Licensing Scams and Mortgage Fraud: More Bad Press

Being that the Dirty Real Estate Tricks segment of TrueGotham gets the most visits per day and people stay on the site the longest when they are reading them, I couldn’t resist sharing the following "multi-level marketing" licensing "course" being offered by Nouveau Riche University. (via Cockeyed.com).  It seems that Nouveau Riche University which is totally unaccredited by anyone is offering to take thousands dollars from wannabe "apprentice" real estate investors to "teach" them how to get rich in real estate.   Ok.  So another company is making promises about how much money you can make as a real estate "professional" by overpaying them for information that is already available to anyone who’s interested in learning "the game."  It sucks but big deal.  Shame on those who actually pay this company for their classes.  And people are evidently signing up as cockeyed reports:

The recorded voice on the other end sounded serious, but didn’t identify herself. The message invited me to become a successful real estate investor, and let me know that I could do just one or two deals per year and exceed my current annual income.

She continued that their program focuses on six main areas:
find, fund, fix it up, tenant, manage and sell.

She used "tenant" as a verb, meaning "secure a tenant".

She was looking to build a team, and was looking for someone who was "coachable", "teachable", could follow instructions, and was available for a group interview on September 2nd.

I didn’t go to the group interview, but subsequent calls revealed the name and nature of this enterprise. "Nouveau Riche University" was signing up students. Real estate students.

That said, this is further evidence that the real estate industry is perceived by many as an easy way to earn easy money.   For those who actually believe that, get your real estate license and give it a shot.  Or don’t even bother with the license.  Perhaps you, like Casey Serin, can figure out how to defraud the banking system and dig yourself into a deep financial abyss.  You have got to check this out.  Mr. Serin purchased 8 properties in 8 months with no money down and now may face jail time for admitted mortgage fraud.  Check out "Why Should I Go To Jail for Mortgage Fraud?" on his blog I am Facing Foreclosure.com.  Casey Serin is alleging on his blog that what he did was "gray area" that he believed most in the industry practiced.  Today’s entry on his blog informs his readers that he found attorneys who have given him the green light to leverage some more.  Is this guy for real?  Unfortunately yes!  Reminds me of the guy who called me to boast that he had manufactured a multiple bid situation on his own home and 6 months later became a real estate agent.

I just had to add this from Housing Panic granting insight to how our brains determine that we should become investors.