Should You Trust Preston Ely’s Real Estate Mogul?

If you haven’t heard of Preston Ely before, he is the name behind various real estate investment and other entrepreneurial products including Flip Your Way to Financial Freedom, REO Rockstar, Wake Up Wealthy and Instant Guru. He’s also authored several books including No B.S. Real Estate Investing, Instant Probate Profits, How to Steal Houses From Banks. The guy also has his fingers in fitness, Internet marketing, fantasy sports, gold investment, and personal development.

It goes without saying that this guy is everywhere. But for this review, I’m looking strictly at the real estate side of Preston Ely, and namely, his product called Real Estate Mogul.

What is Real Estate Mogul?

In a nutshell, Real Estate Mogul (REM) is a real estate “school” and member forum that offers daily lessons, spreadsheets, tools, scripts, listings, and member support for people looking to invest in real estate.

In essence, members are taught how to become real estate wholesalers, paying cash on-the-spot for foreclosed or otherwise distressed properties. The purchased properties are then renovated and either rented or sold. If sold, the properties are priced to make a significant profit for the seller.

The plans offered by REM are as follows and range from free to $197/month.

You get quite a bit of quality information even with the free REM plan. Since my signup on May 23rd, I’ve received (roughly) weekly emails like these:

REM offers a large range of helpful products and tutorials in its paid plans. Within its elite plan, members gain access to a number of experts, including those on commercial and multi-family properties, foreclosures and REOs (real estate owned), private money, short sales, and marketing. The plan also offers life coaches and rehab specialists, plus two “market insiders” who have ties to lawmakers in Washington, DC.

These experts regularly publish posts and lessons in categories including deal-getting, funding, investing strategy, market news, etc. One example of an expert-authored post is “As a wholesaler, what’s the best way to handle HUD closings?” Another example is “Private money demystified Part 1: Targeting the right people.”

There are also weekly training calls that are offered through the REM platform.

Another feature of REM is its real estate listing area. Here, you can look up properties that other members own. You may wish to buy these properties, or you can use the area to list your own properties as well.

Finally, REM offers a ton of generated forms, contracts and scripts for members to copy and use. Some of these items include attorney letters, buyer scripts, commission agreements, invoices, and REO cancellation letters. These items help newbie investors ease into the world of real estate negotiating, purchasing, renting and selling without having to hire a lawyer to create every single required document.

Within the REM area, members are awarded “Mogul points” for reading content, watching training videos, etc. These points help the members rise in the ranks of the REM social platform. When sufficient Mogul points have been earned, these new experts can now also create and post lessons and other content.

One such expert is Chris Bruce, who has posted numerous videos on both REM and YouTube about his experiences in real estate buying, selling, assessment, negotiation, etc.

Real Estate Mogul negatives

As with any product, there are some drawbacks with REM. To begin with, there are several concerns about the recommended tactics for buying/selling real estate at wholesale.

One example is REM’s recommendation to use bandit signs to advertise real estate buying intent. You’ve probably seen bandit signs at some point- they are the signs on poles that say “We Buy Houses!” or something to that effect.

The problem with using bandit signs is that they are illegal in many states and communities.

Another criticism of REM is that members receive extensive instruction on how to buy distressed properties but not enough information on how to rehab these properties after the sale. This is an issue because home renovations can quickly lead to mushrooming costs for the buyer. Furthermore, it’s not difficult to obtain a loan to purchase property- but it’s a huge hassle to convince a bank or other lender to finance the renovation of property that the buyer has no intention of living in.

Preston Ely, the figure behind REM, has actually bought only a handful of properties, according to other criticisms. One critique even points out that Preston Ely doesn’t like real estate investment!

Finally, REM does’t offer enough information on actual marketing. For example, what are the best tactics for purchasing a FSBO (for sale by owner) property- flyers, phone calls, business cards? While the REM platform provides many forms, it doesn’t clearly state which forms work best with a particular property sale and when they should be sent.

Should you invest in Real Estate Mogul?

REM is not the cheapest product around; the elite membership will cost you almost $200/month. However, you do get a lot of advice and support from a number of experts. You also get templates to use during your own negotiations with house sellers and buyers.

As a result, REM is a worthwhile product to purchase if you’ve been exploring real estate investment and require sage advice and information. While there are some kinks with the product, it appears that, overall, REM is a sound investment.