REtipster is a resource and education platform for Seth Williams' land investing strategy. It provides blog articles, regular podcasts, and paid courses. The platform specifically promotes the land flipping business model in real estate investment.
Land flipping involves finding motivated sellers who will sell land properties for 15%-20% of market value. When the close a deal, the land flipper will sell the property at 60% to 90% of its value. The goal is to make a profit. This strategy is also known as “wholesaling” on land.
Investors consider land flipping as a simpler version of house flipping. But, it has its own risks. Raw land’ has higher illiquidity than houses, market volatility, holding costs, and more. According to a Land Academy survey, approximately 30% of land deals fall through. This is because of unforeseen issues, such as zoning restrictions or environmental concerns.
The trickiest part of wholesaling is finding motivated sellers who will accept low ball offers. Seth Williams addresses this with property list acquisition techniques and direct mailing methods.
Reviews to REtipster are generally positive. BiggerPockets reviews of the platform praise its well-structured course and wealth of free resources. Some Reddit comments on REtipster are also favorable. There are currently no external reviews of the platform from popular sites like Trustpilot.
In this REtipster review, we'll cover the platform’s resources and Seth Williams’ background. We'll also cover his land flipping strategy, alongside its feasibility and profitability. In the end, we will present a better alternative to land flipping (through wholesaling in 2024.
REtipster Pros and Cons
Pros
Lifetime access to all resources.
Lots of free resources are available.
The courses are well-structured with different programs catering to all levels of experience.
Cons
Land flipping as a business model is risky and has a high learning curve.
Enormous costs of starting a land flipping business.
Price
REtipster Land Investing Masterclass’ Lifetime Basic costs $1,297 and Lifetime Premium is $1,497. REtipster Land Investing Foundations costs a one-time $597. REtipster Land Elit Masterclass costs a one-time payment of $1,997.
Refund Policy
REtipster has a no refund policy for all of its paid resources. The company can issue a refund in its sole discretion. However, any refund requests beyond 30 days from purchase will be immediately refused.
Origin
REtipster started in 2012.
Reputation
The reviews for REtipster are generally positive, especially in BiggerPockets. REtipster has no other external reviews from popular platforms like Trustpilot.
The course is very well-structured in a completely logical order. I also spent a long time consuming Seth’s free resources before purchasing the course. This is a simple strategy but it is not easy. I agree that the campaign part to find a deal makes it really difficult.
Why Invest in Land?
The reasons why you should invest in land are the following:
Needless to say, Seth Williams favors investing on vacant land for the same reasons. He considers land properties as gold mines. He also wonders why investing in land is not as popular as it should be.
What Does REtipster Offer?
REtipster offers a wealth of resources for land flippers, including blog posts, podcasts, and paid courses. The platform also offers tools and technologies to reduce workload. You can get discounts for these tools if you sign up using REtipster’s links.
What Is the REtipster Podcast?
REtipster Podcast is a media program that provides insights on money making in real estate. Hosted by Seth Williams, the podcast aims to offer transparency and valuable information. The episodes present how he manages his land investing business and rental property portfolio. The program features the following:
You can easily access the REtipster Podcast episodes through YouTube or the website. If you want to get notified about each new episode, you can opt-in your email through REtipster’s podcast page or subscribe to his YouTube channel.
What Is the RETipster Blog?
The REtipster Blog is a comprehensive resource for real estate investors. It offers:
What Is the REtipster Land Investing Masterclass?
The REtipster Land Investing Masterclass is a comprehensive course that provides:
Seth clarifies that the information Land Investing Masterclass provides is available in bits through his blogs and podcasts. The masterclass serves as a structured guide in land flipping business that his followers requested.
The course modules consist of the following:
In Module one, Seth introduces the course and covers setting up your business. He'll teach you how to set up your business phone, mailing address, and website.
Module 2 covers Seth's list acquisition techniques, sorting your lists, and mailing methods.
In this module, you will learn how to respond to calls from sellers and submitting offers.
Modules 5 discusses conducting diligence when your offer is accepted. It also covers how to determine the market value of a property and other important information.
Module 6 discusses various closing methods, such as remote or in-person, closing with a title insurance but without a closing agent, and with a closing agent. It also covers how to buy land from a dead person.
Module 7 will teach you how to write listings and how to present your property with great pictures. You will learn about the pricing mistakes you should avoid, best practices to sell your property quickly, and how to deal with issues if your land won't sell. This part will also teach you how to leverage agents when selling.
Module 8 is all about seller financing. It covers closing through a mortgage, deed of trust, and a land contract.
This module covers the proper disclosures and documentations in closing a sale. It will also discuss how to transfer funds securely and the options of closing with a title company or an attorney.
Module 10 is about scaling your land investing business. It talks about getting bigger land deals, building a team, and an outsourcing system.
Module 10 is all about taxes, from finding the right accountant, avoiding heavy tax burden, self-directed Roth IRA, and land donations. It also covers 1031 strategies for land investors.
Module is about setting up your long-term goals in land investing. It also discusses the effects of growing competition in this industry.
REtipster Land Investing Masterclass’ Lifetime Basic costs $1,297. Lifetime Premium costs $1,497, which includes monthly coaching calls, Mindshare Meetup Library access, and all the bonus models. Lifetime Basic Members can also upgrade to Lifetime Premium by paying the remaining amount.
What Is the REtipster Land Investing Foundations?
REtipster Land Investing Foundations is a beginner course on land investing that doesn’t focus on any specific strategy. Instead, the course delves on basic concepts, terminologies, and tools for land investing.
Here’s the outline of the REtipster Land Investing Foundations modules:
Module 1 introduces land investing. It also set expectations for the whole course.
Module 2 discusses the reasons why you should invest in land, the myths surrounding this industry, and the different roadmaps for land investors.
This module consists of all important terminologies related to land investing. It also teaches you about the finding the right land professionals to seek help from.
In this module, you will learn different land investing strategies from land flipping, buy-and-hold, and value adding.
Module 5 is about starting up your land investing business, from setting up a phone system, email, and a website. You will also learn about the costs of entering this industry.
Module 6 teaches you about finding a good market for land, conducting due diligence, and determining the value of vacant land.
Module 7 informs you about the best tools, software, and service for land research.
This part teaches you about the next steps that you should take after learning the basics of land investing. It also includes all the bonuses of this course.
The course’s FAQ clarifies that this is not a land flipping course. Those who want to learn more about land flipping as a strategy should enroll in the Land Investing Masterclass instead. This course only briefly covers land investing strategies, including flipping, value-adding, land entitlements, and others. With that said, we can’t consider Land Investing Foundations as a simple shorter version of Land Investing Masterclass either.
REtipster Land Investing Foundations costs a one time $597.
What Is the REtipster Land Elite Masterclass?
REtipster Land Elite Masterclass is a land investing course dedicated to intermediate and advanced investors. This course aims to teach students to bring their land flipping business to the next level. It covers advanced marketing, legal, closing, and financing strategies.
The course module consists of the following:
This course teaches you the advanced marketing and lead generation methods beyond direct mailing. It covers text marketing, cold calling, ringless voicemail, and more. This part also includes a complete guide to seller negotiation and deal closing. The land coaches Callan Faulkner, Joe Roberts, and Ajay Sharma facilitate module 1.
Module 2 includes a title insurance guidebook and lessons on land liability insurance, professional liability, and trespassing signs. It also teaches you how to register as a foreign entity.
Module 3 teaches you how to increase your land's value through rezoning and subdividing. This part is taught by Mike Marshall, Neil Clements, and Chuck Dreison.
Module 4 discusses contract assignments, double closing, and the use of an option agreement. In also includes some case studies related to these topics.
Module 5 teaches you about land valuation using tools like PRYCD, Price Boss, Pebble, and more.
In module 5, you will learn about various funding opportunities and investment partnerships. You will receive the lessons from subject matter experts, including Reid Kurtenbach, Steve Hodgdon, and Drew Haney.
Module 7 covers traditional financing options, partnership structures, and other funding solutions. It also talks about debt and if it's good or bad thing for land investors.
Module 8 is about advanced seller financing methods taught by Eric Scharaga and Max Bailey.
Module 9 introduces CRM systems, such as Hivemind, Airtable, and Zapier.
Since Land Elite Masterclass is considered an advanced course, participants are expected to have finished Land Investing Masterclass. They should also have decent success in land flipping and closed several deals. The program costs a one-time payment of $1,997.
What Are the Reviews For REtipster?
The reviews for REtipster are generally positive, especially in BiggerPockets. They talk about how well-structured Seth Williams’ courses are, and the great value of its content at lower price compared to other land investing coaches. They also praise the ton of resources that the REtipster website provides for free.
Here’s an example of a REtipster review from BiggerPockets.
This is a response to a BiggerPocket member inquiring about Seth Williams’ course. Like many of Seth’s students, this member was also attracted to REtipster's free content before finally buying any of his courses.
Here’s another example of the same experience.
Seth Williams has built a considerable following before releasing his courses. He even said that he rolled the course due to the requests from his followers for a structured course.
Surprisingly, even the skeptic Redditors have a positive view of REtipster.
Aside from these, further REtipster success stories and testimonials are limited to what is published on its website.
Who Is Seth Williams?
Seth Williams is a real estate investor, online educator, and content creator. He’s been a student of the real estate investing game for over a decade, supporting land flipping as a strategy. Seth is the founder of REtipster.
Unfortunately, there is limited information about Seth Williams’ except for his involvement in the real estate business. He made his first real estate investment in 2006 and experienced the housing market crash in 2008. Seth learned about the land flipping around the same year, learning from sources like FlippingHomes by Steve Cook. This helped him discover raw land’s advantages over the more popular property investments.
He was also known to be a student of Jack Bosch and other prominent real estate coaches. Seth started REtipster in 2012, drawing inspiration from bloggers like Pat Flynn. The platform eventually became a community. This is where Seth released his Land Investing Masterclass to provide a structured form for his teachings. Beyond land properties, he later expanded his portfolio to self-storage facilities.
Seth Williams graduated from Calvin University. He's got a bachelor’s degree in Business and Communications. He also acquired an MBA from Northwood University. In his MBA, Seth majored in Business Administration, Management, and Operations. Seth Williams is currently based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States.
Seth Williams' Land Flipping Strategy
Seth Williams’ land flipping strategy can be characterized as “wholesaling” of land properties. Like other land flipping coaches like Jack Bosch, Seth supports a strategy of finding off-market land properties. He aims to buy these properties at an extremely low-ball offer from motivated sellers.
For this strategy to work, a land flipper must acquire a property at 15% to 20% of its actual market value. The land flipper will then sell the property at a price that is still lower than its market value for a faster turnaround. They can also use seller financing for long-term cash flow.
From Seth Williams’ definition, motivated sellers are those who want to get rid of their land properties no matter how small the offer. To find these sellers, Seth supports acquiring leads from each county’s Tax Delinquent Lists. He also promotes online data sources to get the same information. Seth outlines the pros and cons of both options (county lists vs. data platforms).
What really matters is how you filter these lists for a more fruitful campaign. According to Seth Williams, filtering out properties with environmental issues or zoning restrictions can increase the success rate of your campaigns by up to 20%. There are more criteria that he laid out to slim down your mailing list and save your campaign budget.
Like Jack Bosch, he also favors direct mailing to get in touch with property owners. Seth teaches both methods of sending neutral letters using postcards and/or blind offers. Like his list acquisition lessons, he doesn’t favor either of these methods. Instead, Seth outlines the pros and cons of each. When closing deals, Seth advises his students to seek the help of closing agents for more seamless transactions.
The Biggest Challenge of Land Flipping
The necessity of closing deals at a “wholesale” price comes from the enormous cost of the whole land flipping cycle. Otherwise, this system will not work. For instance, buying a $5K-$10K property for 40% or 60% of its market value will only incur losses. Considering the costs of mailing campaigns and other expenses, only a low-ball price would make sense. Buying at 40% to 60% may work for more expensive land properties.
Finding highly motivated sellers is probably the biggest challenge for this model. It is definitely possible. Seth also cites the special circumstances that lead landowners to become motivated sellers. This includes being too busy, filing a divorce, tax delinquent, have bad memories associated with the property, impending foreclosure, and so on. They are obviously not easy to find. In the end, you will still have to send thousands of mailers and hope for the best.
Running a direct mailing campaign is costly, even if you choose the cheapest options. For instance, sending a thousand mail through ITIDirectMail’s service will cost you $669 to $1,408.50, depending on the size. This is only for standard class presort that’s going to take 7-15 days to arrive. According to Seth, sending mails to tax delinquent properties has higher response rates of around 1%-5%. Response rates from campaigns targeted to data service lists are typically lower.
Overall, the actual acceptance rate is around 0.1% or 1 per 1000 mails. For Seth, anything lower than that indicates a problem. However, 0.1% is already a generous estimate given that you’re probably not the only one sending thousands of mails in the same county. The Reddit post below shares about receiving regular buy offers of at least one mail and three cold calls per week.
Is Land Investing Worth It?
Yes, land investing is worth it. Land is a tangible asset that tends to appreciate steadily over time. It provides stable growth in value and can be a valuable addition to an investment portfolio for diversification. According to the Federal Reserve, the average annual appreciation rate for land in the U.S. is around 4% to 6%. This is relatively stable compared to other investment types.
Land also has low ongoing costs compared to other types of real estate investments. However, land as an investment may require more effort and patience compared to stocks or regular real estate. Land is not readily usable (in most cases), so it tends to be more illiquid than house properties.
How to Invest in Land?
To invest in land, you need to do market research, conduct marketing campaigns, search online listings and auctions, choose a financing method, and consult a professional realtor. The way you close your land property depends on your investment strategy. You can choose to add value to your acquired property, seek land entitlement, or simply wait for it to appreciate. You can also flip your land ASAP if you’re following a wholesaling strategy.
Top Real Estate Wholesaling Courses
Wholesaling isn't limited to land, and it also involves various methods. For instance, you may offer a purchase contract that will expire after a certain time. A seller typically demands a deposit for them to accept this type of contract. Many real estate investment courses teach wholesaling as their primary strategy. You can check the top real estate wholesaling courses to learn more.
Why I Prefer Digital Real Estate
Aspiring entrepreneurs with limited capital have no way of safely navigating through land flipping. The start-up costs are just too high and the learning curve is steep. Seth Williams himself is aware of how complex land flipping is and the crucial role of “luck” for startups to survive the initial challenges. He admitted experiencing bomb campaigns wasting thousands of dollars for nothing. For new entrepreneurs, this is intolerable.
This is why I recommend building digital real estate for aspiring entrepreneurs. With a lower start up costs, a newbie can get to experience running an actual business. This model is called local lead generation. It involves building a website for a local niche, ranking to attract leads, and renting out this site to small businesses. A single website can earn a consistent $500-$3K of passive income. With a low recurring costs, you can scale your local lead generation business quickly as you gain experience.
