Than Merrill of Flip This House
Real Estate Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 447 votes
Than Merrill of Flip This House will be speaking at my local real estate club in July. Has anyone seen him speak or attended one of his bootcamps? His Website, Fortunebuilders.com, lists a 5 day program for $3,497 and a 4 day rehabbing bootcamp for $2,497. He also sells a CD course for $1,197. Makes me feel like I’m in the wrong business! It will be interesting to see how well his program sells in the current environment.
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Yes sir,
I went to a boot camp in Orlando. Than is a high energy guy and he was a good one for a first time boot camper, but if you have been to them in the past, you can order his books online at ebay and get out of them nothing new and exciting. His mentor is Robin ? out of Orlando and she learned all she knows from Ron Legrand, so you sort of see where this is headed?
Than has some good ideas, signs are a big thing for him, says 40% of your sales come from the use of signs in the area. Another great idea is a truck or vehicle to leave at big intersections to advertise. The rehabber, Paul, is a better sale, because he knows what he is doing. I think Than needs Paul more than Paul needs Than. If you are an investor, I would look online on ebay and see what you can pickup at a discount.
Yes sir,
I went to a boot camp in Orlando. Than is a high energy guy and he was a good one for a first time boot camper, but if you have been to them in the past, you can order his books online at ebay and get out of them nothing new and exciting. His mentor is Robin ? out of Orlando and she learned all she knows from Ron Legrand, so you sort of see where this is headed?
Than has some good ideas, signs are a big thing for him, says 40% of your sales come from the use of signs in the area. Another great idea is a truck or vehicle to leave at big intersections to advertise. The rehabber, Paul, is a better sale, because he knows what he is doing. I think Than needs Paul more than Paul needs Than. If you are an investor, I would look online on ebay and see what you can pickup at a discount.
JD (Paul's Older Bother and the "Manager"). came to speak @ our REIA and had a one day training for $25. I think their system for doing rehabs is great. They are big on paperwork (making sure everything is documented and planned out). They have 6 steps they follow for rehabbing, and the actual rehab doesn't start until step 5.
I did not personally purchase the course, but think it would be worth the money. Some other people did and I plan to borrow it from them. I have been watching on ebay and have only seen one course of their s for sale on there for $500.
Like I said, there system seems very thorough. They have ~3 different "layouts" for each of the main rooms. So there are a few base layouts for the kitchen. You take the floor plan you have to work with and see which model fits it best. They then show you the model number and approx price from lowes/home depot so that you can very quickly know what layout you will use and the cost.
If you are into rehabbing, I would suggest this course. I have not purchased it, but I plan to when I begin rehabs.
I am quite interested in purchasing his course but would like to know if anyone out there has tried it and if so how has it worked for you.
I am not going to say anything bad about them as they are from my state. I have learned a thing or two over the years and that is Google.com has lots of answers. Now I have never been to a boot camp or purchased their course, but have picked up some Ron legrand stuff in the past. You can only learn so much from books, what you need to do is look for a mentor and write up some deals. I have found that starting off by wholesaling or flipping contracts is a good way to get started..need to take baby steps. I have found that there are a few ways to do creative real estate investing and everyone has there spin on them. I would check ebay like another member said and go through the course. Then try a few deals you will learn a lot more that way...Ok off my soapbox I just wish someone would of told it to me straight when I started. Now go out there and put some option contracts on some properties and make some cash.
So, Richard, did you go to this presentation yet? He's going to be at ours on Wednesday, and I'm curious if its worth the time (and gas) to go.
Is it worth it? Maybe, he went on for almost two hours and it was pretty much a sales pitch for his boot camp.
I wrote about it in my blog post last week:
http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2008/07/14/a-tale-of-two-real-estate-gurus/
He was guru number two in the story. He was entertaining and there is some substance to his talk. I had an opportunity to speak with him a little bit, seems like a sincere enough guy and he seems to have some good marketing techniques.
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I did end up going to this meeting. It was just him. He's a pretty good speaker, so it was fairly entertaining, if quite long. Usually pitches are only an hour, or an hour and fifteen minutes. His was almost two hours.
Of course he's selling a course. Combination of home study, materials, boot camp and software. After all the suspense, it was $1500 for the package.
His focus is on systems and marketing. The marketing and buying system tie together. Seemed like mostly direct mail with a little bandit signs, but there may be other approaches in his material. He included a bunch of letters for different target groups. And about six-eight letters per group to use over time. The software, realeflow, handled leads and info about the properties.
He's big into outsourcing the work. Taking the calls, for instance. Looks like his approach is to outsource getting the lists (from various list vendors or agencies), sending the letters (no details given), and having people to answer the calls and input the data into realeflow. Then, you would look at what's coming in, eliminate the bad deals and start calling people back. Also discussed various ways to generate a buyers list.
The realeflow software is from a separate company. I can't tell if its software you buy or a service you use. The charges are pretty steep and include both a one time charge (thousands) and a monthly charge (hundreds). He included it "free" for 15 people, but I suspect that may mean just the one time charge.
The realeflow software is from a separate company. I can't tell if its software you buy or a service you use. The charges are pretty steep and include both a one time charge (thousands) and a monthly charge (hundreds). He included it "free" for 15 people, but I suspect that may mean just the one time charge.
You got a better deal than my club. Here it was $2,000 for the package.
Here the first 7 people could have the software for $1. That is only the initial charge, you still have to pay the monthly fee. Though he says it is from a different company, you can rest assured that he gets a piece.
The difference in the amount he charges for the package probably has something to do with the split that he negotiates from the club. Here the club would receive 30% of the amount he collected.
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I am sold on the Fortune Builders system. These guy's are a great success story and have built a very successful business in a very short amount of time.
If you invest in their courses and take the time to implement what they teach you, it's almost like buying a franchise.
I love their attitudes and they way they approach everything with a positive attitude.
I know that studying under them has really helped us in setting up our business.
That’s nice to hear. Do you have any specific examples of how the course has helped you in your business?
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Well I guess one obvious example would be our website...
We also use a ton of the forms that they supply as they really break down processes and make sure you do everything efficiently. This is especially helpful when doing extensive rehabs...
I am also in the process of transforming some of the marketing material they provide into our business. It is taking me a little time, but only a fraction of what it would take to make this material from scratch.
The part that tempted me about this was all the different groups you could market to, and sources for info about those groups. The website stuff is cool, but its a separate company and pricey even if you get in on the $1 deal. I've seen several other guru's with similar web sites. You wonder how effective these are if multiple investors have the same web sites in the same area. Sounds like the battle of the SEO's. Be curious about your longer term success with this once you have it up.
Last Night I attended my first local REI meeting and Paul Esajian was the speaker.
He is one of the guys on “ Flip this house†( the New Haven team ) I stopped watching
The show a few years back , It was so fake and set up , maybe its changed ill have to watch a few and see for myself, hears a link to some of the Controversy behind this program http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_This_House_(TV_series)
For the most part it was interesting, learned a thing or two, the ONE thing I really was interested in was in his rehab break down in cost , ( like mentioned above ) That really looked good and I would love to have that, for the price ,$1200 im still considering it.
He also had an option on the 4 day workshop along with 2 of the courses for I think it was $2600 ? something like that , where you can spend 4 days with them and look at 3 of the properties they are doing on the tv show, one will be before work has begun ,another is in the process and the last is complete , all 3 would air in the series and you would get updates on how he or the team thought they did, mistakes , how it would be done different ETC. He is doing a 1 day seminar on Saturday that I would like to attend , just not sure if I will be in town, let ya know if I go ,how it went.
I listened to a webinar he did last night through foreclosure.com
Like others have said, it was pretty much a sales pitch for his marketing system.
The system seemed pretty involved with direct mail campaigns.
Has anyone purchased his system?
What are the costs involved with the direct mail campaigns?
Thanks,
Chris
hey guys,
I just stumbled on this forum and I feel like i can be of some help. I bought Paul and Than's products & bootcamps in October of 2007. It was by far the best decision i have ever made.
I was working the 9-5 job making a solid income as a web developer, but i was miserable. I saw these guys speak one time at a REIA event and made the decision that i was gonna have to take a chance if i wanted to change the direction my life was heading. So i shelled out the money for the courses and bootcamps (which wasn't bad at all because they have a financing program). 1 week after that event, i had marketing campaigns in place, the phone ringing, and deals coming in. Wholesaled 2 properties the first month and started my first rehab the second month. After 1 year, i have completed 18 real estate transactions with all of them netting over 20K and i have created multiple streams of income for my business that give me monthly profits of over 5K a month.
Bottom line, i would have paid MUCH more for the courses and opportunity to learn from them. They have it figured out and laid it out in such a way that if you can't make it work, then, in all honesty, you're an idiot and you shouldn't be in this business.
I have 4 college interns as of right now, and i am hiring 2 of them on full time. The first thing i am doing after i hire them is signing them up for Paul and Than's Mastery program. This program is $10K a person.
It is great that you have found something that has worked for you, Gary.
I'm a long time member of this site and have seen a lot of testimonials for gurus and others. When they come from first time posters, it turns out that these people are often affiliated with or working for the people they are convincing people to support.
I guess I want to know if you're affiliated with these bootcamps?
Either way, it would be great if you got more involved here on the community. It sounds like you're hugely successful, and I hope that you're willing to share some of that with the rest of us.
hey mark,
I just reread my post and i can understand your questioning of an affiliation. I would think the same if i saw what i wrote.
But, to answer your question, i am not affiliated with their company. I have my own real estate entity. That being said, I do converse with Paul, JD, and Than from time to time. I have bought 1 property from them and i have wholesaled 2 properties to them. Outside of that, I call them if I have questions about certain aspects of the real estate business or if I run into a situation I can't get straightened out myself. That's part of the reason why i hold them in such high regard: their accessibility. They have always been just a phone call away and they were always willing to give advice, answer questions, or push me in the right direction when i've needed it. they showed an interest to my success.
Now i have a question for you:
is that your car in your profile pic?
People are interested in learning more of Than Merrill here huh? I don't know if you guys know their website but I'm actually a regular on their forum their before I signed up here.
Am I correct, or are you here to participate?
Let me put my 2 cents in guys I have yet to make my first deal. I am a neophyte at this so you can tell me to keep my 2 cents and come back when I have made my 1st. deal I will understand. I have spent some money on some these real estate courses I have studied them thoroughly, have made some offers only to have fall through for one reason or other. With that said the money that this man wants for information most can be found on google as bad as I want to make my 1st. deal I would not pay that much as a matter of fact I dont intend to pay any guru, I will eventually find mentor who I wil pay. I am a BP member to learn and find help. I am sorry if I have ruffled any feathers. Anchorman
Randy, many people have the same thought. I have seen posts similar to yours and I am of the same mindset. I do buy books, but $5K-10K boot camps; don't think so. I am here to learn and there is a wealth of info here and I will be a sponge! So speak your mind don't worry what others think.
Good info. I have been to Than and Pauls seminar NOT BOOTCAMP. I have never been to one boot camp other than Donna Bauers. But, the info that he gave us as seasoned investors really did not SHOCK us or make us want to go to the boot camp. See when you sum REAL ESTATE up
There is nothing new under the sun. Everyone is going to come in and pitch that there system is the one.
Let me share something interesting to all of you. This is FACT not FICTION. We were at a seminar in Michigan from Wendy Patton back a few yrs ago and what we discovered that many of the speakers would come in and sit in on the next speakers seminar and what we found with that if you look at enough material from all of them you can link a lot of the same things being said and a lot of the same things being done.
But, what many of them PREY upon is your DESIRE to be where they are TODAY. But, I am here to tell you that many of them started where you are now and there willingness to want to SUCCEED was more POWERFUL than many of the investors or novice of today and that is how they can sell you.
I am not a advocate for BUYING a lot of stuff unless you know that you are going to truly use it. I am a advocate for HANDS ON and finding the right person or MENTOR as many call it.
Doing your first deal no matter how many mistakes you make will get you so far than reading a book until it is unbelievable.
Trust yourselves and believe in yourselfs. All these GURUs have you believing in them, well they put there pants and skirts on the same way that we do.
I had one GURUs sales team talk down to me because I would not buy his package and they told me that I would not be successful unless I did.
Well I am here to tell you that I am VERY SUCCESSFUL in real estate and I always looked at that and said as my colleague said, they don't even know you and what you have done and they are just trying to get you to purchase what we deemed as GARBAGE. Sorry for the insult, but it was GARBAGE and you need never let anyone put you down or tell you, you can not, when I am living proof that you can.
SUCCESS BREEDS SUCCESS
I can agree with Douglas 100%. I spent a lot of time last year soaking up information from different sources and what I found was that it is not what these Gurus are saying but how they are saying it! Even if I could afford a 5-10K Boot camp I would not attend because the same information can be found in forums like this one.(minus the sales pitch) I value Bigger pockets because It is hard in this day and age to find a group of people come together and share ideas and information without a hidden agenda. Gurus Sales model is based on people not putting value on something good when it is free so they charge you $1,000's of dollars for that same information.
Has anyone bought their Rehab book and tapes? I am interested in checking out their rehab handbook, but I have a hard time shelling out 2K for something that may not be of use to me... any info would be great..
thanks...
What would you have to get out of their course to make it worth $2k? There are plenty of good books around that would cost about 1% of that ($20). Take $100 and buy 5 of them and you’ll probably have more than what you get for $2k. As an earlier poster said, “There is nothing new under the sun. Everyone is going to come in and pitch that there system is the one.†As a veteran rehabber I can tell you that you will learn more by doing than anything else.
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