Great Real Estate Myths

If you pay attention to what people have to say about real estate investing, you will notice that most of the perception they have is based on fear. Most people will believe whatever they hear to be able to justify that fear. Mix to that fear a touch of laziness and disorganization and you get the most wealth preventing myths about real estate investing ever created. Now think about this, these individuals will procreate and conceive children whom they will infuse with the same fear serum and we get a great population of individuals not able to achieve their full potential.

Most of the myths discussed here and that you hear people talk about, are fear based. Others can be managed if we were to educate ourselves about the business, in this case real estate investing, we are about to embark. If you want to make money in real estate, you have to separate the myth from facts.

What are those myths?

1. REAL ESTATE INVESTING IS EASY – Real estate investing is not easy, it is SIMPLE. Unfortunatelty there are a lot of “gurus” out there selling the idea that if you buy their books and tapes you will discover “secrets” that will make real estate investing easy. What we have are basic principles to follow which makes it simple. It takes time, desire and dedication to learn those basics and be successful at it.
2. INVESTING IS A GAMBLE - There are many people that believe that any type of investing, including real estate investing, is about luck. The problem with these “investors”, is that they throw their money to anything that looks good, to the new “hot tip of the day”. These investors do not take time to educate themselves on what is a good investment and not to invest on emotions.
3. IT DOES NOT WORK IN MY MARKET - Real estate investing works in every market. You need to take into consideration that it may work differently in some markets compared to others. There are real estate investors making money in every city, every day of the week. You must educate yourself about your market. Learn about the rents, the trends, demands of your local market. Adapt the basic principles mentioned above to your local market.
4. I HAVE NO TIME – Like someone told me one day, “throw your television, and you will have all the time you need.” Real estate investing like any business takes time. You need to organize your tasks to be successful in any business.
5. YOU NEED MONEY TO INVEST IN REAL ESTATE – Focus on finding good deals, the money will find you. If you find good deals, you will find willing partners to join you on your investment.
6. “EVERYONE” SAYS THIS STUFF DOES NOT WORK – As I mentioned above, real estate investing is not easy. If you listen to all of the pessimists you will meet around your neighborhood and the news in the television, you will convince yourself that it does not work. Instead, gather information from those that have been investing for a long period of time. Those that have been through the ups and downs of the market. Find out what has made them successful. Remember the wise words of Henry Ford “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are right.”
7. I CANNOT INVEST IN REAL ESTATE SINCE I HAVE BAD CREDIT – Good credit helps. You do not need to have good/perfect credit to invest in real estate. There are a couple of creative investment options (flipping properties) that you can do even if you have bad credit. You can start with a method like bird-dogging or flipping properties and build up some capital, while you repair your bad credit.
8. YOU NEED TO TIME THE MARKET – Unless you have a crystal ball, you will never know what is going to happen in the market. The bottom-line is that you have to find good deals. Good deals work in any market condition.
9. ALL REAL ESTATE IS A GOOD INVESTMENT – Only good deals are good investments. It is not about the vehicle you use (buy and hold, short sale, wholesale, etc), it is about finding good deals.
10. REAL ESTATE IS TOO RISKY – You have to be willing to take calculated risk to make money. In my opinion, real estate is one of the safest investments you can have. The highest risk in any investment lies in the lack of education. The more you educate yourself, the less risky real estate investing becomes.

You are not alone in believing any of these things, they are said so often they sound like facts.