What happened to Carlton Sheets?

[Rob K.]

Remember that guy? He was on TV all the time. He talked about buying houses and making a fortune. He never talked about tenants, repairs, evictions, problems, etc. I wonder what happened to him. I know that Tom Vu went to prison and now plays poker. Dave DelDotto went out like Vin Diesel. That McCorcoran clown went to prison. Those guru sideshows used to crack me up. How about Armando Montelongo? Haven't heard his name in years. I get emails all the time from Than Merril peddling his crap.

Good times.....

[David Streit]

I will defend Carleton Sheets, yes it was my first course and initially I thought as well that this is BS.  Doing single family homes won't work for me in my area.  When he wrote the course and his experiences he was doing single family homes in the 80s in south Florida when it was still developing (and super cheap).  It was my mistake that I did not figure out that I have to find an area to invest where these techniques can work.

I was trying to buy single family homes that rent don't cover the mortgage in NYC or Long Island.  Yes, that technique won't work there.  However, it still works now in certain areas, like Baltimore, or most of Ohio.  I heard that John Beck got into trouble with the law with a big lawsuit and it's a shame because I learned an awful lot about Tax Liens, Tax Deeds, and Redeemable Deeds, and Tax Sales from him.  In matter of fact, someone wants to pay me today to teach them what I know about investing in Tax Liens in Florida.  Most of these real estate courses have sound information but it isn't easy to implement as people think.  The best way to learn is by apprenticeship, or otherwise you will learn through school of hard knocks like I did.

[Michael Sokolow]

Carlton had a great course, just what I needed to get my *** in gear. Bought 2 houses for investment. Over 10 yrs ago, still have them , plus my house will be paid off in a year. The guys at the bank that loaned me the 2  mortgages think I am some investment guru. I stay broke, but all 3 house payments get paid.

[Scott T.]

Carleton Sheets: I remember that guy like it was 1985/ 6... I was in Phoenix at the time, and had watched a rare (as I almost never watched TV, even in the 1980s) program on a Friday night, when his infomercial came on... and after watching the whole pitch, I called and paid $200.+ for his cassette tape and workbook course on a new credit card... after a few beers with friends (at 18 or 19) and it arrived the following Monday or Tuesday, and I 'refused it' at the door, and called them and asked for the advertised 'refund,' after they received it back... I never got my refund, nor did I then have the course, and never considered 'no money down' investing again until 2017 thanks to this guy (who skipped the country at the time, as I recall, and couldn't be reached...) leaving a very bad taste in my mouth. Looks like he's still around: 

https://www.google.com/search?q=Carleton+Sheets&ie...

Needless to say, I think he owes me...

[Scott T.]

@ Bill Hays

I remember Don Lapre. He was one of those guys doing 'on the beach' infomercials surrounded by cuties... and was all over the tube, for a time. Brad Richdale (an ex TV station manager, who's basic $40.00 program I actually purchased, for the classifieds info) was also a big promoter of the "tiny classified ads" approach. (Apparently I did watch some television back in the latter 1980s and early '90s, but basically 'quit' TV when I was about ten after the tube blew- out in about 1975, and none cared to get it 'fixed,' fortunately.) The IRS (collection arm of the empire's financial branch) apparently likes to 'target' those who 'go against the grain' of their master's servitudinal debt enslavement paradigm, so I'm not surprised that many of these guys end up 'defamed,' imprisoned and penniless, or worse! (Heck, even Peter Schiff's father died in prison, for taking- on the IRS...)

[Jay Hinrichs]

@Scott T.  you can find Mr. Dave Del Dotto not 45 minutes from you. he has a thriving winery business .. he has one facility off of Hwy 29 between Yountville and St Helena

and he has one on Atlas peak road right out of Napa.. and I used to live 500 feet from his front door there and have spent many memorable moment drinking wine with him and having him regale me with stories of the good ole days.. he obviously did well his wine business is probably worth north of 50 million

[Scott T.]

@Jay Hinrichs

Hey Jay, How's life in Lake Oswego these days, sir? I've heard of Dave. (And I worked briefly for both Clos Du Bois and Kendall Jackson 25ish years ago, during two crush seasons.) I almost drove to Napa to help a family friend out a few days ago... but haven't been there (or by the Atlas Peak area) in years, since I recently returned to Santa Rosa. 

For the heck of it I just emailed Ed Beckley at Yahoo (see my 'correction' rant, since I couldn't 'delete' my misquote about Carlton, here!) and it will be interesting to see if I hear anything back about what he's up to today, whether he still dabbles in REI, and if I'll ever see "$295. in say "REI consulting???" LOL. ;-) Perhaps I'll need some 'private money' to do some 'Mitch Stephen' style, etc. deals, once I get past the initial 'lease option' deal learning curve? (And am buying 'notes?')

And slightly 'off topic,' but I'm still fancying 'disrupting' the 'lease to purchase' paradigm... so if you either know of hear of anyone who wants to do a better job of it than has been done previously, please keep me in mind. (i.e. I'm SERIOUS about a three way 'win-win...' vs. burning the seller and/ or buyer, and with 124 million US households alone, that's perhaps 5 million residences that fall into that 80%+ who can't 'qualify' for a mortgage today, and once the next 'correction' hits, I suspect that 'owner financing' will again grow in both public awareness... and then popularity and use???) 

[Eric Delcol]

Tommy Vu was my fav:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQNdi-fRExc

[Marquis W.]

Because of Carlton Sheets scam or not, I am a successful investor today. I remember watching him at that age of 11 and saying that's what I want to do the rest is history.

[Account Closed]

I too was a Carleton Sheets student, but also read books by DelDotto, Robert Allen, Robert Kiyosaki and actually know the family of Armando Montealongo, but don't know him personally.  I do know he is still actively investing in real estate in san antonio texas where I lived then.  I'd rather be associated with someone DOING the investing rather than selling courses about it because that just tells me that they aren't making enough in investing or they wouldn't necessarily be touting boot camps and classes always.  I'm currently associated with a New York based firm that lends to business owners and real estate investors across North America and am doing quite fine with them.  I'm currently in the process of getting our company listed with Bigger Pockets as a lending provider so keep the name CreditLine1 in mind, you are sure to hear about us SOON!!

[Wilson Churchill]

 I learned a lot by reading his "no down payment" three book set. The credit section was especially helpful. His "credit pursuit" strategy seems unique, at least in that I haven't read about it anywhere else. Not all of the techniques are practical, but some are good, and it lists a number of them.

[Bruce O.]

I agree.

I am still learning, but when I have friends ask me how I did it or advice I have, I basically tell them JUST DO IT. Stop waiting for the right time, stop waiting for the perfect deal, stop being afraid ... just do it.
 
Originally posted by @Robert Burns:

Interesting responses! I bought the Carlton Sheets course years ago but never did anything with it. However it did "plant the seed". Then a few years ago I went to a 3 day Kiyoski course after I just read "Rich Dad Poor Dad" and it all clicked. Although I spent too much money on the Kiyosaki course and did not get much out of it, I was "in the game". If anything I needed to make my $6,000 back. So I got into REI and have done well and doing better every day. The way I look at it, you can sit in the stands and wish you were playing or you can get on the field and get bruised, cut, and knocked down and you can also win. "After all it's not have many times you get knocked down that counts it's how many times do you get up!!"

[Joseph Moore Jr]

I still have Carlton Sheets program on cassette tape.  He was a good motivator to get me interested in doing this.  My financial irresponsibility though my first property I bought my ex wife got so I waited till I was in 40's to start investing again. Now I am on the right path. 

William J Mccorkle and his wife  are  always my favorite pitchmen.   Thankfully I was not gullible back then and never wasted money.   

[Matthew W Menefee]

It always amazes me how people want to blame their teacher for their own failures.  Just because you couldn't learn what he has to teach, it's not his fault.  People who place blame on this man for their own failures will never make it in anything.

[David Mincey]

I got started with the Carlton Sheets system back in the 90's.  I don't believe he his a scammer.  I am thankful for his inspiration. I bought my first property after learning from him. Haven't followed him in years but I wouldn't be surprised if he's outdated.  

Matthew Menefee, I agree with you.  We so easily blame others for our poor results when the reality is that no matter who you follow, listen to, or learn from, YOU are responsible for YOUR OWN success. 

[Ayana Rose]

I bought Carlton Sheets program years ago, bought a duplex and a house right next door to it with no money down using Carleton's principles. I rented them out, made some money each month and didn't do anything else with the program, I wish I had. Finally, I moved to another city and ended up losing the properties because I wasn't there to handle things the way he suggested. It was my fault, I was young and stupid making bad decisions. I held on to the program with the intention of doing the same thing some day in my new city... (buying properties, not losing them). I just took the program out a few days ago and started reading it again. I know that some laws may have changed; but the principles and processes of real estate remains the same. I am all excited again and there will be no stopping me now because I know his principles are sound and the program works if you do what what he tells you and not deviate. I'll post an update later and let you know how it goes! Thank you Carleton!

[David Streit]

In regards to Ian, I totally disagree with you.  John Beck was probably the most influential real estate course I took.  I am still doing tax liens today, for 13 years I have had success with tax liens.  So successful, in fact, that I left NYC to live in Baltimore to continue doing it.  

[Account Closed]

Originally posted by @J Scott:

Originally posted by Gary E. London, CPA:
I can only assume that Tom Vu went to prison for something other than being a sleazy guru. Was it a shady R.E. deal or something else?

I've had the "pleasure" of playing poker with Tommy Vu several times. He says that he never went to prison (for anything), but I'm not sure I'd believe anything he says, at or away from the poker table... :)

FYI -- According to Wikipedia, Tom Vu's real name is Tuan Anh Vu and according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons site, someone with that name served time. 

[Account Closed]

Originally posted by @David Streit:

In regards to Ian, I totally disagree with you.  John Beck was probably the most influential real estate course I took.  I am still doing tax liens today, for 13 years I have had success with tax liens.  So successful, in fact, that I left NYC to live in Baltimore to continue doing it.  

In the early 1990s, someone (I forgot who) was promoting tax lien certificate investing through a now-defunct organization called the National Association of Secured Income. Later in the 1990s, I attended a similar class by John Beck. My takeaways were that tax lien certificate investing is a viable means for generating income, but only with the appropriate specialized knowledge. Acquiring this specialized knowledge is on my bucket list, but I haven't found the time to do it yet.

[Mark Pedroza]

Originally posted by @David Streit:

In regards to Ian, I totally disagree with you.  John Beck was probably the most influential real estate course I took.  I am still doing tax liens today, for 13 years I have had success with tax liens.  So successful, in fact, that I left NYC to live in Baltimore to continue doing it.  

 Here's John Beck's FB page: 

https://www.facebook.com/findjohnbeck/

[Marty Mazurik]

Carlton Sheets, "No Money Down", bought it many years ago, while working 10 years already in the computer industry I had parents who branched into rental, an Uncle in Santa Monica who made many millions, and I was a starting out, no money saved after many years in the industry, had one house (my own) which sapped money in San Diego ... I thought "No money down" sounded good (but realized anyone 'going for a deal' like that would be far, and few between, due to the conventional nature of well, conventional loans).

Sheets helped me think outside-the-convention, and value what real estate really did for people - leverage.   Hell, if you could pull of a 'No Money Down' deal, you would be leveraged, well, infinitely !   I never did, but I did use a technique of his, "borrow money from your agent", to close on a 10-plex, trading up from a duplex.   I did, get the duplex, because I bought his books & tapes, and was interested in what he had to say, use it or not.So for all the naysayers, and this guy went to jail posts etc. I can say Carlton Sheets put out information of some value, it would be hard for "many of the masses" to structure no-money down deals, but that isn't the point ... creative financing (I did get my agent to loan me his commission on a note, when short for a reach ... into a multi-unit one time) and that deal closing made me millions, today.  My retirement is set.

So, I got there, through hard work, lots of landlord learning and inspiration from having Carlton Sheets putting out early information.  He was the G.O.A.T., and the followers were knock-offs, you can't "flip" your way, its a fools game (too risky), its acquiring assets and leverage ... I've also finance properties after having the asset to get my original money out (after seasoning,  1 year).  So the no money down, none of my money in, etc. means exponential profit. even infinite (how can you calculate when 0 is the amount you have in?).   He taught the principals of leverage, both with money and multi-units and for that I can only assume the posters are financially maybe a) unaware of the value and haven't purchased his materials, or b) just naysayers because of all of the people who came after, or c) didn't have perspective on what value they might derive from the information kit.

I for one believe the information was spot on, and perhaps even too difficult for most to comprehend and put into play, because it was outside the box thinking and truely is hard to pull off with the square-peg round hole RE agents, sellers and financial institutions that we label conventional.

"Nothing great was ever accomplished by the reasonable man",  George Bernard Shaw

[Mike G.]

these guru's were before my time but hearing you all bask in the good ol' days sure is entertaining. . . . I do remember being really little and seeing Carlton Sheets infomercials on late night TV lol. . .  

[Victor Rey]

I bought Carlton’s program in 1998 and he is the only one who was able to explain why “buying, not selling real estate” was where the true value is.  He was the most straight forward, he did not have 2 day brain washing sessions like the Mexican or the ex football player who use NLP techniques to try to take people’s retirement money for so-called “mentoring programs.” I attended a couple of these and when they knew that I was on to them, the “consultants” said I wasn’t a good fit.  Carlton gave me the best golden nugget out of any of them and Robert K’s book is so incomplete that it’s humorous at best. I hope people will learn to evaluate their decisions before giving anyone their money and weigh their risks. As for Mr Sheets, he died Jan 2020. May his soul rest as well as he did in his beautiful home.

[Wade Suhr]

This thread is still going and Carleton Sheets has been gone for almost a year now. That is something.

[Greg H.]

Originally posted by @Wade Suhr:

This thread is still going and Carleton Sheets has been gone for almost a year now. That is something.

This thread is 8 years old with only one post since he passed away

[Jay Hinrichs]

Originally posted by @Greg H.:

Originally posted by @Wade Suhr:

This thread is still going and Carleton Sheets has been gone for almost a year now. That is something.

This thread is 8 years old with only one post since he passed away

Between him and Dave Del Dotto they created the  real estate investment paid for training niche..