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When you’re just getting started with a new venture, especially those that revolve around skilled financial investments such as real estate, you tend to make a great deal of mistakes.

Most people who develop an interest in real estate investment end up looping from one mistake to another for many years, even after devouring tons of ebooks, videos, and training courses on the subject.

What is the missing link stopping most wannabe investors from attaining financial freedom with real estate investments? Why do some people attain massive success while some others see not even an ounce of success?

Why Ebooks And Courses Only Serve To Confuse You

Some hard-working investors have been able to get started on their own and make lots of money, but they are the exception. When you find yourself failing continuously, what you need is a real estate coach.

E-books and training courses drag you in different directions, but a real estate mentor sets you on the right course to success. You gain substantial knowledge from their expertise, and through their coaching, you are able to focus on one goal at a time, which is paramount to success.

They can also notice errors you’ve overlooked and guide you on what to do as an alternative. It’s like they’re an instructor, holding your hand and telling you exactly what to carry out. With that type of help, your chances of success increase significantly.

The Only Real Estate Coaching Program I Endorse

You’ll discover numerous real estate coaching programs online, all with identical claims of helping you turn into a six-figure real estate professional in as little time as feasible.

All of these programs are clearly costly, so choosing the best one is of crucial importance. Choose the wrong one and you’ll likely end up regretting wasting time and money you simply cannot ever get back.

I’m a successful real estate professional, and I got my training from my coach, Phil Pustejovsky. Phil Pustejovsky runs the Freedom Mentor Apprentice Program – a program that explains to you the ropes on the way to accomplish financial freedom in real estate.

The Freedom Mentor coaching program is not really a program you can simply buy any time you wish. You need to put in an application first, and you’ll only gain access to the program if your application is approved.

The actual fact that Phil Pustejovsky screens applications goes to show how much he wishes you to succeed. He’ll solely take coachable, action-oriented, and positive thinking applicants.

Phil was once an amateur as well. He started from rock bottom and only began to achieve success right after he met his coach, Tom.

Since then, he has been able to close 10s of millions of dollars worth of transactions while earning millions of dollars in proceeds during the process.

If you believe Phil’s knowledge would have a positive impact on your real estate venture, then you have to give special attention to the next paragraphs as I talk about his Freedom Mentor program in more detail.

Why Freedom Mentor?

Through signing up to the Freedom Mentor coaching program, you’ll gain access to premium tools and resources to assist you close your very first real estate deal.

These consist of access to a lender list, an instruction/lead-generating program to help you get deals quicker, and a customized investing plan.

That’s not all, though. You’ll also get 3 real-time coaching calls monthly with Freedom Mentor’s instructors, 2 conference calls weekly, and the capability to ask questions as well as immediately receive answers from the coaches by means of an instant messaging platform.

There are two very good attributes of the coaching program which help it stand apart from the competitors. The first feature is the array of experienced mentors and coaches it includes.

You won’t have access to just Phil Pustejovsky’s mentoring as soon as you become a registered member. Freedom Mentor is made up of a team of mentors and coaches personally trained and mentored by Phil.

Such are the coaches you’ll be receiving assistance from. You’ll get access to a combined pool of knowledge and experience from many of the best coaches in the industry.

The second feature that makes this program so impressively effective at assisting aspiring realtors gain success is its 50/50 split.

This essentially implies Phil shares every one of his valuable real estate tricks with you, and you share 50% of the profits from your first couple of deals with him.

Once you’ve finalized your first few deals, you may then proceed to become an independent real estate investor, armed with all of the insights you’ve acquired from the mentorship program.

If you have a talent for teaching or mentoring, you can even set up your own mentoring program and show your apprentices the steps needed for success exactly like Phil does.

A few of Phil’s previous apprentices are presently managing their own mentoring programs after turning into successful real estate investors.

Note: I know the program offering improvements every now and then as they continue to refine it and improve it. However, this is up to date as of this writing.

Conclusion – Action Takers Desired

The Freedom Mentor coaching program is geared towards folks who are 100% committed to becoming successful real estate investors. If you aren’t prepared to handle real estate investing just like a business, this program may not be for you.

The tools, resources, and mentoring offered in the program are more than enough to set you on the best path to financial freedom.

Since you’re splitting your first few profits with Phil, it’s in his best interest to make you succeed, and you possess as much determination to accomplish just that. It’s a mutually advantageous arrangement, therefore you practically can’t go wrong if you put in the energy and time to make this work.

Generally, the Freedom Mentor program is the most effective means to get started in real estate investing. You’re getting all the help you want from a professional in the field. There’s truly nothing else you need to have to make your real estate ambitions come true.

Not all home sellers are completely truthful about the condition of their property. It is unfortunate that if you were to hire a professional inspector for each viewing, it would get incredibly expensive. Thus, here are a few things that you can spot yourself, telling you to avoid the purchase.

The first thing is that you must get to know the neighborhood. This is of absolute vital importance. Is it a growing community, or is it in decline? If there are many foreclosed homes and businesses, the community is going through tough times. Make sure you visit the area on two different occasions. In doing so, you will also become aware of traffic. Do also come at least once at night, so you can see whether the streets are safe and quiet at night or not. Speak to the police and ask for statistics on local crimes.

You should now look at the property itself and how it was treated. Signs of regular maintenance are hugely important. If it looks run down from the outside, it is likely that the inside isn’t in a much better condition either. Always look at the wiring too. Although you probably won’t be able to identify all of the problems yourself, some red flags are easy to spot. If you spot that outlets are warm or that lights flicker, there is likely to be a wiring problem. Similarly, if you notice that there is a single wall, or just a few walls that have been painted very recently, where others haven’t, the owners may be hiding something. Also inspect the windows. Look at whether the windows have mold or condensation or are hard to open; this could be a sign of expensive problems.It goes without saying that if there are any rooms that the sellers don’t want you to see, you should avoid the property completely. If there have been any structural changes to the original property, you need to check whether these were done in accordance with various building regulations.

At the end of the day, only you can decide whether or not you should purchase a property. Additionally, if you find that there are certain problems, you could use this as a negotiating point to drive the price down. You do have to ask yourself whether that bargain is worth the potential financial hassle you are putting yourself through. Whether you purchase a property as an investment or as a home, it is always going to be a building that somebody will live in, and you need to make sure that the quality of life in that property can be pleasant and enjoyable. It goes without saying that checking the condition of the property itself is very important, but the area it is in must be focused on as well. To check on the actual property, all you really need to do is hire the services of a property inspector. When it comes to the neighborhood, however, you need to have a personal feel, something that cannot be achieved by a check box list.

Inside Main Criteria When Looking At Selling a House

Many individuals are beginning to invest in real estate because they want to earn money in the foreseeable future. If you may buy a house now for a certain value, it’s going to be more expensive in the next Five years if the real estate market will remain stable. Before you do this, you should first understand how tough it is to sell a house. You will see tons of articles saying that selling a property is extremely easy or there are some ads informing you that they could sell your home in just a few months. You could bring the price down, but this is not an advisable thing to do.

Today in the real estate market, the supply totally surpasses the demand, but you can find different methods to sell your house effectively. We’re going to offer you a few simple tips on how to do this.

Check The Curb Appeal of your home

First impression lasts so your house should give the buyers a good impression once they see its exterior. You can put yourself in the shoes of the customer and see if the curb appeal of your home can attract them. You must find out if the house can offer a good impression to possible customers or it needs maintenance.

The possible customers will first see the outside of the house. You need to understand that they always pay attention to curb appeal. You should get everything ready fix anything that needs fixing.

Do Some Renovations In Your house

You must make the required upgrades inside and outside of your house to make certain that you can attract the customers. They always want a complete package when buying a house so you need to make certain repairs. If you’re the seller, you should make sure that you may fix everything. However, you must not over improve the house as there are some enhancements that will not really make a huge difference to the price of the house. Upgrades will absolutely boost the value of your home together with its odds to be sold, but you can’t make any renovations which will not provide any benefits to you. You must do your research and put money in the things that can offer the best ROI.

Start Depersonalizing your house

Most folks will say that adding more design to the interior can make it more appealing to the buyers, but it’s an error because personal items, art works and collectibles will not really attract them. You could remove these items and leave out the important furniture so your house will absolutely look bigger. The objective is to enable the customers to picture themselves in your house.

They will begin pointing at the different parts of your home while visualizing what they want to put in there if they are likely to buy it. It implies that unnecessary and personal items should be eliminated in the house since it’s going to make it difficult for them to imagine.

You should Offer a Reasonable Price

If you are going to sell a home, you must place a competitive value for the property. If you will put a low value, it will be similar to leaving money on the table and if you priced the house too high, it will be unattractive to buyers. If you are speaking about home buying, the buyers always look for houses that are very similar to yours and compare the costs. If your property is too costly, the buyer will certainly ignore your house and check others. Most buyers are counting on home financing so they can’t really afford houses that are very costly. You can sell the house very easily if you will set a low value, but you can’t get your investments back.

Locate A Real Estate Agent

You’re making a big mistake if you believe that you could sell your house by yourself. If you’re not a professional real estate agent, it’ll be difficult since you do not have the experience and knowledge to do it. In case you’re planning to do this on your own, there is a chance that you will not be able to sell your house or you won’t obtain a great deal. You may get lucky and obtain an excellent deal for the house, but you can’t rely on luck when you’re selling a property because we’re talking about a lot of money. You should hire an agent and allow them to do everything for you. You will need to pay them, but this is much better than getting a bad deal as you do not know anything.

Before you start selling your property, make sure that you understand how to do this efficiently. The real estate market is surely complicated so you need to know how this works before you sell your house.

When you are looking at homes, and find some that you really like, you should absolutely be driving through the neighborhoods at different times of the day and week to get a realistic sense of the communities. Visiting a home in the afternoon and evening also helps you learn about the area and if there are problems with noise or traffic. Check with the police and ask for a crime report to gain as much knowledge as possible regarding the neighborhood.

You’re not only purchasing a house, but you’re also purchasing the area in which you buy it. You must investigate the condition of the neighborhood. By doing this, you’ll be able to determine whether it’s “coming back,” or showing serious signs of decline. One way you can do this is by researching how many homes in the area are in foreclosure.

Are you considering a home in foreclosure? Although homes in foreclosures can mean good deals, be sure to know the status of a home and whether or not it’s short sale eligible or purchasable if its in foreclosure. If not, you may be making an offer on a home that a bank already owns.

If you’re considering a “fixer upper” house, you should proceed with caution. A fixer upper is cheap but you need someone to tell you what it’ll cost to get it to code or market standard. If you aren’t interested in dealing with a home that needs serious renovations, you should walk away.

Are There Home Inspection Issues? 

You must get a home inspection, no matter how much the home costs. It should be obvious, but any home you purchase should be based on the outcome of the inspection report. So many buyers decide that they aren’t going to order an inspection report, because they don’t want to pay for it. They only cost a few hundred dollars. You are talking about spending a few hundred thousand dollars (or more, depending on your income).

Just because a home looks nice to the naked eye, doesn’t mean that there are not underlying issues. Always get an inspection. That way, if there are issues, you can go back to the seller and negotiate. And more importantly, you can decide if you should buy the house. An inspection should give you a good, fair understanding of what’s wrong with the house. Always be sure to check the inspectors credentials and referrals. Read this article Top 10 Red Flags To Look For When Buying a Home for even more information.

Getting a great loan, and an excellently low interest rate doesn’t just fall into your lap. It starts with small steps. Below are some great steps to follow that will help you land the house of your dreams…or at least a house!

Budget wisely! Knowing the type of home and mortgage you can afford is all about budgeting. Search around for the kind of home you want in your area and compare prices to get a ballpark figure. Figure out the following for creating your budget: your income, your monthly debt, your living expenses, and how much you have saved for a down payment.

Then you can look online at mortgage calculators to get an idea of what your monthly payments could be. Don’t take this too seriously, as it is an online tool generated by only numbers, and the bank looks at much more than that. Your mortgage shouldn’t exceed 40% of your monthly income.

Figure out what mortgage you want. The type of home you want and any assistance you need will decide what kind of loan you’re eligible for. This is why it is important to talk with the bank, so you can find out the various types of loans, what kinds interest you, and which one you’ll qualify for. Read: How to Get Pre-Approved for Your First Mortgage.

Decide if you want a mortgage broker, or a lender. There are two ways to find a loan: dealing directly with the lender or seeking help through a mortgage broker. If you go the solo route, you have to do all the legwork and shop for a loan, which includes going from lender to lender, comparing interest rates and other loan terms.

Check your credit score. Now’s the time to check your credit report for any mistakes. Please note, that this is something you should frequently be doing. There are too many free and secure websites that allow you to check your credit constantly for free. Of course, they are not completely accurate, but they are very close. By law, you can obtain one free credit report from each credit report company; TransUnion, Equifax and Experian, annually. 

Gather all necessary documents. Your finances will be under the microscope, so make sure you have everything you need to back up the numbers. Have you opened a bank account in the past six months? Have been gifted any money recently? Be prepared to tell the lender why. These are the documents that you are going to be expected to bring with you: government identification, two years of your tax returns, two years of your income statements, and proof of all of your assets.

Lastly, you’ll need to get approved. While a pre-approval won’t guarantee you a loan, consider it a diploma of the mortgage process. During pre-approval, the lender will do a credit check and go over your income statements to determine your financial capability. A good rule of thumb is to try at least three lenders to ensure you get the best deal possible. See: How Much Can I Borrow? Home Affordability Calculator – myFICO

Any family member or friend with great credit, good standing, and decent income probably is going to at some point be asked to cosign for a loan. Whether its college tuition, your sister wants help purchasing a house. There are endless things to get a loan for. Usually, the cosigner in question feels that maybe if they say no, they aren’t being supportive. However, you are going to be left for the entire loan, no matter what the reason the person defaults. Experts say that there is never, ever a good reason to cosign a loan for anyone.

You’re completely responsible.

When you co-sign, you are promising to pay the loan in the event the borrower cannot. In other words, you agree to be on the hook for someone else’s debt. You are banking on this person to be responsible in repaying this loan. You are also taking on the full responsibility of inheriting the debt should that person become unable to pay or act irresponsibly in repaying the loan. This kind of trust can end badly and have life-altering financial consequences for a co-signer.

Your credit score can plummet.

Cosigning can destroy your credit report. Even if the loan is paid on time, the potential new debt you have taken on will most likely drop your credit scores, because 30% of your score is based on the amount of debt you carry. Co-signing also will increase your debt-to-income ratio, making it harder for you to qualify for loans you may need, such as for a mortgage or a new car. And that’s the best-case scenario. The worst case is when your family member or friend defaults on the loan. For further reading: Understanding the Reasonings & the Risks of Cosigning a Loan.

It can ruin your future financially.

If your friend or family member defaults on the debt, you, as the co-signer, will not only suffer bad credit ramifications, but you also will be obligated to pay the money back.You could end up defaulting, and having your own bank account frozen.

Your relationship certainly will suffer.

Nothing comes between friends or family like borrowed money; it’s a no-win situation. The borrower feels guilty about it. You feel uncomfortable asking the borrower about the loan payments. And that’s when things are going well. If the person for whom you co-signed fails to make good on the debt, your relationship can go south very quickly. See: Is it Really Ever Worth Asking Family to Cosign a Loan? Cosigning is a financial agreement with no upside.

You are enabling bad behavior.

Don’t let your emotions sway you to be a cosigner. Your daughter might be begging to go to the college of her dreams, and needs you to cosign the loan. As much as you love her, it could hurt you if she were unable to pay. And this is highly possible as student loans are often paid well into adult-hood depending on the college. Can you predict what her life will be like from right now for the next twenty years? That should scare you off enough right there. It also hurts her, because if she were to default on her loans, her credit would be destroyed before she even got a chance to build it. 

If, for whatever reason, you ultimately agree to be a co-signer on a loan, consider it a gift. Assume that you will be paying for it yourself, and be happy to do it, if that is the case. This way, you’ll be less disappointed if things go badly. So, if you are going to be a cosigner, make sure you can afford it if the borrower can’t pay, and make sure you can also afford to lose the relationship. See: 7 Loans You Should Never Cosign.

How Contractors Trick You

It’s true that contractors get a bad rep. There are many scummy contractors out there. You can find a great one if you keep your guard up, and take the necessary actions it takes to ensure you get an honest, ethical one. There are also great ones though, too. Just to be on the safe side, when scouting out for a contractor, you should watch for these red flags. Read: Building Materials & Supplies at Lowe’s.

Flag: “I need money upfront”
A contractor looking to scam you might will tell you he needs at least half of the money up front. Once you pay him, he either disappears altogether, or does sloppy work. He knows you can’t let him go, because he already has thousands of your dollars. Unfortunately, this practice is not limited to contractors. Generally, when you pay anyone for a service before work is completed there is less of an inclination to do a good job, because that person has already been paid.

Never pay more than thirty-percent at the most of the job upfront. It is enough money to show the contractor that you are able to pay for their services, but small enough to where they have motivation to get the job done right. A lot of people fall into this trick because they “feel bad.” The contractor will convince them that they need more money than this before they begin in order to pay for things ahead of time. Know that if they are experienced, they will have ties with certain companies who provide to them on credit, because they have a good history with them. See: Get Quotes from Real General Contractors.

Flag: “Trust me”

When you first meet with the contractor, he’s very agreeable about all of your needs. However, somewhere along the way, he does little things without discussing them with you, and claims that they were “necessary,” but did not speak to you about them, until after the fact. These “little things” often amount to a pretty penny. Rest assured, that those details he “suggested,” and performed without asking you about, will show up on your bill. See: An Excellent Video on How to Find a Great Contractor.

Flag: “We don’t need a permit”

A contractor is legally required to get a building permit for any construction project that is considered significant. This is so that building officials can come to the site as often as is needed to be sure that the project is meeting any and all safety or building codes. On smaller jobs, an unlicensed contractor might try to tell you that the building officials won’t notice, or that its “not a big deal.” Read: Check a Contractor’s License.

Flag: “We ran into issues…”

This is the most notorious scam to look out for. This usually comes into play mid-project, and even better, after the job is complete. Suddenly, the price you had previously agreed on is 3x higher than discussed. He will place blame on everything but himself. He will tell you that there were structural problems, or wall damage before he began.

Flag: “I have extra materials I’ll let you have”

This is a great one. Usually this is because they have materials that can’t be returned to a supplier. So they’ll come and drop it off and even quote you a fantastic price. Even if it is a bargain, taking this offer is very risky because you don’t know where these materials came from, and they could break or fall apart in a year or two. Here is a video on how to spot a bad contractor: