Has anyone had any good/bad experiences with online coaching programs?

Question

I'm just starting out and think I can benefit from a good mentor/coach. Looking at WNN Properties now. Has anyone had experience with them or others? Thanks.

Corby Goade · Answer

Not a fan of paid mentorships. Most of them are scams- best case scenario, they charge to a ton, you find deals and they pay you a pittance for bringing those deals to them.

Find a local person successfully doing what you want to do and offer to work for them for free in exchange for experience and guidance. And the actually DO the work. No better way to learn than get your hands dirty with someone who is already successful.

Becca F. · Answer

I've never heard of them. I've been to maybe 5 free webinars given by RE investors (most frequently posting on social media like Instagram). Influencers are notorious for this - everyone is selling some kind of course, RE, fitness, financial management etc. They try to get you to sign up for a program which can range from $500 to over $18,000. Ask as many questions as you can during the free webinar. Don't pay for a program. If you have $5000 to over $10,000 to spend, use that towards a property.

I would look up local meet ups on Meet Up or on Facebook and network with investors who invest locally as well as out of state. I'm part of a local group and talking to them in person and a few experienced investors host free educational meetups (e.g. San Francisco market and how to do AirBnbs, what to look for in an inspection report). This has been extremely helpful.

My early mentors were investors who bought in 2016 going way back to the 1990s - it's a much different tougher market now. It's a very long game. The lucky few did well with appreciation from 1990s to 2021 and lower prices/interest rates. If you really want a mentor, offer to take them out to lunch or is there some skill you could teach them in exchange for their help?

If you DM me,  I can ask my investor network if they know of local meet ups in your area? Are you in California?

Stephen Morales · Answer

Hey Victor, I personally have never done a coaching program and all of my knowledge has been from when I took the RE Licensing course 10 years ago and REI and wholesaling came from personal experience and networking with dozens of peers over the years. I would be very cautious about spending thousands of dollars on a course unless they are reputable and have verifiable results. Like some have said already $10k-15k can be used towards your first investment or marketing for up a whole year with a VA cold calling for you to find off market deals.

Sam Kahl · Answer

Hi Victor! While I personally have never done this, I would be cautious about spending too much unless you have some verifiable references to the program. It's probably best to try and make some organic connections with a local investor group or even right here on BP. I am sure there are some decent programs but there are also a lot of people looking to take their pound of flesh by selling their "secret sauce" to others and could be overselling the value they will truly bring.

This is also true for real estate agents who buy in to programs that provide leads, and so often they are not worth it. For real estate agents, the best way to meet leads is organically and by referral.

The challenge is it isn't always easy to just "meet" other investors organically and find a mentor, but I'd suggest using this platform for all its worth. You'll get a wide variety of opinions from people with very diverse backgrounds and locations and in the process may connect with others local to your market and can talk with them further offline. You may also find there are those who work in real estate (agents like myself, lenders, etc) who work around/with investors and can offer quite a lot of advice and help. While this should be done without expectation of you of using their services, they are willing to spend the time with you because it's part of our business model and how we meet new people.

Has anyone had any good/bad experiences with online coaching programs?

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