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Real estate agent letter about Carleton H. Sheets graduates

(Sheets' name is sometimes misspelled as Carlton Sheets or Carelton Sheets.)
Seminar and home-study course ratings | Real estate investment page
John,
I thought that you would be interested in experiences with people who have purchased Carleton Sheets' books and tapes. I am a real estate broker and can always tell when Sheets' infomercial has been shown in the local area, because invariably I will get a call the next week from somebody that has ordered the garbage and wants me to find them a house with nothing down.
My first real experience with a Sheets follower came in 1995 with a house that I had listed. Before looking at the house, the prospect wanted to know of the possibility of owner financing, , I informed her that with a substantial down payment, the owner would consider carrying a note on the property. The property was listed at $71,900 and later sold for $70,000. At the time that I was working with this prospect, a tenant was living in the house and it was rented for $650 per month.
After looking at the house with the prospect, I asked how much she had to put down and she told me nothing, but that she knew that the home could be purchased with nothing down. I told her that was impossible with owner financing.
Two days later, she showed up in my office with a printed version of a contract (that I assume came from one of Carleton Sheets workbooks), with handwritten terms which included the following. A sales price of $60,000 ($11,900 below the list price). The owner was to carry a note for $40,000 for thirty years at 6% interest and the owner was to carry a note for $15,000 amortized over thirty years with a balloon in ten years at 8% interest, the balance was to be borrowed on a signature loan from a local bank that the prospect had no working relationship with. Finally she asked me to carry a no-interest, one-year note on my commission and asked the seller to pay all closing costs. Needless to say, this offer was promptly rejected (although I advised the owner to counter with something equally stupid).
My second run-in with a Carleton Sheets student came in June 1996. A property that I had listed was offered with owner financing (frankly the property could not be financed any other way due to its condition). A man called me one day with an offer to purchase the house sight unseen, he only wanted to know the terms of financing. In the end the house sold for $45,000 with the purchaser putting $6,000 down on a note amortized for 30 years with a balloon in 5 years and an interest rate of 10%. Again I was asked to carry a note on my commission (who do these people think pays me?)
The buyer put approximately $10,000 into the property and I sold it earlier this year for $44,900.
The last experience I had was in November of 1997. A purchaser came along with an offer to purchase a distressed property that I had listed for $56,500. The purchase wanted to assume the loan with the owner carrying a note for the $5,500 equity (once again I was asked to carry a note for my commission). The owner refused to carry the note, as did I. Unfortunately, the borrower lied in his mortgage application and stated that he intended to live in the property when he actually wanted to use it for investment purposes. The owner almost went into foreclosure when the purchaser had to find alternative financing. The buyer ended up getting a bank loan with 20% down at 10% interest for 15 years and a balloon in 5.
The last I heard the buyer had put about $7,000 into the property and was trying to sell it for his loan balance.
Please keep up the good work on your web site.
Bo Evans
Magnolia Realty
Prattville, Alabama
1-800-209-4843
John T. Reed, a.k.a. John Reed, Jack Reed, 342 Bryan Drive, Alamo, CA 94507, Voice: 925-820-7262, Fax: 925-820-1259, Email: johnreed@johntreed.com

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