Fortune Builders
Wholesaler · Macomb, MI · Member since 2009 · 57 posts · 8 votes
Hello fellow BP members. Has anyone taken the training provided by Than Merrill's group Fortune Builders? I'm looking for any pros and cons in taking this or any "Guru" type training. Any responses will be greatly appreciated.
Robert, do you have any affiliation with fortune builders other than being a past client of their products? Since this is your very first post on this site and your post appeared to be "pro" fortune builders in nature, we all want to be sure. Many times, some guru company gets a search engine hit for these posts and sends one of their own in to make a favorable post for that company. We strive to remove such occurrences here at BP Nation.
I would add that any such good information that was given in that $2500 fee you paid could likely have been obtained for free right here on BP or by reading books on the topics of interest.
http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/79/topics/73606-is-fortune-builders-mastery-program-legit
Here is a link to another thread, there are several here on BP already. Simply type fortune builders into the search engine here.
All in all, stay away, not just from this company, but from almost all gurus, there are so many better ways and real ways to learn this biz.
When I first got into flipping I attended one of their seminars and bought their entire kit for about $2500. It was informative and definitely provided great insight for a new investor. While this was good, it's even more important to connect with a local real estate investors group. This will connect you to lenders, contractors and experienced investors that can give you insight on how to get started and how to manage your projects. If you are looking to learn ways to find local deals, fortune builders will definitely help on that end.
I think that attending some of your local real estate associations and finding some investors who are seasoned could be a better route to go. Most groups hold free meetings or charge a minimal fees to join, the investors who attend are typically savvy and could give you great insight on how and where to invest.
Robert, do you have any affiliation with fortune builders other than being a past client of their products? Since this is your very first post on this site and your post appeared to be "pro" fortune builders in nature, we all want to be sure. Many times, some guru company gets a search engine hit for these posts and sends one of their own in to make a favorable post for that company. We strive to remove such occurrences here at BP Nation.
I would add that any such good information that was given in that $2500 fee you paid could likely have been obtained for free right here on BP or by reading books on the topics of interest.
Hello Will, I am not affiliated with fortune builders in any way. I bought that course back and 2010 when they did a seminar at my local REIA meeting. If knew about Bigger Pockets back then I probably would not have purchased the kit. The biggest value I got from it was how to find deals. In all honesty, I don't feel that it was worth $2500, but for a beginning investor at that time, I though it made sense. If you look at my entire comment, you'll see that the value is in connecting with local investors, contractors and lenders, not "Guru" courses.
Gents. Thanks for your comments. Your input has given me more perspective on taking courses vs just doing it. I'm much more informed now.
I attended a Fortune Builders 3 day seminar that cost me $197. Yes, they did promote taking their extended training and using the software for real estate investing which I hope to afford shortly. But I want to say that THE THREE DAY LECTURE WAS THE BEST EDUCATION I EVER RECEIVED. I learned more about economics, real estate and investments than I have in forty years...and I ATTENDED LAW SCHOOL. I would Highly Recommend this course to ANYONE and have tried to get my brother, mother and nephew to go to one as well. JUST FOR THE BASIC INFORMATION I learned!!
Jo Anna,
I must have gone to a different 3-day seminar then. My brother and I paid $197 to attend Fortune Builder's seminar in Jan 2013 at the Hyatt Hotel in San Jose IIRC. Unfortunately, we didn't make it back for the 3rd day. The first two days were a lot of motivational speech and motivational movie clips. Those were great. Unfortunately, I didn't learn one new thing about real estate during those 2-days. But then again, I know about real estate more than an average folk to be fair.
I wish they had a refund policy or a partial refund policy if the audience didn't want to come back on the 2nd day or 3rd. That would have given them some credibility.
I thought about sitting down with one of the sales team members and asking them about their experience, qualification, their real name, where they live, etc. so that I could dig up their whole profile to see if they're for real or BSing. In hindsight, I regretted that I didn't do it.
If you're out there selling stuff, make sure you're the real deal. You never know when you will run across a person who has the ability to dig up everything about you.
Hi Mingh. Sorry you didn't have the same experience I did. I think ALOT of it has to do with who was the speaker. As a matter of fact, I have been in touch with FB several times about following this particular speaker again. My experience was very enlightening and I know a bit about the guys behind F.B. and I think that they are pretty smart and successful guys. Yes, they "hock" there side lines etc, but I do intend to have them be my "coaches". I guess they basically put a fire under me that was already smoldering in real estate. I wish you great success what ever path you follow.
@Jo Anna Stryker - I'm going to guess that law school did not cover subjects like economics and investing, just like medical school and engineering school don't.
I would expect that somebody who went to law school should have little trouble coming up with money to pay for RE training ...
I attended a 3 day investor summit of theirs a while back, and although i never signed on for their student mastery program, i would definitely have had i the funds available at the time. Yes its expensive, but i liked the mentors, i saw the use in the equipment and systems they provided. If you have the money i would definitely recommend them, but there are other ways to learn that isn't so expensive.
What I find so interesting is that if you have a positive experience with something you can always find others who didn't. That is life and as far as I am concerned any knowledge gained is beneficial. And any SA comments can just be ignored if you look at the source and motivation. Oh and BTW, I used to TEACH REAL ESTATE LAW...I just enjoyed the FB class for many reasons...
I took one of their courses when I first started. They are legit & have many good resources--but yes, they are expensive. Not for nothing, I wish I'd come across BP first, lol. ;-)
We are three months into the Fortune Builder program. They are great at teaching you to set up systems, educate on the total real estate process and I have found the coaches to be very experienced in real estate and to provide genuine help. There is a lot to learn in real estate and it's taking us time to get up and running just because there is so much to learn. But they do have great, experienced people who are eager and committed to help. We are able to attend live trainings at no additional cost and attend webinars that are continuously offered for our lifetime. I think the program is legit. It is very expensive. To get into their training you have to pay their price. And no, they didn't ask me to say anything. Yes, this is my first post, but this is something I do have knowledge about. If I were you I would shop around and investigate other coaching (including investigating if you can find a local coach) and other real estate programs before deciding on one. Google it. I heartily agree that you should attend local REIA clubs and take your time before you make a decision. Don't be pressured into making a hasty decision.
I wrote the post above in March and thought I had submitted it and just learned I never did. So today I was going to put in an update. This is it. Recently I've been frustrated with getting my house flipping business off the ground while working full time. I expressed my frustration to support at Fortune Builders and their response to me has been awesome. Two different coaches have called me and walked me through some stuff. They are very experienced and successful. And they are continuing to follow up with me. So my experience with them has been great. I already had experience myself in real estate but wanted to add to my knowledge to do it better. And they haven't let me down. I have yet to attend my first "Bootcamp" but will be going to one in June. I'll let you know how that goes.
I attended a 3 day event with FortuneBuilders in April. I am new to real estate investing, although I have been interested for a while now. I was not able to get in the Mastery program because of my finances. I was bummed for days that I was not able to afford the program. I have been educating myself as much as possible since and have learned a lot. I do feel a little overwhelmed because I don't really know where to start. I am determined to build a successful real estate investing business and would love to have a coach or mentor to help me get started. If anyone has any suggestions or comments, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
I am a graduate of the program.
It is NOT for anyone and everyone. But it certainly is NOT a scam in the sense that the material is 'wrong' or 'fake', but I would definitely question some of the statements they make in their marketing efforts.
Fortune Builders' material is geared towards making a business out of flipping a home. Their intent is not necessarily to make you a 'casual' flipper.
Also, a lot of their material is geared towards the mid-west/east coast market. Some of the strategies they teach in their course definitely do not apply in certain markets (especially mine).
A big point to consider is that Fortune Builders pitches "coaching" as part of their course. This is probably the biggest issue I have with them. When I went through the program, their 'coaching' was summed up as once a week coaching calls for 30 minutes with a coach that may or may not be local or understand your local market. That is imperative as a newbie to have someone accessible and knowledgeable of the local market... but the impression that they "sold" was that there would be someone to "hold your hand." My experience and the experience of many other students was completely the opposite.
When I signed up, there were 3 busloads of people who also signed up with me. That was over 18 months ago, and to this day, there are only 6-7 people that I am aware of (out of the 3 busloads) that are still doing it today.
Most people are successful because 1.) They have a business background or Real Estate background or 2.) They went in full time.
All that to say, there certainly value in the FB program, there are templates, systems there that you can't find elsewhere, but if you simply want to learn how to flip a house or learn about real estate investing in general, BP has a plethora of resources that are free that will be quite effective as well.
Biggest factor in your success regardless of either resource will be an accessible local mentor.
Thanks for your post. I do understand. I do plan on doing this full time. I have a job right now. Of course the bills need to be paid. I know for sure that I want to be a real estate investor and as soon as I am able, I plan to quit my j o b and go into real estate full time. I know this will not be easy but I will do whatever it takes to be successful. I have always been a top performer and I will be in real estate as well. I have spent many, many hours educating myself but again, I am just not sure exactly where/ how to start my business. I was looking at Zack Childress REI program but after looking at the reviews, I'm not sure that is a good idea. Just feel a little overwhelmed. I am determined though, I will be successful. Thanks again
I attended a Fortune Builders 3 day seminar about a year ago in San Diego as a guest of one of their Mastery students. It was a truly entertaining event. I particularly liked the inspector gadget skit put on by Paul and JD ... really funny. And the one minute power packed and inspirational moment when Than Merrill made his appearance, never to be seen or heard from again for the entire 3 days. And the dancing performed by the staff, some of them really have the moves, I was impressed. And, I was able to study and learn marketing and speaking styles and techniques as one vendor after another pitched their latest and greatest RE instant money making product that you can quickly and easily purchase at the back of the room. And, the music, aah the music, once I put the ear plugs in so I could hear myself think the excitement roared through my veins. And, much, much more.
The whole three day event was broken up into one or two hour segments with 10 minutes of each segment dedicated to hard core house flipping information, and it was good information, very accurate and to the point, and I truly believe this, absolutely no sarcasm in that statement. However, if they skipped the inspirational talks and the dancing and the pitching and the selling and the music, the flipping information could have easily been compressed from three days down to 60 minutes or less. And they structured the event in such a way that I never knew exactly when the 10 minute flipping info segment was going to occur, so I had to listen to all the pitching or risk missing the meat.
I have absolutely nothing bad to say about the people or the organization, it was worth every penny of my free admission. I only wish the hotel room and food were free too.
Being the people pleaser I am, the only regret I have is not being able to communicate well with the high pressure salesman that called a few days after the event. The conversation was going along fine as he explained all the benefits of their program, until, just before he was about to connect me with his boss to see if I would "qualify" for their program, in response to my statement the I was already making money doing rei, he said that can't be true because if it was I'd be on the beach in Tahiti, well, the conversation went downhill from there. I tried to explain to him that people that make money NEVER just sit on the beach for the rest of their life, they continue doing whatever it was that made them rich in the first place (possibly at a slower pace) until the day they die, that's what keeps them alive. Well, that was pretty much the end of the conversation, he never called me again and I never called him again. It kind of hurt my feelings that he never called again, I know the other attendees got multiple calls, what am I, pond scum. I guess he concluded I wouldn't qualify even if I was passed to the next level manager, wow, that's pretty presumptuous.
Being the people pleaser I am, the only regret I have is not being able to communicate well with the high pressure salesman that called a few days after the event. The conversation was going along fine as he explained all the benefits of their program, until, just before he was about to connect me with his boss to see if I would "qualify" for their program, in response to my statement the I was already making money doing rei, he said that can't be true because if it was I'd be on the beach in Tahiti, well, the conversation went downhill from there. I tried to explain to him that people that make money NEVER just sit on the beach for the rest of their life, they continue doing whatever it was that made them rich in the first place (possibly at a slower pace) until the day they die, that's what keeps them alive. Well, that was pretty much the end of the conversation, he never called me again and I never called him again. It kind of hurt my feelings that he never called again, I know the other attendees got multiple calls, what am I, pond scum. I guess he concluded I wouldn't qualify even if I was passed to the next level manager, wow, that's pretty presumptuous.
Did they really pull the "sit on the beach in Tahiti" line on you. That is such out-dated emotional hard sell. I started noticing in the 1990s that the late night REI infomercials were still using images of yachts and women in bikinis and beaches. No one I knew wanted money for a beach home or a yacht. I was working for some RE investment partners that "retired" in the early 2000s, having put tens of millions in the bank. They had lots of nice things, nice houses and fun charitable and environmental projects. But no tropical beach homes and definitely no boats. They never go to the beach except to walk their dogs.
Contemporary hard sell is to inspire you to be as rich as Oprah so you can start charities, build schools and give money away. Hard for me to believe anyone in the current FB network would still be using Tahiti as a motivator.
My dad and I went for the three days at $197 bucks. It really got us stoked about finally getting serious about real estate investing, something we had dreamed about for many years. The upsells were obviously ridiculous. So on the way home on day three, I googled "Fortune Builders scam", and one of the top results was a thread from Bigger Pockets. Best google search ever. Joined BP and havent looked back.
@Account Closed
He definitely used the Tahiti line. He was just a kid. Obviously trying to make living. I don't blame him. Life is way more than a lot of money and living on the beach, anybody that has lived at all knows that, as I'm sure you do. Actually, I'm full of ouzo right now and love everybody, even kids brainwashed into this re get rich quick culture, and, I'm in love with the Greek Orpheus dancers ... happy investing and happy ouzo, opa!!!!! Two more days of Greek dancers and ouzo at the Northirdge Valley Greek Festival, I love it, I'll talk to everybody coherently in a couple days. PS. I'm trying to get my 20 year old boy to get up there and dance, he used to do the Greek dance as a young kid but at some point gave it up, I guess dancing wasn't manly enough. Now that I have him with me all the 20 year old girls that I though were looking at me I now realize are looking at him. wow, who'ed imagine life changes, opa!:)
@Account Closed We have a popular annual Greek Festival here. And this weekend is I Madonnari, the street painting festival at the Mission. So I had no idea about the Greek goings-on in Northridge. I'm tempted to join you. Ouzo? Dancing? No need for life at the beach, we already live in Paradise. Opa!
I'd love to see you there, the first Ouzo and Gyro are on me, dancing optional! And any other BP'ers that are interested. It's pretty close to me so I'm open on the time, you say. It's open 1pm to 9pm Sat - Mon.
Valley Greek Festival 2014
I was recently at a 3 day Fortune Builders seminar and am GRATEFUL for the people on this blog for your comments. Wow. What a mind game they play with you. Scary stuff.