First Rental Property

In my mind, it is very clear to me what people are afraid of when it comes to buying their first rental property.  For the purpose of this article, we are going to focus specifically on the ‘number two’ fear that people have.

…In case you are wondering, the picture of the guy with they eye patch is ‘Number Two’ from the Austin Powers movies!

You also might be wondering, why I am focusing on the ‘number two’ fear and not the ‘number one’ fear?

Further, you might also be thinking…’what the heck is the number one fear?’

Well, to answer those two questions, the reason why I am focusing on the ‘number two’ fear instead of the ‘number one fear’ is because I am going to write an article series on the ‘number one’ fear.

The article series will be similar in format to some of my other articles series, such as, How to buy your first rental property and The Evolution of a Real Estate Investor.

Now to the good stuff…

The ‘number two’ fear that potential real estate investors have when buying their first rental property is:

The fear of repairs and maintenance

• This fear is felt so strongly by some people that it scares them from taking any action.

• The fear that they have paralyzes them, and they never end up buying their first rental property.

• This fear is real, and I myself have experienced it before.

• However, as any experienced real estate investor will tell you, this fear becomes less of a fear as time goes on, and you gain more experience.

The fear tends to lessen as time goes on, if you are constantly building a network of people around you that are able to help you with your repairs and maintenance.

For the most part, most people fear the repairs and maintenance that a property may require because they are not ‘handy’ themselves and they do not know how to carry out things such as repairing an air conditioner unit, fixing a broken door, repairing an electrical outlet, etc.

The secret to helping you get past the ‘repairs and maintenance fear’ is knowing that YOU do not need to know how to fix the stuff yourself.

What you do need to know is who to call when repairs and maintenance are required on your property.   That is why, networking, and building a team of people who can help you in a time of need is crucially important.

Key people to have on this team ‘repairs and maintenance team’ would be people such as:

• painters
• handymen
• contractors
• electricians
• an HVAC specialist

The best way to build this ‘repairs and maintenance team’ is through obtaining referrals from friends or family.  For example, if you know someone who recently used a handyman, and they were happy with their services, note this down.  Take the initiative to reach out to this handyman and build some rapport with them.  Tell them who you are, and the typical things that you might be calling the handyman about in the future.

The next time you need the services of a handyman to take care of some work at your rental property, you will have someone that you will be able to call, who will be able to get the job done for you.

What are some of the other fears that you think hold people back from buying their first rental property?

Feel free to place your comments in the comments section below.