RENATUS SCHOOLING?
Wholesaler · Springfield, MA · Member since 2013 · 24 posts · 7 votes
has anyone looked into this? It claims to be a college on how to become a real estate investor from the best arpund. There are diferent courses the offer finacial aid and give you access to online classes or you can go to the school I believe in Wisconsin has anyone tried it?
Doug - You have 4 posts on BP, all of which are regarding this company and 3 of which are just cut-and-paste of the exact text above. While that doesn't necessarily detract from your experience or opinions, it does call into question your relationship with the company (and your motives for posting here).
Is there a reason you've chosen to participate in the discussions about this company over the past year, but no other discussions here on BP?
Oh, there is the bell, time for the kids to get off the playground, playtime is over, let's get back to our homerooms. Hurry, get in line, everyone hold hands and follow me back inside.
That's it, hold hands and let's go.
Thank you, good job, did everyone have fun on the playground today? .....Okay, good. :)
"If Bob Snyder were sitting here arguing for Renatus, I'd ask him." It is not incumbent upon the owner of ANY business to attend a meeting or discussion of that business and it's policies. Who are YOU to expect him to acquiesce to your wishes?
I am not a Renatus employee - I am not AUTHORIZED to give you any other kind of answer, nor would it be legally responsible for me to do so. Whether I have one or not is irrelevant.
1. "They DO GIVE REFUNDS."
No, they do not. Look at the last line on that chart. Fair to say that May 15, 2015 is AFTER graduation or at least after end-of-term. The rest of the chart is, again, a matter of policy and only the people who set those policies can address your query. It is not up to them to seek you out, that part is up to YOU!
2. They DO HAVE A PAY-AS-YOU-GO SYSTEM
Part of #1, and I addressed that above.
"The weird thing was, they said that every institution of higher learning that they're familiar with works this exact same way." Did they distinguish between accredited and non-accredited? ...or do you simply dismiss non-accredited out of hand?
"I asked them why Renatus didn't do this same thing. Surprisingly, they never heard of Renatus." Why would they have? Did you expect them to be familiar with every school, college, university, etc. in the country? Renatus does not advertise. If any of them are over the age of 60, ask them if they ever heard of "Control Data Institute"? (The trade school I attended.) CDI advertised extensively back in the day, just like DeVry and the automotive and "beauty" trade schools do today. Ask them if they ever heard of Than Merrill, Armondo Montelongo, *************, or (pick a guru) ... Ask them they ever heard of Triton College in River Grove, IL, Waubonsee Valley College near Aurora, IL or any other small community college. (I purposely did not mention my local community college, Joliet Junior College because JJC is credited as having established the first community college, and they would likely know that.)
"... you probably want to find a CEO who is a bit more in tune with the educational system he's competing against." How many of those institutions even offer the same curricula as Renatus? Apples and oranges. I'll ask again: Who are YOU to expect him to acquiesce to your wishes?
You're REALLY grasping at straws here, Jason. Is it THAT important to you to be right?
Isn't being successful more important? ...more rewarding? ...more lucrative?
...and you already ARE successful!
So what's your point?
I went through the whole Nouveaue Riche thing in 2007. I did get some good education out of the program but at a tremendous financial cost. The coaching program was lame and the coach was barely a step ahead of myself. I am a big fan of networking, reading, podcast and education. Most of these are free or low cost. For education and seminars you pay for I believe it is best to be laser focused instead of overly broad. With a broad educational program you will get a rehash of what you already know, have read, or can hear on podcasts. At this time I know that syndication is key for me to get to the next level so I will attend some quality syndication training focused only on this narrow topic.
So what's your point?
Here's my point (for future readers of this thread)...
You claim to be affiliate of Renatus, so I will assume that to some degree, the things you say are representative of the things Renatus stands for and believes. With that in mind, here are just a few of the ridiculous things you've said, flip-flopped on and avoided throughout this thread:
- First, you seem to like to throw around personal insults. Your comment: "Give yourself a rectal craniotomy!" was by far my favorite. Just curious, does everyone in your organization insult people like that?
- You stated at one point that, "Everyone involved with a Renatus community is a volunteer." Then, at many other points, you talked about the opportunity for people to make money by marketing and recruiting students (you even said that you were an "affiliate." If Renatus is paying people to market for them, clearly your statement that everyone involved was a volunteer is a lie. Is that sort of lying endorsed by your company?
- You and Doug claimed full "transparency" and willingness to answer questions all throughout this thread. Then when I asked the question I felt was most important (why you don't provide any types of refunds or pay-as-you-go programs), you ducked it for several days, then you implied that it was okay because your competitors did the same thing, and then when I proved that you were factually incorrect, you resorted to the following quote, "I am not AUTHORIZED to give you any other kind of answer, nor would it be legally responsible for me to do so." If you really wanted to be transparent and answer questions, you would have gotten someone who WAS authorized to give an answer.
- But, instead of getting an answer to the question above, you stated, "go to the man who sets the policy: Bob Snyder and ask him." I said that if he were here, I'd be happy to ask him. You replied with, "It is not incumbent upon the owner of ANY business to attend a meeting or discussion of that business and it's policies. Who are YOU to expect him to acquiesce to your wishes?" In other words, your CEO is happy to answer my questions, unless it's about the "business and its policies." Would your CEO agree with that?
- Interestingly, while you claim that you're not authorized to answer a question like the one above, you were willing to say earlier in the thread that, based on your observations, the success rate of Renatus students was about 75%. Were you authorized to give that opinion? I think even your CEO would tell us that the 75% number is ludicrous -- and your lawyers would probably not be happy that you were even throwing out your unofficial belief. Regardless, I find it interesting how you won't answer a simple question because you're not authorized to, but you'll throw out potentially legally-incriminating statistics based on your opinions.
- You indicated that it would be cost-prohibited to try to track the results of your students. When I pointed out that it would only cost .005% of your revenue ($1 out of each $20,000 tuition), you ignored my point and insulted me once again, saying: "For an MBA, your lack of business savvy is as disturbing as your lack of understanding of what it takes to run a business." You never did address why Renatus believes that spending .005% of their gross revenue on tracking student success is cost-prohibitive.
- Along with the above, you claimed that no other institutions of higher learning tracked their student success, so why should you. When I pointed you to the HBS data, you hemmed and hawed and basically said that I can't compare Renatus to Harvard. Yet, you yourself compare Renatus to accredited universities on several occasions. Interesting how Renatus should be compared to universities on some things, but not when it comes to actually tracking it's own success.
- You claimed that you were being defensive because we were "bad-mouthing" your company. I asked several times about specific statements I made to bad-mouth your company, but you couldn't offer any. Basically, every time you couldn't justify statements you made or weren't comfortable answering difficult questions, your reaction was, "You're just bad-mouthing..." Your attempt at misdirection makes me wonder what else you're hiding.
Anyway, there's my summary of my discussion with you about Renatus. I sincerely appreciate you coming here and providing all that information -- I have a feeling that it will be tremendously helpful for any future member who comes here to get additional information on Renatus.
Lastly, I'll remind you that several pages back on this thread, I gave you the last word...but you just kept on going. Later in the thread, I pointed out that everyone else I had communicated with from Renatus seemed both logical and level-headed, and I suggested that you probably weren't doing Renatus any favors by continuing to post. But, again, you just kept on going. In my opinion, by continuing to post and throw out insults and ridiculousness, you have single-handedly made the entire company look horrible.
If Bob Snyder is as good of a guy as you say he is, I'd suggest that you probably owe him an apology for the damage you've done to his company on this thread.
Are you sure you want to keep going?
It sure seems like a lot of people on here are threatened by a "competitor" like Renatus. There are many ways for people to learn. Some (but not many) are capable of learning by going through a guru, some can learn with BP. Some need more hand-holding, which is where a program like Renatus comes in. One size doesn't fit all and all of these will work for some people and not for others. Is it so difficult to admit that there is more than one way to skin a cat?
There can be no argument that if something works for someone, it's worthwhile. Some on here have mentioned how expensive Renatus is. It starts at $1,997, which is a bargain. The very top end is $20,000, which sounds like a lot of money until you consider that amount can be earned back in one deal. I earned mine back in less than 2 years, which I consider reasonable.
There is room in real estate for a number of business models. Just because mine doesn't fit you doesn't make it inherently bad. If you're going to criticize, at least make sure you know what you're criticizing. That's not too much to ask. Real estate can be very scary but it can also be extremely rewarding. However, someone who never gets started has NO chance to succeed. I happen to believe that the vast number of newbies are petrified to get started and need some real support and hand-holding. The guru's don't offer that. BP doesn't offer that. Renatus does. One size doesn't fit all. You don't threaten me. I can't for the life of me see why I'm that big a threat to you. We should all encourage anything that helps people invest in our industry.
So what's your point?
Here's my point (for future readers of this thread)...
You claim to be affiliate of Renatus, so I will assume that to some degree, the things you say are representative of the things Renatus stands for and believes. With that in mind, here are just a few of the ridiculous things you've said, flip-flopped on and avoided throughout this thread:
- First, you seem to like to throw around personal insults. Your comment: "Give yourself a rectal craniotomy!" was by far my favorite. Just curious, does everyone in your organization insult people like that?
- You stated at one point that, "Everyone involved with a Renatus community is a volunteer." Then, at many other points, you talked about the opportunity for people to make money by marketing and recruiting students (you even said that you were an "affiliate." If Renatus is paying people to market for them, clearly your statement that everyone involved was a volunteer is a lie. Is that sort of lying endorsed by your company?
- You and Doug claimed full "transparency" and willingness to answer questions all throughout this thread. Then when I asked the question I felt was most important (why you don't provide any types of refunds or pay-as-you-go programs), you ducked it for several days, then you implied that it was okay because your competitors did the same thing, and then when I proved that you were factually incorrect, you resorted to the following quote, "I am not AUTHORIZED to give you any other kind of answer, nor would it be legally responsible for me to do so." If you really wanted to be transparent and answer questions, you would have gotten someone who WAS authorized to give an answer.
- But, instead of getting an answer to the question above, you stated, "go to the man who sets the policy: Bob Snyder and ask him." I said that if he were here, I'd be happy to ask him. You replied with, "It is not incumbent upon the owner of ANY business to attend a meeting or discussion of that business and it's policies. Who are YOU to expect him to acquiesce to your wishes?" In other words, your CEO is happy to answer my questions, unless it's about the "business and its policies." Would your CEO agree with that?
- Interestingly, while you claim that you're not authorized to answer a question like the one above, you were willing to say earlier in the thread that, based on your observations, the success rate of Renatus students was about 75%. Were you authorized to give that opinion? I think even your CEO would tell us that the 75% number is ludicrous -- and your lawyers would probably not be happy that you were even throwing out your unofficial belief. Regardless, I find it interesting how you won't answer a simple question because you're not authorized to, but you'll throw out potentially legally-incriminating statistics based on your opinions.
- You indicated that it would be cost-prohibited to try to track the results of your students. When I pointed out that it would only cost .005% of your revenue ($1 out of each $20,000 tuition), you ignored my point and insulted me once again, saying: "For an MBA, your lack of business savvy is as disturbing as your lack of understanding of what it takes to run a business." You never did address why Renatus believes that spending .005% of their gross revenue on tracking student success is cost-prohibitive.
- Along with the above, you claimed that no other institutions of higher learning tracked their student success, so why should you. When I pointed you to the HBS data, you hemmed and hawed and basically said that I can't compare Renatus to Harvard. Yet, you yourself compare Renatus to accredited universities on several occasions. Interesting how Renatus should be compared to universities on some things, but not when it comes to actually tracking it's own success.
- You claimed that you were being defensive because we were "bad-mouthing" your company. I asked several times about specific statements I made to bad-mouth your company, but you couldn't offer any. Basically, every time you couldn't justify statements you made or weren't comfortable answering difficult questions, your reaction was, "You're just bad-mouthing..." Your attempt at misdirection makes me wonder what else you're hiding.
Anyway, there's my summary of my discussion with you about Renatus. I sincerely appreciate you coming here and providing all that information -- I have a feeling that it will be tremendously helpful for any future member who comes here to get additional information on Renatus.
Lastly, I'll remind you that several pages back on this thread, I gave you the last word...but you just kept on going. Later in the thread, I pointed out that everyone else I had communicated with from Renatus seemed both logical and level-headed, and I suggested that you probably weren't doing Renatus any favors by continuing to post. But, again, you just kept on going. In my opinion, by continuing to post and throw out insults and ridiculousness, you have single-handedly made the entire company look horrible.
If Bob Snyder is as good of a guy as you say he is, I'd suggest that you probably owe him an apology for the damage you've done to his company on this thread.
Are you sure you want to keep going?
Not even close, Jason, not even close!
So, you think YOU have the exclusives on insults? Do what I told you: go back and re-read your own posts. I'm sure the audience-at-large will not hesitate to do so, if they think they see any value in it!
I said that everyone associated with a Renatus Community is a volunteer. Renatus affiliates/marketers, of course, are independent business people. With your multiple degrees - including an MBA, experience in Corporate America, and the astuteness and acumen you have gathered through both that and your real estate ventures to date, you should know better than to make such a ridiculous statement. Pedantics will get you nowhere.
So "transparancy" - to you, at least - means answering any question whether doing so is appropriate or not. Thank you for that little bit of education.
If you want answers, get them yourself! All through this thread you've been demanding that I do your homework for you. Truly successful people take things on their OWN initiative, and don't expect others to do it for them. (If you choose to take that as an insult, so be it - I cannot control your perceptions.)
"I pointed out that (tracking results) would only cost .005% of your revenue ($1 out of each $20,000 tuition ..." On what data did you base that assertion? Did you look up Renatus's revenue, client base and other business data some where and calculate that as a result?
"You're just bad-mouthing..." Can you actually quote that by post giving the date / time stamp from top of the post? (Hint: You won't find it, because it doesn't exist.) I made that reference in exactly ONE post, and not in those words - and we BOTH know it!
"... you claimed that no other institutions of higher learning tracked their student success, so why should you ..." Can you actually quote that by post giving the date / time stamp from top of the post? I don't recall my exact words without looking back. I recall suggesting that it was not a common practice, especially among the smaller institutions citing the cost of man-time and other resources as the limiting factor. I even itemized some of those costs for you.
"Lastly, ..." In the words of another poster, "Opinion". Other people's mileage may vary.
You ARE welcome to share your point of view with the audience of this forum, of course. So am I, as well as any other member of this website.
Trouble is, somewhere along the line you came to be of the opinion that only your opinion matters, and that Mr Snyder should run his business according to your dictates.
So, with that in mind, with your multiple degrees - including an MBA, experience in Corporate America, and the astuteness and acumen you have gathered through both that and your real estate ventures to date, how are you coming with your plan to:
1. Learn all you can about Renatus
2. Develop a plan to convert Renatus into an accredited (or accreditable) educational institution
3. Develop a presentation to Bob Snyder showing him how your plan will improve Renatus and make it a more effective channel of real estate investing education
4. Open discussions with Bob Snyder to arrange for an appointment to make your presentation
5. Explain to him how his existing marketing organization is both protected and enhanced by your plans
6. Explain to him how his other business goals are supported by your plans
7. Perhaps even suggest that since Renatus has no website like this of its own, that Renatus become BP's education arm so investors can avail themselves of the frequently updated on-line classes and have access to BP's resources and discussion forums.
Lastly, you are WWWAAAYYY too emotionally invested in this. Time to step back and decide what it is you're REALLY arguing for, although I'm sure you and I both know what it is ... and that it has NOTHING to do with Renatus, Bigger Pockets or real estate investing!
One of my mentors taught me something I have found invaluable. So, I think it's appropriate to pass along at this time: He simply said, "Refuse to let yourself feel offended."
I fully intended my "tip of the hat" post to be my last, but that wasn't possible.
Bottom line: as long as the attacks continue, the defensiveness will continue. The attacks have continued, so the defensiveness continues. I will continue to dispel the falsehoods, misinformation, speculation and conjecture for as long as it continues to appear here.
I've said it before, and I will say it again, and again, and again, and ...
When it stops is up to YOU! ...not me!
With regard to gathering statistics, here's my exact verbiage...
From my post on Feb 16, 06:42 PM:
" ... it's rather like why do the local community colleges and for-profit trade schools not provide such statistics? It 'would be nice', but it's cost-prohibitive."
With regard to gathering statistics, here's my exact verbiage...
From my post on Feb 16, 06:42 PM:
" ... it's rather like why do the local community colleges and for-profit trade schools not provide such statistics? It 'would be nice', but it's cost-prohibitive."
So, you're saying that Renatus is like a local community college or for-profit trade school?
Not something I would necessarily be proud of... :-)
Anyone defending a product or service this much and in this way is suspicious at best. I hope alarm bells are going off to people reading this...
How do you figure that, Bryan?
...or do you always allow falsehoods and misinformation to go uncorrected?
In your estimation, which is worse:
1. Falsehoods and incorrect information
2. Correction of falsehoods and incorrect information
J Scott,
You are operating in the Industrial Age economy. You will see both Community Colleges (because of their lower costs) and trade schools become bigger players in education over the next few years. The economy has changed and people need to change with it. There are far too many kids today who have spent anywhere from $40K to $200K on college educations that have gotten them nowhere but their parents basements with jobs completely out of their fields of study. Programs like Renatus will flourish because of this hole in our education system.
Unless, of course, potential students do a Google search for Renatus, find this thread, and then read David's comments. I think he's set you guys back more than a little bit...
Unless, of course, potential students do a Google search for Renatus, find this thread, and then read David's comments. I think he's set you guys back more than a little bit...
Yeah. Heaven forbid, someone should come along to dispel rumors, speculation and conjecture and let the truth be known...
Attack triggers defense.
All you really need are anywhere from 1 to a dozen books on REI and to read them all. It would cost you about 200$-250$ and would teach you more in a weekend than you would learn with any schooling and obviously cost less......
You know, the thing I see with so many new people is that they see investing and think they need someone to walk them through everything while holding their hand. That's not what is intended or what they literally ask but that's the mentality of many. Honestly there is no reason to actually help those that ask for the path to be laid out before them because to me that means they don't really want to put in the work required to be successful. So with that being said, if a person won't fight for it on their own they won't be successful anyway so it's not worth the time to stop and help much anyway.
RE investing is fun and challenging and rewarding and all the rest but it isn't for the faint of heart and it's no joke, it's not easy and it requires something that unfortunately the vast majority of people out there don't have or aren't willing or work for.
It's not worth paying huge sums of money for what someone offers because it's very doable without all that nonsense and once away from the "group" I don't think most people would fly but rather fall back on the fears that lead them there in the first place.
It's different to help a hungry person.
Anyone defending a product or service this much and in this way is suspicious at best. I hope alarm bells are going off to people reading this...
How do you figure that, Bryan?
...or do you always allow falsehoods and misinformation to go uncorrected?
In your estimation, which is worse:
1. Falsehoods and incorrect information
2. Correction of falsehoods and incorrect information
David I have been following this thread just because I find the back and forth interesting. I don't have a horse in this race. In fact I believe in paying for training and have spent a lot more that $20K on training
What I have seen is,
What I have not seen much of
You are losing this debate big time. You need to work on your debating skills. Sadly for your side your posts have detracted from some of the legitimate points @Doug Leedy has made.
Hi, Ned,
Well, if this WAS an appropriate forum to give the entire 2-hour Renatus presentation, I would enlist the appropriate person to do so.
There *IS* a reason why the presentation is given either live or in webinar form. This format is not appropriate.
If I post the URL to the Renatus website, the moderators will delete it. So, Google is your friend. You will find all the answers you seek there. Google "MyRenatus" for best results. You may need to exercise your data mining skills, but you will find your answers there. There's a course catalog listing all the classes, there are web pages listing the curricula and there are testimonials explaining the value which others have found through their experiences with the education.
The website has all that. It would not be appropriate to regurgitate it here. If that constitutes either avoidance or "twisted logic", so be it. I'm open to alternative ways to present that information.
The falsehoods spread about Renatus have been posted by others here. In my posts, I've corrected every one of them.
Does that address your points?
"You are losing this debate big time." Really? Jason and the others have gone down in flames on every argument that's been raised. How do you figure?
"Sadly for your side your posts have detracted from some of the legitimate points@Doug Leedy has made." Can you cite some specific examples of where my posts have detracted from Doug's points? It would help me learn to do better. I know I've been pretty rough on Jason. Most of that has been simply responding in kind.
Also, I've made the offer twice now that anyone can contact me privately. I've had ZERO takers. Are people afraid to learn the truth for fear that they may have to give up their own misconceptions and prejudices?
In retrospect, perhaps it may have been better to let the others wallow in the muck of their rumors, misinformation, speculation and conjecture.
I and my fellow Community Members know the truth, and, in the end, that's all that matters.
There are several reason you may not have gotten any messages:
1. Perhaps nobody considers you credible enough to follow-up with. I've gotten several messages about this thread from people who want recommendations on training and coaching, so clearly people are interested in learning. Had you been more credible, they might have contacted you instead of me.
2. It's also possible that people are scared to ask you questions after you said, "My personal take is that if you HAVE TO ask, you won't understand the answers." People may not feel like you are really interested in providing answers when you say things like this.
3. Or maybe they're scared to ask after they read you saying, "All through this thread you've been demanding that I do your homework for you. Truly successful people take things on their OWN initiative, and don't expect others to do it for them." If people feel like you're going to turn their questions around on them, they won't want to ask you questions.
4. Perhaps it was the personal insults you were hurling around: "Give yourself a rectal craniotomy!" was a good example. Do you think people will want to contact you if they think you might start insulting them?
I can't say definitively why they aren't contacting you, but those would be my best guesses. Again, I've gotten several messages from people, so it's not that people aren't interested in getting more information about you guys -- they just seem to trust me as a source more than you.
I apologize if you find that insulting...that wasn't my intent.
Purely based on logic, if you really believed that, you would have stopped arguing a long time ago...
I found this today on Facebook and it immediately made me think of this thread ;-)
As a newbie in this community, I too have followed this thread with a mix of horror and fascination. As a true outsider with no dog in the fight, I have to say: David, if Renatus is all you claim it to be, you are truly doing it a disservice with your abrasive responses. Claiming to have won an argument does not make it fact.
The most difficult thing to accept is the constant personal insults towards J Scott, who quite literally wrote the book on broad and complicated topics like Flipping Houses, with a great many satisfied readers. Moreover, as a long time lurker here, he has always come across to me as a thoughtful and generous participant in threads-- enough that when I see his name in a thread, I subconsciously give a little more weight to that response.
Moreover, from reading your profile and aspirations, I would have to say that objectively, you and J Scott are worlds apart in terms of your real-world results. J Scott has been involved in literally hundreds of successful real estate transactions, including having partnered with people here of all experience levels. It's very hard to see you call him out as ignorant, given your relative lack of experience. It makes me literally uncomfortable, given your real estate plans being mostly about aspirations and not results, that you continually take a swing at J Scott's own acumen.
That's me trying to give a frank and unbiased impression of what I'm seeing here. I can say that as of now, when I hear the word "Renatus," I will think of this thread and cringe, and that my impression is profoundly negative as a result.
David -
How about this...let's call a truce. We've both been hard on each other, and probably both stepped over the line. Like anyone who gets out there and actually does deals, I respect you as a real estate investor and I very sincerely hope great things for you (likewise for Doug and the others who have posted here from Renatus).
While I have my issues with high-priced training organizations in general, I don't know anything about Renatus personally, and this thread continuing is just making it seem like I'm attacking the organization, which I don't know enough to do (one way or the other).
You're certainly free to keep arguing (and I'm happy to, if that's what you prefer :-), but at this point, I think we've exhausted any useful discussion...
Of course, we'd love for you to stick around and contribute to these forums, and perhaps even take some information away -- there's not a day that goes by that I don't learn from some of the amazing folks here.
Best of luck to you, Doug and everyone in your organization...
Hi, Robert,
Jason posted while I was preparing this, and I agree with him 100%
At this point, I consider all "hatchets" buried and this discussion closed.
Jason,
Please accept my apologies for any untoward behavior I have shown during this exchange. I am, like everyone here, only human.
I have also been looking at Renatus. I have not signed up yet. The benefits that I see:
1. You are able to learn all aspects of lending, borrowing, buying, foreclosure, accounting and so much more all in the comfort of your home from people who actually understand real estate investing. (totally different from what they teach you in real estate school or college) You can also move through the units of edu at a quick pace. It includes education for 2 people.
2. There are benefits to adding people to your group. Depending on your initial investment, you can get up to 1/2 of what people you sign up spend on education. This adds up quickly and helps you pay back your edu costs. As you add people to your group, you get group consulting and questions answered as well as networking benefits.
3. I see that Bob Snyder was involved in the NR scheme and he is part of this group, so I am looking into that. Scott Rowe is heading this up and I can't find anything bad on him yet.
4. The hardest part of investing is not knowing the answers when you need them. It would be great to have this network to lean into.
Bad part:
Having to sign people up not knowing the legitimacy
Mentoring people before you are able to go through the entire program (but they say they do this for you)
Any thoughts from others? Kkaren
In general I do not agree with paying for courses in investing unless it is toward a college degree of some sort. This is one area where imho the best course is doing. Take the money for the course and buy something in real estate even if only a small 2nd or being part of group funding. My two favorite places to learn real estate for almost free are Bigger Pockets and REI groups. As Brandon said in one of the recent podcasts most of us older folks would love to help get younger people investing in real estate for free. At both of these source are people willing to be mentors. Learn to swim by jumping in the water.
Just a thought: do you give the same advice to people who want to become accountants or doctors or executives or even business owners? Real estate can have significant risk even if you ARE educated. Why would you want to go in unarmed, especially when the price for the education can be regained with one properly structured deal? Our team even has a method by which you can fund your education by buying a duplex, pay for the education and have a little monthly cash flow to boot. That's getting in with no money out-of-pocket for the first year, getting your first property, getting the education and having some pocket change left over. Not a bad way to get started.
There are so many ways to invest in real estate today, many of which most people don't even know exist. Knowledge is, and always has been, power. Of course, some people can just jump in and get started themselves, but do you really think that's true for MOST people? I don't. I think most people need knowledge and, even more importantly, a good support system. There are lots of ways to skin a cat. Ours is just one way, but it's the best I've seen in my 40 year real estate career.
I saw a post on CL concerning REI Apprenticeship and replied. I was contacted by one of the Renatus people in my area. I was sent links to attend webinars concerning REI opportunities. I have yet to hear anything concerning REI opportunities. Only pushing for the school and how much you can make through referrals. Doing my due diligence I googled "pros and cons of Renatus". This forum thread is the first hit.
A bit of backstory:
I am homeless, jobless. I have a credit score in the low 500's and am $50,000 in debt, $15,000 of which is in a now defaulted student loan.
I posted this in one of the chats during one of the webinars. I was told by both of the Ops people that they could help me. I need help for my family of four. Is there any reason I should go through with it (other than a lack of options).