Than Merrill & FortuneBuilders
Than Merrill has nearly become a household
name, and for good reason. Early in his career, Than had played pro football until a knee injury ended that career. Not one to be kept down,
Than began a second career as host of A&E's "Flip This House". And now he is an entrepreneur, hitting the road with
his real estate investing seminars, boot camps, and his FortuneBuilders franchise. That is the trademark of winners - always pushing toward some goal post. But does that mean
he can make winners out of others? Frankly, the only one who can make a winner out of a person is that person.
All that is
required is education, ambition and effort, and perhaps mentoring.
Than Merrill and his FortuneBuilders can provide some education and mentoring, but the cost is exorbitant, as it is with most real estate investing programs (the exception being "The Simple Man's Guide to Real Estate")
How Can It Be Expensive If It's Free?
Here's the catch: It isn't! While Than's FortuneBuilders initial seminar may not cost you anything to attend, make no mistake - nothing is really free.
The entire purpose of Than's free seminar is to get people interested, and then upsell them to an expensive second seminar,
or "boot camp". And it does not
end there - at that boot camp the purpose is to upsell to the "Mastery" program, at a cost upwards of $35,000. As FORBES so aptly put it, "seminars are
not for teaching - they are for selling! That is true whether the seminar is by Than Merrill, Armando Montelongo
or any other "infomercial guru". But that
should not discourage you from attending the "free" seminar - if nothing else it can get you fired up to want to learn more, and become successful
at investing. Just go with your eyes open - and your wallet closed! There are much cheaper (and better) ways to learn, and the $35,000 you save could be better spent elsewhere.
Don't Plan On Seeing Than Merrill
If you do decide to attend Than Merrill's free seminar, don't set your heart on meeting, or even seeing him - he probably won't be there.
Than Merrill is a smart guy, and smart people know when to hire the right people for the task at hand. So, he created FortuneBuilders as a
franchise, so you won't see Than there any more than you could expect to see Colonel Sanders at your local KFC (assuming he was still alive).
And Than "hires" the best salesmen to hawk his program. After all, that is the entire point of the seminar -
to sell!
There Are Alternatives
Real estate investing isn't nuclear physics, so you shouldn't pay the same for an education. All you need are just a
few simple things:
You may be able to piece-meal these things together if you have the time, and hope the "experts" you get are truly experts. Or you can turn to a program that includes everything except your ambition and effort. The best known and least expensive at under $100 (because it is offered by a not-for-profit and seasoned investors are volunteer mentors) is "The Simple Man's Guide to Real Estate, developed by the same investor who created the original "reverse mortgage", later adopted by HUD. There are a few other good programs, but they are not inexpensive, and may not teach all the methods (most only teach one, two or maybe even a few).
The point is, there are alternatives to the extreme cost of programs by "infomercial gurus" like Than Merrill. You owe it to yourself to at least check them out before risking your life savings, or worse yet, going into debt.
Whatever road you choose to take, we wish you the best. And remember, making no decision is a decision in itself, and only results in not getting anywhere. "If you do what you always did, you will get what you always got."
IntelliBiz, publisher of this site is not affiliated with
Armando Montelongo,
Carleton Sheets,
Ron Legrand,
Russ Whitney,
John Beck,
John Alexander,
Than Merrill,
Larry Goins,
Robert Allen,
Robert Kiyosaki,
Peter Conti,
Dave Lindahl or
Robert Shemin
