We all think we’re being so strategic and patient when we say this: “I’m gonna wait”. Wait until the rates drop. Wait until the prices drop. Wait until it’s the right time. But the truth is, in most cases… you’re just being scared.

Why Waiting Is a Terrible Strategy

It seems logical, right? Waiting can’t be wrong… since you’re not risking anything? Wrong. Because while you may be sitting on your hands, you’re losing the one thing that doesn’t ever come back: Time. Time to be in the market. Appreciation. Leverage. Experience and reps. The scariest part? You don’t feel like you’re losing anything.

How the Market Works When You Wait

What really happens when people wait? Prices increase → wait for prices to fall again. Rates decrease → wait for more people to enter the market. More competition → it gets harder to secure deals → so you wait some more. Before you realize, two to three years have passed and you’ve accomplished… absolutely nothing. While someone else got the deal you wanted.

There Is No Such Thing As a Perfect Window

Stop right now with this mentality of waiting for “the right time”. It doesn’t exist. The only things that exist are good deals, bad deals, and people that know how to structure them.

Who’s winning in the real estate game? People who don’t wait around for a favorable market but rather structure profitable deals.

The Reality of Not Acting When You Should

When you wait for ideal conditions, the following happens: Two years pass → rent prices increase, property prices increase, your savings remain the same. Now, a deal costs you more and your ability to purchase decreases. Did you benefit from waiting?

“But What If The Market Goes Down?”

Sure, let’s talk about it. Let’s suppose the market goes down. What will happen? Well, good investors will buy more, create opportunities, and create better terms. But the truth is, you won’t be ready to take advantage either way. Why? Because you’ve been waiting!

The Harsh Truth Nobody Wants To Accept

You’re not making a decision based on market conditions but based on avoiding one. The scarier it becomes for you, the harder it’ll be to start acting. Because after all, you’ll have been building up hesitation.

What You Need to Be Doing

Instead of waiting around to make the market easier, adapt. Start with the following steps: figure out your parameters (buy box, price range, flip/rent/wholetale etc.). Do actual underwriting with real numbers, not estimates, not Zillow optimism. Start offering on deals, regardless if they’re declined at first.

What Will Happen

You will fail at first. But then you will succeed because you’ll know how to do proper due diligence. Stop caring about the current state of the market and think about structuring deals instead.

Bottom Line

Winners in real estate are those who move on profitable deals regardless of the market conditions and losers are those who wait to see if it goes up or down.

If you want to figure out what actually determines whether a deal is profitable (rather than just winging it every time)? That’s my specialty.