Property is one of the most emotional things I have ever done. It may not have the highs of an English football match but it will throw every other emotion head on at you at some stage. As you begin investing you invariably end up exposed to so many sources of information. Some are good, others bad, some correct, others blatantly wrong. The trick to becoming a numbers investor is to educate yourself to look only at the ones that matter to your portfolio.

As you build your portfolio here are just some of the emotions, good and bad you may face.

Ego - This can often happen after you’ve had some measure of success. You become invincible and forget the principles that got you there in the first place. The emotional wake up comes when you realise you have lost money

Parents & Friends - They are well meaning but often lack good solid education. They remember you for who you were not who you have become.

Voids - Until you prove to yourself that a property YOU own actually gets rented you will always face this.

Rent shortfall - It’s a hard one to fathom that something that costs you money each month will actually make you money. You overcome this one when you start to realise that the equity you have
is more than the property costs you.

Media fear mongers - These are the first people you must brush off. Their sole purpose is to report the news but seemingly more importantly is to sell newspapers. The best way to sell a newspaper is to report negatives. Fear is a bigger motivator than pleasure. I get excited when the news is bad because this always presents an opportunity to an astute investor.

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Workmates - What do l need to say here. If they are not doing their input is worthless, absolutely worthless. Just like family and friends it is a blatant lack of education that pervades these people.

Heading for zero - This is one that pops up with the rent shortfall. It is simply that once you do your cashflow up you realise it will eventually head to zero and that scares you. Now as long as you have done your 2 year cashflow correctly you will never have any problems but it can still raise the emotions.

There are many more emotions, all of them are simply ‘Triggers’ and the trick to being a numbers investor is to get educated while building your portfolio and take full advantage of the support provided.

The thing you begin to realise is that FEAR is simply False Education Appearing Real. Replace the education with good solid fundamentals and you will move in leaps and bounds towards becoming a numbers investor.

Live with passion,

Brett Wood

PS. January 2008 Update - I have just completed my new educational report called - Emotional Intelligence: 16 lessons on how to overcomethe emotional barriers faced while building your property portfolio.. Contact your Property Consultant for a complimentary copy.