Posted by IB (NJ) on December 02, 2002 at 17:17:33:
…You won’t be dead but that memory will start to fade…
Houserookie - Need Feedback On John T. Reed Site… - Posted by tom
Posted by tom on December 01, 2002 at 23:13:21:
Houserookie please give me your honest opinion on Reed’s site. Some people say he’s too critical. He says CRE is borderline scam and unenthical. What are you thoughts?
Your help is always is appreciated.
Feedback On John T. Reed Site… - Posted by JoeKaiser
Posted by JoeKaiser on December 03, 2002 at 24:45:49:
I’m not Houserookie, but I do have an opinion here.
I’ve always liked John T. Reed. He was one of my original heros and back in the day, I bought all his books and tapes. I even got to talk to him on the telephone one time when I was young and dumb and setting the world on fire. The 1986 conversation went something like this . . .
Reed: “Mr. Kaiser?”
Me: “Ugh, yeah?”
Reed: “Mr. Kaiser, your check bounced. Please make good on the check or return the books and tapes.”
Me: “Ugh, okay.”
The 2nd check cleared okay, as I recall.
Like I said, we go way back.
I am also mentioned on his site, in the dreaded red “I do not recommend” type. Believe me, it’s okay. It upset me initially, but I now understand what that’s all about and respect that Reed steps up to the plate and takes his cuts.
I’m not saying it’s all good or that I don’t see some real issues there, too. I do. And I think he takes things too far and it makes him look foolish occasionally, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think he’s smart, funny, and extremely intelligent.
I sometimes think I get these “great ideas,” only to later realize that they weren’t my ideas at all . . . they were some things I’d once read in the past. And when I retrace my thoughts and locate the idea’s genesis, it’s a Reed idea more often than anyone else.
He’s not an evil fellow or has some sinister agenda. And I’m sure he believes he’s doing uninformed people a favor by separating the good from the bad. Hey, more power to him.
Say what you will, but he’s an original and even though I don’t agree with everything he says, I do get a kick out of the way he delivers it.
And by the way, if you haven’t checked out the Russ W “unauthorized autobiography” he’s got going on his site (in defense of the lawsuit filed against him), you should. It is amazing stuff and if I knew how to buy stock short (I think that’s what it’s called), I’d call my broker (if I had one) and order up all I could handle (in case you haven’t guessed, I have no idea what I’m talking about when it comes to the stock market). I understand the next chapter will be even better than the first.
Joe
What gives him the right? - Posted by js-Indianapolis
Posted by js-Indianapolis on December 02, 2002 at 20:20:45:
Here’s his history in REI:
Real estate owned:
1969-1974: 16 Harvard Avenue, Collingswood, NJ (duplex)
1972-1978: 211 Lakeview Drive, Collingswood, NJ (triplex)
1972-1978: 426 Euclid Avenue, Haddonfield, NJ (duplex)
1974-1978: 340 Avondale Avenue, Haddonfield, NJ (house)
1975-1978 10 Tenth Avenue, Haddon Heights, NJ (duplex)
1975-1978: Holly Apartments, 137-139 High Street, Mount Holly, NJ (12-unit apartment building)
1978-1983: Greenbriar Apartments, 1500 Beverly Circle, Corsicana, TX (37-unit apartment building)
1980-1983: 45 LaSalle Drive, Moraga, CA (house)
1983-1988: Las Brisas Apartments, 6414 Brentwood Stair Road, Fort Worth, TX (33-unit apartment complex)
1983-1992: Cottonwood Apartments, 510 East Beltline Road, DeSoto, TX (25-unit apartment buiilding)
1983-date: 342 Bryan Drive, Alamo, CA (house)
Total rental units owned: 117
Total houses owned: 3
Yeah! He’s owned three houses. His last RE purchase was 1983, as far as I can see. What does that tell you? What, this doesn’t work?
His site (he) is so self rightous, I don’t know who would take anything he says as serious. I thought it was a joke at first. He really thinks he is some sort of coaching god, without ever coaching anything serious. He thinks he’s the all knowing being in CRE, yet has never really been out there doing it. Not in any serious fashion, anyhow.
This guy can sit and toot his own horn all day long, I’m not listening.
Reed and Eminem -separated at birth? - Posted by Ben (NJ)
Posted by Ben (NJ) on December 02, 2002 at 08:01:17:
both claim to be the “real” Slim Shady, but can there be only one? “Won’t the real Slim Shady please stand up, please stand up!”
Re: Houserookie - John T. Reed Site… - Posted by JHyre in Ohio
Posted by JHyre in Ohio on December 02, 2002 at 07:25:18:
I like Reed’s books. His “guru” ratings are way too slanted in my view. He is very conservative in his approach and focuses on why things won’t work, as opposed to what can be done to make them work. He has not reviewed all of the material that he rates…literally judging a book by its cover in one instance. If he says someone is good, they are. If he says they are bad…maybe they are, maybe they aren’t. His review of CREOL has some truth to it…there ARE posers out there who post with no clue…that means exercise some caution and sense, as opposed to not learning from this site. The same caution and sense will serve better than inaction when investing.
John Hyre
Why Waste Time Talking About His Site - Posted by phil fernandez
Posted by phil fernandez on December 02, 2002 at 06:22:19:
That’s just what he wants, attention. I’d focus on getting a creative approach to investing right here where things are much more positive. Why deal in negatives.
Re: What gives him the right? - Posted by Ronald * Starr (in No CA)
Posted by Ronald * Starr (in No CA) on December 03, 2002 at 19:37:55:
JS–(IN)-----------
You can have your own opinion. Fine. You can act as you wish. Fine. But please be accurate. You say: " He thinks he’s the all knowing being in CRE, yet has never really been out there doing it. Not in any serious fashion, anyhow."
He owned investment real estate for over twenty years. I consider that “serious.” I don’t know why you don’t. That he has not bought properties for a couple of decades, so what? Why should that be relevant at all as to whether he knows about what he says and whether what he says is sensible, accurate, honest, insightful, and novel? You seem to make your judgments on things that I see as irrelevant or false.
He has been writing about real estate investing for over 20 years too. He says that he gets several telephone calls a day from investors and subscribers to his newletter. He tries to get information from them about the issues they face as investors. This probably keeps him in more in touch with real estate investing than most of us.
Now, I’m not going to try to push you to read his books. But he has written two of the books which I consider in the top 5 best real estate investing books written by anybody. And I have perspective, having read over 200 books on real estate investing. So if you ignore his writings, that is up to you. It will probably be a loss for you. Alright.
You might want to think about what you do not like about Jack Reed, just to help you understand yourself better. We know that emotional responses are human. But, that thoughtful, cortex-processed ideas allow for better responses than the emotional do, except maybe in interpersonal interactions. So, you avoid reading some of the best information on real estate investing because of an emotional response to Jack’s personality. Ok, but if you avoid a lot of other people’s information because they irritate you in some way, you may miss a lot.
I am constantly searching for better educational materials on real estate investing, so that I can better understand what is going on. There are a lot of mediocre books published on the topic. To find a few good books requires a lot of looking. When I find somebody who provides good materials, I want to study them. I don’t care about their personality or personal views. I don’t agree with everything Jack says. And I certainly see his judgments as being flawed. But, still, I do not want to ignore him. It is hard to find people as perceptive on the topic as he is.
Good Investing***********Ron Starr**********
Re: What gives him the right? - Posted by David Krulac
Posted by David Krulac on December 03, 2002 at 12:55:45:
Let’s say that I bought and sold between 500 and 1,000 properties, including 2 bought today. And let’s say that I’ve been doing this in 4 different decades, buying up to 65 properties a year.
Does any of that matter? Does any of that make me smarter, richer, more articulate, more well know, more intelligent, more educated, or read by more people than John T. Reed?
David Krulac
Central Pennsylvania
Hey that’s a YOUNG man’s song… - Posted by IB (NJ)
Posted by IB (NJ) on December 02, 2002 at 10:02:23:
What you know bout ‘slim shady’ standing up Ben (NJ)? Listening to your kids’ music again…lol
Re: What gives him the right? - Posted by js-Indianapolis
Posted by js-Indianapolis on December 04, 2002 at 15:56:13:
Yes, it matters. I’ll take your advice over his, any day. You’re out there, doing it, and have been doing it for many years. Nothing beats real world experience. Makes no difference to me if you’re “smarter, richer, more articulate, more well know, more intelligent, more educated, or read by more people”.
Just my opinion.
37 ain’t exactly dead… - Posted by Ben (NJ)
Posted by Ben (NJ) on December 02, 2002 at 14:20:20:
besides my new favorite song is Sk8ter Boi- (that used to be a nickname of mine). One of these days I’ll tell you the story.
Re: What gives him the right? - Posted by Jason Blair
Posted by Jason Blair on August 15, 2003 at 20:23:17:
If you check into this further you will find that he never made money off any of these properties and is still paying the morgage on his house.
His entire siter is geared to acting as if he is a consumer watch dog on a business he is involved with. He puts those other Guru names on his site to get people to his site and sell his products.
He offers NO refunds, will not take phone orders, mail orders or fax orders and only ships via the US post office and then tells you not to ask when your package will arrive because the Post office is not reliable.
He states opinion as fact and is being sued for a number of things including libel and his response has been to post everything possible about the plaintiff regarding his childhood and stating lies and half truths in addition to harrassing his 74 year old mother and visting his dead fathers grave and posting the orbituary. He is a sick, stubborn and foolish man.