Don't let these common obstacles stop you from being a successful property investor

As a successful property investor who has made their fair share of mistakes, I feel like I am uniquely qualified to talk about the obstacles to success in property investment and how to overcome them.

Usually, it’s the mental obstacles that hold many investors back. If you don’t have the right attitudes toward property investing, your first mistake will be your last causing your to give up property investing for good. Here are a few obstacles to avoid.

Lack of Passion and Clarity
In a way, we are all defined by our goals. Those with vague goals usually get vague results. Those with clear goals usually get great traction, which ultimately gives you the experience to be successful. It is essential that your goals are clear and that they stir your passion. Goals such as “I’m going to be rich by the time I turn forty” are nice, but they don’t really help you actually get there. Your goal needs to be specific so that you can start building your roadmap to success.

Taking the above “goal” as an example, a better way to go would be, “On the day I turn forty, I will control twenty investment properties in Perth with a total equity of $5 million.” If you like, stop right now and say that to yourself with conviction. If you are already over forty, pick an age ten years into the future. Then, imagine how it would feel to be forty or whatever age you chose with $5 million of equity in investment properties.

If this excites you, you are ready to start the process right now. If it doesn’t, pick some numbers that do arouse passion. If you can’t find a set of numbers that makes you feel passionate about property investing, you may want to find another vehicle for wealth, because those who succeed in property investing are passionate about it.

Living in Fear
Ultimately, fear is the great saboteur of hopes and dreams. Some are so afraid of failure that it paralyses them and keeps them from ever doing anything. They are so afraid to fail that they would rather do nothing at all than try to succeed. If you find yourself saying, “I am not going to try this because I know it won’t work,” you may be suffering from fear of failure. I chose to re-frame how I viewed mistakes, by looking at them and finding the learning lesson within each. This ensures that you wont make the same mistake twice and when ever you do make a screw up you move from a negative head space into a positive one that can seriously benefit you.

Fear of success is just as effective at keeping us from our dreams. If you find yourself afraid that success will change you from who you are and that you won’t like yourself, or you are afraid that you might get everything you want and still not be happy, you could be suffering from fear of success.

Either way, decide that you are going to be successful and happy. Then, let the goals you set earlier carry you to success.

Giving up Too Easily
I cost myself a lot of money with one bad investment a few years ago. I could have given up, but I didn’t. My mistake was that I tried to do it all myself and didnt have a clear plan to develop the property straight away. The market changed, the council changed and I was left holding a lemon. I took the loss on the chin, learned from my mistakes, put together a team of professionals and got back to work.

With the right team, you can do anything!

About Jarrad Mahon

Jarrad is the director of Investors Edge Real Estate.

Jarrad thrives on helping hundreds of investors every year formulate a clear plan to get the best returns from their Perth property. This requires a carefully thought out and innovative approach to understand your situation and help you to make the right move at the right time.

His renowned personalised "Property Success Plan" takes you step by step through how to make thousands of extra dollars and avoid the costly mistakes that Jarrad has learnt the hard way by investing himself all around Australia.

Over the last five years he has used his engineering background to build and refine a unique property management, sales & investing process that is sure to impress while getting you real results.

A sales and marketing expert, Jarrad combines the latest technology and cutting edge sales strategies to sell homes across the whole of Perth metro area.