Mentors/Coaches

[Real Estate Seller]

Snake oil books only give you just enough to get you interested in real estate. All the late night snake oil salesmen want is for you to buy their  course and make a million dollars.

[the maestro]

kallen, thanks for the kind words regarding my wholesale coaching program (I'm Andrew...)!  I sincerely appreciate it.

With that being said, I honestly believe that "investing" into a mentor is the smartest way to start.  When I started in this biz, the first thing I thought to myself was, "I need someone to teach me how to do this."  And, before I did anything, I hired a mentor. 

I used the term "invest" because that is exactly what it is.  It's not a cost.  Your phone bill is a cost.  Coaching is an investment because it provides a return.  And, in most cases, if you follow the advice of your coach, it provides a huge return.  A ton of my students attempted to go it alone.  The reason is that they thought the money they put into coaching could be better invested into their business.  But, in reality, they are really wasting that money because they have no idea what to do.  It's all trial-and-error, where a coach can tell you exactly what works.

A good mentor/coach will cut your learning curve immensely.  Without coaching, IMO, you're in a non-stop, perpetual learning curve.  But, with one, you are on a fast track.  There is no book, course, video or software program that can prepare you for success in this business.  Those things need to be in addition to your coaching... not instead of.

[QuintanillaJon]

Any good mentor recommendations then? I know someone said some before, but I would like some more confirmation on their prowess.

[kelle711]

kallen, thanks for the kind words regarding my wholesale coaching program (I'm Andrew...)!  I sincerely appreciate it.

With that being said, I honestly believe that "investing" into a mentor is the smartest way to start.  When I started in this biz, the first thing I thought to myself was, "I need someone to teach me how to do this."  And, before I did anything, I hired a mentor. 

I used the term "invest" because that is exactly what it is.  It's not a cost.  Your phone bill is a cost.  Coaching is an investment because it provides a return.  And, in most cases, if you follow the advice of your coach, it provides a huge return.  A ton of my students attempted to go it alone.  The reason is that they thought the money they put into coaching could be better invested into their business.  But, in reality, they are really wasting that money because they have no idea what to do.  It's all trial-and-error, where a coach can tell you exactly what works.

A good mentor/coach will cut your learning curve immensely.  Without coaching, IMO, you're in a non-stop, perpetual learning curve.  But, with one, you are on a fast track.  There is no book, course, video or software program that can prepare you for success in this business.  Those things need to be in addition to your coaching... not instead of.

So if you were just starting out with limited funds, you would spend it on a mentor instead of on actually trying to make some money? Don't get me wrong, I think having a mentor is a huge plus, but is it really a requirement for success? There is so much free advice, that a dilligent invidual can put together enough information to at least start generating an income.

I remember my first REI club meeting I went to, I spoke with another newbie (1 year, 3 deals) who told me I could not get started in investing without taking a course. So I asked what was the most important or relevant thing he had learned from his courses. He could not tell me and got upset when I pressed the issue. It seemed the most important thing he had learned in his course was that you had to take a course. Now I am not knocking education, courses, mentors or any of those things, more the idea that without them, you can't possibly succeed. Having a mentor makes things easier but not having one should not be a reason to sit on the sidelines and wait. You might never get enough money saved to pay for a mentor and pay for running your business. Unless mentors are willing to start giving student loans.

[the maestro]

Nothing is an absolute must.  However, I just think it's smart.  Coaching is on-the-job training.  It's not some course or DVD where you have no one to go to with questions.  My program is designed to be a structured progression.  Where, for the first 4 weeks, you're learning, and growing, and experiencing and progressing.  Until, we get to a point where all the student is doing is submitting leads for review, and also questions.  In addition, coaching is flexible to the student and their market.  Books and courses are not.

What good does it do to invest $300 in 100 bandit signs, if you have no idea what to put on your bandit signs so they convert, or what to do if someone actually calls you?  That's wasted money!  What good does it do to have leads if you have no idea how to qualify them?  What good does it do to qualify leads if you don't know what to offer?  What about using the right contracts and legal documents?  What about negotiating?  Marketing?  Outsourcing marketing and leads? 

Going it alone = the slow, trial and error and frustrating track to your goal   

Hiring a mentor = the fast track to your goal   

[kelle711]

Nothing is an absolute must.  However, I just think it's smart.  Coaching is on-the-job training.  It's not some course or DVD where you have no one to go to with questions.  My program is designed to be a structured progression.  Where, for the first 4 weeks, you're learning, and growing, and experiencing and progressing.  Until, we get to a point where all the student is doing is submitting leads for review, and also questions.  In addition, coaching is flexible to the student and their market.  Books and courses are not.

What good does it do to invest $300 in 100 bandit signs, if you have no idea what to put on your bandit signs so they convert, or what to do if someone actually calls you?  That's wasted money!  What good does it do to have leads if you have no idea how to qualify them?  What good does it do to qualify leads if you don't know what to offer?  What about using the right contracts and legal documents?  What about negotiating?  Marketing?  Outsourcing marketing and leads? 

Going it alone = the slow, trial and error and frustrating track to your goal   

Hiring a mentor = the fast track to your goal   

See, this is what I am talking about. Getting a mentor is smart, right? And if you can't afford a mentor, because mentors ain't cheap, then what do you do? Cause the way you make it sound, trying to learn on your own is stupid. And that is the propaganda every mentoring service I have ever heard of tries to feed us newbies: "You can't do it on your own, even trying is stupid. If you are smart you will pay me to give you information you can find yourself for FREE!"

I found the answers to all those questions on the internet and by asking fellow investors at my rei clubs and on forums like these, contracts, marketing strategies, investing strategies, how to qualify a deal, all of it, without paying a dime, for FREE!

Also, I have a team of experienced people that I work with i.e. real estate agent, re lawyer, a private lender, ect. I find a way to provide value for them and they are happy to share their advice and experience with me. For FREE!

As for slow, I got my first deal within 2 months of starting mailing and made $6k. Granted, that was 2 months ago, and since then I have not gotten another deal yet, and I did lose a deal to another investor that the advice of a mentor maybe could have helped me save. However, if I had waited until I had the $1000 a month or more to pay a mentor, I would not have made $6000 after less than 2 months. Instead I would still be waiting. And waiting. And waiting.

As I have said before, I see true value in having a mentor, and I am sure the path to success is much smoothed by having that ready source of advice. However, a mentor is NOT a prerequisite to getting started in this business. Properly educating yourself, developing your business plan and operating model, figuring out how to make the most of the resources you have and taking action is how you get started. Goal set. Plan. Execute. No mentor required.

[the maestro]

I certainly would never say any act or decision is stupid.  Again, to me, it's just a smart investment.  Sure, you may flip a house or two on your own.  But, in the long run, I think the benefit way outweighs the risk.  Just my two cents.

Oh, and from my experience, if you don't have money to invest in a coach/mentor, you probably don't have the money to invest in your business.  Maybe at first.  But, that shoe string budget will be gone soon. 

[kelle711]

Oh, and from my experience, if you don't have money to invest in a coach/mentor, you probably don't have the money to invest in your business.  Maybe at first.  But, that shoe string budget will be gone soon. 

And there that message is again, if you don't have a mentor, don't even bother to try.

Hey, you know what? I ain't mad at you. You got your own product to sell; if you didn't believe the hype, how would you be able to sell it to others?

In the meantime, I will just keeping muddling along, mentorless and hopeless, on my shoe string budget, with nothing but my own wits and resourcefulness to stand between me and sure mentorless business disaster. Oh, the humanity!

[justin0419]

Hang in there kelle711.  My net worth has increased several hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past few years all without the help of a paid mentor. 

[kdhastedt]

Hang in there kelle711.  My net worth has increased several hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past few years all without the help of a paid mentor. 

Yeah, but you're not selling mentoring...!

Keith

[satarnag]

I am so sorry for overlooking this thread. As you can see, I joined in June 2006. I know about real estate investing. Here is my story:

In early 2005, I was watching an infomercial on how to buy homes with no money. Curious, I went to my local book store and read almost everything about real estate investing. I then joined a local real estate investing club and met people who paid a lot of money for their courses. I borrowed their stuff and learned those as well. Through all my training, real estate investing is basically finding a seller and then finding a buyer and putting the two together to make money. Well, I decided to get a real estate license because now I can do that without jumping through hoops. Also, all my training was to convince the seller that their property was worthless and to convince the buyer that the property was valuable and I thought I could still make money by being honest. Well, I got licensed in Feb 2006 as a real estate broker in CA. The market tanked in May of 2006 in my area. I was a fish in water as no one knew about short sales.

Now to answer some questions:
1. yes, you can buy a property with no money. Properties have two aspects, one is a loan and one is title. You can take title to a property without dealing with the loan. You can also control a property without spending more than a dollar and then selling the rights to purchase that property to another person. My first deal was a condo in San Diego that I picked up for a dollar.

2. Mentors are a waste of money. Knowledge is great, but APPLIED knowledge is what counts. Also, a true mentor will not collect money from you upfront. Instead, they will teach you what they know and work on a split on your first few transactions.

3. Books are a great resource. Even two books on the same subject as each book will give you an idea. I also suggest real estate websites, like this one, where you can discuss strategy. 

[justin0419]

Mentors are a waste of money. Knowledge is great, but APPLIED knowledge is what counts.  

Rut-ro!  Unleash the wrath of the mentors... 

[dukefan2014]

Andrew Massaro, Cris Chico, Alex Joungblood, and Sean Terry are prolific and successful wholesalers who offer coaching programs that are MUCH CHEAPER than $25K.

So true. These people are great coaches (and much cheaper than $25k.) I know Sean Terry is $500 per month I think but is usually booked. Not sure what the others charge but $25k is waaaaay too much.

[kelle711]

$500 per month is half my marketing budget.

[dukefan2014]

That is extremely cheap compared to the value that you get and compared to what everyone else is charging.