Our feelings can be strong, complicated, and influential. In some situations, that can be a good thing. In others, it can be incredibly destructive. When it comes to objective matters of great importance, like making decisions in the world of real estate, it’s generally preferable to keep your emotions out of the decision making process.

But how can you do it?

The problems with emotional decision making in real estate

There are several problems associated with emotional decision making in the world of real estate. If you’re too emotionally attached to your existing home, you might not be willing to sell, even if you get an offer in line with market expectations. If you’re feeling impatient and frustrated from excessive competition in your local market, you might end up paying too much for a new addition to your portfolio.

Ultimately, allowing your emotions to influence your decision making will lead to less rational, less reliable choices. So what strategies can you use to reduce the impact of your feelings on your eventual decisions?

Work with the pros

For starters, you should work with professional advisors as much as possible. These third parties are less likely to have an emotional stake in your decisions, and they’ll be able to present you with objective reasoning and evidence to support or sway your choices.

For example, you could choose to work closely with a property management team. Property managers are typically very knowledgeable and experienced in the realms of both property management and real estate investing, so they’ll be able to call you out if you’re using emotional reasoning for an upcoming decision. Similarly, you can work with professionals like real estate agents or real estate lawyers to better assess the potential risks and rewards of your decisions. You might also consider continuing education real estate courses to deepen your understanding and ensure your choices are grounded in current best practices and regulatory frameworks.

Depending on the context, this is probably going to cost you a bit of extra time and money, but it’s worth the upfront investment. With the guidance and perspectives of genuine professionals, your emotions aren’t going to be nearly as dominant in your decision making.

Set objective targets in advance

You can also attempt to filter out the influence of emotions by setting objective targets in advance. If you know you’re willing to buy a house in a neighbourhood if it has four bedrooms and is less than $300,000, you can be sure that your emotions aren’t pulling you in one direction or another when you have a meaningful opportunity.

Unfortunately, this strategy can sometimes be hard to pull off, simply because there are so many variables to consider in real estate investing. Try to be as specific as possible when outlining your requirements, and include as many variables as you can in those frameworks. It will never be perfect, but it will likely be adequate.

Buy time whenever possible

The more time you have to make a decision, the more time you’ll have to recognize, control, and separate yourself from your emotions. Accordingly, you should buy yourself some time whenever possible. If you have a day or two to think about it, take that time and use it wisely. If you’re facing a very tight deadline, consider asking for an extension.

Occasionally, you will have to make quick decisions, but the more you can limit this possibility, the better.

Write things down

Sometimes, we become trapped in cycles of our own biased thoughts, and to such an extent that we become unable to recognize our thinking patterns for what they are. That’s why, in many cases, it’s a good idea to write things down. Taking the time to write out your thoughts and reasoning might reveal that they’re more influenced by emotion than you assume.

Ask people you trust for perspective

Surround yourself with objective people whom you trust. Then, ask their opinion when you have enough information to start weighing your options. Do they see anything that you don’t? How do they think and feel about this situation, and how does that compare to your thoughts and feelings?

Pretend like you’re advising a friend

One common strategy for making less emotional decisions is to pretend like you’re advising a friend. Sometimes, it’s easier to see things for how they really are when you remove yourself from the situation, even if only hypothetically.

Take care of yourself

Finally, take good care of yourself. You’re much less likely to be swayed by irrational emotion if you’ve had enough sleep, if you’re adequately hydrated, and if you’ve been eating full, nutritious meals. Real estate investing can be stressful and time consuming, but don’t neglect your own health.

With these strategies, you should be able to filter out your emotions and make more objective, logical decisions in real estate. It’s not a perfect science, and you don’t need to be a totally emotionless automaton, but any effort you make here is likely to pay off.

Ellen Diamond, a psychology graduate from the University of Hertfordshire, has a keen interest in the fields of mental health, wellness, and lifestyle.