The Real World Of Buying & Selling

August 1, 2026

A lot of my content is about investing in real estate and businesses. It’s time to talk about something that unfortunately gets overlooked frequently by content creators that cover those topics. First of all I think they are providing a much needed service to their followers. And for the most part they are honest and accurate when providing the information. But, and this is a big but, it’s not necessarily what they say that I have a problem with. It’s what they don’t say.

Buying and selling real estate and businesses in the real world is not what they make it out to be. They do a great job of explaining the good parts like the deals that were made, how they negotiated this and that, and how they did not have to use much or any of their own money. That’s what everyone is hoping to hear. Here’s the part nobody wants to hear but everybody needs to hear. Things don’t normally happen that easy. Sometimes it does happen that way but most of the time there are bumps in the road along the way that can frequently cost you money and potentially turn what seems like a great deal into a bad deal.

It is possible to buy real estate for no money down. But no money down does not mean no money. There are other costs involved when investing in real estate. There are appraisers, surveys, mortgage brokers, lenders, environmental studies, inspectors, and closing costs. Did I leave anything out? Probably. There will almost always be money spent that you didn’t count on or know about. Now, it doesn’t have to be your money. If you are resourceful you can get the money from someone else like from the seller, or another lender, or a partner. But the expense is still there. The same goes for buying a business. Buying a business is very much like buying real estate. Many business buyers get a great deal on a business with very little out of pocket only to learn that half your customers went somewhere else just because the previous owner is gone. Or maybe several of the employees left when the owner sold. And there’s also the possibility that your due diligence wasn’t quite good enough to catch the fudged P&L statements you were given(Tip: use a CPA).

I don’t want to seem negative about buying real estate or businesses. I one hundred percent believe that if you want it you should pursue it. My hope is that you will do it with your eyes and ears open and alert to the fact that things usually look better on YouTube than they do in the real world. And that includes my content. I try to cover everything. But there have been many times I have hit that publish button and then the next day I’m beating myself up because there was something I forgot to mention. I’ll probably do that with this article as well. Don’t tell my wife, but I am human and I do make mistakes. Just like everyone else. When you are processing the content you are consuming, process it with your thinking brain, not your emotional brain. We often see dollar signs and our adrenaline starts to surge. That feeling can get us into trouble at first. After two decades in real estate, 16 years as a commercial real estate broker and investor, and several years as a general contractor, I can tell you most of the content on these topics are not giving you the complete picture.

So what’s the point of this article?

· Watch the content and learn from it.

· Know that within that content the real world might not be fully presented.

· Take a deep breath and think about what you just saw. Ask questions. Don’t over analyze, just do your due diligence. That’s the boring part but it’s also the part that can save you from disaster.

· Consider a mentor or coach if you are looking to invest in real estate or a business.

Do the work and make it happen!

Thanks to all our readers and welcome to the new subscribers!

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