REAL ESTATE INVESTING? Is this a scam? Has anybody ever tried this kind of thing?

There are a lot of real estate investing "gurus" like John Beck out there, and IF you work their systems, they can work. BUT, you don't necessarily need to invest in something like that to make money in real estate. And if you've got some money (it's probably going to take a few thousand dollars, maybe up to $10-15K) you can make close to 100% cash-on-cash annual return on your money buying tax lien properties.

With the number of foreclosure homes on the market right now, this really IS the time to buy!! If you go to your local county court house, they will probably have a list of tax lien homes that are about to be auctioned off. These homes are those that were lost to foreclosure, and after a period of time, when the banks couldn't sell them and they got far enough in arrears on the property taxes, the county takes them over and auction them off to the highest bidder. You can call your county tax office and find out what their procedures are--usually you'll have to have cashiers checks in $5000 increments and some way to pay any odd increments.

These properties are sold "as is", and some of them may need more work than others. A lot just depends on how much you've got to spend buying them and either repairing them yourself or hiring someone to do it for you. The GOOD news is, by the time they get to the courthouse steps for auction, any liens against them are usually forfeit. The bad news is they may have structural damage you can't see. If you find a promising property, get a property inspector to give it a thorough inspection before you invest. This will require an initial outlay of money unless you know someone who is an inspector willing to do it for you for dinner or something else. You may even have a friend or relative in the construction trades who know what to look for but aren't necessarily a qualified inspector who can help you out.

If you've got some money and really good credit, you may be able to get a loan on a rental property. Again, with the way the real estate market is right now, you can find really great deals on houses to rent. (A house two doors down from us was foreclosed a year ago and just sold for less than half of it's appraised value. IF they buyer rents it out--especially as a Section 8 property--he can probably put about $500/month in his pocket.)

I have some friends who swear by Carlton Sheets' program. Personally, I'm a huge fan of Robert Kiyosaki and his real estate advisors, Dolf de Roos and Ken McElroy. But also look at all the legal aspects! You don't necessarily want a rental property tied up with all your personal assets, especially your primary residence.

First and foremost, your best bet is to educate yourself. There are a lot of books you can get at the library or a discount bookstore. (Those books were bought by people who were looking for a way to "get rich quick" without having to work. You WILL have to work but it will be worth it if you stick with it!) The more you know going in, the less likely you are to make some huge mistake. But be prepared to make mistakes!! NO ONE doesn't make them, and the lessons you learn from your mistakes are the most valuable lessons you'll ever learn!

Good luck!

Dawn

Don't fall for those infomercials. The scam is only the number of people who send him money. You can buy real estate yourself. If you are looking for a foreclosure to buy, work with a professional real estate agent who specializes in these. Ask your friends or use your local Yellow Pages. The buyer does not pay the sales commission (at least in California). The seller does. It's not easy sitting on courthouse steps and hoping you win the bids without representation (not to mention tying up your cash). I know the ads sound very convincing. John Beck is the only one getting rich quick. By the way, these types of offers have been around for decades.

I just did a little bit of research on this particular "system" to see what kind of system it is. I appears that he wants you to make money by buying homes at foreclosure or tax auctions, then sell them at market value. You don't need to pay somebody $40 to do this. Tax auctions can be found in your local newspaper. Call your county sheriff's office and ask them when the next tax auction is.

I also suggest googling john beck real estate system scam and see other's *real* unpaid testimonials for yourself.

I think you will find it very hard to buy homes "free and clear" using John Beck's system. There are a whole host of people who make money selling books with impractical ways of buying real estate and John Beck appears to be one of them. See the link.

http://whit.me/StockTradingRobot

Before you start investing, check that site out.

We all heard of "Forex RoBot" which automatically executes decision intelligently to make gains... that site features a Stock Market RoBot! It intelligently executes actions to make gains and it's a Fortune generator.

To make lots of money you got to spend some money. That is the official website that helped me start making thousands recently. It was featured in Forbes magazine before - it is damn good. Even big banks like Bank of America, JPMorgan, and HSBC uses it. Many people praised the Robot and wrote testimonials.

Especially with the current economic crisis, imagine how much you can make once it hits the bull market!

Stuff like this never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever works.

If there was an easy way to make a lot of money, so many people would do it that there would soon be no room in the market.

It usually costs more than its worth.

Now Kiyosaki knows what he's talking about.