All Forum Posts by: Andre Lucas

Never Get Ripped Off Again

Are you tired of being ripped off? Let me show you how to never get ripped off again. I just want to add some value to this topic.

Let me first introduce myself, my name is Andre Lucas, Sr. and I am a retired Army veteran. I am known as A.L. the Consultant. I have had the pleasure of serving this our great democracy. I have traveled the world, tasted some the finest cuisines, stayed at some the most elegant establishments, married to a beautiful woman and father of two children.

You see in most instances, I am just like many other citizens. I was a happy go lucky type of guy. My world revolved around faith, family, and finances. Now maybe this is not your story; but, please follow me on this journey.

The year was 2008, I was retired from the military and I wanted to stake my claim in the civilian lifestyle. I had under my belt many years of real estate investing experience by this time in my life. So, my next step was to Help, Hone and Teach (HHT) others how to invest in real estate. This led me to gather the necessary information to start an organization that would be the envy of the industry. No more paying exorbitant fees before you the consumer get any training and or most importantly, made some money (MAKE MONEY)! It was during this time that I found myself with all of my life and business experience, getting ripped-off! Wow!!!

Here’s how we the people can end this phenom. You see anyone at any level, stage or age in life can be susceptible to being RIPPED OFF! I did not realize the power that I had and simply accepted defeat. Another one bites the dust, yeah that the song running through my head. You see it wasn’t until this experience that I learned how to FIGHT BACK con artist. Ladies and gentlemen the individual may think that they got the better of you; but, not so! You are in the driver’s seat and never give up the FIGHT. Allow me to explain; if you paid the individual with a check, credit card or money order (as long as you kept the tracking portion) you are in control. SURPRISE!!!!

Now I am going to provide a suggestion, that is meant to be used honestly and in hopes of allowing the little man (average person) the opportunity to FIGHT BACK!

This is what I’ve done:

1. Call the financial institution that you used to pay for the service or merchandise and do a DISPUTE.

2. The institution is going to ask, “Why are you disputing this transaction?” Your reply should be to explain your dilemma and state, “I did not get anything for my payment.”

It’s that simple. Many of you knew this; but, you have not applied it to your life’s situations. Do not allow someone to take your hard earned money and walk away without fulfilling his or her obligation to you. FIGHT BACK!

Please understand that this information may not work in every instance; but, this is a solution that can be used to never get ripped off again. So don't give up, FIGHT BACK!

From Virginia With Love and Respect

@Stephen Yancey another quick approach is to get online, go to your County's Tax Assessors Records and find out who owns the property. While on the Tax Assessors site, note where the tax bill is being mailed to. This approach will give you access the owner's name and possible address. You can then use a free site on such as White Pages, Spokeo,  or Intelius, these are and have free people searches that will grant you access to the owner's current phone number. 

Armed with this small amount of information you are now ready to move a little faster! Best wishes and I look forward to your future posts.

@Everett Morris hello. My name is Andre Lucas. You asked for advice in finding, fixing and flipping real estate deals, so let's start from the beginning. 

You first must determine the area of real estate you will want to work. Do you want to be Investor/Developer (Fix and Flipper) / Wholesaler (You go out and locate properties and put them under contract and then assign the contract to an Investor/Developer for a fee) / Bird Dog (Go out and locate properties for your buyers lists, i.e. For Sale By Owner - F.S.B.O. or off-market property - usually boarded up properties).

Now once you figure out where you want to start then you have to take action. Go for it! Google information on the area you want to learn, and then ask specific questions on this forum to get a better understanding of what you have read. I believe this forum can and will be a tremendous support to shorten your learning curve. Best wishes, stay in contact I would love to chime in on your future posts. 

@Jay B. how are you doing; hopefully, all is well. I wanted to chime in on your decision to start using real estate investing software. The use of a software program is a personal choice. I believe anything that can help make your investing in real estate flow smoothly, then it is a good investment. There are many real estate investing software platforms out there, just Google real estate investing software. 

By the way, did you mean: RealeFlow? The software offers you a lot of usable tools. The recurring monthly fee for the Pro Version is a little much. There are other software programs for real estate out there that cost more and some less. 

I would love to help you further, I await your future postings. 

@Stephen Yancey Your efforts to become active is awesome. Taking action is the first step. Now that you have the addresses you now need to determine your strategy. Do you want to Buy and Hold, Fix and Flip, Wholesale or Bird Dog? Figure out exactly what you want to do and then continue to take action. Don't let setbacks slow you down. Once you figure out your strategy you can then address this forum and get specific advice from an array of experts. I wish you the best and look forward to your future post.

Hi @Joy D Pulliam I am new to this community; but, not real estate investing/developing. Can not wait to see your post.

Hello, @Aaron Lovett thank you for the hello!

@Michael S. please disregard my PM to you. I discovered this reply area and thank you for the welcome.

My name is Andre Lucas and I am new to the forum.  I definitely hope to add value to future discussions.