All Forum Posts by: James Vermillion

The mentor issue keeps coming up on BP so I thought I would provide my take on it. The original use of the term mentor comes from Homer's Odyssey. When Odysseus, King of Ithaca went to fight in the Trojan War, he relied on his mentor to look after his kingdom. Mentor served as the teacher and overseer of Odysseuss’ son, Telemachus.

The Merriam-Webster Webster Dictionary defines a mentor as "a trusted counselor or guide."

When I think of applying or receiving mentorship I think a key concept is that it is not for the personal gain of the mentor. It is this concept that makes the mentor/protégé relationship a special one. Based on this idea I do not believe someone can pay for a mentor, as that relationship no longer exists. You may be paying for similar advice or guidance but the special relationship is not there given the "mentor" is involved for his/her own gain.

This is not to say a mentor cannot gain from the relationship, as it should be a mutualistic relationship, where both parties benefit. That said, it is the intent of the "mentor" that is key.

This of course is just my take on the mentor issue, based upon my own experience as both a mentor and a protégé in real estate and other situations in life.

Haha...this thread just got a lot better

It took me three tries to sign up...now I feel dumb :mrgreen:

I actually like to buy in the fall/winter because I find we are competing with fewer investors...of course we do not have the kind of winters that many of you yankees have.

This is a good thread. Just by reading through the various "guru" threads here I can tell you many people feel like they have been scammed. It continues to happen over and over again and I doubt there is an end in sight. As long as there is a promise for quick and easy money there will be scam artists.

Thomas, I am sorry to see that happened to you. Thanks for making your complaints very public, as the more information is out there, the fewer people will make the same mistake.

There are several topics on Michael Kimble, you can find some more information on him by using the search feature. Try these links:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/79/topics/20155-michael-kimble

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/79/topics/49125-michael-kimble-rei-marketing-challenge

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/79/topics/42576-michael-kimble-

If you do a little research you will find that several past "gurus" went through bankrupt after their "system" stopped selling (I will find an article I read about this). I agree with Jon that these are repackaged ideas, although I would add that they are often not very effective methods of real estate investing, instead it is something that sounds really interesting and will sell. Notice how many new systems are coming out all the time and how few stick around for years and years!

Jeffrey,

I use the bid process at Lowes and have been very happy with the results so far. When I was trying to decide which company to use the personnel at my local Lowes were much more helpful. Also, HD would not provide us with a commercial card until we had 2 years under our belts. Lowes gives me an additional military discount so I cant complain about that. Another bonus is the fact that there are several more Lowes in my area.

I have compared prices on several of our big purchases and everything looked like it would come out even.

Real estate is a part time gig for me....for now. I am currently serving in the USAF and invest in real estate in my spare time to supplement my income. I do plan on making it a full time job in about two years. I am using my time now to set me up for that transition and BiggerPockets has helped me learn enough when that time comes.

I am in a similar situation Ryan. I am also 24 and am working my first and second deals right now. I learned some of the basics growing up but not nearly as much as I want to know. They key is to continue to learn as you go. We bought most of our own materials, which taught me a lot...I spent a lot of time talking with my handyman and the folks at Lowes. I ended up learning a lot and saving a lot of money on materials this way. When work was being done I made it a point to find time to interact with my contractors, asking questions and getting my hands dirty. I have already learned a ton and plan to continue learning as much as possible.