The cautionary tale of J. Michael Ledman is one every real estate investor should watch. In any field there are the self proclaimed experts. They come out of the wood work and try to capitalize on the hot market with their seminars, training classes, or 1 on 1 sessions at a healthy fee. Ledman is one of these experts. He paid for his own radio show, ran a web site touting how to training, and ran yellow page ads recruiting investors.

However, these self proclaimed gurus tend to be only one chapter ahead of the people they are selling their secrets to. Here is the story of Ledman.

“Have I got myself in a pickle? Sure, I have,” Ledman said, but added: “I’m not ready to throw in the towel.”
Yet Ledman also has left in his wake unhappy sellers, buyers and investors who lost money in his debt-repair and get-rich-quick programs, the Kansas City Star found. This year he was evicted from his office, and a bank foreclosed on his $500,000 home.
In April, he lost his radio show when he ran out of money to pay for it.
Ledman declined to discuss details of his criminal case or failed land deals. Still, he said, “I had honorable intentions. My show was about showing people how they could acquire real estate. My intent has been to help people avoid making the mistakes I’ve made.” via the Houston Chronicle.

If you are looking to invest in real estate and are looking to learn, do not fall for the fancy seminars or gurus. Their price tags are beyond their ability to return investment.

Instead,

• Go to the library and read everything there on what you want to learn.
• Scour the internet and read what is written and take it with a grain of salt.
• Join real estate investment clubs that do not require an up front fee to learn what is happening in your market.

Invest your time and energy into learning all of the intricacies of real estate investment. But it has always been my experience that if someone is spending all their energies convincing you they are a guru they tend not to be. It is the folks that lead by example without the cacophony of self promotion are the ones that you want to associate yourself with.

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