Want to put the fear of God into your friendly neighborhood creative real estate guru? Ask him or her The Ten Questions you see below written by Kendall Matthews
I have long said that the wolf pack of rapid and foaming-at-the-mouth creative real estate gurus who travel like Willy Lomans on a shoeshine and a smile from real estate club to real estate group to real estate company to real estate conference to any person half awake and physically able to listen, pitching their brand new miracle get-rich-instantly home study course and continuity program mentoring service for just $495 and $79.95 a month are really just a pack of frauds.
As Texans would say, the gurus are all hat and no cattle.
Most of the real estate home study courses, seminars, and mentoring services you see advertised on the Internet are scams.
You aren't going to make $10,000 in thirty days buying some $495 home study course on short sales or flipping properties. It's a get-rich-quick scam no different from those pitched via email from Nigeria about winning the national lottery. Read this article about not falling for fast money real estate gurus and their overpriced seminar offerings.
Many of the testimonials you see on these websites and infomercials are fabricated. Some are the friends, business associates, and relatives of the gurus. Some are even hired actors on occasion. Many of these recommenders have a financial stake in the sale of the guru's own courses so their testimonial is not only self-serving but a legal conflict of interest that should be disclosed but isn't. None of the testimonials are audited for accuracy by any third party. See how the Federal Trade Commission views this type of fraud.
An informed consumer makes the right choice. But unfortunately the target market for the get-rich-quick real estate gurus are so-called "newbies" who have little or no experience in real estate and therefore don't know how truly awful the products are they are being asked to buy.
I think the questions asked by Kendall Matthews in his really insightful article is a great place to start. I also would point you to author John T. Reed's Real Estate B.S. Artist Detection Checklist as another superb resource to start asking questions before you spend lots of money on these slickly produced but essentially worthless real estate courses, seminars, mentoring programs, or information services.
As to me, how would I answer those ten questions? Very simply, actually.
I'm not a real estate guru.
Repeat.
I'm NOT a real estate guru.
I have not sold a home study course or seminar ticket since 2007.
I have not sold a home study course or seminar ticket since 2007.
My "guru" income is zero.
I voluntarily took down my website in 2007 during the real estate boom because I didn't want to sell my course and book through the real estate bust I repeatedly told readers was coming.
On the other hand, 94% of my income is generated through investment income, making me a professional investor which is exactly what I am, a professional full-time investor.
I have no products to sell (or upsell) you except my now out-of-print book which gets about one request a week.
Moreover, when I become a real estate guru again, that is, when my new book goes on sale, I will abide by not only The Ten Rules of Kendall Matthews but by my own ethical standards for financial writers which I proposed back in 2005 and NOT ONE real estate author in the world has had the guts or common sense to adopt.
I believe that real estate authors who claim to be "real estate investor millionaires" should voluntarily disclose their holdings and how they used the theories and advice offered in their own seminars and courses to obtain those holdings.
I believe that testimonials should be audited according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP") and that all conflicts-of-interest and personal and business relationships in these recommendations should be disclosed.
What I am is a real estate professional who has known this business for nearly thirty years. I have seen literally thousands of people scammed out of their savings by these creative real estate guru frauds and I don't want you to become yet another victim.
THINK BEFORE YOU BUY. Ask questions and demand answers.
Robert J. Abalos, Esq.
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Questions Real Estate Investor Fraud Gurus Don’t Want You to Ask
June 16, 2009 · Published By Kendall E. Matthews
The long wait is over.
According to the Arizona Multiple Listing service, certain areas in Queen Creek, Surprise, Maricopa and Phoenix have seen a 70% drop in real estate prices. Brokers and mortgage consultants are singing their favorite real estate school fight song called, “It’s Time To Buy Real Estate.”
However, there’s another group of folks who feel the wait is over and it is time to descend upon the Phoenix real estate market. They want to quickly extract money from the pockets of those looking to get-rich in a falling market. Those folks are the Real Estate Investor Gurus.
During during the real estate boom, Phoenix, Florida and Las Vegas were the playgrounds for hundreds of overnight real estate investor gurus. Google the name Mark Bosworth, former owner and founder of GoRenter.com. This time before they come back to Phoenix to sell their secrets, books and tapes, here are 10 Questions Your Real Estate Investor Guru Doesn’t Want You To Ask;
Question 1:
Have you personally completed or been a large contributing factor to all the projects you profess to have done?
Question 2:
Real estate is local, are you an expert in my area?
Question 3:
What state are you licensed in?
Question 4:
When was the last time you were sued and lost?
Question 5:
Will you continually upsell me, before I see any results?
Question 6:
Can you provide me a list and addresses of your most recent deals?
Question 7:
I don’t have a credit card, will you take a money order?
Question 8:
What percentage of your income is generated from real estate?
Question 9:
What percentage of your income is generated from real estate seminar sales?
Question 10:
Could you give me a personal 100% guarantee that you will call me the week before you shut down your business and slip out of town?
Are you like me, in that you had purchased something from a real estate guru, who turned out to be very good at over-promising and under-delivering? If you had to do it over again what question do you wish you would have asked?
On the other hand, 94% of my income is generated through investment income, making me a professional investor which is exactly what I am, a professional full-time investor.
I have no products to sell (or upsell) you except my now out-of-print book which gets about one request a week.
Moreover, when I become a real estate guru again, that is, when my new book goes on sale, I will abide by not only The Ten Rules of Kendall Matthews but by my own ethical standards for financial writers which I proposed back in 2005 and NOT ONE real estate author in the world has had the guts or common sense to adopt.
I believe that real estate authors who claim to be "real estate investor millionaires" should voluntarily disclose their holdings and how they used the theories and advice offered in their own seminars and courses to obtain those holdings.
I believe that testimonials should be audited according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP") and that all conflicts-of-interest and personal and business relationships in these recommendations should be disclosed.
What I am is a real estate professional who has known this business for nearly thirty years. I have seen literally thousands of people scammed out of their savings by these creative real estate guru frauds and I don't want you to become yet another victim.
THINK BEFORE YOU BUY. Ask questions and demand answers.
Robert J. Abalos, Esq.
********************************************************
Questions Real Estate Investor Fraud Gurus Don’t Want You to Ask
June 16, 2009 · Published By Kendall E. Matthews
The long wait is over.
According to the Arizona Multiple Listing service, certain areas in Queen Creek, Surprise, Maricopa and Phoenix have seen a 70% drop in real estate prices. Brokers and mortgage consultants are singing their favorite real estate school fight song called, “It’s Time To Buy Real Estate.”
However, there’s another group of folks who feel the wait is over and it is time to descend upon the Phoenix real estate market. They want to quickly extract money from the pockets of those looking to get-rich in a falling market. Those folks are the Real Estate Investor Gurus.
During during the real estate boom, Phoenix, Florida and Las Vegas were the playgrounds for hundreds of overnight real estate investor gurus. Google the name Mark Bosworth, former owner and founder of GoRenter.com. This time before they come back to Phoenix to sell their secrets, books and tapes, here are 10 Questions Your Real Estate Investor Guru Doesn’t Want You To Ask;
Question 1:
Have you personally completed or been a large contributing factor to all the projects you profess to have done?
Question 2:
Real estate is local, are you an expert in my area?
Question 3:
What state are you licensed in?
Question 4:
When was the last time you were sued and lost?
Question 5:
Will you continually upsell me, before I see any results?
Question 6:
Can you provide me a list and addresses of your most recent deals?
Question 7:
I don’t have a credit card, will you take a money order?
Question 8:
What percentage of your income is generated from real estate?
Question 9:
What percentage of your income is generated from real estate seminar sales?
Question 10:
Could you give me a personal 100% guarantee that you will call me the week before you shut down your business and slip out of town?
Are you like me, in that you had purchased something from a real estate guru, who turned out to be very good at over-promising and under-delivering? If you had to do it over again what question do you wish you would have asked?
