Housejerk?

Question

I am in the New Orleans area and our market is doing great. If you haven't seen, we are getting a lot of national press and this is bringing the "gurus" to town and creating a mess in the industry for us as we now have tons of wannabees running around trying to be investors. I'm not knocking anyone who is trying to learn, but we have a lot of these wannabees running around ton bidding properties up to where it is getting harder and harder to find actual deals.

That isn't the reason for my post today though... I was wondering if anyone else has heard of this "Housejerk" that is now being promoted here by a few individuals that I dont consider to be on the up and up. I have done some research on my own and it seems it traces back to Atlanta to a Richard Simpson, Don Jacobs and/or Bill Walsh.

Anyone ever heard of those guys or this Housejerk? Looks like it is some sort of MLM scheme with real estate...

Just trying to find out more about it so I can warn people away from it.

Joey Smajd · Answer

I attended a "House Jerk" promotional seminar yesterday in my home town of Columbus, GA. I was invited at the last minute by a former neighbor. "Don Jacobs" referred to above in this thread, was the presenter. Honestly I attended thinking I'd at least get a free meal and possibly network with some other investors in my area! Instead I had to pay for my own meal and pretty much everyone there had never done a single RE deal. Also I learned very little about this organization as it seemed to he mostly hype and little substance.

What I learned was that it supposedly is a network of investors that help one another find, finance, and close RE deals. Sound familiar?  They also use a network of in house vendors from landscaping, to painters, to insurance agents and lawyers. Well the cost isn't all that bad I think $300-$400 one time fee and then $24/mo reoccurring. Also you do get $100 referral fee per person you get to join so that's the MLM part everyone keeps referring to. Honestly I don't know anything else about it, but it sounds like everything they were pitching is available for free or for at least a lower cost here on BP!

Jeff Smith · Answer

I just realized I spelled your name wrong, my apologies Braden.

Jeff Smith · Answer

Hi Brandon,

I recently had a contact with this company/guy/group.

I manage a wholesaling group in facebook and a guy by the name of Decker Randolph posted about private money lending in the sum of $150,000 @ 0% for 12 months. I called him and he's telling all about it and I got several red flags going off by the way he was trying to describe it. Long story short I asked for referrals but instead he calls a guy that had gotten many loans. His name turns out to be Don Jacobs. Don tells me he has got about 20 of these loans, then as I question him more he says he just refers people that have gotten approved then he says its best if I talk to the MAN who runs the company and his name is Dr. Watkins but when he called him he didnt answer. Thats when I decided to research some more and came across your post.

Stephen Furr · Answer

Interestingly, I just found this post after coming across some foreclosure listings in the Atlanta market.  There are multiple properties owned by a company called "I buy everything LLC" that are being foreclosed on.  Care to guess who the registered agent of said company is?  You guessed it, Don Jacobs from Housejerk.

Braden Smith · Answer

Here is some new info:

Decker Randolph, profiled in WWL-TV real estate investigation, arrested by JPSOhttps://t.co/UsqbnWiWN5

http://www.wwltv.com/news/investigations/un-real-e...

http://www.wwltv.com/news/investigations/man-profi...

http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/investigations/kat...

http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/faithful-real-estate...

Deborah Gray · Answer

I attempted to listen to a HouseJerks informational call but it was too much like a MLM hype call and I wasn't getting any info so I hung up after 15 minutes....

Dennis Shinn · Answer

Housejerk is an organization that allows people (Realtors, Attorneys, Insurance Agents, Property Managers, Hard Money Lenders, Mortgage Brokers, Buyers, Sellers, Entrepreneurs and people generally interested in RE investing) to earn money while they learn the business.  Its just like a REIA because we meet every week (as soon as I was introduced to it I jumped at the opportunity to be around like-minded people).  And at the meetings, there are different speakers who are proven to be successful on the subject that they are speaking on.  You can network and bring your deals here and post them up on the web.  The kicker is that you can earn money whenever you sign up a new member to Housejerk.  So you earn while you learn.

Thomas Weir · Answer

Haven't heard of "Housejerk" but will stay tuned. I have noticed in my area that properties are going for more than they're worth.

Braden Smith · Answer

@Mark Updegraff - What you are referring to is the Soft Second Mortgage program available through the city of New Orleans. I'm a local realtor and deal with the program. I have two houses under contract now with the program. It is for first time buyers and has income restrictions. It's designed to help working families. Qualified applicants must meet many rules and restrictions and most do not qualify for the program, and can possibly qualify for up to $65,000 in home purchase assistance. It still requires a 1st mortgage and a credit score of 640 or higher. The program is not affecting pricing as it only applies to Orleans Parish and it just helps lower income families purchase a home. Homes purchased with the program are under 200k.

@Joe Gore - Not sure what is up with Housejerk, which is why I was asking. In my research on it I found it to be an MLM scheme somehow tied into real estate. Are you familiar with it?

@Gavin Welch - I'm definitely not interested in the program, or any other "guru" program for that matter. Was just curious if anyone had heard of it. I may know some of those people you are referring to that bought the properties after Katrina and almost busted the banks. I've heard the story before. Is one of them a fellow by the name of James?

Lastly, what I was saying about the newbies and wannabees in the area due to the gurus hitting the city hard is that they are paying too much for properties and cutting the margins.

Thanks for the responses guys!

Housejerk?

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