Hey everyone, I'm 19 years old and am very interested in getting involved in Real Estate. I have been researching a lot about Phil Pustejovsky and his Freedom Mentorship Program. There have been discussions about this before, but my question is, has anyone personally paid for the program or know someone personally who has? I have seen reviews from the program online, but don't know how to tell if they are all fabricated. Any responses would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone.

I am from your state.   Anyway, I always am skeptical when "successful" investors start teaching classes.   Investments take a lot of time.  Who has the time to teach classes and mentor?   Takes your eye away from the ball from doing more deals.

Lots of training, information and materials are cheap or free.  Make sure you get your money's worth with this guy.   I don't know Phil, so I pass no judgement on his program.

I did this. It was ridiculously expensive. They ask for a ton of money up front for "access" to all their resources. After my large deposit, the first three months were free, but then it was an additional $200/month to maintain your status. The group calls/coaching placed a ton of pressure on just getting any deal under contract and figuring everything else out afterward. If you did have a property locked down you kind of got dismissed on the calls. In a short time BiggerPockets has delivered a higher quality of information, with ease and at the best price, FREE! If you have already found BP, I would personally not pursue with the "Freedom Mentor" program at all. Network here and talk to real people that offer real experiences and opportunities for no cost. 

Phil seems to give out decent information on YouTube but I wouldn't do the class.

Thanks gentlemen & surely we are appreciative of sharing your input regarding Joseph's question! Enjoy your summer...

ok, thanks for the advice, and Corey, did they not do something they had promised? How exactly did the program work?

I'm in his program now and so I far I find it amazing.  As a newb, this is a great way to learn from people that have been in the business for a long time and have a LOT of students go through the program.  It's 50/50 split on the first 500K you make, but honestly, I'm happy to do it because this is a hands on program with great advice and strategies.  We both have vested interests in my success.   It's easy to get caught up in reading and going to seminars, but Phil's program is hands on and pushes you outside your comfort zone to make deals happen.  This is perfect for me.

@Michael Matlock how long have you been in the program, if you don't mind me asking?

@Joseph Trubnick I have to agree with @Corey McKinney . Although I didn't buy into Phil Pustejovsky's program, I did watch all his free videos on youtube. Before that I read Rich Dad Poor Dad and after going to a seminar for RDPD I bought into their program. This program costs me $6,000 and included a coach as well as weekly phone/computer meetings at 6:30 pm once a week. We would get homework and were able to ask many questions. They also offered a resource line to call. But considering is was so new at the time I had basic questions that the coaches would only one word answer me which kind of discouraged me. Then I found BP!  Not only is it free for the website, they have the great podcasts! Let me tell you from experience... I have watched all of the podcasts almost twice one youtube during my commutes in my car over the last few months. Instead of the radio I put the podcasts on (thankfully i have unlimited data on my cell phone plan). Although the RDPD program was insightful and somewhat informative, it was no where near worth $6,000! I wish I found BP earlier because it would have literally saved me thousands and provides more information for FREE then what I paid for. 

     On a final note I suggest watching all the podcasts you can and pick up the books they mention in the podcasts. If your going to spend money on learning real estate then use that money to buy real estate books and the business books they recommend in the BP podcasts.

Originally posted by @Michael Matlock :

It's 50/50 split on the first 500K you make...

 Holy $(#&*$(*%!!! You're intending to pay this dude $250K!!!! I literally put my face in my hands and shook my head before I typed this second sentence. And now I have to do it again...

Here's the thing.  I've attended some seminars, paid a bit for Renatus online classes, but the all these classes do is tell what you need to do in more of a strategy sense without any help actually going through deals.  No assistance while you're going through the process and helping you strategize on a lead by lead basis, learning how to avoid pitfalls, or even pushing you past your comfort zone to make things happen.  Freedom mentor will even put up money if the deals are good and the math works to make a profit.  In terms of "paying 250K", I look at it this way.  They're walking me through deals and I'm getting hands on training and not just information.  They get 50% of the profit by doing so, and I don't mind sharing it.  I am not paying 250K, that is profit sharing, which I'm fine with.  50% of something is whole lot better than 100% of nothing if you just keep reading, studying, but don't make deals happen.  Each person will have a different take on this I'm sure, some may be making things happen themselves, which is good.  For me though, I know I need a kick in the *** to get past the fear of doing something wrong and making bad investments and bad decisions.  I like the hands on help.  I'm fine with profit sharing if it means making things happen.  And at a 50/50 split, it also motivates them to make me succeed.  You can spend a lot of time reading and studying and not making deals.  I chose learn as I'm making deals happen.

i always assume that these "teachers" and "experts" in real estate, trading, whatever business it is, are total scam artists in that they dont teach you much of anything that you cant read on here

totally pointless and waste of cash. this forum however, is worth millions to me easily

@Michael Matlock awesome. Happy to hear it's working out for you. Just out of curiosity, what has the time commitment been and how long did it take before you closed your first deal?

@Jason Chen and @Joseph Trubnick

I spent some money on real estate education recently. Wish I had that money back. I suspect others who spend large sums on guru education will tell  you the same. I learned more from reading BP and networking with real estate friends than I did from Renatus. Taking classes might make you more informed, but you have to have a "can-do" attitude and the ability to make a deal happen in order to be successful.

Don't feel like you have to spend money to get educated.  You can learn more here than spending money on questionable classes. I did. Now my passive income equals my W-2 income. That's what I love about real estate. It's what you make of it, not necessarily how much you can spend on education.

@Joseph Trubnick

I have seen Phils you tube videos, I think there informative.   There is  a lot of education out there.  Its tough unless you have someone to guide you through that first deal.  I believe one on one is best (a mentor).  You can see their deals and ask as many questions as you want.  I have bought education programs but always local.  If you need help let me know.  No strings attached.  I'm not to far from you.  PM me if I can help.

Good Luck.

Hi Joseph!  I can tell you my husband and I would have been lost if we hadn't hired mentors along the way.  We've been in real estate for over 10 years and have seen the good the bad and the ugly.  We've been asked to "teach" for some of these companies and we now teach others what our mentors and experience have taught us.  

So many others have nailed the key here, you can accumulate all kinds of information for free, some can take it and run, some need the hand holding and step by step guidance.  Either way, you'll pay for your success whether it's through your own mistakes or paying someone else to avoid them.  It totally can be done either way, I just believe it's a matter of personality, time frame and resources.

I can tell you that you should know step by step how to walk through as many possible strategies as you can, as that's the best way we've found to not only make the short term cash but also the long term wealth building.  Finding someone to teach you all of that will be well worth the investment.  Just for comparison, our most expensive mentor cost us $50,000.  I would pay that again in a heartbeat but saw the MUCH bigger figures on here as well.  And while it may very well be worth $250,000 you might have similar/better options at a much smaller investment.

Best of luck!

Karmen

 @Jason Chen :

 I've been doing the program for about a month. I'm still in the marketing phase, have a site built, learned a ton about optimizing it for the most views. Time commitment wise, it's up to each student. I'm not working so I've been putting in about 4 hrs a day, but they ask that you put in at least 4 hrs or so week. If you're working, you can go at your own pace. There's a blueprint to follow, so it's not a set schedule.  I want an accelerated pace myself, so I'm moving through courses rather quickly.  Ready to make things happen.

@Michael Matlock I know it's only been two months, but are you still feeling positive about Freedom Mentor and are you any closer to closing your first deal? I've been on the phone a bit with them but still indecisive about taking the plunge...

I'm discovering that it really matters where you live.  I think in other parts of the country I'd do great.  Los Angeles, though, is a tough area.   So many would be investors around.  The techniques FM uses are good.  So much is marketing.  IM me.  

sorry, just seeing this, but I was a FM student a year and a half ago, paid 7K for the program. It's legit, but you don't get personalized coaching at that price, maybe if you pay more. I was very diligent for about 3 months, was on lots of calls and made three offers on houses. The coaches were not there when I needed immediate personal help from them to back me up and I got directly opposing advice depending on what coach I talked to on group phone calls. The info is anything you can get by joining your local or regional REI group. I took out a loan at high interest rate to do it and wish I hadn't because I'm still paying on it.. I was led to believe I would have a personal relationship with someone, and never did. Phil would answer my emails to him, but again, it was always way too late for any decision on a deal. I think if I could have hung in there and not gotten so discouraged, it may have worked, but I was working two jobs to support my kids and gave up. Phil did waive the $200 fee for me for awhile, but after that initial 3 months of working so hard and then the coaches not being there when I needed them, I caved and no one there reached out or even knew who I was probably. I was contacted when my waiver was no longer in effect and the fee was supposed to go through by the billing people, however. No way to reach Phil or access the calls or program resources without paying that fee every month.

As mentioned previously, Phil's content online on YouTube are phenomenal!  Great topics and good solid content.  He doesn't just glaze over stuff.  For being free, I feel he brings more value in his vids than most any other "guru" out there.  

I cannot speak to the mentorship program

I checked into getting involved with Phil and his coaching team. The first call I got after filling in the forms was from someone who was very high pressure on buying into the program. He talked about how much money I had on my credit cards to spend on coaching. Hmmmm.... seems like you are not evaluated by whether or not you are someone they would choose to work with because of something you said in your info they ask to have about why you would be someone that they CHOOSE because of that.... It's all about how much money you on your credit cards to let them access .... It ranged from $10,000 to $40,000. So you have to buy your way in and then according to some reports I have read there will eventually be a monthly charge on top of that to continue to use the tools they provide. Steer clear of this guy and his so called team of coaching..... it's definitely a scam. And oh by the way they aren't located in Florida.... they are in Utah.... ever watch the TV show about how the Mormons are ripping off people with scams???? I know the feeling .... spent over 15 grand and never made a dime off what they were teaching in that program of how to sell online stuff.

I am also a former student who spent $6,000 for the course. Initially I believed the program would assist funding their students cost with acquisition and rehab which is the excuse I used for be willing to spend $6,000. The term "We buy houses fast cash" was absolutely misleading to me, because I wasn't given the opportunity to offer "cash" to my client instead I was encouraged to put her home on the MLS for several months which she was not willing to do because she wanted a cash offer. In addition to spending the $6,000 you're obligated to a 50/50 split until you reach a $500,000 goal, and yes you do have to pay an additional $200.00 per month to stay in the "program" . I was fortunate enough to be able to speak with Phil regarding his program however I must have caught him on a bad day because he wasn't the most reasonable to talk to. I highly encourage anyone who wants to become a real-estate investor to read, read, read. Read as many books as you can about the topic and network with local agents, investors, and real-estate groups in your area. There's no easy or fast track to real-estate investing and these programs are not designed to give you anything, you have to do the work. Real-estate investing takes time, knowledge, savings, and networking.

Be cautious about spending your money on any program and use your funds towards your first investment property. Expect you are going to have hurdles along the road but it’s all worth it. Work hard and good luck everyone.

Did you need to sign a termination when you left Phil's program? 

Did they give you any hassles?

I had the same experience Michael...busted my behind for 3 months with no results. I did go out and make offers even though the Nashville market is extremely saturated with investors and over-priced inventory. Didn't get the back up I needed.