The Land Geek is founded by Mark Podolsky and offers several training programs that teach students how to create long-term passive income through raw land investing. The Land Geek passive income system is designed to be accessible from anywhere (you don’t even have to see the land) and automated.
But why raw land investment? What are the advantages of investing in an empty piece of land? What does The Land Geek offer? Can you actually make real money with their system? Read ahead to find the answers to these important questions.
We can draw similarities between land investment and local lead generation. Land investment has the potential to create passive income with the right automation. Both business models don't have to deal with tenants or maintenance costs. You do still need substantial capital to purchase physical land, and you'll be paying taxes until you can sell it. You also have to deal with a lot of local legalities and policies. Local lead generation allows you to skip all that as you rent out digital space. It requires less time and capital and is easily scalable.
Pros and Cons of The Land Geek
Pros
Mark is a highly experienced land investor and he and his coaches are all actively investing in raw land. His coaches are taken from previous students of his course who have become very successful.
His system can create passive income through automation.
His programs have full refund guarantees.
Constant up-to-date info on his passive income podcast, and free and private Facebook group. His podcasts always include a variety of guests, most of whom are his students.
Cons
The training and mentorship are not transferable to other types or real estate investment.
It takes a lot of work to get your land investment business running. You also need a substantial amount of capital or good credit.
You can lose money if you hold the land for too long.
The courses are expensive.
Price
The Land Geek programs start from free to over $10,000.
Refund Policy
The Land Geek has a 180 day refund. You must be actively taking part in the program and show your progress report each week. You will be refunded full price, and they will buy the land you purchased.
Origin
Founded in 2013.
Reputation
Overall positive. A+ rating with BBB.
Took Mark’s course years ago. It had good information but was a bit overhyped especially when it came to how easy it is. Marketing alone will be very costly.
Pros and Cons of Raw Land Real Estate Investment
Raw land refers to raw undeveloped land. These "frontier properties" are often forgotten land in rural areas across the United States. You can find these lands about 2 or more hours outside of major cities and can be purchased for ¼ of the value. Mark claims you can make at least 300% up to 800-1000% ROI by investing in raw land.
Pros
Easier to buy - you don’t have to deal with tenant evictions or rehab contractors and the title transfer is quicker.
No maintenance required - there are no depreciating assets to maintain. You can leave the land as is.
Limited supply - land is always a limited asset, as you cannot make more of it.
You can strike gold - development of the area where you bought the raw land may significantly increase its resale value, giving you insane ROI.
Cons
Illiquidity - money invested in real estate is tied to your property. The cost of selling may be high. This downside applies to any type of real estate investing.
No tax advantages from depreciation - since there are no depreciating assets, there are no tax advantages.
Negative cash flow - empty land does not generate any income and you still have to pay taxes as the landowner.
No advantages from forced appreciation - as there are no structures to buy at discount, you cannot take advantage of the BRRRR real estate investing strategy that investors used to increase the property value.
2 Big Mistakes
- Environmental risk - go to epa.gov to make sure you are not buying a “super fun site” which are previously manufacturing sites as you might take liability for cleanups.
- Overpaying - make sure you do the right comps for your deals or you might overpay for raw land, lowering your ROI.
Who Is Mark Podolsky?
Mark is a land investor and coach from Scottsdale, Arizona. He has been investing in real estate since 2001 and has since made $20M+ in profits from over 6,000 deals amounting to over a million acres. He has a bachelor of arts degree from Indiana University Bloomington. Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, he spent 6 months traveling in Australia before moving to Kansas. There, he started getting sales experience as a dental consultant with AFTCO & Associates from 1994 to 1997.
Visiting his wife’s relatives in Scottsdale, he decided to move there and landed a job working in a boutique investment banking firm. He worked as an investment banker for Dinan & Company from 1997 to 2001. This is where he met a fellow employee who invests in raw land as a side hustle. He then traveled with him to New Mexico, where he made his first deal with 300% ROI.
Mark founded, scaled, and automated Frontier Equity Properties in 2001. While continuing to do land investment, Mark founded his e-learning company, Land Geek Enterprises, in 2013. He also founded GeekPay.io in 2017, which is an online web solution for lenders to automate receiving payments from borrowers. In 2018, he authored the book Dirt Rich.
What Is Dirt Rich?
The complete book title is Dirt Rich: How One Ambitiously Lazy Geek Created Passive Income in Real Estate Without Renters, Renovations, and Rehabs. This book is available on Amazon and can be acquired for free thru The Land Geek website (excluding shipping cost).
The book is a 200 page, 12 chapter story on how Mark began his land investment journey and how he turned it into a passive income business. The book does not give any details or how-to but directs you to sign up for his course. You won't learn anything you can use on your land investing business from this book.
Free Wholetailing Course
The free course can be found on the official land geek site. The course is a 3 part brief lesson on wholetailing raw land. The videos are averaged at 3 mins per topic.
Buying Wholesale - a quick lesson on how to find cash only deals on Landmodo.com. It shows the benefits of raw land wholesale.
Buying Wholesale Facebook - this lesson teaches you how to find deals on The Official Land Geek Motivation & Wealth Creation Group and how to look for other Facebook groups where you can find deals.
Land Arbitrage Introduction - the lesson explains the details of land arbitrage, the advantages, and the worst-case scenario.
FAQ And Rules - Mark goes over the FAQs and rules on wholesaling land.
Part 2 deals with selling your land properties.
- Joining Buy Sell Groups - you will learn how to choose the right groups for the most effective marketing.
- Land Geek Coach Mimi Schmidt’s Posting An Ad - this 7min video teaches the most important part of an ad, when to post, and what elements should your ad have.
- GeekPay Down Payments – Cash Or Terms - the lesson is a walkthrough on Mark's GeekPay automated software.
- Closing - you will learn the different types of deeds and the closing process. There are also 5 documents that will help you in closing deals.
This part is basically just an upsell for Mark's other offers.
- Take Your Land Business To The Next Level - this is basically a sales pitch for his Investor's Toolkit course.
- How to Automate With GeekPay - this is an upsell for his GeekPay software. You also get one month for free.
- How To Automate With LGPass - this is an upsell for Mark's automation system.
Investor’s Toolkit (Foundation)
The Investor's Toolkit costs $1,697 for digital access only and $1,997 for digital access plus physical product. The DIY course is separated into 4 parts or "systems".
This first chapter will teach you how to create a steady flow of deals. You will learn the following:
- The best source where you can find and buy the cheapest raw land.
- Where to find listings filled with motivated sellers.
- How to generate leads via physical mail.
- How to get the best offer price in minutes without hiring an appraiser.
- The top 2 questions asked by land sellers, and how to answer them.
- How to avoid time-wasting negotiations.
In this part, you will learn how to protect yourself and your business while finding the best deals. You will tackle the following topics:
- How to gather important information on land parcels from home, and who to call if you’re at a roadblock.
- Close properties legally and safely without meeting the seller in person.
- Customized marketing pictures and even video tours of properties without even setting foot on the property yourself.
- Timing property taxes to keep cash in your hands for as long as possible.
- Saving time on research by using Mark's “batching” technique.
- Mark's “Golden Super-Rule” of due diligence to figure out the value of a property.
The 3rd part of the program will teach you how to build a list of buyers without relying on real estate agents or online listings. The following topics will be covered:
- Top 3 distractions you need to avoid and what you should focus on instead.
- How to hook eager buyers using a simple and inexpensive 1-Page website.
- 7 best places to sell your land as a beginner who has not yet built trust.
- 3 techniques on how to build a reputation as a recognized land expert.
- How to make it effortless for your customers to pay you.
- How offering a guarantee improves your business and helps keep you out of court.
The last part deals with finding and managing a team of virtual assistants to automate your business. You will tackle the following topics:
- The 5 best places to find skilled VAs.
- Creating job postings that attract international talent that costs less than hiring US based.
- Avoiding the common mistakes people make when giving VAs tasks to complete.
- 5 secrets to ensuring your VAs are working efficiently.
- Technique for finding and keeping quality VAs.
- One basic rule that can save you thousands of dollars.
You'll also receive 14 bonuses with the Investor's Toolkit:
- Pricing strategies
- iMacros training
- Copywriting secrets
- Craigslist domination
- Wholesale riches
- eBay selling secrets
- Art of the takedown
- Deal tracker
- Offer generator
- FAQ and filling in the holes
- Secret list of counties
- Recommended tech tools
- Facebook fast and furious
- Tax and legal advice with Mark J. Kohler CPA
In addition, you also get 2 free tickets to any live Land Geek Bootcamp and unlimited tickets to any virtual Land Geek Bootcamp. You are also entitled to 1 year of weekly Lunch & Learn group coaching calls.
Flight School (Execution)
The Flight School program costs $8900 for the basic package, and $11,900 for the VIP package. It is a 16 week program which is for people who don't have the time to learn everything themselves. The program focuses on automation and holds your hand through the processes.
This 16 week program has 4 steps included in it:
You will be given weekly instructions on what to do. They will specify which skill you need to improve to prepare for the next week.
You’ll be working directly with Scott Todd and other coaches. Scott makes $50K a month in passive income after land investing for 4 years. The other coaches are all previously successful students.
Group collaboration is highly encouraged. You have access to the private Facebook group and can work together with other students on your deals.
You will have "bat phone access" to the coaches. Land Geek coaches are all previously students who took the same programs. You will learn the best strategies and tips from them.
In addition, you will receive 5 bonuses:
- You will have access to the Land Geek’s proprietary automated software system for 6 months.
- Templates for your websites will be provided to you.
- You will have access to the Land Vault.
- Free access to the Investor’s Toolkit course.
- Access to the private Facebook group.
VIP includes all everything above plus:
Coaching (Accelerated Growth)
You can apply for one-on-one coaching for a year, although there is usually a waiting list. Applying requires you to put down a fully refundable $500 down payment as a sign of commitment. You also cannot apply if you haven't taken or finished the Investor's Toolkit course. The finer details of the program and price will only be given to you after your application has been reviewed.
Bootcamp
The bootcamp is available for students of The Land Geek. It is a 3-day program, either live or virtual. Students may also purchase additional tickets for the live events if they have used all their free ones.
Automation Tools
The Land Geek has 2 automation tools to offer. These tools are not required, but they are crucial if you want to scale and automate your business.
GeekPay
This is a tool that automates the payment process. You can get started for only $49/month with a 10 note limit or $99/month for 99 note limit with only $1/month per additional note. It comes with a 60 day money-back guarantee.
GeekPay Features
LG Pass
This tool will automate other aspects of your business aside from payments. LGPass will help you organize your team and scale your business. It costs $99/month or $990/year.
LG Pass Features
Are Students of The Land Geek Successful?
On their site, Mark points out that it takes a lot of work to get started on land investment. 50% of land investors will be discouraged and drop out. The reviews for The Land Geek's courses reflect this claim. Most reviews related to the course are positive, with some criticism pointing out the difficulty of the business itself.
You'll find tons of reviews from students on their official site. Some of these you may recognize as guests if you watch their podcast, as Mark likes to invite his students. There are also testimonials from coaches of the program from when they were still students.
Here are some reviews from the real estate forum site biggerpockets.com
Is Raw Land Investing Worth It In 2024?
The answer would depend on your style and goal. You can definitely make money off of investing in raw land, but it takes a lot of time and effort. Real estate investment requires you to put in time and capital for any chance of success. There are many ways of investing in property. Here are some programs I have reviewed that have their own strategies in real estate investments.
Multifamily Mindset - A course by Tyler Deveraux that specializes in multifamily property investments.
Faster Freedom - A mentorship program by Sam Primm that specializes in his BRRRS system that allows you to invest spending none of your own money.
Commercial Dream Partner - A course by long time real estate investor Peter Conti that specializes in investing in commercial properties.
Rich Dad Cash Flow Blueprint - A course by the famous Robert Kiyosaki that teaches unorthodox ways of investing in real estate.
There are as many courses out there as there are real estate investment strategies. You just have to determine which is more of your style.
Best Passive Income Model In 2024
Automated real estate can create passive income. The problem is, it takes time and success before you can scale and automate your business. There are many risks associated with property investment that can lead to negative cash flow. These are the reasons I find local lead generation to be the best passive income model.
With local lead generation, you need very little capital to start your business. You rank your site on Google using tactics like SEO and rent it out to local businesses. You'll start earning a predictable passive income as soon as that's done. All you have to do then is repeat the process to scale. You don't even need to worry about maintenance. Your sites can stay ranked for years before you even need to update them because there is low local competition.
To summarize it, local lead generation offers an easier and less risky way of creating passive income. With enough scaling, you can create financial independence. Check out Local Lead Generation for the less risky way of achieving time and financial freedom.
