Dealing With The Obstacles And Stressful Situations

Entrepreneur of the Week | Post 4
Dealing with the Unexpected and Everyday Pressure

In this post, I want to talk about dealing with unexpected issues and pressure — things we all experience in our day-to-day work.

I’m not in this field for very long, and I’m sure I’ve only just begun making mistakes and learning,
but I want to share what I’ve experienced so far.

At the end of 2024, I bought my first and second properties,
and most of my deals happened throughout 2025.
Yesterday, I closed my 13th deal.

Some of the deals were flips, and some were rentals.

Many of the deals I’ve done were in partnership with investors —
I sourced and managed the deal,
and they brought the capital,
because I started with around $50,000.

I want to talk about the things I experienced this past year.

Like any entrepreneur who jumps into the water,
I made mistakes and got burned more than once.

I dealt with unexpected issues that went off-plan,
and at first, I reacted to them very poorly —
until I learned how to respond and how to prepare in advance.

It already started with my first property.

The renovation was delayed by a month and a week,
and I didn’t understand how that could happen or why it was “normal.”

On top of that, there were unexpected expenses of about $2,500
(which today, when I’m prepared for it, sounds minor),
but back then it was a big amount for me.

I remember not being able to sleep at night,
angry and frustrated —
why is he delaying like this?
why did he go over budget?
why is this happening to me right now?

Then came the appraisal,
and it came in about 15% lower than I expected.
That was a serious slap in the face,
and I realized I had overestimated the value from the start.

It continued with more delayed renovations,
more unexpected costs,
appraisals,
properties that didn’t sell,
and things that simply didn’t work out the way I expected.

In one property, I even received a stop-work order from the city
because I hadn’t pulled a permit for something —
and the renovation was delayed by another two months.

That was very hard for me to accept.

Even today, there are things that drive me crazy
and cause me to lose sleep at night,
and I assume there will be more days like that in the future.

But over time, I learned how to prepare for surprises
and accept them with a smile.

I have an investor in my city who’s been in the field for almost a decade,
and he helps me understand that this is part of the game
and that you have to accept it with love.

Today, I work differently:

I set aside money in advance for unexpected expenses,
I’m more conservative in my after-repair value estimates,
and unfortunately, contractors still run late —
and I’m still trying to figure out a formula to prevent that.

This field is not for everyone.
It requires a lot of mental resilience.

There can be an amazing day
where you close a deal, sell a property, or succeed at something —
and the very next day,
an unexpected issue of a few thousand dollars hits you,
or bureaucracy that requires standing on the phone for an hour and a half.

I’ve learned a lot during my time in U.S. real estate,
and I’m sure I’ve only just begun paying my tuition.

The most important thing I take from all of this is:
every mistake I’ve made once —
I won’t make again.

That’s how I learn and improve over time.

And I’m happy that I paid a year’s worth of “tuition” in one year —
something that might have taken a more cautious person many years —
because it allows me to move forward faster.

My motto:
Make mistakes as fast as possible — and improve over time.