Why does real estate attract so many scammers?
I’m going to a real estate investment conference tomorrow. Supposedly the guy speaking is a genuine marvel of a success story, and I’m not saying that I doubt it. After all, real estate is packed with success stories, but I’m a skeptic until I see something that convinces me otherwise. And that brings me to my question: why is the real estate industry in particular so full of scammers, schemers, and people peddling get-rich-quick nonsense?
There are a lot of possibilities, but part of me wonders if it’s because real estate is truly an industry where people can create incredible success stories in relatively short periods of time. A field where reputation and pedigree are not nearly as important as hustle and persistence. The best lies have an element of truth, so when all these guys sell their ridiculously overpriced seminars and coaching services to starry-eyed dreamers hoping to make it big, maybe we fall for it because deep down, we know it’s partly true.
At least that’s what I’m hoping 
What do you think?
November 16th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
In short, the real estate industry is what it is because what it is sells (that was a mouthful). People keep buying, so they keep coming up with new books and CDs.
Since you will most likely be sold information products like crazy tomorrow, my advice is don’t buy. You’re correct in thinking that reputation and pedigree are not nearly as important as hustle and persistence, meaning everything they’re selling for hundreds or thousands of dollars can and will be learned for free by those with determination.
(P.S. I didn’t check the date of your post before I wrote my comment. I suppose it should be past tense now, since the conference is over….)
November 21st, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Because it’s the only asset that you can speculate on with OPM - other people’s money.