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Question

My husband has been working for many years for a large telecom company. He has a decent 401(k) amassed. He recently attended a real estate seminar. He has decided that he wants to "flip houses ".

He works full-time. He wants to do this while he's working full-time. The people at the seminar assured him that it was possible. Now all you can see is his dream of not working " for the man". We are about five years away from retiring . This seminar company wants him to invest $25,000 in his "education and training". I told him to research it. I also told him that I feel it is not necessary to buy into that program in order to be successful at flipping houses . I told him it would be better to invest the $25,000. That being said, there are people who need these types of programs, I guess . What do you all think ?

It is called "Fortune builders". ) (fb)

If you are a successful house flipper, can you let me know if you have invested in fb.

If that you have invested in FB can you let me know also?

I have looked at previous post regarding FB and it's just people saying "some people need it" but no real people who actually use it. I'm looking for new information.

Thanks!

Brent Coombs · Answer

@Susan Farmer, welcome to BP. Thanks for the question.

Please, if you HAVE $25k to "invest", then I agree with YOU - it should be used to INVEST!

And by "invest", you can guess that I don't mean handing it over to a "Flipping guru".

As another suggestion: he and you might be better off to go straight into Buy-to-hold!

Look up BRRRR (Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refi, Repeat). You get to KEEP the fruits of your hard work!

Each home you buy gets to be paid off by your tenants, and your rent thereafter is pure profit - and you still get to choose if and when you sell them down the line.

Yes, you may have to go for out-of-state or remote (to you) homes, but BP is here to help!

Flipping is just: a second JOB! All the best...

Account Closed · Answer

@Susan Farmer Sounds like a waste of 25K to me, why not put that money towards first flip that way you have a 25,000 budget for mistakes. If you loose it while doing an actual flip the value of the actual experience will be worth 10fold from what you get at any seminar.

My opinion:

J Scott "Book on flipping houses" + 25K allowance for mistakes + Experience = Much greater value than any seminar

My opinion:

J Scott "Book on flipping houses" + 25K allowance for mistakes + Experience = Much greater value than any seminar

Jay J. · Answer

Hey @Susan Farmer ! I would have to agree that there are much better ways to spend/invest that $25k.. as @Account Closed said, use that as "cushion" for a flip.

If your husband does have a large sum in his 401K, there are ways he could leverage that in order to start down the path of RE investing.. There are several members here that have much more insight as to how to use the 401K.. You should check out the Creative Financing section of the forums ! -->https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/50-creative-r...

Good Luck!!

Daniel Sisto · Answer

@Susan Farmer It truly depends on your situation. If you are young and have time to learn how to flip houses through the use of blogs and books. If you have time to create your own systems for each step of the process and if you have time to maybe fail or start off slow.. then I would suggest utilizing bigger pockets, reading some books, listening to some podcasts on the topic and then just go and take action.

What a company like fortune builders does for you is expedites the learning curve. While they teach you on these topics, in my opinion the most beneficial aspect is the systems they already have in place. These systems will give you action steps each day and let you know how to execute each step of the process.

I personally went the first route. I learned a little about flipping houses and just started taking action. To me the best way to be successful in this business is to learn as much about flipping houses until your comfortable (prob sooner than later) then just go do it. As you are taking action, continue to learn.

Not sure if this helps.

*PS---> Invest the 25K

Alexander Felice · Answer

depends on how much money you have. 25k is a good bit of money to most, especially when education on BP is free.

personally, I wouldn't even consider it, but everyone is different. You'll never get the same education from them that experience will give you.

William Jones · Answer

Hi Susan Farmer,

FB is a good company. They seem to deliver on what they promise. Read the fine print however! Its not an easy profession and don't drink the kool-aid too quickly. They have a lot of hype, get you real excited and then move on to the next group of newbies with more money than experience. Meanwhile, you are left to pick up the pieces and try to implement what they taught you. The $25K is just a start also; it will cost you closer to $50K to really get started.

As some have observed, they can be great if you need to cut a year or three out of your learning curve, but they are not essential. BP has more than enough resources to accomplish the same learning. Difference is you have to dig it out versus have someone spoon feed you. BTW, in my case, I still had to learn much of what they taught here anyway, but at a very accelerated rate. Sort of like having someone tell you how to fish as opposed to you getting a pole and going fishin'.

The end is, if you have $25K + to spend and are close to retirement (have small amount of time left), and are willing to commit full time as an investor, they can be good. I think you are better served just using the $25K for an investment in actual real estate versus giving it to them, but your mileage may vary. I know people who have been successful either way. (BTW, don't believe the 5 hours per week BS. No one I know has ever made a success with that type of commitment.)

I personally learned a great deal (not from them, another company) and was able to accelerate my business to the point that I'm flying on my own now. I still have debt, but I'm paying it off with profit from investment, not learning from a guru. I still buy courses on-line for targeted topics also, but I pick them specifically, not a blanket, "give me gobs of money and I'll teach you what I think you need."

Jonna Weber · Answer

Welcome @Susan Farmer. As others have said, there is so much incredible information readily available to digest before spending on that type of training. I would encourage you to be especially attuned to your particular market, as buying climates can change quickly. Having a "plan B" for a market that turns cooler is really important. For instance - perhaps for your first project, flip a home that is small enough to make sense as a rental if you are unable to sell. Welcome to BP, and all the best to you!

Paul Timmins · Answer

@Susan Farmer

Welcome. Go through these below first then make an informed decision on what you need to succeed remember the deal will still be available a day, week, month and year from now. Fill in the foundation below.

Check out the Start Here page http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthere

Check out BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide - A fantastic free book that walks through many of the key topics of real estate investing.

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 100 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 (cash buyers). Find them through Google and meetup.com

Two Great reads, I bought both J. Scott The Book on Flipping Houses, The Book on Estimating ReHab Costs http://www.biggerpockets.com/flippingbook

Download BP’s newest book here some good due diligence in Chapter 10. Real Estate Rewind Starting over

http://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/brandonatbp/file/real-estate-rewind-a-biggerpockets-community-book

Good Luck

Paul

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