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Below you will find overall ratings for the "major" real estate gurus with links to their individual, detailed review pages. Or visit our home page featuring all of them here.
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John Alexander
[ UPDATE: On July 1, 2009 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a case with the US District Court for the Central District of California against John Alexander and all associates including the companies John Alexander LLC, John Beck/Mentoring of America, John Beck Amazing Profits LLC, Jeff Paul LLC, Shortcuts to Millions LLC, Mentoring of America LLC, and Family Products LLC as well as John Alexander, Douglas Gravink, Gary Hewitt, John Beck and Jeff Paul as individuals (collectively listed as "Defendants"). In the complaint the FTC lists fourteen (14) counts of violations of Section 5(a) of the FTC Act which prohibits deceptive or unfair acts and practices in or affecting commerce. Misrepresentations or omissions of material facts constitute deceptive acts or practices. Case information can be found at the FTC page on this case]
COMPLETENESS: Of the 21 methods listed, it's hard to tell what Alexander's course actually covers (but none of the 21 listed methods). He marketed two programs - first, 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, or any more legitimate.
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" (also a defendant in the FTC case). "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. Before buying into any real estate program, find out 1) if their mentoring is "in-house" or farmed out to a third party, and 2) if the mentors are actual, practicing investors. And above all, find out exactly what it will cost you in the end. In contrast, "The Simple Man's Guide to Real Estate by Bill Vaughn is the only course that includes mentoring by actual, professional investors - and the mentoring is free.
SUCCESS RATE: Unknown. None of the usual sources can verify any success stories at all. None. But there are a multitude of customer complaints.
BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU RATING: On Alexander's "Inverse Purchase" webpage, he has 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. And more than one state attorney general seems to be leery of what he offers and he is on their radar.
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 to drain bank accounts. And upon ordering, he automatically begins siphoning $49.95 out of your account every month, similar to John Beck.
COMMENTS: Of all the "real estate gurus", this is positively the one 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.
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 you can afford, "The Simple Man's Guide to Real Estate"®, by investor Bill Vaughn is worth considering. Bill's credentials are sound, as he is the person who developed the Reverse Mortgage that has been endorsed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). And their personal coaches are actual, practicing investors who volunteer (it's free) on a not-for-profit basis to help others. It is the only low cost program found that provides free, unlimited coaching from actual investors. And their instant download (full version) allows you to start immediately. It costs nothing to check it out...
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