I don't know the particular article you are referencing (and don't give a great deal of merit to the "Oprah of Personal Finance"), but I believe I can decipher what you are looking for.

Because of the fact that Craigslist has such a bad reputation for scams & all, how do we decipher which ones are true listings?

I think it really comes down to a newbie investor being able to decipher between someone like yourself and a "mentor" who is going to charge the most they can out of a student because it's easier to make money that way.

I need to go through your post and really decipher it so that I understand fully.

We specifically need help deciphering the rules behind self-directed IRAs and borrowing from a 401k.Thanks for the help.Michelle

Some furnaces have error codes you might be able to decipher.

I guess I just need help deciphering how much to ask for.

It is difficult to decipher which are a waste of time and which aren't.Either way most "real estate investors" never buy a single property, whether they go to a seminar or not.

Hopefully this article will shed more light for you on some of the other metrics: https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/10850/79257-deciphering-syndication-investment-terminologyBest!

Mind you, it also takes a somewhat sophiscated borrower and savvy defense attorney to decipher these laws and use it as a defense.