Welcome back,
In today’s Mobile Home Investing Podcast episode #14 we’re talking about mistakes, making them, avoiding them, and allowing them to empower you.
If you’ve never made a mistake real estate investing it is likely you have not put forth much effort yet, or that you are lying to yourself. The mistakes you have made and will make are your badges of honor. None of us are natural born real estate investors, so mistakes and challenges are expected and should be welcomed. In this article, we will identify many common mistakes and address how to overcome them to become a better and stronger real estate investor.
The author Oscar Wilde said, “Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.” Experience often times is developed through making our own successes and failures while risking our own time, energy, and capital. However, there are other ways to gain valuable experiences.
Below is a short list of ways to learn and gain value through other people’s mistakes and experiences.
1. Trial & Error: This is the default for most of us. We aim to learn as much as we can through online resources and then head out on our own to build our real estate investing empires.
2. Listening to the advice and stories of others: When listening to the advice and stories of others make sure to internalize this investor’s pain and/or joy. When another real estate investor tells you how they were scammed or how they did not perform proper due diligence, put yourself into this real estate investors shoes. Try to feel the pain this real estate investor had so that you do not make the same mistakes that you just learned about.
3. Working with a mentor: A mentor with a vested interest in your success should be similar to working with a partner, without splitting any of the profits.
4. Partnering with a local expert: With the help of your local real estate investment club, aim to identify the active local investors in your area who specialize in other types of real estate specialties you do not. Aim to partner with these investors if you discover a lead in your area that fits their niche.
“If you don’t learn from your mistakes, then they become regrets.” – John Cena
When we make mistakes it hurts. The idea in psychology called loss aversion can help explain this hurt and regret we feel when we miss an opportunity or make a mistake. Loss aversion refers to people’s tendency to strongly prefer avoiding losses to acquiring gains. Most studies suggest that losses are twice as powerful, psychologically, as gains. Use your mistakes as signposts and directional markers along your journey to your financial goals. When you make a mistake or do not perform as well as you feel you should have, aim to learn what went wrong and how to avoid these same mistakes in the future.
Related Podcast: MHI Lessons 12: Errors and Wins While Selling
Pro Tip: Review each deal, each week’s actions, and/or each mistake as objectively as possible. If you did make a mistake it was likely due to only a couple of factors. Do not let a single mistake create a false limiting belief in your mind that may do much more harm than good.
1. Mistakes with yourself: There is no question that you will eventually miss out or lose a deal because you are too lazy, analyze too slowly, or are temporarily too greedy. Each mistake you make refines your investment skills and makes you a more powerful and experienced as a real estate investor. Allow these mistakes to motivate you to correct the problem inside yourself and help local sellers even faster. False limiting belief: “I’m a lazy person that can’t do this.” “I’m not a people-person.” “I like to sleep in late and watch too much TV.” “I’m too young/old to start now.”
2. Mistakes with your property: Perform proper due diligence always. Sellers sometimes lie or simply forget to disclose pertinent information about their property for sale. No one is to blame but yourself if you do not take the time to know precisely what you are buying while stepping into the seller shoes. False limiting belief: “I made a mistake and did a bad deal last time, so I’m going to do a bad deal again.”
Related Post: What Would A Manufactured Home Investor Do?
3. Mistakes with sellers: While working with real estate sellers we can often times make mistakes in our negotiations or due diligence that costs us hundreds or thousands of dollars. Working with sellers and buyers has partly to do with your current level of people skills and sales skills. If you feel you are lacking in people skills or negotiation techniques aim to read up and educate yourself on the subjects. False limiting belief: “Sellers don’t like me.” “I can’t get the types of deals these other investors can.” “There is no way I can help sellers.”
Related post: Mobile Home Sellers Can Be Tricky
4. Mistakes with buyers: Often times it can be easy to develop close relationships with your renters and tenant-buyers. Additionally, it is sometimes easy to be fooled into renting or selling your investment property to a high-risk, unqualified buyer. Make sure to thoroughly screen every adult that aims to live in any of your investment properties. False limiting belief: “I always choose the wrong people to rent to.” “I’m such a sucker.”
5. Mistakes with education: Over the years real estate investing I have tried to be an information and real estate training junkie. While learning as much as I can about real estate investments, I have wasted my fair share of money on hokey and fluff-filled real estate investment training courses. Many times I’ve made these purchase decisions based purely on emotion and not based out of logic. False limiting belief: “All real estate investor training material is outdated and a waste of money.”
6. Mistakes with family: How many times have you received happiness from an outside source? Closing deals, helping sellers, and making money makes us thrilled as real estate investors. Often times we can make the mistake of taking-out our frustrations and personal depressions on our family members and loved ones. False limiting belief: “My family thinks I’m a failure as a real estate investor.”
Maxwell Maltz is quoted saying, “You make mistakes, mistakes don’t make you.” Starting today move forward with new lenses. You are not the same person that made these mistakes in the past. You have changed and are improved and will not make the same mistakes again.
In conclusion use your past mistakes to empower your future self; do not make these mistakes in vain. Move forward from every day of your life with the clear understanding of what has been productive and what has been counterproductive. Aim to duplicate and improve what has been productive and eliminate or outsource the unproductive and time-wasting activities of the day. If anyone has been a success as a real estate investor than there is no reason you cannot be either. Embrace your mistakes and grow from them.
In this show John covers:
- ⭐ What past mistakes do MH investors say they want to erase from their past?
- ⭐ You are the decision-maker of what deals you close and how successful you are.
- ⭐ 4 common mistakes in the used mobile home investing niche.
- ⭐ What monthly minimum dollar amount should every mobile home be netting you passively per month once resold for payments?
- ⭐ Mistakes come in all shapes and sizes. The things you do and do not do.
- ⭐ How quickly should you aim to recoup all your invested money?
- ⭐ A personal mistake that terrified me in Mississippi.
- ⭐ Make decisions based on logic, not on emotion.
- ⭐ Stop kicking yourself for your past mistakes, instead do this.
- ⭐ Being comfortable in the uncomfortableness.
- ⭐ Notice the mistakes you are still making even as you read these words.
- ⭐ How to move forward with power and strength?
- ⭐ Who should always be on your power team?
- ⭐ How to avoid making these same mistakes in your MH cash-flow business.
- ⭐ and much more!
Listen to the Podcast Here
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
8 Comments
Nikky Blanco
July 23, 2015Hi John,
Love the site. Very nice to see an investor talking about making mistakes. It seems like sometimes people are afraid to admit they mess up. Great advice and actionable tips.
I recently lost money by jumping into a partnering deal with an other investor I trusted. I totlaly blame myself but it has given me the strength the do the deals myself and know I am the one in control.
Thanks for helping me along the way.
Love and respect,
Nikky B.
John Fedro
July 23, 2015Hi Nikky,
Thank you so much for commenting and for your kind words. I’m glad to have you here following along. I regret to hear that you recently had a partnering deal turned south. With that said it sounds like you are not being a victim, but instead owning this mistake and using it to empower you to move forward even stronger. I love reading those words and I’m so happy for you. Never give up and you will accomplish your real estate investing goals. Thank you again for commenting and if you have any further questions about this business never hesitate to reach out. Always here to help.
Talk soon,
John
Nikky Blanco
July 23, 2015Amen! Thank you. I know Ill have a ton of questions very soon. 🙂
Seth
July 23, 2015Dude. Ima huge fan but where do you find all the time? Aren;t you investing in park now too. Keep up the great work John. You’re an inspiration to me. Im looking forward to getting started in this field with your help at the end of this summer. Thanks, Seth
John Fedro
July 23, 2015Hi Seth,
Thank you so much for the kind words. Haha, yes I am investing in MH parks now too. It’s a fun and growing time for sure. When you love what do you don’t really ever work. 🙂 I’ve been making a bunch of mistakes lately and learning a ton whil doing so. With proper due diligence these mistakes have not costed me much at all, but have been great lessons. Luckily, Ive been video taping them to make into youtube videos for later. Thanks again for commenting and if you have any other questions never hesitate to reach back out. If and when you decide to move forward in the future I will be here for you to run forward accordingly. Always here to help.
Talk soon,
John
Mark
July 26, 2015So happy to hear another POD cast, i was afraid you didn’t have time to fit them in with the new parks in your portfolio. Such a great message of moving forward and adjusting from mistakes. One mistake I am hung up on is not taking rejection to heart. in my past i had a bad run in with a park manager which got me off track from my goals. That incident got me off track from pursuing the mobile home niche. I had the feeling that no parks want to work with investors. i went to a seminar where i was going to do wholesaling. i talked to a good friend and refocused on sticking to my original plan. i am researching more prior to making contact with parks and that is giving me more confidence than facing the rejection from cold calls. more to come
Mark
John Fedro
July 26, 2015Hi Mark,
Thanks for reaching out and connecting. I’m so glad to hear that this podcast has given you value. More to come indeed! 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to open up and mention this mistake that is kept you on the sidelines for the past little bit. While reading your comment I did not once hear a victim mentality. Real estate has always been on your mind and I have no doubt you will become the real estate investor you wish to be. Keep up the great work and if you have any questions or concerns never hesitate to reach back out.
Talk soon,
John
[…] Related article: MHI Lesson Podcast Episode 014: Let your investing mistakes empower you to be a better mobile home i… […]
Leave A Response