MINDSET
LIFE LESSONS
Too Great Expectations HOW WE TRIP OURSELVES, AND HOW WE GET RIGHT BACK UP
by Deborah Razo
ne of my biggest real estate successes was also a huge hindrance. I was a newbie going to tons of real estate meetings, learning how to be successful in this business. I had a bit of money and wanted to try my hand at flipping. So, I got a mentor to guide me through the process of finding a deal, to help me navigate the waters of hard money financing, and of course, to work with me to make sure the project came in on time and at budget. We found a hoarder house. It was a great price and in a wonderful neighborhood. There were up and downs and more than one night of waking up anxious that we didn’t order something from the hardware store or worried about how we were going to fix the garage problem. But we completed the task and the finished property was beautiful! We could sit back and appreciate the great work we did. But not for long because we still had to sell it! It went on the market and sat just long enough for me to think no one was ever going to buy it. And then the offers came in and it sold with enough room for us to make over $100k in profit! Where is the downside to this? Well, you remember how I mentioned I was a newbie? Because I was a new investor, I thought every flip would be this way. Why wouldn’t it be? After all, isn’t that how it’s done on T.V.? I moved forward with excitement and started putting O
offers on other projects, but I couldn’t seem to land another deal. More offers. More rejections. What was wrong? My offers weren’t getting accepted because my expectation was too high. I was missing out on deals because I thought all flips profited like my first and only flip. They were all supposed to make over 100k. I was putting out offers that weren’t getting accepted because my profit margin was pricing me out. I was losing deals to others who were willing to accept less. This experience made me re-evaluate what I was willing to “work” for. Here’s the lesson: expectations influence how we think and what we do, which, in turn, determines what happens in our lives. We need to be mindful of both positive and negative expectations and how they influence our business. Shoot for those great deals and know what your bottom line is. Maybe we can learn something about expectations from the Rolling Stones who tell us: “You can’t always get what you want … you get what you need.” •
Deborah Razo is Founder of theWomen’s Real Estate Network (WREN), a community where women in real estate excel, empower each other, and share experiences, resources and tools to help one another grow both personally and professionally. Learn more at www.WRENinspires.com. Contact Deborah at drazo@wreninspires.com .
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