Hello and welcome back to my blog and thank you for reading this post. There is a slim chance that you are becoming a regular read much like I am become a regular blogger. So to help build this bond of writer read may be honest? No. Well I'm going to be anyways. I'm afraid. I am afraid of a lot of things. Some of my fears are real and some are cerebral. It is not manly to admit fear or failure. I am willing to admit fear and failure but not defeat. There is a difference.
As a man who is waiting for the birth of his child I have an upcoming life times of fears for him, of him and what I'm going to do to him. I also have a healthy fear and respect for electricity. That is why I'm on day two of installing a remote in to the ceiling fan. I personally think that my dislike/ fear of heights is normal and healthy. So no hot air balloons or sky diving for this guy. There are also a bunch of other little fears that only get more ridiculous. That's right I have stupid fears like send my kids to public school in Florida. I don't live in Florida but still it's a fear that they could end up there.
On my first rental property it was a daily fear filled experience between what if they don't except the offer and worse yet what if they do? Then financing, rehab, and renting it out? Oh my having to deal with people. I didn't let those fear slow me down or stop me. My rent is a very nice lady who was loosing the house she had been living in for 25 years, right down the street. She still qualified on every aspect of my rental criteria and she end up being able to stay in her community near where she raised her kids and friends she has made for 35 years.
I showed this house to 4 other investors who passed on it. They all had different reasons. Their fears boiled down to What if it doesn't appraise and I can't get financing? It appraised for more then I thought and a bank lent on it. What if I can't get a renter? I got a renter. It took longer then expected since there was no heat in the house and Houston was going through a freeze. What if I can't sell it? Since I didn't buy it from the original owner I must assume other have owned this house and that others will own it after me.
As a man who is waiting for the birth of his child I have an upcoming life times of fears for him, of him and what I'm going to do to him. I also have a healthy fear and respect for electricity. That is why I'm on day two of installing a remote in to the ceiling fan. I personally think that my dislike/ fear of heights is normal and healthy. So no hot air balloons or sky diving for this guy. There are also a bunch of other little fears that only get more ridiculous. That's right I have stupid fears like send my kids to public school in Florida. I don't live in Florida but still it's a fear that they could end up there.
Since we're not on the verge of being acquaintances can I be honest again? Yes, good. Even though I am scared of so many of things I still do them. I'm having a child and as a real man I'm taking responsibility and will never let him see fear. Children are like bears in that aspect, never let them see fear and you can't hide from them. The ceiling fan will be installed and I may end up with a funny story of how I got electrocuted. Just like when I tried to fix the drier and light fixture in my wife's closet. (See why my fear of electricity is healthy? Every time I try to work with it, it bites me. It bites my electrically.) I may not bungee jump but I'll still grit my teeth and take part in some activities high in the sky so they don't get this fear.
Fear can be a good thing. It can save your life, keep you safe and it can also deny you success and happiness. I bring this up because the world crashed in 2008 and since then people have become afraid to invest. Millions of people got burned by the collapse and since then have been rationalizing and licking their wounds. Once bitten twice shy right?
Well as an investment grade Realtor I have to say that that fear has helped people loss thousands of dollars of unrealized equity. It is also means there are more empty homes, a couple isn't closer to retirement, and that a different family might not be renting their dream house. When it comes to buy a home to live in or invest all fears are valid no matter how rational or fake. The issue really becomes which of those fears should stop you from living life and helping your family and another family.
I showed this house to 4 other investors who passed on it. They all had different reasons. Their fears boiled down to What if it doesn't appraise and I can't get financing? It appraised for more then I thought and a bank lent on it. What if I can't get a renter? I got a renter. It took longer then expected since there was no heat in the house and Houston was going through a freeze. What if I can't sell it? Since I didn't buy it from the original owner I must assume other have owned this house and that others will own it after me.
Investing for me is like the remote for the ceiling fan, using sleeper sofas and raising a child. They are scary and things can go wrong. I can either let that fear control me or I can just move forward and see what will end up killing me. Also it's not true what does not kill me does not always make me stronger. At times it just makes me wiser.
-JN
