Can anyone talk to me about "Path to Profits"

Question

located in Irvine (California) and Draper (Utah). I have them on the blower...I attended a workshop very recently, and now find myself enabled toward a better way of working with real estate...Can they be trusted ? What are the downsides ? What else should I know before I "invest" ?

Peter MacKercher · Answer

Like the others above have already mentioned, the deals they're offering sound shaky at best. You'd be wise to consider what part of their offerings they're making money on. If they're not selling education but are selling properties and loans, then, bingo, that's what they're eating off of. The question is whether you're getting a full plate of your own or just the scraps from their deals and, from the sound of it...

Gordon Cuffe · Answer

I would say the only downside to them is the prices of the homes they are selling are at or above appraised value. I looked at their prices on their st Louis homes and you can find lower prices in similar areas with similar rents. It is best to buy below value in the mid west cities because homes don't appreciate like they do in California. If you ever have questions about the St Louis market , you can always ask me.

David Johnson · Answer

I just realized I never followed up here. My experience was as expected. I was mildly surprised to find that nothing really was for sale there. I expected some kind of a gimmick. stayed to the end and never felt pressured. No sales pitch of any kind really. The properties were what I expected. Should note that they are a NET 10%+ return, which is better than I've seen before (aside from the occasional craigslist ad). They figured the cap % properly (with ample vacancy and maint). The cash on cash return was 15% on the house I was looking at (I DID NOT end up buying it).All in all, it was a refreshing twist on a very tired offering. No complaints. Good information.

Brent Coombs · Answer

@Christopher Green, if you still go ahead with any turnkey purchases through "Path to Profits" after reading what @Richard Dunlop and @Bob Hines wrote above, then you won't ever be able to say you weren't warned!A "better way of working with real estate"? Really? Please tell.Is the summary given by @David Johnson fairly accurate? If so, the downside of a GROSS return of just 10% using borrowings costing 9% should be self evident.Welcome to BP. Thanks for your post, and you are wished all the best. Please continue to share your thoughts. Cheers...

Bob Hines · Answer

Turn keys in St. Louis are a bad idea. Last week I drove by a 3/1 brick house listed for $25k that was in good condition, occupied, 2 car garage nice yard and would rent for $800-$850.....and I kept on driving. Not a good area. Not an area that will come back anytime soon (St Louis is block by block and some blocks in that area have potential but this wasn't one of them). Been on the market for months and resale would be really hard in the future and tenants would probably be Section 8 only and even at that, bottom of the barrel Section 8 too. But it sounds amazing on paper! Would be a decent buy for twice the price on paper. It always sounds good on paper.

Richard Dunlop · Answer

I don't know about the St Louis market but I am familiar with the SE Michigan market. I don't recommend Turn Key in general and certainly not in Michigan.It takes more than a property manager to be successful in Michigan.

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

@Curt Davis probably no different than any of the affiliations you may have with west coast or Aussie or GB based marketing companies I am sure you know this.

Christopher Green · Answer

we should definitely talk a little, outside of this forum..my phone is 602.573.4157

Curt Davis · Answer

From their website they are located in California but all the homes that you see on their site are from Sr Louis or Michigan so the questions is, are they just referring you to the actual company in those markets or are they the ones actually involved, doing the work with their own team or crews in those markets?

David Johnson · Answer

path to profits is advertising in my area. I did some advance tactical and this is what I found out. if anyone is interested.They hold free events in a city (in my case Irvine) but they claim they don't sell education, coaching, mentoring, software or more seminars. There is nothing for sale at the event except a 'handful of cash flowing turnkey rental properties” as i was told by someone who called me after i registered. They bring deals that they say cash flow at 10% with financing pre arranged at 7-9%. @Christopher Green can you confirm this is true? or is it a bait and switch like the other companies that come through here every other week (armando, yancey, flipping formula, etc). They also said that there is no pressure to buy anything, every property comes with a 10% CAP rate, financing, home warranty, due diligence period etc etc. If this is the case. I'm going to go check it out. it would be a refreshing angle in a scummy industry of real estate seminars. Also, how do they figure their cap rate? I see people taking shortcuts on that all the time which would lead to a nasty surprise. What did they teach you? It's a 8 hour seminar instead of a 2 hour sales pitch, so i'm assuming there is more content. but is it any good? I asked about their affiliation with any of the utah companies spoken about earlier in this thread and they said since there is no ongoing education of coaching, they don't affiliate with those people in any way.