New Orleans, LA · Member since 2014 · 7 posts · 1 vote
Last night I attended the Dave & Pete Flipping Formula seminar, which they were not even there. The seminar was helpful, but I should have known it was too good to be true. They offer resources to money and buyers so it sounds great being that I have bad credit and live paycheck to paycheck. At they end though we were told it cost $6,000 for the 3 day training but if we act tonight it will be $2,000. I used $500 of my rent money to reserve a spot and I was going to get the rest from my IRA account. Well I did my due diligence after the class, which I should have done first, and it seems everyone that has gone says at the end they just want another $30k - 40k for you to move forward and access their resources. I want to know if this is true and for someone like me who could never get access to this amount of money what would I get out of the 3 day course. Would I get access to this so called $500k? I think this afternoon I am going to cancel and get my $500 back.
Last and final question. I know it takes money to make money, but for someone like me with terrible credit, student loan debts, and no saved money, is there a way I can get funds to start wholesaling, flipping, or renting houses? Here in New Orleans rent right now is crazy! People are getting top dollar for such small square footage and as soon as properties are listed they are literally rented a day or two after.
Check out the free BiggerPockets Podcast - A weekly podcast with interviews and a ton of great advice. And you get the benefit of having over 70 past ones to catch up on.
Locate and attend 3 different local REIA club meetings great place to meet people gather resources and info. Here you will meet wholesalers who provide deals and rehabbers.
You might consider Niche or Specialized Housing like student housing. Rents can be 2-4 times more. Remember you don't have to own a property to control it.
Download BP’s newest book here some good due diligence in Chapter 10. Real Estate Rewind Starting over
The following is what I wrote about another guru's class. That one was only $1,000 for the 2d class.
And when he doesn't answer your questions in the $1,000 session he will imply or he'll at least cause you to infer that your questions will be answered in the 10-20K session. I'd be extremely doubtful that he would be able to teach you anything that has not been discussed on BP. The price of BP is only the time you spend reading and I know it is worth it many times over.
Some classes have great info but you can probably learn most of the same stuff by taking the time and using the tools and resources on this website. I doubt that clasee will have any secret funding sources so don't expect to get access to $500k just by taking the class. Also, to wholesale deals doesn't take any money and it's a good starting point for someone like you with no capital.
It is very tempting to pay someone to hold your hand and teach you how you can be a millionaire yourself. Many people have done it and still do it to this day.
All in all, just like everyone is saying. You will learn as much and sometimes even more for FREE using BP or internet in general. This day, information can easily be turned into profit and those "gurus" have wisely tapped into it.
I suggest spending 2 hours one weekend just browsing this forum. You will learn soo much, and you'll at least have an idea of what direction you'd like to take.
Check out the free BiggerPockets Podcast - A weekly podcast with interviews and a ton of great advice. And you get the benefit of having over 70 past ones to catch up on.
Locate and attend 3 different local REIA club meetings great place to meet people gather resources and info. Here you will meet wholesalers who provide deals and rehabbers.
You might consider Niche or Specialized Housing like student housing. Rents can be 2-4 times more. Remember you don't have to own a property to control it.
Download BP’s newest book here some good due diligence in Chapter 10. Real Estate Rewind Starting over
As someone that seriously considered signing up for a "class" a few months back I can safely say I am glad I did not (Thank goodness I did some googleing before hand). While vetting the class on google I stumbled across BP and started reading, listening, and participating in the greater REI community not only on BP but also at local meetups from BP and REIA meetings in my local community. BP has been the best resource I have come accross and you can learn so much from just reading, but I have found the more I particapate in the forums the more I learn in return.
On a side note you might want to evaluate your situation and think about some basic personal goals to get your personal finances in order. The good news is there are multiple ways to pursue REI but even the "No money" ways to get into REI really have some cost associated with it. This might be minimal but there will still be costs, so being able to set a personal budget and stash some cash aside each paycheck for REI will help you get on track.
Best of luck and read the Ultimate beginners guide that @Paul Timmins linked above, read it multiple times and then read it some more :).
What a load of crap!!!.... Spend about a month here on BP networking and studying..... Use that $500 towards your first marketing campaign.. If you run into a problem just shoot someone here a message... You would be surprised how quick people here are willing to help. I cant believe people spend that kind of money on the gurus......
Holy cr@p - this is the SECOND story I've heard about this Flipping Formula group convincing people to spend their RENT and their IRA or 401K on this program - which yes I heard is about $40K once they have their hooks in you. They did this to one woman I spoke with by telling her "With all the secret strategies we'll teach you, you'll make that $40K back in 2-3 months and can put it right back in your RETIREMENT ACCOUNT."
I am all for quality education, but ANYONE that tries to get you to do something SO SPECULATIVE with your RETIREMENT account should be held accountable. If it's not illegal, it's certainly unethical so the question here is DO YOU WANT TO DO BUSINESS WITH PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT ETHICAL? Hhhmmmm.
The only strategy I like for using your retirement account is the Self-Directed IRA (SDIRA) for funding & profiting from actual real estate deals - not for buying some TV personalities' course.
Take my advice Sir and research before going to any seminar. Always add the word "scam" to your search and see what shows up.
Also, myself being a newbie here, I must totally agree with everyone else that any bit of knowledge that they would share with you for 2k - 40k can be aquired for nothing or next to nothing here at Bigger Pockets if you look for it. If you have any question that pertains to real estate investing, you will go very far asking it here.
I met a guy in one of our local meetups who was bragging about spending the $25k for one of the "Platinum" level courses, he said they got him $800k in private funding pretty quickly.
I would NEVER spend the money to go see one of these courses, I just wanted to play devil's advocate and share one person who seemed happy with the results.
Good for him. Of course, you can get private money from any number of sources without buying an expensive Wholesale-Your-Way-to-Riches guru course.
I would be more impressed to hear, "Wow, D*ve and P*te were there, and those guys turned me on to strategies and information that I'd never heard before and now I've made back my money 10X over using those proven, secret techniques...". Followed by "It was DEFINITELY worth wiping out my 401K to take that 5-day course. It only tool me 15 years to save that money. Seemed like a good swap...."...
@Chad Kerlin I heard this directly from a Guru to remain nameless. They were approached by marketers to use this same approach to sell their product. It goes something like this, and I have been to a few of the "free" sessions and have confirmed through observations.
They are all set up the same. Someone is standing up front with their Powerpoint, compelling story, and lots of facts. In back is two or three assistants. They tell their story, get you fired up, give a little free information that is easily confirmed and then start with the count down...
Would you pay $15,000...$10,000...$5,000... and so on. What the people in the back are looking for is to see the crowd reaction. Once they are certain they will sell a few sessions at a certain price, then this is the price that is set. Not totally a trick but a bit like the old Vaudeville shows with the special elixir or tonic to sell.
They will sell you on the next session, give you a few gold nuggets, then up sell you again doing the same thing.
You will learn from them, they do have good information. But, as you can see from the previous replies it is all right here on BP for free.
The best thing for you to do is take action. Make some mistakes, and then learn from them.
Don't do it, man you have all the info that you may need right here on Bigger Pockets, and there are a lot of other active investor who have free info, like podcast and ebooks that will give you all you need, or if you realy have to you can whole lot more for just $500 or $600 just make sure it's not a upsale, I always ask them is there another class and advance class, if they say yes I don't do it, you also have to be careful of the REI Clubs, a lot of time there are in Cahoots with each other, they get half of whats is made on a class for a day or two, I also have got tooking for my money, been to a lot of classes, so to over come this I started to work for them to learn more about the RE business and got more about how they work the so call Real Estate circuit, Try the free podcast on www.houseflippinghq.com it is so much you can gain, all that up sale and expensive class are BS, I know people who took the those classes and still can't make it work, and I know people who just read a book and now making a ton of money.
@Bryan Kipke that is exactly how the session went. They got a lot of people fired up. This may be okay for someone that has that kind of money laying around to blow, but they drew me in with the no money no credit thing. Obviously this website is worth more than there highest level session.
Needless to say after my first post and reading everyone's answers I called and got my $500 back. Only thing now is to send their precious binder of info back.....haha
Great @Chad Kerlin way to take that action and get your money back. Once I was enlightened it is almost comical to attend. It is not just Real Estate either. I have been to stock market investing seminars, and small business seminars that were exactly the same.
I do get a little something out of each one I attend. Like an athlete it is good to reinforce the fundamentals but I don't ever buy the upsell.
Wow. I'm too young to be an old-timer, but honestly I thought you were referring to a totally different Dave and Pete, both of whom have many satisfied customers and offer way cheaper REI education seminars.
I'd hold off on giving these people your money for now. Spend it when you know more about you want to focus on. Flipping is just one REI strategy and might not be the one for you. Some people get great results from paying mentors and REI education orgs huge amounts (by my standards). My observation is that many ofthose people already have business skills and focus and motivation (and sometimes money!) and would do well anywhere they focused. Listen and learn and think awhile first.
"It was DEFINITELY worth wiping out my 401K to take that 5-day course. It only tool me 15 years to save that money. Seemed like a good swap...."...
=P
OK. This is pretty funny. Except here in Santa Barbara I meet people all the time, usually women, who have lost big money on whatever venture it was, saying the same thing: The learning, the experience, and wiping out my savings to find out I'm not cut out for (land lording, trust deed investing, owning a yarn store) was totally, definitely worth it.
Oh my God... I was just about to make a phone call and give a Credit Card over the phone to signup for their next event this weekend here in the Great Philadelphia area. I'm glad I came accrues BP before doing so. I guess I'll save my 2K today and spend my weekend here on BP. Thanks to all members whom took the time to review Flipping Formula.
We have the seminars here in Orlando at least once a month by different so-called guru's and I went once to a 2 hour seminar and they wanted me to pay $1000 for the 2 day course and of course I have no money. I then found BP and this place has everything that you could need. I got my real estate license and now work for a firm that specializes in wholesaling properties. Why don't you look and see if their is companies that specialize in wholesaling that you can go work for in New Orleans?
Oh my God... I was just about to make a phone call and give a Credit Card over the phone to signup for their next event this weekend here in the Great Philadelphia area. I'm glad I came accrues BP before doing so. I guess I'll save my 2K today and spend my weekend here on BP. Thanks to all members whom took the time to review Flipping Formula.
I think buying J Scott's books will also be a big help!
I AM LIVID WITH YOU AND DAVE!!! I became fans of yours from watching your television show. When I got the invitation to go to one of your seminars, I was thrilled. My brother and I both signed up for the seminar. Based on your communications, we felt very confident that we would be seeing you both there to do the presentation. We both feel like we were intentionally deceived by the way your seminar information was sent out. We both made arrangements to go to this seminar. When we walked into the hotel, there was a large sign with you both on it-prominently displayed- directing us to where the seminar would be held. We got to the seminar early and got signed in. Then, a man named Mark came up and introduced himself as the instructor. I thought "what?". So, I went up to another gentleman and asked point blank if you and Dave were going to be there. I was told no. I promptly gathered up my things and my brother and I left.
We came specifically to see you both. At no time did your communications say that other people would be conducting the seminar. We feel you are misrepresenting these seminars. I took time out of my day and life to drive somewhere to see you both only to find out you were not going to be there. THAT IS SO RUDE AND INCONSIDERATE. Now, I'm not sure I will be watching your show again. I am so very, very disappointed in your both for treating your fans like this. Now, every time I see you both on television, I will be reminded of today with this inconsideration and misrepresentation. I will never recommend to anyone to go to one of these seminars, in fact, it will be just the opposite.
Ok where do I start? I received an invitation for the first seminar and it was using peter and dave from flipping boston as the figureheads to earn real estate success!! We all know who they are and enjoy the show so hey lets go see what its all about. Free giveaways!!! Prizes!!! Refreshments!!!. Well it was at a ****** hotel in Bremerton, the refreshments were two pitchers of water and crappy (small) bag of mixed snacks, I got a dollar store mp3 player at the end. Still I saw it through, and listened to the first part of stupid quotes from famous people as the main act. I tried to keep an open mind, he started talking about 500k of funding that would cost 1-3 percent, hey pretty cool. Then how you can directly talk to asset managers at struggling banks and buy properties at amazing savings. I was sold, only cost $1,997 for the 3 day seminar that will make your dreams come true, money back guarantee. I asked him directly, this is going to be training not some other crap to get me to buy the "super duper" training later? He said yes its all you will need to be successful, and you have a money back guarantee... He lied and lied and lied...
Ok I have been to 2 days of the 3 day training. It has been over 16 hours of selling and manipulation with a little bit of training mixed in. I swear the first 3 hours was ******** and fluff and the trainer promising we would get to the good stuff soon. There is 60 people in the room, that's 120k of money we have spent, its the cheapest low class event I have ever been to, there was coffee and water, that's it. Had to walk by the Mitsubishi convention to get to our ballroom and they were doing it right, soda, cookies, chips, hats, and lots of other swag, parking was validated etc..... What previous posters were saying about credit card balances is true, that was our assignment at lunch which didn't come until 1:45, we started at 8:30 am. Well anyway this seminar was not set up to give anyone tools to be successful at real estate just 3 days to tell you sob stories and pull at your heart strings to get the 23-43k investment that they really want... Oh but joy, you might get to meet and learn the real stuff someday if you get a second mortgage to afford it.
3rd day coming up tomorrow, from previous posts it sounds like that's when the real hard selling comes. I'm expecting all kinds of hard selling, they will probably start telling people they are losers and don't want to succeed and if they really loved their family they would do anything it takes. The trainer says the 3 pillars are... Is it legal? Is it ethical? Is it moral? Ok well it should not be legal, and it is definitely not ethical and moral.
One more note. The trainer was talking about negative people always trying to keep you down, which is true, you need to surround yourself with good people, my motto is "it is hard to soar like an eagle if you hang out with a bunch of turkeys" also if you roll around with dogs you are gonna get some fleas.... there is a million sayings, you get the point. Anyway he told a story that related to that by saying he was walking down a dock and some guys were crabbing and in the bucket a crab was about to escape, he said "hey there is a crab about to get out of your bucket" the guy says its ok, don't worry about it, and then as he watches the other crabs in the bucket grab the crab about to escape and pulls him back in the bucket. Cool moral, negative people going to pull you back down. However he told the story in the first person like it was him that experienced it, well not true, in the peter and dave training binder they say the same story about lobsters.....
Anyway that's about all the steam I got for now. Thanks for listening, interested what you others have to say.