When to tell your family & friends about your property portfolio!
Hey guys,
Telling your friends and family about your new found ideas about being a “set and forget” property investor is likely to cause you more grief than it may be worth.
The one thing that I have learned is when others are around that don’t have property keep my mouth shut. I don’t talk specifically about my portfolio and I have given up arguing or even correcting people who make out they know a lot about property. I have found that those with overstated opinions generally are not really investors, they are commentators.
Even your family who you would normally respect, you still have to ask ‘how much experience do they really have?’. If they don’t own a significant portfolio perhaps you should not accept their opinion or advice. After all you don’t go to a lawyer for your accounting then why go to a person with no property portfolio about building a portfolio.
Now this may seem like I am being harsh but I say it with my investors hat on and not my emotional family man hat.
Remember your family & friends see you as you used to be not as you are now. Without meaning any harm they simply want you to be safe. They are simply relaying their lack of education around investing. Respect this position and head their council very cautiously.
So when should you tell your family & friends?
In the case of my parents, I waited until I owned a couple of houses for at least 3 months. I made sure they had tenants in them then l broke the news. I now regularly speak freely to them and even though they are in Australia I know they are proud of me and what I have achieved in property.
As for friends well I am happy to discuss generally but I keep most of the specifics of my portfolio close to my hip but I think they still wonder as I regularly travel round the UK and Spain looking at various properties and I always seem to have some property on the go.
So how you tackle these well meaning influences is for you to decide but if you find them being too negative perhaps its time to drop the subject around these people. Negativity won’t help you.
Live with passion,
Brett Wood
