This may be opening a can of worms… I would like to hear from anyone that has attended Scott’s training seminars and their opinions.
I have read the previous posts that discuss the topic of “no money down commercial techniques” and briefly mention Scott Scheel and others.
However, I am most interested in hearing from people that have actually payed the bucks and attended one of Scott’s training seminars. Is it working for you?
Thanks!
-LA
I’ve actually been to his seminar and Its a complete rip off. I’ll explain why.
He says that he bought a 24 unit apartment building for $918,000 and it was almost entirely seller financed and he borrowed the rest from his family (other peoples money).
He then says that he refinanced it and pulled out $848,000. That means that this 24 unit was worth close to 2 million dollars. That’s enough to pay off the existing loan on the property and give him enough equity to pull that cash out.
NO WAY a 24 unit in Cleveland is worth 2 million. His numbers don’t add up.
His seminar is a bunch of selling. He brings in a lot of people to sell their products (because he gets 50% of the money you spend on products at his seminar).
He’s been teaching for about 3 years. He gives a seminar every other month and has about 400 people at each seminar. Look at his website. he only has about 10 people who’ve actually done a deal. That’s not at all a good success rate. Not to mention that you cant do a deal the way he teaches you to do it. He just teaches what people want to hear so he can fill up 4 days and bring in other people to sell their products.
By the way, 400 people every other month at 5k a pop, thats where he got the 14 million dollars to buy all of the properties he owns.
About a year ago he added to his presentation that on his first deal, he went back to the seller after closing to get 50k in credits. That’s garbage. Once your closed you cant change the deal. But hey, it sells seminars so why not throw it into his sales pitch.
I’ve been following him for a few years and his story keeps changing.
of course, i found all this out after I paid to attend.
There are some great seminars out there on commercial real estate but scotts is NOT one of them.
Ouch… how long ago did you attend?
I’ve been following him for 3 years. I went to his seminar 2 years ago and then reattended last year.
Lots of hype but at the end, I walked out there not knowing what to do. He spent a lot of the time selling and bringing in other speakers to sell their stuff.
There are 2 other speakers who are much better.
Dave Lindahl and Anthony Minnuto are both much better. Here are my reviews…
Dave Lindahl - Good info but only speaks for a total of about 8 hours and the rest is brought in bringing in other people to sell their stuff. This was more like a conference. He owns a lot of real estate and is also a broker. He’s been teaching for a few more years then Scott Scheel but I don’t know exactly how long.
Anthony Minnuto - Best for new investors in the sense that there is no selling at all and the information is start to finish with every detail. Information on both apartment buildings and the mindset to succeed. He spends a lot of time reprogramming your mind for success. Kinda like Rich Dad Poor Dad. Also gives free coaching to students after the seminar.
There is also another guy named Wright Thurston but I haven’t been to any of his trainings.
I do own a 41 unit apartment building and I attribute it to this
70% to Anthony Minnuto (I already knew some on the subject) www.passiveincomerealestate.com
20% to Dave Lindahl (has weak software) www.rementor.com
9% of what I learned on my own
1% to Scott Scheel. www.creativecommercialrealestate.com
I started out trying to read books and reading message boards to learn but that got me some information but not enough to do actually anything with it.
haggs,
I just read Anthony Minnuto’s offering for his 4 day bootcamp. It is almost identical to Scott Scheel’s 4 day workshop offering… the price, the material and all the way down to the guarantees. I can’t help but to think that they know each other from somewhere down the road. Makes me wonder “who learned from who?”
Thanks for your in-depth review. I’m hoping to see something positive posted about Scott, as I am booked for his Las Vegas workshop at the end of this month. Needless to say, your review didn’t make me feel too good about my financial commitment, as I am trying to transition from SFR to commercial investing!
After you go, please come back and let us know what you think. Maybe he’s changed it since I went.
haggs,…and good post LAdreams.
How is the 41 unit going? What was your REI backgroung prior?..just curious?
I started as a rehabber and am looking into commercial/apartments currently.
Not sure if this is the right place to post, but I was intrigued by the post and the responses.
I am always shocked at how high real investors say the expenses are as a percentage of the gross rental income. I am curious to see if you have experienced 45-55% expenses.
I also wonder if those high percentages are a function of low purchase prices for given areas.
For Example, I am in Washington DC and am looking at a vacant building which has a deli on the bottom and 3 upper levels which once rented out will be ideal office space. The total cost with purchase price and rehab would put the deal around $950K.
Gross Rental Income would be $105K per year and I can not immagine how my expenses could come even close to $40K per year…(taxes at $7K). Especially since the upper 3 rentable levels will be all new. Also, it seems that doing Triple Net leases would pass along a ton of those expenses to the tenants. Also, the building is relatively small…at only 4400 sq. ft…which is like a decent sized house.
I am wondering if the 45%-55% expense numbers are mostly for residential.
Best of Success to you guys.
Chip
It’s going very well. Not as difficult as I though it would be. I have a property manager who does all the work but I keep a close eye on everything because I’m still learning.
My background is as a residual investor.
If You want a no sales event type of intro to see if its something you even like without putting out the big bucks check this out! These guys are doing some amazing multi million dollar deals and closed on several with more in the works. I attended there one day and they really know there stuff, hands on and very real!
The link that you provided is a dead link. Please repost it.
Thanks!
-LA
Now that I have spent this past weekend at Scott’s Commercial Property Academy, I feel qualified to state my opinion.
I spent this past weekend in Las Vegas with 600+ other Investors that are either already involved in commercial r.e. investing or looking to get started with it.
Scott’s material is complete and his presentation is excellent. He makes this r.e. cram course an event! Needless to say, the networking opportunities were amazing.
My expertise has been preforeclosure SFR short sales and I am going to drop it for commercial investing.
I started the seminar with “zero” commercial exposure and I now feel qualified enough to approach the industry. Scott’s deal analyzation software is amazing and I know that with a little practice I will be prepared to “go for it”.
It’s true that he has a few other people pitching their programs, however, they provide information that is needed by most people (Asset protection, Money Brokers, etc.). If you don’t want to hear the pitch you can take a break and leave the room.
Another appealing aspect is that Scott is a sincere “people person” that understands the priority of family and well being. His staff is well versed in Scott’s investing techniques and is available for, included, consultation to help everyone after they go home from the seminar and start to flounder with the program.
Enough said… I give him a big thumbs up. I consider the 4 day seminar to be money well spent.
One last note… if you are not sure if commercial r.e. investing is what you want to do, spend the $19.95 to go to the class mentioned in the previous post/link. However, if you know that you want to start commercial investing, spend the $5K and attend the 4 day class. Honestly, 4 full days is barely enough to teach you the basics, but enough to face you in the right direction and get you to ask the right questions.
-LA
well, i’m glad to see that he’s reduced the number of other speakers coming in to sell their stuff. I guess too many people complained.
But the only measure of if its worth it is if it results in you actually buying a commercial property because of what you learned there.
good luck.
I’m in the process of sealing a deal, as I am writing this message.
Thank you,
-LA
actually he doesn’t need to invest in RE anymore, one 3-day seminar brings him $3,000,000 (600X5k)
Actually, he has many of his students bringing deals to him to form partnerships. Combine that with the seminars and it creates a great business model to follow!
-LA
snipers is right. that is where Scott gets the “other peoples money” to buy real estate. You give him 5k, and he buys real estate with it. You are the other people.
Still works for me!
Judging be all of the people that I spoke with at the seminar in Vegas, they think that it was worth the money spent.
Also, keep in mind that out of the 600+ people in attendance, most were there with partners that were admitted for free. That basically cuts the revenue in half. Others were repeat attendees that paid $500 to attend for a second or third tme, further reducing the revenue. Personally, I think that he deserves the reward for the empire that he has built.
I have written my last thought on this subject and appreciate all of the comments to this post. Now it’s time for me to start making some serious bucks with the knowledge that I gained from the seminar. As mentioned before, I am working on my first commercial deal, only a couple of weeks after the LV seminar. When it goes through, I just replaced my annual corporate salary with positive cash flow from the deal.
No stopping me now!
-LA
all that matters is that you close. anyone can make an offer but when it comes right down to it, there are several steps (like acquisition funds) that have to happen before the property is yours.
Please come back and post after you close.
Larry, did you close on your first deal yet?