Complaint Review: Investors United School Of Real Estate - Baltimore Maryland

Is Investors United (IU) really a rip off? I can settle
that one easy, but before I do let me tell you a little about my background
with IU. After several years of real estate investing, I enrolled in Investors
United School of Real Estate in 2007. Later that same year I became an auction
associate for the schools auction company, Auction Brokers. The following year
I taught and mentored students at IU. I enjoyed all of this immensely and
made some decent money. No regrets. With that as a brief introduction, let me
give a qualified and objective review of the school.

First of all, lets get the big question out of the way:
Is Investors United a rip off?

No. A rip off is when you pay for something but dont
receive it. And if you accept that simple definition, then rest assured IU is
not a rip off. You will get exactly what you pay for. But you can spare
yourself any surprises by knowing upfront exactly what you are paying for.

IU give you your moneys worth yet that does not mean this business is right for
everyone. IU teaches one particular type of business, real estate investing. There
are many different ways to conduct this business (and IU will teach you many of
these) but it all falls under the umbrella of real estate. I dont believe
there is any one business in the world that is right for everyone. So youll
need to seriously consider if this one is right for you. Do you love real
estate? Do you like dealing with all kinds of people? And visiting them at
their homes? Have you always enjoyed looking at different properties regardless
of condition?

Maybe you dont know the answers to those questions just
yet. Thats okay. But carefully consider the following pros and cons of both
real estate investing in general, and attendance at IU in particular. Ill pull
no punches and shoot it to you straight. I do this because if you get into this
business and hate it, youll probably stop paying the tuition youll owe. That
helps neither you nor IU. So lets take a good look at what youre getting into
before you make the big leap.  

First, the pros. IU has a building chock full of real
estate investing resources. They have a computer room that, while a bit dated,
serves the purpose. Youll have access to comparable sales by a licensed real
estate agent, printers, faxes, and many other online resources to help market
your real estate business and get you results. There is also a comprehensive
library with hundreds of works, from the classics in investing to some of the
more modern works. Mentoring is included and they will walk you through deals
until you understand them inside and out.

And its very organized. The school breaks the
instruction into blocks much like a college. And rest assured, if youve got
the dough, you can go. Youll study tax strategies, income producing property, notes,
rehabbing, and more. The instructors are top notch and include accountants,
attorneys, engineers, and experienced real estate investors. Picking their
brain is worth its weight in gold. As with any school, some instructors are
more knowledgeable than others but youll quickly learn whos who.

As with anything, there are some cons. First and foremost
(and this relates to the business only, not necessarily the school) - there is
a huge time commitment. In order to do real estate investing right (i.e.
profitably), you need to spend a lot
of your extra time working on it. Any business requires work in order to make
it. Real estate investing is no different. If you think you can do this by
putting in just 3-5 hours a week, please
believe me when I say youre only kidding yourself. Ive seen so many
underestimate the time commitment and give up as a result. Remember if anything
was that easy, everyone would already be doing it.

You really need to approach this like a second job. Plan
to spend at least 20 hours a week working in it. If you spend less than that,
you might hit something once in a while (even a broken clock is correct twice a
day). But more likely, youre going to end up frustrated. Spend more time, and
you just increase your chances of making a profit.

Ive found that the only people who ever told me I could
do it in less time were the same ones trying to sell me a course or seminar. So
if someone tells you that you can do it in just a few hours a week, ask
yourself: Are they selling a course? If the answer is yes, then you know the perception
of easy profits is likely just part of their marketing.

So what would you be doing during those 20+ hours?
Preparing hundreds if not thousands of mailings, going to the courthouse to
search for leads, working on websites, going through dozens of potential deals
to spot the good ones, running and analyzing comparable sales on each, organizing
all of your records, making phone calls to owners and running through a script.


And you cant do a deal if you dont meet with any
sellers, so count your driving time to and from each potential deal as well as
the meeting time with each seller. The more people you go out and meet, the
better your chances of closing a deal so youll want to meet as many sellers as
possible.

And it would be nice if all of the good deals were
located right in your own neighborhood but of course, that is not the case. If
you get a good lead on the other side of the state, you should drive out there.
Some of my best deals were over an hour or more from my home. Round trip travel
plus an hour or more with the sellers, theres at least three hours to check
out just one lead.

All of this takes time. Its not a bad thing, just plan
on it. I emphasize this at the outset because Ive seen the time factor act as
the downfall for many would-be investors. And this is why I think IU unfairly
gets a bad rap sometimes. Unfortunately, many students sign up and pay the fee
expecting a truck full of money to back up to their house. They expect IU will
hand them a script and if they simply follow it, they will make easy money. It
just doesnt work that way. If you cant find the time to work this business
hard, youre dead in the water as a real estate investor. If you have a lot of
extra money you can outsource most of this but you need one or the other. Time
or money. Ive personally found that I can make as much or more through online
businesses without ever leaving my house. But you have to decide whats right
for you.

Another factor to consider is the market. Its much
tougher now than it was when I started in 2007. Back then, you could throw a
dart at a map, buy the house, and sell it for a profit. Its much harder but not
impossible - to do that now. Youll need to analyze and talk to an average of
20 potential deals before you have something worth pursuing. Again, not a bad
thing at all, just bring that level of perseverance to this business and youll
do fine.

One final word of caution Ill mention is the
competition. I met some great investors at IU, but there were a few sharks in
the waters, too. For example, I once had a property under contract from a
student I later learned had falsified some of the key numbers. This was not the
schools fault as each student is free to conduct their own business with other
students. But as a newbie investor, I did not yet know how to do my own
research so I almost lost several thousand dollars. Once I learned how, I ran
those numbers and realized I had been duped. And thats what I get for running
off to do a deal before I really knew what I was doing. Fortunately for me, the
school put some pressure on the other student and I lost nothing.

Another time a new student asked to come with me on an
appointment with a client. She wanted to learn how it was done and watched as I
walked the home seller through the auction paperwork. Everything was signed and
an auction date scheduled. I spent the next several weeks marketing it, filing
paperwork, fielding calls from potential auction buyers, putting up signs, etc.
And I never heard from the student regarding that transaction again until auction
day six weeks later. She showed up at the auction and watched happily as it
sold.

I appreciated her show of support...until she told me the
real reason she was there. She demanded half of my commission check because, in
her mind, we were partners on the deal. When I explained that I had done all
the work on the deal while she was absent, she objected. In her view, the mere
fact that she came along with me when I signed the deal was enough to
constitute an equity partnership. To placate her and end the standoff, I
offered her a few hundred bucks for showing up at the signing, but that wasnt
enough. She wanted half (which would have been several thousand). I refused,
and she threatened to take me to court.

In the end, the deal never closed because the buyers
backed out. So there was no commission to fight over. But I share these two
stories because, as profitable as real estate investing can be, it is also very
cutthroat. But for the right person willing to work hard and spend their time,
there is certainly money to be made. There are few other endeavors that can net
you the kind of profits real estate investing can. And so if youre inclined to
do this and want to go to one place where resources abound, IU would be an
excellent choice.

As with anything, do your homework so you know what
youre getting into. Be aware of the above and protect yourself. And then once
you take the plunge, jump in with both feet and never look back. 

Thank you for investing the time to do your homework about our school - "America's 1st and only brick-and-mortar school for real estate investing."  In doing your research, you will find that IU is celebrating 30 years in business in 2010.  Recently, we were awarded an A+ Rating by the Better Business Bureau - higher than most area universities.  We have also received Citations for good work in the community by the Governor of Maryland and the Mayor of Baltimore.

You can check out some of our many reviews, endorsements, and testimonials here:
http://www.InvestorsUnited.com/Endorsments.shtml

And if you are seriously considering a formal real estate investment education, be sure to take a moment to download our free Consumer Guide entitled "6 Vital Questions to Ask before Investing in a Real Estate Investing Course."  http://www.InvestorsUnited.com/6VitalQuestions.shtml

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My name is Ian Parish and I serve the school as President.  My original 2007 response to the complaint by Mr. Keith Byrd no longer appears on this Web site, so I am posting my response again.

My goal as President is to ensure the success of our school by building a solid foundation of successful students.  I care about the success of every one of my students, so I am deeply disappointed by the situation with Mr. Byrd.  I hope that Mr. Byrd will contact me directly to continue our conversation in a more positive light.

The heart of the matter is that Mr. Byrd applied, was accepted, and enrolled in our school without having first asked permission from his wife, Mrs. Byrd.  After attending classes and using our resources for a period of time, Mr. Byrd was pressured by his spouse to return money he used for tuition, so he invented issues with the school to attempt to obtain a refund.  Mr. Byrd was not entitled to a refund because he did not follow the few simple terms of our written refund policy.

Now to address each of Mr. Byrd's "issues":

The first issue Mr. Byrd brought up was that he contacted our CEO to ask a question about investing, but he received a return call from our Resident Instructor.  Our Resident Instructor is an accomplished, credentialed real estate owner and investor, and his job is to provide professional and timely guidance to Members in need.  Our CEO was taking an appointment when Mr. Byrd called, so rather than making him wait our Resident Instuctor contacted Mr. Byrd to answer his question immediately.

Mr. Byrd also brought up the issue of receiving inconsistent answers to a question.  On separate occasions at his request, Mr. Byrd met with various staff members including me, to ask our opinion of how best to get started as a real estate investor.  Each of us pointed to the menu of prospecting methods that were taught and reviewed in our Orientation, and each of us highlighted our preferred prospecting methods.  Each of us explained to Mr. Byrd that he would have to select and implement one or two of the methods explained.

Another issue, Mr. Byrd asserted that a certain instructor did not show up for the Resource Center Orientation.  His assertion is accurate, but misleading.  That specific instructor was not scheduled to teach that Orientation, however the scheduled instructor arrived on time and conducted the Orientation as planned.

Mr. Byrd also brought up the issue of feeling disconnected and not receiving weekly phone calls from an Investors United instructor.  IU instructors are available seven days a week to take calls and e-mails from Members and even to fund transactions when appropriate; however, never was it promised or indicated that instructors would call each Member on a weekly basis.  Such is an unreasonable expectation for any institution of higher learning.  Also unreasonable was Mr. Byrds expectation of immediate assistance when he arrived at the school without an appointment and outside of normal Mastermind Workshop hours.

Another issue raised by Mr. Byrd had to do with organization at the school.  Our program is extremely organized.  New Members are guided verbally and in writing to 1) attend orientation, 2) attend classes, and 3) stay in weekly contact with our Resident Instructors for regular, personal coaching.

Mr. Byrd complained about the schools refund policy as well.  Refunds are offered under the terms of our short, written Guarantee (and in cases of death or incapacity.)  According to the Guarantee, if Members attend the majority of classes, make offers, and meet with our instructors regularly and do not earn at least their tuition, they are entitled to a refund.  Mr. Byrd was not entitled to a refund because he had not completed his courses or made any offers.

When Mr. Byrd approached our CFO, Colleen Parrish, about the refund, Mrs. Parrish explained the situation and encouraged him to follow through with the program, to stay in contact with our instructors, and to make regular offers - sound advice and his best course of action.  Mrs. Parrish also offered Mr. Byrd the alternative of a leave of absence and special tuition accomodations.  In short order, Mr. Byrd became aggressive and verbally abusive.  Mrs. Parrish called me to diffuse the situation.

I offered to release Mr. Byrd from the balance of his financial commitment to the school and I also offered to buy back Mr. Byrds used textbooks.  Mr. Byrd indicated that none of our gestures were acceptable, he voiced several vulgarities, and he left the campus.  A few days later, Mr. Byrd informed me of his post on RipoffReport.com and offered to retract his complaint in exchange for a refund.

Mr. Byrds inappropriate and threatening behavior to our staff, his failure to honor his agreement with our school, and his attempt at blackmail provide insight into his character.  In spite of his contempt and, frankly, our Admissions oversight, we made a commitment to Mr. Byrd when we accepted his application for enrollment and I will work with him to the best of my ability if his tuition is brought current.

Finally, I wish to note that Mr. Byrd is correct about one point - do your research before applying to our school, learn about our credentials, read our Guarantee, and meet our Members.  There is a good reason why IU has been around 30 years and why we still say, "You will succeed, guaranteed."

I signed up with the Investors United School of Real Estate in Baltimore MD,which touted itself on being the first actual school for Real Estate Investing in the country and hailed the moto 'You Earn While You Learn' and after reviewing their website and personally visiting the school from Northern New Jersey. I met with the CEO and President Charles & Ian Parrish to discuss my expectations in personal mentorship and training. I was told by the CEO Charles Parrish after speaking with him about my personal situation and coming from New Jersey that he would work with me personally and even call his real estate contacts in New Jersey to help me get started. I then signed up on May.9,2007 with Colleen Parrish (CFO) by putting $2,500 as a down payment and monthly payments of $420 which would begin on June.20,2007 for 36 months for a tuition total of $15,127.21. I felt confident that I would be able to payoff my tuition quickly with my hard work and Charles Parrish working with me personally. I begin to attend the weekly classes and follow the steps I was told to do ,but when I had questions relating to locating properties via public records.Ex:NJ-Landlord-Tenant Court in Maryland its called Rent Court and they have different procedures to acquiring the name and addresses of property owners which I spoke with Charles Parrish about his response was I didnt know what I was talking about and left it at that. Also when I tried to send him a Property Data Form to review about a possible purchase he never responded back but had someone else call me back. The problem was I was being told one thing in classes by the instructor and told by (Pres)Ian Parrish something else and then later being told to work specifically with a Scott Miles who is a Resident Instructor. Now I was scheduled to meet with him on 5/16 and 5/23 for a 'FAST START' Orientation which was supposed to cover Locating Property Owners,Filling out the Property Data Form etc.. I met with the instructor on 5/16 but he never showed up on 5/23 to teach that class and the school had someone else show up to teach me Win2Data which is the computer system used for locating property information within the Maryland Area and being that I'm from New Jersey it wasnt relavant to me. After trying to put some deals together on my own and needing someone to guide me and at least putting in a phone call once a week to see how I'm doing and if I'm having a problem in any area. The above were a few examples of the disconnect I felt with the school overall and I then began to see this school wasnt what I was looking for in terms of being organized and providing you with the one on one personal training I was looking for. When I met with Colleen Parrish with my written resignation and request for refund of $2500 down payment,she told me that It wasnt school policy to refund the money and that the administrative fee was $2,500 and non-refundable.She then called her son in Ian Parrish who repeated the same thing but said he would be willing to buy back the books I received for $295 and I should be happy with that -'CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT'-I then asked them to show me in the contract where it states an 'ADMINISTRATIVE FEE' being $2500 and being non-refundable,the son (Ian Parrish) responded it didnt have to be in writing. I told them I just wanted my $2500 refunded so I can go about my business plus my wife just was laid off as myself was already and that we had 2 children and really needed the money.It was to no avail.I was shocked at the hostile attitude I wa met with from Colleen and Ian Parrish.They were totaly unsympathetic to my personal situation. I told them I myself wasnt happy with the servces offered at Investors United but I in no way will say people wouldnt benefit from the school. Just let this be a word to the wise.Before Signing up with this school ask for in writing the school's success rate and if you are not satisfied what is their refund policy in detail.The lesson learned is 'Everthing that Glitters Aint Gold'