Idiot's Guide to Carleton Sheets - Posted by HouseGoddess

Real Estate Investing Real Estate Gurus
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Posted by Dann on December 02, 2001 at 11:09:52:

Phil,

It is true that money is made when you buy but that money may come years down the road. It all depends on how one looks at it.

CS does not tell you to own 1 or 2 at FMV UNLESS those propertires are being rented and are making at least a small positive cash flow. He stresses that the benefits of having those properties paying their own mortgages is a great way to grow your wealth. He also stresses a 10-20 year time frame.

CS offers a relatively conservative method as NMD investing goes. He attempts to focus you on the long term strategy. At least from what I read.

I started with the CS course. I have not bought another yet but only because I know so many investors that my books are all alive.

I have been through 2 single fams, NMD and netted over 33% profit on each one in the two-three year terms I owned them.

I recently bought a 6 fam. NMD and it is making abouut $1500.00 HMPB (Hip Pocket National Bank) monthly. Yes, that is net profit.

It is always great to go for it all… wholesale, NMD, owner fi, bank refi for cash, then sell lease option, etc, etc. but that happens rarely and is not the way everyone goes when buying real estate.

Many look for things like monthly income, long term appreciation, equity accrual, etc, aside from instant equity/huge cash flow.

It is just a different way of doing it, I guess.

Best,

Dann

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Idiot’s Guide to Carleton Sheets - Posted by HouseGoddess

Posted by HouseGoddess on November 30, 2001 at 16:59:15:

How come everyone and their 16 yr old can listen to the CS course and be raring to go? Am I the only person who had to take NO-DOZE while listening to the tapes? It’s safer for me to talk on the cell-phone, put on makeup, brush my teeth and file my nails, than to plug in one of his tapes when I’m on the road.

I guess I’ll be forced to read his material. Maybe it will make more sense.

HouseGoddess

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Re: Idiot’s Guide to Carleton Sheets - Posted by J Mitchell

Posted by J Mitchell on April 26, 2002 at 18:31:33:

Here are a few points on Carlton Sheets Program(s):

  1. First of all, CS program IS designed for people with almost ZERO knowlege in Realestate / Investing.

  2. Sencond, Carlton Sheets explains that HIS course is not just another realestate investing course, BUT a Creative Financing Course ( universal for any business )

  3. Carltons edu-company, Professional Education Institute, offers much more EDUCATIONAL programs that go into detail explaination on SPECIFIC topics like Property Management, Partnerships, and Forclosures.

  4. Carlton Sheets also avdocates studying OTHERs Realestate programs and materials NOT just his stuff.

  5. He also says that NONE of the techniques that are contained in his program are WRITTEN in stone… you must PEAK & TWEEK and/or Modify single techniques or in combination.

May you have a successful venture,
JM - Wisconsin

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Re: Idiot’s Guide to Carleton Sheets - Posted by GR

Posted by GR on December 01, 2001 at 09:46:55:

Wow, this is pretty harsh stuff, guys.

The Carleton Sheets stuff is aimed at beginners. Hence, it’s very basic. The course explains what a mortgate is, for crying out loud. Are you contemptouos of this material for not being graduate school? It’s not.

But it can, and does, give people a taste of what’s possible. Most people do not have any idea that real estate can be bought no money down. Sheets makes that light bulb go off for a lot of people, and that alone is valuable.

As far as urging people to buy high and go broke, this is a silly misrepresentation, and makes it clear that you have not listened to the Sheets material. He warns against getting into a negative cash flow situation, and does a reasonable job of showing how to analyze a piece of property to avoid that situation.

Sheets encourages students of his course to study other teachers. Books, tapes, seminars–he prescribes that you budget a certain amount of money and time to continue your education. He knows he’s teaching Real Estate Kindergarten, but he does a creditable job of it, and he points the way beyond: other, more advanced teachers.

I got started with Sheets, and while it’s unlistenably basic now, it was exciting, heady stuff back then, and it gave me the chutzpah to do my first no money down deal. And to seek out the continuing education to take me to the next level.

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Re: Idiot’s Guide to Carleton Sheets - Posted by JoeS

Posted by JoeS on December 01, 2001 at 08:21:03:

What Carlton promotes is …Buy a place at market value, or just below in order to get the terms from the seller that you need. Basically nothing down, or at least minimal. Refi immediately at closing, walk away with BORROWED cash. This is called “being upside down” in a property.
If you truly want to make money in this business, follow the advise of many posters on this site. Buy low, nothing down, make money monthly, make money when you sell at market value. It is a cookie cutter way of doing business. Varieties of this method will work, but why reinvent the wheel? Just my 2 cents.

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Re: Idiot’s Guide to Carleton Sheets - Posted by Brandon Morris

Posted by Brandon Morris on November 30, 2001 at 17:22:07:

Well, I have the CS program…the Manual, Cassette Tapes, and Video’s (Thanks Grandpa - he bought them). I have gotten quite a bit out of the manual and the video’s…I can listen to the tapes if I’m following in the manual with him…however, the cassettes by themselves BORE me.

I do not have a business background at all…a lot of this is greek to me and I’m having a difficult time with it…however, I’m pressing forward. Still working on deal #2. Deal #1 I’m living in at this time…No money deal on my home…I was out $800 for closing costs (mine and the owners)…owner finance 100% at 8.25%.

The moral of the story…well, there is no moral to this story. Just letting you know that I agree the tapes are boring also…however, there is a lot of good information on them.

Brandon Morris

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Re: Idiot’s Guide to Carleton Sheets - Posted by GL

Posted by GL on November 30, 2001 at 17:14:13:

I don’t have the whole course (wish I did) but I have the book and I think well of it. It is pretty standard nothing down type strategies plus some motivation and goal setting.Old stuff to you and me, but exciting to someone who never heard it before and it still works. I have no trouble believing that a go getter with some business experience could take his course then go out and buy a million dollars worth of real estate in a year or 2, which is what his infomercials claim.

I’m sure they are 1 in a million of his student but then how many of them ever read the course or do anything with it after they buy it? Most of the Sheets students who ask questions here admit they have not read the material or even watched all the tapes, and those are the enthusiastic ones. O well how many Harvard students drop out, fail, or never work in the field they were trained for?

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Re: Idiot’s Guide to Carleton Sheets - Posted by Michael S.

Posted by Michael S. on December 01, 2001 at 16:45:03:

Thank you for the encouraging words. I have just completed his course and have gone beyond (listening to others, more books, this board, other investors) and I can say he did open my eyes to what “No Money Down” really means.

I hope to purchase my first property, no money down, with a positive cash flow in the next 50 days.

Michael S.

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Huh? - Posted by smilin_mark

Posted by smilin_mark on December 01, 2001 at 10:36:50:

I never heard Carleton mention refinancing a property ever - let alone immediately after closing. That doesn’t make any sense. If you could close with a lender, why would you need no money down techniques? Maybe I missed something. Is this his way of getting money back at closing? I’ll admit I never went through that part of the course.

I do agree that the methods you will find on this site are excellent, but I also learned a lot from Carleton.

Best wishes,

Mark

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Re: Idiot’s Guide to Carleton Sheets - Posted by phil fernandez

Posted by phil fernandez on November 30, 2001 at 19:23:43:

Sure, I also believe that anyone can buy 1 or 2 million worth of real estate in a couple of years. But are they just buying the real estate at fair market value or above to tell the world that they did it. Does it make any sense to buy 1 million in real estate if you are paying too much and have breakeven or negative cashflow. Wow look at me, I own 1 million in real estate and I’m going broke.

The whole idea is to buy real estate at the wholesale levels. As Ed Garcia always says, " you make your profit on the buy". I don’t buy 20 properties a year. I might buy 2 or 3. But the deals I do buy net me a minimum of $30,000 instant equity and a healthy positive cashflow.