Buying Properties With A Mentor Who Puts Up The Money

[Mordchai Lunger]

I have been doing lots of research on this site, and i have seen many people recommend going to your local REI club. So you can connect with other investors, so i contacted my local club which is BREIA. They offer a mentor program i was curious if this was what many of you recommended i start with. I spoke with one of the mentors and he was explaining the program they supply 100% of the funding and the mentor goes through every step with me. All of this sounded great to me but of course there is a catch first we split the profit 50/50 which i am fine with but they also charge a fee of $7,400 to get started with this program. Is this common for a mentor to charge such a high starting fee. Im always hearing not spend money on these guru or programs they just want your money. Do you think this is the same thing it is a lot of money but it will also make things so much easier for me.

Is this worth it or should i save my money, has anyone gone through this same experience, with a mentor or REI club has it worked out ?

[Account Closed]

Avoid shelling out money for information. You. An attain the same for free is you're not complacent

[Joe Villeneuve]

All Squares are rectangles, but all rectangles are not squares.

or

All Gurus are mentors, but not all mentors are Gurus.

As far as the cost is concerned, it all depends on what you end up with in the end...and what kind of guarantee this mentor offers.  If you are guaranteed to get that property, and that property (you part of it...50/50) pays you back all of what you your paid for the program (with no added hidden costs back to the mentor after you get the property), AND, he can refer you to others that have taken this course and received what they were promised, then go for it.  Especially if this mentor is part of the group.  If he doesn't, or hasn't delivered, you know where to find him...and you will always be a negative for him within that REIC.

[Rick H.]

@Mordchai Lunger I will simplify the concept for you even more:

Don't think of finding and buying a property "with" an investor/ mentor.

Think in terms of finding a propert "for" an investor/mentor.

You risk time and legwork. They risk money and perhaps other resources. 

This is lead generation in its simplest form. 

Depending on how green or seasoned you are and you ability to flush out profitable opportunitues tgat your mentor closes on, you become more valuable. 

When your efforts start producing results on a consistent basis, you can negotiate to take an equity position with a corresponding higher return and share of risk.

If you want specific training on niche topics, expect to pay your own way. That's called investing in yourself (education). 

That's how it works. 

[Mordchai Lunger]

Thanks for that Rick i think it might be worth pursuing. For the simple fact that if he is putting his money in it means he is going to research the deal as well and make sure it makes sense. He is also going to help me close that deal because he want his 50% profit.  If i try this on my own without a experienced investor i could lose more than $7,400 on a deal. 

Those are my thoughts 

However people are still telling me not to put down the initial $7,400

[Ron Drake]

make sure the Mentor is worth the money first. Plus, everything is negotiable, so ask for a lower fee if they check out as someone worthwhile. Do your due diligence here.

I have invested far more than $7,400 and it was the bones of my business. I had the Guru in San Diego plus paid to go to other seminars just to see what other had to offer.

If you were in San Diego I would tell you to go see Ward. His class was if I remember $6,000. It didn't cost it paid. Big time.

[Rick H.]

Originally posted by @Mordchai Lunger:

Thanks for that Rick i think it might be worth pursuing. For the simple fact that if he is putting his money in it means he is going to research the deal as well and make sure it makes sense. He is also going to help me close that deal because he want his 50% profit.  If i try this on my own without a experienced investor i could lose more than $7,400 on a deal. 

Those are my thoughts 

However people are still telling me not to put down the initial $7,400

 Cute photo. How would I recognize you at the store, car wash, Starbucks? 

[Rick H.]

Originally posted by @Ron Drake:

make sure the Mentor is worth the money first. Plus, everything is negotiable, so ask for a lower fee if they check out as someone worthwhile. Do your due diligence here.

I have invested far more than $7,400 and it was the bones of my business. I had the Guru in San Diego plus paid to go to other seminars just to see what other had to offer.

If you were in San Diego I would tell you to go see Ward. His class was if I remember $6,000. It didn't cost it paid. Big time.

 As Ward is a personal friend (as you probably know) it's pretty difficult to find that level of expertise and hands-on training. Last time I talk to him, several weeks ago, "Uncle Ward" is offering the one day title research training but not the three day class that you took.

Happy to report his health is good for a guy in his mud 70's. 

[Jeff Pollack]

Hey @mordichai lunger,

As others have mentioned, this mentorship thing may be a good deal if you stand to make your $7400 back (and then some).  If this guy is any good you'll get a good education and be able to build a network for free.  I did a similar training when I got started with somebody who was doing business in a market I wanted to enter.  I think the cost was $5000, we did a 50:50 split and there was a guarantee I'd get my $5000 back (if not more).  Worked out well.  

Make sure you vet this guy like all get out.  Ask for lots of references and grill them. 

Happy hunting and Happy Thanksgiving!

Cheers,

Jeff 

[Dawn Anastasi]

What are the details of this $7,400 investment?  Do you pay it up front and then the mentor actively works with you to find a property?  Or do you need to find a property and the mentor tells you if it's a good deal or not?

Because if it's the second way, then what's to stop the mentor from taking your upfront money, then veto'ing all the deals you bring them?

[Mordchai Lunger]

This is a mentorship program offered with a study course at the BREIA club. So i don't believe they are going to steal my deals or scam me (i could be wrong). 

The club is very large and has been around for 20+ years. From what i understand the mentor does not help me find the property, they teach me how to find the property. When i find the deal i bring it to them and they determine if it makes sense. If the deal makes sense they will fund it 100% including any repair costs. When we sell the property they get there funds back and we spilt the commission 50/50. I only had about a 20 minute phone call with him today, i will be getting in touch with him again after the holidays and find out more information. 

[Mordchai Lunger]

And yes Dawn the $7,400 is paid up front for the training information they provide he said it was a home study course.

[Rick H.]

Originally posted by @Dawn Anastasi:

What are the details of this $7,400 investment?  Do you pay it up front and then the mentor actively works with you to find a property?  Or do you need to find a property and the mentor tells you if it's a good deal or not?

Because if it's the second way, then what's to stop the mentor from taking your upfront money, then veto'ing all the deals you bring them?

 Sounds like #2. 

It may sound like #1, but I'm sure it'll end up smelling like #2. Time will tell.

[Kevin Cook]

 @Mordchai Lunger , if BP has taught you anything, it's that there are very few courses that we haven't taken or programs we haven't been a part of. Further, save your money and buy a few tickets on Allegiant Air to Tampa and we'll walk you through each deal on a regular basis under better terms. If there's money in the deal, we'll network to get it done. $7,400.00 is too much to pay without a guarantee of performance. Period.

[Ron Drake]

Originally posted by @Rick H.:

Originally posted by @Ron Drake:

make sure the Mentor is worth the money first. Plus, everything is negotiable, so ask for a lower fee if they check out as someone worthwhile. Do your due diligence here.

I have invested far more than $7,400 and it was the bones of my business. I had the Guru in San Diego plus paid to go to other seminars just to see what other had to offer.

If you were in San Diego I would tell you to go see Ward. His class was if I remember $6,000. It didn't cost it paid. Big time.

 As Ward is a personal friend (as you probably know) it's pretty difficult to find that level of expertise and hands-on training. Last time I talk to him, several weeks ago, "Uncle Ward" is offering the one day title research training but not the three day class that you took.

Happy to report his health is good for a guy in his mud 70's. 

 Yep still stay in touch with him after over 8 years. Bounced quite a few title questions off him as they came up. I took his title holding trust class too. Another winner.

[Colin G Murphy]

Hi @Mordchai Lunger 

I personally am uneasy at the way this mentor offer is structured. It just doesn´t seem right to charge up front fees to a newbie for this stuff. Instead of paying money upfront, wouldn´t it be better if he took 70% of the profits from the first deal and 50% afterwards? That I could understand.

There are plenty of ways you can leverage your time and energy to offer something of value to experienced investors in your area without these teaching fees. BP has a tonne of evidence in its member forums and podcasts to prove that. 

[Account Closed]

You have to burn the ships and put a little skin in the game to show you're serious.  Think about it, following the strategy you propose would quite often not result in much as most people would not carry through and never make that first deal, let alone a second.  But by putting some money in up front you not only oblige yourself to taking action but the mentor gets the compensation he or she needs to offer those services in the first place.  If you are committed then the fee should not be an issue as you will make that up right away.

[Jay Hinrichs]

@Mordchai Lunger   one of the biggest  fallacies  is that RIA's are non profit they are a for profit enterprise just like any guru or educator.. you have to pay dues. and here they are doing nothing more than a guru spin.

I would want to talk to those that paid the dough and they actually funded deals for and not just a few.

I personally do all my deals in a JV format just like this only I usually don't take 50% I usually take less.. and I never charge up front.. But If people are willing to pay 7500 to access my funds I think I will have to rethink this whole thing. LOL

[Mordchai Lunger]

Thanks @Jay Hinrichs i will take in under consideration i will be doing research i might just go find some investers you will do the same thing 50/50 they put up the funds with nothing out of pocket for me i have to look around. 

[Joe Villeneuve]

As I read this, the Mentor in question is buying half of a property for you, and you pay him $7,500 to learn how to do it yourself.  I'd be more focused on what that 50% return is on this property, than what I was paying the mentor to learn how to repeat those numbers.

[Jay Hinrichs]

many times these type of arrangements the funder puts such a high return # that the mentee can never achieve it or rarely achieve it... the Mentor just like an RE educator makes the money on the front end and if they never fund a deal they are making a killing of course if they are doing any volume with selling these menteeships.. ( not sure thats a word but it sounds good)..

[Rick H.]

Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:

many times these type of arrangements the funder puts such a high return # that the mentee can never achieve it or rarely achieve it... the Mentor just like an RE educator makes the money on the front end and if they never fund a deal they are making a killing of course if they are doing any volume with selling these menteeships.. ( not sure thats a word but it sounds good)..

 This may occur, I agree. However, his do you personally deal with a newbie who us do green that they expect lots of your time handholding and don't produce?

I think that's the challenge from the mentor's perspective.

[Jay Hinrichs]

@Rick H. 

  I think it boils down to Intent... Many times these types of deals " you find it I fund it we split big profits " are either full on Guru or semi Guru...

But I am sure there are exceptions to all of these... Just my experience and personal perceptions... I have seen these over the years many times.. Heck there was just one on the radio today in PDX  giving away his free information on the exact topic.

[Natalie Wynter]

Did you ever go through with the mentoring program with Breia? If so, how's it going?

[Greg Grant]

Originally posted by @Mordchai Lunger:

I have been doing lots of research on this site, and i have seen many people recommend going to your local REI club. So you can connect with other investors, so i contacted my local club which is BREIA. They offer a mentor program i was curious if this was what many of you recommended i start with. I spoke with one of the mentors and he was explaining the program they supply 100% of the funding and the mentor goes through every step with me. All of this sounded great to me but of course there is a catch first we split the profit 50/50 which i am fine with but they also charge a fee of $7,400 to get started with this program. Is this common for a mentor to charge such a high starting fee. Im always hearing not spend money on these guru or programs they just want your money. Do you think this is the same thing it is a lot of money but it will also make things so much easier for me.

Is this worth it or should i save my money, has anyone gone through this same experience, with a mentor or REI club has it worked out ?

Any update on this?  I have been considering this mentor program and while doing my due diligence on them came across this thread.

I knew there had to be some kind of catch (maybe that's a bad phrase, if they're legit).  But with them coming up to fund the purchase and repairs and simply split the profits seemed too easy.

To be honest, the $7,400 wouldn't scare me away if a few conditions were met:

1. If they had been around a while and had good (honest) reviews
2. They were willing to offer some kind of guarantee of performance

3. They were willing to take this "fee" from the first deal or two that we did together, from my 50% profit sharing

I do realize I could "go out on my own" but it would be nice to have someone advise me on potential mistakes I was about to make or inform me on things I need to research and how to do that research.  That is certainly worth the investment.  But there are too many "programs" out there that make me cautious on who I'm handing money over to.

So I would love to hear from anyone that has experience with BREIA in Broward County FL, on your experience with them and their system.

[Hassan Johnson]

@Mordchai Lunger I know this post is pretty old but it's one of the only that I've been able to find in relation to the BREIA mentoring program; did it work out for you?