All Forum Posts by: Tom Sylvester

We use laminate flooring in all of our rental properties. It is the cheapest solution we found, easy to install and looks great. Another benefit compared to capret is that it does not hold the smells. So many houses that we renovate smell horrible because of the carpets.

Here is an example.

Numbers look good. Can rents be raised once the work is done? Will market support the higher rent for a nicer property?

"Rich Dad, Poor Dad" and "What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow... and 36 Other Key Financial Measures".

The first one is motivation, changing your mindset, and a basic overview of why/how for real estate. The second give you many different formulas to use when evaluating real estate.

As long as the numbers (like rents) are what you say, this looks like a great deal to me and you do have some room to raise your offer.

Let me give you my experience, as I have gone through the Rich Dad workshops.

About a year and a half ago I attended the free workshop. As others have mentioned, it is a marketing technique to get you in so they can sell you the 3 day training. My partner and I went to the free workshop, where they gave you a little bit of info, but promised to reveal it all at the three day workshop, which was $500 and you could bring a guest (another marketing idea). So we split the cost and each paid $250 for the three day seminar. I was really happy and felt that the $250 was worth it. The three day seminar had a lot of info packed into it. Not having a real estate background, I like learning about the different strategies that were available. We also got to play Cashflow twice. If you do not know, Cashflow is like Monopoly on steroids. It teaches you how to use a financial statements, and helps you get an idea for different types of investing.

So on the third day, they had their sales pitch for the "advanced" courses and mentoring. The classes ranged from $5.000-$50,000. My cousin and I decided to purchase the package with 4 classes for $15,000, or $7,500 each. We did not have this money available, so we both put it on a credit card.

After taking the three day class, I then found my local reia and joined. I met so many great real estate investors there. I then began to regret spending the money on the courses. A few months later we purchased our first duplex. I just closed on my second duplex a few months ago.

I have only taken 1 out of the 4 classes that I signed up for, which was called Rich U. It was similar to the three day course, but gave you s little more detail.

So overall, if I had to do it again, I would have gone to the three day course, but would not have signed up for the advanced training. I have been able to get started in real estate without taking those courses. I am all for education and believe it is important, but Rich Dad is a marketing company, not a real estate company. They constantly try to upsell you, and I do not believe provide value for the price.

I am very happy with the Rich Dad/Poor Dad book, as well as the Cashflow game. What I would suggest for you is to join your local reia. You will meet other real estate investors there. Then I would look for some used real estate courses on ebay. I have spent ~$1,000 on ebay and have 6-8 different courses, and well as several books and dvds. These have helped me much more than the $7,500 that I spent on the Rich Dad trainings. Additionally, I had a very hard time getting financed for my first property, since I opened a new credit card and maxed out two credit cards paying for the advanced courses.

That's enough babbling. Feel free to send me a pm if you would like to talk more.

Hello. I am an investor in Rochester, NY. Currently in multi-family properties. Unlike many other places in the country, Rochester has not seen the extreme appreciation, we have crept up a little each year. With this, we have great cashflow. If any of you are looking to purchase property here, please let me know. Additionally, we have a local reia called Freedom First REIA. You can check out our website at http://www.ffreia.com.

Good luck.

I think what the OP was asking was if you are aiming for $100 cashflow per month, but allow a 10% window of error on your expenses, then you could potentially be over your cashflow and be negative.

What the OP doesn't understand is that the $100 is what is left over after all expenses are paid. Using the 50% rule, your expenses will be taken out of the 50%, and your cashflow at the end of the equation will be your profit. As others have mentioned, this is just an estimate though.

I love playing Cashflow. I received the game for "free" when I signed up for the advanced courses, but would recommend buying it off ebay. It is a great game ot play to help keep you in the real estate mindset, and will teach you a lot about the general idea of investing, and allow you to try out some different strategies in a safe environment. You will also learn how to analyze deals and fill out a basic balance sheet.

I am currently taking the "Advanced Courses". Here is my take on the whole situation.

I began looking into investing (all type - stocks, bonds,real estate etc) when I was in college. I knew I wanted to get started in real estate, but was not sure how.

My cousin and I signed up for the 3 day $495 course. I really enjoyed this course, being a newbie, and would recommend it to anyone who wants to get started. Even though there were a lot of push to purchase the advanced trainings, I think the trainings gave a good overview of all the different types of investing. Additionally, it was very motivating.

My cousin and I signed up for 4 advanced training courses. We both put out half on credit cards. I maxed out two credit cards doing this, and my cousin did one.

So far, we have attended one of the courses. Out of the 20 people who signed up for the advanced courses, I only know of one or two who have been going to courses. The couple who have gone were not very impressed with the material. The one again mentioned the sales strategy to "upgrade" and said everything was at a very high level. The best part about the trainings is the networking with other investors.

Since taking the training, I have spent ~$1000 buying several books/courses off ebay. They have been much cheaper and taught me so much more than I have learned with the advanced trainings. I bought my first duplex at the end of last year, and will be closing on my second duplex in the next two weeks.

One thing I know is that maxing out credit cards to pay for the training did not help my real estate investing. I had trouble getting financed at a bank for the first property because of the added debt from the courses.

I am a firm believer in education. I continue to learn every day. I would not recommend signing up for the advanced courses. I do not think you need to spend that much money to get started. I also do not think they are worth the money. You can spend that money on other training or put it towards purchasing a property and be better off.

And for the two people who posted praising the trainings, I hope everyone will notice that they each only have 1 post and disregard anything they have said.

Good luck. Go join your local REIA and start networking with SUCCESSFUL real estate investors. That is all you need to get started, not a $20,000 series of courses.

Put yourself in the shoes of the investor. Lets say for example you were a rehabber. Your business is buying and fixing houses to sell. You are managing your crew and taking care of all the things that come with this niche of investing.

Would you want to buy a phone number from someone one someone who might want to sell their houses, who may not even be motivated or who's house may not even fit into what you are looking for?

If you want to be a successful wholesaler, you need to provide something of value to the investor. If you were to sell the number of someone who wants to sell their house to an investor, you could go in the newspaper and get some numbers for FSBOs. So could the investor.

What you should be shooting for is to create a package to sell to the investor. This package should include a signed purchase contract with and/or assigns, a list of comps, a scope of work on the property (all of the things that need to be fixed and the estimated repair cost)and anything else of value.

Any investor who is going to buy from a wholesaler is most likely to busy to go out and market themselves, so they want someone else to do all of that work, and just bring them a house that they can buy and go with. They don't just want a number of someone who may be interested. If they did, they would order some bandit signs and out them out.

So, IMO, don't waste your time with selling numbers. Call the people back, get some houses under contract, and actually become a wholesaler.