There are even online portals where people are flipping notes to unsuspecting newbies who don't know how to value a lien throughout the entire process, including cost of capital sitting on a note or trapped due to a homeowner bankruptcy case, etc...  

I guess my greatest beef with most gurus (not all, some are actually honest and straightforward, and even offer marginally beneficial advice) is the following1- they’re dishonest in numerous ways2- completing their training in no way qualifies the student to earn money or even perform competently in real property field3- the techniques they teach are often harmful to the people their students deal with4- they unleash a horde of unprepared, unqualified, unknowledgeable, misguided and unaware newbies on an unsuspecting pool of desperate homeowners5- they sell the song that all formal education is a waste of time and money6- they never provide any audited proof that they have been successful in real estate investing7- they encourage people to pay for a mentorship plan they can’t afford by increasing the limit on their credit cards8- they create falsified accounts to post how great their program is9- their programs are packaged by professional seminar companies out of Provo, Utah or Las Vegas, Nevada10- they disparage people who have spent years accumulating the knowledge, experience and capital necessary to be successful in real estate11- SOME gurus teach techniques which are unethical, immoral and even illegal.