The Weekend Guru

In April 2008, I attended a quick start real estate investing weekend with the Real Estate Investment Network(REIN) for $287.  It opened my eyes to the potential of investing in real estate, offered practical advice, and included binders and CDs that went with the weekend. I joined at the time because of Don. R. Campbell, whose books I had read, he had an extensive real estate portfolio; his experience and insights were fascinating, and his economic fundamentals approach was something I could understand.   I joined the Real Estate Investment Network and can’t remember exactly how much I paid monthly as a member, but it was close to $297.  

Was REIN worth it for me at the time?  Yes.  Until then, my only experience with real estate investing was in pre-construction properties. With the help of REIN, I built a new network of people who helped me to invest in real estate.  Each month, I would learn new topics and learn more, then go out and apply what I learned.  I met and learned from many amazing people, such as Russell Westcott, Arlen Dahlin, and many more whom I keep in touch with, some of who are good friends today.

REIN wasn’t enough for me; I needed more exposure and learning. On October 7th, 2008, I met with five other investors at a Tim Hortons in Pickering to help create a local peer group for myself. This eventually turned into monthly meetings in a pub, a doctor’s office, shared office space, and event rental spaces. I renamed the group DurhamREI and began meetings in earnest, with some meetings drawing close to 130 people. I didn’t think real estate education should be costly, but it should be enough to ensure a commitment from participants, so the membership was purposely kept lower.

Since then, many other real estate investing education groups have been created locally, provincially, nationally, and internationally. Some of these groups are great; others are simply money grabs.  

But how can you tell the good groups from the not-so-good groups?  

Who are the excellent educators and the not-so-good educators?

I’ve been investing in real estate for over twenty years and have attended many different day and weekend courses led by various real estate investing educators. In my earlier years of real estate investing, I traveled to the airport area for many of these courses.

These were real estate workshops on flipping, wholesaling, rent-to-own, and personal development.  Often, the workshop was excellent, and I would be able to learn the top 20% of what I needed to know to implement the strategies, tactics, or concepts.  Sometimes, I realized that I did not want to do a particular strategy after a course or weekend, which is also money well spent for me.

Other times, I was sold courses, training, or mentoring that were much higher-ticket programs from people who really did not have the business or real estate experience that they claimed to have. They used psychological tactics and high-pressure sales to push people into making a high-ticket purchase. This is the problem I see out there in many real estate educators offering coaching and groups today.

There is a specific formula that these salespeople use, which, if you’ve been to enough of them, you can easily predict.

I will share a few of them here so that you will be aware the next time you attend a course or a weekend. This will help you avoid the not-so-good groups and real estate educators out there.

Usually, the formula starts with low-cost or free real estate seminars that cost around $97 or $197 and will likely only provide a high-level overview and not much actionable information.  Even the pricing ending with a 7 is usually a tactic that makes people think they are getting a deal.  The idea of the course is that your eyes are opened to the type of real estate investment strategies that you can use that involve no money down or other people’s money, which will help you to create wealth quickly and easily.  (“Real Estate Investing is Simple, But It Is Not Easy”)

The course usually starts with some great information that shares with you some great ideas that, if implemented, would lead to lots of quick money and the ability to do more than you would have been able to do on your own.  Then, there is a switch that usually occurs at the end of day one or the beginning of day two, where most of the time in the course is spent discussing why you should “invest” in yourself.   If it’s an investment in yourself, you will likely part ways with your hard-earned dollar bills. The shift is on taking action to buy mentorship, coaching, or other program.  The program shows you how to do something you were explained earlier in the day – essential- and how to earn more money “guaranteed.”  However, the ultimate goal is to persuade attendees to invest in a more expensive product, usually offered at the end of the seminar.  These products/services/coaching can be $5,000 to $50,000.

The presenter would usually offer a special deal or pricing for people who immediately take advantage of purchasing right away.  There would be some sort of constraint put on the product or service.  This might be only for the next “5 people” who buy right now or until the end of the day for whatever reason given.  The idea here is to generate a rush to the back of the room to make a purchase before you come to your senses when you see the hefty price tag.  There have even been times when I have been prevented from leaving a room during a sales pitch at a presentation. Remember, we are social people, so when you see people rush to the back of the room, you are more likely to rush to the back, too.

The not-so-great groups will have presenters who showcase their wealth by sharing their vacations, cars, pictures with famous people, and cottages. This is done to create an association with wealth in the attendees’ minds. I have heard speakers say that they own apartment buildings and developments. Maybe they invested in other people’s projects or own a small percentage of a project with little involvement.  Again, the association with something bigger and grander is being presented to the audience, not the reality of the situation.

The same thing is done with the paid speakers that are used and are often “stars” who appear at events.  You might see a sports star, a fantastic entrepreneur you have seen in the media or online, or some television star.  The paid speaker may not have any experience in the presented topic, but their names lend credence to the product.  Let’s say are 50 people in the room, and a speaker is paid $50,000 to speak for one hour; 26% (13 people) of the room signs up for the program and pays $15,000.    By the power of association, you are drawn to purchase.

Often the course is packaged with several different virtual and information materials to boost the value of what is being offered.  Usually, these are packaged to insinuate that the value of the package is $49,990, but you can get it for this one-time price of $15,000 if you take advantage of it right now and run to the back of the room.  If these groups actually sold the product to someone at a particular price, then I can see who you could include the cost as part of a package, but these numbers are often pulled out of thin air.

The seminars teach how to buy a property with little to no money down, which may be doable but difficult without help and support. Even though this is achievable, learning the required skills will take more than a weekend or an education course. Attendees should keep this in mind.  

The mentor or person running the course will bring up examples of students who have succeeded and will do short presentations. But when you dig deeper, you learn that these people have done one or two flip projects or have been in the business for less than a year or two and have not had some of the failures that can happen or have not gone bankrupt. I have seen some of these mentors teach people the wrong way to build a real estate business, and they end up bankrupt just like their mentor. They were also investigated by the Ontario Securities Commission or just put in jail.

Other times, I hear of groups and presenters that try to separate themselves from other weekend courses by offering presenters something unique and different that is only available through this particular group. Sometimes this could be access to financing or particular private lenders that only “they” have access to; other times it could be access to specific people who have been on television or radio.  

During the seminars, the presenters ask many questions to which attendees are expected to respond with a “yes.” This softens the audience, making them more likely to agree when an incredible offer is presented. The offer is usually valued at thousands of dollars, but the cost is only a fraction of that if purchased right away. There is typically a time limit or a limit on the number of courses available, creating scarcity. This is a component of the weekend course, used to make participants more susceptible to buying the product offered. 

I have learned a lot about real estate from various courses, including weekend courses, some of which have led to great opportunities.  I suggest having the mindset to learn something from any course. However, I emphasize networking with other participants is the most essential aspect, as they are on the same journey and can provide valuable insights. I suggest doing research on the presenter, checking out their website, references, and reviews to learn more about them, and warn you against seminars that guarantee returns or once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, as there are no guarantees in real estate.

Please exercise caution when considering attending low-cost or free seminars that include upsells at the end.