Real Estate Investing Class: My Experience

Hard Core Sales Pitch Disguised As Free Conference: My Experience with The Trump Institute’s Way To Wealth Conference

(Originally posted in July 2008 at http://businessblogger.dmjconsulting.com/)

I received a very nice special invitation with two free tickets (see the photo at left) to attend The Trump Institute’s Way To Wealth Conference. The invite also promised a free book just for attending. I attended the meeting at the Atlanta Marriott Century Center near Clairmont Rd in Atlanta on Monday July 21, 2008 at 1:00 in the afternoon and got my free book just before 5pm when they finally released their captive audience.

By the way, the confirmation letter claimed that this book is worth $29, however, the special “Trump Institute Edition” of this book was a very cheap paperback book that was barely worth $5.

I am grateful for the book, but just felt they inflated the value of it greatly.

This conference was much longer than I expected, and only cold water was provided as a refreshment for the 4 hours or so that we were at this nice hotel.

I felt that it would have been more informative, if the first speaker, Rick, would have slowed down a bit. Unfortunately, as he openly admitted, the purpose for this conference was to just briefly expose us to the information so that we would know they were giving expert information and to offer us a 50% discount on the current $3,000 fee for becoming a student of this program.

Then there was a second very long session, led by Steve, about investing in tax lien certificates as a way to have “no risk” real estate investing. I felt that was even more informative and the guy didn’t talk too fast, either. However, as he also openly admitted, the only way it would become a “no risk” investment was if the property was checked out and cleared in advance to be sure that it was valuable (i.e., either resaleable or rentable). So, the purpose for his portion of the conference was to give enough information about the tax liens to get us interested and offer a 50% discount on the $3,000 access to their training and listings of “screened” properties.

Of course they threw in other bonuses that, just like the discount, were only good for that day only, as it was the last day of the conference in Atlanta. Of course they claimed that you won’t need to pay anything else after the $1,500 is paid (for the tax lien portion), if you signed up on that day. They didn’t make that same guarantee for the real estate investing portion.

Well, I also know another person who has attended in another state. After I attended, my acquaintance complained to me, and I also took time to read complaints on the Ripoff Report website, stating that this group does ask for more and more money but doesn’t deliver much. I saw another complaint on Epinions stating that they do not return the money, as they promise with a guarantee during the conference.

I know nothing is really free, I knew at least to expect that they’d want me to purchase something that day. I saw so many people jump up and grab the “today only” deals that I felt for them because I wondered if they’d get what they were hoping for.

Honestly, I have never met anyone that has been successful with using this group. If you know of someone, please tell them to leave a comment on this blog with verifiable details.

I did find an infomercial rating website that ranked this at 3 out of 5 stars with ratings at both extremes and all in between, as well.

Here is a good dialogue about the Trump Institute on Yahoo Answers stating that it is not worth as much as what they are charging and that you can get the same information online for a lot less.

More affordable books, DVD’s and more are available for browsing and for purchase through the listing at the bottom of this page, as well.

I will update this blog as I discover new information, as well.

Our Online BookStore (serviced by Amazon.com) is:

http://businessbooks.dmjconsulting.com/

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