Why I Chose Real Estate, Peter Pfann's journey in Real Estate.
In 5 words, the reason why I am passionate about Real Estate in Victoria for the past 25 years and for many years to come is........Real Estate Offers Pfanntastic Opportunities.
One could say (and in our family they did) that I was born into the Book Business..... seriously, 
not kidding.
As the story goes; I came into the world "at home" during what was the busiest time in our families book business season and that my mom was surrounded by books on her bed....
You will just have to trust me on this one as there are no pictures, at that time "that was not done"........
However there is a picture here of our business logo at the time, The business was called (translated) "The Bookworm" .
Did I mention that I was born in Hilversum Holland (the Netherlands officially).
Being the youngest of 7 kids, assisting and helping out in the business was the norm, with 10 stores in the bookworm chain, and a good number of properties to look after, it was all hands on deck for everybody in the family business.
The memories from my Dad are few but fond ones as a stern, yet fair man that was really busy, who loved music, good food, life and the art of making deals...Even today I use two of his common sayings, which you may enjoy....
- If my Dad really liked you, he would say........ I wish you a lot of "Taxes"....
- If my Dad really did Not like you, he would say........ I wish you a lot of "Employees."
My best memory of my Dad is, the day that he took me for lunch at his favourite French Cheese restaurant near one of his stores in Amsterdam ........ I ate the weirdest looking and nastiest smelling cheeses ever, but we had a great time..
My Mother, the best Grandmother I have ever come across, was a very smart and caring Mom who always wanted to make everybody happy, in our family and in the business.
The best memory I have from my Mom, at the time married to ex 1st. wife. is my Mom holding my son Stephen as a baby, not long before she passed.
My Mom ran the business together with my oldest brother, I bought the store in my original home from the family, and subsequently bought the building, renovated and converted it to 3 suites & 2 businesses.
We sold the business in preparations for the big move to Vancouver, BC Canada, in 1986, and continued to own the building for a number of years after the move.....
The plan was to start a mail order business with ... You guessed it) selling books, and to participate with EXPO 1986 in Vancouver, however a taxing issue delayed our plans at the time and one night I watched a TV Infomercial ..........
You will remember these.......One of the many No Money Down Real Estate Quick Rich Seminars...... well, not knowing any better, I went, signed up for the full seminar, bought all the books and tapes and Tom Vu , yes him,..... is thanking me still....
Okay, thinking that I knew everything there was to know about getting rich in Real Estate, I went to do a bunch of no money down deals ....... wrong.
Tried and tried and tried some more, but their scheme was exactly that, a scheme and a scam (and they got me)..... However and here the story becomes a Real Estate roller coaster....
Even though the quick rich scheme was really a scam, it did bring me the passion for Real Estate and the opportunity I was looking for.. the Rest is history so to speak.
I became so passionate about real estate, serving the people, the industry and how it offers amazing
opportunities for so many in so many ways that,
Even before registered for the Real Estate licensing course, I met 2 Japanese gentlemen who introduced us to a large Japanese investment corporation and they bought 2 "big " apartment buildings with our services as their consultants.
So my 1 st. two Sales in Real Estate totaled at a whopping $ 12,000,000 in 1987 Dollars.......the lessons I learned during the process of selling these 2 buildings are still being used today.
In reflection, my experiences in Holland and since have guided and supported my now 25+ year passion for Real Estate as follows :
- Growing up in and eventually operating a successful book business.
- The incredible deal making by my Dad during his life.
- Buying, renovating and converting a large building and selling it.
- Moving to Canada, with all the steps and challenges involved.
- Preparing, creating marketing models and run a number of businesses.
- Recruited, trained, managed and coached 100's of Realtors and employees.
- Having to restart life and finances after a very expensive divorce.
- (now 25+ year ) involvement in Real Estate, Buying, Selling Investing, Renovating and most importantly assisting hundreds of clients and friends successfully over the years.
Meeting people and resolving their real estate challenges and concerns, is still a very exciting, rewarding and invigorating world that has so many different aspects to it that it inspires me each and every day to, read more, study more, explore more, and find solutions and resolutions for our clients in a way that they benefit from and we are proud of ...
Linda and I married in 2007 and we have worked together in Real Estate from the word go, and she is the most Pfanntastic Partner to work and live with.
In conclusion and as I started out stating;
The main reason why I am in Real Estate, is:
The Pfanntastic Opportunities Real Estate Offers People.
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