303: Ouch! Brandon & David's 10 Biggest Investing Mistakes (& How to Avoid Them)

BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast

Are you a little tired of hearing about all the “successes” of real estate investors and wondering how realistic this is in the real world? Well, on today’s show, Brandon and David share the 10 biggest mistakes they’ve made in their investing careers—warts and all!

Let’s be honest—real estate isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Mistakes happen! In this episode, we cover WHY investors often sabotage their own success and what can be done to overcome this! You’ll learn how to avoid massaging your numbers to force a bad deal through, how to guard against getting ripped off by contractors, how to hire the RIGHT team members to help you succeed, and how to fire the wrong ones!

We also cover the high cost of analysis paralysis and how to move past it, how to choose the right market for yourself, and the mistake that cost David $5,000—simply because he didn’t understand how inspection periods work in different states. If you want to see the real story behind real estate investing, including the stuff that often isn’t talked about, don’t miss your chance for some authentic, honest transparency from two experienced investors!

In This Episode We Cover:

• A discussion on waiting to start investing because you don’t feel you can do it yet
• The pros and cons of doing everything yourself
• The danger of working with the wrong people
• Stories of buying the wrong deal
• How to avoid not managing people correctly
• What can happen when you underestimate rehab costs
• Why you shouldn’t put too much down on a property
• The pitfalls of not doing enough market research
• Avoiding investing because your state is too expensive
• Not rehabbing correctly
• And SO much more!

Links from the Show

• BiggerPockets Forums
• BiggerPockets Webinars
• BiggerPockets Podcast
• BiggerPockets Contractors
• BiggerPockets Loans
• BiggerPockets Analysis Tools
• Biggerpockets File Place
• How to Buy Real Estate & Build Your Portfolio Fast! (“The Stack!”)

Books Mentioned in this Show

• Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday
• The Millionaire Real Estate Agent by Gary Keller
• The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs by J. Scott
• So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport
• High Performance Habits by Brendon Burchard

Fire Round Questions

• Is there a formula for budgeting for preventative maintenance and repairs.
• How long does it usually take you to get a unit rented out after purchasing?
• I am looking for advice and knowledge on how to go about getting into a second deal with all my funds tied up in this duplex currently
• What are your screening criteria that you use for weeding out bad deals when you’re looking to BRRRR?

Tweetable Topics:

• “Thinking small is more expensive than failing big.” (Tweet This!)
• “Find an investor-friendly agent.” (Tweet This!)
• “Calculators don’t have egos.” (Tweet This!)
• “The wise investor understands equity equals safety.” (Tweet This!)
• “Define what you want and work for it until you get it.” (Tweet This!)

Connect with Brandon and David

• Brandon’s Instagram
• Brandon’s BiggerPockets Profile
• David’s Instagram
• David’s BiggerPockets Profile

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