I’m really considering getting into real estate as an investor. I just read “Retire Young, Retire Rich” by Robert Kiyosaki and thought it was awesome. Being in the military has added challenges because I’m stationed overseas.
Is the Carlton Sheets program for real and does it really work? Could it help me being stationed overseas. I want to deal with foreclosures mostly. Would love to hear personal experiances. Thanks for the help.
David
I personally think Sheets’ program is worthless and I would not spend my money on it, but it is cheaper than other courses so it depends on your budget.
I think that the Carleton Sheets course is an excellent basic course. It also has a LOT of great information about landlording. I believe that it is one of the best basic courses available. A lot of successful Real Estate Investors started using the Carleton Sheets course.
Mike
I have had great success with the Carleton Sheet No money down course. I started with no experience WHATSOEVER and owned 10 properties in 14 months. All low or now money down.
It is a great foundation for entering real estate investing.
JeffInCT
I am also new to rei and in the military. I purchased the trial for $9.99 and was very impressed with the wealth of knowledge and the different ways to receive the info(cd’s, dvd’s, manuals, etc…) If you are a beginner like I am, this will be perfect for getting a excellent grasp on rei. It is definitely a confidence builder. Go Navy Seabees!!!
Is the Carlton Sheets program for real…
Yes, it’s for real. I’ve seen a copy or two floating around 
and does it really work?
Sit down for this one because it’s a doozy. No, it does NOT work. In fact, there is not a book or course or ezine or CD/tape or even a forum that “works.” What works, or not, is you. You are the one that has to decide if you can, and are, going to be a RE investor, or going to be one of those, “I’ve read that thing and it doesn’t work” people.
Could it help me being stationed overseas. Definitely help you pass the time. How long do you think that you’ll be stationed overseas? Use the time to get your education in REI, so when you return to the States, you’ll be ready to go. I think that trying to buy something when you’re not here is not a good idea, especially for a beginner, so I’d definitely recommend waiting until you’re at least in driving distance to the area where you want to invest.
Save money. Buy on Ebay!
Raj
I have read some books by Jay P. DeCima that have been very basic and are motivational. I have read some of Robert Kiyosaki (SP?) and he is ok too. Do you have a library available? That is fairly inexpensive or if you can purchase the books, they are less expensive than Carleton Sheets. I purchased that course for about $250. It is good info and I liked it, it is nice to be able to listen to the tapes and have the info in writing to refer to also. You can always listen to it again because I found it hard to get it all the first time. Graciez
David,
I read the same book, (Retire Young, Retire Rich), this past Fall.
Glad you found it awesome…me too.
My most important assets are my public library card and the google search engine on my computer. Both free, (well, sorta).
Carleton has a good starter book I’m reading:
Real Estate
The World’s Greatest Wealth Builder
I knew I had to get something of his to read because guys like JeffInCt and Propertymanager are posting some good thoughts here.
Why would you not want to read his work…I mean we’re talking about tens of thousands of dollars in committments here.
The initial learning curve period I set for myself has pretty much expired. Friday I put my first real offer in on an investment property. By Saturday afternoon I had a counter-offer. This morning, (Sunday), I’m not sure if it’s dead in the water…or still has a chance.
But it sure was fun.
I’d guess that the military will probably offer enticements at some point…to keep you on with their “team”.
I’m more of the Kiyosaki mindset. I like controlling my own actions.
Just my 2 cents,
-Mike
Everyone,
Thanks for the good advice. I’ve been researching this site a lot since I found it and really enjoy how honest most people are on here and there are not many gatekeepers here.
I’ll be overseas for at least 1-3 yrs with the military so I have plenty of time to study up on REI. Would anyone have any advice on investing overseas? I’ll be in Turkey for a year any possibly Spain for 2-3 yrs afterwards.
What is the general though of doing business with family? My grandmother has a house I could get for $40-50k that the tax value is listed at $76k. It needs some work less than 5k. Since I’m not there I hesitate on it although it could give me a great return. Any advice is welcomed. Thanks to all.
David
I purchased the Carlton Sheets program after I acquired my first two properties. I found it to be very informative however not necessary to get started in REI.
The best experience is hands on . You should talk to other investors and participate in forums like this one and take in as much as you can from ordinary investors before you send your money to the guru’s .
I kept the carlton sheets program for the 30-day trial period not sending it back until the 29th. day. BY that time I had listened to all the tapes, read all the literature and absorbed as much as I could.
And it cost me nothing.
Dun-deel
OK, I’ve got a question about the Sheets program:
I bought the course back in 1995. If anyone here has a more recent version, how much has changed from the course if I bought it today or a couple of years ago? Much of his techniques in the version I have seem to involve assumable mortgages, though today, you almost never see those anymore.
Can anyone fill me in on the changes ?
Thanks.
I think the cover is nicer. Carleton looks a little older. They are still suggesting bonds as a way to finance a property. (Did anyone ever do that?)
They’ve thrown in a few bonus DVD’s that are informative on a non-detailed, non specific example level.
They have a section in the popularity of the internet in helping with real estate and direct you to some sites… some of which are Sheets partners.
There is also a bit on manufactured housing. Don’t know if that was in the original deal.
Forms may have been updated too but I found them a little too generic for most of my deals.
They have a little slide chart that you slide to the type of deal and it offers the best ways to finance. Clever… maybe helpful to a newbie.
You can always save money and freshen your set with an update from ebay. I can’t believe how people overbid on this program. These are the same people that probably overbid on real estate.
Jeff
I got a copy of the course 2 years ago it still talked about assumable mortgages. The purpose of his course is to let you know how all these techniques work. It does a fine job of that. How you use these techniques to form a strategy and follow that strategy to build your business is up to where and who you are. For instance he can’t help you find the type of financing that you need to buy 5 houses without jamming up your credit and making you dead in the water. He doesn’t tell you how to find properties in your town that sell for 70% LTV, or which magazine of newspaper in your town renters look at when they are looking for a rent house. All that is local knowledge. You get that from joining your local real estate investor’s club. It is a good price, and it is complete knowledge. I don’t know of any techniques that he does not explain.
It is like you can tell me right now how a heart transplant works, but there will be enough details that you won’t tell me that the person on the table will surely be as dead as the donor when I am done. The delight is in the details and the Sheets course does not and can not give you those details.
I read the course a couple years after investing. It is good BUT most of the info you read about you can find in books at the library for free.
That is how we got started. We got every book we could from the library and took notes. Shortly after reading we had our 1st deal with an unheard of 5% down (unheard of for an apartment). By the way, the 5%down wasn’t our money so it was considered a no money down. All things we learned for free in library books!
Good Luck
Congratulations on your decision to get into Real Estate Investing.
I see you are looking into Carlton Sheets program?
All I can tell you is my experience with it.
The one thing I have to tell is is "NOBODYS REAL ESTATE INVESTING PROGRAM WORKS"
You have to work the program yourself and take the information and TAKE ACTION!
Whatever it takes to get you moving and making offers and buying propertis is what I suggest. Carlton Sheets has no new methods and his information is just as good as anyone else in his area he teaches. So if this is your choice then go with it, but don’t slack off and give yourelf 100% effort.
I bought his program about 3 years ago myself and studied hard and when I had questions the only support they gave was to spend thousands on a mentor with them. If I was smarter I guess I could have taken his information and ran with it, but I could not put it all together. So it was not a good choice for me, but it may be for you. If I would have gotten a mentor I think I would have done much better. I have a few now and that is what made the difference for me. I don’t know you so I can’t say this is for you until I knew much more about you.
I have noticed a lot of comments were to join a “local Real Estate Investing Club” which is a good suggestion. Just to let you know you don’t have to start investing local. My first property was 8000 miles away and was a great deal. Yes it may be harder far away unless you learn the techniques to handle this like I had to. Again it has to fit you, not anyone else.
I will assure you if you do not quit, work hard and continue your education on a daily or weekly basis and put in the work you will be able to be a successful investor and earn some money and most important have some fun. It will happen. Just have faith in yourself and Don’t listen to Negative people.
I highly suggest to run your own race.
Also I would love to hear of your success when it happens. It is motivating for me to see others get going just like I did about 3 years ago.
I wish you all the success you deserve.
I am a relatively new investor myself, but I do own a 2 unit investment property that I have had for 10 years. I recently decided to become a more agreesive investor as I saw the benefits that real estate brings. I have listened to the audio CDs of Carlton Sheets, Dolf de Roos, Robert Kiyosaki, and the weekend millionaire by Mike Summey and Roger Dawson and they all help me in becoming a better investor. I think for a beginning investor all these gurus will point you in the right direction but it is really up to you to take what you have learned and try it for yourself. Experience is the best teacher. Personally I think the weekendmillion program helped me the most because it focused on buying properties and holding on to them. It focused on only buying properties at prices that will make you cash flow positive. It focused on buying bread and butter properties in good neigborhoods. For me this was a perfect program because it was a perfect fit for my investment goals which is to keep buying properties that cash flow. Happy investing!
“Is the Carlton Sheets program for real and does it really work?”
I’ve been investing off and on for over 20 years.
I bought the 2001 version 18 months ago at a garage sale for $3. The guy I bought it from said he didn’t make any money with it. My thought was that he might have had more success if he had done more than watch the first 30 minutes of the"quick start" tape and actually cracked the cellophane on the rest of the materials.
The remaining 20+ CD’s, the other video tapes, and the workbook were all still sealed. They had some really good and some really useless information.
Having said that, it’s up to you. Study everything you can. The library and the internet has proven to be a big help.
You still have to actually pull the trigger and do something. I’ve done a few deals, some bad, some good. All the bad ones were soured by do-gooder environmental groups. Most of them are full of Marxists who can’t stand to see capitlaism work. They think you are evil if you are making money… :
<<All the bad ones were soured by do-gooder environmental groups. Most of them are full of Marxists who can’t stand to see capitlaism work. They think you are evil if you are making money… >>
WooHoo…my kinda poster!
Keith
Is the Sheets program real? yeah it is.
Does it work? Depends.
I bought it a couple of years ago. Got overwhelmed with all the ways to do it. Did not have any direction. Typical I do not have a lot of money, I do not have a lot of time. And a lot of it I could not seem to understand. There are no REI clubs nearby that I was able to find. So I was Floundering.
I got called about 7 months after I bought it by the sheets people and they wanted to see if want to get their coaching program. This cost a larger chunk of change. $5000k for a year. I got it down to 2500 for 6 months. They get you all worked up for the Millionaire elite program complete with a web site that has people that can answer questions on line, coaching once a week from a personal coach, and access to the coaching line for questions when you need answers fast. guaranteed money back.
My take on it now.
Web site. Never got an answer from anyone that really was experienced, They were all asking the same questions as yours, “is this real, does it work?” This site has more info, and baring an occasional Ph.D., it has good info.
The coaching hotline. Interesting. They claim and seemed to be experienced investors. But the problem I got is that each one had a different answer for the same question. At least it tells me they were not reading from a script, an maybe knew what they were talking about. However I was starting out and I needed direction and at that stage as I had few resources I knew a lot of the no-Money down programs were out of my reach, such as My 401k, equity in my house, or yacht (I don’t have one of those yet) or other substitution of collateral, or borrowing from a rich Uncle, (we all have one of those don’t we?) were out. They have a program called at that time REFS which was a private money lending program for their exclusive club members.
When I signed on, or talked to the Sales person he assured me that even people with a Bankruptcy could get financing as they loan on the deal not your credit. You still have to apply though. Funny thing was I did not have a good enough credit score to qualify. One of the answers that I got from the coaching help line was to spend two years getting my credit rebuilt and then I could start to think about trying to REI. One at least tried to tell me how to rebuild my credit rating by sending a dispute letter to every entry on my credit report. A lot of work and I found out really holds little weight. They just throw them in the trash. There is a right for them to do so, despite what you may have heard to the contrary from the web, they do not have to respond to every letter from the sender, especially when they start to look like form letters.
The “credit pursuit strategy” does work. One coach did turn me on to that.
Over all the coaching line was not as helpful as I thought it should be. It was confusing and very disheartening to learn in the third week that I have to wait two years before I start investing, especially when the program claims poor credit is not an issue.
The Personal Coach that I had was very helpful. I learned a lot more of value from him than from anyone else at that time. I learned that he did not agree with the standard Sheets methods. Specifically the 200 questions you are supposed to ask a FSBO to see if they would sell with no-money down and are “motivated sellers”. I wish that I had had more that 8 half hour sessions to talk with him. And he did all the talking, it was very fast. We covered the HP financial calculator, our credit issues, our market, and how to find FSBO’s All in four hours.
They also say it is no-money down. don’t believe it. you have to have Gas money, advertising money, course money, holding costs, ex-cetera. it might be no money down, but there is still a lot of capital you will need.
My advice? buy the No-down payment course on ebay. Good info as an introductory to see how you want to start buying and holding. But forget the upselling, which includes, the coaching elite program, motivational stories of Carlton’s student interviewed by him of course, and a reworked Spreadsheet program and a few other things.
Now look over his regular materials, find way to invest that appeals to you, your abilities, and your time. Then find a specialist “Guru” that has done this before and learn from them. Or a mentor at an REI club if you have one.
I’d like to thank everyone again for all the advice. I think I’ll pick up the 04 version on EBAY for $50. I bought REI for dummies last week and it has some good stuff in it so far. In June I’m going to Turkey for a year so I plan to study hard and I WILL get into RIE as soon as I get back stateside.
Has anyone done any deals overseas before? I hear Spain is great for investing and I have some family down south there.
Is anyone military here? Thanks again!
David