The truth behind 'the best investment ever'
BELLEVUE, Wash. -- "How to Cash in on the Greatest Real Estate Liquidation in History," "Bailout Bonanza," "Get your share of the $700,000,000 Bailout" -- these were the headlines featured in a full-page advertisement in the Seattle Times last week. All you had to do, according to the ad, was attend a free seminar.
The ad was for the Robert Allen Institute and its series of free seminars offered last week in and around Seattle. It promised to teach participants how to become millionaires.
"Banks are desperate to unload foreclosed properties," the ad's copy read. The Robert Allen Institute makes the same pitch online in a video promo.
"You have nothing to lose," Allen says in the online ad. "I challenge you right now to become financially independent in the shortest possible time in the best investment ever -- real estate."
We took our undercover camera to Allen's free seminar in Bellevue last week.
It wasn't until the end of the seminar that we found out to get our share of the bailout and cash in on real estate; we'd have to spend $2,995 for literature and a 3-day workshop.
The speaker did offer some tips:
1. Flip houses.
2. Earn a finder's fee for hot investment properties.
3. Target homeowners in pre-foreclosure.
Participants were told they could learn how to knock on a homeowners' door and convince them to surrender the title, then offer to broker a deal to allow the homeowner to rent back their home with an option to buy back the house.
Homeowners Felipe Gomez of Seattle and Tony Wilson of Des Moines are both upside-down in their mortgages; they owe more than the house is worth. When I showed them the ad, they felt targeted.
"They try to take advantage of the situation," said Gomez while looking at the ad.
"That's my situation they're talking about, it could be my house they come after. It's true, very possible," Wilson said.
The Attorney General's Office told me you must ask yourself what's in the deal for the door knocker, and says there is a new law on the books that can help. The state's distressed property law is designed to protect homeowners from predatory investors.
The Federal Trade Commission says avoid anyone who encourages you to lease your home with the option to buy it back or wants to transfer your property title.
"They need to make sure they consult professionals and not just someone knocking on the door saying they're going to help them," said Keith Nelson, incoming 2009 President of the Seattle/King County Association of Realtors.
Nelson has been in real estate for 30 years and is a broker and owner of Executive Real Estate in Bellevue.
Nelson says in general, homeowners facing foreclosure should never deal with a third party without first talking to their realtor, attorney, mortgage officer and lender.
The Allen Institute's video promo is full of testimonials by people who say they made money with his help. But when we asked at the seminar, the Allen representative wouldn't talk. We e-mailed Allen's company repeatedly, but have yet to get a response.
At the Attorney General's Office, we found two local complaints, both from people trying to get their money back.
And at RipoffReports.com we found nearly 60 consumer complaints. Anyone can post a gripe on the site without it being substantiated, but we found a common thread -- dozens warned the company that promised to make them rich drained them of cash.
"Many people like to look at it as a get rich quick, that's the exception rather than the norm. Real Estate is a good investment value that grows over time," said Nelson.
Both Gomez and Wilson are working with ACORN , a nonprofit group, to save their homes from foreclosures. ACORN is negotiating with their lenders.
If you're facing foreclosure or being pressured to sell your home, you can find help at the following links:
Foreclosure Help
Beware of Foreclosure Rescue Scams
Avoiding Scams
You can also contact:
The United Way
Hopelink
Neighborhood House
YWCA
.
The ad was for the Robert Allen Institute and its series of free seminars offered last week in and around Seattle. It promised to teach participants how to become millionaires.
"Banks are desperate to unload foreclosed properties," the ad's copy read. The Robert Allen Institute makes the same pitch online in a video promo.
"You have nothing to lose," Allen says in the online ad. "I challenge you right now to become financially independent in the shortest possible time in the best investment ever -- real estate."
We took our undercover camera to Allen's free seminar in Bellevue last week.
It wasn't until the end of the seminar that we found out to get our share of the bailout and cash in on real estate; we'd have to spend $2,995 for literature and a 3-day workshop.
The speaker did offer some tips:
1. Flip houses.
2. Earn a finder's fee for hot investment properties.
3. Target homeowners in pre-foreclosure.
Participants were told they could learn how to knock on a homeowners' door and convince them to surrender the title, then offer to broker a deal to allow the homeowner to rent back their home with an option to buy back the house.
Homeowners Felipe Gomez of Seattle and Tony Wilson of Des Moines are both upside-down in their mortgages; they owe more than the house is worth. When I showed them the ad, they felt targeted.
"They try to take advantage of the situation," said Gomez while looking at the ad.
"That's my situation they're talking about, it could be my house they come after. It's true, very possible," Wilson said.
The Attorney General's Office told me you must ask yourself what's in the deal for the door knocker, and says there is a new law on the books that can help. The state's distressed property law is designed to protect homeowners from predatory investors.
The Federal Trade Commission says avoid anyone who encourages you to lease your home with the option to buy it back or wants to transfer your property title.
"They need to make sure they consult professionals and not just someone knocking on the door saying they're going to help them," said Keith Nelson, incoming 2009 President of the Seattle/King County Association of Realtors.
Nelson has been in real estate for 30 years and is a broker and owner of Executive Real Estate in Bellevue.
Nelson says in general, homeowners facing foreclosure should never deal with a third party without first talking to their realtor, attorney, mortgage officer and lender.
The Allen Institute's video promo is full of testimonials by people who say they made money with his help. But when we asked at the seminar, the Allen representative wouldn't talk. We e-mailed Allen's company repeatedly, but have yet to get a response.
At the Attorney General's Office, we found two local complaints, both from people trying to get their money back.
And at RipoffReports.com we found nearly 60 consumer complaints. Anyone can post a gripe on the site without it being substantiated, but we found a common thread -- dozens warned the company that promised to make them rich drained them of cash.
"Many people like to look at it as a get rich quick, that's the exception rather than the norm. Real Estate is a good investment value that grows over time," said Nelson.
Both Gomez and Wilson are working with ACORN , a nonprofit group, to save their homes from foreclosures. ACORN is negotiating with their lenders.
If you're facing foreclosure or being pressured to sell your home, you can find help at the following links:
Foreclosure Help
Beware of Foreclosure Rescue Scams
Avoiding Scams
You can also contact:
The United Way
Hopelink
Neighborhood House
YWCA
.