The Real Reason Most Real Estate Investors Quit
- Wayne Hillier
- May 26
- 3 min read
By Wayne Hillier, Real Estate Investing Masters
May 26, 2025 | Edmonton, Alberta
You’d be surprised how often we hear it:
“I wish I had found your podcast six months ago. I already spent $10,000 on a course and still don’t feel confident enough to buy a property.”
And just like that, another would-be investor walks away from the opportunity to change their life — not because they weren’t capable, but because they started in the wrong place.
So why do most investors quit?
It’s not the market.
It’s not the economy.
It’s the lack of proper education and realistic expectations.
The Truth About Most Investing Courses
There’s no shortage of real estate education out there. Courses, masterminds, mentorships, webinars, bootcamps. But here’s the truth:
Most of them teach you what to buy, not how to succeed.
They skip the boring (but critical) stuff — like running numbers properly, managing risk, or building sustainable systems. You’re left with just enough hype to feel excited, but not enough understanding to take confident action.
That’s a recipe for failure.
The Emotional Toll of Getting Burned
When you buy the wrong property…When you underestimate repairs or overestimate rent…When you weren’t prepared for that vacancy, or interest rate hike…
It’s easy to feel like you made a huge mistake. Many investors lose confidence, second-guess themselves, and eventually give up.
Not because they couldn’t succeed — but because no one showed them how to succeed in the long run.
You Need More Than a Strategy — You Need a System
At REI Masters, we’ve always taken a different approach.
We teach people:
How to run a proper cash flow test
How to stress test deals against interest rate hikes and vacancies
How to manage properties efficiently and remotely
And how to build a business that will still be around in 10 years
Because a strategy without a system is just wishful thinking.
The Dream Doesn’t Die — It Just Gets Delayed
Most people who quit still want to invest. They still believe in real estate. But after getting burned once, they convince themselves that “maybe it’s not for me.”
That’s a tragedy. Because with the right guidance, that first bad deal could’ve been avoided. And that investor might be two or three properties deep by now, building wealth and creating freedom.
What You Can Do Differently
If you’re just starting out — or if you’ve been burned before — here’s my advice:
Don’t chase hype. Fancy programs and free webinars won’t make you a better investor.
Learn how to run the numbers properly. This protects you from risk.
Choose mentors who are actually doing the work. Not just selling theories — real investors, in real markets, with real results.
Don’t quit after your first bad deal. Every great investor has a few scars. Learn, adjust, and keep going.
The Right Education Changes Everything
That’s why we launched our 12 Month REI Masters Mentorship Program — to give Canadian investors access to real-world training, support, and proven systems that actually work.
And this is also why I wrote The 5% Rule™ – The Real Estate Cash Flow Test. Because every investor deserves a simple formula to know whether their deal is solid — not just today, but long into the future.
Want to hear the full conversation?
This article was inspired by today's episode of the Real Estate Investing Morning Show – Hosted by Wayne & Gabby Hillier
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