LESSON 4 · Real Estate Decoded
Real Risks
Real estate investing isn't passive income — it's a business with real risks:
- Vacancy: Every empty month costs you the full mortgage payment plus expenses
- Problem tenants: Evictions can take months and cost thousands in legal fees
- Unexpected repairs: A new roof ($8,000-$15,000) or HVAC system ($5,000-$10,000) can erase years of cash flow
- Illiquidity: You can't sell a property in 5 minutes like a stock
- Concentration risk: One bad property can dominate your entire portfolio
Successful real estate investors aren't lucky — they're disciplined operators who run numbers conservatively, keep reserves, and treat every property as a business, not a dream.