Webinars

[Jaime Siva]

Question

I am ready willing and motivated to begin real estate investing. However with all the experts online ready to teach and coach for a price all give a very convincing webinar pitch and if you can't afford there price don't want anything to do with you until you can pay their fee. I am sure there are some who earned their success the honest way and those who were not so honest and just trying to take advantage of others for their own success. There are a couple of gurus out there that I think are honest but just am not positive. So how can a new person who wants to start real investing know who to trust to coach and partner with?

[J Scott]

Personally, I wouldn't pay a penny to any coach until:

1. You spend a couple months learning everything I could without paying anything. There is a ton of information out there (much of it right here on BP) that doesn't cost anything, and just by spending a couple months reading BP, you'll more than the majority of investors who are actually doing deal.

2. You network with local investors and try to form a relationship that will allow you to learn from someone local who doesn't teach real estate as their primary source of income.

3. If/when you do decide you want to hire a coach to help you, make sure that you spend time doing your due diligence. Talk to past and current students, and don't stop asking questions until you hear the bad along with the good. And don't trust anyone who hasn't verifiably been successful in the business. Make sure the coach actually has verifiable real estate experience. And make sure you understand what you're getting for your money.

4. If you go the coaching route, you can decide how much you want to pay. But personally, I would never sign a long-term agreement and I would never put down a lot of money upfront. If a coach is good, he should be happy to let you pay as you go, and he should be happy to let you go out on your own if you're not satisfied with what you're getting out of the deal.

Just my $.02, of course...