Has anyone here heard of Del Walmsley’s radio show? He comes on “Biz Radio” AM on Dallas and in Houston. He claims that something like 1/2 of the apartment complexes in Houston are owned by people who participate in his program. Hmm. Well, anyway, he shares a lot good real estate secrets on his daily broadcast from 2pm-3pm - and he tends to say Robert Kiyosaki, Carleton Sheets, Robert Allen, etc all teach outdated stuff and should be watched out for - so I’ve thought…hmm…this guy sounds like he’s a down to earth, realistic real estate advisor. Note: The odd thing is that Robert, if you actually read his books, rarely teaches anything about real estate. The couple of Rich Dad books on real estate were actually written by someone OTHER than Robert, and clearly say that. Anyway - today a caller asks him about his consulting / training fees…which range from $500 on up to $20,000. $20 grand. Good lord. Once I Heard this, my scam alarm starting going off. You could tell that Del didn’t even want this fellow to mention his fees… Even if you have 20 grand to spend…what a waste. It’s interesting to see that this guy who preaches he’s ‘out to help others’ appears to make a lot of his money from real estate training. WHat do you guys think?
motivatedCEO,
What is there to think? You’ve figured it out. THERE IS NO SECRET! There never has been a secret and there never will be a secret. If the “CEO” part of your name means that you’ve run a successful business, then you already know basic business principals. All you need to learn are the basic principles of rentals and you’ve got it all. This isn’t rocket science and certainly not worth spending $20K on mentoring.
There are all kinds of ridiculous claims out there. There is a radio ad that I hear every day that says you can start a work at home business in which a computer does all the work. You sleep and the money rolls in! RIDICULOUS!
Mike
I think there is a secret but its a secret because its not glamorous and no body wants to hear it.
It’s hard work, and the ability to deal with annoying tennants, oh yeh… you also need to have a place to vent about annoying tennants and that would be this forum.
Just my 2cents.
Wendy
Bingo Wendy! You got it…the secret is hard work, long hours, and commonsense!
The secret to being succcessful in REI is to only work 1/2 days – you can pick the first 12 hours or the 2nd 12!
Keith
Keith,
that seriously made me laugh outloud!! How true!
thanks thats a good way to start my day
Wendy
I am a member of Del’s group. I joined about 2 years ago at the $500 level. I wanted to learn how to do this real estate business. He has a membership at $500 and a level called Challenge that is $5,000 where they hold your hand while you buy single family houses and the Preferred Investor’s group (PIG) at $10,000. The PIGs buy apartments. I don’t know about the $20,000 (unless that is one on one with Del). The $500 provides you with access to the 2 day class which explains how you make money with real estate in Houston. As I always say, all real estate is local so I needed that. He tells you what specific strategy works that is where I found out that in Houston you get 3 bedroom 2 bath with 2 car garage. He also talked about best product best price. Which means fix up the houses and rent them for what the neighborhood rents for. If you listen to any of my post you will find that most of this stuff is based on Del’s teaching. Under his strategy, I put $8,000 to $10,000 down on each I used his vendor’s list and found my mortgage company that does the 90% loan to value that I use now. Associating with those mortgage people, I then found a lawyer that did the owner finance trusts that I use. Talking to him I found some real estate agents that understood investment properties. You get the idea.
And his group does own more than ½ of the small apartments in Houston. That is why I don’t buy apartments. Being in his group did a lot for me, but I don’t trust him any further than I can throw him. He gets them from people who are mismanaging them, gets his people to buy them and fix them up and spend up all their money as they get desperate. Then he steps in and bails them out by finding another team member to buy it.
If you give a person all the techniques that exist in real estate that person will be so confused as to which direction to move in that they don’t do anything. Del provides a concise and specific direction that works and allows you to get started.
It is now 2am in the morning and I cannot sleep after spending 2 worderful and enlightening days in a Del Walmsley seminar. I definitely got my $500 worth this weekend. My wheels are turning and I have so many questions to ask. I spent $500 to become a member (about a month ago) and I was REALLY close to spending $2000 to become a higher level member today…I belive it is the Challenge level.
I was very close to moving up, but I was a little hesitant bc I realize that he has been doing this for 17years and the agents send deals out on a 1st come 1st serve basis so I guess you just have to beat another investor before they make the offer. Are you a member at this level? Do you think it is worth it or should I just get the Quest software and do my own footwork (along with my agents that I have found)? Please help me out on this one, I need a good case for my husband if I plan on spending another $2000. Thanks in advance for your reply.
If you got your $500 worth, then you should be able to get started in the REI business. This is not brain surgery and there isn’t a new “secret” that you need to learn.
I would not spend $2,000 to be on a list of people an agent e-mails deals to. That’s ridiculous. Find a hungry real estate agent that really wants to work. They’ll call or e-mail you with deals for FREE and you won’t be competing against a bunch of other newbies, the majoirty of which will pay way too much for their properties and be out of business in a short period of time.
Good Luck,
Mike
I am only a regular member (by he way they discount the following years drastically). After the 2 day sessions, you really have enough knowledge to do this stuff by yourself. You of course don’t have all the answers, but he has given you enough to get started. My philosophy is like what I saw on the movie Interview with a Vampire. Vampires won’t turn a child into a vampire because they will never grow up but they will live forever. This means they have made a person that can’t take care of himself. He can’t rent a house, can’t buy groceries, can’t get a passport, etc. The same holds true for real estate investing. You can’t stay a child forever, at some point you have to be able to do this yourself. Donald Trump doesn’t have a Challenger membership yet he is doing well with his real estate.
I think that the Quest is a great tool (I can’t invest without it) I use HAR.com and Quest. After about your second deal, the real estate agents will sniff you out and you will get a lot of deals pitched to you. I honestly have never bought a property presented to me by a real estate agent. All have come from my own research.
I suggest you get Quest (they discount the fees Tuesday following the 2 day class) and use HAR to look for deals.
I realize this is an old topic, but was wondering if you are still a member of Lifestyles Unlimited. I’m thinking of joining and am curious if it is worth the $500.
Thanks, John
I am still a member. It is a really good program. I took my son to the 2 day class a couple of months ago because he is going to be graduating from college in a couple of years and I have been telling him my concepts since he can remember but I wanted him to hear it from Del. I think it is good for any person that wants to get rich.
If I will get my son in it you know it is good for anyone.
Hi,
I was a member of Lifestyles for about 5 years. I let my membership lapse when they didn’t respond to my email requesting renewal.
I was a the basic level also and highly recommend it for anyone in our area (Houston).
The two-day seminar is great as are the continuing education and networking opportunities. The vendor list is also excellent as I’ve had great service from the majority of the vendors I’ve used.
No I would not sign up for the $2k level as you need the experience yourself of looking at deals and evaluating them yourself. This is your earnest money and inspection money.
I have never used quest. I just use the hell out of my realtor and she provides viewings and comps on anything I need. I can send you her contact info if you need it.
I might eventually go the PIG level ($10k). This provides the education for purchasing, evaluating and running a multifamily complex. Originally the $10k was repaid thru commission rebate when you did your first multifamily deal using their brokers.
I have paid a lot more for screwups that could have been prevented had I the knowledge than this tuition costs.
Part of thier consulting is also coming in and doing an intervention if you have screwed up your Multifamily deal and need help.
No I don’t trust any guru but I do think Del gives good value at the basic level.
pete
Thanks a lot for the info Bluemoon & pete. Yeah, I’m going to start with the basic level and see what I can do. I have two friends that also want to try real estate investing too. One is a co-worker that gave me the idea, and the other is a long time friend that I didn’t even know was interested. We are in the DFW area, so I don’t know if your realtor can help, pete. But I appreciate the offer.
I went to the free workshop about two weeks ago and liked what I heard. I’m going again this Saturday (6-8) with my wife (so she can hear the presentation) and plan on joining.
It sounds like Lifestyles is good place to get started and this website looks like it has a LOT of good information as well. Again, thanks a lot for the info Bluemoon & pete and I look forward to getting myself educated and participating on this forum. I’m new at this, so there is a lot to learn. Who knows, maybe someday I can help out other people on this forum.
Thanks, John
Thank you to all who replied. I attended the Lifestyles Unlimited two hour sales pitch last week and I am contemplating joining for the basic membership. I currently have one rental property that I ended up with when the market dropped in 2008 and I decided to rent it instead of sell it. I have been happy with renting it but it is not an ideal property (ROI is too low); however, it has wet my appetite to learn more about REI.
I think I will give Del’s 2 day seminar a shot and see how it goes. I have an idea of how the process works but it sounds like a great way to help bring my wife up to speed and for the two of us to prime ourselves for this adventure together.
Web
Del Walmsley has made millions in RE. Now he makes a vast majority of his income from Lifestyles Unlimited. During his two day seminar which is used to upsale you from a $ 500 membership to a $ 18,000 PIG (Preferred Investor Group ) membership he rails against Sec 8 tenants but he has Sec 8 tenants in his apt complexes he often gets drunk after his seminar or other event. Once he ran over a parking stop and hit a chain link fence. He has made promises to his employees concerning their compensation then did not follow thru
Well Deltruth, I don’t know about the personnel issue with Lifestyles but one thing I do know is that in personnel matters you never know unless you know. That means that the employee will say whatever he or she wants to say and the company can’t talk about personnel issues. So you only get the employees side of the situation which means you don’t know what agreements were made or not made.
Now about Del being a “free spirit” Isn’t that all of our goals? We want to be able to make enough money that we do what we want to do. Any service we provide is worth being paid to provide him making money from the mentor business is not a problem. The issue with taking section 8 it is hard to advise people if you have never done it. This makes his mentor service worth more.
Now a commercial for Del. In order to buy apartments no matter what town you are in there are only a few “fat cats” that sell all the apartments that are good deals. The dogs that are left over go on Loopnet. This group will deal with you once you have bought a dog on Loopnet and sell it after the 5 year financing has played out and you take that beating and apply that learning it to your next purchase if you can afford to do it again. What Del did was go through that and he could take is new found knowledge and go about making money leaving everybody else behind to make their own mistakes. But what Del has done is break into that “fat cat” network for us and allow you and me to get in without making mistakes. That is what the $18,000 is for. Paying that allows you to go in and make money without the expensive learning curve. Don’t you agree?