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Updated about 2 hours ago, 12/16/2024
Open reviews on land investing programs
A lot of you have seen my responses for different land investing programs & have reached out with questions. I decided to make this post to discuss what I have seen & what my thoughts are. If you reached out I will send you an email with a link to this post.
I own a number of different programs. I started in land investing in 2016 & have done well with it. To be clear I have never paid for a coaching program. I have purchased numerous courses. The way I look at it is that courses are a very low investment & if I get one idea from them that I can use to make money it was worth it. I know others prefer doing it all themselves. I know others like coaching & I would say that if I started now I would probably buy coaching. When I started I went back & forth with it & things changed making me decide not to but that was about 7 years ago. All I will say about coaching is to do your research.
I decided to break down different programs that I have purchased or did not purchase & why. I know there are many more now but these are the ones that I know something about. I am not affiliate with these programs. I do not share affiliate links so I make no money off of anything I say. When I started I spoke to a lot of people & got help so I am trying to offer the same.
The best programs
The Land Method. When I started Jonathon was a coach for another program. Speaking with him at those events it was clear that he knew this business up & down. This was the coach I thought of working with but he left that program. I know he taught almost all the coaches that followed but I did not want to spend the money to work with them. When he came out with his own coaching I was doing this business a number of years so I did not feel the need for it. I do have his course & it is the best I have seen. He uses multiple approaches to reach sellers all together. It just got updated but I haven’t had a chance to see those. His documents are comprehensive & they make up the majority of the ones I use in my business. His resources are solid & I use many of them. He gives a lot of free information in his group & podcast. He regularly shows recent deals & breaks them down. Clear & direct information that is easy to follow. Easy to tell that he is authentic & cares about people.
Casual Fridays REI. Adam & Justin are 2 more guys that are doing deals & know the business. I have their program & they live up to their name. They are very "casual" which I find refreshing. Nothing feels forced. They have some things designed for higher end investors. Justin regularly shows work being done on vacant land & things like that. Their documents are also very good. Some of their resources are more pricey than others but they are all quality. Many are the same as other programs. I think their podcast is the best of the land investing ones. Also easy to see they are caring & authentic individuals.
The Land Mogul. No one has been doing land investing longer than John. I have numerous things from him. John has released books & does case studies regularly. No question that he knows what he is talking about & still does deals. His target is different than many others. He focuses on what he calls self funding deals which are for lots with a retail around $25k & focuses on flipping them using the earnest money. His ideas are very solid. He just does not get into other types of deals as much as the others but he has been doing it for years & has done this niche well. He sells books which are much cheaper than course but are not as detailed. For the price I would buy his books & get a course. He is always showing his flips & deeds so it is nice to see that he is doing deals after all these years.
For all of these I will say that they focus a lot on how to save money. They are not big on pushing you into these other things that you need to be successful. They show you how to be successful with free & low priced options & show you why that is better.
Near the top
REI Tipster. Been around a long time & shares a lot of quality information. Seth focuses on vacant land but has a lot of information about other things. I used to like him much more but he has so many courses that it has become a turn off to me. I do have some of his early information but I find that when people sell a lot of products they tend to be lacking. I do feel his courses are not as comprehensive as others. In recent years he seems to be aligning himself with other programs which I also do not find appealing. He also has affiliate links to so many other programs that he does reviews on. Realize that since his reviews include affiliate links he is making money on that so be careful with what you read. For his coaching he advertises that his coaches are paying members who are independent contractors & not employed by REtipster & that you are encouraged to evaluate them & determine their suitability for your needs. When it comes to overall information he has so much information which some people like & no one puts out as much as him.
Land Conquest. When it comes to transparency no one was better than Pete. I say was because I have not seen his updating his information recently. In the past he would break down every deal that he did so you knew he was real. His numbers were impressive. He focuses a lot on automation & software to get more deals. His podcast is still going but I have not seen much else new from him recently. If he is still doing the same as in the past he would be with the top ones mentioned above. I am just not sure what he is up to anymore. It seems he is focusing a lot more on partnering with people now.
---
Unlike the first ones mentioned for most in the next groups they focus a lot on pushing you into other products. They basically tell you to be truly successful you need to buy this & this & this. It is a hard push into other products making them money & costing you & they do not show why these are better.
The ones that have been around a long time
The Land Geek & Land Academy. I am putting them together because they are very similar. I do not personally like the approach either of these programs uses. They focus on remote land & a lot of flipping for 2x & owner financing. Jack & Jill have become more of a data company than a land investing one. They push so much information & it is more than needed & priced high compared to other options. Mark is one of the nicest guys out there. He genuinely cares about his students. His authenticity is refreshing. I have his program but as I said I do not subscribe to this investing method. That is the only reason I put his program in this group. If his focus was broader Mark would be in the top group. Both programs have been around for years so maybe it was a better way before I got started but not something I would use now. Out of the 2 I would recommend Land Geek.
Land Profit Generator. This is the program I started with. Jack had the best land investing program out there. In 2016 there were very few land programs & this was the one to get. Unlike the others mentioned he taught how to buy & sell a lot of types of land. As I said I was looking at coaching around this time & this is the program I was looking at but the coach I wanted left. Unfortunately the Land Profit Generator program has gone downhill in recent years. Despite minor updates it is outdated. I will say a high note from his program is the amount of information they put out. For those in coaching they advertise daily calls & things like that but the coaches there today are not very experienced. The coaches he had in the past that were great are no longer there. He is charging much more for his program with the quality being less. I used to go to his events to learn about land investing & they were amazing. The last one I went to had little content & all focus was on why you need his coaching. It seems he is only about non stop sales information. In the past it seemed he really cared. Now they come across very greedy. I am not sure what changed there but this program went from one of or maybe the best in the past to one I would not consider today.
The ones I refuse to spend money with
Learn Land University. They have a free course on YouTube but they try to drive you to partner with them. Their content always seemed questionable. Recently Clint made a post about the land market has been tough & how he felt burn out from teaching things that don’t work like they used to. He mentioned innovation being needed. Why do you teach if what you teach doesn’t work? I follow him in his group & his innovative way is very complicated. They deals he says to go after are the ones the real experts say to avoid.
Land Investing Online. The Apke brothers are doing deals so that is good. They actually do the business. They focus on blind offers. They openly admit they send tens of thousands of pieces of mail a month. You better get deals if you are marketing like that. Most people cannot afford to do what they say. They are just a numbers game. They also are pushing services for data & maps that are more expensive than going the way the best programs say to go. They have made posts on this forum about other methods they use but everything I have read has not been positive & mentioned the expense.
Land Flipping 101. I know very little about Kris & Jessie except that they are involved in a lawsuit for their education. There are open posts on this forum about it with responses from Kris & links to read documents. Taking a few minutes to look at that it seems like a can of worms. The program is also expensive & takes parts of your profits. Too much of a mess for me to go beyond that. If you are considering them there are many posts on here to read.
Only Land Fans. Kendall is an amazing internet personality & self promoter but not a land educator. You probably did not need to look beyond the creative but unprofessional & potentially offensive business name to see that. The people he interviews on his podcast are top investors. You will see that he is often lost by what they are saying or just says something generic because he has nothing to offer. I have watched many of his videos & he contradicts himself a lot & is unauthentic. He also promotes other services to no end & the ones he recommends are similar to him. Recently he teamed up with someone named AJ & Super Charged Offers. In one part he is talking about how he was doing great with a certain type of marketing & later he says how he is struggling with lead generation & proceeds to promote her. Which is it & if you struggle but she does not why work with you? Unfortunately she is as unauthentic as him. Her answer to everything is how she can help with her program. She shows videos where she says Kevin Harrington interviewed her about her program. Or showed an article in Forbes about her. Both are paid for advertising. Nothing wrong with that but the posts made it look like something more. Being unauthentic is one of my largest negatives. I love listening to his podcast to hear his guests but I would never pay anything to work with him.
EDB Academy. Elijah tells a good story but that is where it ends. His videos are rough. He tried to make them funny but they come across unprofessional & childish. His webinar was tough to watch. He is not very articulate & is hard to listen to. Despite that I tried to pull out things I could use but his focus is on infill lots & wholesaling to builders. That was a strategy that worked for many for a few years but has dried up a lot. Like others mentioned above the sustainability for his model does not seem to be there.
That is all for now. As more come I will edit this post to hopefully help more.
- Lender
- Lake Oswego OR Summerlin, NV
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Thank you for this post I copied it and sent it to my office to save on drop box.
Myself I grew up in the land business as my Dad was in the land business starting in the mid 60s and I started in 75..
I have done a lot of different land deals and continue to do them today.. however today I am the money.. I just fund land flippers that need to control the land . And I buy the seller carry back notes for those that want to cash out.
I agree with jack Bosch I saw him at a rich dad event and his stuff was very dated.
Its not a complicated model you buy low sell for more.. One just uses the tried and true wholesaling methods and each geographical area will have its unique ways of doing this.
With a lot of land deals starting with tax sales. this is common in CA AZ etc etc.
currently I am funding deals in WA ID MT CO AZ TX FLA and then some other states.
I like the bizz a lot.. I understand the 25k guy .. and the seller carry back folks normally those I see that do that will get the amount they paid for the dirt back in the down payment and the note is pure profit.
With robo calling auto text those are really the only things I see that are different then what we did with mailers and Telemarketing with live callers.
Wish you the best at it.. Its treated me well all these years.. I will die and old landman !
- Jay Hinrichs
- Podcast Guest on Show #222
- Developer
- 3,568
- Votes |
- 3,598
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Scout Troop 243 Glenwood Iowa. Make a $1,000 tax deductible donation. For replacement canoes that got damaged by straight line winds.
“Free” land investing info, try to make donation above.
1. Have a purpose for the land. Don’t ever invest and hold. Taxes, interest, insurance and maintenance will eat into the profit.
2. Always approach as a developer with a specific usage. Housing lots/ subdivision, self storage, commercial, parking, rv park, etc
3. Validate zoning, potential special or use variance, future zoning map, neighboring zoning. Versus 2 above.
.
4. Deal killers. Validate planning zoning requirements and access to utilities. Storm sewer, storm pond, sewer lines, water access, fire hydrants, public bathrooms, surface coverage, sidewalk or bike paths, setbacks, power lines and right of ways known and unknown, road access, etc.
5. Deal makers- development potential, vehicles per day, road ingress egress off highway, signage potential, multiple road accesses, value add potential- housing- trees, boulders, ponds, walkout, views, right side of town, power-line right of ways, etc
6. Deal sourcing- if you’re willing to search regionally, don’t ask anyone to sell that isn’t already in a sale mode. “ No marketing.” Loopnet any deal older than 12 months, Tax GIS consistently late or 6 months past due, any property that changed hands thru probate after 12 months, Texas property tax sales land only not at auction just offlist properties, etc
7. Financial objective- 100% to 400% cash on cash or don't do it. Adjust return based on holding time and risk reward. If it pencils to a 25 to 50% profit or COC don't do it.
8. Time clock- once you do the deal you’re on the clock. Every hurdle hit it and solve it.
9. Learn to drive a skidsteer and use a chainsaw. Get excavator and a surveyor on speed dial.
10. NASTY- look for Nasty properties. They will make you the most profit. 10 acres with 1970 house. 5 acres with cattails. 10 acres with hill. 60 acres with ditches, scrub trees, etc. Horse stable in the middle of LA, 20 acres 1/2 swamp next to major airport in Florida, church with 6 acres in the middle of town, contact bank Trust departments and let them know you want to buy. Use your imagination.
You ready. Land has been for sale 100 years with no for sale sign and you drive by it every day. Look on the GIS tax maps for any railroad land and make them an offer. The greatest piece of railroad land in the U.S. is for sale, you just have to ask.
11. Financing- build a relationship with a regional banker, don’t shop for interest rates, start small and build history and loyalty they are your team, Cross collateralize, deposit CD/MM or custodial account with bank for loan, give them monthly updates, nail your deal analysis, do stress tests on your deal analysis-cost/interest rate/deal length/ sale price etc.
12. Jump off the cliff or Analysis Paralysis- define failure. See stress tests above. Don’t let your imagination run wild Compute failure. Most people fail due to imagined failure and not success.
13. Don’t talk with your spouse unless they want to, not your friends or coworkers, not your family. You’re either a snob or they will tell you how you will fail.
Guarantees?- whoever reads this. There is no way you don’t do a deal in the next 6 months. If you fail it’s on you. Remember to make a donation.
Start small and make your big mistakes early.
Use your imagination on the piece of land.
I have to say that I know next to nothing about land investing but thanks to the advice from you and others, I have saved a lot of money.
I agree with your review of Only Land Fans and Kendall Lejeune. I was looking at him mainly because he is in my area but I had a lot of questions. I agree that he seems confused in his videos. He does often seem like he is lost or has not idea what his guest are speaking about.
I also think his business name is very unprofessional. My girlfriend finds it offensive and I see that others do also.
After your response to my post about him and your message to me, I started digging more.
One thing struck me. I noticed that most of his posts in his group were liked or commented by the same 3 people. One was himself. The other was Alicia Jarret that you mentioned in your post. The third is someone names Branden Hill. I noticed that Branden likes or comments on most of Kendall's posts and talks about how great they are and how much Kendall helped him, so I clicked on Branden's profile. It seems that Branden is Kendall's partner or spouse. You talked about him being unauthentic. I will go further. I say he is completely deceitful. Thank you for helping me to avoid what I was concerned about. I will look at some of your recommendations closer as I wanted to learn land investing.
Quote from @Jay Hinrichs:
Thank you for this post I copied it and sent it to my office to save on drop box.
Myself I grew up in the land business as my Dad was in the land business starting in the mid 60s and I started in 75..
I have done a lot of different land deals and continue to do them today.. however today I am the money.. I just fund land flippers that need to control the land . And I buy the seller carry back notes for those that want to cash out.
I agree with jack Bosch I saw him at a rich dad event and his stuff was very dated.
Its not a complicated model you buy low sell for more.. One just uses the tried and true wholesaling methods and each geographical area will have its unique ways of doing this.
With a lot of land deals starting with tax sales. this is common in CA AZ etc etc.
currently I am funding deals in WA ID MT CO AZ TX FLA and then some other states.
I like the bizz a lot.. I understand the 25k guy .. and the seller carry back folks normally those I see that do that will get the amount they paid for the dirt back in the down payment and the note is pure profit.
With robo calling auto text those are really the only things I see that are different then what we did with mailers and Telemarketing with live callers.
Wish you the best at it.. Its treated me well all these years.. I will die and old landman !
Glad you enjoyed the post. I will not say that I'm completely accurate. This is my view & opinion based on what I see. Others may see it differently but I wanted to share as someone that has nothing to gain by sharing or not.
Quote from @Henry Clark:
Scout Troop 243 Glenwood Iowa. Make a $1,000 tax deductible donation. For replacement canoes that got damaged by straight line winds.
“Free” land investing info, try to make donation above.
1. Have a purpose for the land. Don’t ever invest and hold. Taxes, interest, insurance and maintenance will eat into the profit.
2. Always approach as a developer with a specific usage. Housing lots/ subdivision, self storage, commercial, parking, rv park, etc
3. Validate zoning, potential special or use variance, future zoning map, neighboring zoning. Versus 2 above.
.
4. Deal killers. Validate planning zoning requirements and access to utilities. Storm sewer, storm pond, sewer lines, water access, fire hydrants, public bathrooms, surface coverage, sidewalk or bike paths, setbacks, power lines and right of ways known and unknown, road access, etc.
5. Deal makers- development potential, vehicles per day, road ingress egress off highway, signage potential, multiple road accesses, value add potential- housing- trees, boulders, ponds, walkout, views, right side of town, power-line right of ways, etc
6. Deal sourcing- if you’re willing to search regionally, don’t ask anyone to sell that isn’t already in a sale mode. “ No marketing.” Loopnet any deal older than 12 months, Tax GIS consistently late or 6 months past due, any property that changed hands thru probate after 12 months, Texas property tax sales land only not at auction just offlist properties, etc
7. Financial objective- 100% to 400% cash on cash or don't do it. Adjust return based on holding time and risk reward. If it pencils to a 25 to 50% profit or COC don't do it.
8. Time clock- once you do the deal you’re on the clock. Every hurdle hit it and solve it.
9. Learn to drive a skidsteer and use a chainsaw. Get excavator and a surveyor on speed dial.
10. NASTY- look for Nasty properties. They will make you the most profit. 10 acres with 1970 house. 5 acres with cattails. 10 acres with hill. 60 acres with ditches, scrub trees, etc. Horse stable in the middle of LA, 20 acres 1/2 swamp next to major airport in Florida, church with 6 acres in the middle of town, contact bank Trust departments and let them know you want to buy. Use your imagination.
You ready. Land has been for sale 100 years with no for sale sign and you drive by it every day. Look on the GIS tax maps for any railroad land and make them an offer. The greatest piece of railroad land in the U.S. is for sale, you just have to ask.
11. Financing- build a relationship with a regional banker, don’t shop for interest rates, start small and build history and loyalty they are your team, Cross collateralize, deposit CD/MM or custodial account with bank for loan, give them monthly updates, nail your deal analysis, do stress tests on your deal analysis-cost/interest rate/deal length/ sale price etc.
12. Jump off the cliff or Analysis Paralysis- define failure. See stress tests above. Don’t let your imagination run wild Compute failure. Most people fail due to imagined failure and not success.
13. Don’t talk with your spouse unless they want to, not your friends or coworkers, not your family. You’re either a snob or they will tell you how you will fail.
Guarantees?- whoever reads this. There is no way you don’t do a deal in the next 6 months. If you fail it’s on you. Remember to make a donation.
Start small and make your big mistakes early.
Use your imagination on the piece of land.
Thank you for this. I am already doing land deals. This was to help others that have reached out to me because of my other posts. I'm sure this is helpful to new people looking at land investing. I don't agree with everything you said but we all have a different way. Good luck.
- Developer
- 3,568
- Votes |
- 3,598
- Posts
Quote from @William F.:
Quote from @Henry Clark:
Scout Troop 243 Glenwood Iowa. Make a $1,000 tax deductible donation. For replacement canoes that got damaged by straight line winds.
“Free” land investing info, try to make donation above.
1. Have a purpose for the land. Don’t ever invest and hold. Taxes, interest, insurance and maintenance will eat into the profit.
2. Always approach as a developer with a specific usage. Housing lots/ subdivision, self storage, commercial, parking, rv park, etc
3. Validate zoning, potential special or use variance, future zoning map, neighboring zoning. Versus 2 above.
.
4. Deal killers. Validate planning zoning requirements and access to utilities. Storm sewer, storm pond, sewer lines, water access, fire hydrants, public bathrooms, surface coverage, sidewalk or bike paths, setbacks, power lines and right of ways known and unknown, road access, etc.
5. Deal makers- development potential, vehicles per day, road ingress egress off highway, signage potential, multiple road accesses, value add potential- housing- trees, boulders, ponds, walkout, views, right side of town, power-line right of ways, etc
6. Deal sourcing- if you’re willing to search regionally, don’t ask anyone to sell that isn’t already in a sale mode. “ No marketing.” Loopnet any deal older than 12 months, Tax GIS consistently late or 6 months past due, any property that changed hands thru probate after 12 months, Texas property tax sales land only not at auction just offlist properties, etc
7. Financial objective- 100% to 400% cash on cash or don't do it. Adjust return based on holding time and risk reward. If it pencils to a 25 to 50% profit or COC don't do it.
8. Time clock- once you do the deal you’re on the clock. Every hurdle hit it and solve it.
9. Learn to drive a skidsteer and use a chainsaw. Get excavator and a surveyor on speed dial.
10. NASTY- look for Nasty properties. They will make you the most profit. 10 acres with 1970 house. 5 acres with cattails. 10 acres with hill. 60 acres with ditches, scrub trees, etc. Horse stable in the middle of LA, 20 acres 1/2 swamp next to major airport in Florida, church with 6 acres in the middle of town, contact bank Trust departments and let them know you want to buy. Use your imagination.
You ready. Land has been for sale 100 years with no for sale sign and you drive by it every day. Look on the GIS tax maps for any railroad land and make them an offer. The greatest piece of railroad land in the U.S. is for sale, you just have to ask.
11. Financing- build a relationship with a regional banker, don’t shop for interest rates, start small and build history and loyalty they are your team, Cross collateralize, deposit CD/MM or custodial account with bank for loan, give them monthly updates, nail your deal analysis, do stress tests on your deal analysis-cost/interest rate/deal length/ sale price etc.
12. Jump off the cliff or Analysis Paralysis- define failure. See stress tests above. Don’t let your imagination run wild Compute failure. Most people fail due to imagined failure and not success.
13. Don’t talk with your spouse unless they want to, not your friends or coworkers, not your family. You’re either a snob or they will tell you how you will fail.
Guarantees?- whoever reads this. There is no way you don’t do a deal in the next 6 months. If you fail it’s on you. Remember to make a donation.
Start small and make your big mistakes early.
Use your imagination on the piece of land.
Thank you for this. I am already doing land deals. This was to help others that have reached out to me because of my other posts. I'm sure this is helpful to new people looking at land investing. I don't agree with everything you said but we all have a different way. Good luck.
I feel compelled to point out something important about this post and its author's posting history. While this review appears comprehensive and objective at first glance, I see a concerning pattern.
Looking through William Ferr's posting history on BiggerPockets, there's an unmistakable pattern of consistently promoting Jonathan Halves and his training course The Land Method and his Land Riches Blueprint, while criticizing other educators. You can see plenty of examples in these threads, where every contribution revolves around this same promotional angle:
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/927/topics/1195612-the-...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/1136123-what...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1103837-which...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/62/topics/1156841-scam-...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/44/topics/1159791-what-...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/79/topics/1121289-has-a...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/44/topics/1159791-what-...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/79/topics/32290-jack-bo...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/938096-land-f...
Given this pattern and the sophisticated marketing approach, I wouldn’t be surprised if "William Ferr" might actually be Jonathan Halves himself, or someone closely tied to his business. While I can't prove this definitively, the posting behavior strongly suggests this isn't coming from a typical satisfied customer.
What's interesting is how this latest post is carefully crafted to rank well in Google searches for people who are searching for education on land investing. As someone who used to work in SEO, I can see that the structure, length, and comparison format are classic SEO techniques. While there's nothing inherently wrong with SEO, the intent here raises concerns.
There's also an ironic element to these reviews. He is critiquing products and courses that he hasn’t personally used. Any legitimate review should come from firsthand experience with the product or service. Offering definitive opinions about courses you haven't taken is like reviewing restaurants you've never eaten at.
I think it's important to acknowledge that every land educator has contributed value to the field. Perhaps some more than others, but each one brings a unique perspective. What resonates with one person may be different than another. Rather than tearing down everyone, I’d rather focus on how different teaching styles and strategies might suit different investors' needs.
When someone consistently promotes one product while criticizing others they haven't tried, it undermines the trust and authenticity that makes this forum valuable.
I'm not trying to create conflict here, but as someone who has learned a lot from different educators in the land investing space, it is concerning when I see someone posting carefully disguised spam and trying to make it look like an unbiased review.
Quote from @Amy Breen:
I feel compelled to point out something important about this post and its author's posting history. While this review appears comprehensive and objective at first glance, I see a concerning pattern.
Looking through William Ferr's posting history on BiggerPockets, there's an unmistakable pattern of consistently promoting Jonathan Halves and his training course The Land Method and his Land Riches Blueprint, while criticizing other educators. You can see plenty of examples in these threads, where every contribution revolves around this same promotional angle:
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/927/topics/1195612-the-...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/1136123-what...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1103837-which...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/62/topics/1156841-scam-...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/44/topics/1159791-what-...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/79/topics/1121289-has-a...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/44/topics/1159791-what-...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/79/topics/32290-jack-bo...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/938096-land-f...
Given this pattern and the sophisticated marketing approach, I wouldn’t be surprised if "William Ferr" might actually be Jonathan Halves himself, or someone closely tied to his business. While I can't prove this definitively, the posting behavior strongly suggests this isn't coming from a typical satisfied customer.
What's interesting is how this latest post is carefully crafted to rank well in Google searches for people who are searching for education on land investing. As someone who used to work in SEO, I can see that the structure, length, and comparison format are classic SEO techniques. While there's nothing inherently wrong with SEO, the intent here raises concerns.
There's also an ironic element to these reviews. He is critiquing products and courses that he hasn’t personally used. Any legitimate review should come from firsthand experience with the product or service. Offering definitive opinions about courses you haven't taken is like reviewing restaurants you've never eaten at.
I think it's important to acknowledge that every land educator has contributed value to the field. Perhaps some more than others, but each one brings a unique perspective. What resonates with one person may be different than another. Rather than tearing down everyone, I’d rather focus on how different teaching styles and strategies might suit different investors' needs.
When someone consistently promotes one product while criticizing others they haven't tried, it undermines the trust and authenticity that makes this forum valuable.
I'm not trying to create conflict here, but as someone who has learned a lot from different educators in the land investing space, it is concerning when I see someone posting carefully disguised spam and trying to make it look like an unbiased review.
Amy. I am sorry that you feel that way. Looking closer I can see why someone may feel that way. I have been investing for 8 years & Jonathon answered a lot of questions for me at events when I got started so I have followed him closer than others. The posts that you mentioned were from others asking for a recommendation or making a complaint about a program so I made a recommendation. In my post I tried to be objective & mentioned other programs that were better for different reasons. I am not tied to any program. A lot of people reached out to me directly because I have openly stated that I own my programs. That was the basis for the post. I gave reasons why I would not try certain ones. I stated if I owned it or no. I am sorry if it came out as anything else.
- Lender
- Lake Oswego OR Summerlin, NV
- 61,930
- Votes |
- 42,105
- Posts
Quote from @Amy Breen:
I feel compelled to point out something important about this post and its author's posting history. While this review appears comprehensive and objective at first glance, I see a concerning pattern.
Looking through William Ferr's posting history on BiggerPockets, there's an unmistakable pattern of consistently promoting Jonathan Halves and his training course The Land Method and his Land Riches Blueprint, while criticizing other educators. You can see plenty of examples in these threads, where every contribution revolves around this same promotional angle:
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/927/topics/1195612-the-...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/1136123-what...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1103837-which...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/62/topics/1156841-scam-...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/44/topics/1159791-what-...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/79/topics/1121289-has-a...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/44/topics/1159791-what-...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/79/topics/32290-jack-bo...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/938096-land-f...
Given this pattern and the sophisticated marketing approach, I wouldn’t be surprised if "William Ferr" might actually be Jonathan Halves himself, or someone closely tied to his business. While I can't prove this definitively, the posting behavior strongly suggests this isn't coming from a typical satisfied customer.
What's interesting is how this latest post is carefully crafted to rank well in Google searches for people who are searching for education on land investing. As someone who used to work in SEO, I can see that the structure, length, and comparison format are classic SEO techniques. While there's nothing inherently wrong with SEO, the intent here raises concerns.
There's also an ironic element to these reviews. He is critiquing products and courses that he hasn’t personally used. Any legitimate review should come from firsthand experience with the product or service. Offering definitive opinions about courses you haven't taken is like reviewing restaurants you've never eaten at.
I think it's important to acknowledge that every land educator has contributed value to the field. Perhaps some more than others, but each one brings a unique perspective. What resonates with one person may be different than another. Rather than tearing down everyone, I’d rather focus on how different teaching styles and strategies might suit different investors' needs.
When someone consistently promotes one product while criticizing others they haven't tried, it undermines the trust and authenticity that makes this forum valuable.
I'm not trying to create conflict here, but as someone who has learned a lot from different educators in the land investing space, it is concerning when I see someone posting carefully disguised spam and trying to make it look like an unbiased review.
Amy I talked to William off line I dont think he is a plant.. as someone who actually funds land flippers I was curious as to where these folks get the basic training.. And as I posted i grew up in the land business . Its really not that complicated you use the same basic resources that house wholesalers use.. Although instead of knowing about roofs and rehab.. land folks need to know about:
Zoning
where is the power
is there internet
how deep are the wells or is its an area that water is super tough
Does it perc. and or how expensive are septic systems.
Wetlands
Etc.
Now if you target land with all city services then its just dead simple.. figure out the retail value and buy below it and do your flip.. Some like to do owner carry and stack up the passive monthly income etc. So my folks that I fund do the normal stuff SEO Direct Mail text and ( what I did) telemarketing. My target in the 90s was Timber land.
- Jay Hinrichs
- Podcast Guest on Show #222
Quote from @Amy Breen:
I feel compelled to point out something important about this post and its author's posting history. While this review appears comprehensive and objective at first glance, I see a concerning pattern.
Looking through William Ferr's posting history on BiggerPockets, there's an unmistakable pattern of consistently promoting Jonathan Halves and his training course The Land Method and his Land Riches Blueprint, while criticizing other educators. You can see plenty of examples in these threads, where every contribution revolves around this same promotional angle:
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/927/topics/1195612-the-...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/1136123-what...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1103837-which...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/62/topics/1156841-scam-...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/44/topics/1159791-what-...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/79/topics/1121289-has-a...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/44/topics/1159791-what-...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/79/topics/32290-jack-bo...
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/938096-land-f...
Given this pattern and the sophisticated marketing approach, I wouldn’t be surprised if "William Ferr" might actually be Jonathan Halves himself, or someone closely tied to his business. While I can't prove this definitively, the posting behavior strongly suggests this isn't coming from a typical satisfied customer.
What's interesting is how this latest post is carefully crafted to rank well in Google searches for people who are searching for education on land investing. As someone who used to work in SEO, I can see that the structure, length, and comparison format are classic SEO techniques. While there's nothing inherently wrong with SEO, the intent here raises concerns.
There's also an ironic element to these reviews. He is critiquing products and courses that he hasn’t personally used. Any legitimate review should come from firsthand experience with the product or service. Offering definitive opinions about courses you haven't taken is like reviewing restaurants you've never eaten at.
I think it's important to acknowledge that every land educator has contributed value to the field. Perhaps some more than others, but each one brings a unique perspective. What resonates with one person may be different than another. Rather than tearing down everyone, I’d rather focus on how different teaching styles and strategies might suit different investors' needs.
When someone consistently promotes one product while criticizing others they haven't tried, it undermines the trust and authenticity that makes this forum valuable.
I'm not trying to create conflict here, but as someone who has learned a lot from different educators in the land investing space, it is concerning when I see someone posting carefully disguised spam and trying to make it look like an unbiased review.
Have you personally tried any courses or training concerning land?
@William F. Given your extensive reviews and strong opinions about so many land investing courses, would you be willing to verify your identity as an independent investor? This could add some credibility to your reviews and recommendations. Perhaps you could share your LinkedIn profile showing your business background, or even photos of yourself at land investing meetups or events you've attended as an independent investor? This would help everyone feel confident that your reviews come from genuine firsthand experience rather than potentially biased marketing.