After attending the Armando Montelongo Bus Tour and supposed Coaching Program in June of 2009 I’ve shared my learnings with you as I’ve experienced surprises, challenges and successes my real estate experiences.
But my passion and desire to learn didn’t stop there. I’ve read books, learned about different real estate strategies and opportunities. I’ve learned about wholesaling and subject-to investing from colleagues that were trained via Nouveau Riche, bought 2 real estate information products from Phill Grove, I religiously listen to The Norris Group podcasts and even was suckered into the DC Fawcett and deceitful Karen Hanover (since arrested) pitch-fest called the Commercial Foreclosure Goldrush, and I network with my local real estate investors, all trying to live up to the dreams of real estate riches.
It was the second Phill Grove product I bought that opened my eyes to a deja-vue phenomena of the “Hard-sell Up-sell”.
If this is all you read in this blog, just keep this question in mind when you attend a seminar and they try to sell you something more during the seminar: “Would I spend that amount of money to get a Master’s Degree? Would I spend that amount of money to get a Bachelors Degree” If not, then think about the value of the programs they sell you during this seminars. If it costs you $50,000 to get an MBA from a nationally recognized institution, then why spend $50,000 for someone to share their “secrets of successes” with you?
The Armando Montelongo Roadmap
Armando Montelongo offers a free event where they teach you a real estate strategy and reward you with a free MP3 player for staying for the whole event. It is during that event they sell you on a 3 day real estate seminar for only $1500 and a very expensive self learning tax lien information product.
You go to the 3 day seminar and it is THEN they introduce you to a bus tour – that for me was $25,000 for 2 people. They claim you are taken by the hand and they will set you up with everything you need to be successful in real estate. You go to that bus tour and THEN the up-sell is a Master Mentor program priced at another $25,000 AND/OR you can go on another bus tour in Indianapolis where you can cash in on buy and hold strategies. I don’t know the cost of that one. Of course then you must protect your assets because you WILL be rich – That was another $10,000.
Personally I had a great experience with the Armando Montelongo bus tour. I didn’t need the Master Mentor program (actually they didn’t offer it at the time and I wouldn’t buy it now anyway). It helped me expand beyond my comfort zone so I could make investments in Real Estate – and that’s when I started this blog that so many of you enjoy. And I personally thank Armando for his personal desire to see people succeed.
The Phill Grove/JT Foxx Roadmap
I bought Phill’s first product because he would be a cash partner should I find a deal that worked with his numbers. I proposed a couple of deals to him and met him at one property but the numbers just didn’t work. I sent another deal to him that was out of state, but he declined because it was out of state…OK, so I spent $997 for a training program, but really I wanted a JV partner and never got it, bummer, but I’ll live and I found other partners. (BTW, the deal out of state returned an $18k profit on a $68k investment – 26% return isn’t too bad in 4 months.)
Then Phill released his Mortgage Assignment program, again at a somewhat affordable price of $997 – and you got to come to a 2 day seminar for free. Now that sounded like a good deal and I signed up.
The program was fascinating in that it is just what is needed to implement a workaround in todays trying economic time. In fact, if it wasn’t for another guru, where he scared me into thinking I would be in big trouble if I actually became involved in these transactions I may be practicing what I learned, as it truly seemed to be a win/win/win real estate transaction.
As I mentioned, I’ve met Phill Grove a few times. He admitted to me that not too many people take action after learning real estate and I could tell he was frustrated with that fact and truly wants more people to be successful from his teachings.
The selling strategy for their up-sell product started early in the first day – the need for a mentor. The up-sell there were 2-fold, another event called mega-partnering (another $997), some New York Billionaire Experience (your choice, $997 or rub elbows with the rich at $3,997) and the big up-sell was a $40,000 mentoring program – all JT Foxx’s programs.
If I ever have the “secret to success” and charge $40,000 for that secret, someone please slap me.
THIS is exactly why we love you Jean!! You are honest, you make mistakes like the rest of us, and you are willing to share your honest opinion on those mistakes as well as successes. It makes my challenges and road blocks easier to tolerate, and sometimes easier to solve/conquer! I am honored to know you, and look forward to what the future holds for both of us!
N. Mollica
Bless your heart, Jean, for your honesty, integrity and all you do to help us fellow students.
-Mike Dail
Jean, I said it before and i will sy it again. You are a God Send. I have learned more from you that can be applied in todays market than I learned form any other class. No hype, just honest facts based on your own experience. You have a heart for helping others on their R.E. journey. As a result you have formed a network of like minded investors helping each other. Thank you for being a woman and mentor of integity! Susan Harbolt
Jean, I only wish that you and I had became friends much sooner. I did cave to the high pressure up-sell in the Armando program. They used the “We see something special in you” and “we only let the very best into the program, so do your very best in the interview”. Yeah someone thinks that I have something special! I should have ran but I gave them $25,000 more on top of the $30,000 I had already given.
I can say that I did learn about real estate and learned even more about the Guru network. I have continued on learning and reading and plan to do the same as you are Jean, teaching others what I have learned and being fair in what I charge. I believe that honesty and integrity should be the cornerstone of anything we do. It is sad that the so called experts likely did start off with wanting to help people, but they soon dive into the world of greed.
I did attend the Phill Grove training and found that Phill is an honest and cares about his students. The up-sell from him was low pressure. I did have high pressure from the JT Foxx mentoring program. After my past experience at being manipulated by the Guru sales staff, i doubt I will ever get taken again.
Jean, you are a wonderful, honest and caring person. I feel blessed to be able to call you a friend
So thankful I found you this early on…fly to California for Armando’s Bus Tour this weekend.
That will be the extent of my contribution to the Montelongo Empire for now. I hope to be able to implement some of what I learn this weekend coupled with the wisdom you share here Jean. Thanks!
Thanks to all of you for your supportive comments. I see the Trump Real Estate Seminars utilize the exact same practices. Here’s the class action law suit that describes the same techniques – increase your credit card limit, up-sell to the next 5 figure level, etc.: http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/05/04/TrumpU.pdf
If you feel you’ve been pressured into spending more than you can afford at any real estate seminar and haven’t received the support you were promised, consider writing a complaint to http://www.ripoffreport.com.
Hello Jean
Thanks for setting up this blog. The Trump University bait and switch is the exact scenario from some company in Utah. First, they were known as PMG Mentors. After alot of customer dissatisfation and refund, they changed their name to Prosper Inc. RE guru’s like Marko Rubel & Michael Kimble would sell you contact info to them. They would repeatedly leave messages, and try to sell you a $15,000 mentorship. After you said no and too expensive, they would sell a $5000 mentorship. How do I know? I got suckered like everyone else. Here is a link to RipoffReport from a former employee. http://goo.gl/PZgUj
I love the way the people here interact and shared their opinions too. I would love to rack your future posts pertaining to the said topic we are able to read.
Land Surveyor Birmingham, AL
I never cared for JT Fox. I saw him in a Phil Grove seminar once. JT was a bit over the top abrasive for my tastes. Needless to say I did not buy the up sell programs.
Jean,
I, too, did the Armando bus tour/mentoring program. The good news: it was jam-packed with good information about fixing and flipping. The bad news: about 48 hours after I got back home I realized that I had retained about 20% of what I heard and I didn’t quite know where to start. Worse news: it cost me an arm and a leg. Good thing I have a mentor, I thought. Well, not so much. She was in Nevada and I was in Ohio and it just didn’t click, at least not for me. Long story short, it was a complete waste of a lot of money.
I guess I’m a slow-learner but I still had the desire to become an investor. I retired from a 40-year career as a realtor and an appraiser, but stupidly, I had never invested. Well, not never, but early on I decided I didn’t like being a landlord (about the only way to invest in a small rural market) and, in the way of the young-and-dumb I said I’d never do that again. A word from the wise: never say never is trite for a reason. Anyway, I never invested again; dumbest thing I didn’t do in my entire career.
I retired to Fort Lauderdale on permanent Senior Spring Break thinking I would begin to invest. After all, I should have picked something up after 40 years in the industry, right? Wrong. I would have been a perfect example of someone who knows just enough to be dangerous, but at least I knew what I didn’t know…but what to do now?
The answer came in a program I found by accident. I would say it saved me. I had never heard of it, but I stumbled into it and am I ever glad I did. It’s a long story, but suffice to say this: the business model of the Guru’s offers some really good things for a few people (those with the guts and the smarts and the means to do a lot on their own) but they don’t do much for the “average” person. There are a couple of big holes in that model.
This program has found a way to fill those holes and I’m willing to bet that most of you have never heard of it. It’s a long story and I could go on, but the point here is that there are basically two reasons most people don’t invest in real estate even though they know it’s how generational wealth can be created. Those reasons are fear and ignorance. This program takes both of those out of the equation. It creates local communities of investors (who know each other and trust each other) all over the country who learn together, work together,earn together and partner together; it builds a support system that is both local and national in scope and that virtually erases the fear factor. It also offers a first-class investing education, everything from how to set-up and structure your business to how to buy down notes and mortgages. Close to 200 hours of online education that is available 24/7 at the convenience of the student. It is the equivalent of a Master’s Degree in Real Estate at a fraction of the cost, and much less than the Guru’s charge.
I know this is long, probably too long, but I want people to know that there is something out there that can work for the less-experienced person. As I said, the Guru model is good in some ways but has some big holes in it. There is something out there that does work. There is no upsell, hard or soft. You can spend $2,000 to $15,000 (to go to $20,000 on 1/1/15) and no more. That gets you the full boat. There are multiple income streams, the opportunity to take the classes live if you so desire and the opportunity to partner in deals (even with the instructors if things fall right) and investing in deals with other members of the community who are educated in the same way you are. I don’t know of anything else like it out there. Real estate investing education can be done the right way.
You’re too kind in this blog Jean. The true horror and devastation of falling for the up sell isn’t duly noted here. It can financially destroy you, and has done so to thousands of people. People with the secret sauce don’t share it, even for exuberant prices, and create competition for themselves. That’s just my two pennies.