Why Most Probate Certifications Make Great Toilet Paper

I had a conversation the other day with one of my student that had me laughing so hard I was literally rolling on the floor.

But you’re gonna need a little background first. There’s a guy going around town peddling “probate certifications” and to be completely honest I don’t think he’s ever done an actual real estate deal. And as far as I can tell, I don’t think he has any listing experience either.
 
I don’t even think that he could do a successful probate transaction if his life depended on it.
 
Why do I say this?
 
The probate world is very small. The number of people who know how to do probate real estate correctly is small and word gets around fast. I just got off the phone with one of my students who is both a real estate agent and a real estate investor.
 
He shared with me how in the three short months since his enrollment in the Probate Fox mentorship, he has listed three probate properties, went on to wholesale two more, and is now currently rehabbing a house that he is going to flip.
 
To say that this guy is on fire is an understatement.
 
But this is what got me laughing so hard I almost broke a rib. He shared how he had taken a course from this aforementioned self-appointed probate guru that I just mentioned earlier.
 
He told me the bulk of that education was explaining the probate process, but there really wasn’t a thorough explanation as to how to convert a cold suspect into at least a warm prospect much less a close. The bulk of this training was mostly tailored around getting him a piece of paper that said he was certified in probate.
 
It sort of reminds me of the 90’s movie Tommy Boy. Tommy Callahan (played by the great, late Chris Farley) is trying to sell brake pads to an auto supplier. The prospect say’s there’s no guarantee on the box to which Tommy replies, “if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed I will. All you’re gonna have is a guaranteed piece of sh…” well you get the idea.

What my student said next is what got me rolling….he said, “the probate certification that was hanging in my office did absolutely nothing for me. I should of taken that certification down sooner and wiped my a** with it because that is all it is good for”
 
After I got myself back up off the carpet in my office, stopped laughing and wiped the tears from my eyes, I told him that learning the probate process is important but it is not where the money is at. That is where we begin our journey, but that’s not the end.

Is the certification worthless? Not entirely. But when you obtain a certification from someone who isn’t currently getting their hands dirty working and closing probate deals (or in this case apparently never even closing a single deal on their own) then that person is an absolute imposter! 

Certifications can be good as an additional tool in the toolbox, maybe a subtle message that allows you to flex a little, but do not get it confused with that being the ticket to you getting a deal.

It reminds me of young people fresh out of high school being duped into going to a college for business, but being taught by professors who have ZERO real life experience in running a successful business!
 
There is a big difference between theory and real life experience. At times I have even offered a certification for some of my real estate agent students and I may even do that sometime in the future, but my main focus has always been to help students actually learn how to get into the mindset of their probate executors and administrators and walk these people all the way to the closing table.

Committed to your success,
Ernie “Results > Certification” Vargas | The Probate Fox