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Updated 1 day ago, 11/21/2024
My experience with Flipsystem
I joined Flipsystem (FS) about a year ago for the following reasons:
1. I had invested in out of state RE in the Midwest before. buy & holds in OH that we ran into several issues with, incompetent PMs and lot of repairs required leading to losses and instability.
2. I wanted it to be passive since I have a full time job in tech and cannot do what "boots on the ground can".
3. I wanted to avoid shady characters and losses while trying to build a rental portfolio that was rehabbed to a good standard and didn't have much maintenance issues.
4. Networking with other OOS investors and shared knowledge and experience.
FS seemed to have all the answers so I bit the bullet and paid 15k to get it going. ( I know, but hindsight is 20/20). Before signing up, i asked if I could talk to a FS student to so they referred me to a woman who had good things to say. She turned out to be Antonie's girlfriend. This is really shady business and I do not appreciate the lack of full disclosure on this very apparent conflict of interest.
This is a tale of caution for anyone who gets their marketing on social media and is considering signing up. Know what to expect doing into it. IMO, there are better and cheaper ways to do it. When i signed up, I couldn't find any reviews on BP and I hope this helps people make the right choice.
1. they make it sound like they do a lot more work than they actually do. They said Max 3-4 hrs of work a week. But it takes a lot more than that.
2. They charge $1000 if you buy one of their pre selected properties. There is no guarantee that the numbers will pencil out in real life so that is on you. These properties are on the MLS most of the time. but to be fair, it is not required for you to buy their advertised properties.
3. Their "teams on the ground" are supposed to be vetted. They are not. They are just partnerships with local teams and the true beneficiaries here are FS and the teams at your expense. They don't guarantee their performance and your money is lost if they flee with it.
4. They charge 15K for their 1 year support -
a. the reality of this support : yes, they will respond to your questions but only if they are to understand how things work - like a real estate 101 class. The advice is very basic. There is no 1:1 troubleshooting that is really specific to your concerns.
b. They used to have a Discord community which they closed down in favor of a heavily moderated chat feature. This is heavily moderated. No posts that display dissatisfaction will make it onto the chat.
c. They conduct weekly meetings and most of the content is rinse-repeat. Again heavily moderated. No room for feedback or disapproval.
d. They want to have tight control of which team is introduced to work with and do not allow sharing of info among members. There is no networking avenue and people cannot really have an honest discussion or provide feedback.
f. Contacts for Hard money lenders, title company etc - this is really not a big thing . Quick google search is all you need.
They charge $197 for a monthly subscription to a deal analyzer. It is just a calculator. Ridiculous to have to pay for this.
Another way they are making money: Offering to market our properties to their mailing list of turnkey buyers.
Another $1k down the drain. They would not share info or stats on how many successful sales have happened in the market via their website. But i was desperate to sell and get my money back so I paid and it turned out just as I expected. Little to no interest. We dont know how many people it was marketed to. what are the actual sales figures.
All in all, the Martels are making a lot of money first timers who don't know any better. Some good investor focussed realtors will give you all those intros and more for free. I wish I didn't do it. Personal referrals are the way to go IMO.