Well guys and gals, here we go…

Get ready for Part 1 of MustKnowInvesting.com’s brand spankin’ new kick butt training series, “The Best and Brightest Women in Real Estate Investing” (if you missed the intro, click the link to get the full details).

This week, Julie Broad of RevNYou, is with us to share her story, show you how she closed her very FIRST deal, give you some killer tips, and provide you with special resource to help you make big money investing in real estate.

Julie Broad | Best and Brightest Women in Real Estate Investing

Without further ado, here’s the reigning Champion of the Battle of the REI Blogs, Mrs. Julie Broad…

Bravo! Thanks for sharing with us Julie.

If you have any questions for her, toss ‘em in the comment area. Or if you wanna just be cool and show your thanks, leave a comment too.

Connect with “Best and Brightest” Julie Broad

As part of this series, you’re gonna have the chance to connect with these fine women. So, if you’d like to connect with Julie, here’s how:

Friend Up on Facebook

Follow On Twitter

Subscribe to YouTube Channel

Your FREE Real Estate Investing Resource Download

Yep, that’s right! Every week in the “Best and Brightest” series, you get a killer real estate investing resource for FREE. AND you don’t even have to give away your email address! How awesome is that!

Julie has been very generous and has donated her 30 page special report, “The 5 Simple Steps to Real Estate Investing Success” for you.

Click the image below to grab your copy NOW!

(if it doesn’t automatically download it, right click the above image and click “Save as …”)

Again, thank you Julie for being with us today. We appreciate you!

And that’s it for Part 1 with Julie Broad.

Show some love and leave a comment before ya go.

Catch you later,

~ Patrick

… aka P-Rid

P.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

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In today’s post, Julie Broad, real estate investing expert and Champion of the 2009 Battle of the REI Blogs, gives us the inside scoop on herself and her REI training website, RevNYou.

We decided to do a hybrid interview where Julie breaks down the “Must Know” info on herself via video and the “Must Know” info on RevNYou in the article below. AND, Julie’s got a killer free resource for ya … so make sure you snag that before you go. The link is at the bottom of the article.

Hope you enjoy :)

The “Must Know” Info on Julie Broad

** How would you describe yourself in 140 characters or less?

** What’s something about you – a trait, a quality, an interest or hobby – that 99% of the population doesn’t know?

** If you had to attribute your successes to one habit that you’ve cultivated, what would it be? Why?

** Who has been your #1 life lessons mentor?

** What are the top 3 life lessons learned from this person?

** Someone comes to you dejected, down in the dumps, unsatisfied financially, physically, emotionally, and spiritually … what book would you suggest this person read?

Check it out …

The “Must Know” Info on RevNYou

** How would you describe RevNYou in 140 characters or less?

Real estate investing made easier. Tips, tools, stories and resources to help new real estate investors succeed and build massive wealth.

** What is it about RevNYou that makes it unique?

We focus on teaching the fundamentals of real estate investing… we’re rooted in the basics of buy and hold investing: simple strategies for massive wealth creation over time.

We keep it real at Rev N you. We’re not trying to convince anybody that we can make them rich over night because we didn’t get rich overnight. We tell stories about the mistakes we’ve made. We teach the traps we fell into. And most importantly we just spend a lot of time helping other people. We answer every single email we get. We respond to almost every blog comment and tweet and Facebook post… we love real estate and we love sharing and getting to know other real estate investors. We are in this business to help other people.

** Tell us about one of RevNYou’s biggest success stories …

Our friends, family and students are pretty modest about the success they’ve had working with us so we don’t have big money stories that we can share. But our favourite story of 2009 was from 2 students of ours that were about to buy a house. They had an accepted offer in place on a 3 bedroom home in their area. We hopped on the phone to talk through the deal to make sure they were doing everything right. To their surprise we suggested they pull out of the deal… there were several things about it we didn’t like; the biggest issues for us was that they were emotional and about to overpay for the property.

They weren’t pleased with our advice and we actually didn’t think they were going to listen to us… but they did. They decided not to lift the conditions on the deal and walked away. A few short weeks later they found a better house for a better price and went on to buy a second investment property with the money they’d saved from not doing the first deal! We were pretty excited for them and of course they were ecstatic.

** How does someone best utilize the information, resources, and tools RevNYou has to offer?

Depends on what you need …some people have a very specific question and they find it is easiest to just ask us. Other people have lots of questions and benefit from joining our real estate investing program to get all of the steps, details, tools, resources and support they need to achieve their investment goals. And some people aren’t sure what to ask or what they need, or they just want a little help so they benefit from our low cost membership program with twice a month group coaching calls, teleseminars, videos and special reports.

Of course there is also a ton of stuff for free on our Rev N You website and our blog.

** What’s in store for RevNYou in 2010?

We’ve got some awesome plans… but the big thing that is going on right now is we just finished filming a ton of awesome videos, and we’re all set to launch the series. It’s 31 Real Estate Investing Video Tips. They are all 3 minutes or less… and it’s totally free!!

We cover everything from the myth of what motivates a seller to investing with no money to preventing problems with property management. We’ve packed a ton of great stuff into each and every video… we probably could be selling this video series for over $100 but we wanted to share it with as many people as possible so we’re giving it away!

Click below to grab Julie’s free REI video series NOW …

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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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In today’s post, Julie Broad of RevNYou tells us how to drain the risk from our real estate deals … (if you missed it earlier this week, make sure to check out the video review I did of Julie’s Real Estate Millionaire: The Essential Starter Course)

Real estate investing can be risky. We’ve all heard the stories of the losses, the bankruptcies and the stress caused by real estate investing missteps.

As a savvy real estate investor, you should always be looking for ways to drain the risk from your deals. And the real big risks arise when you buy a property that nobody wants to live in.

Empty units can suck the profit from a property in a single month, and consecutive months of vacancies can sink you. And, if you’ve bought a place that nobody wants to rent from you, you’ll probably have a hard time selling it too!

So – how do you drain the risk from your deal and buy a property people are sure to want to live in? Instead of chasing the hottest deals …

Find the Starving Crowd!

If you were going to open a restaurant, where would you want to be? You’d look for an area where people with money to spend on food are starving. Even if there are other food choices in the area, if there is enough demand for food and there’s a hungry crowd waiting for it, your chances of success are much higher.

Of course you have to make sure you’re serving the right food at the right price, but let’s face it, when you’re really hungry you’re a lot less concerned with what you’re eating and how much it costs than if you’re well fed.

The same happens in real estate. If you find an area where people want to live, and you find the property type they want to live in, everything gets much easier. Your prospective tenants are much less price sensitive and there’s a larger pool of people to choose from. And, if you do decide to sell the property, even if the market is slow, you’ll find the sale process quicker and more lucrative than in less desirable areas.

The Secret to Finding the Starving Crowd

It’s starts by knowing where to look. Do a little market research. Find a community that has growing demand being driven by new employment, a college or university, or something significant that is drawing people in. Sometimes the significant thing can be a new transportation hub like a new subway station or a new highway. Other times it might be a new ski resort or some other form of recreation expanding or developing.

Basically, you’re looking for population growth, increasing household incomes and a shortage of places to live.

Once you find an area like that, start visiting open houses. Chat with the realtors. Ask them about the houses that people are buying – and why they’re buying those houses. Ask them about must-have features. Call a few local property managers. Ask them about the people who are renting. Ask both realtors and property managers where people in the neighborhood usually work, and what attracts people to that area. You can even ask about rental rates and popular apartment buildings in the neighborhood.

Then walk around and chat with people in coffee shops and parks. Find out where they work, what they like about the area, and other general information. And pay close attention to apartment buildings with no-vacancy signs. What size units do they have? Where are they located – near a subway or bus stop, across from a park or something else that might be drawing tenants? Do they have any special amenities?

Finally, you can go online and read the ads people are posting. You can even call some of them and ask questions. Find out what features everyone highlights. Be curious.

Pretty soon it will become apparent what it is that tenants in the area are hungry for – maybe 2-bedroom units with dishwashers, or 3-bedroom homes with a fenced yard near George Washington High School, or 1-bedroom condos off Granville Street. Once you know what is hot, and you understand why, then that is the kind of property you want to buy.

And when you do that … when you find the starving crowd and give them what they’re hungry for, you’ll find it’s very easy to find good quality tenants, make tons of money from your property and eventually sell it for a very nice profit.

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Julie Broad and her husband Dave started investing in real estate several years ago and have amassed a mulitmilllion dollar investment portfolio. Julie was able to retire last November to a life of real estate investing and helping others follow in their footsteps.

Julie and Dave have a real estate investing course specifically designed to help beginning investors get started the “right way” … check out the video review I did of their Real Estate Millionaire: The Essential Starter Course … (I give it two thumbs up!)

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If you’ve been a regular reader at MustKnowInvesting over the past year, you’ve surely seen one of the guest articles contributed by Julie Broad of RevNYou …

She’s been a regular contributor and even taught a 100% content teleconference call with us several months ago. As long as you were signed on to my list, you got the invite to hear Julie and her husband Dave’s 5 step anybody-can-do-it real estate investing process. And they also shared a little bit about their story … about how they’ve built a multi million dollar real estate investment portfolio in just a few years.

Here’s what their 5 step real estate investing process looks like …

Pretty simple ehhh?

Well, Julie and Dave have a course that they’ve put together based on this process … actually … before I get to that …

One of the things I LOVE about Julie and Dave is that they are regular everyday down to Earth people. They’re straight shooters that don’t support the “get rich quick” mentality or methods that some of the “gurus” teach. They don’t hype up real estate to be something that it’s not.

… and in my book … that means a lot!

I asked Julie to mail me a copy of their home study course so that I could review it for you guys …

One of my goals here at MustKnowInvesting is to provide you the information, tools, and resources that you need to be successful. Sooooo, when I come across a quality course that I give “two thumbs up” … I’m gonna tell you about it.

Real Estate Millionaire: The Essential Starter Course

Check out my video review below …

I cover why I think their course is particularly relevant in today’s market, who I think the course is right for (and who it’s NOT), how Julie and Dave became real estate millionaires, and then give you a sneak peek of the course …

Interested in learning more about Julie and Dave’s Real Estate Millionaire: The Essential Starter Coure?

Click here to check it out NOW!

Here’s just a few things you’ll learn in their course:

>> Dozens of secrets to start building a real estate portfolio in your spare time. Instead of buying yourself a job, learn how to invest your money and let it grow without worry.

>> How to analyze properties for their cash-flow potential … literally in seconds … with their easy-to-use tools and techniques.

>> Why risk-reduced investing, and the fundamentals of real estate are essential to learn first. It takes a bit longer overall than the “guru” way … but it’s far less stressful, a lot safer … and requires a lot less time each week.

>> How to attain financial freedom and retire in 5-10 years, a real estate millionaire … Julie and Dave reveal their secrets of how they did it … so you can do it too …

Click to here for a real world no hype system for building wealth in real estate

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In today’s post, Julie Broad of RevNYou tells us how a reality check has made her over $100,000 . . .

The best real estate investors can spot opportunities where others just see problems. They can see past bad décor and overgrown yards. They see trends emerging and can get ahead of them to make money before most people realize the trend is here.

Sometimes experienced real estate investors miss really obvious opportunities.

I know, because I almost missed out on a deal that’s made us $100,000 and counting!

I’m talking about a little house that looked more like a tool shed than a dwelling. It’s just a 600 square foot wood structure that sits on a concrete slab – there’s no basement and no garage.

When my husband took me to see the property, I had visions of constant repairs and never-ending tenant troubles. I really couldn’t imagine living there and figured it was a waste of time to even think about buying it.

But my husband told me to do a reality check – because there were a lot of reasons to like the deal. That area, and specifically within a block of this property, is being totally redeveloped with mixed use properties. We were going to be able to pick the property up without using any of our money, and it was one of the cheapest properties we’d ever seen listed in the City.

Five years later, that property – which essentially is a large chunk of land in an emerging area – has more than doubled in value and the rent has covered all the costs. We’ve only spent one afternoon there fixing the porch but we’ve yet to have to put a single dime into it.

It’s just as easy to get excited by a property that isn’t really a good opportunity as it is to miss out on the ones that are. To try and make sure you’re focusing on the right deals, you can use these four reality checks:

Reality Check One: Who is Your Target Market?

I’ll be honest – there’s not a big market of tenants waiting to rent a property like our little shack. I know I couldn’t imagine myself living in that little shack which is why I almost passed on the deal. But I was not the target market for that rental.

The tenant has been there since the day we bought it. He loves the large yard. He doesn’t mind the exterior appearance because it’s cozy inside and the rent is cheap for the privacy and space he enjoys.

If the property is a good fit for your target market, it doesn’t matter whether or not you would live there.

Reality Check Two: Are You Emotionally Involved?

Emotions weren’t involved in this particular purchase, but it’s something to be wary of. If, at any point in the negotiations, you feel that you can’t walk away from the deal, you need to take a step back and review everything! When your emotions are involved, you can’t make rational decisions.

Reality Check Three: Do the numbers really say it’s a good deal?

My Dad was speaking with his accountant about one of his property’s cash flow. He asked the accountant what the numbers said about the profitability of the building. The accountant said with a smile, “What do you want them to say?”

In other words – there are plenty of ways to make a property look like a good deal. It’s up to you, as a buyer, to make sure the numbers really say what the seller says they say.

In this deal, the numbers sold me. The rent covered all the expenses and left a small cushion for surprises. Make sure before you purchase the property by checking the leases, getting copies of the bills direct from the vendors and checking market rental rates for the area to make sure the current tenants aren’t overpaying.

Reality Check Four: Are You Judging a Book by Its Cover?

Many opportunities are missed because a property makes a negative first impression. The best deals are often those that look rough but can be repaired and restored for little cost and effort. Granted, our little shack needs to be completely rebuilt to maximize its potential – but had my husband allowed me to judge it strictly on its looks, I would have missed a deal that has (so far) grown our net worth by $100,000.

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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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In today’s post, Julie Broad of RevNYou is going to discuss how to find the hidden deals that you may otherwise be overlooking . . .

The next time you’re looking up at the clouds in the sky ask someone around you what shapes they think they see. I’m pretty sure they will see something different from what you see. But, once they explain why they think the clouds have formed a shape like a little bunny rabbit or a cup of steaming hot coffee, I bet you will be able to see it too.

“The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend”, said Henri Bergson, a French philosopher. The same can be said for finding hidden bargains in real estate. While many would-be real estate investors spend a lot of time chasing foreclosures or wholesale deals, the easiest deals may be passing them by because they aren’t watching for the hidden deals – the hidden deals that become so obvious when your mind is prepared to see them.

I’m not saying you can’t find great foreclosure deals or good wholesale deals. One of our best purchases was a foreclosure – but we didn’t set out to find a foreclosure – we were just looking for a good deal.

6 Hidden Real Estate Bargains and Where to Find Them

1) Price

This isn’t as obvious as you think it is. There are two critical pieces to finding properties that are priced as bargains. The first essential piece is knowing your comparable property values cold. How do you really know when something is a deal if you don’t really know what its current market value is?

The second part of finding price bargains is knowing what IS a deal and what is a land mine. Many times the price of a property is a hidden bargain, but it can also be a hidden money pit. As long as you know WHY the property is a deal, and it’s not something troublesome like requiring a lot of expensive repairs, then you may have uncovered a deal that many investors would miss.

2) Property Condition

Sometimes a run down property can be an easy and cheap fix up. If you are able to spot the difference between a property that needs $50,000 in significant repairs from the property that just needs $5,000 worth of cosmetic touch ups, then you will be able to quickly spot the bargains in the market.

3) Location

Finding the next emerging market is like finding an entire neighbourhood of hidden bargains. Seek out transportation improvements, large corporate relocations, and government investments into infrastructure improvements to spot areas that will see demand increase in the future. Even in tough economic times, there will be areas that will grow and prosper – but they won’t be obvious until after it’s happened so you have to look for them by doing some research – online and at your local government office.

4) Terms

Often real estate investors get so focused on price that they forget that they could negotiate other things into the deal to make it a real bargain. Patrick told a great story recently about just this in his article, Price, Terms, and TVs : How’s That for Creative Real Estate.

Remember, if the buyer insists on getting his full price, there are plenty of non-price things to negotiate on: closing dates, renovations, chattels, and even access to the property for repairs and showing to tenants before you close.

5) Highest and Best Use of the Property

Is the property currently being used for the purpose that, given it’s location and size, provides it with it’s highest and best use? As areas change and evolve over time, the answer to this question often becomes “no”. But, just because it’s always been a house, many people don’t think that it could become a four-plex or a parking lot or a small office that would double its rental income.

Learn the zoning for the area you are looking in, and keep your eyes open for properties that aren’t being used for their best purpose. Even if you know nothing about redeveloping a property, if you’ve found a hidden bargain, it shouldn’t be too hard to find a partner that will help you turn the property into a cash machine.

6) Lazy or Lousy Landlord Problems

There are plenty of motivated sellers that can be sources of hidden bargains, but to keep it simple, I’ll focus on one type of motivated seller that can be a really great source of hidden bargains – the tired, worn out, and frustrated landlord. Find properties that are vacant or run down and you just may find an owner that either has grown tired of dealing with their tenants or one that just doesn’t know what to do. If you know you can solve tenant problems or vacancy issues and the owner wants to rid themselves of this problem property, then you may have found a hidden bargain.

Once you know what to look for to find real estate bargains, these deals don’t seem hidden at all. By digging a little deeper when you’re doing your research, keeping your eyes open when cruising the streets, and keeping tabs on the local government activities, you will start finding the hidden bargains that may have been right under your nose all along.

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Julie Broad, and her husband Dave Peniuk, publish a free real estate investing newsletter where they share their secrets to becoming millionaire real estate investors. You can sign up for their newsletter and view past articles at: http://www.revnyou.com

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