All Forum Posts by: Larry Turowski

@Benny Morfas If this were a great deal it would likely be taken.  I'm in line with @Aidan Mulligan that you'll likely have a tough time selling this.  I'd buy any property as long as I new I could sell it for a good return.  And I agree with @Dennis M. in that while this is a deal I might do if the numbers made sense, it doesn't sound like a deal YOU should do as a newbie--and besides, I doubt the numbers make sense.

Congratulations on your success.  I've started and erased this comment several times.  There's just too much there.   I'll just say that I stand by my comments.  I'd be happy to have civil phone conversation with you.  Just PM me.

@Wayne Brown It depends on 1) what else you could do with the money and 2) whether you have access to any other reserve funds.  

If interest rates were the same the extra money down would be essentially the same as earning the interest rate.  In your case, with a lower interest rate, that $5K is earning you $91/mo in cash flow and about $11/mo in equity growth (do the math) for a total of $102/mo, $1,224/yr.  That is about a 24.5% return on that $5K.  So, unless you can earn better than 24.5% on that $5K it is worth it.

And another rebuttal to the argument that $25K is a drop in the bucket compared to the returns:

I am at a point where a good nugget of information could make me tens of thousands of dollars. If someone helped me get financing at 0.5% better rate than I currently get, that would save me 10's of thousands. You think I would gladly pay somebody $25K for that nugget--especially when this information is readily available for nothing?

If I show Walmart how to use one less bag per customer, I could probably save them tens of millions of dollars.  If I showed a mom and pop store how to do that they would laugh me out of the room, "Thanks for the 50 cent tip, kid."

@Joe Villeneuve

You've stated twice now that this "mentor" is investing with his students.  He has a "vested interest."  Did I miss something or are you just assuming this is the case?  If it is not the case, then your argument that he is legit based on that is not true without further comment.  If it is the case, it is still not true, with this comment: the "mentor" hasn't "vested" anything.  The "mentor" has risked nothing.  He stands to gain if a couple of his students hit it big, but he is not vested.

The 50% of your first $500k is just marketing baloney anyway.  It's implying that, oh, you're definitely going to make $500K.  It is a slight of hand way of implicitly promising results while providing deniability.  It gets their victims excited and ready to buy in.

@Benjamin Manibog No, No, No!  I disagree with a lot of people here.  That may be because I have nothing to sell.  Why am I against this?

- You can get 100% of the information you learn from these hand-holding programs for a reasonable cost, much of it for free: On BP, books, taking investors out for coffee, etc.

- There is never any vetting process with these programs.  All you have to have is the money.  It is literally harder to get into the US army than it is to get into these programs.  Think about that.

- They will never produce any proof of success because 97% of the people who go into these programs fail.  Would you pay to go to a college where 97% of the people never get a job in their field of study?

- People have the totally wrong idea about mentoring.  In real life there is never a single guru who is going to give you all the answers.  It is one person after another who can help you out and point you in the right direction.  You can get this by networking, meeting lots of investors.  Life long mentors are never gurus.  They are people that have your back, give you advice, cheer for you, but they don't have all the answers.

- In your case, your friend has 3 houses under contract?  Big deal!  I could put 100 houses under contract--and lose money on every one of them.  That is the most asinine criteria for success.

- They have no moral compass.  When you charge the absurd amounts that they charge, knowing 97% will fail, not making that abundantly clear, encouraging people to take out loans to buy their program, it is just amoral.  I know lots of people in real estate are going to say, but, but, but....  Baloney!  It is amoral.

You're swimming with the sharks, Benjamin.  Watch out!

@Daniel Norber I pretty much agree with @Joe Villeneuve though I do make exceptions (one on a deal that was my best ever).  You're in a different situation.  You are new and visiting properties will be educational.  Pictures often don't tell the whole story.  See what condition they are in, keep track of them and see what they sell for.  This will help you to develop a better feel for what is a good deal.

Getting back to your your point, the idea is you analyze 100 properties, make offers on 10, and have one accepted.  I really don't know if that is statistically accurate, but it makes a point, doesn't it?

Posts in Completed Deal Diaries have a particular format that included Purchase Price and Cash Invested: but not After Repair Value or Market Value.  Wouldn't this tell us if it is a good deal or bad deal?

And where does this format come from?  I'm guessing it comes from filling out your profile and there is likely a checkbox to make a post about it.  I haven't updated mine for ages.

@Martin Pelletier WIth the scant information you provided this does not sound like a good deal.  Why would you want to overpay?  And you say you'll have another deal like this?  Well, sure, I have some property to sell you, too, if you want to overpay.