REIN membership

[heliman2]

If you`re willing to think outside of the box, the information you gain from REIN can far out weigh the cost of the membership. After attending a REIN monthly meeting which was about the multiple offer strategy I decided to take that knowledge and use it to ask my company for a raise, well it worked! I walked away with a $12,000 dollar a year raise which I am 100% sure that if I had just walked in and asked for a raise it wouldn`t have turned out that way. So I basically received a monthly return on my membership fees of 500% just from that one thing I learned, and that was only the beginning!!

 

[albertarick]

In regards to Trump he is all about selling himself and building his brand. Hats off to him, he has done this very well by staying in the media spotlight. As to why he is involved with Kiyosaki it is just another way to get into the spotlight, probably not his best move when compared with other activites like the "Apprentice", which looks like a masterstroke compared to working with RK.

In regards to RK, I want people to be very careful about following his advice. You are much better off following the advice of the people on this board. It would be nice if RK`s books were moved to the fiction section.

 

[Bill]

QUOTE (albertarick @ Nov 26 2007, 09:33 AM) In regards to RK, I want people to be very careful about following his advice. You are much better off following the advice of the people on this board. It would be nice if RK`s books were moved to the fiction section.

Hello albertarick,

I think if you polled the REIN members you would find almost 99% of them have read Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Yes there are some questions about Kiyosaki`s background, and he has even admitted Rich Dad was made up, but some of the ideas behind the book are still true.

The advantages of being a business owner (self employed or otherwise) are tremendous, both from a financial standpoint and a freedom standpoint. This is one of the areas that Kiyosaki writes about. In this particular forum the majority have just taken the Real Estate route to reach the point they are at. As Rebecca stated the freedom to go babysit her grandchild is incredible.

While there is much that may not work in his book (especially in Canada as far as the tax rollovers), the idea that you can succeed is a far more important principle. The people who take action seem to understand this which is what is so unique about REIN members as a whole.

To housingrental,

While education can lead to high paying jobs, it still doesn`t teach any financial responsibility which is why so many people are caught in the rat race. This is perhaps why so many people who are making high wages are investing with various Real Estate investors from REIN? Educating yourself with Rich Dad type books opens your mind to new concepts that are not necessarily taught in schools.


As to the value of a REIN membership, you get plenty of information, which is worth the membership alone, but the value of meeting and associating with like minded individuals is the real value. You feel energized after each meeting due to the positive energy in the room, the unbiased information you receive and seeing the success`s of others.

REIN has had a tremendous impact on our lives as it has allowed us to create a future for our family that definitely doesn`t revolve around us working until we are 65 and retiring. Could we have done it without REIN, probably, but it definitely accelerated us, and allowed us to meet the people who could help us to get where we are today faster.

If I had to do it all over again, I would definitely make REIN my starting point.

Regards,

 

[RebeccaBryan]

Albertarick,

About the RK books. You take what`s useful to you and use it and put the rest aside, like anything. I own and have read many of his books, but it has been a few years since I`ve read them, but when I did, I was inspired to take action and change my life. His books challenge the thinking of the "masses" and that`s important.

My suggestion is if you don`t think they are useful, go and find something that is. Wasting your time critisizing other peoples work has no value and won`t get you closer to your goals. The books are what they are, obviously useful to some and not to others.

 

[albertarick]

QUOTE (RebeccaBryan @ Nov 26 2007, 01:23 PM) Wasting your time critisizing other peoples work has no value and won`t get you closer to your goals.

I don`t think pointing out that there are some real issues with RK is wasting my time. Call it a public service. Call it research. Call it the big picture. The more information we have the better.

 

[RebeccaBryan]

albertarick,


I`m all for being informed, and certainly for the big picture. I should have phrased that differently.

 

[housingrental]

Very good albertarick

R.D.P.D - Cheerleading - Dangerous Cheerleading that can get someone into a lot of trouble buying a property that might not work for them.

All other posts re me, and re education Ceribus Paribus:
1) Education is improtant - you shouldn`t be advising your children otherwise
2) Education leads to higher paying jobs - Yes there is good $$$ to be made for those with a high school education, but it`s much less likely, and much harder these type of jobs.
3) The more you make, the easier it is to save - and the faster you save more $$$$
4) The more you save from your high paying job, the sooner you`re "free" (ie can retire)
5) Owning your business doesn`t make you "free" - it makes you less free than working for someone - instead of a boss you have clients, - instead of somewhat defined work hours you`re responsible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year - you have no guaranteed level of compensation - you have no job security.
6) Overexpanding in a short period of time through refinancing your properties can end badly - if you`re not prepared (ie material cash reserves) for tenant damages, defaults, higher costs, and lower rents you should off on buying the property - be it your first or your tenth.
7) Relying on capital appreciation, (flips/reno/redevelop excluded) and not cash flow from operations is SPECULATING not INVESTING. Rental properties are a business - you purchase buildings based on earnings potential - not based on guessing what someone might pay for it five years from now.

I should also add:
8) Purchasing out of town property is a terrible idea unless you have effective local management in place.


I find the posts in the forum baffling

 

[EdRenkema]

albertarick,
Thanks for your informative research and public serivice on RK. I like to think most people can draw their own conclusions on his credibility. To me that is irrelevant, what is relevant is his emphasis on changing one`s mindset to become wealthy. In some ways he may not be so well liked because he is blunt and to the point -most of us know someone else like that

Rk also emphasizes taking small steps and learning to fail early and on small deals rather than on big deals. Failures are how one learns. If one has never failed then he/she has never learned. For me what he teaches has been lifechanging since I always struggled with past failures and never had a large earned income. That shouldn`t make a difference.
I don`t find RK gives a lot of specific `how to` advice but he does makes some very valid points such as: if you believe in a culture of entitlement then find a job where you can get that. Another valid point is his emphais on giving back both financially and with one`s time, its the law of reciprocity, it comes back.
I don`t know if you`ve read the Cashflow Quadrant but the concepts presented have so much validity its staggering.
There are certain individuals who can never be entrepreneurs but for those that are or want to be that book is a must read. I don`t really care if there is or never was a `Rich Dad` what RK teaches in his books/CDs has been mind opening for me. I think some people might find it a little frightening when someone challenges the status quo in such a way. I for one have never been comfortable with meeting the status quo and in fact that is why I`m here.

 

[albertarick]

Ed,

I don`t want to get drawn into a long debate regarding the specifics in his books. I am the complete opposite to you, I would not reccomend his books to anyone. To each his own.

Rick

 

[timk519]

QUOTE (RebeccaBryan @ Nov 26 2007, 03:23 PM) About the RK books. You take what`s useful to you and use it and put the rest aside, like anything. I own and have read many of his books, but it has been a few years since I`ve read them, but when I did, I was inspired to take action and change my life. His books challenge the thinking of the "masses" and that`s important.

My suggestion is if you don`t think they are useful, go and find something that is. Wasting your time critisizing other peoples work has no value and won`t get you closer to your goals. The books are what they are, obviously useful to some and not to others. I`ll be the first to say that RK`s books had value for me, in terms of explaining concepts in ways I hadn`t considered before.

Having said that, if the guy`s lying about there even being a "rich dad", his investing activities, etc - then how on earth can I put any faith in anything he says? For instance, these "B-I triangles" - are they some fictionalized story he came up with, or something he actually uses productively?

My time is valuable and not reclaimable. I prefer to invest it in people who actually practice what they preach, not those who make things up, and then expect me to hand some money over to them and invest my time reading their stuff when I could be investing it in something more beneficial.

 

[GarthChapman]

Tim, I suggest that it really doesn`t matter whether Rich Dad existed or not (I know I read somewhere that RK wrote that Rich Dad was an amalgum of characters from his youth). I propose that what matters is whether his concepts are valid, and I certainly believe they are. They, along with what I learned about investing in Real Estate from REIN and its members, are the reason I am pretty much financially independant now, after having been all-but broke in 1999.

RK is using a story-telling method to explain his concepts. They are not revolutionary - I learned them in business. But they are not widely taught at the school or to employees, and now they are available for anyone who will buy the book and spend a few hours reading it - turning employees into entrepreneurs and investors.

So handing your money to him means paying 10 bucks or so for his book. Indeed your time is valuable - but I suspect most of us spend more time watching TV each week than it takes to read RDPD. If one did not get the financial education from your parents or school or in the business world then a few hours reading RDPD will give one something most people spend years learning by the school of hard knocks.

I do know one thing for sure - almost all the successful people I know have read the books(s) and credit them with assisting in their success. And I like to follow the lead of successful people.

Regards,

 

[timk519]

I agree that the books can have a benefit, that they makes some extremely valid points, and can be considered useful to get a person motivated to do more with their lives than what "regular" schooling generally trains people to do. That, in combination with the number of points he asserts as factual which may be outright fabrications, and that he nobody can confirm that he actually accomplished in RE and business what he purports to`ve accomplished - is what makes him dangerous. I`m sure there are those who`ve made more of themselves than they would`ve otherwise after reading those books. But, how many other people read those same books, thought that RE investing or starting a business was easy, tried to replicate what he supposedly did, and wound up in a world of hurt, in trouble with the law, or outright broke because the reality was anything but?

To put it into another context, if you ran into a someone who told you all kinds of good-sounding stories that made a lot of sense, had value, and opened your eyes to new possibilities, and then found out that some of what they asserted as true - wasn`t? Would you continue to trust that person? Or follow their advice? I wouldn`t.

I`ve got RDPD, as well as a number of his other books, and I`ve spent a lot of time reading them and marking them up. But it`s extremely doubtful if I`ll be buying any more or going back over the ones I have now that I have to wonder if he actually practices anything that`s on those pages. If, as you say, this is all standard business stuff, then that`s what I`ll be looking into for my inspiration instead. I purchased REIIC because I couldn`t believe what RK wrote about RE investing being as "easy" as he made it, and wanted more information, and it turns out I was right - it isn`t! (A short chat with my accountant on RE investing was an "Oh my goodness" eye opener as well...

)

REIN -as I understand it - is all about being above board, being honest, staying away from the "grey" areas, coming clean with your past as a way of getting a "yes", etc. One can`t do that w/out keeping the kind of material you mentally consume out of the "grey" areas as well.

 

[GarthChapman]

Well said Tim. As the saying goes `those who can`t do, teach`.

Some do the teaching well, but do so because, though they got the concepts down, they themselves could not succeed in the forum they were in. Sometimes that is because they lack a critical required element.

And others teach even though they are successful at what they do, and even though the time and effort may not produce the same level of returns, they do it because they truly want to `pay it forward` and help others succeed. And I think that`s where Don comes from.

I think you`re bang on about what REIN stands for regarding being honest and staying out of the grey areas. And that`s why I joined, and why I`m still in.

 

[BradHillier]

I can´t remember alot about RDPD but i thought this thread was about the value of a REIN membership..

Looking forward to joining REIN personally, i will be in Alberta in a few weeks. Sitting in Newfoundland right now.

For the record i found the "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" to be my most influential book. However, its not a wealth focused book.

 

[Grant]

Yeah, Brad`s right - this thread has shifted away from its original intent. We can certainly discuss the ROI and value of REIN membership here, as the topic states, but let`s leave the RDPD debate alone, please.

 

[RebeccaBryan]

QUOTE (housingrental @ Nov 26 2007, 05:12 PM)
<br />Very good albertarick<br /><br />R.D.P.D - Cheerleading - Dangerous Cheerleading that can get someone into a lot of trouble buying a property that might not work for them.<br /><br />All other posts re me, and re education Ceribus Paribus:<br />1) Education is improtant - you shouldn't be advising your children otherwise <br />2) Education leads to higher paying jobs - Yes there is good $$$ to be made for those with a high school education, but it's much less likely, and much harder these type of jobs.<br />3) The more you make, the easier it is to save - and the faster you save more $$$$<br />4) The more you save from your high paying job, the sooner you're "free" (ie can retire) <br />5) Owning your business doesn't make you "free" - it makes you less free than working for someone - instead of a boss you have clients, - instead of somewhat defined work hours you're responsible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year - you have no guaranteed level of compensation - you have no job security.<br />6) Overexpanding in a short period of time through refinancing your properties can end badly - if you're not prepared (ie material cash reserves) for tenant damages, defaults, higher costs, and lower rents you should off on buying the property - be it your first or your tenth.<br />7) Relying on capital appreciation, (flips/reno/redevelop excluded) and not cash flow from operations is SPECULATING not INVESTING. Rental properties are a business - you purchase buildings based on earnings potential - not based on guessing what someone might pay for it five years from now.<br /><br />I should also add:<br />8) Purchasing out of town property is a terrible idea unless you have effective local management in place. <br /><br /><br />I find the posts in the forum baffling <img src="style_emoticons/default/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="smile.gif" /><br />
<br /><br /><br />





I couldn't resist.



When I read this I was also baffled by your thinking. I think we should just agree to disagree. This kind of thinking is why 10% of the people have 90% of the wealth and the other 90% of people share the other 10% that's left over.



This post reminds me why I love being at REIN meetings so much. It's plum full of people with UMPH!!!!

 

[Grant]

I don`t know what you`re viewing these forums in, Rebecca, `cause I don`t see any <br />`s in that post. Maybe just a bug when you hit reply or something. That or you may want to hit refresh.

 

[markbrad]

Back to the original question of the post. For me, if I can learn anything that will help me save a couple of thousand $ on my next real estate transaction, it has payed for itself. If I can meet a mortgage broker who can get me a mortgage I otherwise couldn`t, it has paid for itself. I will be investing in RE whether there is REIN or not, but it is sure a lot easier to find a certain movie at a video store than it is a boxstore (read (find real estate info at a group geared towards real estate investing)). Another analogy... I know how to drywall a house, but it sure makes way more sense to me to hire a professional. Same thing with real estate. I can find all, or most of the info myself, but it makes way more sense to me to hire the professionals, so to speak.

 

[timk519]

QUOTE (RebeccaBryan @ Nov 28 2007, 10:14 PM)
I couldn't resist.



When I read this I was also baffled by your thinking. I think we should just agree to disagree. This kind of thinking is why 10% of the people have 90% of the wealth and the other 90% of people share the other 10% that's left over.



This post reminds me why I love being at REIN meetings so much. It's plum full of people with UMPH!!!!
The original poster cites a number of legit concerns - some of which have actually played out on this web site. Imagine if "rascal" didn't have sufficient cash reserve to carry their duplex as it sat empty for something like 3 months due to ineffective property management?



Any legit and helpful business / real estate investing program needs to outline the risks and challenges to that line of work, not just the "apparent" advantages.

 

[RebeccaBryan]

REIN does that. It`s members need to follow the system. Every time I have waivered from the system, I have learned "hard" lessons. That`s what REIN was designed to do, learn by someone elses mistakes instead of making them yourself.

Myreinspace is another tool REIN members can use to help them keep on track and follow the system.

My question is: What kind of risks am I taking by not investing in real estate? What kind of challenges in the line of work I was in, previous to investing in real estate, did I have? I assure you many more than I have currently!