Atttend 3-day NREN workshop- $500?

Question

Hey guys,

Just curious as to any advice you all have or maybe one of you have actually attended one of these workshops. I just attended a free NationalRealEstateNetwork seminar in Raleigh NC hosted by Tony Rosenbum. He covered different REI strategies, finding and funding deals, etc. Ultimately to get us to come to a 3day workshop that teaches a "franchise like model" system that sounds really educational. Its over a weekend in Charlotte, they pay for the hotel and the lunches, and have a "money back guarantee" of sorts. Its $500 and sounds on the up and up. It seems a "system" make work well for a beginner; being taught wholesaling, fix & flips, cash flow, commercial, auction/tax lien strategies. They offer POF, real time finding and offering on deals, etc. I didnt have the money to sign up today but im wondering if this is a good thing to consider doing as a beginner who wants to learn things correctly and successfully. Or is this more of a "duping" type of thing.. I hate to let fear stand in my way but also want to make informed decisions. Thanks!!

Randy E. · Answer

@Ricky Rigsbee,

Here is my opinion of the order of operations.

1) Learn enough about RE Investing to decide if it is something you want to COMMIT to.  A lot of people think backwards on this.  e.g.: "I want more money.  I hear there is money to be made in REI.  I want to do REI."  Then they try to get involved asap, before they even understand REI.  Getting involved asap before understanding REI leads to people paying thousands of dollars to attend seminars before the individual even knows if they know enough to want to do REI.

2) Learn more about REI to decide what facet of it you wish to focus on first.  There is a big difference between wholesaling $20K distressed houses and brokering commercial deals worth $5M.  A lot of newbies don't know the difference, and don't know what they need to do to get started.  Educate yourself for free before you pay big bucks to decide you can't do REI or that you don't want to do REI.

3) Save money.  It's called "investing" for a reason.  To invest, a person must first have money to invest.  If you have no money, you must second (first is to learn enough to form an idea for getting started) figure out how you're going to get the money you will later invest.

4) Learn more.  Trust me, you don't want to go through the trouble of steps 1, 2, and 3 only to blindly spend your hard-earned cash on a bad deal.  Educate yourself more.  As said in the post before me, YouTube (and the internet in general) is full of free REI information.  If a person can't fire oneself up enough to learn on his/her own for free, he/she probably is not ready to pay $1000 for a seminar either.  Oh yeah, if you haven't already, attend some REIA meetings in your area.  They're usually free, and there are people there (experience investors, contractors, agents/brokers, financiers) who will answer your questions ... for free.

5) Save more.  Whatever you have saved ... you're going to need more.   A green investor will go overbudget.  It happens.  If you don't have the money to cover extra unforeseen, you better have a good idea of where you can get it from in a hurry.

6) Before you pull the trigger, ask other investors about the deal.  They might point out something a newbie would miss.  Something that might save you money ... or make you more money.

7) Work very hard and be very diligent.  Trouble is always a monkey wrench away.

Jonathan Taylor Smith · Answer

I'm not opposed to paying for education or ready-made systems, but I always feel bad when I meet someone who has bought into such a thing when they could have done just as well with books, websites and podcasts. If it's like most you'll likely be sold a system that is 10 times (or even more) expensive. I've seen them as high as $55K!

Jenni Fors · Answer

Attended the free NREN event tonight and got the same offer. Did you end up going?

Greg Fitch · Answer

Hmm I have never heard of him. I would be leery of anyone who offers a free workshop designed to convert attendees to the next level, a fee-based multi-day event. You may then learn that there's a next level after that - one on one mentoring perhaps? - that will cost more. And I'd be dubious of anyone who promotes a proprietary real estate investing "system" since that just perpetuates an expensive guru dependency. So you are right to be skeptical and ask around.

The BP podcasts are an incredible source of information and confidence for new investors - I listen on my commute, how efficient is that - and you'll get a sense from listening to the interviewees who is reputable and who is not, and the various approaches out there to wealth building.

If you are set on a particular person, you may want to learn as much as you can about his investment record, how long he has been investing, what sort of returns he's created, what folks are saying about him, and has he been sued, etc. The web is a great place to start. It's great you are taking action; best of luck.

Jose Castillo · Answer

@Ricky Rigsbee YouTube University my friend.

Atttend 3-day NREN workshop- $500?

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