These are random thoughts and observations from my every day life, travels...experiencing other cultures, running a production company, dealing with people, and the many life lessons that cross my path. And, my continual journey in creating a "minimalistic lifestyle."
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how to not get taken advantage of in 2012!
during these hard economic times there are a growing number of slimy individuals that will pray on people. i’m seeing more reports on the local news talking about how innocent people are getting taken advantage of. here are some observations and encounters from my experience - watch for these types of scum bags or these situations…
Parking lot scam: an individual approaches you in a public parking lot…
- has an accent (most of the time it’s Italian or French), asks you for directions, then tells you that he has an excess inventory of designer clothing. ignore an move on!
- opens up his trunk or van and shows you electronic equipment, shows you an invoice telling you that they mistakenly got additional electronics. they will tell you, “their loss is your gain.” ignore and move on!
- tells you that he can fix the dent on your car or do minor body work on the spot. ignore and move on!
all of these individuals will tell you that they have been hit hard in these economic times and they are just trying to make a living. these are usually stolen or fake items, and/or their work is shitty. it’s not worth it to save a few bucks just to lose out at the end. i see these people in many of the Costco’s and large strip malls. i just had a friend of mine that got ripped of on some minor dent work on her car. the guy quoted her $75 bucks, did 10 mins of work…then told her that he need to pick up something else at the auto parts store. she was trusting and paid him in advance…never saw him again. and, her dent looks worse.
Real Estate Scam: i can’t believe i still get people trying to scam me on this!
- you will get approached by some broker or agent telling you that he/she has a huge inventory of foreclosed homes…but here’s the catch. he/she needs to raise funds (could be from $1M to $25M) to buy this lot of homes…then, they have another buyer that will buy this inventory of foreclosed homes at 30% more. the bottomline is…this is pure bullshit! there are very few people out there that can actually get a large inventory of foreclosed homes.
Real Estate “flip” scam:
- an individual tells you that they will find foreclosed homes and fix them up - flip them, and share the profits with you. but, you have to put up the money…their contribution is the “sweat equity.” the first flip you make $10k - 30K, then they get you to buy multiple homes. these are all “cash” deals. this seems like a trust worthy business partner, but, you end up losing a couple hundred grand at the end.
- not all of these are scams. there are many successful individuals make a killing buying and flipping foreclosed homes…just be careful! to protect yourself, make sure you are verifying the agents/brokers, escrow, and title companies your new business partner is working with.
Investor Scam aimed towards real estate developers: individuals claiming that they have a foreign fund that can provide you with financing.
- you will be approached by two or three individuals claiming that they can get you funding for your development. during the 30-45 days they will waste a bunch of your time having you prepare a proforma and a bunch of misc documents regarding your project. everything looks legit. in the last minute they tell you that they will need $25k - $100k to travel to Geneva, Panama City or some other foreign country that is known for their banking. they will use these funds to travel and present your development to the “middle man,” they will call him the “fund manager.” and part of these funds is a…wink…wink…a good will gesture to this fund manager to get you funded, and/or, this is also a part of their fee to get this completed. this is just one of the many stories they will have. the bottom line is they will make you do all this work and try to weasel out money from you at the tail end of this process. there have been many small developers duped by this scam!
Quick tips:
- don’t ever trust a stranger. even if they say, “pay me half then pay me the rest when you see the work.” bullshit, don’t pay them shit, and if the work sucks tell them to go fuck off! walk away.
- anyone claiming they can double your returns…in this market…is full of shit! walk away!
- don’t ever buy raw land in a foreign country, it’s a bad investment…trust me - i know! in my 10 years of practicing real estate in a foreign country, every developer knows that 99% of these parcels will never be developed. also, there have been a few instances where individuals purchased land that was not titled. spend the extra money to buy property that “has” or is going to have an actual “home” on it…it’s a better future investment. developing in a foreign country is 1,000 times more difficult than the U.S…it’s not for part-time home owners.
- Craigslist is a great place to sell or buy stuff, but, there are tons of scammers! always meet in the day at some starbucks. don’t ever let anyone come to your house. and never accept a check…even if it looks like a money order or cashiers check. they will sometimes pull this in the last minute.
- as you know, many homeowners are being foreclosed on, some of these homeowners are also renting out their homes knowing it’s being foreclosed on. make sure you get something in writing that shows they are not delinquent on their mortgage payment. the last thing you want is the bank telling you to move out and losing out on that months rent…and your deposit.
- anyone advertising that they will “buy gold” is ripping you off. they are offering you 50 - 75% less.
=> take the time to really think about the situation you’re presented with…don’t be foolish with your money.
=> don’t let friends or family waste your time with business propositions. most wealthy individuals, like Tyler Perry (watch his video on success on my FB wall), will tell you to focus and invest your time on one thing…and only one thing!
=> this is the year of the Water Dragon, it’s a good time to be more aggressive with your professional and personal goal…not goals! keep it simple…just have one major goal for each:)
=> there’s no short cut to be successful…it all takes hard work (putting in a lot of hrs)…focus…and surrounding yourself with the right people. => now, before you go any further into the new year…is the time to ditch anyone that is not on the same path as you.
=> to all my friends and business associates, i wish you all the best of luck in 2012!
Posted on Tuesday, January 24th 2012
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