Ron Legrand - Real Estate Douche

I've met a lot of people over the years that I've been in real estate investing: wholesalers, realtors, rehabbers, multi-unit landlords, etc. One particular type of investor has become (thankfully) rare since the housing bust, but he still shows up once in a while: The Ron Legrand devotee.

Now most of you probably don't know who he is. He's a real estate educator that made a fortune selling his 'pretty house' / 'ugly house' investment courses years ago. People flocked to his seminars (thousands of dollars a pop) where they heard... advertising pitches for more seminars. People loved it. They lapped his pie in the sky 'tips and tricks' up like antifreeze at a petting zoo. People still do!

He's also a complete tool.




Now keep in mind he doesn't directly advocate anything illegal. Can his 'subject-to' and 'lease option' strategy work? Sort-of. (I do know one guy, ONE GUY, who still uses some of his strategy successfully in his business, but even he has drastically changed how the model is used.)

So what's wrong with him? A lot, actually.

Let's start with who his target audience is. Look over his website and you can get a good idea. He gears his pitch to people who know little to nothing about real estate or investing in general. He sells this "incredible success is just a seminar away" kind of hype. These people then buy his books, which are also full of this get rich quick BS. I know. I have two of his books in a box at home that I haven't gotten rid of yet. He sells an enormous amount of sizzle, along with a nugget or two of actual knowledge. He then urges people to "Take Action!"

Here's the trouble with that: Real estate is not that simple. Can his techniques work? Yes, you can get them to work in many places. Can they very easily get you into serious financial and legal trouble, as in 'spend the next few years in prison' kind of legal trouble? Ooooooohhhh yes.

Now keep in mind, he does not directly advocate anything illegal. He is very careful about that. But considering the rah! rah! BS his material is filled with, he is advocating people who know little or nothing about real estate take rash action that can destroy them financially and legally with a tiny misstep. If someone came to me looking for advice and I gave them the kind hype he does, my conscience would never leave me in peace.

Let's look at what information he actually gives. It all boils down to a couple of points: Taking title to property subject to the existing mortgage via a land trust and owner financing or lease optioning the property at a marked up price. (There, I just saved you thousands of dollars in course work. Go have fun with it! Take action!)

Can that work? Yes, yes it can, just like I said above. Is it legal? In some places yes, in some places no, and in lots of places... well, it's not easy to tell. Its legality could also not matter depending on what other trouble you may get into. What about land trusts? His info on those is great, right? Eh, no, not really, his info on trusts is not exactly up to date there either. Laws change fast all over this country, and land trusts are NOT some Star Trek shield that is invulnerable or gives total privacy.

OK, fine, but some of the info can still be used, right? Yes, it can. But... it is not worth the asinine, scalper prices he charges. It's not worth the cost no matter what his marketing says. The only people who could think so are complete newbies who think they are going to be given the secret of a lifetime which, as I've already pointed out, is who is target market is.

So how do you get what info he offers that's good without having your savings milked dry? The same way I would recommend to anyone who is starting out: Find your local Real Estate Investing Club, pay the membership fee, find the people who are doing the kind of deals you'd like to do, and learn from them. What you will find is that most of these people are very helpful and will be more than happy to give you excellent pointers, lend you books, point you toward good contacts, etc., provided that you don't act like a douche, show a degree of intelligence and actually listen. You will still have to work and learn a lot on your own, but you will be much further down the path to success, with real, actionable knowledge of your local market than if you had dumped thousands of dollars on a Ron Legrand course.

Honestly, it's the kind of advice I and several other people I know wish we had been given starting out.