COMPLETENESS: Of the 22 methods listed, it's hard to tell what Alexander's course actually covers (but none of the 22 listed methods). He "created" this so-called method of the "inverse purchase". So the more important question becomes, "Is the method legitimate, and can you make a lot of money from it?" Very doubtful, as will be discussed further, below. He has since moved into "foreclosures", but judging from the extremely poor record of his "old" system, we doubt that his "new" system is any better.

COACH COST: Unknown. We are unable to ascertain whether there is any need for coaching in such a strategy. But since the strategy is apparently without merit, coaching is a moot point.

COACH QUALITY: See "COACH COST", above. Like John Beck and a few others, Alexander farms out his "mentoring" to "Mentoring of America". "Mentoring of America" is to be avoided at all costs. It has been alleged to drain credit card balances - as much as $45,000 - and provide little, if any, mentoring of any value, since their "mentors" are not experienced in real estate investing - they are simply trained telephone operators. Only two of the courses reviewed use real, practicing investors as coaches - Ron Legrand and Bill Vaughn

SUCCESS RATE: Unknown. None of the usual sources can verify any success stories at all. None. But there are a multitude of customer complaints. HOWEVER...on his own website he has found a need to put up the following disclaimer (this is only the scariest parts):

"ANY AND ALL CLAIMS OR REPRESENTATIONS, AS TO INCOME EARNINGS ON THIS WEB SITE, ARE NOT TO BE CONSIDERED AS AVERAGE EARNINGS. IF YOU RELY UPON OUR FIGURES; YOU MUST ACCEPT THE RISK OF NOT DOING AS WELL. THEREFORE WE DO NOT GUARANTEE OR IMPLY THAT YOU WILL WIN ANY INCENTIVES OR PRIZES THAT MAY BE OFFERED, GET RICH, THAT YOU WILL DO AS WELL, OR MAKE ANY MONEY AT ALL. THERE IS NO ASSURANCE YOU'LL DO AS WELL. IF YOU RELY UPON OUR FIGURES; YOU MUST ACCEPT THE RISK OF NOT DOING AS WELL. MAKING DECISIONS BASED ON ANY INFORMATION PRESENTED IN OUR PRODUCTS, SERVICES, OR WEB SITE, SHOULD BE DONE ONLY WITH THE KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU COULD EXPERIENCE SIGNIFICANT LOSSES, OR MAKE NO MONEY AT ALL."

This is in stark contrast to the income guarantee offered by "The Simple Man's Guide to Real Estate", where the customer is guaranteed, in writing, to earn at least $100,000 a year, every year, or double their money back.

BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU RATING: On Alexander's "Inverse Purchase" webpage, he had the "BBB ONLINE" logo, to infer that he is legitimate. However, upon clicking on that logo, it takes you to the BBB report for Graystone Mortgage (which has a satisfactory rating), not John Alexander. But, the Better Business Bureau gives John Alexander and John Alexander's Inverse Purchase an "F" rating, and goes on to say, "We strongly question the company's reliability for reasons such as having failed to respond to complaints, their advertising is grossly misleading, they are not in compliance with the law's licensing or registration requirements, their complaints contain especially serious allegations," etc. Those are not our words - they are quoted from the BBB website.

OVERALL COST: Unknown. His "inverse purchase" program is a glorified MLM using real estate instead of Amway stuff. His "new" foreclosure program starts at $39.95, but it appears that he, too, uses the "up-sell" techniques of expensive, worthless mentoring.

COMMENTS: Of all the "real estate gurus", this is positively the one we believe you should absolutely avoid under any and all circumstances. His deceptive use of the BBB Online logo, his deceptive advertising, his incredibly poor rating at the BBB is the worst we've seen - even worse than Russ Whitney's - and that is as bad as it gets. In fact, we have been contacted by Laura Crimaldi, a reporter for the "Boston Herald" (Massachusetts' 2nd largest newspaper), looking for info on John Alexander. It seems his "students" used his program, resulting in civil litigation when all the deals ended in foreclosure and now the buyers are suing that man and others in three separate suits.

[ UPDATE:The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a case with the US District Court for the Central District of California against the companies John Alexander LLC, John Beck/Mentoring of America, & John Beck Amazing Profits LLC on fourteen (14) counts of deceptive or unfair acts and practices.

A BETTER, SOUND ALTERNATIVE:

Before risking hundreds, thousands or tens of thousands of dollars on Alexander's or any other course, do yourself a favor and check out the most effective real estate investing course available, offered by IntelliBiz - "The Simple Man's Guide to Real Estate"^® course by reknowned investor Bill Vaughn (Bill developed the "Reverse Mortgage" now used by HUD and helped develop many of today's flipping strategies). Offered by a non-profit, it is affordable to all, and includes free coaching by investors who volunteer their services to assure your success. Real investors, not scripted telephone operators.

You get the entire course - the Guide, the contract software, (20) real estate related Bonus Books, audio CD set, Market Value Calculator and free 24/7 mentoring all for under $50 complete - nothing else to buy, no hidden costs, no monthly fees. And you can even download it immediately so you can start even before your hard copy arrives in the mail.

"The Simple Man's Guide to Real Estate" has the highest documented success rate of any real estate course so you will not need to buy any other courses or go to any expensive seminars or boot camps - you will be able to make money in real estate without any of those others.

If you are truly interested in really learning how to make money in real estate and receive the benefit of free, unlimited coaching, all at a price anyone can afford, "The Simple Man's Guide to Real Estate"^® is worth considering.