bathroom.

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Emotion has no place in investing of any kind. It leads to decisions made for the wrong reasons and “intuitive investing” such as trying to time the market.

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Never, ever let yourself form an emotional attachment to a prospective investment property. In all likelihood, you’ll need to review dozens – perhaps hundreds – of properties before you find the right deal. If you make offers on 15 properties, there’s a good chance that five of the sellers will negotiate with you, and of them, three will come to an agreement with you. Of those three, two will fall through before settlement, leaving you with one closed deal for all your efforts.

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Few people have the patience and ability to remain detached from each of those deals. Direct real estate investing is a numbers game in two senses: It’s all about the profit and expense numbers, and only a small percentage of your prospective deals actually close. Embrace those realities now before wasting vast amounts of time and money in a failed investment attempt.