are the gurus overpriced?

General Real Estate Investing
1

I see a lot of courses out there from the 67.00 ebook to the 1.4k home study course.

I know that you get what you pay for but was wondering what everyones opinion these courses were.

do you really get that much more information out of a 700.00 to 1.5k course on say… wholesaling?

do you get enough to do the business or just enough to realize what you don’t know?

it seems that many times the courses tell you in very vague terms what you need to do … but little help in teaching you exactly how to do it.

any thoughts on this?

2

Some courses are and some are not! It is truly about content. Some courses spend a lot of money on packaging and glossy frills but have little usable content. Then there are some courses that have no frills but are rich with content.

Personally, I think you can find what you are looking for for under $30

remember, these mystical and magical courses that promise to make you a wealthy real estate investor for 4 easy payments of $69.95 are just books and maybe some tapes!

Take care

3

What exactly are you looking for? a reason to convince yourself not to buy the stuff? It works for some, it doesn’t work for others. Computer books and courses range from $100 to few thousand dollars, so why not real estate?

Supply and Demand… thats all there is to it.

4

drkmn977,

The first thing to know is that there is NOT any secret to real estate investing. When you see “gurus” promising to give you a secret that only the insiders know, RUN FAST AND FAR. THERE IS NO SECRET.

After you realize that truth, then the only reason to buy any educational book, course, bootcamp, mentoring, etc is to gain information. I would suggest that you should get the information at the lowest possible price.

When I wanted to learn to do Sub-to deals, I bought an e-book for about $40. It was excellent and gave me all the information I needed. I have since bought several properties Sub-to. Money well spent.

When I wanted to learn to set-up my own LLCs and Land Trusts, I bought Pat Tarr’s course for about $500. While this was considerably more money than the Sub-to e-book, it was a good value when compared to the cost of having an attorney or one of those entity websites set up the entities for me. They typically charge $300 to $500 (or even more) per entity and I currently have about a dozen total entities. So, even though the course cost $500, it saved me several thousand dollars. Money well spent.

When I wanted to learn to buy and sell notes, I bought Donna Bauer’s Notebuyer’s course for $700. This is a HUGE course packed with detailed information. Within 3 days of buying her course, I bought the notes for 2 properties from a local bank. The rest of the deal was fairly complex, but the bottom line was that within 3 weeks, I made $26,000 from this transaction. Again, money well spent.

If I could have gotten this comprehensive information cheaper, I would have done so. However, these appeared to be the least expensive methods of getting the information I needed.

So, in my opinion, the question is “what information do you need and what is the least expensive method of getting it”?

Mike

5

I can’t say I agree with that. You definitely do not get what you pay for all the time. I have seen $1,500 courses that look great but are empty inside. All sizzle but no substance, in other words.
On the other hand, there are a few nuts and bolts gems available that aren’t glossy and high tech, but are packed with great info and are worth more than you paid.
As always, it’s buyer beware. Do your due diligence before spending your money. Good luck!

6

Most gurus are not real estate professionals. They are marketing people who are good at packaging and selling information. The info is there for all to find without paying an arm and a leg for it. Just be resourceful and motivated

7

Most Gurus are overpriced.

Your money is spent best in marketing.

Unfortunately, you do need to know what to say when the phone rings.

8
Unfortunately, you do need to know what to say when the phone rings.

When the phone rings, I usually say, “Good afternoon, this is Mike” (unless, of course it’s morning). Do you think the gurus say something more profound?

Mike

9

Isn’t economics supply and demand?

If there is a demand for investring, prices goes up. If they cannot find people to buy their courses, prices goes down.

People do not fail because the courses are useless, people fail because the course did not implement itself, follow up, make offers, and close on deals for them.

Gurus claim secrets, and brag how easy the process is because that is what people want to hear. Tell them that they will have to work their ass of, spend all the money they have, and they might become successful, none will buy.

It is all about the fish…

10
When the phone rings, I usually say, "Good afternoon, this is Mike" (unless, of course it's morning). Do you think the gurus say something more profound?

The key here is to listen to what the seller tells you. When I was in grade school we had Choose Your Own Adventure books. These books would say something to the effect of, “If you think the train derailed in the tunnel, turn to page 84” or “If you think Derek reached the emergency break before the tunnel, turn to page 91”. These books were a great example of how to answer real estate calls. Listen to what people say and then respond accordingly. Let them carry you down a comfortable path toward selling you their house. Do not force them into your call script and make them feel like a Caller ID Number.

I am going to cover several keywords to listen to here:

“I am just curious about what kind of offer you are willing to offer.” (Not Motivated)

“When can you come take a look?” (This is a highly motivated person, go for a verbal close and make an appointment to sign the contract.)

“My son lives in the house and we don’t have the tax and insurance money or the heart to kick him out.” (They are frustrated and need your help)

You: We have dealt with this situation many times and understand your dilemma. We will visit the house as property inspectors and we can close the property with him still living inside. (You will subtract $10k from the price for this factor and later you will explain that you will escrow $10k from the closing until the property is vacant.)

My brother lives in the house but is not paying the taxes.

You: Is he on the title?
Them: Yes
You: Does he want to sell?
Them: No
You: What would it take to get him out of the house?
Them: We don’t know, he has stopped talking to us.
You: Do you have his phone number?

Sounds difficult if not impossible, doesn’t it. Here’s what you do.

Call the brother and ask to meet with him. Explain that the taxes are past due and the house is going to go to the highest bidder at the tax auction. Ask him what he needs to get relocated and explain that you are here now, but there won’t be any money after the tax sale because someone else would then own the property. Offer him your attorney’s card as someone he may want to discuss the matter with to get a second opinion. You will have to negotiate with them directly. Offer him a “signing bonus” outside of what the rest of the family is getting so he feels he is getting over on them. ($1,000 to $5,000)

I spent my first $20k on marketing without knowing what to do…and lost it.

My next $10k I turned into over 250 transactions…the difference? Knowledge and systems

Matt

11

Half of these gurus often have their own books published and for sale on Amazon. You can always just get one book and read it. If has the answers you are looking for, follow up on the other books. If it isn’t, then you know they are blowing smoke.

I have to say I have 4 good books so far, all by different authors (some self-acclaimed gurus, and some not) that answers specific areas but in a way, combining all 4 as a puzzle actually has helped me almost answer all the questions I need from start to finish.

12

I can honestly say that I have not purchased a gurus course, but when I was younger I would go to those free workshops when whatever guru was in town, because i wanted to be rich. Never had the money to buy anything, heck didnt have a credit card back then. What it did for me was let me know that you can actaully make money in real estate, and for the most part its pretty simple buy low; sell high…or at least thats what everyone would make it seem.

I have friends that attend seminars and buy courses all the time, these are guys that buy 50 - 100 properties every year, and have been in real estate for a long time. I still dont have to buy the courses, because these guys are in my mastermind group. They tell me that if they can pick up ONE good thing, and more importantly impliment that one thing, normally they say their ROI is very good. Take for instance, knowing where to buy easy to install interchangable locks for rental properties; one buddy said that alone, because he didnt know about the locks saved him $75 a month in locksmith fees.

One marketing tip, just one lousy suggestion or different way of doing your marketing can pay off HUGE, then the price really wouldnt matter as much.

I understand the sticker shock because sometimes I just wonder how the heck these guys sell information for that much money.

13

b18bgone, You don’t HAVE to pay a lot of money for “gurus”. I’ve only bought one coure so far. I bought the Carleton Sheets course with the “toolkit” CD on ebay for $40. Its got a lot of useful basic information. I’ve learned a lot. The “toolkit” CD alone was worth the money. It has all the forms you’ll need from rental agreements to purchase contracts. You can download them on your computer, edit and print them out. It make things very neat and organized. It even has software that organizes your properties. You can also spend about $100 - $300 on about 15 books at the bookstore. The “Rich Dad Poor Dad” books are cheap and have some useful financial concepts.
Some other good ones are:

“The Millionare Next Door”
“The Millionare Real Estate Investor” by Gary Keller.
“One minute to Real Estate Riches” by by Michael Rossi (aka Propertymanager). There’s no need to spend thousands of dollars on the same content you can get for MUCH less. You also have your own mentors to help guide you. This site is free!