RESPONSE MARKETING GROUP

Henry Kahn · 2017-06-14T10:00:03-07:00

I wanted to reach out to the community and get feedback from you guys. I tried looking through the forum but couldn't find anything specifically on Response.com. I recently went to their SnapFlip seminar where they offered me a real estate workshop for $1147. This was going to include Unlimited Funding up to $1 mil through Box Loans (would like feedback on them as well), access to their Deal Desk software (property report). When we went to the workshop they gave us some good basic information but no real steps on how to get started or detailed information regarding our local real estate laws, etc. The whole three days they kept talking about joining their system to get access to their advanced training and mentorship. The packages are $20K, $25K, and $37K. These are significant amounts obviously but they said they can get us initial funding through Seed Capital, etc. We paid them $1000 refundable deposit to see what Seed Capital was offering but as I am going through the process my brother told me about Bigger Pockets. The only value I am seeing from their strategy is the one on one mentorship, unlimited access to free training seminars and the software included analysis tools. They also guarantee that they will work with you until you do your first 3 deals. Their investor expo also has turn key properties that we can purchase. However, I don't know if this is worth $25k or $37k (the 20K doesn't include the mentorship). Before I call and get my money back I wanted to see if anyone here has worked with them or gone through their program. From the information I am seeing on Bigger Pockets, I believe I can get valuable education here for free or little monthly fee (PRO subscription). However, seeing as how real estate law can be tricky and I am also reading about how wholesaling can be illegal if not done properly maybe one on one mentorship and being able to reach out for questions would be worth it? I don't know if its worth $25k but do you guys think its possible to find that guidance and mentorship elsewhere? I am a new REI looking to get into wholesaling, fix and flips and eventually rental properties. Even if I do get the funding from Seed Capital I feel like maybe I can put that towards the deals I do instead of 25K towards the education and mentorship program.Looking forward to your responses and I appreciate you taking the time to read my post. Henry

Ray Lai

Investor / Vendor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 949 votes

9y

@Henry Kahn

You don't need gurus. You do need mentorship though. Gurus aren't that great, they take the same information that is available free on BP and charge thousands for it.

Based on reading your thread, you have neither experience nor money for deals. Luckily for you, you can find deals. I'd recommend looking into "driving for dollars" and going to your local REIA. Talk with successful investors in your area and bring them deals and split it with them. Half of something is better than nothing, especially in highly competitive markets.

We see a million newbies post walls of texts about their dreams and aspirations and disappear/quit because they lack grit and this is merely a fad for them. I actually took the time to read your post, not sure how many will.

Gave you plenty of good intel to act on. If you do end up wanting to do wholesaling and have done some of the basics that I said, feel free to message me and I can help. Many of us have been burned answering tons of questions from a newbie just to have them quit and vanish at the first sign of something difficult.

6 Reply

Henry Kahn

OP

Contractor · The Woodlands, TX · Member since 2017 · 12 posts · 4 votes

9y

@Ray Lai

Ray,

I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I will definitely start by looking through the resources on the website and go from there. I definitely am not going to just disappear. I quit my career job to start my own business in construction/remodeling. I am very ambitious and when I set my mind on something I get it done.

That was the reason I went to the seminars and even considered spending the 25K because I know I can learn and gain the education I just need someone to guide me with questions I have along the way. I am pretty sure I can figure it out on my own. It's just when the real estate law and properly structuring a deal come into play I would like to have someone who can guide me through my first few deals so I can get the hang of it.

I will go through the "Driving For Dollars" and other resources on here and then get in touch with you from there. Again, I appreciate your feedback and support.

1 Reply

Ray Lai

Investor / Vendor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 949 votes

9y

@Henry Kahn

When you partner with someone experienced after bringing them a deal and learn from it, that education is worth more than any guru seminar. It's real world experience.

Best of luck, glad I could help.

Never forget the power of networking at your local REIA. You have a good niche being in construction/remodeling, that's a huge leg up, your foot is already in our industry.

4 Reply

Susan Baran

Real Estate Broker · Global · Member since 2015 · 3 posts · 7 votes

9y

I hate to admit it, I was one of the ones who bought into their program. In a nutshell, they teach you to wholesale - and their unlimited funding is a Proof of Funds letter to facilitate a double closing. You have to prove that you have the contract in hand before they offer the proof of funds. It was an expensive learning experience for me, but it did help me find a local REIA which I have learned more from and made better connections (um, you can find a local REIA by googling it, lol). I am holding them to their staying with me until I "do" my 3 deals - though the personal coaching has ended, I can call in for advice. My advice, get your refund while possible (I wish someone had told me this) - and get connected with experts in your area and online such as Bigger Pockets. In Fact - I get MORE out the blog posts on Bigger Pockets than I did from the very expensive lesson I had. I hope to save you some time and money my friend! Best wishes to you in your career!

6 Reply

Christopher Sierra

Acworth, GA · Member since 2017 · 14 posts · 4 votes

9y

@Ray Lai Fantastic information and advice.

2 Reply

Haylee Keys

Spokane Vly, WA · Member since 2017 · 2 posts · 1 vote

8y

I'm wondering if you ended up going to their advanced training? I was just at their seminar this last weekend and was up in the air about the training so I put a deposit down. It sounds to good to be true.

0 Reply

L J Lasby

Real Estate Investor · Grand Junction, CO · Member since 2017 · 1 post · 1 vote

8y

Response marketing is selling you the very same thing you can get at BP for a fraction of the cost. They are there for one reason and one reason only to up sell you on coaching at high dollar price tags. Stay away from these people They are in Utah and that should tell you something if you can read between the lines. Any coaching they offer is a phone consult for about 30 to 45 min............ There are horror stories with these people just go check out the bad news reports on the internet. The million dollar funding is a joke and is only for REO's and short sells, for which they will charge you $395 plus a 1.65% fee. They are not risking anything nor are they offering you anything. The reason for the High dollar price tag is to suggest to you that they have something of value that other's do not. NO SO do your research.

1 Reply

Casey Christensen

Rental Property Investor · Lehi, UT · Member since 2016 · 105 posts · 96 votes

8y

@L J Lasby - What do you mean by "They are in Utah and that should tell you something if you can read between the lines."

I havent had contact with these people but is it common for these scams to come from Utah? Where I am really new to REI I dont want to find myself in a bad situation if I do run into these people.

1 Reply

Susan Baran

Real Estate Broker · Global · Member since 2015 · 3 posts · 7 votes

8y

Dear Henry, as I have been learning Real Estate, and yes, as I previously posted - I had made the mistake of investing in Response Marketing. If you are still interested in bringing on a coach - I would recommend Chris McClatchy of Real Wealth. I find him to be genuine, caring and truly helpful. He does travel and speak at REIA's - so check with your local REIA to see if he is on the schedule. I just returned from his 3 day weekend event Instant Impact. In 3 days, I learned more about the art of negotiation and getting a deal done vs 16 weeks of "coaching" from Response. I hope this helps, and do wish you great success in your real estate career! Sincerely, Susan

1 Reply

Account Closed

Member since 2018 · 1 post · 0 votes

8y

Thanks for the candid feedback @Susan Baran and the good advice @Ray Lai. Have connected with the local REIA and will go thru Driving for Dollars as well. Seems like most of you are advising to cancel while you can and get your money back, but their contracts state only a 3-day cancel period and it's been over a week. Do they have to let us out if no "advanced" training has been provided yet?

Also of concern for me is whether they omitted any licensure requirements re: wholesaling in their pitch. Does anyone know for sure if wholesalers in Texas must be licensed or can anyone do contract assignments and transactional funding? Would love to connect with other REIA- affiliated people and other colleagues in Houston/The Woodlands area as we explore expanding into wholesaling, so open to advice on the best way to do that. My business partner is a realtor and I have buy and hold rentals here and near Ft. Hood, but no wholesaling experience yet. Trying to plot the best paths to get us to that goal so all advice is welcome.

0 Reply

Mercedes Windsor

Member since 2018 · 2 posts · 0 votes

7y

Do not waste your money on Response Marketing Education. It's a total scam. They only discuss wholesaling. At the 3 day seminar leading up to their more expensive programs, they have a very good speaker named Doug Clark who is a phenomenal salesperson. He goes over a bunch of strategies and talks about everything except wholesaling. My partner and I paid $24,000. We got to the "Boots on the Ground" 3 day event and found that Wholesaling, assignment of contract, and bird dogging were the only things we learned. We were extremely disappointed. We held out hope that maybe the last part of the course, "Deal lab" training in Utah, where we're flown out for 3 days of "intense" training would be useful. It wasn't. The first 2 days were basically a revision of what we'd already learned at "boots on the ground" training. A speaker spoke for 1 hour on tax liens. Which I still don't understand. A social media showed us how to use hashtags on instragram. For $24 000 the education was elementary and nothing more than you'd find on the internet for free. If you want to learn about how to put up bandit signs and post craigslist ads then boots on the ground training is for you. I can't believe they actually still have a company. I wish there were more negative reviews out there to educate these poor customers that they're wasting their money. I can thank of many things I could have spent that 24k on.

0 Reply

Remus Phillips

Investor · Bowie, MD · Member since 2017 · 47 posts · 8 votes

7y

I invested in Response Marketing and it's a scam. They have highly skilled salespeople who will persuade even the poorest individual to spend $20,000 on their program because, after all, you'll make it back tenfold. It's not true. This is what they teach you.

They teach you how to work the MLS system. They will tell you to find realtors and have realtors pull homes that have been on the market for 30+ days, are vacant, have had price reductions, and are sold as-is. The idea is that the owners of these homes are motivated sellers and you can seal a deal by offering substantially low offers. You can then wholesale the contract to an investor. What they don't tell you is that 99.9% of your offers will be rejected. Their ratio is 21:1, meaning for every 21 offers you make, you'll get one. I've put over 200 offers and had no offers.

They also teach you how to use their software to find motivated sellers. The real estate pro software that comes with their package gives lists of homeowners in pre-foreclosure. You can get dates when the notice was sent out and the dates of the auction. The idea is for you to contact these homeowners and offer to buy their home so they can avoid foreclosure. They teach you how to use Spokeo to find the contact information for these homeowners. What they don't tell you is that 1) most of these homeowners' contact information is not on Spokeo, 2) 100s of other investors are reaching out to these homeowners, and 3) the majority of the homeowners do not need to sell.

I am going to do all I can to get my money back from these people who care more about lining their pockets than actually teaching anything. Stay away from Response.com.

0 Reply

Cameron Daulton

Rental Property Investor · Kokomo, IN · Member since 2018 · 16 posts · 1 vote

7y

I see a lot of negative reviews and I appreciate the honesty but to the investors who have found dissatisfaction I ask can you get funding to do a deal if you pay the $1000 up front? And can you use the monthly $29.95 cost for title searches regardless?

0 Reply

Keridak Silk

Germantown, WI · Member since 2017 · 1 post · 0 votes

7y

I just finished the response weekend and did not buy the upsell programs. If you wait to buy more from them they call with much lower-priced options.

They did go through a lot of different ways to make money in real estate. One was wholesaling - I thought it was clear that the Boots on the Ground weekend was only about wholesaling. The million-dollar financing is mainly a letter telling property owners that you are covered and that this is a cash purchase. It gets you in the door. To get the letter and if needed the 3-day loan of the purchase price, you must have things in place - an LLC and A Buyer already on contract are the biggest. I listened to the videos and read the material that came with the initial investment. It walks you through all of the steps.

Response also gave me, when I purchased the 3 days, a certificate to redeem for my full investment $1,000 if I do a deal within 6 months. I am moving forward. A little unhappy at all the upsell, but working with what I have been given. The event includes the deal desk which has info other sites charge for. It is only useful for FISBO properties and they email me the new FISBO properties for the two counties I chose.

FYI -- Illinois has a bill on the governor's desk that restricts wholesaling to brokers. This is the first state that I am aware of to do this.

With no down payment and being self-employed, I believe this is a way to get into the industry. I will followup if I have issues.

0 Reply

Zoran Stanoev

Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 147 posts · 73 votes

7y

@Keridak Silk

That new law in Illinois that limits wholesaling to brokers has passed and went into effect immediately.

0 Reply

Terence Stamp

Des Moines, IA · Member since 2019 · 2 posts · 5 votes

6y

Is the money that they charge for the three day weekend refundable?

0 Reply

Michael Hilkey

Pleasant Grove, UT · Member since 2015 · 4 posts · 0 votes

6y

THIS is Response Marketing Group - AKA Nudge -- take a look!

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2019/11/ftc-acts-shut-down-companies-operating-real-estate-seminar-scheme

0 Reply

Morris Yarjovski

Member since 2019 · 1 post · 0 votes

6y

My experience of Response has been nothing short than disastrous. I went to their costly initial workshop and later their “Boots-on-the-Ground” training. The workshop is similar to any other workshop that’s offered by numerous other organizations out there (and yes, I have gone to a number of other workshops by other organizations & have joined other organizations as well). Though, the Boots on the Ground training was better than expected because of the instructor.

The part that was disastrous for me was when they ask me to join their upper tiers of training that cost 10’s of thousands of dollars. They promised special software for my business and training, which I never received. When asked when this situation would be corrected, they asked for additional funds to complete my initial contract obligations. The more I paid, the longer they stalled in meeting their obligations of sending me the proper software. They kept saying that they will send the proper software, and just to be patient.

After several months of trying to get the software that they promised and never delivered, I finally insisted for a refund of my money. They immediately refused to do so and stated that I had gone beyond their refund date timeframe. After complaining intensely, over a course of a couple of months, they offered me a small fraction of what I paid and basically said “take it or leave it”.

I should qualify my situation by saying that NO organization that I have ever been a member of has ever used the denial of services/delay/refusal to refund scam that Response did with me. In my opinion, they are a scam and none should trust their claims nor their marketing. They are not trustworthy and should be avoided at all costs. Anything they have to offer a new RE investor can be found here on Bigger Pockets without the expense & frustration. I just wish I had done my research before going to any of their presentations.

0 Reply

Collette Lezama

Member since 2019 · 3 posts · 0 votes

3y

Hi all,

I wish I saw these posts a few years ago. I do have to say, not having the amount of money that they wanted me to gather, and NOT putting anything on my credit cards, it has saved me real trouble. I have however, spent about $2,500 with them. I did get a wonderful coach that helped and answered all my questions along the way. It was wholesaling, though. I did learn a lot as I came to the table without any knowledge. He took me through the whole process all the way up to the actual sale of a flip. I feel confident that I can do this. This program also came with the Real Estate Elite which includes the Deal Desk Analyzer. After some health issues with my husband and brother, I am ready to jump right in and updating my business plan. I am interested in flipping and was hoping to take advantage of that Deal Desk Analyzer software program they had.

Does anyone know of that kind of program out there?

I do have to say, if you were able to pass up this place, kudos for you! I just read an article that was updated on this company that was posted on Dec 20, 2022. Turns out that Response was one of the biggest scam in history with a payout to those who filed complaints to $11 million.

I am looking for 2 things:

1) Something like the Deal Desk Analyzer

2) Direction regarding obtaining loans that are not conventional; higher interest, 100% financing, 12 month contract.

Any help is these areas would be greatly appreciated.

0 Reply

Collette Lezama

Member since 2019 · 3 posts · 0 votes

3y

Quote from @Susan Baran:

Dear Henry, as I have been learning Real Estate, and yes, as I previously posted - I had made the mistake of investing in Response Marketing. If you are still interested in bringing on a coach - I would recommend Chris McClatchy of Real Wealth. I find him to be genuine, caring and truly helpful. He does travel and speak at REIA's - so check with your local REIA to see if he is on the schedule. I just returned from his 3 day weekend event Instant Impact. In 3 days, I learned more about the art of negotiation and getting a deal done vs 16 weeks of "coaching" from Response. I hope this helps, and do wish you great success in your real estate career! Sincerely, Susan

Hi there,

I know that it has been some time since you posted. I wish I saw these posts a few years ago. I do have to say, not having the amount of money that they wanted me to gather, and NOT putting anything on my credit cards, it has saved me real trouble. I have however, spent about $2,500 with them. I did get a wonderful coach that helped and answered all my questions along the way. It was wholesaling, though. I did learn a lot as I came to the table without any knowledge. He took me through the whole process all the way up to the actual sale of a flip. I feel confident that I can do this. This program also came with the Real Estate Elite which includes the Deal Desk Analyzer. After some health issues with my husband and brother, I am ready to jump right in and updating my business plan. I am interested in flipping and was hoping to take advantage of that Deal Desk Analyzer software program they had.

Do you know of that kind of program out there?

I do have to say, if you were able to pass up this place, kudos for you! I just read an article that was updated on this company that was posted on Dec 20, 2022. Turns out that Response was one of the biggest scam in history with a payout to those who filed complaints to $11 million.

I am looking for 2 things:

1) Something like the Deal Desk Analyzer

2) Direction regarding obtaining loans that are not conventional; higher interest, 100% financing, 12 month contract.

Any help is these areas would be greatly appreciated.

I do appreciate your time in replying.

0 Reply

William Hochstedler

Broker · Logan, UT · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

3y

According to this article, these guys were just hit with a $15M judgement for "employing deceptive tactics to sell expensive real estate investment training programs"

https://www.cachevalleydaily.c...

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RESPONSE MARKETING GROUP

RESPONSE MARKETING GROUP

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