All Forum Posts by: Mike Hambright

I helped build the HomeVestors system nationwide, and mentored and coached hundreds of franchisees.  It was good for many years, until it wasn't. 

If anyone wants to discuss, message me directly.  Doesn't make sense to continue a long thread that started many years ago...as a lot has changed.

Thanks,

Mike
ps: I left the system in 2016 and have had no affiliation since that time.

Mark - glad you like it!  We have hundreds of expert interviews and educational videos at www.flipnerd.com/shows 

Enjoy!

Mike Hambright

Ryan - you spoke with 1 of almost 700 franchisees.  Each office/franchisee has different strategies, and those tend to change over time.  Our most successful franchisee generally have a number of exit strategies to allow them to buy as many houses as possible.

All that said...the ability to always do our best to buy at a price low enough to be able to wholesale it makes it that much sweeter if we choose to rehab or keep it as a rental.

Mike

Wow!

John - I recall discussing the HomeVestors system with you around 18 months ago. As part of the HomeVestors system, I've bought about 100 houses since that time in DFW. How's the 'solo' thing working for you? Not saying it's not possible to be independent (obviously, most are), but more than anything...the HomeVestors system draws a clear delineation between the 'doers' and those that talk or think about doing it for years...without realizing the opportunity cost of time lost by not getting started sooner.

My two cents...

So - most of the people in this thread:

1. Would rather believe someone selling a training 'system' with marketing ads showing some newbie real estate investor holding up a big fake check, or someone taking a picture of a check posting it on Facebook showing how much money they made on a deal..."and you can do it to by simply clicking this link...", than a national brand governed by the FTC.

2. Believe that somehow franchisees of the largest home buying system in America, buying thousands of houses per year....have been duped and are really not making much money. In fact, you'd probably do better as an independent reading forums with no brand, lead gen system in place, etc. Those same HomeVestors franchisees stay in the system for years and decades, by their own free will, and never figure out that they can leave the system and make more money?

Our system is not for everyone. But, I assure you....we have the very best system in the industry, and we are absolutely making money. I personally started with a passion and interest, but had never bought a single house in my life. In the last 5 years, I've purchased over 250, and continue buying every month.

Also for the record, as previously stated - almost every franchisee in the system has no restriction on telling you how much money they make. Only those registered as selling agents, and corporate employees. During the due diligence process, franchise prospects are given the names and phone number of 400+ franchisees, including those that have left, are are welcome to call every last one of them and ask about earnings.

I appreciate all the love in this forum!

Mike

I'm not an attorney. We're not able to make earnings claims (most franchise systems are the same way), as neither HomeVestors, nor franchisees can not prove our earnings to a 3rd party without a fair bit of 'noise' (same for all real estate investors). As with all real estate investors, there are lots of factors that go into our earnings. Some close on properties in multiple legal entities. Some 'pay' themselves, others don't. Some use hard money at 14% and 4pts, others use family money at 4% and no pts. There are many, many ways to legally 'manipulate' your P&L, defer earnings, etc, etc, etc. We don't have a set menu and POS system like some businesses, and in most instances....even they don't make earnings claims. For legal reasons or otherwise, we go out of our way to never mislead people (name another 'training system' that does that!), as we want long term players on our team....and it's the right thing to do. Want someone to show you a big check that 1 in a million earned once upon a time...we're not for you. We are governed by the FTC, and making a false earnings claim (though, no real estate investors would do that....right?), would get us into serious trouble.

Regarding questions like "how much money can I make/how many houses can I buy" - As a mentor...I spend a lot of time working with those on my team to develop a plan for how you can hit YOUR goals. We have people in our system that plan to buy 5 houses per year, and plenty that buy 100+. How much they advertise, the size of their staff, etc is what helps determine # of houses (which doesn't matter - only profit does). We try to help people build their business around whatever their individual goals are (financial, family, quality of life, etc).

To be frank - if there's anything our model is know for...it's buying properties at much deeper prices that typical investors (generally). Very few of our properties come from the MLS, HUD, REO's, Short sales, foreclosures, etc. We advertise to get leads from sellers...and buying direct yields the best prices. In fact, around 40% of the time...we're the ONLY person a seller is talking to...so minimal competition. We have a national brand and reputation that sellers trust, and it's common for sellers to have a higher offer...but sell to us because they trust us more. We are often the lowest bidder...which means, when we buy houses...we get em' deep.

As someone that sells a lot of franchises...I wish I could make earnings claims! It would make sales MUCH easier if they could see the truth. For someone that wants to treat this as a business vs. a hobby...the right to be able to use the only national brand in this industry that others have spent over $200M building, the opportunity to have industry leading mentors and coaches (REAL ones!), the chance to surround yourself with hundreds of others that are doing what you want to do...and sharing knowledge that is hard to fathom as a non HomeVestors franchisee, to plug into a lead generation system that is second to none, and to get access to proprietary operating systems to run your business...and not have to try to replicate that (which nobody without our scale could), etc, etc, etc....$15,000 is nothing. As part of our vetting process for new franchise prospects....those prospects get the phone numbers for all 400+ of our existing franchisees...as well as all franchisees that have LEFT the system! Hows that for disclosure!

BTW - our best measurement is that approx 5% of our franchisees leave the system each year, and ~1/2 of those instances are for personal reasons. Nobody wins if our franchisees are not successful. And most of our large volume franchisees renew their franchises every 5 years (franchise agreements are 5 years). In fact...I just renewed mine, and have bought hundreds of houses in the last 5 years. I could do this on my own...but choose to be part of this world class team.

To be frank - I'll likely stop replying to posts like this...as I find myself defending the system, or trying to convince people of the value of a national franchise for $15K. Take a look at what other franchises cost...

For anyone that wants to learn more...just search me out.

Take care,

Mike

Any franchisee that recruits (I.e.is involved in selling), and any corporate employee is 100% restricted by the FTC from making earnings claims. Those saying otherwise are flat out wrong. The majority of our franchisees have no restriction from making claims....

Funny, I guess some people believe the gurus holding up big fake checks vs a regulated company that pretty much discloses more than anyone else...

All - I'll write a bit more on this thread when I have a little more time, but there's a bit of misinformation here...especially related to the FTC, "hiding" anything, the fees, and what you get for being a franchise. It's a tremendous value, but clearly, a franchise model is not right for everyone. In all honesty, BP won't allow me to solicit in this forum, and we have tremendous informational resources outside of it.

If your goal is <5 houses a year, you'd be better off buying wholesale houses from us.

Thanks,

Mike

Andrew - I'm a high volume HomeVestors guy, and I mentor other franchisees across the country that buy over 1,000 houses per year (our system will buy over 5,000 houses THIS year). There are actually several threads on here about this same topic, most of which will say "you can do it yourself, why would you need homevestors?". Most of that commentary is from either A. Very successful non-homevestors people that DID do it themselves, and don't see the value, or more commonly...B. People that don't see the value, and have little track record to base anything they're saying on. Given that I'm prevented from telling you how to learn much more (through the BP forums), if you'd like to contact me...I'd be happy to chat.

This is NOT a pyramid scheme. Development Agents like me are paid by HomeVestors, based on fees you pay to them. That's it. National franchise systems like McDonalds, Subway, etc, etc are the same way. This is a business, and people that help you make money. Unlike most other 'systems' or gurus...if you don't make money...nobody else does either. We're all perfectly aligned, as it should be.

FYI - I'm biased. I'm a HomeVestors guy. My experience is based 100% on experience and fact, and HomeVestors franchisees have purchased nearly 60,000 houses.