The "riches" and newly renamed "wealth builders" programs are very well marketed and rely on 3 value propositions.
1. The likeability and believability of Jim Toner
2. The testimony of former students.
3. The NETWORK
Jim is a very nice man, but he is more a huckster than he is a guru. His forte is sales and a very self deprecating personality that exudes honesty. The success statements are pretty much worthless; because any program will have some successes and even the worst are able to assemble impressive personal testimonies (even completely worthless medical products have their testimonials). More about the NETWORK later.
The course itself has nothing that isn't in any basic flipping book. It actually glosses over many nitty gritty issues simply because there's not enough time in the 2 day course to cover them all. The lack of depth is dismissed because each student is assigned a "mentor" who will supposedly assist the student if and when they have a problem.
Despite these shortcomings, I purchased the course and didn't feel cheated at the end of the course. I felt that even if there was little information conveyed, I would save more than the cost of the course by utilizing the NETWORK of professionals that were made available to Real Estate Riches Members.
Unfortunately I was never able to find a single person from the NETWORK that was of any use to me. I couldn't even find a responsive real estate agent. My mentor was always involved in his own projects and unless I was interested in working with him on one of his deals he never had time for me.
Jim knows the shortcomings of his program but he is constantly busy trying to maintain his image and getting a steady stream of new prospects into the free seminars. He knows it's a numbers game; for every 5-6 people that show up at a free seminar, he will hook 1. Given the increase in radio ads he has been running, I assume the initial response has dropped off lately.
Best advice to any free seminar attendee is to wait. Wait at least a month before joining. Trust me; he won't reject you if you decide to think it over. I also advise asking for a discount. If it's a choice between $3,000 or $4,000 and nothing. He will accept the discounted tuition.
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