Investing in Commercial Real Estate: The Anti-Fear Mindset
Specializes in providing actionable insights into the commercial real estate space for investors, brokers, lessors, and lessees. He covers quarterly market data reports, investment strategies, how-to guides, and top-down perspectives on market movements.
This article was updated on 7/10/2023.
Investing in commercial real estate is a tried-and-true way of diversifying portfolios, building generational wealth, and creating passive income. But if you're new to the scene, you're likely at a loss on where to start.
Similar to many things, the very foundation of investing in commercial real estate grows from the right mindset, seeing past the short term and establishing your "why" and "how." Before you start worrying about different property types, you must learn to tread without fear.
Discover what it takes to successfully invest in commercial real estate with the anti-fear mindset.
What Is the Anti-Fear Mindset?
The anti-fear mindset is the superhuman ability to approach daunting tasks and accomplish them despite the urge to run away and do something easier. That overly pessimistic feeling isn't there to help you, and learning how to control it is imperative. In today's market, there are many opportunities to buy commercial land for sale, but you must possess the fortitude and prudence to do it the right way, the first time.
The anti-fear mindset is critical for many facets of life, but most especially for anybody who desires to become wealthy by investing in commercial real estate.
The Differences Between "Good" and "Bad" Fear
While we all know that a sensible amount of fear is helpful for keeping us safe and secure, not everybody grasps how detrimental it is to be paralyzed with fear. "Good" fear prevents us from approaching a hungry lion before it's fed; "bad" fear, which is more common, prevents us from achieving our goals.
Too many ambitious investors get excited about what they want to do and the money they'll make collecting rent without making sure that they're ready to take the bold leap into a committed purchasing decision.
For example, they know they want to buy, but they're too afraid of debt financing, and, therefore, unable to complete the deal. For many reasons, using credit to invest in real estate is a great idea, yet many commercial real estate investors eschew that opportunity because they cannot get over their fear: They assume they'll automatically incur bankruptcy or some other calamity because they don't understand how to leverage debt the correct way.
This is an irrational fear that will cripple your chances of not only making money but building wealth.
Self-Education: A Great Antidote for Fear
We stand on the shoulders of giants. One of the giants in the commercial real estate investing industry is the legendary author, Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad/Poor Dad and The Cashflow Quadrant.
Kiyosaki has made tons of money investing in commercial real estate and loves to share the secrets of his success with others. Two of his greatest pearls of wisdom are 1) get educated about what you're doing, and 2) control your mindset to conquer fear. Kiyosaki and other commercial real estate investors have noticed that a lack of education and a fear of debt financing are two of the biggest reasons people fail in this business.
Getting Started in Commercial Real Estate Investing Through Debt Financing
What prospective buyers (long-term investors) often fail to realize is that the more you use debt as opposed to your own money to buy properties, the more you can create an infinite return on your investment. It's a fascinating concept worth its own article, but, in short, infinite return happens every time you don't have to sink any of your own money into the property you buy.
If you profit, then pay the lender back what you borrowed before interest accrual, you will profit for as much as the property appreciates while you owned it, and you would never have spent anything out-of-pocket. This is lucrative in either bullish, bearish, or sideways markets depending on your position.
Is there risk involved? Yes, but there's risk with every transaction in every facet of life. Why would real estate be any different? It isn't. However, you WILL succumb to the risky pitfalls if you skip the legwork of educating yourself on how it's done.
This is even the way Warren Buffett invests in equities. It doesn't require clairvoyance or genius. It requires a stable personality rather than one plagued by fear.
All investing requires you to learn the dirty details, but the greatest hindrance for most buyers is fear. Fear of the unknown is the bane of so many business endeavors. Don't let that happen to you. Get educated, as Robert Kiyosaki would say, take all the necessary steps to manage fear, learn how to pull the trigger on your plans, and you will be amazed at how much you can accomplish. This is foundational to any successful dream of being successful in commercial real estate investing.
Life Hacks for Managing Fear
The popular motivational speaker, Tony Robbins, addresses the topic of fear and how to get past it. Here are 10 simple tips for how to do that:
- 1. Identify Your Fears;
- 2. Recognize That Fear Can Work to Your Advantage;
- 3. Sit With Your Fear;
- 4. Create Goals That Are a “Must”;
- 5. Recognize the Excuses;
- 6. Surround Yourself With Success;
- 7. Adopt a Growth Mindset;
- 8. Find Valuable Insight in Pain;
- 9. Visualize Your Goals; and
- 10. Accept That You'll Fail.
Most of these tips might come across as common sense. A couple of them are bound to seem counterintuitive. Let's look at some of those in detail.
"Sitting" With Your Fear
What does it mean to “sit with your fear?” Robbins advises those stricken with fear to “Think about it. What is the root cause? What is the story you tell yourself about why you can't overcome this fear?”
Any good researcher or detective knows about root-cause-analysis. This is where you'll identify more than just the symptoms of fear. You track the problem back to its root cause. Don't mow over the weeds and dandelions. Dig them up by their roots.
When you experience terror pangs in your heart right before purchasing a commercial property, try to track down their origin. Is it just the excitement of the moment or could you be battling some repressed memory of an old failure that leads you to think that you'll repeat it? Again, Robbins invites us to marinade in the fear a little bit and discover its real cause.
Surrounding Yourself With Success
Surrounding yourself with success can mean different things. One of the best ways to do this is to find a mentor who can guide you through the process of purchasing commercial property for sale. Mentorship is just like education: a terrific cure for those nagging doubts, those negative emotions that stymie you from buying that lucrative downtown rental property.
Accepting Failure
How about accepting failure? Be careful here. This does not mean you accept a fait accompli. That's the ugly converse of what you should do. Accepting a potential failure means that you've come to grips with the possibility, you've factored in the risk and the consequences, and you know that it won't destroy you if you lose money. You win some, you lose some. Be ready for the losses because there is no such thing as risk-free commercial real estate. That need not deter you, though: In the worst-case scenario, you will learn from a failure and be better primed for success next time.
The anti-fear mindset is not just an ancillary part of investing in commercial real estate, but it's one of the active ingredients because fear always gets in the way of effective decision-making and execution. Conquer fear so that it does not conquer you.
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