top of page

Real Estate Investing is like Flying Airplanes

Not too long ago I passed my Examination to become a Private Pilot, after a lifetime of dreaming about it and a year of intense study and practice. I love to fly and even "talk" about flying. I notice that many people still have misconceptions, anxiety, or outright fear of flying, despite the well known fact that it is statistically the safest mode of transportation. WAY Safer than your car, no matter who is driving or where.

Why the misconceptions and misunderstandings is an entire blog by itself, maybe a few. However, what I want to cover today is WHY Flying is so safe and how it relates to Real Estate Investing. Flying is the safest mode of transportation largely because Pilots, Air Traffic Controllers, and Airframe & Engine Mechanics are life-long students of Aviation, CONSTANTLY LEARNING. In fact, the entire industry is this way, including manufacturers, service providers, etc. One of the most important aviation industry norms that furthers this cause is the open sharing, analyses, and discourse around every aviation accident. When something, anything, goes wrong, the entire industry focuses intensely on why/how it happened and how to ensure it never happens again.

Do you do the same analysis with your Real Estate Investing? Does your Financial Advisor/Money Manager do this? Does your MENTOR do this for you? I had mentors as I got started in RE Investing and asked them outright why the "bad deals" were never mentioned, let alone shared and explained. I expressed that if they would do this, I would have more confidence in them, not less! I believed most RE Investors were like me and would have more respect for them and rest easier knowing that the bad things are handled properly too.

Alas, RE Mentors, Educators, Syndicators, all try to pretend the BAD THINGS have never happened and never will on their watch. I suggest you ask your Advisors, Mentors, Consultants, and even Partners these important questions. Have they ever experienced a bad turn of events or outcome on an investment? If so, what was it and how did they handle it? How did it change the strategy and how did they mitigate the impacts to the business and investors?

Anyone who answers "NO" is either inexperienced or lying! How many "Bad" situations has Warren Buffet had to work his way through? What about Larry Fink or George Soros? The obvious answer is A LOT! In fact, most of these investors are known to point out what makes them great is NOT how many winners they pick, but to the contrary, how they manage the Losers in their portfolios.

So, I challenge you to STUDY THE ACCIDENTS! Spend more time analyzing what went wrong and how to avoid it in the future, rather than admiring your "Greatest Hits". Do you want your Investment Portfolio to have the accident rate of the aviation industry, or that of I-75 at Rush Hour?

Featured Posts
Recent Posts
LINK TO Joe's OLD Blog: 
http://joepalmerracing.blogspot.com/
Archive
Search By Tags
No tags yet.
Follow Us
  • Facebook Basic Square
  • Twitter Basic Square
  • Google+ Basic Square
bottom of page