Yancey Real Estate Workshop: Is $40,000 for Mentorship and Training worth it

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Yancey Real Estate Workshop: Is $40,000 for Mentorship and Training worth it

Real Estate Agent · Honolulu, HI · Member since 2014 · 15 posts · 6 votes

This past weekend my friend invited me as his guest to the Yancey Events, Real Estate Workshop. He paid a couple of thousand dollars to attend and a free guest was able to join so he was generous enough to call me.

This workshop was sponsored by Scott Yancey of the show Flipping Vegas. It was taught my a gentleman by the name of Brock Madsen. Mr. Madsen is an excellent presenter and really knows how to engage his audience. He is extremely knowledgeable about the investors mindset and real estate.

As there was tons of good information being taught, there was also the sales pitch to buy a Diamond membership for $40,000 which includes more classes, private one on one days with a Advanced Mentor, admission to seminars in Vegas etc.

I wanted to know if anyone on bigger pockets have participated an anything like this, what was your experience, and was it worth $40,000?

Cant wait to hear some feedback,

Thanks,

Jason

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Michael Lemieux

Investor · Deerfield Beach Florida and Tupper Lake, N.Y. · Member since 2013 · 307 posts · 118 votes

@Jason Arnold , IMO, I believe that if you have 40k to spend, you should invest it in real property. If it's not enough to do something by yourself, try a joint venture w/ a trusted partner. If you haven't done so yet, try listening to some of the podcasts. @Joshua D. & @Brandon Turner ask every guest how they got started. If you invest your 40k in real property, hopefully you can come out of your first deal w/ cash in hand. You will certainly be MUCH wiser. Just my thoughts. Hope whatever you do works out for you.

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Michael Lemieux
Investor · Deerfield Beach Florida and Tupper Lake, N.Y. · Member since 2013 · 307 posts · 118 votes
12y
@Jason Arnold , IMO, I believe that if you have 40k to spend, you should invest it in real property. If it's not enough to do something by yourself, try a joint venture w/ a trusted partner. If you haven't done so yet, try listening to some of the podcasts. @Joshua D. & @Brandon Turner ask every guest how they got started. If you invest your 40k in real property, hopefully you can come out of your first deal w/ cash in hand. You will certainly be MUCH wiser. Just my thoughts. Hope whatever you do works out for you.
9 Reply
Michael Lemieux
Investor · Deerfield Beach Florida and Tupper Lake, N.Y. · Member since 2013 · 307 posts · 118 votes
12y
I've been to several free REI seminars/ guru pitch fests, the free info was great, but I wish now that I could have spent that time on BP. I had a friend who recently spent a few thousand dollars on some guru easy flip REI course. Now he's looking into opening a UPS store. I had invited him to join BP for free, but "you can lead a horse to BP, but......."
4 Reply
Account Closed
Real Estate Investor · Myrtle Beach, SC · Member since 2012 · 299 posts · 104 votes
12y
NO NO NO a complete waste,

I agree with @michaellemieus above.

I and many others on here will be glade to mentor you.
5 Reply
Leon D.
Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2012 · 190 posts · 85 votes
12y
Jason Arnold I would hazard a guess that not a single person who reads and/or responds to this thread will think that $40k spent on a Scott Yancey seminar (or any guru seminar) is money well spent. Horrible, horrible waste of that kind of money.
3 Reply
Vince Mayer
Wholesaler · Arnold, MO · Member since 2013 · 348 posts · 183 votes
12y
Heh! I predict many replies to this...all negative. Search here at BP for marketing tips, podcasts or forums concerning your niche (do you have one?) and consider a joint venture with someone you get to know. Make sure it's contractual.
1 Reply
Christopher Hunt
Investor · Asheboro, NC · Member since 2014 · 14 posts · 9 votes
12y
Invest the money instead. I purchased my 1st property with 7k down payment, refinanced and pulled 24k out of it. Purchased my 2nd property with 9k down payment, $275 cash flow/month. Purchased my 3rd property 28k cash, will refinance and pull 37k out of it, and will still have $250/month cash flow.

Do you want to make money, or make someone else money?
7 Reply
Alex CraigBusiness Member
Real Estate Professional · Memphis, TN · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y
No. I don't understand how these guys can charge that much money. I went to a four-year university that barely cost that. Join your local real estate investing group, you will find several people that want to help you for free. Real estate investing is not rocket science. Most of it is just common sense and having a few good people to ask questions that have done it before. Again these people can be found at your local real estate networking group or better yet on bigger pockets. For $40,000 you can leverage that cash and buy 2 income properties.
901-848-9028
7 Reply
Tyler Smiarowski
Accountant · cedar rapids, IA · Member since 2013 · 99 posts · 46 votes
12y
no
2 Reply
Paul Timmins
Specialist · Rockland, MA · Member since 2010 · 7k+ posts · 2k+ votes
12y
@Jason Arnold

Welcome. Start here below. 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 60 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.

Two Great reads, I bought both J. Scott The Book on Flipping Houses,The Book on Estimating ReHab Costshttp://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
2 Reply
Robert AdamsBusiness Member
Real Estate Broker · Henderson, NV · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 373 votes
12y
I would just like to add....HELL NO! I can't believe people are actually paying this or even thinking about paying this.

Here is a better idea, send me your investment strategy, or if you don't have one I will help you create one. From there we will use your $40k on actual real estate investments and make you some money. I will get my cut from representing you on the buying and selling on these deals. No hidden sales pitch, seminars, self proclaimed gurus, etc.

There are those that make money from real estate investing and then there are those that make their money off selling get rich schemes. Don't confuse the two.

Please save your $40k for something that will give you ROI not just fatten Mr. Yancey's pockets.
[email protected]702-349-9175
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5 Reply
Bill Gulley
Investor, Entrepreneur, Educator · Springfield, MO · Member since 2009 · 21k+ posts · 12k+ votes
12y
Originally posted by @Jason Arnold:

I wanted to know if anyone on bigger pockets have participated an anything like this, what was your experience, and was it worth $40,000?

Cant wait to hear some feedback,

Thanks,

Jason

Is that a serious question or were you just pushing our buttons about gurus?

Seriously, NO!
1 Reply
Patrick L.
Real Estate Investor · Saint Petersburg, FL · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 951 votes
12y
no.
1 Reply
Jean BolgerPro Member
Aurora, CO · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y
Um..... no.

There are no magic beans that you can buy that will grow you a profitable real estate beanstalk.

But the fact is, real estate isn't hard. (This is the big secret that the folks selling their "secrets" don't want you to find out, lol) It takes information, but you can get that information here. Other than that, it takes patience, common sense, and some basic math skills.

It also, in almost every case, takes capital. You've got that 40k to start with, so don't waste it :)
2 Reply
Account Closed
Involved In Real Estate · Lynchburg, VA · Member since 2013 · 246 posts · 75 votes
12y
The only $40,000 learning experience that would ever be worth it is a joint venture with a veteran.

Think about it. You can pay $40,000 for a seminar that tells you how to do it, or you can JV with someone and get first hand practical experience. And your $40,000 is actually an investment and should generate profit, or at worst break even.
1 Reply
Joel OwensBusiness Member
Moderator
Real Estate Broker · Canton, GA · Member since 2010 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
12y
Jason if you are in Hawaii then WHY would you focus on someone flipping in the Vegas market??

Real estate Is LOCAL.

I do love watching the show on TV as my wife gets a kick out of this guys wife constantly trying to do expensive upgrades and then Scott blows a gasket with what it will cost. I know it's hammed up for TV but it's a fun laugh.

Find someone local and I am sure they will be less than 40,000 dollars. If you want a great general flipping book J Scott's is on here and it's cheap and chock full of real world info.

I think Scott Yancey's company on the show is called Goliath companies or something like that.

I do not have a positive or negative thing to say about his company as I have no interaction with them or experience.
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1 Reply
Aaron Mazzrillo
Investor · Riverside, CA · Member since 2011 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
12y
$40K and you're actually considering it!!?!? Wow.

You're so lucky you have this network. Think of all the fools who don't know any better and just through that kind of money away... So sad.
1 Reply
Emerson Miranda
Investor · Torrance, CA · Member since 2014 · 70 posts · 24 votes
12y
I was about to spend $25k on a guru. I was so pumped after the seminar, that seemed the best thing to do to get started. I'm glad I didn't! Like all the experienced REI here say, put that cash to a better use. JV seems to me a great way to start. And I'm looking into it. Anyone interested? BP is gold! An university online. Dive into it, and you'll learn a lot! Good Lick, and Good Deals! Emerson
3 Reply
Michael BorgerPro Member
Rehabber · San Diego, CA · Member since 2010 · 502 posts · 208 votes
12y
Hi Jason - welcome to real estate on Oahu. I'm actually a coach with the FortuneBuilders program and I can't say enough about it, having gone through the training myself, but I've never heard of this Yancey fellow so I can't comment on that.

Regardless, the above posters are correct in that there's a ton of information here on BP. There's also the HIREI group that meets the first Thursday evening of every month at the Japanese Cultural Center on Beretania Street. You should go and meet some folks to get an idea of the general scene here before you decide whether a mentoring program is right for you. There are 101 different ways to be a 'real estate investor', so you need to learn about what's available a bit before deciding what path you want your real estate career to take.

The mentoring programs will always be available, so there's no hurry to rush into one if you don't think it's a good fit. For now, I'd suggest just being active in the forums and go through some getting started guides. That alone will be a big help in getting your real estate career going and exposing you to the core fundamentals.
1 Reply
Bryan L.
Residential Real Estate Agent · Cookeville, TN · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 948 votes
12y
I can't imagine paying that kind of money. IMHO, there are much better programs with much better pricing.
0 Reply
Kathleen Leary
Princeton, KS · Member since 2014 · 357 posts · 169 votes
12y
Jeez . . . if I had an extra $40K to spend, I'd buy another house, do a killer rehab & let IT make ME some mo' money. I sure don't know everything, but I have a hard time imagining that anyone has much to say worth that kinda cash.
1 Reply
Account Closed
Involved In Real Estate · Lynchburg, VA · Member since 2013 · 246 posts · 75 votes
12y
This is what really pisses me off with gurus. There is nothing wrong with a $40,000 price point if they were targeting experienced investors or joint venturing with newbies.

If you're doing 10-20 rehabs a year (arbitrary number) and you're looking to scale up to doing 100 a year, then paying $40,000 to an expert consultant to teach you how to get to the next step makes sense in my opinion.

But to prey on newbies and sell them on how this is the best way to start is just disgusting.

This is true for ANY high priced coaching program.
2 Reply
Bill Gulley
Investor, Entrepreneur, Educator · Springfield, MO · Member since 2009 · 21k+ posts · 12k+ votes
12y
Originally posted by @Account Closed:
This is what really pisses me off with gurus. There is nothing wrong with a $40,000 price point if they were targeting experienced investors or joint venturing with newbies.

If you're doing 10-20 rehabs a year (arbitrary number) and you're looking to scale up to doing 100 a year, then paying $40,000 to an expert consultant to teach you how to get to the next step makes sense in my opinion.

But to prey on newbies and sell them on how this is the best way to start is just disgusting.

This is true for ANY high priced coaching program.

Totally agree, well sort of, experienced folks aren't newbies, joint venture deals can be pretty simple, $4,000 would be too much. Now, if you're doing a $5M deal, $40K in attorney fees and syndication fees could be well in line, but that is not taken care of by "real estate investors" much less some guru.

But I get your drift!

I can guarantee you that there aren't enough hours in a 3 or 4 or even a 7 day seminar to explain RE where newbies need to start and then get them into advance areas worth that kind of money.

I think Michael handled his post very well, he said go study and if it's right for you, then consider it.

I'd suggest that if, at 40K was an affordable price considering the real value of the information that can be duplicated, you should send your attorney to attend. At that price, being affordable, means you already have a healthy net work, healthy enough that if you want into RE you should being hiring people to run your operation, hire an attorney on staff, some make pretty good coffee. For 40K you can hire a staff attorney to show up at the office everyday !

And, since you didn't just pay your attorney his annual salary up front, you have enough to hire some more folks. You can probably find a real estate broker and put them on an annual salary as well, a couple agents to beat the bushes, you already have a good relationship with your banker since you have that healthy financial position, same with an accountant. Find a nice RE secretary with title experience. You can probably put a staff appraiser to work as well. Getting a GC who has 20 years in the business won't be hard to find, toss in a salary plus arrangement!

All that for less than $40,000 to start up!

You think there is some secret in RE? Well, you're wrong, nothing is new, most of what we do traces back centuries. There is nothing that someone does that is basically different than has already been done. There may be techniques, different approaches but those can easily be adopted to fit your personality, management skills and moreover your market.

Might look at the bottom of this page to related threads, I signed up.....this bunch is related to the basic seminar I attended, they are disguised lenders, that's the deal and for the small bucks, transactional funding might be of interest. I was the only guest that figured out what they were selling, even have the instructor's cell number. I talked with him for a few minutes. Odd that a bunch came out and he introduced me and one guy made a smart comment like ahh, another expert.....the guy I spoke to put him in his place quickly, no, he's not one of them, he really knows his stuff.

Trust me, all you need to do is learn enough to ask the right question, there are enough people with real knowledge to cover anything you can dream up! Your other concern is figuring out who they really are, shouldn't be hard in time. :)
3 Reply
Joel OwensBusiness Member
Moderator
Real Estate Broker · Canton, GA · Member since 2010 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
12y
It's all marketing.

Have you ever seen the movies and the commercials where the guy says something and everyone is silent??

Then another guy comes in and says the same thing in a different way with hands flailing and is animated and everyone gets excited.

It's sad that I get calls from people a few a month wanting to go to FREE seminars or so they think. I try to tell them please just go on BP and read information and also you can go to book stores for free and sit on the chair or couch and read the beginners books. Ones that it takes a while to read just a few pages because content is so good are ones to consider purchasing.

Here is another hint. Google reviews of the system or event and you will get the real scoop on things. Do not count on one negative posting as the gospel but if it's over and over again from multiple people that is a trend. You can also look at Ebay to find someone that paid a ton for these materials and they are selling them 10 cents on the dollar. The company won't have your contact info or bug you but you will get their info at a rock bottom re-sell price.
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2 Reply
Jason Arnold
OP
Real Estate Agent · Honolulu, HI · Member since 2014 · 15 posts · 6 votes
12y
The BiggerPockets community is AWESOME! Thank you all for your input. Its really motivating to hear all of your experiences. Thank you Thank you
1 Reply
David T.
Specialist · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2013 · 639 posts · 176 votes
12y
You have all the resources of BP free! All you need to do now is apply yourself to getting a deal going. If you pay even $400 for for guru stuff you really do have more money than sense!
1 Reply

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