Peter Vekselman Real Estate Trainer and Coach

Avoiding Real Estate Mistakes & Pitfalls

Investment choices in America today are as varied as the people making them. Regardless of what flavor investment you're looking for - and the level of risk you're willing to accept - you have a number of choices to make that will determine the kinds of returns you'll see.

Real estate has been the consistent choice of Americans looking for tangible results from an investment that they can touch, see, and feel, as opposed to more volatile and subjective paper-based investments. But, if you're considering investing in real estate, there are some distinct challenges to overcome and pitfalls to avoid if you want to make the experience a positive one - and reap rewards that will last.

The residential real estate market is ever-changing and recent events have made turning a profit a bit of a challenge for investors that aren't ready to roll with the punches. In this eBook I'm going to teach you some principles that will help you survive, thrive, and begin to turn the corner towards achieving your goals and your dreams.

Regardless of where you're at in your investing career - a brand-new, starry-eyed investor or a seasoned veteran - you either have discovered or will soon discover that there's one big reason that real estate investors lose money.

They make mistakes.

It doesn't matter whether a mistake is large or small. Each has the potential to cost you money, and over the course of a real estate investing career, even the smallest of mistakes can cost you tens - even hundreds - of thousands of dollars.

You Aren't Alone

Whatever you do at this point, I don't want you to think I'm talking down to you or criticizing you in any way. Because when I first got started in real estate I made every mistake that someone could possibly make. Within a year or two I managed to lose about $500,000 in a series of bad moves. As a matter of fact, I probably invented a couple. However, I didn't rest on my laurels complaining about what I'd done wrong, I didn't lick my wounds, and I didn't quit. I learned from my mistakes, changed my strategies, and began to see positive results. Since that time I've made millions of dollars from real estate and I'm going to show you how you can, too.

What I did wrong in the beginning is probably where you're going wrong - because almost everyone does at at some point in their career. It's not what you may think, so I'll save you the trouble of playing guessing games. I'll cut to the chase, and just tell you. The number one reason so many real estate investors lose money in real estate is because of the way they think about real estate. What I mean by this is that if you're like most beginning real estate investors, you play little mind games with yourself and you hope to turn a profit.

Decisions are based on bad reasoning, questionable logic, and general assumptions. A lot of people like to fly by the seats of their pants in everything they do, but you can't do that with real estate. If you pay too much for a stock, you can lose money, but it's even more critical that you invest wisely in real estate. The stakes are high - and the potential profits can be awe-inspiring

Peter Vekselman is a National Real Estate Investment Coach, training you to succeed in real estate investing with a custom program built around YOUR needs and goals.

www.coachingbypeter.com

Smart Decisions to Make Before Investing in Down Market Real Estate

Sure, you want to invest in a down real estate market, but you want to do it smartly; being stupid got people into a lot of hot water recently and you are not stupid. You are smart, the kind of investor who wants to make a well informed decision before plunking down the kind of cash that will be required to make a good investment in a down real estate market. You have to be quick on you feet, so to speak, to be able to weather this current financial fire storm, so here are a few tips to help you make the smart decision in investing in a down real estate market.

1. Land lords are holding all the cards. Right now there are literally millions of people losing their homes. Dows that mean that there will be millions more homeless people running around the streets of towns and cities all across America? Not by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, the majority of those people who have lost their homes are still working at relatively well-paying jobs and can afford to make rent. Becoming a land lord makes sense because the market is full of renters wanting to get into a house and resume some semblance of normalcy in their lives. Think of becoming a land lord as being a wise, and safe, investment strategy. If you purchase a 200,000 home and rent it out for even 1,000 dollars a month, you will receive 12,000 dollars a year in return. 12,000 dollars a month on a 200,000 dollar house is a 6% return on your investment; not bad in a time when even gold is having trouble finding buyers.
2. Purchase for the long haul. The investment strategy of the past decade or so was to buy and sell quickly, hoping to make some money off the volatility of the stock market. That investment strategy is killing people now as the market see-saws all over the place. The same is true for the real estate market; eventually someone will get bit in the rear end for trying ti flip houses or to make a quick turn around; it may not happen right away, but it will happen fairly quickly. We need t return to the older philosophy of investing; buy when it's low and sit on it. Some economists say that this down turn is going to last a year, others three. Either way, prices will eventually start going back up and if you buy now, when discounts are made to order, you will have gotten in on the ground floor, so to speak, and be ready to sell at a good profit when the markets return to normalcy.

Be smart about the location of your purchase, your purchase price, and your investment strategy. Think about what people will need and what they will be willing t pay, eventually. This storm will end and while others are running for cover, if you work quickly - and smartly - you'll be sitting pretty when the dust settles in the real estate market.

Peter Vekselman is a National Real Estate Investment Coach, training you to succeed in real estate investing with a custom program built around YOUR needs and goals.

www.coachingbypeter.com

How to Learn Real Estate Investment Strategies the Right Way

There are many ways to learn real estate investment strategies. You could, for example, buy books or do research on the Internet. You could also take a study-at-home course. You could attend an accredited real estate training option. Yet another option is to hire a coach or mentor to teach you the ropes. A coach or mentor can be the best source of real estate training---if you get the right coach or mentor. The key to choosing a mentor is knowing what questions to ask, and being able to assess their personality, knowledge and professionalism.

If you start talking to coaches and mentors, they will all tell you that they care about your future make sure that they actually demonstrate it by offering worthwhile service. Speak to them many times as you're in the process of making your decision. If you draw out the interview process while choosing, you'll eventually get a chance to see how they behave with their guard down. If you get the sense that they're not interested in anything beyond an immediate sale then they are most likely not someone you want to do business with.

Training or mentoring can help you to figure out exactly what you need to understand, what skills you need to acquire, and how to go about learning what you need to learn from your real estate mentor. All of this will help you develop self-confidence and self-trust and thereby enable you to do whatever is necessary in order for you to succeed. After real estate training, you will have more control over the speed and direction of your growth, your business will be stronger, and you will be stronger. It is a great way to take your business to the next level.

If you hire someone as a mentor or coach, they should genuinely care about your future. Make them demonstrate this. If they don't care about you before they take your money, they won't suddenly start to care after they take your money. If your real estate consultant makes a promise to do something for you or provide something for you, get it in writing, especially if it has a monetary consequence to you. Even if the real estate consultant's intentions are good and above board, it makes sense to get it in writing to avoid any misunderstandings. A written contract will also give you recourse if your consultant does not follow through on what they promise.

Your real estate coach or mentor should be the kind of person who will give you realistic suggestions to help you, not suggestions that are unfeasible given your situation. The suggestions must be within your means to actually carry out. They must also have an impact on your bottom line within a reasonable amount of time. These suggestions must also be within the range of your technical expertise to actually carry out. If these criteria are not met, perhaps your real estate consultant gives basically the same advice to everyone without considering their unique situation.

Peter Vekselman has been successfully investing in real estate since 1996. He has completed over 1000 real estate deals, owned a construction company, been a private lender, and owned a property management company. Peter currently works with clients all over the US www.CoachingByPeter.com .

7 Free and low cost web tools to make investing or any real estate business easier

As a real estate investor, you're well aware of how dramatically the Internet is changing the way you live your life. While you can probably name a variety of sites you regularly go to for information, news, and entertainment, here are seven websites that can make your job easier - and more profitable:

•· Hendricks & Partners - Do you wish you could look into a crystal ball and see what the future holds for an area in which you're considering investing? With Hendricks & Partners, now you can. They make available free market segment reports for selected American cities and regions that show key economic data, incomes, unemployment rate, among other vital details. Knowledge is power in real estate investing, and Hendricks & Partners puts plenty of power at your fingertips that can help you decide if an area makes investing sense - whether that area is across town or on the other end of the country. www.hpapts.com

•· Pacer - If you're in the foreclosure market you understand the importance of getting foreclosure filings quickly. Pacer is the U.S. Bankruptcy Court's listing of foreclosure filings. You can search for recent filings several ways, which can give you a jumpstart on the competition. Motivated homeowners sometimes choose to work with the first qualified investor to contact them. Pacer can help you to be first - it's up to you to be the best. http://www.pacer.psc.uscourts.gov

•· Zillow.com - Having a ballpark figure of what an investment property could be worth at your fingertips can help you to quickly decide if a potential investment property is worth delving into - or should be skipped over completely. Zillow.com can give you free comps and estimate a property's value within seconds. While it can't replace due diligence, it can give you a ballpark figure that can help expedite your decision on which properties to look into. With so many homeowners looking for quick solutions, this tool can help you to pull the trigger quickly if it makes sense - or to walk away if it doesn't. www.zillow.com

•· Elance.com - Do you have a website that needs updating, an article or eBook that needs to be written, or are you searching for the perfect virtual assistant to help you close more deals? If any of these apply to you, Elance is the ideal website for you. Membership is free; you simply post your project and select the bidder with the qualifications and proposal you like the best. Elance makes it possible for you to remotely get more done and their Escrow system lets you and your provider collaborate on your project to ensure your satisfaction, while easing the provider's concerns that they'll be paid at the end of the project. www.elance.com

•· Google Picasa - If you have dozens - or even hundreds - of photos taking up valuable space on your hard drive, you're all too aware of how difficult it can be to organize photos of properties you own or might be interested in buying. Google's free Picasa software application helps you to organize all the photos on your hard drive so you can locate the photo you need within seconds. www.picasaweb.google.com

•· Windows Live Maps - Do you ever wish you knew the layout of a neighborhood without having to get into your car and battle traffic all the way across town? Windows Live Maps can put this visual information onto your desktop so you can see the layout of a neighborhood or compare the proximity of a potential investment to points of interest, schools, shopping, etc. Little details like these can help you decide whether an investment is a bad idea, a good idea - or a great idea. www.maps.live.com

•· Microsoft OneNote - If you're as organizationally challenged as a lot of investors, Microsoft OneNote may be just what the doctor ordered. It's an electronic notebook, so you can organize properties you own in one notebook and create other notebooks - and pages - depending on your needs. You may decide to have a separate notebook for properties you're considering acquiring. The beauty of OneNote is that you can keep all property details at your fingertips, from legal documents to scanned handwritten notes, photos - even audio files. If you have a fairly new computer, it's probably already on your system if you use Microsoft office. If not, you can download a free 60 day trial version at www.microsoft.com/onenote

These tools won't make you an overnight investing success. What they will do, however, is help you to better organize yourself, research properties, and get more done. The time savings can help you to improve your focus and close more deals. Closing deals is the name of the game. These tools help you win the game by making sure they're quality deals. Put them to work and see how much more quickly you can reach your destination.

Peter Vekselman has been successfully investing in real estate since 1996. He has completed over 1000 real estate deals, owned a construction company, been a private lender, and owned a property management company. Peter currently works with clients all over the US www.CoachingByPeter.com .

Teachable Moments: Getting the Most Out of Mentoring

Real estate investing is one of the best career choices you can make because you can essentially determine your own income and success level based upon how well you apply the education you've received. If like most successful investors, you've decided to put yourself on the fast track to investing success by enlisting the help of a good mentor, I'd caution you not to do anything that could jeopardize your success or hinder your progress while working with your mentor. Here's how to get the most out of the experience.

Listen - Your mentor has a wealth of experience that you currently don't possess. He or she has been around the investing block multiple times, has made quite a few mistakes, and has learned from each one. You may be tempted to question the advice of your mentor based upon things you read on the Internet or heard from others. It's important to realize, however, that everything you read online isn't necessarily accurate or appropriate in a given investing situation. You're paying your mentor good money for solid advice and training. Don't jeopardize your relationship with your mentor by questioning his or her knowledge or expertise based upon what could very well be bad Internet advice.

Learn - As you work with your mentor, you're going to explore a number of different techniques, and sometimes you'll be exposed to variations and twists on techniques that you've never heard of or probably even considered. With each valuable morsel of information that you hear from your mentor, take the time to thoroughly examine the specifics that make that technique so powerful and appropriate in a given investing situation. If you're unclear about something - ask! A good mentor is in tune with your needs; however, he or she isn't a mind reader. If you don't ask for further explanation or commentary, your mentor may assume that you understand what you've been taught.

Apply - Once you've internalized some of your mentor's advice and real estate investing knowledge, it will be time for you to put that knowledge to good use. It's important that you not try to apply too much knowledge at one time, so strive to just implement one strategy, tip, or technique at a time to avoid confusion. For instance, if you're negotiating with the seller of a residential property, you won't want to bombard the seller with everything you've learned. Keep it as simple as you can and implement your mentor's advice one day at a time, one strategy at a time. You'll dramatically increase the likelihood of success and help to ensure you've truly learned the lesson given.

Succeed - It's imperative that you remember that real estate investing is a business and to truly become a success can take years. Don't expect to rocket to overwhelming success overnight. By following my advice and practicing solid real estate investing techniques, you'll fulfill all the promise that investing holds for you, and you will realize all of your dreams. By being teachable, not questioning the wisdom of your mentor, and applying their advice as given, you'll more quickly elevate your status from that of a scared rookie to that of a successful real estate entrepreneur.

Peter Vekselmanhas been successfully investing in real estate since 1996. He has completed over 1000 real estate deals, owned a construction company, been a private lender, and owned a property management company. Peter currently works with clients all over the US www.CoachingByPeter.com .