I will never forget my first offer. I had been meticulous in stacking papers in my Samsonite briefcase in the order I would make the presentation. I had a suit and tie on. My Ford station wagon was washed and polished. I pulled up in front of the seller’s home. It had big picture windows and I was sure that he was watching me. I got out of the car, opened the back door, and grabbed the briefcase by the handle and swung it out. The lid had not latched and it flew open. All my papers spread across the street like a fan opening up. By the time I had gathered them up I was sweating, my throat was dry, and I wanted to get in the car and drive away. Instead I knocked on the door, went inside, and presented my offer. After it was refused, I retreated to the car and drove home.

Encouraged by my Mentor/partner, I soon made an offer on another property. It was an older three-story home across the street from Fullerton Junior College in California. There was also a duplex behind the house as part of the package. When the offer was accepted, I became the proud but inexperienced landlord of 12 tenants. Experience came quickly though. My first experience at property management was a baptism by fire. It wasn’t easy managing a boarding house full of college students, but it was worth it.

In about a year, I was offered an old 40-foot wooden-hulled yacht and a buoy in Newport Harbor for my equity. The buoy was worth more than the yacht. This offer was tempting, but could have ended my career in real estate because I would likely have spent my time scraping and varnishing the boat. Instead, I sold the property to an associate on a contract and bought a new boat on a trailer so I could haul it behind me wherever I wanted to go. His payments to me made my payments on the boat. I got rid of a headache property and I still have the boat. That was my first sale of an investment property and my first experience with owner financing.

My first refinance was on my personal residence in California. I had purchased it for $40,000. On the refinance I pulled out $37,500 in cash and that became my seed money for investments. I soon purchased an eight-unit property that had a long-term tenant who was retired and handy. Gene became my first on-site manager. That experience worked so well that I used tenants as on-site managers for the next multiple unit properties and for several properties purchased through the years.

I used the term “we” purchased because friends and acquaintances, seeing my activity and success, wanted to get involved, so I organized my first partnership. More partners meant bigger deals and more profits. Donna, my life partner, and I purchased our first Corvette, our first Cessna, and then our first Mercedes. We had to drive it somewhere so we headed to Denver, Colorado where we were introduced to a gentleman who was selling his apartment complexes. We ended up buying, with our partners, a 156 unit, a 48 unit, a 44 unit, a 12 unit, and a 24 unit, all in Colorado. With that many properties we needed professional management so we hired our first management company. They didn’t work out well so we formed our first management company and our first maintenance company. We ended up moving to Colorado where we bought our first custom built home in Columbine Country Club.

In time, we bought 161 units and 202 units in Colorado Springs, 160 units in Tulsa, 20 or so single-family homes, and some land near Vail. I have been sole owner or partnered in 872 rental units and houses.

Prior to getting into real estate, I had been unemployed for two years. When I got my license we had $500 in cash and equity in a home. Within a year, we were enjoying a comfortable lifestyle. One daughter managed our real estate office. Her fiancé spent a summer painting a 44-unit complex with one of my sons. Four of my sons painted their way through college – skills they learned painting our rental properties.

My first offer didn’t result in a purchase. My first deal was painful, but profitable. It never would have happened if I had quit after my first offer laid spread out on the street. Some of us fear success. Some of us fear failure. Some of us fear the unknown.

For many years, my life has been enriched by using daily affirmations. One that is appropriate for this topic is: I will be master of my emotions. If I feel fear, I will plunge ahead. If I feel insignificant, I will remember my goals. There are many deals in the current market. If you blow the first one or the second one, you can quit or you can persist. If you persist long enough, you will win.