Property investment companies – property apprentice vs wealth mentor vs assetlab vs ronovationz

Hiring a property coach is a big decision. It costs of lot of money – between $8k and $25k – and you’re going to work with this coach to improve your financial situation.

Since the stakes are high, a lot of investors will check out the competition, trying to weigh up which property coach to use.

So you may be looking at companies that follow a renovation-focussed strategy, like Property Apprentice, Wealth Mentor, AssetLab, Ronovationz, or any of the many other property coaching companies out there.

But it can be hard to get accurate information on each programme and weigh up which one is right for you, since you often have to talk to a sales person first to get the details.

In this article we’ll take you through an honest review of the top property coaching companies in New Zealand and compare and contrast their own services and strategy values.

If you have any questions or thoughts, please leave them in the comments section below.

What sort of property coaching companies are out there teaching people to invest?

There are lots of companies out there offering some form of renovation-focussed property coaching.

Of these, there are around 11 well-known brands, largely based in Auckland, but some offer services all around the country.

Here are a few of the better-known ones:

• Ronovationz
• Property Apprentice
• AssetLab
• Wealth Mentor
• Lucia Xiao
• Property Lifestyle
• Property Mentor
• NZ Property Mentors – owned by Gilligan Rowe and Associates (GRA)

There are probably a lot more, but in this article we are going to focus on the top 4, since these are the ones you’re most likely to be considering.

Ronovationz review and cost

Cost: Around $19,000 - $25,000 + GST for lifetime membership ($21.85k - $28.75k incl. GST)

Ronovationz is a property investment company, primarily based in Auckland. It is named after its founder, Ron Hoy Fong, who has been buying property in New Zealand since 1969.

The company focusses on a very specific strategy, which tends to be:

• Buy a 2-bedroom unit in Central Auckland as close to the main city as possible
• Renovate the unit to add an extra bedroom within the current floor plan. This will increase the rent and value of the property

This means investors can earn money in three ways. First, from the increase in rent. Then, through the increase in value of the property post-renovations. Finally, investors using this strategy earn money through long-term capital gain (the property increasing in value).

Like many of the other property coaching companies on this list, Ronovationz uses the BRRRR strategy (Buy, Renovate, Rent, Refinance, Repeat).

This is different from the flipping strategy (discussed below), because the investor retains the property after renovating to reap the rewards of long-term ownership.

Ronovationz hosts regular on-the-road visits to open homes and has strong ties to real estate firms. This means you can get inside a property and see how your property coach would assess and approach properties in real life.

In some instances we understand your property coach will even go to an auction and bid on your behalf.

Property apprentice review and cost

Cost: Around $8,000 to $10,000 + GST ($9.2k - $11.5k incl. GST)

Property Apprentice is owned and operated by husband and wife team, Paul and Debbie Roberts.

The Property Apprentice programme offers both in-classroom learning as well as personalised coaching. You can either start it with a 10-week programme where you meet once a week at the Property Apprentice office in Auckland, or you can do a 3-day intensive workshop.

Spreading the learning over 10 weeks tends to work best for investors based in Auckland. The intensive 3-day event works better for people outside Auckland, since these are held around the country.

This initial classroom-based learning is designed to set you up with the knowledge you need to transition into next part of the service, which is the ongoing coaching.

It also offers individualised coaching. However, the level of coaching depends on the tier you purchase.

For example, a platinum membership is $9,999 + GST and comes with 12 months of one-on-one coaching, followed by lifetime support. Whereas the gold package ($7,999 + GST) comes with 12 months of coaching, but not the lifetime ongoing support.

The lifetime coaching programme is that – it lasts a lifetime – and doesn't just stop after the initial 12 months.

You, the investor, work through their model of how to buy, and what to buy, and then you go out and find the properties yourself.

The Property Apprentice strategy is also focussed on BRRRR, with a particular focus on buying properties at wholesale rates, i.e. undervalued. If you attend a Property Apprentice seminar there are often multiple examples given of purchasing a property for less than what a registered valuer might say the property is worth.

AssetLab review and cost

Cost: Around $12,000 for online, and $25,000 in person.

AssetLab offer an alternative strategy, compared to other property coaching companies on this list.

This is because their focus is on “flipping” property, which means buying, doing up the property and then reselling for a profit. This is different from the other property coaching companies since the others focus on holding investment properties over the long term.

Typically, end to end you’re looking at a 3 to 5-month flip.

For this company there is an emphasis on joint ventures, pooling together capital with other investors, and they’re based primarily in South Auckland.

Usually, there is a transition into “buy-and-hold” investing once you have the capital to do so.

AssetLab is owned and operated by Arn Metha and Phil Thompson, both professional property investors who have owned properties for decades.

Wealth mentor review and cost

Cost: around $25,000 + GST

Wealth Mentor is an Australian-based company that mainly helps those who want to invest in New Zealand.

Something unique about Wealth Mentor is that its advice is not limited to property investment – they provide business coaching as well.

This property coaching company runs a slightly different strategy to the others mentioned so far. They often encourage their investors to all buy in a similar location with higher than average rental yields (e.g. Wanganui).

They’ll work with local businesses (e.g. plumbers and builders), who will then run the renovations for their investors. This allows investors to own and renovate properties in towns they don’t live in.

The Wealth Mentor programme provides 1-on-1 coaching for 12 months, focussed on property.

What makes a good property coaching company vs a bad one?

As an investor, you may be wondering: “What should I be looking out for when evaluating each one of these companies?”

In reality, you can make money from working with any of the above companies – or Opes Accelerate – just as long as you follow the strategies and put them into action.

What’s more important is answering the question: “What are you, as an investor, looking for?” Is it a classroom-based learning experience to get to grips with the basics, or are you looking at 1:1 tailored coaching to drive you forward faster?

Top tip from us is before you make any substantial financial commitment, make sure you know which direction and strategy you want to follow.

You don’t want to sign up, pay the money and then finish your 12-month coaching no better off than when you started. If you sign up and don’t take action the only thing that will change is your bank balance – which will have gone in the wrong direction.

Here's a true story, one investor we met at Opes Partners had paid $20,000 to a property coaching service and 12 months later they’d done nothing with it. They were still wondering which strategy to take. This is a problem.

So, once you’ve signed up for a programme or chosen a strategy, pursue it relentlessly. You’ve paid the money, so it’s in your best interest to get the most out of it.

If you’ve decided using a property coaching company is the right fit for you, then delve into any of the above companies that sound like they would work.