why REIN membership is so expensive?

[Dan_Eisenhauer]

I need to add to my earlier comment, Igor.

Not everyone here owns several multi-unit buildings. Most of us started with next to nothing, and scraped to get the down payments to buy our first property. REIN provides the step by step process to build your way into a multi-door portfolio. Becoming REIN members was not an easy decision for everyone, simply because of its price. You have heard from some who also agonized over that monthly outlay.

As I, and others, have said, don`t look at that money as an expense, but as an investment in your future. Remember that the $3,700 you mentioned does not get paid all at once. It gets paid monthly. If you boil it down to the lowest amount, it works out to $7.25 per day... or the cost of 1.5 Starbucks` coffees. BUT... in this case, your Starbucks` coffees are tax deductible, reducing the cost even more. If you are in a 20% tax bracket... your after tax cost is about $6.00 per day... less if your tax rate is higher.

What is your future worth to you? Maybe you are not ready for the teacher yet, using Thomas`s metaphor.

I wish you well with your decision.

Dan

 

[spark1]

Hi all,



Thank you very much. The topic surprisingly attracts much more attention than it deserves.



Let me be clear. No one questions the Don’s system. It is an impressive structurised step-by step approach. It is well explained in his books, which I greatly enjoy. That is exactly how I will buy my next income property, hopefully very soon. The books together with this site (forum, newsletter, numerous audios etc) are a tremendous source of information which takes me months to digest. I hope one can still apply the ACRE system and not be a REIN member.



A huge benefit in the membership I see it is a networking with the likely-mined investors, sharing experience and learning from the personal contacts. Will it worth $3,500? I have no idea. May be it worth $15,000 and market will bear it?



Despite many knowledgeable and detailed replies I still fail to understand: Why there is no option for a trial membership? Why the minimum membership is for only 17 months? No option to cancel within the first several months? Why only members can attend the monthly meeting? I would love to pay reasonable money to attend one meeting and see if it is worth to be a member. So, I guess I am back to square 1 with my question.




best regards,

Igor

 

[Anonymous]

I think you may be allowed to attend the monthly meeting the day before the Quickstart if you call the REIN office.

 

[Dan_Eisenhauer]

I think we all missed the point of your question, Igor.

If you join REIN, you will not be able to judge its full impact on you for several months. You need time to be able to put the lessons taught into practice, and to determine whether or not it is for you, or if it is as valuable to you as those of us who have responded to your post find it is to us.

Being a new member, you may be reluctant to speak to more experienced members at meetings; you may need time to feel comfortable to do that. You will not have had time to see the HUGE benefit of My REIN Space. You will not have had time to judge whether or not the information disseminated will be of value to you. You will not have had time to digest the information contained in your initial member`s package.

In short, you do need the time to fully evaluate the REIN membership.

As for allowing only members to attend monthly meetings... "membership has its privileges". With respect, I don`t think you really needed to have that one explained.

 

[Anonymous]

The above statement sums it up perfectly. I forgot exactly when I first joined REIN since time flies by so quickly but it took me awhile to be open enough to reap greater benefits from my membership.

 

[donksky]

Hi Igor,
I think when u join you can cancel after the 1st meeting if u don`t like it -that`s my recollection. You can start reading don campbell`s books (free at library) or/& join Quickstart for a smaller commitment $500 or so. Yes - the trial mbrship wouldn`t be fair to REIN coz from the get-go, depending on how you open up to people & who you run into - you can get invaluable tips & networking value -- if not for REIN, I wouldn`t have learned creative (legal!) ways to buy real estate - I bought my 1st 3 rentals without using much of my little cash - & it`s because of finding the perfect mortgage broker for me thru REIN who asked me what my dream was & told me how to accomplish it in black&white w/out laughing at/mocking me. I would never have known of a special strategy if I hadn`t joined - so instead of being stuck with only 3 properties using conventional methods of investing, I find I can buy 10 or even 20 in a relatively short period of time. THAT`s worth way more than $3500.
Now like the others said - if you don`t attend meetings, take heed or take action or make an effort to get to know people, are afraid to ask questions, REIN may be a waste of money for you. I don`t like organizations usually but being badly burned in other investment products I decided I wanted to do things systematically in an educated/intelligent way in real estate, so I didn`t want to take any more chances with my 2nd round of smaller, hard earned savings. REIN also helped me take action coz buying those 1st ones are very scary.

 

[YLCorporation]

I agreed the membership is way too expensive...Can someone tell me if Don Campbell owns any properties? I want a one month trial too after all, REIN is a business and not a non profit business. I am sure we won`t hear about those who dislike the REIN membership...It would have been deleted on here. That`s just my 2 cents.

I hope i didn`t offend anyone.

 

[MonteDobson]

Yes Mr. Campbell and the rest of his team all "practice what they preach"!! That is the beauty of REIN...no one tries to sell you a piece of real estate or sells you the next expensive package at the back of the room. I believe last count he owns over 200+ properties.

Bottom line is that it is YOUR choice whether you participate or not...you won`t hear many who dislike the REIN membership as they would be long gone by now. I have met many REIN members who don`t yet own a property, which is fine, they choose to attend to hang out with successful people and listen to the wealth of information provided. Key though to anything is ACTION!!

I encourage you to try a meeting or 2 or attend a quickstart meeting and then decide if it is for you or not. Or maybe buy a REIN memeber lunch to discuss things firsthand.

 

[Anonymous]

It is known that Don owns 200+ properties but it is not up to anyone to prove it so it`s a moot point. I don`t think Don cares if anyone believes him or not. The overwhelming praise for REIN on this messageboard is sincere and I doubt the mods will delete a post if it`s the intention behind the post is an honest inquiry. I was a skeptic before I joined. To be honest, I am not much into "group think" or seminars in general but REIN exceeded my expectations.

QUOTE (YLCorporation @ Aug 27 2008, 08:16 PM) I agreed the membership is way too expensive...Can someone tell me if Don Campbell owns any properties? I want a one month trial too after all, REIN is a business and not a non profit business. I am sure we won`t hear about those who dislike the REIN membership...It would have been deleted on here. That`s just my 2 cents.

I hope i didn`t offend anyone.

 

[Jack]

I agreed the membership is way too expensive...
Compared to what?

Can someone tell me if Don Campbell owns any properties?

HAHAHA!

I want a one month trial too after all, REIN is a business and not a non profit business. I am sure we won`t hear about those who dislike the REIN membership...It would have been deleted on here. That`s just my 2 cents.

And what good would a 1-month trial give you? Would you consider it a failure if you hadn`t acquired 3 cash-flowing properties in 30 days, and blame it directly on REIN offering a faulty system? I mean, honestly. Either commit to something, or don`t. The free forums offered on here give quite good free value for a for-profit company like REIN, don`t you think? Joe`s free content on Economic Fundamentals is pretty good value, right?

If you want the jist of what`s offered at the seminars, I would pretty much compare it to any other seminar/presentation that I`ve been to, sort of on a more work/classroom-related level than a level like, say, Donald Trump`s, which is filled with annoying cliches, catchphrases, and "raise your hand if...(insert question here where obvious answer is yes and the speaker`s goal is to get audience participation)..." It`s a lot more meat-and-potatoes and less weak attempts at humour.

I just don`t see how a 1-month trial membership would benefit anyone.

 

[Thembi]

QUOTE (Jack @ Aug 27 2008, 09:30 PM) I agreed the membership is way too expensive...
Compared to what?

Can someone tell me if Don Campbell owns any properties?

HAHAHA!

I want a one month trial too after all, REIN is a business and not a non profit business. I am sure we won`t hear about those who dislike the REIN membership...It would have been deleted on here. That`s just my 2 cents.

And what good would a 1-month trial give you? Would you consider it a failure if you hadn`t acquired 3 cash-flowing properties in 30 days, and blame it directly on REIN offering a faulty system? I mean, honestly. Either commit to something, or don`t. The free forums offered on here give quite good free value for a for-profit company like REIN, don`t you think? Joe`s free content on Economic Fundamentals is pretty good value, right?

If you want the jist of what`s offered at the seminars, I would pretty much compare it to any other seminar/presentation that I`ve been to, sort of on a more work/classroom-related level than a level like, say, Donald Trump`s, which is filled with annoying cliches, catchphrases, and "raise your hand if...(insert question here where obvious answer is yes and the speaker`s goal is to get audience participation)..." It`s a lot more meat-and-potatoes and less weak attempts at humour.

I just don`t see how a 1-month trial membership would benefit anyone.

I have been so trying to ignore this thread but i cant take it anymore,i think before u commit into anything like REIN you should do ur own research especially if u seem to have a hard time understanding simple explanations like the ones given above by dedicated rein members.I just joined R.E.I.N a week ago but before that i had been a forum member for 6months,basically betwen then and now i did my research,asked people around,googled online,was hoping to meet or see something about rein being a scam but guess wat,nothing came up.
I did not and still do not have the money to invest but i told myself starting this month i will work an extra 4hrs at work to pay for my membership.I know the knowledge i will get from this is more than wat i learnt in my 15yrs of schooling hence the will to pay more.I am not gonna try to convince you to join but will tell you one thing,if u ever decide to join u will be saying "oh i wish i had joined earlier".Good luck in your decision.

 

[TerryF]

Congrats on your decision to join! Sounds like the process I went through. I googled Don, REIN, and anything else related and could not find anything negative. (As a contrast, try googling Russ Whitney and see all the rotten stuff that comes up.) I also say I wish I had joined earlier, but better late than never and don`t look back, only forward.


QUOTE (Thembi @ Aug 27 2008, 09:54 PM) I have been so trying to ignore this thread but i cant take it anymore,i think before u commit into anything like REIN you should do ur own research especially if u seem to have a hard time understanding simple explanations like the ones given above by dedicated rein members.I just joined R.E.I.N a week ago but before that i had been a forum member for 6months,basically betwen then and now i did my research,asked people around,googled online,was hoping to meet or see something about rein being a scam but guess wat,nothing came up.
I did not and still do not have the money to invest but i told myself starting this month i will work an extra 4hrs at work to pay for my membership.I know the knowledge i will get from this is more than wat i learnt in my 15yrs of schooling hence the will to pay more.I am not gonna try to convince you to join but will tell you one thing,if u ever decide to join u will be saying "oh i wish i had joined earlier".Good luck in your decision.

 

[Anonymous]

QUOTE (Jack @ Aug 27 2008, 09:30 PM) If you want the jist of what`s offered at the seminars, I would pretty much compare it to any other seminar/presentation that I`ve been to, sort of on a more work/classroom-related level than a level like, say, Donald Trump`s, which is filled with annoying cliches, catchphrases, and "raise your hand if...(insert question here where obvious answer is yes and the speaker`s goal is to get audience participation)..." It`s a lot more meat-and-potatoes and less weak attempts at humour.

It is exactly what you just described that I abhor. Overused platitudes, unoriginal humour and the cheesiness of many seminars- the kind that you see advertised on tv and print make me cringe. What`s worse is when people get hyped up and start regurgetating these catch phrases as their own. I have attended a few of such seminars myself and have left in disgust. Seminars like these tend to taint peoples` perception of real estate investment groups and I empathize with people who feel that the membership fee is too expensive or that the membership contract is too long. My parents worked and saved very hard all their lives and they would disapprove if they knew I what I spent on my REIN membership and other things. Growing up with very little, I noticed that just saving is not enough to live a good life, even if you do it very well so I sought to learn more about buidling wealth. I realize spending hard earned money to learn about investing in real estate may seem counter intuitive to some so I think browsing the messageboard and reading as many free articles as possible, while keeping an open mind is a good start.

I`m a pragmatist and a skeptic and I think it is wise to ask questions before entering into any membership contract but questioning an established membership price is about as productive as compaining about the price of gas.

 

[GSI]

QUOTE (YLCorporation @ Aug 27 2008, 08:16 PM) I agreed the membership is way too expensive...Can someone tell me if Don Campbell owns any properties? I want a one month trial too after all, REIN is a business and not a non profit business. I am sure we won`t hear about those who dislike the REIN membership...It would have been deleted on here. That`s just my 2 cents.

I hope i didn`t offend anyone.

I want, I want, I wwaaaaant you to.... Stop whining.

These threads go on for too long. Ray, perhaps you could add a special little place for all these connected threads of `Why should I join REIN`? Then when the question comes up again, the link with all the content can be directed to the person. They can than read and evaluate. If they have a unique question, they can post in the forum and it`ll be answered. Or even a FAQ part with the thread attached?

Many, many REIN members pour their hearts out about how great Don and The REIN team are. There is even a Success Stories book! Yes, REIN is good. It`s awesome - but you`ve already read that.

There wasn`t any kool aid to drink, we didn`t have to sign a pact... it`s just decent value. I doubt that any posts with members/non members expressing their opinions will be `deleted` as it`s not a flippin` cult.

Doing your due diligence is great. Use the search tool and check out what others say. It`s such a waste of time to justify to you why you should join REIN. I look through the forum and the posts that so many non-members make, and see the questions they`ve asked and the many quality replies that have been received (yourself included). That`s pretty good value right there.

Everyone has a story of their financial hardship or triumph, why they should, why they shouldn`t...

If it`s too big a financial commitment for you now... Don`t do it! Use the forum like everyone can, for free! Read the books from the library and when you`re ready, join - or don`t.

Don`t get me wrong, I encourage you to do your research. I just feel tired to hear the same old whinging about whether Don owns `X` amount of properties or not and why you feel owed to get something for free (like a trial membership). If you`re NOT a member how can you say that the `membership is too expensive`? How would you know? Compared to what? Poverty is pretty damn expensive too. As Jim Rohn said `If you think education is expensive, try ignorance`.

The information you seek is all throughout this site. Use it. Read it. Take what you like. GIVE what you can too.

In this rant I`m sure that I sound like a fanatic. I suppose I am writing like a bit of one, not to support REIN, not to defend other causes per se, but just to reiterate the value of using one`s own mind to make your own opinion, to read, learn and contribute without asking for WIFM all the time.

Read my earlier post in this thread where I suggested 3 routes you can take before joining to make sure it`s right for you. You`ll find that helpful.

I sincerely hope this helps,