Alrighty, just put together a brand new video for ya on finding hidden profit centers in your deals.

I walk you through a real world situation from last week with one of my Platinum coaching students, Jason Tooley.

Through the negotiation process with a seller of a 48 unit deal, I told Jason to ask two questions (that you’re about to learn) that uncovered piles of additional profits.

Check out the video below…

Amazing what a couple simple questions can uncover, ehhh?

Join the conversation here and toss your questions, thoughts, whatever is on your mind in the comment area.

And before you go, show some love and “Like” this post. Thanks :-)

-  Patrick

Related posts:

1. Why Are You A Real Estate Investor? Before I dive in here, if you’re wondering where in...

I was talking with one of my friends recently, Justin Lee, who shared a great negotiating tip to get seller financing.

Not sure about you, but I LOVE seller financing.

… because any amount of the purchase price that the seller is willing to accept in payments over time is less cash that’s needed at closing. Thus, making it easier to get the deal done.

Plus, the less cash you put into a deal, the higher your return on investment.

So, when Justin shared this valuable nugget of negotiating wisdom, I had to relay it over to you.

Check out the video below…

(the quality of the video isn’t very good… but the quality of the content makes up for it :-)

Got another negotiating tip you would like to share?

Toss your tips, comments, and questions in the comment area.

Happy Investing!

~ Patrick

P.S. – What do you think of my second home???

No related posts.

I met an investor recently, Casey Cavell, who is buying 200 to 500-unit self storage buildings without any of his own cash or credit.

He’s using a mix of seller financing and private money to close big deals… no money down. And he’s only 25 years old!

So, I decided to hop on the line with Casey and do a full “whats working now” call where we go into detail exactly what he’s doing to find private lenders, to convert them, and how he’s putting that money to use in his real estate business today.

I do an interview like this every month for my Private Money Monthly (PMM) students.

…  just one of the things included in the PMM program is a monthly interview with someone (no gurus, underground investors you’ve never heard of) who is doing really really well in today’s real estate market.

Self Storage Investor & Entrepreneur Casey Cavell – Inside Interview

Below is a short segment (12 min or so) from my interview with Casey where you’ll learn:

=> How he structured his first self storage deal (over 200 units!) with the seller and private lender

=> Exactly what he was looking for in a good deal – his buying criteria

=> The list broker contact who you can use too to find great deals

=> The 2 things that tipped him off and assured him he was staring at a goldmine

… and more.

Check out this clip from Casey’s interview…

Isn’t that awesome?

Think about it… if a twenty something kid can do 200 plus unit self storage deals without any of his own cash or credit, you can do single family or small multi-family deals, right?

Hope you enjoyed Casey’s interview.

If you have a comment or question, toss it in the comment area.

~ Patrick

No related posts.

Check out Ron’s victory speech below…

Congratulations to Ron… way to go Probate Guy!

The 2010 Final Standings

1) Ron Mead, The Probate Guy – 2010 Champ – 251 Votes
2) Steph Davis – 189
3) Julie Broad (’09 Champ) – 154
4) JP Moses – 148
5) Craig Fuhr – 120
6) Patrick Riddle (aka Sergeant P-Rid) – 65
7) Shae Bynes – 22
8) J Scott – 20
(less than 20 votes)
9) Jamel Gibbs
10) Alex Joungblood
11) Rachel Hernandez
12) Peter Kolat
13) Scott Costello

Now, let’s give a round of applause for all the excellent REI Bloggers! You guys and gals pour your hearts into your blogs… and the 1000+ votes below are a testament to that!

AND, a BIG THANKS to everyone who voted. It means a TON to us bloggers…. we salute you :-)

It’s been my pleasure to host another great REI blog battle.

That’s it for ol’ Sergeant P-Rid.

See y’all next year for the 3rd annual battle. It’s gonna be big!

~ Sarge

P.S. – Are you an REI Blogger? Interested in participating in next year’s battle? If so, leave a comment below with your name and link to your blog.

P.P.S. – If you voted for Ron, Steph, or Julie, you’re in contention to win one of those Private Money Blueprint Training Systems. Good luck!

Julie Broad
Life As Real Estate Investors

Real estate investing live and on location across north america. Videos, tips, and resources to help you invest successfully in any city!

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• 

Ron Mead
Buy Probate Property

If the coffee I’m drinkin’ and what I’m just thinkin’ or your just a winkin’, then we’d better say bye, cause I’m just the Probate Guy!

• 
• 
• 

Steph Davis
Flip This Wholesaler

Rags to riches real estate: the daily musings of a bartender turned REO wholesaler …

• 
• 

JP Moses
REI tips

Imagine Real Estate Investing…Undressed. It’s practical, real & “Average Joe” friendly. Stop by & grab my 53 Free REI Forms on the house!

• 
• 
• 

PATRICK RIDDLE
Must Know Investing

Your Source for Creative Real Estate Investing Tips, Tools, and Techniques… and Host of Battle of the REI Blogs.

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• 

Shae Bynes
Good Faith Investing

Shae seeks to inspire and inform with stories from the streets. Some even call it chicken soup for the real estate investor’s soul. :-)

• 
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• 

Peter Kolat
Real Estate Internet Marketing

Real Estate Internet Marketing Blog-FREE 56 pg. Real Estate Black Book-The Only Place to Get Secret Internet Marketing Strategies For FREE.

• 
• 
• 

Jamel Gibbs
REI Education Academy

FREE 5 Part Crash Course on Wholesaling Houses provided by the Jamel Gibbs. Discover Pure Real Estate Investing AWESOMENESS.

• 

Rachel Hernandez
Adventures in Mobile Homes

Sharing stories and adventures about investing in mobile homes. Learn from Rachel – aka Mobile Home Gurl – who specializes in this niche!

• 
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• 

Scott Costello
Struggling to Get Started

A Nine-to-Fiver overcoming fears and a lack of time. No tips, tricks or fast profits here, just every day experiences from a new investor.

• 
• 
• 

J Scott
1-2-3 Flip

123Flip.com brings you the nitty-gritty of a real life house flipper, including detailed financials, schedules and results down to the penny.

• 

Craig Fuhr
SurReal Estate Success

Craig Fuhr is a super-star investor & premier rehabber. His blog is a daily stream of insanely fun & real-life RE Investing tips & videos.

• 
• 

Alex Joungblood
Wholesaling Houses in Real Time

A full time wholesaler making it happen in a down real estate market. How you can still make a full time income wholesaling houses.

• 
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• 

Alrighty…

Here’s a quick recap of the contest rules from the video above:

1) Contest starts October 18th and ends at midnight EST on October 21st.

2) You must be 18 years or older to participate.

3) Pick your favorite real estate investing blogger.

4) VOTE by entering the name of your favorite blogger in the comment area below (only 1 vote allowed per person… violators will be disqualified).

And check out the prizes…

1st place blogger gets to award 5 of their voters a FREE Private Money Blueprint Training System ($997).

2nd and 3rd place get to award 1 of their voters a FREE Private Money Blueprint Training System.

So, we’re giving away almost $7,000 in real estate investing education… and you could win by simply voting below.

Scroll to the bottom of the screen now and put your favorite REI blogger in the comment area. And remember, only 1 vote per person.

Thanks for joining this year’s Battle :-)

May the best REI blogger win,

Patrick Riddle
… aka Sergeant P-Rid

P.S. If you think this contest is pretty cool, click the Facebook “Like” button at the top of the post and share it with your friends :-)

No related posts.

Get ready… Battle of the REI Blogs 2010 kicks off noon EST Monday Oct 18th!

I’ve got my battle flops on, and I’m ready for action.

See you on the battlefield next week,

Sergeant P-Rid

P.S. – If this is all new to ya, check out the 2009 Battle. With over 1,100 votes last year, competition was fierce!

No related posts.

Alrighty …

Time to kick off another KILLER training series here at MustKnowInvesting.com, “The Best and Brightest Women in Real Estate Investing“.

Every week for the next 8 weeks, one of our “Best and Brightest” will share her inspirational story, how she closed her first deal, and much more. PLUS, each gal is going to share a downloadable resource that’s gonna help you get to the next level. So, you don’t wanna miss this!

The Best and Brightest Women in Real Estate Investing

Week 1 -

Reigning Battle of the REI Blogs Champion, Julie Broad of RevNYou

Week 2 -

Flipping Mom, Esi Benedict

Week 3 -

Investor, Blogger, PMBPer, Shae Bynes of Good Faith Investing

Week 4 -

Colorado Investor and “Real Estate Investor Mom“, Christina Mellott

Week 5 -

Flip This Wholesaler, Steph Davis

Week 6 -

Surprise Special Guest (pulled some strings to make this happen … you won’t believe who it is!)

Week 7 -

The Mobile Home Gurl, Rachel Hernandez

Week 8 -

My Good Friend, the $24M Woman, Susan Lassiter-Lyons of The Investor Insights

So, as you can see, we’ve got quite the lineup!

Here’s a quick video with more details …

I’ll see ya next week for Part 1 with Battle of the REI Blogs Champion, Julie Broad.

Get ready … these amazing women are gonna make your head spin!

~ Patrick

… aka P-Rid

P.S. – Sooooo, what do you think? You guys and gals excited or what!? Leave a comment and let me know :-)

P.S.S. – Here are the links to the series for you:

Julie Broad | Esi Benedict | Shae Bynes | Christina Mellott | Stephani Davis | Surprise Special Guest | Rachel Hernandez | Susan Lassiter-Lyons

No related posts.

You get a call from a motivated seller.

You’re at the house negotiating in no time and know the deal is in the bag.

But, something goes wrong.

You whip out the contract, and the seller starts singing a different tune.

The seller seemed ready to sign the contract. But, didn’t.

What happened?

Don’t feel bad. It’s happened to us all. And not just with sellers, but with buyers, and private money lenders as well.

What is that magic ingredient to get to “YES!”?

Well, you’re gonna have to watch the video below to find out.

(and make sure you watch the entire video because I tell you exactly how to use this *magic ingredient* to get sellers signing, buyers making offers, and private money prospects lending … it’s high-level stuff that you can start using today)

Enjoy :-)

(if reading in email subscription, click here to view video)

Have you used this *magic ingredient* in your REI biz before? If so, how did it help?

If not, how are you going to add this *magic ingredient* to your REI recipe?

Give me your feedback in the comment area.

And before I go … a quick “Thanks!” to everyone that comments here regularly. I really appreciate you’re contribution at MustKnowInvesting.com.

Until next time,

~ Patrick

… aka P-Rid

No related posts.

If you’ve been around my blog, MustKnowInvesting.com, for long … you know that I put out real estate investing videos on a regular basis. And not just your average BORING monotone old school real estate videos … I’m talking enthusiastic, fun-filled, action packed videos overflowing with actionable content.

Wouldn’t you agree? :)

Well, here’s an easy way for you to stay “up-to-date” and not miss out on anything … not miss out on new killer video content, insider secrets, resources, bonuses, etc etc …

How to Get Your FREE Real Estate Investing Video Subscription

Watch the video below …

(if reading this in your email subscription, click here to watch the video)

Free Real Estate Investing Videos … Click Below NOW!

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Wow! It sure is amazing how time flies, isn’t it?

Sooooo much has happened in only a year …

2009 Kicked off with the Creative Real Estate Solutions in Today’s Market Video Series, then MustKnowInvesting.com turned 1, Trevor Mauch and I launched our Private Money Blueprint System (Holy Cow! What an Undertaking!), the Battle of the REI Blogs, and MUCH MORE.

Thank goodness I decided to get my butt out of bed this past weekend and go to church. That’s where I got the idea to do this post because they put together a “year in review” video with all the highlights of 2009. So, I thought it would be really cool to do a post called …

A Year in the Life of MustKnowInvesting.com

Let’s just jump right in … here we go …

The “Creative Real Estate Solutions in Today’s Market” Video Series

We kicked off the year in January with the Creative Real Estate Solutions in Today’s Market video series (over 2 1/2 hours of solid content). It was a 5 part in depth video series on wholesaling, private money, subject tos, owner financing, and much more. And at the end of the series, we took on a very limited number of students in our mentoring program.

One of those students, Justin Wilmot, a twenty somthin’ self proclaimed surfer dude from Florida, had quite the year; he closed his first wholesale deal, locked up a million dollar credit line through a private money lender, and closed his first rehab deal. To say Justin’s life will never be the same would be quite the understatement.

Happy B-Day!

On January 19th 2009, my baby, MustKnowInvesting.com turned 1. It was a great day, a milestone, an accomplishment. Few people (other than fellow bloggers) realize how much work goes into maintaining an active blog.

Thousands of hours have been poured into the idea and implementation of everything you see, read, listen to, and watch here. To see my blog grow and mature over that first year was awesome (and now my baby is almost 2 … whew … children sure to grow up fast … haha)

The Private Money Blueprint

For the next few months, I published 2 to 3 new articles and videos per week and spent countless hours, nights, weekends preparing for our Private Money Blueprint launch.

Let me give ya a little back story …

Trevor Mauch and I had partnered up in August of ‘08 to teach people how to get private money. We taught a couple free 100% content webinars and there was a HUGE demand for more information. So, we created a pilot program to teach 20 lucky students how to get unlimited funds for their real estate deals using private money.

After the program finished, our students raved; they wanted more.

Next, we wrote the home study manual (an arduous task), commissioned Trevor’s web guy to put the private lending websites together (an expensive task), built the Private Money Blueprint Membership site (another big task), and put together a plan to launch our private money getting system in May (a “thank goodness we hired help” task … thanks @ChrisBrisson).

Whew … I get tired just thinking about all that stuff.

Anyway, much time was spent on the Private Money Blueprint project (which was birthed from MustKnowInvesting.com) and it all culminated in May when we launched; quite the accomplishment.

The icing on the cake has been the amazing results our students have gotten from our system. It’s so awesome opening up my email each morning to find another success story from a student.

The Investor Connect Contest

After things settled down from the launch, I wasn’t sure what my next “little project” would be. I had a few ideas but nothing slapped me across my face UNTIL … I had the idea for the Battle of the REI Blogs contest (more on that in a little bit).

So, in preparation for “battle”, I decided to run a small contest on my blog to get my feet wet, to learn the ropes. There was a bunch of awesome prizes and a really cool “social” component to it.

I called it … The Investor Connect Contest.

The coolest thing about it, the winner of the contest Noel Roberts, closed his first deal just a few months thereafter. Check out the email he sent me recently …

Oh yeah, and to top it all off … Noel, aka Kid Cash Flow, is only 18 years old!

So whatever your excuse was for 2009 of why you didn’t close your first deal, or why you didn’t achieve your REI goals … might as well trash it. Noel didn’t have any of the “Big 3 C’s” … Cash, Credit, or Credibility … and it didn’t stop him.

My Short and Sweet Skateboarding Career

LOL … y’all got a good laugh at my expense on this one. Make sure you watch me drop into the half pipe at the 5 min 26 sec mark.

Click Here to Watch me bust my tail skateboarding

Be on the lookout for Part 2 to this one … coming soon in 2010 :)

How to Become a CIA: 7 Part Creative Real Estate Investing Series

This was all about getting you ready, willing, and able to close on your first or next deal by delivering the information, tools, and resources to get it done. There was the “CIA Manifesto”, video tutorials, downloads (MP3s, forms, etc), guest expert Stephani Davis from FlipthisWholesaler, Dusty Keefe, master negotiator, and MUCH MORE.

The participation and feedback during this series was absolutely incredible … thanks to all who participated and all who continue to study the series.

This free in depth creative real estate investing series is POWERFUL. If you haven’t taken this training yet, write it down on your list of goals for 2010.

Battle of the REI Blogs

With 13 of the top REI bloggers in the world on board, over 5,000 visits to my blog that week, and over 1,100 votes …

What a killer event the Battle of the REI Blogs turned out to be!

One of the funniest parts about it was the trash talking between the bloggers over on Facebook. Right before the battle began, I logged in to my FB account, and my profile had been decimated by the likes of JP Moses who posted a picture of a pumpkin throwing up with the caption, “The Effect Your Blog Has on People”, Trevor who posted a pic of a line graph showing how much more traffic his blog gets than everyone elses, and Stephani Davis who posted a pic that said, “My blog can beat up your blog” … haha.

It was on!

But, shortly after the Battle ensued, it was clear that Julie Broad and Ron Mead were the forces to reckoned  with. As they blew by the competition, the rest of us were scrambling to compete.

End of the day, when the smoke cleared, Julie Broad of RevNyou was crowned champion; Ron Mead, who made a valiant effort, brought home the silver.

Thanks once more to all the REI bloggers that competed AND to you, our subscribers for contributing your votes.

Oh yeah, one more thing … if you haven’t checked out The Ballad of the Battle of the REI Blogs yet, that’s a must watch. It’s my lyrical and piano playin’ debut … Enjoy!

Contributors from Around the Globe

A BIG thanks goes to all the contributors here at MustKnowInvesting.com. We appreciate all the tips, tools, and techniques you’ve shared with us.

Jamel Gibbs taught us how to flip for profits. David “The Diamond” Oswald showed us when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em and inspired us to take action. Shae Bynes shared how to network our way to wealth.

Julie Broad pulled back the curtain on finding hidden bargains, showed how to overcome obstacles, gave us the 10 commandments to negotiating great real estate deals (and much more … Julie was MKI’s biggest guest contributor).

Stephani Davis contributed in style with her Wholesaling 101 video as part of the How to Become a CIA series. And my bro (not literally … but might as well be), Dusty Keefe taught us how to negotiate like a pro in Part 2 of the CIA series and how to control real estate with zero liability in Part 7.

Happy New Year

It was an incredible year here at MustKnowInvesting.com, and it wouldn’t have been the same without ya :)

Thank you for your time, your attention, your contributions, your feedback.

Looking forward to a phenominal 2010 together.

Happy Investing!

~ Patrick Riddle … aka P-Rid

P.S. For all you social media heads out there, let’s connect. Here’s my links … follow me on Twitter, Friend me up on Facebook, Subscribe to my YouTube Channel.

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In today’s post, Julie Broad of RevNYou – Champion of MustKnowInvesting.com’s “Battle of the REI Blogs 2009″ – reveals the 10 Commandments of Negotiating Great Real Estate Deals …

Most people say they’d rather be rich than right, but they act like they’d rather be right than rich.

I think many people take this same mentality when they negotiate a real estate deal. They draw a line in the sand and require the other party to step over that line in order to do the deal. They pretend to seek the ‘win – win’ scenario but are only really thinking about winning.

It can happen so easily … you can analyze the property so easily when it’s from a distance. You can see clearly what price makes sense for you, and what makes a great deal.

Then, the second you decide to put in an offer your competitive instincts tend to kick in.

You want to beat the seller into giving you the lowest price possible. At least you feel that way until you find out there’s a competing bid, and then suddenly you find yourself offering way more than you planned to offer just because you have to win the deal.

Well I am not going to pretend to be able to negotiate everything expertly – but years of working in sales (from packaged goods to real estate information), training sales staff, and negotiating real estate deals has taught me a lot about what works, and what doesn’t.

Keeping it simple … here’s my …

10 Commandments of Negotiating Real Estate Deals

1) Do better than your alternatives

Keith Cunningham, author of “Keys to the Vault” says that the only reason you are in a negotiation is to do better than your alternatives – so, make that your focus instead of ‘winning’.

I see this happen all the time on the Canadian television show ‘Dragon’s Den’ (the American equivalent is Shark Tank). Just last week a fellow selling a rice alternative initially turned down an offer for 50% of his business in exchange for expertise and cash that he badly needed. His other alternative was to move on from his product. He almost said no because he felt 50% was too high. But really, right now, he has 100% of a $100,000 loss and this deal would give him the chance to have 50% of a $5,000,000 a year business … he’d lost site of the fact that he was there to do better than his alternatives not look like the king of negotiations on Canadian national television.

2) Be a problem solver.

Why is the person selling? Ask lots of questions to try and understand the motivation of the seller. Then figure out how you can offer the best solution to their problem. Maybe the seller needs a fast close more than they need their full purchase price. You won’t know what kind of deal you can create unless you focus on solving the problem of the seller.

3) To steal the line from the BC Lottery Corporation: Know your limit, play within it.

In other words, BEFORE you set foot into a negotiation, determine what is a good deal for you. And this will be a range, not a specific number. If you get any number within your range take the deal. Resist the urge to squeeze for that last $2,000.

4) Remember, it’s not just about price when negotiating a great real estate deal.

I encourage you to have a limit to what you’ll pay, but I also encourage you to find other ways to make the deal work for you and for the seller.

For example, you’ll often find that you can get the deal done with less hassle and fewer expenses if the seller will finance the property. In that case, it may be worth it to pay more than you were originally willing to pay. Alternatively, the seller  might throw in furniture, vehicles, art work or even some services they might offer (dentistry, massage therapy, auto mechanics … etc) just to get a higher price on the property.

5) Be flexible without being emotional.

Similar to the above, there may be ways to make the deal even better. The purchase price range is a good thing to have, but you may choose to bend it if you find other ways to make the deal work for everyone. The trick is to be able to analyze the deal without getting emotional. If at any time you start to feel yourself getting too emotional take a step back. Review the numbers and the facts of the deal. What makes this a good deal for you?

6) Options = power.

When you start to feel like you’re getting backed into a corner, think about your options. Even better, before you even begin think about your the best option you have if you don’t do this deal.

Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, calls it a BATNA – a best alternative to a negotiated agreement. When you think about what your options are you realize that there WILL be other deals and no matter how much you like this property it’s never worthwhile to overpay for a property just to get it.

7) Options = power for the seller too!

Rather than be a hard nosed negotiator pushing the seller to agree to your deal, try giving the seller choices. You have a better chance of understanding their problem and getting the deal you want if you make the seller feel like they have some power and control over the deal.

For example, to avoid having the seller say “no” to my offer, I would say something like this: “The best I can do is $200,000 if I have to go to a bank for financing. They’re going to require me to prove the rental income, pay for an appraisal, and do a ton of paperwork to qualify for that loan. So if you’ll accept my $200,000 offer, I will close on the date you want. But if you are willing to provide at least 70 percent of the financing, I can offer you $210,000. And I would still be willing to close on the date you want.”

By giving my seller these two options, I make him feel like he is in control of the outcome of our negotiation… even though either one would be a great deal for me.

8) A confused mind says no.

I don’t know who originally said this, but it’s always true. When have you ever been confused and agreed to do something? It just doesn’t happen.

Explain your offer so simply that your 8 year old niece would understand it. And, if you’re relying on your realtor to tell the seller’s realtor and then the seller’s realtor to explain it to the seller consider writing a letter to be presented with the offer. In that letter explain what you’re offering and why. Keep it simple and specific.

9) Explain WHY.

In Robert Cialdini’s book Influence, he explains the details of an interesting study he did on the power of WHY. He determined that even a poor reason why is far more influential than no reason at all. He studied this in a line up of people waiting to make copies. When someone asked to go to the front of the line most people turned them down but when they asked and included “because I am in a hurry” or “because I have to make several copies quickly” – which is really no reason at all, most people let that person ahead of them in line!

So when you’re making an offer be sure to provide a reason for the offer. Explain the rationale behind why you’re offering less than market value and why you need a certain time frame. You don’t have to show all your cards but you should give the seller every opportunity to accept your deal.

10) Negotiating is not a game nor is it a sport.

A negotiation is not something to be won. In fact, I would argue that it’s more of a science or an art. It’s something that is very individual but it’s also something with principles that are fundamental to every negotiation. And it’s something that cannot be judged by win or lose but it can be judged by the results. Do not let your negotiating become a game or a sport and you’ll find that you are less likely to try to be right, which means you are much more likely to be rich!

In every real estate deal you’ll find you have a desired outcome. If you keep these commandments in mind you’ll always remember that you have choices and you only do deals that make sense for you and your goals.

Negotiating is not about win – win. It’s a means to an end. A negotiation is simply an opportunity to do better than your alternatives. If you have really good alternatives then you’ll make a great deal because you have options, and options give you power!

________________________________

Learn how you can retire with real estate – get Julie’s Real Estate Investing Starter Tips Guide when you sign up for her free real estate investing newsletter at http://www.revnyou.com.

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