I’m not going to pretend I figured this all out smoothly. I made plenty of mistakes early on, and if sharing a few of them saves you some money, then they were worth making.
Mistake one: I overestimated rents and underestimated repairs. My first analysis was basically optimism with a calculator. The water heater goes, the roof needs work, a tenant moves out — those things aren’t if, they’re when. Now I always budget for capital expenses and vacancy, every single time.
Mistake two: I skipped the boring due diligence. I got excited about a property and rushed the inspection. That cost me. These days I’d rather lose a deal by being thorough than win one by being careless.
Mistake three: I tried to do it all alone. I wasted a lot of energy on things other people could’ve done better and faster — which is exactly why I now preach building a real estate team early.
Mistake four: I let emotion drive decisions. I fell in love with properties. I chased a couple of deals well past the point where the numbers made sense, just because I’d decided I wanted them. The market doesn’t care about your feelings.
If there’s one lesson under all of these, it’s this: stay humble, stay patient, and let the math lead. The investors who last aren’t the ones who never make mistakes — they’re the ones who learn from them and keep showing up.