Mentors/Coaches

Bird Dogs, Wholesaling
21

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.

22

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.

23

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!

24

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.

25

Yeah, but you’re not selling mentoring…!

Keith

26

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.

27

Rut-ro! Unleash the wrath of the mentors… :rolleyes

28

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.

29

$500 per month is half my marketing budget.

30

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

31

Here’s my problem with mentors. Knowledge is great, but applied knowledge gets you paid. I can charge you $500/month but if I do nothing to get you rich, then you are basically throwing your money away. Instead, I would not even charge you. What I would do is look over any potential properties you have found and work with you on the best way to profit from them for a hefty portion of the spread. We will continue to do this until you are able to utilize every investment strategy available and negotiate a higher cut or just leave the relationship all together. That way, there is no risk in losing your money and your motivation to learn determines your wealth.

Let’s face it, real estate investing is finding sellers willing to sell and buyers willing to buy. You find the sellers, regardless of their situation, and I will find a way to profit from the transaction.

32

satarnag, let me know how that goes for you. Look, I’ve been coaching and mentoring for five years now. And, in those five years, I’ve tweaked and changed my program many times. I’ve done a down payment with monthly payments. I’ve done no down payment and only monthly payments. I’ve done a flat, one-time payment. I’ve done profit splits. And, I’ve even done free coaching for a split of the deals, when a person has sent me an email the length of War and Piece, saying how they don’t have money but only need an opportunity.

I’ve tested it all.

From my experience, when a student has nothing invested, they have nothing to lose. That means that when they feel like quitting (and let’s face it, everyone feels that way at some point), they do. Why? Because they have no skin in the game. Nothing invested = easy to quit.

Also from my experience, if a person doesn’t have money to invest in coaching, then they probably don’t have money to invest in their business. If you have to choose between investing $400 a month in coaching, vs advertising, then you are not giving yourself the best chance to succeed. With that being said, I understand that coaching is not a necessity. However, it has always proven itself to me as a smart investment.

I had a coach and I know that I would not be where I am today without him. In addition, I continue to have coaches. Not in real estate, but in other ventures. Coaches and mentors, IMO, are invaluable. But, all coaches aren’t the same. You need to do your due diligence and research when choosing one. More often than not, your top wholesalers/investors are not your best coaches. I can use any number of sports examples if you need it…

And one more point. Your description of flipping houses is absurdly basic and simple. What you left out was all the ways to find the deals (marketing that converts), negotiating with sellers, using the correct contracts so as to protect you, negotiating with buyers, pulling comps and determining ARV, determining what to offer, extending a low ball offer and getting it accepted, assigning or double-closing, working with title companies, collecting deposits, and using the most effective tools and resources to manage your business.

Explaining wholesaling as basically just brokering a deal between a buyer and seller is telling about 5% of the actual story.

Look, if there wasn’t a market for coaching, I’d be in a different business. But, there is. And it’s not because this business is easy to learn on your own. Everyone has different mindsets, intelligence and ways they learn. Some people can learn to play the piano just by watching someone else do it. But, those people probably make up less than 1% of the population.

For everyone else… we need to be taught how to do it.

33

Great comment Maestro. I agree that coaching is not an absolute necessity but it definitely helps a ton and can obliterate the learning curve of wholesaling. Having a coach has definitely proven to get someone to their first deal much quicker than not having a coach.

A coach cannot guarantee you success but they do help a ton. You definitely need an undeniable sense of motivation on top of anything to succeed in this business. It’s both YOU and THE COACH that is going to make you successful. There is NO success without the YOU part of the equation.

I for one, did not go the coaching route. It’s not that I didn’t have the money (I’m sure I could’ve scrounged up a few thousand for fees if I truly wanted) its just that, at the time, I thought I could do it alone and save money.

Looking back now, a coach would have propelled me and got my business started a lot quicker and a lot more efficiently by cutting down the learning curve. In my opinion, if you have the money to hire a decent coach (only after doing your due diligence) you should definitely pursue it, as they can add HUGE value to you as an REI.

34

And if you don’t have the money to hire a coach but only have enough to start your business, do you wait until you have enough for both, or do you go ahead and get started?

35

It will depend on how much money you are starting with.

36

You get started NOW! If you wait until the “perfect” moment to get started, you’ll be waiting for a lifetime. There is no perfect moment.

Do anything and everything you can do now to get started. If that means networking with like minded individuals that do what you want to do, then do that. If it means contacting a few potential sellers with the hopes of learning the art of talking to the seller, then do that.

Just do something to get started. You don’t have to know how it’s all going to work out in the end. But you do have to start somewhere.

So think of what your ultimate goal is. Then, start with something small, and then build on that everyday. Each day, do something that moves you toward your end goal, and you will eventually get there.

37

I see no difference between a new real estate agent that joins my brokerage or a new person interested in investing. Those motivated enough to learn, will do so. The skin in the game is their motivation. As a senior person, the less experienced but highly motivated the individual is, the more profitable it becomes.

As a new agent, I wouldn’t pay anything to learn, I expect that if the senior person is worth their weight in gold, then they will take me under their wing and we enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship.

38

I have seen over the years 85% of mentors always leave out the part how to do a double closing, provide a title company info that will do a double closing, assignments, subject2. We always tell new comers tell the mentor I have no problem paying for your services but on the first deal I will look over your shoulder and watch you complete the first deal and always ask the mentor which title company do you used to do double closing and if the mentor spit out the name move forward but if the mentor look to the sky or fail to answer your question you need to hold your wallet and run.

39

Wow! That is shocking to me. I mean, how can a coach/mentor leave out the closing process? That’s as integral a process as anything there is. I have a relationship with several national title companies, that are investor-friendly and routinely engage in double-closes.

40

check out sean terry on itunes podcast, very good stuff