[silverleaf]

I have been to one of these programs marketed in the name of 2 successful HGTV real estate speculators who fix and flip property

The possibilities were interesting, the basis being research the property market, find properties in tax arrears , buy tax liens on the best properties , collect interest when the lien is redeemed or resell the lien or cut ally take the property if the lien is not paid

Then flip the property to a speculator, or take possession fix it and flip it yourself

The seminar service, for extra fees, offer more intense workshops, access to their research on property tax bases, access to their network of lenders and Realtors and speculators looking to buy and flip

Of course they make it sound east and it could be- if you devoted your time to doing the research and finagling the deal. Starting small is perfectly possible but getting greedy is probably a major issue with some folks

The room was full of what we would politely call Low info voters who looked like the only real estate experience they ever had was with section 8.... Plus quite a few gray heads looking for a retirement profession

So it is really amazing that 98% of the folks at the Trump pony show said they were satisfied.... The 3 day money back guarantee was also standard so if you didn't like what you heard, take your money and go home

I would have to call this a politically motivated witch hunt vs Trump

[nathanbedford]

The room was full of what we would politely call Low info voters who looked like the only real estate experience they ever had was with section 8 These poor wretched ingénues against the multibillionaire property developer-the perfect marks for the grifter.

So it is really amazing that 98% of the folks at the Trump pony show said they were satisfied.

I am very skeptical of the statistic, it is trumped up by Trump's people, I think. In any event if only one person was defrauded it is still a fraud.

The 3 day money back guarantee was also standard so if you didn't like what you heard, take your money and go home

As I understand the factual allegations, the initial weekend affair was really only an infomercial designed to pressure the "low info" attendees into springing for the next more expensive lecture.

As one with some experience in property myself, the first reality to be faced is that these homes were foreclosed upon usually because there are problems with the property. Rare is the example when the problem is with the owner of the property. That is because in a mortgage foreclosure the bank will take it by bidding in its balance so that leaves, normally, tax sales. It leaves tax sales also because that is where the property is available for a very cheap price. But there is a reason for that. Usually the property is undesirable in both location and condition.

The free market bids the price of these properties up to a point where very experienced experts whose sole occupation is to invest in these properties for a living know when the lines cross when it does not pay to buy them and improve them or even buy them and hold them. It is not a question of someone without experience walking into a tax sale in the courthouse and picking low hanging fruit.

Because the properties are not contiguous, it is more expensive to improve and maintain them, moreover, the entrepreneur finds that he does not have the economies of scale that lead to a profit.

As you point out, he is ignorant of the law, ignorant of real estate values, ignorant of tax and mortgage procedures and foreclosures, incompetent to fix and repair, often finding many obstacles to success even if he learned all there was to learn from Donald Trump. Trump, by the way, probably knows very little about this business because it has nothing whatever to do with golf courses or Taj Mahals. (Which, as it turns out, he didn't know very much about either.)

Even a witchhunt can be true. Ask Richard Nixon, ask Bill Clinton, and we will soon see with Hillary.