This concludes the series on HOW TO INVEST IN PROPERTY.
Very few good things in life comes quickly. If there is something like love at first sight, it may be the only thing. Yet we live in a society where everything must be quick and fast and overnight. We love so called “over night success stories” (I write about this in some of my books).
The problem is, this “overnight” mentality filters through to our investment attitude. We want to get rich quick.
Investing is never a short-term activity, that is speculation. Wordweb says speculation is a type of gambling or pyramid. When you invest in property, it should definitely be for the long haul. In fact, I never buy any property with the idea of selling. I assume that something could happen that makes it a good idea to sell a property. But the reality is the only property investments that ever caused me grief and heart ache are those that I sold! Looking back on those, I cannot believe that I was so stupid!
Be patient when investing. I believe that there is no other investment like property available to the man on the street with the ability to make normal income earners seriously wealthy or to help you to financial freedom. Yet, I get the following very, very frequently.
Somebody was interested in investing in property, but not interested enough to attend one of our free training sessions, that already says something. This person is 50 years old and after all this time of working has not accumulated nearly enough to be able to afford one year of retirement. And the next 15 years is not going to change the situation.
So when it came to property or whatever alternative she has in mind, she asked me how long will it take to get sufficient income from property and I replied that she can quite easily do it in 15 years. She immedialtely replied: “It is too long.”
Can you explain this? Why are people prepared to contribute for 40 years to investments guaranteed to keep them financially dependent, but when asked to contribute to something that can make them financially independent within 15 years, it is too long?
There is another aspect to the long haul attitude. Since you are in for the long haul, don’t become negative about short term events. It is easier to explain with reference to shares. I watch the performance of our share portfolio during the day. It is an up-and-down affair. But over a year, it is almost smooth. Back to property, if it costs you a bit more than expected, if it is vacant one month more than you planned, it is a short term hassle, but in the long run, you will not even notice it. And you are in for the long haul. Or are you?
When investing in property, especially in property, don’t just think about your lifetime. Think about posterity. Property is on land, part of mother earth, and the learned people say that Mother Earth is millions of years old! Go for the long haul.