How do you take a breather and clear your head when investing?

I have information overload at the moment, I have spent so long running figures and watching suburbs, now I am starting to confuse myself.

Whilst it's good to constantly question your strategy and methods, I seem to be like a dog chasing my tail now, going round and round but never actually getting anywhere.

I am sure this is normal and happens to us all, What do you guys do to declutter your head and get your brain back on track?

My current stage is sort of like being in a used car yard looking to buy 5 or 6 cars but they ALL look awesome for the money, it's also a little difficult because everything I look at is a large home and is half the price of my Sydney shoebox that I live in, economies do not appear to be of scale .

 

Just make a descision, even if it's a bad one. I do not leave things undecided, it sucks up too much energy.

Just decide and go with it

 

Nothing is ever perfect anyway

 

Except Dan Donoghue

*Fixed*

 

Dont compare the prices with thebkind of money you have or the type of property you have, compare it with similar sild properties 8n past 6 months.

I am sure you will find at least a couple of them costly.

 

Walk you too your window open it ,and throw the tv out the window,if you in a high rise maybe not just watch but turn off the volume,then don't buy any newspapers for a month,you can open a ten year old news print only the date at the top will change,then don't think about the past or future just today..

 

yes off course

 

Stop trying to find perfect properties. In the time it will take you to find a 10 / 10 property, I could find five 8 / 10 ones. Which of these portfolios will be better in 5 yrs?

 

Focus on buying properties which fit your strategy. The reality is that there will be many which suit your criteria.

If that's the case and you're in a position to buy, put competitive offers on all and see what comes back to you.

We've all become ingrained into a culture of enjoying limited choice - we like walking into McDonalds and having a choice of a hamburger or a hamburger, choosing between an Apple or a Samsung etc. I've consistently found that investors which are told they have 50 options available to them will take considerable more time to make any strategic choices compared to those who have 2-3.

Make a choice - stick to it. If it becomes fundamentally clear that there is a better option, than evolve the strategy to fit this.

 

This is a really good point (Also mentioned by Xenia), I think I am getting confused because I am trying to find "the one" (except a want a few of them). I was talking to someone about this last night, I seem to constantly be fighting to remind myself I am not buying something for me to live in, I am buying a tool to grow my wealth.

Maybe after I get the first one under my belt things will be easier .

 

I freedive to clear my head. But if you leave things unfinished its not clearing your head that you need to do.
What i did when looking at buying a new car was found 5 that were 80% what i wanted, and put in low offers, i took the best counter offer. it would take 10 times the effort to get the perfect one.
the old 80/20 again. And now i cant even remember the colour of the other cars.

 

I'd just follow the title of this thread.
Simply take a step back and don't overthink it.
Generally the answers or right direction present themselves when you don't try to force it.

 

This is the philosophy that I recognise I need to come to terms with.

 

Go back to your main goal. Does purchasing the property help you get to that goal? If you have several properties, then assess which gets you there the fastest.

The property doesn't have to tick every box but just the main box that's aligned to what you are trying to achieve.

Sometimes I see investors trying to find that undermarket, potential to add value, development potential, positive cashflow and with good capital growth potential deal. We are looking for properties not unicorns

Hope this helps,
Michael

 

As people have mentioned trying to buy "the perfect first Investment property" is like chasing rainbows..it will never happen!!
Its hard to have self confidence with something you have never done before but as long as you have gone through and eliminated as much risk as you can with your purchase decision that is ultimately all you can do.
My first 2 IPs aren't perfect by any stretch but I believe they are in area's which have good CG moving forward
Your first buy doesn't need to be perfect just not a lemon..

 

Hi @Dan Donoghue your position is certainly not unique and we come across many buyers of the same ilk. Information overload is too easy in our techno world, where everything is at our fingertips. Remember the good ole days when you got in your car, drove to the local RE window to see what new properties were for sale? Or you waited for the Sat paper to be delivered so you could check out the entire city's listings? OK OK maybe I do and you don't, but you get my drift... and yes I'm getting old LOL

The trouble now is that we obtain information on properties so quickly, and in such volume, we barely leave time for processing. And then, when we do process, we tend to over-complicate it by seeking (too many) opinions, reading so much, drowning ourselves in content.

Agree with @Michael_X @Corey Batt and others here in that the property need not be 10/10 but you do need to follow your goals and eventually take action. Trust me- even when buyers have tens of millions of dollars to spend, there is no one property that they walk into and don't change something. Even when you build, there's always regrets afterwards, no matter how minor.

The other issue you may be grappling with (and I'm speaking from experience here personally and professionally) is that overriding fear that "something better/cheaper/bigger/shinier will come up next week/month/year". If this is the way you think you will never buy. You need to be realistic, committed to buying, systemised in your approach and willing to do the work to reach your goals.

Take a step back from all things property-related for a few days or a week if you can. Go out with your friends, cook a meal for the family, watch a Netflix/Foxtel/TV series that will take your mind off, walk the dog, wash the car, do a yoga class, listen to some great music and read for a change (nothing property-related) De-clutter and that includes NOT coming onto PropertyChat LOL You will find a fresh approach a few days later will help. Good luck!

 

Gotta get over the 'looking for perfect deal'. Doesn't exist and it's not required to build wealth anyway. It's counter productive.

Gotta get over it imo. Sooner the better.

 

6 pack of craft beer

Or 2 bottles of wine

Or

Half a bottle of scotch

 

Damn you know me well lol