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Real Estate Spy

A Realistic Look at Gary Johnston Real Estate Investing

All of us in search of a better life, go out looking for something that we can do… that we like… Something that will create a passive income for us.

I was no different.

If you search hard for it, financial freedom is available.

There really is no shortage of money out there.

One of the things I had to work on personally (if I can be real for a sec) was getting to the point where I saw life in abundance instead of scarcity.

-As long as I was stuck on the scarcity train, I created an imaginary world where I could only win if others lost. It’s a world of survival. It’s a “you or me world.”  Now that I have gotten some extensive coaching, I realize it isn’t about survival it’s about something bigger than ourselves.

It’s about creating a “you and me world” where others win first. I know it sounds hokey, but I’m serious. This simple mind shift allowed me to invite more relationships into my life. Relationships that have taken me to new levels. As others around me have won, I have won too.

The other day I was sitting with my financial adviser…truth is we were having breakfast in the Florida keys ’cause we were about to go out for kiteboarding session.

I was explaining to him what I did for a living. He told me that he had not seen many businesses in his lifetime that he liked. He said most of them are either too time or location intensive, but he loved mine….just need a laptop. Good to go.

This is James. He was the guy that showed me how…

< Sorry I’m reworking my video. In the meantime check out our Apply for a video from James.
If you are finished watching the vid…let me get straight to the point about Gary Johnston!

So you are most likely trying to figure out if you should attend a Gary Johnston event.

I say DO IT. You can never get enough of an education.

I am not your typical NEGATIVE Nelly.

I am gonna give you some more info on his offering but first I want to talk to you about being careful when it comes to real estate investing.

I know I know… You have heard it all before.

Just like me you’re probably thinking to yourself right now, all you don’t understand, I am super careful. I have a neat plan. It is all laid out.

Well what would I say to you? Pride comes…before the fall.

I thought I had it all figured out as well. The problem with the real estate is one thing.

Once I tell you what it is you understand. Matter’0 fact’0…. if you can control this one thing then you’re golden. If you can’t control it you’re setting yourself up for financial Armageddon.

What is it?

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Affluence Edu + the Middle Class = ???

Why 800 – 234 – 9927  is the last number I’d call right now.

< Sorry I’m reworking my video. In the meantime check out our Apply for a video from James.
What’s up guys… a couple of things intersected for me today, so I figured I’d drop a couple of lines on it.

=>First thing that happened:

This morning I was reviewing Grant Cardone’s “How to triple your Income.” He showed a graph from Forbes or Fortune showing the average savings and income of America’s middle class. Guess what! Disaster. Wish you could see it.

Here is something close to it courtesy of www.americanprogress.com

affluence edu real estate investing seminar

…and….

=>The second thing that happened:

Guess what I received in the mail?

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A Look at Fixer Jay: All About Ugly (Houses, That Is)

What’s up guys!  The Real Estate Spy here with a new review. Just wanted to talk to you a little about what Jay is up to.

First off, my mom worked for the telephone company for 27 years, so no love loss there. I also did business with a guy who retired from the phone company and started his own medical company. The “old timers” from the phone company are the real deal. They are tough as nails and there was no leniency back in the day.

So, I have a lot of respect for Jay, but still No CIGAR for me…

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Not gonna do it…..I’m out because I lost my ass in REI and found a better way. Nevertheless, I will give you my honest review of Jay P Decima, and let you make your own decision.

Alright, so I am not gonna say that anything Fixer Jay is doing is that ugly, but I believe that most people (if you are like me deserve to know the truth about stuff before they get into it.)

So on to the review.

Jay P Decima Program Critique

Somewhere along the way, he titled himself, “Fixer Jay,” and you’ll see that moniker on his YouTube videos, his products, and his books. He is Jay P. DeCima, and his thing is fixing up “ugly houses” and small apartment buildings. (In my mind, Youtube is dominated though by Phil Pustejovsky.)

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Real Estate Guru David Tilney: The “What’s Next?” Real Estate Guy

Most real estate marketing gurus focus on acquisitions: They dangle shiny strategies in front of their customers’ faces, promising them the perfect road to riches via real estate transactions. In other words, they deal with the actual process of buying real estate (and often flipping it).

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HOLY SHINY OBJECTS, BATMAN!!

In a refreshing change of pace, real estate guru David Tilney takes a different approach. Instead of teaching his followers how to acquire great real estate, he teaches them how to manage it. He leads seminars and writes books on topics like property security and tenant management.

Think of Tilney as the “What’s Next?” real estate guy. After you buy a piece of property, he teaches how to secure, protect, and manage it.

So as far as managing a piece of property that I already own, great….good stuff.

I have had all kinds of rental property management blunders.

I remember cutting my vacation short to make sure that the gas company refilled a tank so that my tenants could have hot water,

>or SCRUBBING the shower floor for a tenant who swore she had hazardous mold growing…what was it?

-It definitely was NOT Hazardous MOLD.-

She liked that creamy, rich Dove shower soap…that formed a nice (nasty) layer/build up on the shower floor.  It just needed to be scrubbed.

AHHHHH!  scream, rip my hair out…bang my head against a bed of nails.

I once got a call from a brand new tenant who wanted out of her lease because she had to step across a drunk derelict dude who passed out in front of her door.

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A Look at Peter Fortunato: A True Real Estate Guru or Scam?

Hey guys!! > thanks for stopping by my blog to find out the latest on what’s going on in the real estate investing world.

My name is Paul and they call me the real estate spy. My goal is simply to enlighten the people that end up on my blog about what’s happening behind-the-scenes in the real estate world. Pulling back the curtain one guru at a time.

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Welcome to the World of Oz… the gurus aka Wizards of Oz behind the curtains are banking big while you are shoveling out your precious ching-ching.

Once you are broke the party ends.  At least that is what happened to me.  There is a fine line between greedy gurus and dream killer critics. One punches you in the pocket book while the other kicks you while you are down. Let’s talk about the latter first, then we’ll get to Pete.

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Real Estate Investing according to Ellen Degeneres

Hey it’s Paul the real estate spy.

If you don’t know who I am, I basically research all things related to real estate investing and try to show people an alternative to engaging in risky real estate investing behavior.

I lost my shirt on it and so I feel obligated to let others know what can happen. It can be a pretty tricky business if you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.

>BUT<< All of that aside for now though.

Let’s just have some fun and get some giddy good giggles from what Ellen put together for her sterling show.

As I was researching through some things this morning I came across this short YouTube video and laugh my butt off.

Sometimes I think that you can get more out of a simple video like this then going to an all day event seminar that only teaches you that you don’t know anything and you probably should buy the next course.

Don’t worry, I am not gonna ask you to break out your wallet and drop another $1500 on the à la carte seminar series. Just watch and enjoy.

But before we go to the video. Keep in mind there is lots of great free information out there.  For instance Bigger Pockets is an online community that allows you to search any real estate investing issue to see how others have handled it or what resources they have found to help them with it.

Ellen Degeneres Real Estate Investing(photo credit: google.com search results)

Ready to see the video?

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Joshua Smith’s 90 Day Mastery Program: Can it work for you?

Welcome to my Naked Review Series…

Alright so first off I just want to say that Joshua obviously is a real go-getter.

You can tell just by the way he flaunts his tats and has an in-yo’-face video persona that he can bring it in real estate ring.

He offers a mentoring program.

The big question though is whether or not it’ll work for you?

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First let me introduce myself:  I’m Paul (Real Estate Spy) with another rogue review on what might get you >>separated from your money.<<

My story? It’s all water under the bridge now, but I pretty much lost everything doing real estate investing. So, I put together a real estate blog to talk about all of the guru garbage out there.  I fell victim to a lot of it. But thank God I met someone who was pretty sly at internet marketing and who showed me the ropes. He helped me turn everything around. I work from home and love it.

I wanted to kill my cubicle and he showed me how.  He was a pharmacist who got tired of dealing with the BS out there working a 9 to 5. So, he retired himself from his career and is doing what he loves from home too.

The biggest thing missing in my life up until this point? I needed the right mentor in place and I needed to have direct access to him/her.

=>It couldn’t just be someone who I could connect with in written text format.

It had to be a live human being that I could ask the real hard questions to.

That is one of the BIGGEST problems I have with a lot of the gurus out there. You will never meet them in a “100 years.” You’ll meet people that they appoint to run their seminars and answer their questions. But, they market their stuff as if you’re going to hang out with them and have coffee. That is one of the things that was a bit refreshing when I took a look at Joshua Smith. You’ll see why in a minute.

Ok So I am not really NAKED in the video, but for my naked truth series I thought it’d kinda funny to go topless…ooooh sounds so scandalous. LOL

Joshua Smith Realtor gone Rebel guru

Who is he? The NAKED Truth?

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< Sorry I’m reworking my video. In the meantime check out our Apply for a video from James.

Let’s Look at Zack Childress’ Automated Wholesaling Systems

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Just a Bag of Chips….

What’s up guys. It’s Paul the Real Estate Spy at it once again.  Today I am reviewing Zack Childress’ automated wholesaling systems program.

As I am blowing through the information I have to simply say OMG and then let out a great big YAWN!

I mean all of the gurus here online are not really developing systems so that YOU can get rich, right?

-You understand that right?

Maybe you don’t so let me clue you in.

Most everybody online is pitching some kind of >>formula<< for you to get rich or at least make money, BUT, in the process they’re going to get rich first.

What do you get in exchange? We will talk about it in a Jackson Hole Jiffy…

But first, let me clarify some stuff here. Sorry, I am feeling a little bit pissy today. It really isn’t Zack’s fault. He’s a brilliant marketer just like Joe Crump, or Phil Pustejovsky.

It’s just that I’ve been doing more and more reviews lately and  I see the same stuff over and over again.

What are they? Lots of promises. Do they deliver? Well, there is an overwhelming amount of information online that says they don’t.

But back to why I’m here writing this review.

You might ask yourself okay Paul, if you are so great, why should I listen to you…and…

Do you have an agenda?
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< Sorry I’m reworking my video. In the meantime check out our Apply for a video from James.
Hey! How’s it going? Let me introduce myself just in case you are new. My name is Paul and I’m the real estate spy. I love what I do. I investigate different stuff in the REI world.

I share it here on my blog so that people have a one-stop place to get some real feedback on the gurus, seminars and people pulling the strings in the crash course real estate riches seminars and beyond. I try to get to the skinny if you know what I mean.

Why do I do it? Well certainly you can read my story but the gist of it is that

I lost everything when I tried to become a real estate superstar. I was trying to catapult myself out of my cubicle and realized that I put myself in purgatory. I was in a much worse condition than where I started.

So I was back at the 9 to 5 if you know what I mean. I was slowly giving up on my dreams until a life changing event. I met a guy named James when I was doing research online.

I had done some pay per click advertising and had just a tiny bit of success at it for a little business that my friend had started. So, I was looking for more things to do when I came across his blog.

john schaub real estate review

He introduced me to a concept of helping small businesses get found online. Essentially, he turned me into a local lead generation genius.

To put it into perspective what I became to local small businesses is what this rich dude (above) is to the dating world.

Over time I realized that all of these real estate gurus are doing Internet marketing and the successful ones are making a ton.

So, from then on I listened to every word James and his business partner Dan said. I was able to finally declare RIP to the J-O-B and work entirely from home now.

One of the keys? Fail Fast!

Another key: Get a real life mentor (not someone you never get to meet).

I’m glad that I finally got the right mentors in place.  This has been the game changer for me.

Believe it or not in between writing this post for you, I was able to stop and have breakfast with my kids and take them to school.

Pretty cool, right?

I know you are most likely searching for the same kind of lifestyle. So reach for your red bull and stick around. I’m gonna share all the dirty details with ya.

I hope my review helps you on your journey to a better life.

John Schaub is brilliant but I still say not a chance….

Why?

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HomeVestors of America Review

Maybe you have seen

the >>BIG BRIGHT YELLOW sign that says “We Buy Ugly Houses” too.

-I always thought it was brilliant marketing. Indeed it is and has been and….STILL is. So you are here now with me (hanging out) looking for a review on the good ole

We will take that little piece of NOT SO MUCH paradise off your hands and turn that ugly duckling into something that will turn us a pretty profit.  All while we get you out that great big mess you are in.

That’s gonna be your new gig? Well you are thinking about it at least.  So let’s look at the good, bad and UGLY. ;-)

First, let me tell you who I am and why I am writing about this. My name is Paul and I am the Real Estate Spy. Think 007, Daniel Craig and Halle Berry. I get to the bottom of things. Do I have an ulterior motive? Hell to the YEAH….MOST Definitely.

Let me get it out of the way here.

I lost my @$$ in real estate and if I can help a couple of people understand the risks associated with going double deep in the real estate dream, and introduce them to a better way…then my job is done. ;-)  With that said, I still believe that something that gets you closer to your dreams is better than doing nothing. So if you choose real estate, it’s all good in the hood as far as I am concerned (as long as you are clear on the risks).

There you have it. You can read more about my cluster fudge covered problems and losing it all to the real estate gods (the banks in case you were wondering.)

Yep, lost it all. Bankruptcy, foreclosure. All the stuff that isn’t supposed to be what the real estate dream come true, rags to riches, monkeys to millionaires infomercials promise it will be.

Is HomeVestors of America a scam?

I don’t think so, but I did see some complaints on the web (although I take them a bit with a grain of salt). If you are curious, you can look at the Rip Off Report online.

Regardless, AND not for that reason though….I’m >>OUT<<

Why?

Because unless you grew up in  a household where entrepreneurship was a family staple, you are prolly gonna struggle… just like I did. The REI train for me completely derailed. Internet marketing has produced a better return, BUT it took a while for me to go from a W2 employee mindset to a biz owner mindset. There were some things that needed to change.

Here’s the deal. I recognize in you what was going on in me.

>WONDER WHAT IS GOING ON WITH YOU?<

There is most likely a UNIQUENESS about YOU that is screaming out for expression, otherwise, you most likely wouldn’t be on this blog. That uniqueness wants to do something different than what you are doing. There’s gotta be a better way, right?  That’s how I felt.

I believe there is a better way, one that honors who you are and how you were created.  If you want access to what’s next for you,  you are going to have to talk turkey with the part of you that stands in the way. I think it was Laird Hamilton that said,

“Make sure your worst enemy doesn’t live between your own two ears.”

He was right. If you knew how to get the results you want in life, you’d already had them.  If your results aren’t measuring up exactly stay tuned.

I learned that living financially free starts in your mind. It is followed by behavior, which produces actions, which produces results. Getting those things all working together is key.

My proposition and suggestion for you is to take time to figure out where you aren’t in alignment with your goals. Figure out your personality deficits and weaknesses that might potentially hold you back. Get clear on them so you can move them out of the way.

Take a look at the “Recommended Resources” to find out the things that have helped me.

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