The real estate B.S. artist detection checklist

Readers often ask me what I think of a particular guru's seminar or home-study course. In many cases, I don't know the work of the guru in question. But I can make general observations about the B.S. artists which you can use to spot them.

1. Emphasis on luxurious lifestyle. Gurus I respect, like Bill Tappan (author of Real Estate Exchange and Acquisition Techniques) and Bob Bruss (nationally syndicated real estate columnist) rarely mention the life-style you will enjoy if you buy their products or follow their advice. Although they are successful real-estate people, they see no need to write about being rich or to wear their affluence on their sleeve (or around their neck or pinky). On the other hand, the B.S. artists feature the imagined lifestyle of the rich in their TV ads, come-on speeches, and "how-to" materials. They also accessorize themselves with flash like ostentatious jewelry and rented limousines or rented private jets.

2. Subjective self description. The "about-the-authors" of the gurus I respect are generally written in Jack Webb style: "Just the facts, Ma'am." Leigh Robinson, for example, describes himself in one sentence: "Leigh Robinson is landlord to 360 tenants and lectures in Landlording for University of California Extension." Bill Tappan's bio contains not a single laudatory adjective. Just a handful of relevant facts about his exchanging experience and the first edition of his book.

In contrast, the B.S. artists tend to have book jacket or ad copy which describes them as the "leading real estate expert in the United States today" or the "Number One, most-sought-after..." Their bios are full of baseless, subjective adjectives and nouns, like "innovative...... famous, spectacularly successful," "authority," etc. B.S. artists often use photographs or videotape of themselves hanging around executive jets, limos, yachts, mansions, five-star hotels, exotic resorts, or expensive cars to imply that they have achieved great financial success.

3. No pitfalls or corrections. There are dangers in everything. But you rarely read about danger in a book by a real estate B.S. artist... or hear about it in one of his cassettes or TV infomercials. Everybody makes mistakes. But you rarely read about a guru's mistake or see a correction in a B.S. artist's newsletter. The B.S. artists are self-proclaimedly big on being "positive." And one of the things they're positive about is that the dream world they depict will not be marred by unpleasant reality.

On the other hand, worthwhile gurus are as likely to write about mistakes made (often by the guru himself/herself) and dangers overlooked as about spectacular profits achieved. And all ethical periodicals writers run corrections when they make a mistake.

4. No bad news. In addition to teaching techniques, real-estate investment gurus have to respond to news like court decisions, legislation, economic trends, and so forth. Of course, some of the news is bad. But the B.S. artists invariably respond to bad news in Pollyanna fashion. They always see "opportunity." The closest they come to acknowledging the unhappy truth is to describe a situation as a "challenge."

The Tax Reform Act of 1986 was a good litmus test. Any investor whose IQ exceeds his body temperature knows that was the worst tax law for real-estate investors since the income tax was invented. But when it passed, the B.S. artists called it "the best thing that ever happened to real estate"...or words to that effect.

Why do they do that? For one thing, they fear bad news will depress sales. With good reason apparently. A bunch of real estate newsletters have gone out of business since the late '80s real estate depressions hit many markets and the Tax Reform Act of '86 passed. Another reason B.S. artists don't acknowledge bad news is that they simply cannot shut off their slinging mechanism. They are B.S. kinda guys. There's nothing wrong with looking for opportunity in ostensibly bad situations. Many of my articles have done just that. You only become a B.S. artist when you look for it, can't find it, but claim it's there anyway.

5. Universally-applicable techniques. The various techniques one can use in real estate investment are like mechanic's tools. The one you use depends on the situation and your goal. Just as no tool is appropriate for every mechanical job, neither is any real-estate-investment technique appropriate for every situation. Each has advantages and disadvantages and most are only useful in a narrow range of circumstances. The B.S. artists trot out one obscure technique after another in an effort to impress the customer with all the "new" material they are getting. But rarely is a word spoken about when the technique is appropriate. The reader or listener is left with the impression that the technique is appropriate for any and all acquisitions.