You Too Can Make Millions "Flipping" Houses (As Seen on TV)

Townhall ^ | 02/26/2014 | Mike Shedlock

[SeekAndFind]

I have been under constant barrage of unsolicited phone calls recently. The phone calls typically begin with the same lie: "Mr. Shedlock you told a colleague of mine a few months ago to call you back when we have a really good investment opportunity".

Given that I never ask anyone to call back, they are known liars from the start. Depending on what kind of mood I am in, I may hang up immediately or listen long enough to hear what kind of nonsense they are peddling.

I asked one of the liars the name of his colleague that called. He answered George. I said "George who?".

The caller got exasperated and replied "Washington".

The predominant thing these guys are peddling is the opportunity to lose a lot of money fast, frequently in the oil or natural gas industry. But lately the charlatans have pestered me with real estate opportunities, shorting gold, and buying microcap stocks I have never heard of (most likely the classic pump-and-dump) variety.

This is the kind of thing that happens at market tops. Everyone wants in, and the fraudsters come out in force to take advantage.

Nonetheless, I offer my standard warning: Just because this activity happens at peaks, does not mean this is the peak.

Sentiment typically gets more extreme than anyone thinks possible.

Social Media Bubble

Facebook recently paid $19 billion for WhatsApp, a company with 55 employees and no revenue.

Supposedly this is a good deal because WhatsApp is growing fast. It is growing fast because it has a cute texting app that it gives away for free.

How many customers would it have if it starts charging? Enough for a $19 billion valuation? Not a chance.

Pater Tenebrarum has interesting discussion in his commentary "Social Media Bubble".

Flipping Yet Again

Meanwhile, this farcical ad popped up on my screen just today.



Want to know what "As seen on TV" means?"

Typically it is a sleazy phrase that means they ran an ad somewhere on TV, at least once.

Such ads usually run on an obscure channel at 3:00AM. But hey, it's "as seen on TV". They never said "in a show".

Please note the little asterisk that reads "results based on effort".

Also note a word is missing. Here is the split sentence combined "Learn How to Get Started Flipping Houses Than Merrill - Star of A&E's "Flip This House"

The ad makes no sense unless your mind inserts the word "Better" right after the word "Houses".

I have a simple question: didn't we try this before?

[Mr. K]

WHICH ONE???????????????????

I feel valuable information has been withheld

[Mr. K]

I found the best way to deal with those

You are not obligated to have any conversation with telephone salesmne so I just say “STOP!” and as politely as possible tell them “I do not take telephone solicitations of any kind, please remove me from your list, Thank you” and hang up

[Lizavetta]

A friend just dropped $10K on Chief Denney’s “flipping” seminar. And no, she does not have access to any capital.

[SgtHooper]

The MN babe, single, one child, about 110 pounds, loves to get dirty, long blonde hair,.. OH! Sorry.

[Albion Wilde]

Yes, I agree; I looked into the Montelongo seminar, but found that people got hooked into spending $20K ultimately to get his “expertise.”

[Albion Wilde]

Why not call himself Nathan instead?

He can call himself anything he likes. But if a reporter or commentator is going to rant on the internet, he should do the fact-checking expected of journalists who care about their credibility. It took me less than 60 seconds to find out the facts about his name.

[Albion Wilde]

Or “Nate”? Or “Nat”? Those are all common nicknames for Nathan or Nathaniel.

The fault is the writer who shot off his indignation without a one-minute Wikipedia check, where he could easily have found the man's name and not made himself sound like Emily Litella.

[Albion Wilde]

Yep cash is king. You have to move fast and having the cash on hand is the only way.

The moving fast part is critical; also having a great stable of reliable contractors. The last part is harder than finding capital.

[Albion Wilde]

To be fair, isn’t it possible that a person could conceivably become a millionaire in the residential market, and then want to share what he learned with others? IF all things are equal (including the state of the market and the economy), the successful flipper/instructor would by then have amassed enough captial to move into the riskier and higher-cost apartment/hotel redevelopment market, and holding classes for beginners could help pay the bills for that leap.

Not all businessmen are shysters. But almost everyone who wants a get-rich-quick approach to life without being willing to work hard is going to fall prey to the dishonest ones.

[Albion Wilde]

Doing your own work would be more tax efficient. Your labor provides value in a way which is taxed as a capital gain and not income.

Another important quality in a flipper is not having unrealistic expectations. A tv flipper like Jeff Lewis wants to net a million or more a year, dealing in houses that sell for several millions. A flipper who wants to make a living can be content with several houses in the $150K-250K market and clear $60K to 100K a year, depending on the size of his or her family.

[minnesota_bound]

Type his name in google then scam next to it to see the postings about him.

[windsorknot]

How many get-rich schemers get rich by employing the scheme that they are selling?

[Albion Wilde]

My point was about the reporter’s carelessness, not the advertiser’s nickname or his reputation.

[Neidermeyer]

The limiting factor has been cash. Anyone who tells you that you can flip houses without cash is either lying, or is going to advise you to do something illegal.
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I’ve been to one of their presentations ,, they want to sell you their program ... or engage you to bird dog for them for very little reward.

[willyd]

Don’t forget to move to Florida and homestead your yacht.