Has anyone had any experience with Phil and Shenoah Grove?

[Jessica Valentin]

I am sceptical about the REI program and wondering if anyone has had any experience with Phil and Shenoah Grove. I am here on day two of a weekend log seminar and it is really starting to sound like a scam.

[Don Alder-LaRue]

I just attended Phil and Shenoah Grove's "Big Live Event" this past weekend in Austin. I like going to these kinds of events and typically find a way in without paying out of my own pocket (in this instance, a friend of mine joined the REIA and had 2 tickets to the "Big Live Event", so I went for free.)

For those who don't know, the Big LIve Event is a 3 day workshop on real estate investing.  It is touted as a weekend where you will learn 12 ways to invest in real estate, 65 marketing strategies, and 10 closes, all designed to maximize your deals.  Of course this also comes with having to listen to "the pitch" about joining the "Big Dog" program at a cost of $20,000 to $50,000!  I won't go into more about the "Big Dog" program as I did not join.  For those who wish to pay that kind of money, I'm sure it's very motivating.  God knows I would not want to spend that kind of money and do nothing.

Beyond listening to the "Big Dog" pitch, there were also two vendors, an insurance agent specializing in working with investors as he's an investor himself, and Quest self directed IRA. Both vendors offered good information about their services and how you can use their services to help your business. With all that being said, this leaves the question of "did they do what they said they would (teach the 12/65/10).

I listened very closely, and can say that of the 12 ways investing strategies (Wholesale, Short Sale, Wrap, Mortgage Assignment (Subject to), E Partner, Fix & Flip, Contract for Deed, Lease - Option, House Swap, Buy and Hold, Referrals), 7 were covered.  You had to listen very closely for a couple of those as Phil lightly touched on them and moved on.

Of the 65 marketing strategies, only a few were covered, and lightly at that.

Of the 10 closes, 3 were covered.

The remainder of the time at the event was a lot of stories told by Phil Grove - "I made over $281,000 on this house", but when an attendee asked what strategies he used to make that kind of money the answer was "I don't remember, that was a long time ago";  "I live in a 3.9(?)Million Dollar Mansion and this is how I got it."; "Here's a picture of me" with this celebrity and that celebrity (yawn). 

What I found glaring about the weekend was the pitch for the big dog program (as expected, so that's not really a criticism) , but as soon as the crew finished interviewing those who filled out the forms for more information on the big dog program, Phil was notified by a person in the back of the room that they were done with their interviews and within minutes the entire weekend was wrapped up and I have to say it wasn't done smoothly. Since I was attending with a person who paid $100 for her membership to the REIA at the basic level and can't afford the big dog program, I found this quite disrespectful to her and other attendees who don't have that kind of money. They paid their money to learn the 12/65/10, but didn't get all that they paid for.

My overall thoughts on the Dallas/Houston/Austin/San Antonio REIA meetings are good. I would recommend that you go as a visitor once, even pay the $100 to join the REIA (I feel it would be $100 well spent for the networking possibilities, chalk it up to marketing expense) so you can continue going to the monthly meetings. At the monthly meetings, go on time, but don't sit in the main hall listening to the pitch to join the REIA at $100 again, stay in the lobby area and look for name tags with a red dot on them. These are the Big Dog members. Talk to them, network with them, find a few good wholesale deals (and I do mean good deals, so you can build rapport), and after you have a rapport you may be able to ask one or two for coaching/mentoring opportunities.  For those who don't have the extra $20K-$50K to spend on the big dog program, it's a good use of $100 worth of marketing and your time.   Who knows, you may even make some friends or find a coach/mentor sooner than thought.