My real estate career began when my brother and I decided to purchase a property in Brooklyn, NY. Looking back, we made mistakes numbers 1 through 10 in any of those articles entitled “10 common mistakes to avoid for rookie investors”.

Luckily, we can laugh about that absolutely horrendous experience and are better off for it now. The main reason why is because we learned something invaluable. We know exactly what sellers are going through in the foreclosure process: worry, stress, and losing sleep and especially the feeling of helplessness.

Now, I definitely do not advocate going out there and making stupid investments just to gain a sense of empathy; rather, read carefully and learn from our mistakes (you’ll end up making a lot more different ones of your own). That is one thing I know for sure.

No matter how many courses you take, articles you read, people you talk to – in short, no matter how educated you are or experienced in real estate — there are always going to be mistakes out there lurking around the corner which you will make. The important thing is to turn them into challenges and solve them and this is done with the help and support of your team.

The investor who purchased our property and saved us from foreclosure did so through a short sale. This was my first experience with a short sale and how initially I learned how they work and what they are all about.

Almost all of my subsequent deals have been short sales. Maybe it’s just the way I look at things after going through the pre-foreclosure and short sale process for my own property. There really is truth in the “No Equity, No Problem” slogan seen on postcards and bandit signs because short sales create equity and I am going to show you step-by-step how to tackle them.