Busy(er than usual…) weekend!

Mum and I went to another 3-day Real Estate seminar over the weekend. 

I’ve heard them described as “trying to drink from a fire hose.”  So far at every one I’ve been to that has been the case.  There is simply far too much information to retain it all.  If you go bring a fresh legal pad and take copious notes!

I’ve been to others in the past.  Robert Kiyosaki’s had a lot of mindset and motivation along with a little technique.  Not enough to actually go out in the field and do anything.  You have to buy the ‘advanced course’ for that… ($$$$-)  They all sell advanced courses. 

Cherif Medawar’s commercial real estate investing seminar, while exciting, was also incredibly intimidating to me.  Not the teaching method which was much like Kiyosaki’s.  But the whole concept that I could invest in commercial real estate and not be taken to the cleaners!  I see so many commercial and industrial buildings sitting vacant - often for years.  I couldn’t swing even a months holding costs!  Maybe once I’m established.  But certainly not as I’m just stating out.  They had a lot of great techniques and ideas at the 3-day, but I wasn’t in a position to sign up for any of the advanced classes.  Add to that, I’m just not ready to play in that market.

I did get a couple of vital things from attending Cherif’s seminar: I learned how to calculate a mortgage on a pocket calculator.  Many seminar companies give out a “free gift” for attending their workshops.  The one we went to this weekend for instance gave everyone who attended the evening ‘sell ‘em the 3-day’ event a digital camera.  Not much of a camera, mind you…  Cherif gave everyone who attended his 3-day workshop a student grade HP 10bII financial calculator.  That’s the calculator we learned how to use during the workshop.  I have mine in my shirt pocket even as I’m typing this, now several years later.

This weekend’s 3-day, put on by Dean Graziosi’s organization, was a little different.  We stuck to smaller residential real estate.  That’s a market I can wrap my head around.  And there was a ton of great information.  Some motivation but far more technique and resources. 

Time on my lunch break is running out, so I’ll have to cut this off here.  But I want to add one last point before I go:

I finally feel like I’m ready to move forward.  Let’s see how far this path will take us!

Updated to add some links.