Mistake number seven – They listen to people who probably know less than them! I heard Anthony Robbins once ask his audience “If you wanted to get rich would you study poor people?” “No” came the resounding reply. “That’s right” he retorted “If you want to get rich, you need to study rich people”. That…

Mistake number six – They let their hearts do the figures. What do I mean by this? Well, I remember listening to a marketing guru giving a talk to a bunch of salesmen and telling them that, at a subconscious level, all decisions to purchase are based on emotion. Having decided “in their hearts” to…

Mistake number four – They get tunnel vision Perhaps its human nature but most investors get this. It might be explained as being a need for the comfort we get when we stick with what we know.  In effect investors will start to develop a niche. Often it will be that having bought a particular…

Mistake number three – They put too much trust in valuations. Now, don’t get me wrong, as I said in point number one, valuations are a great way of making sure you aren’t paying over the odds. But they are not such a good way of confirming you are buying a bargain. Why do I…

Mistake number two – They are too cautious in their negotiations. With the odd and often notable exception it’s part of the British psyche not to want to cause offence. Add to this that we often accept the asking price without questioning it, and the result is often weak negotiations. Let me explain. When most…

Quite often, when I talk about my experiences in property I’ll be asked what the difference is between a good property investor and a poor property investor. Truthfully, that’s a hard question to answer. Some people are naturally good at things and some people are just good at property investing. Putting natural talent aside, over…