what are the normal cost of business mentors?

[Hien Dang]

I am a newbie at real estate investing. The mentor I have explains that with every deal he gets 50%. for example: A lease/option home with $20k down And a residual of $1000/month He would get $10k of the down payment And $500/monthly . I have heard that there are flat fee mentors but they limit the time and they dont allow shadowing CAN SOMEONE GIVE ME ADVICE????!

[Frank Wong]

Hi Hien,

It really depends how good your mentor is.  I have no issues with half the down payment but half the monthly cash flow seems steep.   Is mentoring his main source of income?  Is his net worth over $5 million?  How many properties does your mentor own?   Is this person going to get you where you want to be? 

If I were to choose a mentor I would want this person to be fully vested in real estate and have a net worth over $5m if I am paying this much money.  Why?  I need to know if this person walks the walk as much as he talks. The problem with many Gurus that they are actually Furus.  They know enough to sell their mentoring program to newbie investors who do not suspect anything.  

I am all for paying someone what they are worth.  They just gotta be the real deal.  At the end of the day, if this person gets you where you want to be.  Then it is worth it. The price is really determined by you.

[Jim C.]

Paying for mentors?? 

I've never had one but always assumed (I know, a bad word) it was free training to a certain point

[William Jenkins]

Just my opinion and some will disagree.  Do not pay for a mentor!!! 

Go find a seasoned professional in your desired niche.  Demonstraite your desire to learn that nich and see if you can get some of their time.  During your meeting see what you can do for THEM and not what they can do for you.  See if you can get a feel for what they look for in deals and try to bring them those deals.  Eventually you will land upon something they are interested in and perhaps you can get a small piece of the deal then.  In the mean time you will get feedback and knowledge on that niche.  You will also have a number to call when you need general real estate advice.

Successful people are always looking to expand their network of deal finders.      

[Jim Pellerin]

Everyone who is serious about exponential growth should have a mentor. I have had free mentors and paid mentors. I have paid $10k to $50k. My business only really took off when I started paying real money for real advice.  30 properties in 1 year. 100 properties in 3 years. Prior to that I had only done 10 units on 5 years. Also, make sure they offer a guarantee. Some wont. 

[Gary Harris]

Just my thoughts here....I would love if all the people on BP that say just find a free mentor, or my favorite, see what you can do to earn the mentorship for free would actually mentor people for free themselves.  The experienced investors to be blunt...don't need a brand new person getting involved in real estate to try to "help" the experienced investor.  The volume of people that want something for nothing is astounding. Can you start to invest in real estate on your own without a mentor...absolutely, but when you're new it's nice to have someone you can rely on.  I did when I started and I wouldn't have changed that for anything.  I totally agree in giving a name or phone number or even some free advice every once in awhile, but what the majority of people are asking for is to basically teach them everything the mentor knows if not just do it for them....all under the guise of "doing my part" and giving back.    

If you don't have a few thousand dollars to give an experienced mentor and you want one... then you are absolutely not ready to get into this business.  Or even let's say you don't have to pay those couple thousands up front and you pay monthly which I think is very reasonable.  There's a big difference between reading books, listening to podcasts repeatedly, asking for advice on this site where the responders don't have a truly vested interest and a mentor that you're paying that has an absolute interest in your success.  Out of the several people that have asked me for help...9 out of 10 say they want to take action, but there hearts aren't 100% into it.  This is a hard business...it makes sense to have someone on your side that you can call, meet in person, walk properties together, etc.  It is a better proposition to pay a flat fee then to give away part of the equity in your deal.  Trust me...when it comes time to sell you will want every dollar of that profit because you will have earned it!

Gary   

[Hien Dang]

@Frank Wong I don’t mind paying him half of the option fee but to take half monthly for every home I get while under him is hard to swallow. I have done my research and I have yet to find anyone better. So for now, it’s worth it. He’s with me from the moment I meet with a seller all the way to closing and everything inbetween. I’m very thankful for the knowledge and experience I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t being taken advantage of cause i am an “Infant investor”

[Hien Dang]

@Gary Harris I do not want anything for free! I believe in paying for what you get! It’s part of business. he would be collecting monthy residual income from every home we did together well after the mentoring has ended.. honestly just wanted to see what was the “normal” mentoring fees

[Gary Harris]

Hi @Hien Dang 

I actually wasn't insinuating that you didn't want to pay anything.  I was actually making my counter points to William Jenkins' comments.