Peter Vekselman is a Russian-born real estate investing expert. He owns 3 different real estate investing businesses, including Coaching By Peter, RBP Investments, and The Muse Group. Additionally, Peter has sold over 3,000 real estate properties and his construction company has worked on over 100 different properties. And with a portfolio worth over $10 million, he has an impressive record as a private lender as well.
However, his Default Deals real estate training program focuses on wholesale real estate. Some have said this form of real estate is predatory because it involves focusing on “distressed” properties that people desperately need to sell. You also don’t renovate the house and improve its value. Your only goal is to sell it fast so you can be compensated more quickly. Is this ethical? Or is the idea of wholesale real estate being “predatory” an exaggeration?
It's a bit different from something like Local Lead Generation, which doesn't require hunting for people with financial problems. Instead, it focuses on building simple lead generation websites with no ethical dilemmas. The goal with local lead generation is helping businesses attract potential customers, which they happily pay you for every month. But with wholesale real estate, you're "forced" into a situation where you ask yourself "Should I try to close the deal?" or "Should I inform them about the other option?," which could potentially lose you a sale.
So in this Peter Vekselman review, we’ll go over the ethics of wholesale real estate, as well as:
- Who is Peter Vekselman?
- Who is Julie Muse?
- What are People Saying About Peter Vekselman Online?
- Is Peter Vekselman a Scam or Legit?
- What is Default Deals?
- Who is Default Deals For?
- How Do You Make Money With Default Deals?
- What Does Default Deals Come With?
- Do Students of Default Deals Actually Make Money?
- Risks Involved With Wholesale Real Estate?
- Is Wholesale Real Estate Still Relevant in 2022?
Pros & Cons of Peter Vekselman & Default Deals
Pros
Affordable program so you don’t lose much even if the program doesn’t work out for you
Can potentially earn money in less than a month with hard work and luck
Comes with tons of templates and scripts to streamline your success
Cons
No coaching or community support
Not much talk about Peter Vekselman online. But what’s available usually isn’t great (e.g. questionable deposit practices, weak customer service)
No official website. Although he’s made a few websites over the years, most are now defunct and lead nowhere, which gives his brand a shaky impression
Is “Default Deals” Wholesale Real Estate Training a Predatory Practice?
Some people claim that the wholesale real estate business model is predatory. You seek out property owners who are in a financial bind, then you find a way to sell their property at low cost (to attract more buyers), and then you sell the property at an increased amount to get a “finder’s fee.” However, if you were to inform the potential seller that they could sell their home for more money in the real estate market (usually by finding a licensed real estate agent, who would still take a cut anyway), you risk losing the deal. This puts the entire practice into an ethical gray area. But is it predatory?
A simple way to view it is that if a property seller sells their property through a wholesale deal, they’ll get a lower profit - but it’ll come much faster and with less red tape. This can be beneficial to those who are in dire need of money right now.
On the other hand, if there’s no urgency involved, then it could be beneficial for the buyer to go through the standard method of finding a licensed real estate agent, listing their home on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service - basically a place where you can advertise your property), and then wait it out as potential buyers decide to buy the property. Naturally, this will take much longer compared to just doing a wholesale real estate deal.
From this perspective, wholesale real estate is just another method to sell property - it’s faster but less profitable. It’s not unethical if you look at it this way (especially if you need funds immediately). In fact, a wholesale real estate deal can be a life-saver if money is needed urgently. All you need to remember is that it’s just another option to sell a home. It can only be unethical if you somehow “trick” the seller or buyer - but that’s true in ANY business situation and not just wholesale real estate.
Peter actually discussed this further in another course he teaches in Awesome REI.
Who is Peter Vekselman?
Name
Peter Vekselman
Net Worth
Estimated $5+ Million
Home
Cumming, Georgia, United States
Education
Miami University for BS Finance & Real Estate Investing
Occupation
Real Estate Investor & Coach at Partner Driven
Website
Peter Vekselman was born in Russia, Soviet Union, Moscow. In 1977, at the age of 8 years old, Peter and his family immigrated to Akron, Ohio, United States. His father, a tire engineer, was recruited by General Tires for employment.
Due to his lack of English skills and inexperience in the United States, he was placed 2 grades below his age. This further alienated him in school as he spoke bad English and was also bigger than all the kids in his classes.
Peter Vekselman started working as an entrepreneur early. As a child, he shoveled snow for $20 a house, he sold t-shirts, and he sold hats. But it wasn’t till Peter was in his 30’s that he realized he had a talent for sales and entrepreneurship. He had done it all instinctually. But he never truly pursued them as a career.
Once he graduated from Miami University with a degree in finance, he struggled to get a job. He couldn’t even get many interviews. He was literally the bottom of his entire college class. The best he could do was finding work selling radio equipment and insurance.
Eventually, in the year 2,000, Peter got into real estate investing. But when Peter first started, he made the mistake of trusting the wrong realtors and contractors. This led to Peter losing roughly $500,000 dollars in 6 months. Two months later, Peter borrowed $250,000 which he lost as well. Unhappy with the results he got from working with random realtors and contractors, Peter stopped relying on external partners and focused on building a strong team around him instead. This would be the change that would transform his business for the better.
Today, Peter is a recognized expert in real estate investing. He’s now a sought-after public speaker, regular radio and podcast small-business guest, and quoted in many real estate industry articles as well.
Peter Vekselman Explains House Flipping and Rent Property Investing
House Flipping
According to Peter Vekselman, house flipping could be a good investment if you are looking for a quick way to make money. It is an active investment, which means you need to exert time and effort in finding, fixing, and flipping properties. It is a good option if you don't have big capital to start because you can quickly recoup the investment after the property is flipped.
Rental Property Investing
Peter said rental property investing is a long-term approach to building wealth, and compares it to a retirement fund. He points out that although rental properties can give you a stable income source, it also place you at risk of maintenance and repair costs, which could affect profits.
Peter also emphasized the importance of building equity in the property over time, even if it doesn't always bring in a lot of cash at the beginning. He advises new investors not to rely on a single rental property to cover all the bills because tenants may leave you anytime.
Peter Vekselman's Advice To New Investors
What's not mentioned in the video: Peter did not mention the ongoing expenses of owning properties (whether for active or passive investment). All properties acquired by the buyer are subject to property taxes, insurances, maintenance costs, and property management fees.
Who is Julie Muse?
Julie Muse is a student of Peter Vekselman. She started real estate investing in 2013. But she struggled to make it work until she joined Peter Vekselman as a student in 2016. Her hard work and persistence made her a top student and she joined the ranks of other real estate professionals. This led to her officially team up with Peter Vekselman as a business partner. Since then, she’s closed over 1,600 real estate deals and generated over $5 million dollars. She’s the main partner on the Default Deals program as well.
What are People Saying About Peter Vekselman Online?
There isn’t too much talk about Peter Veksleman online. A quick review of his Instagram or Twitter shows people aren’t chatting on them much at all. Twitter, in particular, was lacking in discussion despite regular updates from Peter and his team. Instagram was interesting because most of his posts have zero comments. But a few posts here and there had some people talking. However, many of these posts are bot-like and usually reference some other Instagram account:
I dove a bit deeper and noticed the majority of these accounts had only one post on them. This further suggests that we can’t go off Peter’s social media to see what people really think about him. Unfortunately, searching Reddit didn’t reveal anything either since nobody was talking about Peter Venkelman there. But I did find a thread on Bigger Pockets with some students talking about an older program from Peter:
“Joey E. complained about bad customer service from a sales rep named Scott.”
“Justin M. complained that Peter didn’t bother trying to persuade him to join the program. Instead, Peter presented the program’s details with no attempts at persuasion. And when Justin said no, he promptly ended the sales call.”
There were also some complaints on the Better Business Bureau as well:
“This client was unable to get a $1,000 deposit back after learning the program cost more than expected. Plus, the first home he found was rejected as a good house flip. So overall, a bad initial experience with Peter’s program.”
“This student had software issues but couldn’t get any helpful customer service to resolve it.”
Overall, people complained about poor customer service, inappropriate charges, and rudeness from Peter during sales calls. However, there were a couple good comments as well:
“Matt, a sales director for Peter, did 3 deals in 4 months, which is nearly one deal per month.”
“Jamal King got 2 deals working with Peter”
“Justin left the program with no results but was satisfied because Peter fulfilled his end of the deal completely.”
Is Peter Vekselman a Scam or Legit?
No, Peter Vekselman is likely not a scam. Despite a few questionable deposit situations and weak customer service in some instances, it’s not enough to say “scam.” At the end of the day, Peter provides legitimate training, has a strong history with real estate, and provides realistic results with his latest program, Default Deals.
What is Default Deals?
Default Deals is wholesale real estate training designed to help you find and profit from default driven deals. By focusing on default properties, you’ll find more motivated sellers who are eager to quickly sell their property, which will mean quicker profits for you.
Name
Default Deals
Summary
Wholesale real estate investment training focused on finding and closing real estate deals for default properties
Price
$97
Refund Policy
30 Day money-back guarantee
Origin
June 2020
Reputation
Not much discussion about it online so little reputation. However, there are a few articles about Default Deals that typically say the program is worth checking out.
Website
Who is Default Deals For?
- New real estate investors. The program is simple and well-structured. If you don’t have any experience with real estate, you’ll get the foundation you need to begin your real estate journey.
- Experienced real estate investors. If you’re already a bit experienced with real estate, you may appreciate all the templates and scripts which can streamline your process and make your life easier (worth it considering the low price).
How Do You Make Money With Default Deals?
Default Deals uses a traditional real estate wholesaling process. With normal wholesaling, the process looks like this:
- Find a distressed property with a motivated seller (e.g. pre-foreclosures, tenant defaults, mortgage default, etc.)
- Negotiate a contract that states the cost to sell the house at (this allows you to sell the home on the buyer’s behalf)
- Find a suitable buyer for the property
- Negotiate with the buyer to get your “finder’s fee”
- Assign the contract to said buyer
- Close the deal by getting both the seller and buyer to sign the contract
Source: The Balance
Essentially, you work as a middleman. Your goal is to focus your real estate efforts on people who need help NOW. These people usually have a problem like a pre-foreclosure and the bank is already in the process of taking their home away from them. These types of deals Peter calls “Default Deals.” This is opposed to people who simply want to sell their home but have no immediate or significant reason to sell their homes (e.g. people who want to move to a nicer home, or want to travel and don’t need their home any more).
These people are in urgent need of help with their property but don’t know what to do. Your job is to come in and help them get the cash they need now by selling their property to an interested buyer. The idea is that you can help them with their dire money needs and get compensation in the process. On average, most wholesalers make about $5,000-$10,000 per month. So you’d need about 2-3 deals per month to make a decent living.
What Does Default Deals Come With?
The Default Deals program comes with 5 training modules. Additionally, it also comes with several scripts, templates, contracts, and more, to streamline your training and make your real estate goals easier to accomplish.
Discover what you’ll be learning about in the Default Deals training program.
Learn the 3 types of default deals and how to find and reach these real estate deals as well.
Learn how to structure the best default deals as a beginner or a pro. This module has 5 training videos to maximize your success with deal structuring.
Learn the keys to proper negotiation by focusing on first impressions, using clever negotiating tactics, and knowing the pros and cons to any default deal you find.
Get a “best practices” summary, learn the most common deal-killing mistakes (and how to avoid them), and get key take-aways to become a Default Deals master.
Plus, you’ll also get:
Do Students of Default Deals Actually Make Money?
Yes, the students of Default Deals do make money. The Default Deals sales video shares a few of his successful students and their profits. What’s nice is the amount of money they make is in line with what most real estate wholesalers are reported to make (which is in the $5,000 - $10,000 range). This adds credibility to the program and makes it more believable. Take a look below to see them:
Risks Involved With Wholesale Real Estate?
Wholesale real estate has 3 major concerns you should be aware of. The first is unstable income. There may be moments where your pipeline dries up and you can’t find any buyers. This could seriously impact your income if you decide to do this full-time. Secondly, according to Mashvisor (experts in real estate investing), beginners usually only have a 50% success rate with wholesale real estate investing. So you’ll need to invest some time practicing before you can consistently turn this into a business that replaces your current job.
And third, finding real estate deals isn't the same as finding “good” real estate deals. Not every deal will be on the upper end of profitability (usually in the $10,000 range). You may end up with months where you can only find one deal and it’s only worth about $3,000. That’s a big difference and can drastically affect your financial stability. For this reason, it might make more sense to only use wholesale real estate as a side-income rather than a full-time business. Alternatively, having a year’s worth of living expenses can also offset this issue.
Is Wholesale Real Estate Still Relevant in 2022?
Yes, wholesale real estate is still relevant and profitable. With enough consistency and effort, wholesale real estate works for most people - despite the occasional slow months. It also serves as a good entry way into house-flipping, which requires capital, experience, and time to make work. Additionally, you’ll learn about lead generation and negotiation in the process, which are critical skills in any business you pursue as well. Overall, wholesale real estate is perfect if you’re interested in an offline business model.
By the way, if you’re curious about another real estate investing program then check out our review of Phil Pustejovsky’s Freedom Mentors. Or you can see Chris Chico's Flip Anywhere Real Estate house flipping course review instead.Conclusion
If you’re looking for a simple and affordable way to get into real estate investing, the Default Deals training is a good way to go. It’s only $97 but provides a clear and easy-to-follow framework to get you started. You can literally start profiting from this program in just a few weeks (with luck and hard work).
However, keep in mind that it requires constant marketing and networking. You can’t afford to not have a pipeline of potential deals on hand or you’ll quickly lose consistency in your profits. There will also be some months where you only get smaller deals, leading to a fluctuating income and instability. However, having enough savings or a steady job on the side can help nullify this issue.
Why Local Lead Generation Provides More Stability Than Wholesale Real Estate
Wholesale real estate is a decent business if you want a tangible investment. However, this business requires you to go out and meet people, manage renovation works, and sell houses. There's good income potential here, wholesale real estate investors in California make around $50K per year. However, there are lots of risks involved in this business. When the market is weak, you may struggle to find buyers who will purchase the property at your desired price. There are also legal risks in this business. Although this business is legal in all 50 states in the U.S., there are strict regulations in place for unlicensed wholesalers.
Wholesaling real estate is also not a reliable and stable income source. You can only earn so much per deal and you can only handle so many deals per month. The average income for a real estate wholesaler is only around $5,000 to $10,000 monthly.
Despite being a good income source, wholesale real estate investing still won't compare to becoming a digital landlord. My recommended business model is called local lead generation. This biz builds digital properties and ranks them on Google. The goal is to build many digital properties and earn passive income from them.
Wholesale real estate deals only make money once, but digital properties generate income for months, even years. With traditional real estate, you need to constantly find properties you can flip. But in local lead generation, once the site is ranked, it stays ranked for a while.
You create a basic website that you “rent” out to a business who can use it. Then they collect leads from it every month. And so long as that business keeps getting leads, you’ll keep getting paid for generating those leads. That’s a consistent, stable income all coming from a simple website you made.
From my experience, one website makes around $500 - $1,500 per month. And I have over 80 of these websites on “loan” to businesses out there. So can you imagine what having just 3-5 can do for you? It's as close to true passive income as any person can get. If you’re interested in seeing how you can do the same thing as me (and trust me, if I can do it, then anybody can), then take a moment to learn more about Local Lead Generation today.
