the Wealthy Canadian

Many years ago I went to a one hour seminar hosted by Russ Whitney about how to make money in real estate. I was completely sucked in and at the end of the hour found myself paying for a three day seminar so that I could learn more.

For posterity sake I’m going to review my experience. Here is the summary of the important this that I learned:
* A house buyer does not need to get a mortgage from a bank, conversely any Average Joe can provide financing (hmm, I wonder what effect they’ve seen with this subprime mess).
* You can buy a dump and fairly cheaply improve its “curb appeal” for a profit.
* Slick salesmen are everywhere trying to separate you from your money.

I never did get a chance to meet Mr Whitney. He showed up at neither the one hour sales pitch, nor the three day seminar. For all that I know Russ Whitney is a puppet they use on the infomercials. Instead there were these guys who talked about how great the Russ Whitney system is. I’ve no idea if these folks were real estate moguls or not, although they claimed to be, I don’t recall seeing any confirmation that they actually made any money on this (besides my tuition for the seminar of course). But even if they didn’t… those who can do and those who can’t teach, so I’ll let it go.

The class itself was enlightening for a non-finance techhie geek like myself who has never been anywhere. I learnt about offshore banking and covering your ASSets. I learnt that you should hire the best lawyer and accountant that you can find. But what did I actually learn about real estate?…
*Look for motivated sellers.
*Try to convince the seller to finance the property for you AND while you’re at it convince them that they don’t need a down payment.

Yes, I think I did learn more that that. It opened my eyes up to various concepts of renting, leasing, financing. I absorbed some ideas about how to cheaply improve a house’s market value. And I did use some of these tips, I have made money on every house that I have ever bought. However, I have been buying and selling houses during one of the longest sellers markets on record.

But over the course of three days, the amount that was actually taught probably could have fit into a much shorter (and cheaper?) seminar. However, they had to make sure that they left enough time to sell their next level of seminars (for the low, low price of … your first born child).  He also offered some type of mentorship program; mentors are great to have so, perhaps, this would have been the crown jewel in the program.

Seriously, I love learning. I do not regret taking this course as I learnt a great deal. The problem is that what I learnt was for more than what they taught. Of what they taught I probably could have picked up at my library.

If you have any interest in signing up for his seminars I recommend that you first read his book. Building Wealth, From Rags to Riches Through the Ages is quite easy to read and will provide you some ideas for real estate investing… and you’ll save yourself from the time and money of a seminar – at least until you’re sure that you want to.  Until then, join real estate investors communities… perhaps you can find a mentor there.