Charles Parrish and Ian Parrish’s Investors United: Can it Work for You?
Low down on Investors United: Charles and Ian Parrish’s Offering
What’s going on guys? Paul aka Real Estate Spy here. Who’s Paul?
Welcome! -Check this out. Know what my line-up for today is?
Uh…well.. lemme catch ya up.
My phone chimed at 6:45 this morning….text message.
It was Sid (actually Doctor Sid to be exact). I’m doing some work for a medical venture for him. He asked me about a blog post he wants to put up.
I texted back and said I’d call him from my home phone.
>Ring…ring.. he answered. Paul, How’s it goin’?
I told him (shaking off my morning voice). Eh hem…I just woke up. But I gotta get up anyways. I want to work on some things.
What he didn’t know is that I wanted to work on my stuff so I can go kitesurfing this afternoon at the beach. Yep…Leaving here at 11am. Then I’ve gotta run back here so I can do a crossfit workout at 5:30pm. LOL
It is so strange for me now. I used to work with doctors all the time. I felt like I always had to pretend that I was on my “A” game. Now I can be REAL (half groggy and asleep) and help them.
>What made the difference?
>>ONE slick word: SKILL SET (damn that’s two).<<
Ok…Skillset. happy?
The skill set is what I bring to the table and it is worth more than me “just” lookin’ good.
I hung up the phone at 7:15 and got myself a little protein shake and a solid cup of coffee.
Next up for me was a lead generation website that I’m doing for another doctor. He is a dermatologist.
None of it’s hard, and guess what I’m still in my pajamas aka comfy sweats.
As a matter of fact, I’m going straight to my bathing suit from these pajamas. Headed to a beautiful session on Cocoa Beach.
GOTTA love what I do.
My financial adviser is in the Florida Keys this morning also kiteboarding. Sitting across from him at breakfast not too long ago, he said, “Paul, I don’t see many businesses out there that I like, but I like yours!”
So how did I get here? After losing my ass in REI, I got a little lucky and was pretty patient in the precarious process of rebuilding my life…post “Losing It All.” talk about PTSD.
Not pokin’ fun. Just saying it really sucks and rebuilding wasn’t easy.
What changed?
Enter: a super talented techy buddy…
He helped me to learn how to do business online. If you want to know more about what I am up to these days and how I generate revenue online, check out the “recommended resources” info at the top of the page.
Now on to my review on Investor’s United.
Best of luck to ya! I hope you win and find what you are looking for.
Investors United Investment Training Programs
Charles and Ian Parrish Bio and Background
Today I’m looking at Investors United. The backbone and CEO of this organization is Charles Parrish and he claims to be one of the most experienced and accomplished real estate investors in the United States. Auction Brokers is also one of Charles Parrish’s organizations. He is also active in the Maryland Real Estate Investors Association. It is clear that he knows how to buy real estate since his personal site is geared to getting individuals out of their real estate woes by offering to pay cash for their property.
The president of the organization is Ian Charles Parrish (Charles Parrish’s son). He is a young dynamic speaker with his own website.
He comes off as a real go-getter real estate professional and it makes sense why people would flock to him to learn the art of real estate investing.
They have software IURealist to automate the process which is a real estate data system.
Baltimore MD based Real Estate School PRODUCTS & RESOURCES
Investors United has a number of educational opportunities, all clearly delineated at its website, United Investors.com. These can be found under the Learning Center tab and also under Personal Consulting.
Consulting services are divided into two categories, the premier program and independent individual consulting by session.
The premier program is 12 months long and is considered the most comprehensive real estate investment training available, according to the website. For an entire year of coaching, the cost is $8988. Course hours total: 108. Group consultations happen once weekly and program and personal consulting happen by appointment.
The premier program offers unlimited access to group consulting sessions for 12 months, access to all primary courses and specialized courses in the learning center, investor tools and resources, ongoing support through membership in the Investors United alumni association, and individual consulting sessions by appointment.
There is an admissions interview process In order to be accepted into the premier program. Graduates of the premier program may participate in course refreshers, legislative updates, resource upgrades, and continuous consulting through the alumni association.
Individual consulting sessions are 30 minutes in length and occur either on campus or by phone or online. These consulting sessions are for real estate buyers and sellers of all levels of experience.
Consultants at Investors United have a combined total of 500 years and over $1 billion in investing experience. The one-on-one consulting sessions offer real-world solutions for real estate investors, according to the website. Charge for these personal consulting sessions is $150 per half hour.
Classes: Learn about Fannie Mae (FNMA) -Basics to Advanced
United Investors has several primary courses available. They are committed to their students being able to come in with all types of different backgrounds and earn as you learn.
Whether you are just learning about Fannie Mae or have done frequent flips and financing deals, they offer to teach you the next level.
Power Prospecting is a 10-hour online course which is self-paced. It costs $632. In the course, participants learn:
- how to generate quality off-market leads within 24 hours
- 52 ways to uncover motivated sellers in any market in any area
- Setting a market plan on autopilot so leads come to you
- Assembling a prospecting team to multiply income
- Identifying opportunities in commercial and high dollar arenas
Negotiating real estate is a 10-hour online course that costs $632.
This course teaches:
- The fundamental habits of successful negotiators
- Common negotiating blunders that can ruin your chances to profit
- Positions of advantage in negotiation and how to gain them
- Uncovering your opponent’s real motivation
- 52 methods of negotiation that win better terms more often
Business entities and tax strategies is a 10 hour online class for $474. In this course participants learn:
- how to write a real estate investing business plan,
- Choosing the best business entity for your real estate investments
- Self-directed IRAs and their value to real estate investors
- Selling real estate tax-free using 1031 exchanges and other methods
- Tax saving techniques in any real estate owner can use
Property inspection and analysis is a 10 hour online class for $632.
The course teaches methods for inspecting real estate, Identifying and mitigating environmental issues, Repair, and renovation cost estimation, Analyzing return on investment for residential and commercial properties.
Contract engineering is a 14-hour online course for $1106. This course covers how to read write and speak real estate contract language, Key points of negotiation in any real estate contract, 52 creative financing methods for funding transactions, Controlling real estate without purchase or risk, and Vital contract clauses for purchase the assignment and sale.
Control and role is a five hour online class time course. The cost is about $450.
Funding strategies for real estate investors is a five-hour online class. The cost is $299. This course teaches:
- How to make offers on real estate without spending any money
- Expanding your options through groups and partnerships
- Methods of negotiation that illuminate the need for financing
- Generating profits from zero equity and leveraged properties
- Self-directed IRAs tax-deferred exchanges and tax shelters that work for you.
United Investors has a somewhat active YouTube presence with videos posted every few months or so.
You can listen to podcasts by Charles Parrish and Ian Charles Parrish, the founders of Investors United, on iTunes under their RealSmart channel. However, it’s not extensive or current. There are six podcasts posted, mostly from 2012. I couldn’t find many other podcasts on the typical sites by either gentleman.
It’s a little hard to tell how currently active the Investors United school is because the event menu only shows events from 2014.
Investors United a Scam? Complaints and Testimonials
A scam? nah. I don’t think so.
Investors United is in good standing with the Better Business Bureau, although there is one complaint and one negative review. The complaint was answered by the company in an extensive response that makes it appear as if the complaint is unfounded and the request for a refund unreasonable.
The negative experience review was posted in August 2105. Here are a few excerpts:
“Overall, my experience with Investors United was a disappointment. Appearances are excellent but, I think, most of that was me believing in me. As a perfect example of a student who could be held up as a model, poor but willing, they could not earn me anything and the guaranteed success never came to pass. If asked, I would tell everyone to avoid this school.”
PissedConsumer.com and RipOffReport.com both have several complaints posted. Investors United responded in a lengthy way to the complaint on RipOffReport but not to the other complaint.
Typically, when I see complaints posted at the BBB and various gripe sites, I don’t see a response from the company being targeted. The fact that United Investors has taken the time to respond in depth to the complaints sets it apart from the rest of the crowd, in my opinion.
I have found a couple of positive reviews, including two on Yelp. Here’s one from 2015:
I’ve been taking their classes and learning a lot and making money with my own deals. Staff is friendly and so much more knowledgable and experienced than probably anyone else who claims to teach this stuff. They have partnered with me or advised me each step of the way. Highly recommend you check it out. I wish I had done so sooner!
This is a company that’s been around for several decades. They appear to be solid, despite some of the negative reviews. Still, before signing up and forking over the big bucks, do your homework, read the fine print, and keep your eyes open.
CONCLUSION
Looks like there’s a ton of good info to be had through this experienced company, and . . . be smart and check everything out before you whip out the credit card.
All the best to ya!
-Paul (The Real Estate Spy)
