Fortune Builders?

[Jonica Miller]

I went to a FortuneBuilders seminar this past weekend and am wondering if it's worth the $20-34K Invest they are asking for. Does anyone have any knowledge about them, good or bad? Or is there a better way to get started in real estate investing? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[Account Closed]

I just finished the 3-Day this weekend and will share my experience. Background? I am pretty open minded. I am just getting started in REI, I own one rental and am working on my first flip.

So it all started with those late night commercials. I have seen guru after guru promote them over the years. The commercials always annoy me because they are filled with teaser content and FB was no different. That said, for whatever reason (well the reason is I am sponging all I can learn about REI), I signed up for the free 2-hour seminar.

I went to the free seminar expecting to be disappointed. I told myself the guy would get 30 minutes of my time to provide the content promised on tv before I walked out. He had me convinced in less than 5 minutes that I would be spending the next 2 hours of my life listening to him and it turned out to be worth every minute. I signed up for the $197 3-day class, thinking if the content was half as good, it would be worth the time and money. I knew full-well much of the 3-day would be spent trying to sell me the "next level". I am an appraiser and spend about $100-150 on each 8 hour CE class I take, usually 4 every two years. In that perspective, I though the $197 could be a fair deal and worth the risk.

So I go to the 3 day. I could write a lot about it here, so I will try to be as brief as possible and still get the story in. The first segment almost made me walk out. It was full-on conditioning. That said, while it is certainly true the conditioning served FB in terms of selling their product, it was also a necessary and effective method to make sure every person took the most out of the weekend as possible. So on that score, frankly it was a win-win for everyone. I was impressed that they were smart enough to do that, even if the motives could be questioned.

After the initial "conditioning", the presenter started to get into the meat of things (Jeremy). True, the REI content was salted with sales pitch and conditioning every step of the way, however an intelligent person ought see through that and be able to separate the REI content from pitch. While it was corny to participate in the group interactions and reaffirmations, the truth is the method is a highly effective way of learning and frankly I was glad they did it that way. Its tough to learn from a bore.

I found the over-all content was well worth the $197 and 3 days of my time. No, they could not dive deep into every aspect of everything. However, the did a very good job of giving a general and comprehensive overview and offered many, many, many very useful specific pieces of information. Not a single person got a bad deal on their $197 as far as I am concerned. For instance (this is for all you haters of FB and lovers of BP), I searched BP a year ago to get advice on the best way to structure an REI business in terms of taxes. I got tons of people who chimed in, yet never got a straight answer besides "go ask a tax accountant when it comes to that stuff". So I did ask a tax accountant, who told me I would be better off asking people who already have an REI business. Hmm. FB spent a short time going over how they do it and why. What they said made perfect sense and I will now be modifying my tax structure because of it. Score: FB 1, BP 0. Just sayin. That information alone was worth the $197 and maybe the $35k over the length of my business career. Keep an open mind folks.

While I thoroughly enjoyed and benefitted from the FB 3-day, and truth be told might have laid down the $35k right there and then if I had it in DISPOSABLE CASH to spend, I did not like the high-pressure sales tactics. The value I see in the $35k is not in the education or coaching (though there is certainly value in that), but the turn-key access to their systems. However, now that I am at the point of not being able to afford the $35k and FB is trying to squeeze me for anything they can (which is coaching), I question whether or not I would have ever received the access I expected anyways. That would have been my gamble had I had the money and pulled the trigger. This issue is also the crux of my current decision and why I ended up here to investigate. Unfortunately I've found exactly zero posts about their systems, which leads me to believe the access does not exist. Score on that one; FB 0, BP 1.

I am grateful to and love BP. I refer everyone I know here. That said, I think there are some guru haters here who offer too many opinions with a very closed mind. I have the information I now need to make an informed, rational and most importantly thought-out decision about FB, however I had to weed through the haters bull and uninformed opinions to get it. Not too different from the FB 3-day as far as I am concerned. Just sayin. I think something great about FB is that after the sale is done and the content comes, it comes in a neat little package. That has got to be worth something, no? You get what you pay for comes to mind.

To end, I would recommend the 3-day seminar to anyone, with a word of caution, don't bring your checkbook because while you will get the high quality info from some of the best in the business, you will also get sold by the best in the business! Beware!!!

I don't know if the FB Mastery is worth it or not. I know I will not put money on a credit card to find out. If FB is reading and they are legit, and they want to improve, my advice is tone down the high pressure sales closing tactics (pitch level is fine, just have some ethics about closing it) and provide better transparency to what you are selling. I am not giving you money because I don't have enough information on the part of your offerings that I am most interested in (systems access). I also think the written return policy is weak.

I could say much more, but goodness, how many of you even made it this far?!?!?!?

I say don't hate FB because they want to make money. Than Merrill is certainly one of the most successful REI investors anyone could ever hope to sponge from. I also say be aware of your risk anytime you pull out your wallet. I wish my feelings were not so mixed. I would prefer to write a review that said, "I think FB is the bomb and worth every cent". Truth is I don't know if it is or isn't. If they deliver, its worth more than $35k by a long shot. That's on FB no matter what perspective you take. Too few Mastery Students telling their story on BP, which I think says a lot and is unfortunate.

I will end with this. My life is forever changed after attending the FB 3-day. Bravo and thank you FB for that.