HI, All. I recently joined the AZ Real Estate Investor’s Assoc. At last night’s meeting Scott Scheel was a featured speaker who talked at length about investing in commercial real estate. It was very energizing. At the end of the talk he sold his package of workshops which cost $5000. Have any of you attended any of his workshops and actually benefitted from the experience financially?
It is a lot of money to put out at one time, but maybe it’s worth the investment in later deals, but I really don’t have a clue about this person or his methods. Perhaps there are equally good ways to become educated in this area of real estate without going to one of these workshops. I would love to hear the opinions of any of you.
As an aside, I just completed a deal for my first investment of a single family home. It is obvious to me that the profits in commerical will be vastly larger than single family homes and can be done with fewer transactions over time.
Any advise is greatly appreciated. Also, I’m looking for mentorship if anyone knows of people willing to provide this type of experience for a novice.
Ha. Just my opinion and a word of advice. Give yourself some time to study and do your own research before you lay out that kind of money. I started researching not even 6 months ago and I am amazed at what I know. At this point, I would never consider getting a mentor or advising someone to do so. I’m at the point where I am ready to purchase a couple bldgs in the next month or so.
Read books, read information online, go to RE expos or clubs, get contacts, learn how to analyze the numbers, financial literacy, be creative.
Thank you for the advice, Jordan. I think I have gotten past the itch to sign up. Are there some particular books you would recommend for my reading? I am determined to make this work…and soon!
Bryan
For starters get your hands on Rich Dad Poor Dad - Robert Kyosaki. This was the first book I read and it doesn’t neccesarily get into specifics but it definitely changes the way you think. The rest of his books are more indepth in different areas.
The Book I just read that helped me understand the market cycles, and how to buy and sell bldgs, negotiate, understand the numbers and strategies, designing contracts etc is How to Buy and Sell Apartment Buildings by Eugene Vollucci the First addition 1993. I have learned so much from this book that I am ready to make a transaction soon. I have yet to read the second addition but I hear it is great as well. This Book is a must!!!
Rich dad poor dad is a really inspiring book, but it is a little extreme.
Please, don’t try this one at hone, lol. I would not suggest moving into your car just yet.
As for the 5k program… What nonsense. The only way he made his money is in his seminars. If he was really doing so great, why would he want to share his secrets and create competition?
None of his secrets are really secrets. All of his info is pretty much public info and packaging of other people’s work.
Bryan,
The best lessons you will learn by following your instincts and then doing just what you’re doing. Asking for advice from more seasoned investors.
Keep going in the direction you’re going… Then sell your own courses lolololololol
Let’s just say that Scott has been doing the same presentation for years. Do yourself a favor if you ever see his presentation again, when he shows the images of the checks he received from title companies, see if you can see the date on them or if they have been removed.
Now how many checks do you know are written without a date on them?
So if he can remove the date, what else on that image was altered? Maybe the amounts?
Further, he can use that same presentation year in and year out without actually having to do anything to prove his “techniques” still work in our ever changing market.
I have not personally gotten his product. I can say that I have not heard positive things about his products or courses from those that have.
I concur with educating yourself, go to local REI Clubs and yes, listen to the presenter even if they are selling something as you might glean something useful, but mainly introduce yourself to others and listen to those networking at the back of the room, not seemingly paying attention to the sales pitch at the front of the room. Those are the ones doing deals. You can learn alot from their conversations!
Ha, there is no doubt that Robert Kyosaki has made money off his material, seminars etc. I only suggested RDPD because it is a very inspiring book. It was the book that made me get off my butt and research more. It was almost like a gateway drug. Like I said, it’s not specific, it just makes one think differently. It makes you reflect on your Life and changes it. I would never pay a mentor any type of money to learn and teach me REI, nor would I suggest anyone to. It’s more rewarding and I believe it’s more effective if you research yourself, like I did. Don’t be fooled though, RK has made millions on investments. He owns apartment bldgs/land, invest in oil, gold etc. Look at Donald Trump, sure he has a TV show and that makes him $$$, he wrote books and that has made him $$$. He holds seminars and that makes him $$$ But his true passion is buildings and that is what truely made him wealthy.
Eugene Vollucci’s work has been the most helpful to me. To this day he continues to suppoert the REI world. He studies the market cycles and has a science to it. You need to understand these cycles to become successful. His book has been invaluable to me.
I think his book is great…for him. I don’t think, realistically that most people would do what he did, but his concepts are still great.
Rich dad poor dad was good… his Cash flow Quadrant book was better, in my opinion.
I still believe in the “take a Mentor to Lunch program”, where you pick someone who you admire and either call them or send them a letter telling them how much you admire them and ask them if you could take them to lunch and let them tell you their story.
I noticed the dates being blurred out as well. its even on the check that scott has on his website.
its because he wants you to assume that its recent. It was actually done several years ago. If you think about the whole deal… the numbers don’t add up. He says he bought a 24 unit apartment building for 900k from the seller who also was financed the deal for scott. He was then able to refinance and pull out almost 900k in cash? I dont think so.
A 24 unit apartment building in Cleveland must be worth, tops 1.1 million. That cash out must have either been used to pay off the sellers note that wasn’t secured OR its a fake check. No way a 24 unit apt building in Cleveland is worth close to 2 million.
He probably just used his money to pay off the loan so that he could get a larger check when he refinanced. It would make sense that he pulled out 85% of the value on a refinance.
Scotts numbers dont add up. Plus he doesn’t show closing documents so who knows what that check was for.
Thats probably why almost none of his thousands of students have ever done a deal. check his testimonials. They’re arent many and anyone who has been to scotts seminar knows that there are about 400 people attending each time. he does it about 6 times a year and has sold countless home study course, yet he’s only had 2 or 3 students actually do a deal.
I sat through Scheel’s 90 minute sales pitch during the REI expo in San Francisco. And that’s exactly what it is, 100% sales pitch. I saw two other so called gurus. It seems that they all came from meager lifestyles and became millionares through RE. And yes, Scheel’s pitiful looking dog was up on a couple of his slides. All of their presentations are geared upon sucking as much $$ out of your pocket. They take advantage of your ignorance and desire to be in the business. But I blame no one but myself. I am responsible for my own actions. I admit, I was one of those that bought in. I bought Scheel’s product and opened it that night. The book was typeset with large fonts and double and triple spaced. There’s a part were there are pages and pages of what a contract looks like. There was a lot of white space. Most of the information, I can get for free. The content just didn’t seem like it’s worth the money I paid. As for the dvds, I couldn’t open them unless I agree the refund is void. I returned the notice of cancellation within the 3 day buyers remorse date. I’m hoping they don’t give me the runaround. I still plan to pursue my education in REI. Just not this way.
hello guys, as far as finding investor programs, don’t waste your money…everything you need is for free if you just keep digging…although it may feel like a needle in a haystack without even knowing where the hayfield is, you will eventually find out what you need to know. THis is a great place to find out what you need to know for sure.
I have two questions…first where do I find listings of apartment building foreclosures for free? Second, how do I get my start up money to buy the first apartment building? I look forward to all of your help. THanks
Your reparte was amusing and, oh what a revelation, lol.
The truth is… If you ain’t got the flow you got to Bor-row. There is no revelation or secret there. ANd that stuff about rich open minded investors… Great for late night TV hype.
The real truth is… If you have no money behind you, go get a second job and start saving until you have enough money for down payment, closing costs and things like that.
Broker investors are not investors, they are beggars. I don’t mean this to offend anyone, but you need at least some of your own money to do deals. Even if you do a 100% apartment building loan for example… You still have to come up with hard costs like appraisal and closing costs. You should have at least some money sitting in reserve for emergiencies or unexpected expenses like an AC replacement or repairs.
I’ve been doing this over 15 years and watched so many new investors that were undercapitalized go down the tubes.
Glad u have a good laugh. The truth hurts… The infomercials are saleman who needs to sell their stuff. We are the ones who need to pay bills, expenses, and not to mention coughing up some money just because someone think we are rich.
Is it easier to borrow $ from bank for apt or commercial ?
It is usually easier to borrow from a lender than it is from a bank.
If you have all of your ducks in a row: Full doc, 2 - 3 years income taxes showing profit (can’t have written off profit), business plan etc then a bank can often give you a better deal than a commercial lender, but most of the borrowers that come across don’t have their ducks in a row and some of them don’t even have ducks, lol.
