'Two faced' by Dennis Preston (den.cc - click)

Property spruiker and self-proclaimed ‘internet marketing expert’ Dean Letfus gives me the inescapable impression of being rootless and slippery. He seems to flit hyperbolically from one cash flow generating event (for him!) to the next without much regard for consistency … or the trail of disappointment he leaves. (Examples here.)

I have long criticised property ‘educators’ and ‘mentors’ who sell property to their ‘students’. I say they’re crossing an ethical line. Others like Andrew King have agreed with me (PDF).

I am personally troubled by this particular travelling salesman’s fake-it-and-make-it-up-as-you-go-along approach to ‘property education’. I honestly think it is misleading, in some cases even akin to the Blue Chip-type scam where ‘investments’ were sold off the plans with ‘projections’, ‘guarantees’ and assurances that never materialised. Here’s why:

In March 2009, as part of public attacks on his former boss Richmastery supremo Phil Jones, Dean Letfus (oh so confidently) stated this about US Tax Liens:

I’ve spoken to people here and in the USA, they [US tax liens] are snake oil, complete with white shoes and wagons.

and this:

US Tax Liens

Other than this is what everybody has said, high risk, money can be tied up for years, no guarantee of profitability etc., you also have to look at what is said and what happens.

In PJ’s [Phil Jones] latest blog he says that they showed students 3000 properties for sale at 5 to 10% of their value, then says that their students deal is fantastic at 22% of valuation.

Why wouldn’t they buy such a bad deal?? Probably because the good ones don’t exist.

And the discount is off the valuation, which means nothing at the moment, and there is no mention of the taxes required etc. to hold the property. Yet this is all being talked about as “profit” instead of paper only equity, which may equate to zero in real dollars.

It is therefore logical to conclude that the “profits” from the liens may be paper only also.

In many states you require about a 22% yield to actually be cashflow positive.

I can find no evidence whatsoever of [Dan] Eckelman being involved with Trump as their Number 1 gloabl [sic] trainer and Tom was stopped at customs because of proceedings against him.

Would you trust the words of these people?

… but NOW Dean Letfus is actually promoting US Tax liens (!!) — as part of his business partner Shaun (G-string) Stenning‘s joint venture NZ Property Gurus hard-sell roadshow — the very US Tax Liens and the very operators (Dan Eckelman et al) that he and Matthew Gilligan criticised and warned people to stay away from. (Well, that’s how it looked — and not just to me, apparently.)

That’s a pretty serious change of tune: from ‘snake oil’ to amazing ‘opportunity’. That was then, this is now, I guess.

The self-proclaimed NZ Property Guru “educators” also seem to be selling “unique opportunities” to buy property in the USA, like this: Continue reading →