PART I The #1 mistake new investors make is that they wait too long to get started investing in real estate. When should they have gotten started? When should you (if you haven't) get started investing in real estate?
Now.
If you haven't already decided to get started investing in real estate, I can already hear your reasons why not. I can hear these 'reasons' loud and clear. Honestly, I've used a number of them before myself.
And I've heard every single one of them- and more- sitting down with new and aspiring real estate investors all across the country.
"Not enough money." "Not enough knowledge." "Not enough time." "Market is down." "Credit is bad" "That's for other people" "I can't until _______..." "What if _______ happens?" "I'm waiting for _______..."
I want you to realize something, here and now: all of these 'reasons' are in fact excuses.
That's right.
Excuses.
Take a quick second and answer for yourself these questions.
Are you waiting too long to invest? What's the worst that could happen? Are you scared of something specific? Do you believe you can't do something when others can't? Do you give up easily without trying? Do you let other people (like the media or family) create your beliefs as to what is possible and what not? Do you fear making a mistake or failing and maybe looking stupid in front of people you admire or in front of people who love you?
Chances are, if you're not investing and you care enough about getting this part of your financial life handled to take the time to read articles like this, you could answer "yes" to one or more of those questions.
Am I right?
Let me share something with you.
The real reason that people don't get started investing sooner is fear.
FEAR!
Psychologists have recognized for years that fear takes many forms but the three most relevant fears many new and aspiring real estate investors face are in the form of: the fear of failure, the fear of success and the fear of that which is unknown.
We're going to address each of these separately because this is such a HUGE issue for many people out there.
To read part II of this article and see what can happen in your life when you release fear of failure in your investing, look for the next article in this series titled the same.