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“I love the winning, I can take the losing, but most of all I love to play.” – Boris Becker, Six-time Grand Slam Tennis champion.
Find the property, secure the property, profit from the property. That’s the essence of securing an investment property.
But just as there’s more to tennis than simply hitting a ball back-and-forth until someone scores, the reality of property investment is also far more complex.
And so, as we’re in the season of Wimbledon, this post will look at 4 ways that securing a property investment really is like a Wimbledon match.
#1 Desire to play the game
Before a single ball is served at Wimbledon, each player had a moment far away from the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, years before, where they had a desire to play the game of tennis.
Something drew them to the game and focused their attention on the path that ultimately led them to Wimbledon.
The same is true in property investment. Before your first property evaluation, or before you even wrap your head round concepts like capitalization rate/gross rental yield…before all of that, you had a desire that lead you into property investment. Recognising and holding onto this desire will give you the strength to make it through the twists and turns of this journey.
#2 Coaches to guide your preparation
The professional hires a coach whilst the amateur doesn’t. You can see the coaches quietly sitting in the stands during a Wimbledon game. But don’t let their composure fool you. Because before and after the game, they will be putting their athlete through countless hours of drills on the tennis court, analysing every aspect of their swing, instilling a rigorous regime of exercise and nutrition, reviewing many hours of video footage studying their athletes and their opponents for any signs of weakness, measuring oxygen capacity during gym workouts…and many other aspects that help the tennis player have a chance at achieving victory at Wimbledon.
Again, the same is true in property investment. When you’re wading through capitalization rates, gross rental yields, property evaluations, amortization schedules, contingencies, investment mortgages, and credit reports, you’ll hopefully have your ‘coaching team’ of your tax advisor, a trusted accountant,an experienced investment mortgage broker, real estate agents and other specialists who will help you secure the best investment property that you can get.
#3 Patiencewith the process
Just to qualify for Wimbledon requires hours of daily practice, countless qualification matches and many years of preparation. And then once a player is in Wimbledon, they have to diligently work their way through the tournament one point, game, set, and match at a time. Back and forth the ball flies across the net; sometimes there are disputes that require the Umpire or the instant replay to decide upon the outcome. Sometimes the match is called off due to rain just when one player was feeling the momentum of the game. Sometimes the players are battling for a deciding set for what seems like hours under the scorching sun. All of this requires vast reservoirs of patience…just as in property investment.
Because just as a tennis player has to have the stamina to keep up with the back-and-forth of a tennis match, so the property investor has to have the stamina to deal with the back-and-forth of securing a property: deals falling through, elusive financing options, unforeseen discoveries when evaluating the property, scheduling meetings with the specialists on their team, offers and counter-offers…the list goes on, but patience is still required for all of it.
#4 Love for the process
In tennis, ‘love’ means zero or nothing. And no matter how great a player’s desire for the game or the amount of preparation they put in, there can only be one winner at Wimbledon. In the same way, no matter how much effort you put into a deal, at the end of the day you could be left with nothing. But the beauty of it all is that whether one wins Wimbledon or not, whether you secure the property or not, the professional has a real love for the game (of tennis or investment).
This means that regardless of the outcome, they look forward to learning from their experience so they can try again on the next game or property investment deal.
If you’re embarking on your next property investment project, give us a call so we can discuss your finance options.
