The cost of this even is advertised at $2995, and I thought it might be a worthwhile event; especially with all of the bonuses and guarantees. Much of the criteria that I use when I buy my properties have come from a course I bought from Dave quite a while ago, maybe in 2006, before I started any real RE investing. I bought that course for I think $995 or so, and decided that I could not afford it at that time, so I sent it back. I received a prompt refund, so I knew he at least stood by his products.
As I did some research, I saw that Dave Lindahl was offering a chance for Veteran’s to attend the event for free. I am a disabled Vet, and can remember when I used to hide the fact that I was a Vet, but now it is OK to be a Vet in public. My hat’s off to Dave for offering this opportunity for me to attend the event for free. Thank you Dave!
Dave and I have somewhat similar backgrounds, to an extent. I have a small landscape, mowing company. I used to live in Massachusetts; I started with smaller properties, etc.
The event was offered in Fort Worth, Texas on April 10 to 13th, 2014. I wasn’t sure if I was going to have to plow snow during that timeframe or not, so I waited until the last minute to book it. I paid a bit more for airfare, and the group rate for the Marriott Resort and Golf Hotel was already gone. But it was warmer in Fort Worth, than it was in Minnesota. So, off I went to the event
I booked a Hampton Inn about 4 miles from the event hotel, and saved ~$75 per night. I also booked a rental car, which saved cab fare, and also allowed me to eat in cheaper places. The Marriott restaurant was a bit on the high side with cheeseburgers running nearly $15, plus tax.
Upon arriving at the event, I checked in and received a name badge. There were different badges and lanyards for people depending on where you were in the education pyramid. I suspect the more events you have attended or paid for, the more credentials were attached to your badge. I also received a bag with the event books, a calculator, CD, and a few other things.
It was a typical hyped up event, with lots of positive energy. Seating was in rows, there were ~140 people at the event. Many people got on stages as testimonials, and there were a few vendors pitching their methods of RE education, so I am not sure how many people actually paid for the event. It was not a cheap venue, and the bill had to have been somewhat expensive.
The event did open my eyes to a different style of investing. I had never considered that I could own a 250 unit apartment, but now I truly believe that I can; or at least a part of it.
Dave Lindahl himself was there. He is not the greatest speaker, and mostly tells it like it is. He speaks to the topics in the book, although not necessarily in the book order. He tells quite a few personal stories, some related to RE, some not. It does help the audience to relate to some of the things he is going through. In our case, we heard a bit about his marathon training and foot pain as he was going to run the Boston Marathon in the next week. Dave is one of the few people that have actually done what he is teaching.
There was quite a bit of note taking, as the books did not have the thoughts that Dave was relating as he was speaking. There was also a bit of different vendors hyping their wares. I am not sure if it was worth almost $3K, but it was definitely worth something. I learned quite a bit.
Room For Improvements. If I were to make a suggestion to make the course much better it would be the following:
Tip 1: Include a pen and a note pad in the kit. Luckily I had a pen, there were many notes I took and if I did not have the pen I would have not been able to have the information. Pens are cheap; they can even have your name for advertising on them. The same with the note pad. Or include more blank space in the manual in the relevant spots. A note pad would be preferred; you can even put the event name on it. To me, those items are a no-brainer.
Maybe the person responsible for putting them in the kit was off that day?
Tip 2: Have a solid, vibrant professional PowerPoint presentation. When someone is just speaking for a couple of hours on topics that come out of their head, no matter how much great information is presented, it is better with a visual accompaniment. The book should then follow the presentation. Tell the people what you are going to teach them, show them what you are teaching them, and tell them what you just taught them. All pretty standard stuff.
Tip 3: Update the manual. While the concepts are still great, some newer formatting and updated layout would help. Instead of saying things that you think differently about, have it in the manual. Make sure all the examples are consistent.
Tip 4: Have more examples on the presentation. Go through the process in front of everyone, and not just talk about it. In the group sessions, the people worked on exercises, and the answers were given to the group, but nowhere was the logic that came up with the answer. A methodical step-by-step explanation would have been helpful. Of course, if your main goal is to sell more products, maybe being a bit vague is what the intent was. I understand most of the concepts, so it was not as much of an issue.
Tip 5: Serve Lunch, or at least let the hotel know you will not be providing lunch. The first day, I ate in the hotel restaurant, as did many people. I had arrived at midnight the night before, to a different hotel, and not much in terms of restaurants was seen. The restaurant was overwhelmed. This is more of a fault of the hotel, and not Dave, but it would have made the first lunch more enjoyable.
So there you have it. The review of Dave Lindahl’s Multifamily Millions Boot Camp.
Have you ever been to any RE education seminars? What was your experience like?
Did this review help you? Were you thinking about attending one of Dave’s seminars?