{"id":628,"date":"2016-04-12T17:18:49","date_gmt":"2016-04-12T21:18:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/terrygetsmortgages.ca\/?p=628"},"modified":"2019-08-12T20:29:50","modified_gmt":"2019-08-13T00:29:50","slug":"628-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/terrygetsmortgages.ca\/628-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Real Estate Seminars &#8211; Fact or Fiction?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>The &#8216;Gurus&#8217; are back in town!<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-647 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/terrygetsmortgages.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Real-Estate-Seminars-Fact-or-Fiction-300x285.jpg\" alt=\"Real Estate Seminars - Fact or Fiction\" width=\"300\" height=\"285\" srcset=\"https:\/\/terrygetsmortgages.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Real-Estate-Seminars-Fact-or-Fiction-300x285.jpg 300w, https:\/\/terrygetsmortgages.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Real-Estate-Seminars-Fact-or-Fiction-768x731.jpg 768w, https:\/\/terrygetsmortgages.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Real-Estate-Seminars-Fact-or-Fiction-1024x974.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/terrygetsmortgages.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Real-Estate-Seminars-Fact-or-Fiction-1080x1028.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/terrygetsmortgages.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Real-Estate-Seminars-Fact-or-Fiction.jpg 1384w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s that time of year again when the Real Estate Seminar \u201cGurus\u201d return\u00a0from their winter hibernation in warmer climes and come to Canada to preach the gospel of &#8216;Getting rich quick in Real Estate&#8217;.<br \/>\nThe commercials have already started\u00a0on radio and TV and also print media, and the pitch never changes!<\/p>\n<p><strong>The formula is always the same:<\/strong><br \/>\nWannabe \u2018Real Estate Investors\u2019 are initially attracted by powerful and repetitive radio and TV commercials and sometimes print ads that offer ways to make fortunes in the Real Estate business. When the advertised (800) number is called, a slick sales pitch entices the gullible to a Free Seminar.\u00a0Often exaggerated<span style=\"line-height: 1.7em;\">\u00a0claims are made such as:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>the ability to purchase properties with &#8216;bruised\u00a0credit&#8217;<\/li>\n<li>no money down and\/or<\/li>\n<li>acquisition of properties resulting from foreclosures, power of sales etc. and \u2018flipping\u2019 them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The Free Seminar: <\/strong><br \/>\nThis is usually a 2 hour session where, typically, attendees are seduced by the idea of obtaining wealth beyond their wildest dreams and towards the end of the free seminar comes a subtle sell where participants are persuaded to part with a nominal sum \u2013(anywhere from $700 &#8211; $2,000 usually in US funds!) for a 3 day seminar.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Three-day Seminar:<\/strong><br \/>\nA hard-sell combination of fear tactics and emotional appeal. On the first day, as an exercise in negotiation skills, you may be persuaded to call your credit card companie(s) and have them raise your limits. The more credit you can get, the better a negotiator you are (!) and the more capital you\u2019ll have in order to put together future real estate deals!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Now you have more credit: \u00a0<\/strong>With financial barriers removed, now that you have plenty of available credit from the previous day\u2019s exercise you\u2019ll be encouraged to sign up for the advanced course where you\u2019ll supposedly learn everything you need to know to get rich in real estate!<br \/>\nBy this time the heat is on and the gullible\/unwary are now prepared to take on really heavy-duty credit card debt in pursuit of their dreams. The costs for the &#8216;advanced&#8217; courses can range from $15,000 to over $40,000, and this is often in US funds.<br \/>\nI have spoken to presenters, many of whom are US and often are\u00a0not really familiar with the laws in Canada pertaining to financing, down payment conditions, compliance issues etc. and that can be\u00a0dangerously misleading. I pointed out a couple of facts regarding the above to the staff and in each case, they were blissfully unaware of the laws in Canada.<\/p>\n<p>C<strong>aveat Emptor (\u2018Buyer Beware\u2019<\/strong>) \u00a0Remember if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!<\/p>\n<p><strong> Tips to Avoid the Real Estate \u2018Guru\u2019 Trap<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>1. Do your research<\/strong><br \/>\nBefore signing up for any course take 5 minutes to Google the guru(s) and get both positive and negative feedback so you can make an informed decision. Better yet, take the time to talk to past students and see what the pros and cons of the system are, and whether there is expensive advanced training.<br \/>\n<strong>2. Be careful who you take advice from<\/strong><br \/>\nDo you want to take real estate advice from people who make the bulk of their income from investing in real estate, or from people who spend 90% of their time running seminars and selling books and courses?<br \/>\n<strong>3. Test the basic techniques before buying the upsell<\/strong><br \/>\nNever sign up for the advanced course, bus tour, or mentoring unless you\u2019ve made money using the basic material first. If you don\u2019t get enough money making info from the basic course, what makes you think the advanced course is going to be any more valuable?<br \/>\n<strong>4. Keep your emotions in check:<\/strong><br \/>\nThe gurus are slick salesmen and will toy with your emotions to get your money. Learn to recognize the sales tactics they are using so you can keep your emotions in check. By doing this you can make logical decisions based on the information you are presented with. Remember, we are all susceptible to at least 2 powerful emotions \u2013 fear and greed, and it is these emotions that these clever people will use to separate you from your cash.<br \/>\n<strong>5. Just bear in mind:<\/strong><br \/>\nHaving said all of the above, there are some organizations out there that do provide real education for investors, so I am not anti-education, just extremely cautious and skeptical. For the new or would-be real estate investor, I recommend joining your local real estate investment club where most members will be happy to share their experiences with various courses and tell you which ones are most worthwhile.<br \/>\n<strong>6. Investment deals:<\/strong><br \/>\nAfter completing all the training you should now have the skills to locate, evaluate and close your own investment deals right?<br \/>\nThe only problem is doing that can be hard work, and nobody wants to do the hard work. Instead of finding your own deals, Gurus often have great deals ready for you. Since they are the expert, their deal must be the one for you.<br \/>\nAfter going through all of these courses and spending thousands of dollars you may have picked up some great knowledge, but most are things you can learn by reading books, browsing online forums, or simply networking with other investors in your area.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The following from MoneySense Magazine underscores all of the above:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Following is an insightful article excerpted from MoneySense Magazine from March 2012:<br \/>\nAbout 20 years ago, a late-night infomercial featured Tom X, a Vietnamese immigrant with a rags-to-riches story. A grinning Tom X\u00a0stood on a yacht surrounded by girls in bikinis, or in front of a mansion with a fabulous fountain and a Bentley in the driveway. During these cheesy ads, Tom\u00a0would promise that you, too, could learn the secret to making millions in real estate just by attending his free seminar.<br \/>\nWhile Tom X\u00a0is no longer in the real estate business,\u00a0his legacy remains. Chances are you\u2019ve come across more than one late-night commercial, email or full-page newspaper ad making a similar claim about becoming financially secure through real estate investing.<br \/>\nThis is exactly the promise\u2014from a well-known Canadian TV personality\u2014that enticed Fernanda Caranfa, a former teacher, to attend a free seminar in Toronto. Caranfa listened to evangelical testimonials from people who had quit their six-figure-salary jobs after only one year and went on to double, even triple their net worth through real estate investing. The stories convinced Caranfa to charge almost $30,000 to her credit card for the \u201ccomprehensive educational system\u201d and 12 months of ongoing support. Within weeks she\u2019d regret her decision.<br \/>\nNo one knows exactly how much is spent on these real estate seminars and their \u201ceducational programs,\u201d but they continue to crop up in hotel conference rooms across Canada. And judging from the dozens of websites created by would-be property moguls, there are a lot of dissatisfied customers. \u201cThese seminars don\u2019t have to be a scam,\u201d says Victor Ricciardi, finance professor at Goucher College in Baltimore. \u201cBut they do employ highly questionable ways of parting you from your money.\u201d Here are the most common.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Groupthink.<\/strong><br \/>\nMany seminars plant someone in the audience to guide the group toward a certain way of thinking. \u201cYou only need one or two dominant people to influence up to 10 others,\u201d says Ricciardi.<br \/>\nThese plants may offer testimonials, ask leading questions and make supportive comments throughout a presentation. Or they\u2019ll inject a sense of urgency by being the first to sign up for such a great deal, enticing others to follow lest they feel left out.<br \/>\n\u201cDon\u2019t underestimate the power of groupthink,\u201d says Ricciardi. Even the most skeptical investor can be drawn in. \u201cStudies show that even risk-intolerant people will become risk takers when engaged in groupthink.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Borrow and invest, ignore the rest.<\/strong><br \/>\nJust about every group heartily promotes the use of leverage, whether it\u2019s taking out a loan against your home or maxing out your credit cards. The more you borrow, they say, the more you\u2019ll invest, and the more you\u2019ll earn. For example, according to Don Campbell, president of the Real Estate Investment Network, if you\u2019d invested 15% on a rental property between 1985 and 2005, when Canadian real estate appreciated by 5.1% annually, you would have earned a 33% yearly return.<br \/>\nWhat they don\u2019t tell you is that these high-debt tactics also magnify the impact of falling home prices. If values decrease by 10% or 15%, you could kiss your equity goodbye. And corrections do happen: between 1981 and 1985, Calgary home prices plummeted by 40%, and steep declines have also occurred in Vancouver and Toronto. They will happen again.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The first one\u2019s free.<\/strong><br \/>\nMany would-be investors attend these seminars because they\u2019re free. But as Caranfa discovered, the first presentation is just a come-on for expensive seminars and programs that follow.<br \/>\nAfter attending a half-day free seminar, Caranfa spent $2,000 on a three-day weekend workshop. She thought she\u2019d learn about making money in real estate, but instead she was subjected to yet more success stories and promises that she\u2019d get rich once she\u2019d mastered the \u201csecrets\u201d taught in the full course, which cost a whopping $25,000. While Caranfa was skeptical, she eventually forked over that fee.<br \/>\nCaranfa thought her money was being invested in real property, but it wasn\u2019t. All she got was \u201ca few flimsy books, a couple of DVDs, and the chance to fly all over the U.S. for a series of three-day boot camps on how to invest successfully.\u201d She\u2019d paid almost $30,000 for little more than vague information she could have found for free.<br \/>\nWithin 30 days, Caranfa started to ask for her money back and, predictably, she got the runaround. That\u2019s when she called MoneySense. Once we got involved, the program coordinators relented and reimbursed Caranfa. \u201cEventually I got my money back, but I felt so stupid and foolish.\u201d<br \/>\nBut that\u2019s just part of the scheme, says Ricciardi. \u201cSkeptics will often get their money back, but only because this can reinforce how legitimate the program is to other investors.\u201d For programs like this to make money, he says, only a small percentage of people have to be willing to buy into the inspirational message. Understanding how these seminars work will ensure you\u2019re not one of them.\u00a0Source: Money Sense Magazine:<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.moneysense.ca\/spend\/real-estate\/the-true-secrets-of-real-estate-seminars-2\/\">http:\/\/www.moneysense.ca\/spend\/real-estate\/the-true-secrets-of-real-estate-seminars-2\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Please provide your Feedback, I would love to hear from readers concerning any experiences they may have had with the above seminars, both good and bad.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/terrygetsmortgages.ca\/contact\/\">http:\/\/terrygetsmortgages.ca\/contact\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The &#8216;Gurus&#8217; are back in town! It&#8217;s that time of year again when the Real Estate Seminar \u201cGurus\u201d return\u00a0from their winter hibernation in warmer climes and come to Canada to preach the gospel of &#8216;Getting rich quick in Real Estate&#8217;. The commercials have already started\u00a0on radio and TV and also print media, and the pitch [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":647,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/terrygetsmortgages.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/terrygetsmortgages.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/terrygetsmortgages.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terrygetsmortgages.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terrygetsmortgages.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/terrygetsmortgages.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terrygetsmortgages.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/terrygetsmortgages.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terrygetsmortgages.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terrygetsmortgages.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}