All Forum Posts by: Dave Pate

I am embarrassed to admit it, but I tried to make it work. I enrolled as an IMA also. I guess I fell for their ridiculous claims of how much money you can make. You know, The Compensation Plan. I knew it was a multilevel marketing scheme and tried it anyway. Renatus members who post here claim it’s not. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a MLM. I spent my hard earned money on the education and I wish I had that money back. The education is definitely not worth the money. I could not even finish the classes they were so boring. I hung with it for a while and put over a thousand people through Scott’s series of webinars. I never made any money. I did not know any other IMA’s making money either. I probably made a few other people in the MLM some money. That’s part of the plan: You giving up your first few sales to your mentor. You have heard it before, filling your bucket and all that crap. My advice to you, as an experienced past Renatus member, is to quit wasting your time with such a group. I wish I had my time and money back. I’ve found success by networking with my local real estate clubs and utilizing online resources. An income stream from this MLM is like finding a rainbow unicorn. You don’t have to spend thousands to educate yourself.

Hi Marisa. Welcome to BP. I'm an investor in Birmingham AL. On Renatus .... are you sitting down? Don't get your hopes up about all Renatus' claims to make money. I have first hand experience with them. I bought the Essentials Courses for $2,000.00. The classes were not very good and I could not even finish them. I tried marketing and signing others up for 10 months. I actually put 1,000 people into the webinar series. And I could only make a sale or two. Have you ever tried to sell a $15,000.00 "education" from an unaccredited, unknown company?

I really feel they use Real Estate Education for the wrong purpose. The education they sell is not worth the price. I can say it because I took the courses. And they really don't care about helping you in real estate. They only want you to sell the product (classes) for their multi level scheme. They give honest real estate investors a bad name. My mentor had me set up 10 Craigslist accounts to advertise making money. It was very deceptive. And Renatus has members here on BP just to promote their MLM. Renatus preys on young investors who don't know better, and they use the guise of education to lure peeps in. It's shameful.

Twenty five years and no evictions. Wow. That is really impressive. We could learn something from your screening!

I have a clause in my rules and regs: "No changing of locks. If locks are changed, there will be an automatic fee to be paid by tenant of $150.00". I go over that when explaining the lease and rules.  Add it to yours. 

Besides being a nuisance, it's a security issue. In case of emergency, you must have keys.

I just set up a HELOC at Regions. No origination fees, no appraisal fees, first year at 1.99%, then tied to prime. Term is 10 years.

Mine is 8 pages. I got it from a local Realtor group who updated it to comply with our state landlord-tenant law. Also I use a full page of Rules and Regulations specific to the property, and a Roommate Agreement if applicable. I go over the whole thing with tenants and attach their Application to the back. 

Find and download your state specific landlord-tenant law. You should know what it says and be sure your rental agreement/lease complies. 

I use a property manager for a small apartment complex. His is 5 pages.

I have experience with them. The group is Renatus. They post literally thousands of similar ads on Craigslist. I bought into the education. Now I wish I had my money back.  They prey on people wanting to get into real estate by promising big money through their education. You can read tons of posts here about them. If it seems too good to be true .....

A better idea is to educate yourself without forking over several thousand dollars to a group who will have you posting ads just like the one you saw. Spend some time here on BP reading the forums and listing to the podcasts. Join your local real estate investors club and network with them. Based on my experience, I've learned more from this site than anywhere else.

I've been talking to a guy who sells packages of 5 or 10 single family houses, rehabbed, rented and under management. Here's the ad:

"Several rehabbed rental properties for sale.
0 down;
5% interest;
30 year amortization;
no prepayment penalty;
13.9% cap rate;
181.90% cash-on-cash return.
Please email/text/call for spreadsheet and photos."

I'm having lunch with him this week. I've seen a list of 5 properties sold. They appear to be in C type areas and houses average about $40k asking price with published rents that look slightly high. I've been sent a link to a Security National Mortgage Company application with the name of a licensed mortgage officer.

The attractive part is getting rehabbed and rented properties with full financing. The up front money is a $5k buyers fee (or 1%, whichever is greater) and the cost of appraisals. 

Has anyone seen deals like this lately? Have you seen scams like this? What are your comments and what would you ask the guy?

Hi Jennifer. You are being very smart by getting a credit report and criminal check. There is no substitute for knowing the credit worthiness of a tenant. I have always used mrlandlord dot com.  However, there are many. 

Here's a tip. I put my qualifications for renting at the end of my application. 620 minimum credit score, no prior evictions or bankruptcies, gross income verifiable at a minimum of 3.5 times monthly rent.  It will keep you from getting most applicants who do not qualify.

I have a background in HVAC. Ten thousand may not be that high if a new duct system is included. However, for a 2/1, I would seriously consider window units for all the previously listed reasons.   As for heat .... I have had great luck with electric baseboard heaters.  A national big box chain sells them online. I get a 4 foot, 120 volt, 1kw unit with thermostat per room for well under $100/each.  They are so easy to install too. DIY.

Craigslist. Well, it's not a web hosting site. But the traffic CL gets is by far greater than a hosted web site.