A Review of Real Estate Guru Cameron Dunlap
Hey Wazzup!! It’s Paul the Real Estate Spy. I love to review the latest courses and shiny objects when it comes to real estate investing. I’m pretty excited today!
Why? Well because….
Yesterday was pretty awesome!
I was able to blow out of the house early for some time on the water. I went kiteboarding. (If you don’t know what that is, you can see it in the picture.) I am in the air here.
That is why I love the sport because of the air we catch when we jump. We are all attached to kites as you can see in the background. You can youtube it if you have never seen it.
The reason I mention it is because Adura Sanya (Real Estate Investor) talks about designing your work around the things you love and the lifestyle you want.
–Heck for that matter Dave Ramsey tells us he has an integrated lifestyle, which means that the lines are blurred between work and play.
Because I need a lot of wind to kiteboard..
…around (15 knots or better), I wanted to be able to catch the right wind any time of the day.
>With a J-O-B that is virtually impossible, which brings me to why you are probably here.
Maybe you are looking for a way to set your own schedule….tired of the rat race. That was me. All I can say is thank heavens I met James but more about that later.
Cameron Dunlap was no different. He wanted the time freedom that we want. You know…wake up in the morning and say I’m headed to my favorite spot (mall, beach, mountain, creek, river, lake, trail, shopping locale)…later b!@ches.
Cameron Dunlap
Of course a lot of people looking for the time freedom around the world have found advantages in the real estate market. Whether the market is up or down, people will always need homes, and there will always be homeowners and financial institutions needing to rid themselves of properties they no longer need or can’t afford to keep.
Homes sitting idly on the market cost owners time and money, and this gives investors opportunities to cash in on those assets.
Cameron Dunlap is among the few members of the industry who seems to have quickly learned the tricks of the trade.
His career began in 1993, and within a couple of years, he developed his own following hoping to glean tidbits of his professional wisdom. His current programs being offered to the public may have started off small with a few close friends, but they have grown to receive nationwide acclaim.
Common Hurdles in the Real Estate Market and hence the dilemma.
>>>>This is why as much as I love real estate, I’m OUT! I just found a better way.
Did I say that loud enough? Sorry, gotta stop and repeat. A MUCH BETTER WAY!
Aspiring investors traditionally face the same types of issues in the real estate market.
These are the same problems turning off those interested in the game before they get started and are ultimately responsible for leaving hundreds discouraged after they do enter the field.
Once the remaining few overcome those initial pitfalls, the rest is a downhill race. First time real estate investors can learn more here.
Trust me I know. I took my lumps on all kinds of level for chasing the real estate dream. You can see what I am talking about here.
One of the big problem? >Funding<
The most prominent of these hurdles that will give you a serious kick in the you know what is finances. As the saying goes,
“it takes money to make money”;
the problem is finding that initial funding to successfully get off the ground. At one point in time, investors could purchase a home with the simple promise of a buyer in waiting. As most are painfully aware, the bubble burst a few years ago, leaving lenders suspicious of traditional methods; thus, the market took a very different turn.
Now, buyers are required to either have capital up front or take out a loan in order to proceed with a transaction.
For veteran investors, this may be a simple process, but it’s a definitive roadblock for those who are just getting started. Newcomers have yet to bank enough profit to cover a transaction of this magnitude, and many just don’t have a flawless and well-established credit score to back up their efforts.
Cameron Dunlap has broken new ground in this arena for his students at least so he claims. With his transactional funding program, he provides up to $600,000 to cover home purchases. Though he does charge a deposit, this is refundable following each member’s first successful deal. The amount is said be much smaller than the fees associated with borrowing a substantial amount of money from leery lending institutions.
Cameron Dunlap Proof of Funds Letter
Hopefully you have been around real estate long enough to know that POF doesn’t stand for Plenty of Fish. Wink.
Cameron also offers proof of funds letters, ensuring sellers those making purchases under his tutelage have financing to back up their intentions.
In a world where individuals and lending institutions alike have become wary of financing, these POF’s are often critical to getting the transaction ball rolling. His provisions are said to not be limited by purchase amount, which could be an added bonus for those interested in flipping a property.
Finding Properties to Purchase:
As is the case for prospective buyers looking for a home in which to live, tracking down an investment property isn’t always as simple as looking through the local classifieds.
You know the properties are out there; they just tend to hide. An investor could spend days, or even months, searching for the right purchase without ever finding it.
As an insider, Dunlap has access to a number of avenues the average market-scouring hopeful doesn’t see.
His team seeks out new listings, and sends this information to him. He then passes those offerings along to his students for the taking.
Securing a Buyer:
Yeah, so you gotta have someone to drop some cash to make this whole thing fly. My college professor called it the BFS.
BFS = Bigger Fool Syndrome. You just have to find someone who is a bigger fool than you are and willing to spend more than you were on the same house you bought.
Time is money, so sitting on a home for years while trying to find a buyer costs the owner profit and hinders countless new transactions along the way. Having a sure-fire purchaser going into a deal is the dream of virtually all investors, but this is rarely a reality. Dunlap discovered this harsh fact early on in his career and set about resolving the matter.
The result has been incorporated into his teachings. He happens to keep a directory of buyers on standby for such situations. Should one purchaser fall through, he has another in waiting for most properties. Once a home is purchased, this new listing is sent to his buyers list. Dunlap aids his followers in creating lists of their own, taking much of the guesswork out of moving a property after purchase.
Finding an Actual Deal:
Some deals are certainly too good to be true. If a home is priced far too low, something is typically amiss. In the event the opposite is at hand, chances are it’s not going to sell for a profit. No one wants to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars into an investment only to learn after the fact it’s worth half what was spent. Dunlap has also worked out this kink in the system.
Those bird-dogs seeking out properties send him pricing and information surrounding them. He takes all factors into consideration before determining if an actual bargain truly exists. If he decides the property is worth the investment, he then moves forward; otherwise, he lets the sleeping dog lie.
Real estate investors develop this skill over time and with considerable research, but it’s not something ingrained in everyone from the beginning. Dunlap uses knowledge and experience honed over time to assist students in this leg of the process while also helping them establish it for themselves. This gives them an advantage in the beginning and fosters their own understanding of the market.
Branching Out
For investors, the real estate sector has divided into two distinct branches: renting and flipping.
Each has its own set of rewards and drawbacks. For the most part, the best decision for an individual investor depends on factors such as where he or she lives, the state of the market at the time of purchase and just how much time and effort that individual is willing to put into the venture.
Purchasing a home to flip generally entails acquiring the property for a low price knowing ahead of time it’s going to take some work to whip it into shape. The key to making money on an endeavor like this is finding an inexpensive house and being able to have remodeling done for a reasonable cost whether hiring contractors or making it a DIY project. Either way, it’s going to take some time, and this means profiting may not happen immediately.
Still, if carried out correctly, the investor stands to make considerable gains upon selling.
Purchasing a move-in ready property with the intention of renting it to tenants tends to be quite a bit more costly upfront. Taxes and continual maintenance also come into play. These financial and physical responsibilities often lead investors up the previously mentioned path instead of choosing to become a landlord, but benefits exist here as well.
Providing a suitable tenant is found, a steady stream of income can be generated through a rental property and is typically enough to cover routine maintenance, taxes and other accountabilities while seeing some degree of profit throughout the journey. Plenty of resources are available for seeking out only tenants with spotless track records of taking care of a home and credit histories indicative of paying their rent on time every month.
Cameron Dunlap’s Contributions
Students of Dunlap’s methodologies have quite a few resources at their disposal.
Aside from the benefit of his professional experience, he has developed tools to make the process considerably more streamlined for would-be investors. Since he has firsthand knowledge of the market, he is well aware of the typical pitfalls of the industry and works to help students bulldoze past them.
Cameron Dunlap’s iFlip
The most prominently marketed of Dunlap’s offerings is his iFlip program. Using technology to his own benefit as well as that of his followers, he has developed this particular tool to take hours and miles of legwork out of investing. This program is the culmination of those previously mentioned aspects of purchasing and selling a home.
The iFlip program is essentially a real estate oriented data management system. It takes in information about new homes being listed at reasonable prices, sent through industry birddogs, and forwards this to the end user. Should they turn out to be acceptable properties, the user can make an offer; at the same time, it automatically pays the informant for his time and effort.
With money from Dunlap’s transactional funding, the investor can make a purchase and send it immediately to a waiting list of buyers. He mentions this program consolidates 40 hours or more of work into an average of two hours. It also takes a lot of the risk factor out of the process.
Support
Dunlap also keeps those taking the rental route in mind. He offers links on his website to assist with finding tenants. These also provide aid in performing background checks, creating rental applications and contracts and other vital elements in this sector.
Cameron Direct
The Cameron Direct website is a resource offered exclusively to Dunlap’s students.
This site provides an array of relevant information for those looking to make a living in real estate investment. Aside from additional help with screening options, members will find educational tools, around the clock streaming of webinars, opportunities to contact live representatives for support and blog posts from Dunlap himself. This model reminds me of Phil Pustejovsky.
Data Feed Supplying Cash Buyers
Buyers are essential in the real estate investment chain, but they can be a bit elusive. Dunlap’s program offers an extensive list of cash purchasers. This is updated on a monthly basis for a continual stream of new leads for those who want, or need, to sell an investment property to a reliable buyer.
Live Seminars
Cameron Dunlap uses Webinars to help his students
Webinars are useful tools able to be accessed online at any time, and there is no shortage of these archived to be viewed via Dunlap’s websites geared toward his followers. Still, many need or prefer face-to-face encounters. Dunlap holds boot camp-style training sessions on a regular basis.
Dates and times for these upcoming events are provided to his students. Technology really has made changes to how we do things in our businesses. Without it I don’t think Cameron could have been remotely as successful as he has become.
I recently came across a tool that helped me in my digital expression online. It is called managed wordpress hosting and it is a powerful way to support your business endeavors when you look at hosting options. (just geeking out a little here.)
Other tools and resources which (just so you know) are all inherent to online marketing that Mr. Dunlap offers are:
Newsletters
In addition to those other tools, Dunlap’s program comes with newsletters providing information and answering common questions from students. These address the best times to buy and sell, where to find additional financing should the need arise and numerous other aspects. They also focus on determining which techniques are benefiting investors and changing strategies when one isn’t working well.
Advertising Tips
Difficulty in finding homes for investments has already been mentioned. If no one knows they’re on the market, sellers aren’t going to be able to move them easily. The reason many of those homes are invisible is a lack of advertising. On the other end of the spectrum, few people are willing to buy any type of product from someone they’ve never heard of.
Investors need to make sure their properties are visible once ready to sell. Promoting gives the seller a far broader reach when it comes to potential buyers. As is the case with any company, marketing is also vital to the seller. Investors need to spread the word about themselves as well as their properties.
Through articles, blog posts providing relevant information to readers, links to and from trusted sites pertinent to the industry and even press releases announcing new listings, sellers can establish a name within their field and attract more buyers.
Final Word
With more than 20 years of experience in real estate, Cameron Dunlap has undoubtedly ridden the roller coaster of the industry many times.
Those in his original inner circle realized this early on and quickly began turning to him for advice. This brought him to the realization numerous potential investors needed guidance above and beyond what standard real estate courses would provide.
Dunlap began a more widespread program offering the benefit of his experience to investors. From there, he proceeded to develop numerous tools and resources to make the process faster, easier and far less uncertain for individuals hoping to follow in the footsteps of his own success. His students now have access to an entire network of resources to help them in their endeavors.
