I don’t want to name drop but I paid $4000 for a 3 day workshop and now they want $40,000 more for coaching and mentorship. A friend of mine that has a successful portfolio worth millions advised me not to. He recommend to network as much as possible, study and research and start small and scale up. Your biggest investment is yourself so decided to check out bigger pockets to start my journey.

So curious to see who else has gone through those 3 day workshops in hotel conference rooms and try to sell you more and more things. Or who else has made it without shelling out 80,000 dollars for coaching and mentorship?

Please advise.

I'm confused, are you saying you paid the $4000 or are u implying that someone else did? And I'd advise against the $40,000 coaching because that is literally a downpayment on a house. Network and learn what to do from people a little more experienced at a fraction of the cost (coffee, dinner, lunch etc.) and use the $40,000 to invest in Real estate yourself. 

@Jeremiah Akindele . Giant rip off. You will gain close to zero value. I guarantee it.

@Jaleel Phillips thanks Jaleel. I already paid for the 3 day workshop which was $4k. Now they want $40k more. But great advise tho. Even for the 3 day workshop I learnt a great deal of stuff that I feel like I could have learned on YouTube or by reading books.

@Caleb Heimsoth thanks for the info Caleb. I guess the red flag was when they said you can always max out your credit card or take a loan out from your 401k. 😳

Hi @Jeremiah Akindele ! Welcome to BiggerPockets!

I've probably paid well over $100K towards training over these last two decades, so I'm not at all against spending money to gain skills.

However...

I would only shell out that kind of money to develop specific skills (like "hard money lending," or "self-directed IRA investing"). When I'm done, I can immediately do something with my new skill.

I do not recommend spending $40K on some vague goal like "getting started in investing." The value offered is very hard to quantify and too easy to fudge.

Also, in my experience, the biggest obstacles to success are rarely technical; rather, they are nearly always about your mental state, habits, and beliefs. Unless any coaching you're getting deeply addresses that, it's not going to move the needle much for you.

If you are willing to fully immerse yourself in the BiggerPockets community here, I'm willing to bet actual money that you could get more value here than you would dropping 40 large for "coaching and mentorship."

@Mitch Messer wow Mitch. You are a lifesaver. Great advise. I figured to read books for the basics and the funniest part is everything I learned in the 3 day workshop, I found YouTube videos with the same exact information.

Originally posted by @Jeremiah Akindele :

@Caleb Heimsoth thanks for the info Caleb. I guess the red flag was when they said you can always max out your credit card or take a loan out from your 401k. 😳

 Dude...

@Jaleel Phillips guess I dodged a bullet. Good connecting with you. Looking forward to learning as much as possible on bigger pockets.

 sounds like that fortune builder rip off or something similar ... I almost got chorused into doing the same thing you mention but for 10k. Then i found bigger pockets and was like forget all that lol . I was actually fortunate enough  to be able attend about 5-6 of their mastermind meetups with a colleague of mines. He brought me on as his guess ( each paid member gets up to 3 guess). I later found out that everybody in that group paid around 20-30k just to join. i was approached by another guess who was trying to convince me to go half with her on the program (10k-10k) to be honest its  just a bunch of people from different back grounds ( agents, brokers, contractors , flippers, whole-sellers ..etc. all trying to network with each other It was a good experience to be around like minded people. They would give you access to a mentor if needed and other little extras , you get 2 calls a month i believe. some meetings we actually got to go walk houses that were being flipped by people in the class. it was a great experience dont get me wrong, but for 20-40k definitely not !  

@Jeremiah Akindele   Anything where you pay a large amount of money for a seminar and they talk you into paying even more, screams scam. And for someone to max out credit cards to pay for it, you will be paying even more not to mention the fact that if you have to pay for it with credit cards means you don't have the money to pay for it in the first place.

Think of what you could do for the $40K (not to mention how hard you worked to get that money).  Read and learn and use that money for a down payment to get started.  There are plenty of local real estate investing groups where you can go and learn/network.

Unless you are into investing millions of dollars, I can't see how anything is worth $40K.  

@Jeremiah Akindele gurus are never what you want it to be. Always want the money and never wanna teach. An instructor informed that he was hired to teach a guru workshop. Got there and the other guy he was teaching had no experience in real estate. But had just remodeled his kitchen. And it’s way more horror stories out there

@Maurice Smith great advice. I sure appreciate it. That sounds like their goal and process. You nailed it on the head.

@Theresa Harris hey there Theresa. Thanks for the great advice. I am sooooo glad I joined bigger pockets. Wish more people knew about the resources available out there without paying an arm and leg.

@Nathaniel Green thanks for the info Nathan. I am sure glad I dodged an horror story lol. Last thing I want is to want to be a good example based on a failed nightmare 😅

@Jeremiah Akindele I am an attorney and business coach and consultant. I personally believe that coaching and mentorship is necessary as well as investing in yourself as far as growth and learning always. However, I've signed up for such workshops in the past that have very little value only to be asked for $40,000 or more. A good coach doesn't have a one size fits all solution especially one that expensive. The program you need will grow with you, meaning when you need a coach that charges $40k you will know and won't blink. But I agree with one of the other responses below in that you shouldn't have to max credit cards and take loans to do it. And you need to be focused and developing one single quantifiable skill that will bring you a greater ROI.

Don't get suckered.

Plus mentorship can be without financial cost and still be quality. Many people are fulfilled by helping you and seeing you succeed

Originally posted by @Mitch Messer :

Hi @Jeremiah Akindele ! Welcome to BiggerPockets!

I've probably paid well over $100K towards training over these last two decades, so I'm not at all against spending money to gain skills.

However...

I would only shell out that kind of money to develop specific skills (like "hard money lending," or "self-directed IRA investing"). When I'm done, I can immediately do something with my new skill.

I do not recommend spending $40K on some vague goal like "getting started in investing." The value offered is very hard to quantify and too easy to fudge.

Also, in my experience, the biggest obstacles to success are rarely technical; rather, they are nearly always about your mental state, habits, and beliefs. Unless any coaching you're getting deeply addresses that, it's not going to move the needle much for you.

If you are willing to fully immerse yourself in the BiggerPockets community here, I'm willing to bet actual money that you could get more value here than you would dropping 40 large for "coaching and mentorship."

THIS. The success inhibitors are rarely technical knowledge. It's the mental state, habits, thought life, and other personal foundations. 

The seminars are 99% fluff, take money away from your marketing budget. So find the 1%, or find a mentor, or read 10 books and get crackin. 

Raise your hand (figuratively, of course…we can’t see you through the computer) if you have been to a “free seminar” at a hotel conference room to be told that you should all your credit card company and increase the limits in order to pay for expensive additional training. Has this happened to you or someone you know? This is becoming a common theme…one which should bring shame upon those who perpetrate it.

I can’t think of a scenario where buying a house on a credit card is a good idea. In reality, the gurus aren’t wanting you to buy a house with your increased limit. They are simply trying to milk your credit card dry. There are free community sites out there with their share of “keyboard experts” that really don’t have the background to be giving any advice. The truth, as with most things, is somewhere in the middle.

Mentorship is a great thing, but only when it makes sense. Newer, inexperienced investors should have someone they can count on to bounce ideas off of. They might even need a partner…someone with a great deal of experience or capital to help you along your way.

Schemes where you pay for a course to get a taste and then you discover you must pay a great deal more for “more training.” Let me let you in on a little secret. The hotel gurus generally don’t have a strong background in what they are peddling. If you do have a mentor, make sure they are going to bring you the value that you expect.

In short, you shouldn’t have to, nor is it a good idea to, increase your credit card limits to get into real estate investment. You’ll only find yourself deeper in debt with little to show for it.

@Jeremiah Akindele

40k is way to much. Good mentors are not cheap. I paid 2 times less for mine. Even though I felt it was expensive , When I work with the guy it was worth every penny.

Education is a key.

@Jeremiah Akindele they're a great deal for theose taking your money.

@Jeremiah Akindele

I have learned lots of valuable information from 2 specific guys that post videos on YouTube,

Graham stephan and meet kevin.

From how to get your credit score higher to how to handle tenants properly, the information between these two has been great for me.

They both offer courses around 400$ but i have found for now that their free info is more than enough to get you in the right direction.

If anyone else here watches them, what are your thoughts on them, and has anyone paid for the courses? Ive heard great things but id like to hear from someone on here.

Also have to recommend brandon turners book on rental property investing , a 25$ book that will give you tons of info.

@Jeremiah Akindele  

This is very interesting. My first reaction is WOW, that is a lot of money and a RIP OFF! 

But, is it though? We, as humans, are not one-bit rational beings. Some may say WHAT DO YOU MEAN, Ola? 

I can bet you paid that kind of money for a relatively complex REI strategy and not how to buy a SFH rental? If it is please correct me!

If my doctor or dentist tells me that he/she paid a bunch of money to get their degree, I would NOT say WOW your university RIPPED you OFF, would I? No, because they are earning a ton of money now, same as some REI strategies if you get right you could earn a ton of money!

Guys, yes, there are a lot of "GURUS" out there, but there are also a lot "TIME LEECHERS" out there. Goes both ways! I see this first hand. 

SOLUTION:
If you are REALLY interested in learning a COMPLEX REI strategy, then be prepared to invest in YOURSELF.
THE INVESTMENT is for YOU and not the COACH, GURU, MENTOR whatever you call that person. Remember, I talked how we, as human beings, are NOT rational. This is what I mean!  

We place little or no value to what we get for FREE. Yes, I can hear you from a mile away screaming and saying NO, I will place VALUE to it if you give it to me for free.  I say no you wouldn't. I have offer FREE apartment syndication weekend course here in MD, most people who RSVP'd didn't show up! Why? They didn't pay for it! Ponder on that... 🤔 

SOLUTION 2: 
VET the mentor first, make the commitment to YOURSELF, and then invest in YOURSELF (in that order). The fact is, some REI strategies aren't a walk in the park (I know the mentors tell everybody can do it, but not everyone has the passion and perseverance)

Remember, Mentors are not magicians, but they act as a guide and an accountability partner. 

@Jeremiah Akindele I went to a real estate investing workshop some years ago and after everything they asked for some ridiculous amount of money( I think $50k) for coaching. Tbh the best thing is to read books, self educate heavily, network and just try to get in the first deal. God bless!

@Jeremiah Akindele

I do believe that all the information is available on youtube and podcast if you want to put in the time. I personally started by listening to books and all of bigger pockets podcast every episode twice. Now if you do that you will have a very good idea of the basics of real estate. I've heard some bad stuff about these gurus, never really saw the value of the info. I assume it just works because you invested this much money you will be motivated to succeed. Now that being said I am considering spending 25k on a mentor but it is a guy who is very successful and not a big guru doing seminars. I would be getting direct contact to this person basically 24-7 and it's a very niche strategy that he is arguably the best at. I've heard some of these programs after you pay you are basically being coached by the main guys students who've done 3 or 4 deals. I agree with the above poster if you're learning a niche skill that is exactly what you plan on doing might be worth it.

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2019/11/ftc-acts-shut-down-companies-operating-real-estate-seminar-scheme

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2019/10/ftc-acts-against-company-using-celebrity-endorsements-bogus

This business model is a scourge on society. Most seminars popping up all over the country can be traced back to a couple of companies offering this canned business model to anyone with a monetizable name.