Lifestyles Unlimited by Del Walmsley

[Jesus Garcia]

Is anyone here a member of Lifestyles Unlimited or does anyone have any experience with them. They are a mentoring program that helps you get started in REI based out of Houston. From what I can tell so far they seem to be legit. I attended a "Case study" last night but was unable to stay long but I am attending a workshop in early January and I will let you know how that goes.
Thanks

[Don Konipol]

Although I was never a member of Lifestyles, a few years ago I taught some classes for them as a guest lecturer and attended some others. I also got to know some of the members as well as Del and others working for him. I do not think Lifestyles is in the same category as many of the other guru and mentoring programs, in that Lifestyles provides a hands on approach with very specific guidance and an emphasis on the actual purchase of residential properties. Their emphasis seems to be on realistic approaches to real estate investing, unlike many of the easy money (and useless) methods taught by the "gurus".
On the down side I have found that Lifestyles "over promises". Hence they are able to lead an inexperienced real estate investor to believe that obtaining "the lifestyle" i.e. passive cash flow is much easier than it really is. A number of the members I am personally aquainted with have purchased a large number of multi family units, however, for the most part these have been management intensive apartment projects that do not lend themselves well to absentee ownership. I know quite a few ex members who said that they were able to obtain positive cash flow from their investments, but that the passive part was a myth, that they were spending lots of time putting out fires at their properties. The truth of the matter is that Lifestyles bread and butter are C and D apartments, in these absentee management usually means profits are absent also. Further, Lifestyles tag line is that they can teach anyone enough so that anyone can be successful as an investor in real estate. My experience in the business (30 + years), has shown me that this is absolutely incorrect. Just like not everyone can be a successful surgeon, airline pilot, or major league baseball player, not everyone can be a successful investor. Better to find out if you have the capacity for success in real estate before you invest your money, find out if any of the ingedients you might be missing are obtainable and then figure out if they can cost effectively be obtained.
Jody, Lifestyles may very well work for you in your ambition for real estate investment success. Lifestyles is certainly a much better choice than most of the other so called guru or mentorship programs. However, I think you are currently suffering from myopic vision, seeing only the positive and not the negative. I'm afraid the tone of your posts are similiar to those of new multi level (network) marketing recruits, i.e. Amway, or whatever their name is this month. It sounds like an almost religious feverence, Del is a deity whose only purpose is to help people, the mentors at lifestyle do it to give back, not the money, etc. The truth is Lifestyles is a business like any other business, despite what they may claim or it's membership wants to believe, they perform their service for the same reason we all work , THE MONEY.