John T. Reed

What do you guys think of John T. Reed? The first time I read some of his real estate guru ratings, I got a VERY bad impression of him. I admire a couple of the guys he really trashes…however he has a very interesting perspective on many of the gurus. After reading the majority of his guru ratings, and buying EVERY book in his ‘recommended’ list [not his own books, but books of the gurus he likes] I have a far better impression of him.

I think he basically hates any guru who advocates that real estate is a way to get rich quick. A matter of fact, he tends to dislike any guru who talks about being super successful in real estate. He seems to like guys who say it’s hard work, and that it takes time to become successful & make money…which is factual in most cases. Sure, there are a few people who do get rich quick flipping houses in California or buying condos for $400k and selling them for $800k in Miami…but overall these people are far and few between…especially now that the market is turning down. I personally like the ‘get rich slowly’ - but GET RICH - philosophy.

Any opinions on this???

Thanks,
Steve

Steve, I guess I don’t understand the popular mindset that get rich quick is bad. There are only 2 ways to get rich. One is to work hard at your job and dollar cost average your savings for 40 years and then wake up one day and you are rich at 60 years of age (too old to enjoy it). The other is to invest in something that you can control (like real estate) and grow multiple streams of income compounding one on the other and get rich by the time you are 40 (and still young enough to enjoy it). That is getting rich quick. We all want to get rich quick. In my opinion there is no other way to do it that makes any since at all.

i like how reed focuses on the actual written material of authors - like the 2 inch margins and HUGE FONT SIZES…lol

when you pick up a book, on any subject, and you see the blank pages or half pages along with huge margins - it’s funny.

i’m reading a book now on commercial real estate and it has all standard 1 inch margins, small font and it is PACKED with very good information - hands on stuff that is tough to understand on one read - so when i read it two or three times, it does really click and helps me alot.

that’s a big difference from some books that are part entertainment, part marketing and a small part of actual useful information for the investor.

i’ve been through the entire sheets program and i would consider it pretty darn good. i mean it’s filled with so much BS about seller financing it gets “a little” ridiculous, but for all that silly stuff (and not all of it is silly), the course is still very informative and pretty well written.

Reed is a bit over-the-top in his approach. BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE - his style is a MARKETING STYLE!!!

plain and simple. he has made a name for himself by virtue of attacking others - this is a VERY common approach to marketing - comparative marketing…only Reed is really raw in his approach -

it’s funny - he’ll throw a dog a bone (recommended gurus) but he really pushes his stuff alot. it’s a simple marketing approach.

personally, i think he goes too far and turns me off…but if 100 people visit his site a day and there are 80 like me, 15 like you (buying his “other recommended guru” books) - that leaves 5 that will buy his products…

simple strategy.

I just wonder if his MAIN objective is to get rich off his books, help the ‘average joe’ get into the real estate business, or a hybrid of both. My guess is, that it’s the hybrid objective. I have to respect the fact that he wants to make a buck. Who doesn’t want to do that. But it also appears that he’s truly interested in helping educate people on the real estate business. That I have to respect.

BUT…he’s rather one sided in some cases. I am not a fan of the no-down-payment and get-rich-quick real estate guys…a.k.a. Robert Allen, and the like. I’m a huge, huge Robert Kiyosaki fan though. But John tears Robert to pieces in his review of RDPD. I think the problem is John does not understand that Robert’s RDPD book is purely a basic book on ‘common sense’ financial & investment strategies. It’s not a real estate book, though it mentions it some. I have probably listened to the audiobook version of “Rich Dad Poor Dad” a dozen times, and I make six figures a year now because of the basic principles he teaches [investing in cashflow producing assets, though virtually none of it now/yet consists of real estate]. My tax bill for 2007 is a long ways off, but I already dread it. LOL.

Do a search on these forums. I think he and Carleton Sheets are the top-2 people discussed here.

Reed does what he does for marketing reasons.

if he went around saying Kiyosaki was a great guy - he wouldn’t get noticed as much…

kiyosaki is HUUUUUUUGGGEEEEE.

tearing him up unmercifully is noticeable…calling him a great guy isn’t as noticeable…at all.

i’ve met robert kiyosaki - he’s one very smooth and confident guy…really freakin tall too - that has nothing to do with Reed - but he probably is a short bald guy (like me! :D)…

Reed’s too angry…i feel like writing him a letter and saying:

Don’t be hatin’!

Nah…Reed’s got hair. There was a picture of him several months back in Money magazine…

Reed’s not stupid – he’s a Harvard MBA and a West Point grad…he is VERY abrasive and likes John T. Reed best of all!

Keith