We think of ourselves as real estate investors.  That means we invest in properties, right?  Not so fast.  It may be properties that we buy, but it’s not properties we actually invest in. In this episode, Jeff explains that the investment we’re making is not in the property, because the property is just the investment vehicle.  Rather, the investment is in ourselves and our ability to take a property and make it into a winner.  This important reframe can change your perspective on what you’re doing and can empower you to further invest in yourself.  Learn the art of buying properties off-market with Seller Financing using the power of Relationship Capital in The DEALS Workshop:  http://www.thedealsworkshop.com

There are certain decisions we must make in life and business that we recognize as being big and important decisions, and we allocate much time and energy to them. There are other decisions we must make that seem small and insignificant; in fact, sometimes we don’t even realize they are decisions at all, and to these we allocate very little time and energy. In negotiation, though, the seemingly small decisions can be of large importance, and it’s critical that we give them the thought and consideration they deserve.  In this episode, Jeff provides a simple and common example of a seemingly small decision that represents a bigger point in a negotiation, and encourages listeners to not underthink the right way to handle it.  Learn the art of buying properties off-market with Seller Financing using the power of Relationship Capital in The DEALS Workshop:  http://www.thedealsworkshop.com

Most real estate investors have been taught to focus on numbers, numbers, numbers.  And numbers are indeed very important, but numbers without CONTEXT are meaningless.  In this episode, Jeff explains the expression “from people come numbers,” and discusses how people are the needed CONTEXT, while numbers are the needed CONTENT.  Without understanding the context (people), we can’t possibly negotiate the best and most optimized deals.  Learn the art of buying properties off-market with Seller Financing using the power of Relationship Capital in The DEALS Workshop:  http://www.thedealsworkshop.com

Often times the best way to learn is to hear the real life deal stories from other real estate investors doing great things! In this episode, Jeff interviews The DEALS Workshop and coaching client Pasha, who purchased four off-market duplexes at once, all from the same Seller!  Pasha tells the story of how the lead originally started, the hurdles in the negotiation and how he conquered them, how we ultimately financed the acquisition and what he learned along the way! Learn the art of buying properties off-market with Seller Financing using the power of Relationship Capital in The DEALS Workshop:  http://www.thedealsworkshop.com

There are many different things a real estate investor must know about and be able to do. From deal analysis to understanding construction to having property management knowledge and beyond, there’s a lot to learn and know. But there’s one skill that rises above the others.  In this episode, Jeff explains a huge irony for most real estate investors:  the desire to seek financial independence through real estate, but the dependence on lenders, appraisers and others in doing so. Jeff shares the #1 most important skill that can be cultivated to create true independence and why it’s so important. Learn the art of buying properties off-market with Seller Financing using the power of Relationship Capital in The DEALS Workshop:  http://www.thedealsworkshop.com

As buyers of real estate, we wish we could have every great opportunity be competition-free.  After all, who wants to compete with other buyers for every great deal?  But the truth is, we can’t avoid competition; we can simply choose which type of competition we want to face.  In this episode, Jeff explains the different types of competition that come from different types of Sellers, and ultimately shares which type of competition we as Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneurs should choose to have.  Learn the art of buying properties off-market with Seller Financing using the power of Relationship Capital in The DEALS Workshop:  http://www.thedealsworkshop.com

When we meet a new Seller lead, our tendency is to immediately begin gathering lots of information. After all, with real estate, there’s a lot of information we need, right? Information on the condition of the property, age of mechanical systems, rents, expenses and more.  But while information is important, there’s another thing that’s also equally—if not more—important than information, that we hardly ever speak of:  Insights from the Seller.  In this episode, Jeff explains what insights are, how they differ from information, and why insights are so critical to our negotiation.  Learn the art of buying properties off-market with Seller Financing using the power of Relationship Capital in The DEALS Workshop:  http://www.thedealsworkshop.com

Often times the best way to learn key concepts in real estate are to see and hear them in action in real-life deal case studies!  In this episode, Jeff interviews Tom, a coaching client in The DEALS Workshop.  Tom shares the case study of how he recently purchased an off-market triplex with Seller Financing, by using a highly relationship-oriented approach to negotiating the deal. Learn the art of buying properties off-market with Seller Financing using the power of Relationship Capital in The DEALS Workshop:  http://www.thedealsworkshop.com

Many real estate investors have an underlying belief that universally all Sellers would prefer to sell their properties for cash, and that selling via Seller Financing is an inferior backup plan they would only reluctantly agree to.  This leads to a belief that if the Seller agrees to Seller Financing, they are doing the Buyer a favor, and would want to be compensated accordingly for that favor.  In this episode, Jeff explains that the best Seller Financing deals do not come from Sellers who feel they are doing the Buyer a favor; instead, the best Seller Financing deals and terms come from Sellers whose needs are being perfectly met by the Seller Financing proposal.  Learn the art of buying properties off-market with Seller Financing using the power of Relationship Capital in The DEALS Workshop:  http://www.thedealsworkshop.com

“Always be willing to walk away” is fairly standard real estate investing advice.  And like with all standard advice, it’s important to examine them so that we can formulate our own philosophies to guide our investing.  In this episode, Jeff discusses how “being willing to walk away” is a two-layered conversation:  the internal dialog with ourselves, and the external negotiation with the Seller.  Jeff discusses the merits of being willing to walk away, but also the merits of showing your sincere commitment to NOT walking away.  Learn the art of buying properties off-market with Seller Financing using the power of Relationship Capital in The DEALS Workshop:  http://www.thedealsworkshop.com

Conducting due diligence and physical inspections of a property in contract is an important part of the overall real estate investing business. And it can be tempting sometimes to simply do one’s own “inspection,” instead of hiring a professional, licensed home inspector—especially when the buyer has experience in construction and renovation. But in this episode, Jeff explains why it’s important to always pay for an inspection report—and the reason has less to do with inspection findings, and more to do with relationship-based thoughtful “incremental negotiation.” Learn the art of buying properties off-market with Seller Financing using the power of Relationship Capital in The DEALS Workshop:  http://www.thedealsworkshop.com

Most real estate investors are open to many different acquisition strategies for finding, negotiating and financing their deals.  Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, tend to be more selective, and stick to the acquisition strategies that best fit their talents and gifts.  In this episode, Jeff describes why employing different acquisition strategies is like playing completely different sports, and explains how this can hinder an investor’s growth.  Learn the art of buying properties off-market with Seller Financing using the power of Relationship Capital in The DEALS Workshop:  http://www.thedealsworkshop.com

As real estate investors and rental property owners, are tenants our customers? Seems like an obvious question with an obvious ‘yes’ answer, but when we look at it from a different perspective we get a different answer.  In this special 200th episode of Racking Up Rentals, Jeff explains why he does NOT see tenants as customers, and instead sees them in a different role. This change of perspective reframes entirely how we see the business of building a rental portfolio.  Learn the art of buying properties off-market with Seller Financing using the power of Relationship Capital in The DEALS Workshop:  http://www.thedealsworkshop.com

The holy grail of relationship-based negotiation and Seller Relations is when your Seller says—or even thinks—“I can tell you’re my kind of people.”  In this episode, Jeff tells the story of a coaching client’s recent deal, in which the coaching client got the deal as a result of successfully building rapport and leading the Seller to the natural conclusion that the buyer was “their kind of people.” Learn the art of buying properties off-market with Seller Financing using the power of Relationship Capital in The DEALS Workshop:  http://www.thedealsworkshop.com

Many real estate investors have a mentality of “I don’t care where the deals come from as long as they make sense.” These investors are more than happy to buy properties from wholesalers, through real estate agents, or any other source.  But as Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneurs, we aren’t interested in buying properties negotiated by other people—at all.  In this episode, Jeff explains why TREES are so committed to negotiating their own purchases, and discusses the critical differences between buying “properties” and buying “opportunities.” Learn the art of buying properties off-market with Seller Financing using the power of Relationship Capital in The DEALS Workshop:  http://www.thedealsworkshop.com

Real estate investors in today’s market are finding it difficult to buy properties the traditional way. One of the main difficulties they lament is “low inventory.” But is inventory really low? And is “low inventory” even an issue that should affect them? In this episode, Jeff reframes what inventory is, explains why there’s not really low inventory at all and why higher inventory isn’t necessarily better.  Most importantly, Jeff explains how you can continue to grow your portfolio regardless of what the inventory statistics say.  Learn the art of buying properties off-market with Seller Financing using the power of Relationship Capital in The DEALS Workshop:  http://www.thedealsworkshop.com

As real estate investors, we are growth-oriented creatures.  We want to grow our portfolios, wealth and cash flow to achieve financial freedom.  But most of us also want to grow as humans as well; fortunately, the two go hand-in-hand.  In this episode, Jeff interviews real estate entrepreneur Alexandra Haider, who—in just the first five years of her real estate investing career—has built a portfolio of hundreds of residential units and hundreds of thousands of square feet of commercial real estate.  Alexandra shares her story, tips for growing into new and bigger deal types, and growing as a person and entrepreneur along the path.    Learn the art of buying properties off-market with Seller Financing using the power of Relationship Capital in The DEALS Workshop:  http://www.thedealsworkshop.com

We’ve all met them: the off-market Sellers who we chat with and immediately have red flags that they are not reasonable.  But what exactly defines “unreasonable”?  For more real estate investors, an unreasonable Seller is one who has unrealistic expectations for their property’s value. But for us Thoughtful Real Estate Entrepreneurs, our perspective is different and we define “unreasonable Sellers” differently.  In this episode, Jeff explains why those Sellers who most investors would disregard as “unreasonable” actually represent great opportunity for those skilled in the art of Relationship Capital and Seller Relations. Learn the art of buying properties off-market with Seller Financing using the power of Relationship Capital in The DEALS Workshop:  http://www.thedealsworkshop.com

Many real estate investors think that Seller Financing is only beneficial if it results in a tiny—or zero—down payment.  In other words, they think that unless they get 90% or higher LTV financing, it’s not worth it.  This simply is not true.  In this episode, Jeff asks the question: “what if the Seller Financing you could get is only 10% of the total purchase price—would you still do it?” and explains why YES, absolutely you should.  Learn the five simply reasons why you should happily get Seller Financing for even just 10% of the price! Learn to buy Seller Financing properties off-market, the thoughtful way:  http://www.thedealsworkshop.com

Every one of us has unique talents, gifts and strengths.  But unfortunately, the real estate investing education industry doesn’t often emphasize the importance of discovering and harnessing those talents in the pursuit of financial freedom through real estate.  Instead, mainstream REI education focuses on teaching us supposed universal formulas and recipes for success…with little or no consideration for what our unique individual talents are.  In this episode, Jeff discusses the importance and value of harnessing our own unique gifts in our real estate investing efforts.  Learn to buy Seller Financing properties off-market, the thoughtful way:  http://www.thedealsworkshop.com