All Forum Posts by: Chris Clothier

I sent you guys a message earlier that I thought today's newsletter looked very clean. I liked the new layout a lot and thoughts the addition of the pictures was an excellent idea. Hopefully everyone else thought the same.

Keep making improvements!

Chris

This is one of the reasons that this debate goes round and round with no real answer beyond doing due diligence and knowing EXACTLY what you expect to get our of spending your money. Many of the "coaches" and programs today purport to teach everything...and some of them actually do. They are not talking simply real estate, but also entrepreneurship and business development.

LIke I said, I know some of them do just that and can be extremely valuable. But, it is getting harder and harder to tell who is legitimate and who is following a well scripted marketing plan to convince people to buy their product, system or program. It really is a convoluted mess and it makes it extremely difficult for anyone interested in hiring a coach or joining a coaching program to distinguish between one that will help them and one that will fleece them. When the coaching is about business development, but wrapped around a real estate business, the attraction is like a bug to a light. It is very appealing, but also can be very confusing to the consumer and to commentators on forums. It is almost like we have to ask the question like what in the heck are we talking about? Real estate, business, personal development, etc...

I think this will always be a discussion as long as you know some consumers are being taken advantage of.

Jason Hastings -

You might want to share just a little more information on your deal. Depending on where it is located and the information you share, I would bet you could get some better answers and possibly even some investors in your area to share detailed insight into your deal. Your question was good - but a little vague because you have options, but none of us knows for sure exactly what you need and we can't really give you direction or share advice into how you should proceed.

Chris

LOL - some would say you give away too much for free! I'm sure I've said it before and the next person readin this will see it...but, I really appreciate your input and even view point. Doesn't matter on if I agree or disagree with any of your posts on any topics - I just appreciate you enjoy and care enough to keep making well thought out postings. Good stuff all the way around -

Chris

Matt Sheridan - Good stuff my man! Very entertaining read and some good insights from a guy one year into the business. Keep it up and best of luck on this and each of your next deals.

Chris

J Scott - I think it would be good to read back through the thread beginning in last October where you make a distinction that way too often gets blurred - including the last few comments.

There is a difference between a mentor and a coach. There is a difference between a coach and a learning program. And not all of these can be summed up by the boogie man word "guru". So many people, sometimes by the speakers themselves and sometimes by those promoting them, attach the word guru when describing a person. A guru in many cultures and industries is a great honor. In real estate, it is often hijacked and therefore definitely carries a bit of negativity to it for people who have been in the industry for a while.

Without rambling much more - a mentor should be just that. A person you can turn to for advice that can help you navigate tough decisions and I have not heard of too many paid mentors. Not if they are truly a mentor. Why would you do that anyway??? A mentor should be someone that you personally have a great deal of respect for and often you already have some sort of relationship. Mentors get as much out of a relationship as the mentee so there is not need for them to seek payment.

A coach on the other hand is someone you pay and again, you should only pay someone that you truly respect and know the value they will give you.

Lastly, a program - and sometimes these are the most costly - is something that you enter much like you would enter a college degree - knowing that the juice is worth the squeeze meaning you know exactly what you are going to get on the other end.

Its unfortunate that all three often get lumped into one category so i would advise people to read the early part of this thread where you broke this distinction down as well.

See ya - Chris

Thanks for putting this together Jon. We will definitely be there.

What do you think? Is this going to end badly? I think the answer could be yes...problem is, no one knows exactly who it is going to end badly for!

http://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/789/blog_posts/27023-is-there-a-growing-single-family-rental-hedge-fund-crisis-maybe

I want to hear what others here on BP think about these numbers and the findings of the study. I posted the above article on my BP blog and would love to read your thoughts on this.

Sam -

Good question and already you have some great insight. But, when I read your post about what NOT to do, one thing jumped to mind. NEVER advertise a ghost deal in hopes of generating calls from buyers to then build your buyers list. Beyond the ethics, it really puts doubt into the minds of a buyer when they realize that they may have been duped into responding to an ad for a house that never existed.

It is definitely an example of building your business or your reputation on sand instead of bedrock.

Good luck -

Chris