I have not purchased any of John Reed's materials. Thank God. I have seeen the stuff he "publishes." Save your money. Like every other real estate investment guru, the bulk of John's strategies is to buy foreclosures, distressed properties, rehabs, etc. And put a coat of paint on them and try and resell them for $1000s in quick profits. That scheme did work about 4 years ago before the number of foreclosures and bankruptcies increased exponentially.
As a mortgage broker for over 15 years, I know the "property flipping" strategies taught by John Reed and many others do not work and are often illegal. Doing a simple Internet search on "real estate flipping" will bring up 100s of ads AND 100s of news articles about folks going to jail for real estate flipping. Many of John's competition claim to have "perfectly legal flipping plans." While it is true that you can "flip any property" it requires one vital asset to succeed - a private investor with their own funds. No mortgage lender will allow anyone to buy a property, put some quick money into it and resell it with mortgage lender financing within 6 months! Period. If such a mortgage lender exists, I would be doing the same stuff John Reed and many others tout in their books and seminars!
It was because of the immense losses taken by mortgage lenders years ago, that a "seasoning" requirement was adopted unilaterally across all mortgage lenders - conforming and nonconforming. More than 80% of all mortgage lenders require a property to be owned for 12 months to be resold for more than 110% of what it was originally bought for. So, if you bought that rehab home for $100,000 - do not expect to be able to get mortgage lender-based financing for more than $110,000 unless you have receipts to document the amount of money you put into the home. The other 20% of mortgage lenders have a 6-month seasoning requirement.
So - you can sell a property 30 days after you bought it IF you can find a private investor with their own funds. Think of it this way - you can try and sell your home for as much as you want. Mortgage lenders will only finance the home for its appraised value. Many real estate agents faial to remember that fact.
Getting back to John Reed - he spends a frightening amount of time bashing Russ Whitney. To me, it seems like 2 cheats in a cat fight. John Reed does bash nearly all other "get rich quick" artists. John Reed seems like a very angry man using his web site to vent his fury. John Reeds' stuff is nearly the same as the other real estate gurus, just put together cheaply.
Anyone remotely thinking of getting into rental property real estate for immediate income or long-term profit, should remember one very important fact.
Over the last 15 years, more than 97% of all real estate transactions have been financed by banks and credit unions. So, it might pay to learn residential mortgage lending practices and policies unless you want to spin your wheels looking for the private investors who did the other 3%.
Good Luck.
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