Is Seth William’s Offering right for YOU?
Is the Grass Really Greener
Seth Williams is a real estate coach, guru and entrepreneur… and he is really making a splash these days in the REI world.
He offers his RETipster info and Youtube channel for those interested in learning more on real estate investing, but is what he is offering right for you?
Be careful….when you are getting into real estate investing!
Do your due diligence before the REI doberman dawgs downright eat you for lunch. (I learned the hard way. You don’t have to.) You can read my story if you’d like. Click here.
By the way, Good …no….GREAT job getting out there and checking some reviews before diving in.
I think you will get a lot out of what I have to say on this blog, and it might just turn your passion for being your own boss into something amazing.
Seth Williams…pretty cool dude no doubt, but will I be following him around the social media highways and byways?
UH, NO….
=>Why?
…..Enter James> The video explains everything. Once you finish, you can read the “is it greener on the other side” nitty gritty on Seth below.
(eliminate all distractions for the next 3 minutes and 2 seconds)
Here is the Review:
A Look at Seth Williams Real Estate Guru-ness
There’s lot of downright likable people out there, and Seth Williams is one of those.
He’s the kind of guy you’d grab a beer with or a cuppa joe. Maybe even go to the ballfield with and let the kids do their thing while you throw around real estate ideas.
I think Williams’s accessability comes from the fact that he’s just so open with his information.
He’s got that abundance mentality: like he actually believes there’s enough business for everyone and he honestly wants to help you get where you want to go. For reals.
I’m not sure where he gets the motivation for his share-fest. I’ve been researching him for a while now and I’m not digging up much on his family or mentors or driving forces.
The most I have found is that he started doing real estate deals in college, in 2005 and 2006. (That’s where he first explored land investments because the traditional real estate market was hot and those good deals were hard to find.)
Anyway, regardless of the fact that I suck at digging up interesting stuff about his personal history—and why it makes him such an open guy—Williams makes available a crap-load of totally free information out there, and if you’ve got the internet, you’ve got access to it.
Williams is probably best known as the man behind RETipster.com, a quality, reader-friendly, info-packed real estate investing blog.
Most months, he posts one article per week. They’re all in his blog archives, in case you’re new to the site and want to read everything you missed.
Here are some sample titles from blogs posted in 2015:
· The Real Estate Professional’s Guide to Landscape Photography (Dec 21);
· Using Redfin to Value Vacant Land (Nov 16);
· What’s Your Diversification Strategy? (Oct 24);
· How to Analyze Rental Properties on Your Phone in Just 2 Minutes (Sep 7);
· The Art of Building a Buyers List (Jun 22 & 29);
· Nobody is Accepting My Offers . . . Now What? (May 12);
· Build a Real Estate Website in Half the Time with Lead Propeller (Mar 23);
· Truth and Lies About Full Time Real Estate Investing (Jan 7).
Those are just a few articles. The archives begin in November 2012, so there’s a whole lot more than what I just gave you. They aren’t organized by category, except for a few on the “Start Here” tab. It would be awesome if all the blogs were categorized, but I guess you can’t have everything for free.
Real Estate Investing Youtube Channel and Podcasts
Williams has also posted a ton of YouTube videos—68 as of this writing, to be exact. Again, they represent a wealth of information on real estate subjects as diverse as How to Convert a Comma Delimited txt File to a Microsoft Excel xls File (for use with delinquent tax lists that come from a county office) to Building a Buyer’s List.
When it comes to podcasts, I’ve found more by Seth Williams than any other investor I’ve researched to date. Do a quick Google search for Seth Williams podcasts and you’ll find them everywhere . . . .
- InvestFourMore.com (Land Investing and Direct Marketing);
- LandAcademy.com (Winning in the Land Business with RETipster.com Seth Williams);
- BiggerPockets.com (Dirt Cheap Land Flipping and Reaching Motivated Sellers);
- theLandGeek.com (Seth Williams Land Business); and
- LouisvilleGalsRealEstateBlog.com (Seth Williams Podcast–Flipping Land)
- FlippingJunkie.com (How to Flip Vacant Lots, with Seth Williams)
Obviously this guy is getting around, doing lots of interviews, and getting his information out there for the benefit of people like you and me.
If you paid attention to the titles of those podcasts, you noticed a definite theme, right?
Yep, although Seth Williams has his fingers in multiple real estate pots, his thing–what he has become known for–is his focus, experience, and knowledge on doing land deals. He seems to have become the go-to guy for all matters related to flipping land.
Why land deals?
They are a much simpler animal than houses and buildings, Williams says, because it’s just dirt! Also the competition for land deals is generally less than for real estate with structures on them.
Back to the podcasts. . . . Most of the podcasts have notes attached. You can read the notes through if you don’t want to listen to the whole recording. Generally the notes sum up the podcast or at least give the highlights.
Danny Johnson’s interview with Seth Williams is a podcast on FlippingJunkie.com. In this interview, Williams talks about how to find land deals.
He usually begins by looking for properties held by owners that are delinquent on paying taxes. He’ll make offers which sometimes seem laughably low, but are often accepted nevertheless.
“I offer people an Easy button,” Williams says.
Sometimes people just want out. They don’t want the land; they don’t want to deal with the taxes; they just want to be free of the whole thing.
How does Williams find out which property owners are delinquent on taxes? He contacts the county treasurer or tax collector and asks them for a list. Some counties will give the list out without a fuss and some don’t. In Williams’ work area, out of 30 counties, there are only eight to ten that readily produce a tax-delinquency list.
Williams stresses that the list needs to be from that day. It’s a dynamic list (changes quickly), so Williams acts on it that same day.
Once Williams has the list and has weeded out non-prospects, he sends postcards to the rest. Typically he has a 10% response rate, which is outstanding for this type of contact.
Interested in more about doing land deals? Check out those podcasts I listed above, or do your own search for William’s podcasts. He gives a wealth of information.
So what else does Seth Williams offer new investors?
Besides the library of weekly articles on his blog, RETipster.com, there is also a resource page with a whole pile of tools and websites to aid you.
The resources are organized by category:
Property Listing Services
Communications
Website Creation and Online Marketing
Property Research/Organization
Direct Mail and Pulling Lists
Rental Properties
Legal Stuff
Blogs I Follow
Real Estate Courses and Training
Books That Have Changed My Life
I like that he’s totally upfront that if you go to those affiliate links, he will make a small commission. That doesn’t put me off. Instead I look at the fact that he personally uses or has used the products he features. If they weren’t decent products, they wouldn’t be on his site.
So, with all the free stuff that Seth Williams has made available, is there any information he charges for?
What You Will Pay For: RETipster Club
Yep. It’s called The RETipster.Club.
It’s a website, intended to be the best possible resource for aspiring land investors. It contains a 12-week course and a members-only forum.
The 12 modules (one per week) are titled:
Laying the Foundation (Creating Your Game Plan)
How to Find Motivated Sellers and Unbelievable Deals (Let’s Get Down to Business!)
Dealing With Prospects (Responding to Calls and Submissions As They Come In)
How to Write Offers and Get Acceptances (Maneuvering and Negotiating for the Best Possible Deals)
Due Diligence (Clearing the Path for a Trouble Free Closing)
Closing Time (How to Close the Transaction and Take Possession of Your Property)
Getting Your Property Listed, Promoted, and SOLD! (Understanding the Fundamentals That Sell Real Estate Fast)
Seller Financing Strategies (How to Be the Bank and Multiply Your Profits)
Closing the Sale (How to Close the Sale and Get Paid)
Streamlining Your Operation (Taking Your Business to the Next Level)
Tax Strategies for Real Estate Investors (How to Master the Art of Keeping Money in Your Pocket)
Long Term Strategies for Growth (Evolving Your Business Into a Financial Powerhouse)
The cost: $45/month or, for an annual membership, $35/month paid annually.
I looked for independent reviews or testimonies of the course (positive and negative) but came up empty. There’s nothing negative out there about it. There are positive testimonials on Williams’s blog–naturally–and although I often am a bit skeptical of stuff like this (I mean, what else are they going to say?!), I’ll include this one here.
We have learned so much from Seth. My wife and I got into land investing and studied all the content for about a year. With very little money to start with, we sent out our first direct mail campaign which resulted in two deals. We took a leap of faith and purchased the two properties after completing some due diligence. We sold one property almost immediately for a $7,600 profit.
Now we have a business that is generating $3,000 per month on average. We have completed 7 purchases, 4 sales, and 2 pending buys.
I would definitely recommend that anyone who is looking into land investing, GETS HELP. Seth’s course is very detailed and shows you how to do everything from start to finish.
Victor Noriega, Round Rock, TX
That about sums it up for this review of Mr. Williams. He seems like the real deal. His information appears to be solid. He has paid his dues. There are a lot of people out there who trust him (as evidenced by the podcasts he has done for multiple organizations). He’s generous with his knowledge. His charged-for material is reasonably priced.
Ok, the rest is up to you! Good luck!
