Posted by BRnBA on March 12, 1999 at 19:23:50:
He wouldn’t have TIME to write all those books. Besides, he appears to be late 40’s maybe low 50’s, heck he’d have to be 180 to be an authority on that many strategies…just my opinion!
Any idea about the credibility of John T. Reed? - Posted by Brian
Posted by Brian on March 12, 1999 at 14:36:15:
His website is at www.johntreed.com
He critiques a lot of the RE Gurus…any ideas about the validity of him…
Brian
I just love it when… - Posted by Dirk Roach
Posted by Dirk Roach on March 13, 1999 at 14:33:58:
Some self oppointed “wise man” comes out of his cave up on top of the mountain of knowledge to hip all of us sheep unto the truth.
Because so many of us need it right?
I would check out the chat room and talk and read the newsgroups, It’s pretty easy to tell the men/women from the boys/girls.
Good luck to you,
Dirk Vader
(One of the weirdo’s looking to buy the star wars bar…lol)
I can’t resist . . . - Posted by Bronchick
Posted by Bronchick on March 13, 1999 at 11:42:19:
I usually keep my mouth shut about “fellow” (it hurts to say that word with John Reed in the same breath) authors, but I know its just a matter of time before he bashes me on his website, too.
His materials, two of which I read, were pretty decent and inexpensive. That’s about it. Well-written information, but aimed more at impressing the reader about the author than informing him with real practical strategies. From the information on his site, he hasn’t done a deal in 8 years. He doesn’t specifically say it in his “Lease/Options Special Report,” but the word is that he’s never done one. Thus, Reed’s credentials are his education and his so-called “integrity.” Hmmmmmm . . . .
His “B.S. Detection List” is pretty accurate, as well as many of his comments about the “gurus” themselves.
But the real point which he misses is that the materials are different than the man. True that some of the authors have had financial and legal difficulties, and some are outright liars, swindlers and frauds.
Still, there is something to learn from people with more experience than you (and I do mean YOU, Reed, the so-called “expert” about things he’s never done, rarely done or hasn’t done in a decade). Despite Reed’s shortcomings on a personal level, I still recommend his lease/options report in the appendix my course. Heck, it’s only $30 - how bad can it be?
My first real estate seminar, believe it or not, was with Bill McCorkle. Great advice. Great guy who got caught up in the seminar hype and now is going to jail. Too bad for him, but I learned a lot of good tips. Same thing for Del Dotto, Givens, Allen and others who let the almighty dollar lead them into stupidity, government fines and near indictments.
The point is that there is something to be learned from all of them. Following Reed’s logic, no one should watch cable because Ted Turner is an a-hole.
On a personal level, I think Reed is a first class jerk. We e-mailed back and forth for a week or two about two years ago. He argued about everything with me, including legal issues, which is fine. When I made a comment about how his “bashing” everyone might get him sued, he replied “it will give me free publicity.” I then said, “my mother always said if you have nothing nice to say . . .”, to which he replied, “your mother is an idiot.”
I think that comment speaks for itself.
Re: Any idea about the credibility of John T. Reed? - Posted by Nick
Posted by Nick on March 13, 1999 at 08:40:39:
I do not know a lot about Mr. Reed but I do know that
his education beckground is extremely impressive!
He went to West Point and Harvard Business school!
So maybe he does know what he is talking about!
Re: John T. Reed? - Posted by Jack (KY)
Posted by Jack (KY) on March 13, 1999 at 06:31:44:
For all his short comings, I have gleaned some value out of JT Reed’s material, which someone gave me. In addition, that material led me to his Web site, in which I found reference to a place that reminded Reed of the bar scene in one of the Star Wars movies. To paraphrase Reed, the place was full of weirdos. Well of course, I just had to find that place. An low and behold here I am at CREO, just another weirdo trying to do deals. Thanks Mr. REED.
Jack Stivers
Joe Kaiser’s Take… - Posted by J.P. Vaughan
Posted by J.P. Vaughan on March 12, 1999 at 21:24:29:
Joe Kaiser has an interesting take on Reed. Take a look
at his article, “That’s a Fact, Jack” at:
Re: Any idea about the credibility of John T. Reed? - Posted by Sue (NC)
Posted by Sue (NC) on March 12, 1999 at 19:24:03:
I own 2 of Reed’s books:
‘Aggressive Tax Avoidance for Real Estate Investors’ & ‘How to Buy Real Estate for 80% of Value’ (or something like that). The first is EXCELLENT reading (and timely, too!) The second is a good, solid primer on a variety of aquisition methods.
From what I’ve read, Mr. Reed is not very creative. Some of this comes from truly trying to protect uneducated sellers from making deals they do not fully understand. Some of it seems to just be that he works a particular way and is blind to alternatives.
As to his guru ratings, he seems to be in left field- no idea why he’s on Joe K’s case. But at least some of his work is good.
Re: Any idea about the credibility of John T. Reed? - Posted by Bill K. (AZ)
Posted by Bill K. (AZ) on March 12, 1999 at 15:46:07:
Brian,
I understand that Mr. Reed has been successful with his method of real estate investing. Everyone’s entitled to an opinion. His opinion is that anyone who spends money on any real estate tools, except for his newsletter, is a fool. Now, I’m sure that his methods work for him and others, but he reminds me of a movie critic. For everyone who agrees with the critic, there are those who don’t.
A periodic newsletter may work for some, but personally, I need more support. This site, and the experience of the “doers”, has helped me more than anything else I’ve tried. Like everything, all opinions and advice must be measured for your particular circumstances whether it comes from John T. Reed or someone on this site. However, just having multiple opinions and advice available is invaluable to me.
I believe that Mr. Reed is really trying to help folks, but he doesn’t seem to understand that people learn in different ways. He thinks everyone should learn “his way”, no exceptions. I just think that he misses the point of motivation, support and individuality.
He’s probably not bad. It’s just that others aren’t bad either. Like all goods and services for sale, if a guru isn’t producing results for folks, he/she will soon be out of business. The word will get around.
I hope this helps.
Bill
USMA & Harvard MBA, that means … - Posted by drew
Posted by drew on March 13, 1999 at 15:36:06:
…that Mr. Reed had really good grades in high school and did well on the SATs & GMAT. I’m not saying anything positive or negative about him here, just that we shouldn’t confuse academic credentials with real world expertise and investing savvy.
Plus, he probably went to Hudson High (aka West Point) just because the Air Force Academy wouldn’t take him.
-drew “guess my alma mater” pugh
That about sums it up… - Posted by David Alexander
Posted by David Alexander on March 13, 1999 at 11:50:39:
Not saying that college grads don’t make it, or that college is a bad thing, but… You figure it out.
Bill Gates, Michael Dell, etc. etc…
David Alexander
Re: Any idea about the credibility of John T. Reed? - Posted by phil fernandez
Posted by phil fernandez on March 12, 1999 at 18:06:52:
John T. Reed is a guy that will knock every real estate guru but himself. A good example of this is his opinion of Joe K. If he did 10% of the deals Joe Kaiser does he wouldn’t have to depend on his income from selling books.
John T. Reed does not like lease options. Is it because he does not understand how they work. Stick to this site. You can’t go wrong here.
Everyone Here KNOWS If you want to get rich, don’t… - Posted by raelynn mitchell
Posted by raelynn mitchell on March 14, 1999 at 24:39:55:
go to school!
(Ask Mr. Kiyosaki)
PS. Henry Ford didn’t graduate from 6th grade. Famous Amos didn’t finish school.
A certain Bill (I call him Uncle because for over two years I earned a living dealing with his operating system and programs) dropped out of Harvard.