The Truth About Real Estate Gurus - Part I

I have been involved in Real Estate for over 20 years. During that time I have been a Salesperson, Broker, Investor and owner of an office. At one time I have had 256 units under my management while renovating and flipping single family homes.

With this experience I thought about going into the seminar business. I could teach people how to purchase property with no money down, how to renovate and sell single family homes or how to purchase apartment buildings. I have spent thousands of dollars on many seminars in the past and felt that I could do as good a job as most of those guys.

Yet I didn't go that route. Why? Because I believe people are spending way too much money on these seminars and receiving little to no value in return.

I know that some people (like myself) see all the flipping shows on TV and wonder if we can do that too. Can we make a fortune working part time? Can we quit our job in 6 months and become a full time Investor? These shows are great at creating a desire in us to do what we see being done before us.

Let me share with you some reasons you should consider before investing in these seminars;

1) The premise that you can become a successful Investor this way is false - it would be great if you could go to a seminar, spend a few thousand dollars and end up with the tools you need to launch your investing career. But the truth is dealing with real estate is very complicated. It is an area that requires specialized knowledge in order to be effective.

What is an amortization schedule? What is a hard money loan? What is L.T.V.? R.E.O.? These are some of the terms used in real estate. It can take years to get a handle on what it means to do this successfully.

2) Many gurus no longer practice purchasing, renovating, renting and selling real properties- These guys may have been active in times past but many now are not engaged in the day to day practice of doing real estate. Instead they focus on getting "students" who they promise have success.

In our next article we will discuss how you can invest in real estate and not pay the huge fees gurus charge.