Real Estate Insight

I think it is hilarious that this topic was posted. While living in Arizona my father-in-law (In Hawaii) called me to tell me about this NRU thing his friend mentioned. Knowing I am interested in real-estate investing, my father-in-law called me. Long story short I was a skeptic from the start. I actually attended one of the “Learning Events”. I happen to sit next to a successful NRU guy (the guy was OLD and drove a luxury car with the license plate NRU). Being in the profession of Business Analysis, I shot so many holes in their story they asked me to leave! I guess they don’t like a vocal opposition in a room full of barrel fish.

BTW, I think it would be helpfull to define MLM. MLM = Multi-Level Marketing.

By turtle on Mar 25, 2008

If you Google it you’ll see a lot of people who have lost tons.

Here’s one from Hawaii
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/318/RipOff0318433.htm

By brian on Mar 25, 2008

As a preface, I joined NRU by purchasing the “Regent’s” package, I went to the “college”, I tried to recruit, I have analyzed the Investor’s Concierge deals, I went to the briefings, I have heard the likes of Piccolo, Snyder, Cheri Tree, Kecia and all the other NRU hacks speak, and I’ve met and talked to many NRU “students”. So please don’t tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about. Here is my assessment of NRU. I have tried my best to be fair. For those of you familiar with NRU, this outline follows the “EPIC” presentation some of you may have been subject to.

The Company

1. Piccolo and Bob “the General” Snyder, the founders of NRU, have MARKETING backgrounds. Look it up. They have no prior experience with real estate investing before NRU.

2. As a consequence of Number 1, NRU is primarily a MARKETING business. You can call it whatever you want, direct marketing, MLM, a pyramid scheme, a ponzi scheme, there may not be a perfect term, but it contains aspects of all of these concepts.

3. Real estate investing and education is an ancillary part of NRU. It is the “product” that they sell, but it might as well be long-distance phone plans, an internet web-based business, vitamins or make-up.

4. NRU’s success is a direct product of the real estate mania this country has experienced over the past 7 years, not anything inherently great about the company’s products or services.

The “Education”

5. For $16,000, you really don’t get very much. You receive a certain number of “college” credits that expire after two years, but the catch is that you have to fly to Arizona to use them and you can only do that four times a year for a one-week period each time. There is an on-line option, but it is sub-par for a variety of reasons.

6. The courses are amateur hour and taught in seminar-fashion. They may dazzle people who don’t have a college degree, but will offer little to those who are generally versed in basic real estate and financial concepts. The educational materials are photocopied, hand-bound booklets, sometimes just an outline of the power point presentation. The instructors appear to be knowledgeable in their field, but they are mainly interested in consulting fees and fees for other services that they offer to NRU members (not altruism as many NRU shills would like you to believe).

7. NRU does not “teach” you anything you can’t learn by spending a few dollars on Amazon.com. There are no secret tips to learn that haven’t been published in the hundreds of real estate books you can buy on your own.

8. The “education” is primarily a vehicle for the direct marketing aspect of NRU, just as Investor’s Concierge is there to give members credibility when they market the course. The Concierge, however, is also another mechanism by which NRU extracts additional money from its students. More on this later.

Real Estate as an Investment Class

9. In marketing the tuition, a great deal of emphasis is placed on how real estate can make you rich. There is little or no information on how risky investing in real estate can be. At the “briefings” (the 2-hour presentation designed to lure new members), the presenter will talk a lot about how great real estate is because of the availability of leverage and certain tax benefits. At several briefings I went to, the presenter would literally make the representation that real estate prices only go up. Finally, the presenter will talk about how terrible it is to work for a corporation and how useless a college education is (ala Robert Kiyosaki). This usually manifests itself in the form of derisive acronyms, such as JOB, which stands for “Just Over Broke”, or how only NRU can give you an MBA that’s worth anything, a “Massive Bank Account” (crowd usually goes wild here).

10. NRU never mentions the special risks inherent in residential real estate investing, such as problem tenants, financing and interest rate risk, structural and environmental risks associated with housing, the cost of maintenance, the prospect of asset depreciation or declining rents, and the risk of litigation including from eviction and foreclosure. Bottom line, investing in residential real estate is very risky and comes with a host of hazards you would not find in other asset classes. NRU discounts all of this and presents real estate as a perpetual money tree.

11. We will likely never experience again in our lifetimes the type of appreciation in residential real estate that we have seen these past few years. There are several reasons that this is very likely to be the case: reversion to the mean, unsustainable public/private debt burdens, massive transfer of wealth to developing nations, slowing economic growth, an aging population, greater regulation in the financial sector, etc.

12. Historically, residential real estate prices have appreciated at the rate of inflation.

13. Real estate, like any other asset class, carries risks that are commensurate with the returns you are likely to generate. For example, leverage is great in good times, but people are quickly learning how easy it is for your equity to get wiped out a result of relatively small declines in home prices.

14. Investor Concierge deals are generally market-rate deals, but they are advertised to NRU students as amazing deals that generate positive cash flow. There are other sites that break this down, but generally speaking, the appraisals are usually 2-3 pages long and contain nothing more than a broker’s opinion of value, the financing is almost always interest only or neg-am, the rents are inflated, and the only way you get “positive cash flow” is if you include certain seller incentives like pre-paid HOA or guaranteed rent, most of which will expire within 2 years. Additionally, maintenance and vacancy will almost immediately eliminate the $100 or so of positive cash-flow a month you may get. NRU members hate talking about the details of the Investor Concierge deals.

15. Typically, there are only 15-20 available properties on the Concierge at any given time, so the pickins’ are slim. NRU encourages you to “reserve” a property you like as soon as you see it online because it could get snatched up by someone else unless you do. The NON-REFUNDABLE fee for reserving a property is $350.

16. Investor Concierge deals are mainly located in historically depressed or undeveloped, sub-urban or rural real estate markets, you will generally not find properties on the system in established, urban markets. These properties are likely to experience declines in this current bear market and will not likely appreciate much at all when the economy recovers.

17. Anyone who has purchased a deal off of Investor’s Concierge over the last two years has either lost all of their equity and/or is underwater. This is a terrifying prospect for many people in NRU because at the briefings, many of them go up to the front and brag about how they have bought 5, 10, 15 or even 20 properties over the past few months. Many of these people are going to have to walk away from their homes in the coming years, which will destroy their credit and eat up any ponzi money they made from the marketing. Anyone even thinking about joining NRU should be asking the ISAs for a detailed breakdown of their current real estate portfolios.

The Marketing

18. The real estate investing component of NRU is used mainly to support the primary business of the company which is selling tuition packages. For an additional $75, you can become an Independent Student Advisor (“ISA”) and can go out and sell the tuition packages on behalf of NRU. There are three options which cost different amounts, but most people are pressured to purchase the most expensive package, the “Regent’s” tuition together with the “Encyclopedia”, which total almost $20,000. There are certain commission and tuition-related perks you get for buying this package.

19. The commission system is what really drives NRU. NRU members receive a 50% commission for each tuition package they sell, so that can amount to nearly $10,000 a pop. Commissions are further leveraged by the requirement that each new person you sign up bring you two additional recruits before they can be “certified” and start collecting their 50% commission, with the commission for those first two recruits going to you (that’s almost an additional $20,000 on top of the $10,000 you already made from the first guy). Then, each of those two fresh recruits that were handed to you also need to bring you two new recruits before they can get “certified” (yes, that’s another $40,000 on top of the $20,000 on top of the $10,000). You see where this is going. Of course, before you can begin collecting any commissions at all, you need to bring YOUR ISA two fresh recruits and get “certified” as well. This “pyramiding” aspect of the commission structure makes it extremely lucrative IF YOU ARE GOOD AT SALES. This is hook that gets most people to fork over the money. If you get out a piece of paper, you will see how quickly you can get to $1 million. Also, the commission structure is subject to change by NRU AT ANY TIME.

20. But even the commission structure has a catch, one that NRU only recently started to be more upfront about. NRU used to present the commission system as requiring that you bring your ISA two fresh recruits before you begin collecting commissions for additional recruits yourself. But if you actually read the commission rules, you will find that you in fact, need to bring your ISA FOUR new recruits, NOT TWO. My ISA sold me NRU telling me I only had to bring him TWO, when in fact, the rules say you have bring him FOUR. His explanation to me AFTER I signed up was that he would “manually” certify me on the system after I bring him two recruits. Well, that’s fine for me, but how the hell was I supposed to sell this thing to others? I could not guarantee that they would all get “manually” certified after two sales because that’s not how the commission rules work. My partner was furious about this, but this is the type of thing that happens when you incentivize people to aggressively market any product. There are other hidden rules as well, one that pretty much requires that you have to keep selling indefinitely to keep the stream of money flowing. Anyone even thinking about signing up should ask to see a copy of the rules on paper before you do anything and read it very, very carefully, because it is confusing.

21. Most people are unsuccessful at selling tuition packages. It’s akin to trying to sell a used car, except you would probably get more value from a junker than the “education” that NRU offers. Most people are simply not good as selling used cars and most people wouldn’t feel good about it either. The problem is that the “education” and other ancillary services are simply not worth $20,000 and it’s obvious why: most of that needs to go subsidize the commission system, which is needed to lubricate the entire NRU machinery. So unless you’re committed to selling and you’re good at it, you’re likely to be very disappointed.

22. The commission system places a lot of pressure on NRU members to sell, sell, sell. This is how all the top “producers” have made most of their money. This also creates a massive conflict of interest. More on this later.

23. The direct marketing aspect of NRU preys on the greed and naiveté of all sorts of people, but mainly lower-middle class individuals, young people just starting out, and real estate agents/brokers, many of whom don’t have a lot of education and work crappy jobs that they aren’t happy with.

24. NRU is tied in with the likes of Robert Kiyosaki and “The Secret”. I’m not going to bore you with the analysis, but try Google and you will find plenty of critiques.

Conflicts of Interest

25. NRU generates tremendous income directly from its students. They make money not only from the tuition, but also from marketing materials and services, credit services, mortgage brokerage services, accounting and legal services, special seminars, Investor Concierge transactions, all of which cost extra, and they’re not cheap. You also have to pay for lodging and the plane ticket to get to the college. All of the NRU instructors also offer consulting deals and other professional services, which also cost extra. The $16,000 for the Regent’s tuition only buys you “college” credits, you get NOTHING ELSE. You even have to buy the forms and brochures you need to sign up people for NRU. I take that back, you do get a tote bag, but it looks ridiculous.

26. NRU members are supposed to be “mentors” to the new members who they sign up, but what they really want from you is for you to sell the tuition to others, because they will the commission for the first few sales you make. There is a huge conflict of interest here because there is a big incentive for NRU members to sell the tuition, irrespective of the quality of the product or the unique situation of people to whom they are marketing.

27. NRU encourages you to sell to friends and family, which destroys relationships when people are dissatisfied or feel cheated, which is often the case.

28. The most distasteful defense of NRU to me is that “it’s not for everyone, but it worked for me”. It may be that there are some people who are successful and make lots of money in NRU, but the system cannot support a situation where most of the people in NRU make tons of money. This is the inherent, mathematical limitations of these types of marketing structures. I’m sure someone smarter than me can prove this. Likewise, the real estate market cannot support most people in NRU making money in residential real estate investing. Case in point is the short sale strategy, which NRU shills tout as the way to make money in a down market. Well, there is so much competition in short sales right now, and even more with each “college”, that short sale investors are bidding up pre-foreclosures pretty much to market. These two fundamental concepts virtually guaranty that only a small minority of NRU members will make any money either from the marketing or the real estate investing, and REQUIRE everyone else to fail in order for the system to sustain itself. This is the biggest conflict of interest of them all and lends to NRU’s reputation as a “scam”.

Conclusion

NRU is a marketing business that encourages and monetarily incentivizes its members to use high-pressure sales tactics to sell a very expensive real estate “education” package with questionable value to unsophisticated people with the lure of quick money and unlimited riches in real estate. Success in NRU is highly dependent on (1) a booming real estate market and/or (2) a unique talent in sales and marketing. What makes NRU so insidious is that it plays on the fear and greed of ordinary people, often friends and family, most of whom will go bankrupt by following NRU investment strategies during a severe and sustained real estate down turn such as the one we are experiencing now, and most of whom will fail in selling the tuition package because they lack the sales and marketing expertise which is further exacerbated by a declining real estate market. Taken as whole, NRU may be perfectly legal, but many people will feel like they were cheated out of thousands of dollars by someone they trusted. If after reading this, you are still interested then by all means sign up. But just be prepared to live with it if at some point you find yourself either financially bankrupt, morally bankrupt, or even worse, both.

Epilogue

Finally, you’re not going to see a whole lot of posts like this from people who have joined NRU. Most are very disillusioned at the loss of thousands of dollars and don’t even want to give it another thought. The rest are out searching for marks. I can only hope that NRU won’t survive this bear market in housing, and if this post can hasten its demise, so much the better. I don’t blame the person who signed me up, he incidentally has had to find a full-time job now since NRU is apparently not doing it for him. I walked into this with my eyes wide open, which shows you how greed can overcome any good judgment you may think you have. But I am thankful that I didn’t end up dragging anyone else into this apart from a good friend as my partner in this scheme, but with whom, as a result of NRU, am no longer on speaking terms. So for all of you NRU shills out there who still think you are doing God’s work, why don’t you try calling each and every person you have signed up and ask them exactly what they think about NRU. I think you will find that my experience is not so unique. If you can keep on selling after that, well then, good luck to you.

By Dean on May 5, 2008

Dean – incredible feedback. Thanks, one of the best summaries I’ve been on NRU. Sorry that you got burned. Just curious, have you invested in RE?

By brian on May 5, 2008

Thanks guys, I just hope people who are thinking of joining will find some of these blogs and read these posts. I have not invested in RE, but have lots of money saved up for when we hit bottom. Not in a big rush though.

Elliot, did you join NRU? You seem to know a lot about it as well, there are very few posts that go into the detail that we do, which is shame, because I know for fact there are many people out there who got burned by NRU.

By Dean on May 13, 2008

I know Elliot didn’t join, but has spoken to dozens of people and many of them did get burned.

Look into Bank Owned properties. In most areas, you can get excellent returns. Good luck on your investing.

By brian on May 13, 2008

Hi,

I went to this NRU Seminar the other night, and thought it all sounds good, except for the money then they said you can get two for the price of one. sounded hokey to me so I did some research and this is the best blog I’ve found thanks for telling and truth and taking the time to explain in detail.

I would like to know what other companies I could learn this stuff and not pay so much money. I looked into Rich dad poor dad and they wanted 3000 plus I heard they do a lot of up selling. I’d just want to learn. Any suggestion would be helpful.

By april on Jun 28, 2008

I would first look into picking up a few good books and/or audio books. You’ll be surprised that a lot of these ‘classes’ are just regurgitation of what you can already find in print.

Another thing you can do is find a skilled agent who can show you great deals. Have them prove it to you. If they don’t have the time or can’t then walk away. There are a lot to pick from. Also don’t rush. One mistake can wipe you out. You have time, this market will be around for a while.

Good luck!

By brian on Jun 29, 2008

Thank you for this information.. I sat it on a meeting and they were so hype and excited. But, I listened to how much it cost for an education and who in their right mind would fly to Arizona to take classes for that much money??!?!!? Somethings I just didn’t comprehend… Anyway, for anyone interested in Real Estate in Hawaii. There are a group of investors who meet once a month to teach about investing: http://www.hirei.org/home
(Hawaii Real Estate Investors). Also, there is a free once a month meeting with anyone starting or experience, who is interested on real estate: http://www.realestate-extreme.com/rx_master_minds
I am all about free education, especially if it will expand my knowledge. It’s my time, that I cherish… these meetings are worth the time taking…

By janice on Jul 14, 2008

In response to “Dean”‘s “incredible” summary that a few have taken a liking to:
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The Company

1. Piccolo and Bob ‘the General’ Snyder, the founders of NRU, have MARKETING backgrounds. Look it up. They have no prior experience with real estate investing before NRU.

–Even if this IS true, a) I don’t know how anyone could possibly “look up” what sort of personal experience any individual has with something as broad as real estate investing…Can you tell me where one might find this information? Perhaps it would be more readily available for a more well-known businessman. Exactly what experience does Bill Gates have with RE investing? How about Rupert Murdoch? Where is this information published?

b) Is it possible that that is a reason neither one of them teaches a single class? While Snyder’s bio is listed in the “instructors” section on the company website, he is not listed anywhere as an instructor of any specific course in the course catalogue.

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2. As a consequence of Number 1, NRU is primarily a MARKETING business. You can call it whatever you want, direct marketing, MLM, a pyramid scheme, a ponzi scheme, there may not be a perfect term, but it contains aspects of all of these concepts.

–Great comment. Spoken like a true lawyer. With that last sentence fragment you get to say almost anything you want before it, and by the end of the statement alleviate yourself from all claims of libel or falsities. You could say the very same thing about almost any business. Depending on how far you’re willing to stretch your claims, you could even say nonprofit organizations “contain aspects” of direct marketing, MLM, a pyramid scheme and a Ponzi scheme…The truth is, Nouveau Riche, like MOST other business is not any of those, other than maybe direct-to-consumer marketing.

First of all, there is nothing wrong, immoral or illegal about multi-level marketing businesses. That acronym “MLM” is thrown around as if it were a terrible thing. Multi-level marketing is a perfectly legitimate business model. But even still, Nouveau Riche is not a multi-level marketing business. Multi-level marketing businesses DO function by enrolling unsalaried salespeople (also called distributors, Independent Business Owners, Franchise Owners, Sales Consultants, Consultants, Independent Agents, etc…) to sell products and earn commissions on those sales. This is the only similarity.

In an MLM, distributors earn a commission based on the sales efforts of their entire organization, which includes one’s own independent sale efforts as well as the leveraged sales efforts of their down-the-line hires/distributors. This is much like franchise arrangements in which royalties are paid from the sales of individual franchise operations to the franchisor as well as to an area or region manager. In an MLM there can be multiple levels of people receiving royalties from one person’s sales.

Examples of well-known MLM companies are weight-loss, nutrition and skin-care giant Herbalife and Mary Kay cosmetics.

In the case of Nouveau Riche, a marketer never gives up a part of their sales commission to multiple people in different levels of the organization. As a trainee, the commissions on the marketer’s first few sales go directly to the trainee’s Independent Student Adviser (ISA), just as if it were the ISA that made the sale. After these first few “training sales” the trainee becomes “certified” to sell the products and never again does ANY of the sales commission go to anyone else. Once certified as an ISA, the marketer is the sole profit taker in 100% of his sales commissions. An example of this elsewhere might be in the insurance industry in a situation in which an agent’s apprentice might first open a certain number of new accounts for new customers before he is allowed to handle clients/accounts of his own. The new accounts that he opens as a trainee go to his direct superior.

A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves income generation through recruiting other people into the scheme, usually without any product or service being delivered. The individual makes one payment, but is promised to somehow receive exponential benefits from other people as a reward. A common example might be an offer that, for a fee, allows the victim to sell the same offer to other people (the offer of course being the ability to sell the offer), or receive bonuses through other people they refer. Each sale includes a fee to the original seller.

Clearly, the flaw is that there is no end benefit; the money simply travels up the chain, and only the originator (or at best a very few) wins in swindling his followers. Of course, the people in the worst situation are the ones at the bottom of the pyramid: those who subscribed to the plan, but were not able to recruit any followers themselves.

Nouveau Riche is a normal product/service-providing company. There are services offered: the mainstay of the college, which is education/instruction in real estate investing strategies, and in addition ancillary credit services, mortgage brokerage services, accounting and legal services, property management services, etc. There are also physical products sold such as educational literature and other materials such as investment software and company branded consumer merchandise (polo shirts, tote bags etc.).

Many people purchase these products directly and do not even attempt to market them to other people. For those that CHOOSE to market the products, and make a sale, a commission on the sale is paid to them for their effort. This is no different than any other direct-to-consumer sales business, aside from the fact that NO ONE is hired as an employee of Nouveau Riche strictly for the purpose of selling the products.

A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation named after the Italian immigrant Charles Ponzi. It involves paying or at least promising abnormally high returns (“profits”) to investors out of the money paid in by subsequent investors, rather than from net revenues generated by any real business activities.

The scheme essentially consists of a single individual offering a high return, say 30% in 30 days on an investment. Investors submit their funds, under the impression their money will be invested in a lucrative venture, arbitrage of some kind for instance. The scam is that there is no real investment activity taking place. The money from investor D goes to pay out “profits” to investors A, B, and C. When investors X, Y, and Z put in money, that money is available to pay “profits” to investors A through W.

The scheme initially works well because the early investors get paid their returns as advertised, so they usually reinvest (i.e. keep) their money in the scheme as it generally pays a higher return than most other alternatives. This means that those running the scheme do not actually have to pay out very much (net) – they simply send statements to investors that show how much the investors have earned by keeping the money in what appears to be a great place to get a high return.

The scheme eventually collapses because:

a) authorities get wise to the illegal activity and shut it down
b) the originators take the money and leave town
or
c) the promoters have trouble getting new investors and eventually run out of funds to pay out all the promised returns and more and more people start asking for their money, similar to a bank run.

Obviously none of this has any similarity to Nouveau Riche. There is no “investment opportunity” offered by the company and there is certainly no “promised return.” A product is marketed, purchased and then provided. Again, if any individual wishes to market the product to someone else, and ends up making a sale from the referral, a commission is paid for the effort.

As for “direct marketing”, yes, Nouveau Riche only markets its products and services through individuals, contracted as independents. There are no television ads, billboards, radio spots or any use of any other kind of intervening media paid for by the company itself. Sales of the company’s products are generally made by face-to-face contact with the customer.

The author appears to believe this is a negative thing.

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3. Real estate investing and education is an ancillary part of NRU. It is the ‘product’ that they sell, but it might as well be long-distance phone plans, an internet web-based business, vitamins, or make-up.

–This makes little sense. You admit investing tools and education are the products sold, and then say, “it may as well be [any other product].” Yeah. Businesses sell products and/or services. Nouveau Riche is a business. It sells a product just like Time Warner Cable, Amazon.com, GNC and Estée Lauder. What’s your point?

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4. NRU’s success is a direct product of the real estate mania this country has experienced over the past 7 years, not anything inherently great about the company’s products or services.

–This is a complete statement of opinion from an individual who obviously has a negative bias. There is no evidence or factual information to even support such a claim.

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The ‘Education’
5. For $16,000, you really don’t get very much. You receive a certain number of ‘college’ credits that expire after two years, but the catch is that you have to fly to Arizona to use them and you can only do that four times a year for a one-week period each time. There is an on-line option, but it is sub-par for a variety of reasons.

–Again, a statement of opinion, a misleading “fact” coupled with a complete falsity followed by another fact coupled with another opinion. For anyone that really wants to know, it’s on the website (collegeinfo.nouveauriche.com). Yes, one tuition package is offered for $16,000. It includes 120 hours of class time. There are three tuition packages offered:

30 NR hours = 5 days – $6,000
60 NR hours = 10 days – $10,000
120 NR hours = 20 days – $16,000

The classes are currently held at the Renaissance Glendale Hotel in Glendale, AZ. According to the feature in the June/July 2008 issue of Success magazine construction on the permanent Nouveau Riche campus in Scottsdale, AZ is expected to be completed by the end of 2010, after which time all classes will be held therein.

Classes are held bi-monthly throughout the year, usually for a period of 6 days per session. Tuition purchasers can attend any combination of days, and under the $16,000 package have 1 full year (6 college sessions) to take courses (and repeat any if they wish) and a 2nd year (6 college sessions) to repeat any courses they wish. Each tuition package is also good for two people. The reason we always hear about the $16,000 tuition is because it is the most popular one, and well over 95% of students enroll with it.

With this package, looking at the Dec 2007 schedule, (http://nouveauricheuniversity.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2007/11/30/3385199.html)

students can take up to 12 hours of class time per day if they desire, for at least 4 days of the week, then another 2 days where they can take up to 8 hours of classes. This calculates to up to 64 hours of class time per week per partner. Each partner has full control over their own schedules and can choose classes they want, and can choose to attend for any combination of days during the sessions. Calculation:

12 weeks of school over a 2 year period. 64 hours per week x 12 weeks = up to 768 hours of potential in-class time x 2 people is 1536 total in-class hours for a Regents Tuition. $16,000 divided by 1536 = $10.42/hr of class time.

Over 20 courses are also offered in online format, with audio and video of the instructor teaching a live class, which tuition purchasers can view an unlimited number of times, not counting against their purchased credits.

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6. The courses are amateur hour and taught in seminar-fashion. They may dazzle people who don’t have a college degree, but will offer little to those who are generally versed in basic real estate and financial concepts. The educational materials are photocopied, hand-bound booklets, sometimes just an outline of the power point presentation. The instructors appear to be knowledgeable in their field, but they are mainly interested in consulting fees and fees for other services that they offer to NRU members (not altruism as many NRU shills would like you to believe).

–I’m not exactly sure what accredited university the author attended to get his “college degree” but if by “seminar-fashion” he means a group of students sitting in chairs facing an instructor standing at the front of the room, then okay: 99.99% of all courses taught in every major university (and high school and middle school for that matter) are taught in “seminar-fashion” and I suppose Nouveau Riche is no exception. The author also implies that instructors spend class time pushing their own products and services on students…something they are contractually bound AGAINST doing by the company.

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7. NRU does not ‘teach’ you anything you can’t learn by spending a few dollars on Amazon.com. There are no secret tips to learn that haven’t been published in the hundreds of real estate books you can buy on your own.

–While an obvious stretch of a statement to begin with, one could say the same thing about nearly every class at any institution of learning. Can you name one thing you learned in any course, throughout your entire tenure from pre-school through a bachelor’s degree that wasn’t already published somewhere? Isn’t one of the major costs of college matriculation “books”? What is the purpose of paying the LARGEST cost of college (tuition) when you could just buy the books the professor makes you read? (which, many times, if you go to a decent university, he/she wrote themselves anyway…instructor pushing his own products???)

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8. The ‘education’ is primarily a vehicle for the direct marketing aspect of NRU, just as Investor’s Concierge is there to give members credibility when they market the course. The Concierge, however, is also another mechanism by which NRU extracts additional money from its students. More on this later.

–Good call there. Essentially, you called out the company on its “crazy practice” of using the products it sells as a draw to get customers. Wow.

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Real Estate as an Investment Class

9. In marketing the tuition, a great deal of emphasis is placed on how real estate can make you rich. There is little or no information on how risky investing in real estate can be. At the ‘briefings’ (the 2-hour presentation designed to lure new members), the presenter will talk a lot about how great real estate is because of the availability of leverage and certain tax benefits. At several briefings I went to, the presenter would literally make the representation that real estate prices only go up. Finally, the presenter will talk about how terrible it is to work for a corporation and how useless a college education is (ala Robert Kiyosaki). This usually manifests itself in the form of derisive acronyms, such as JOB, which stands for ‘Just Over Broke’, or how only NRU can give you an MBA that’s worth anything, a ‘Massive Bank Account’ (crowd usually goes wild here).

–First of all, real estate investing CAN make you rich. Just like nearly anything else if done right. This is not wrong or false. In fact, more wealth is generated from real estate investing than nearly any other business venture. Do a Google search of “what the wealthy invest in.”

Second, no one ever talks about college education being “useless.” Nouveau Riche’s MAIN PRODUCT is college education.

Third, name one company that when first introducing you to its product (especially if it’s a product you’ve never used before and/or are unfamiliar with) goes into all the things that could go wrong with it. When selling a car does the dealer put up statistics of how many people die annually in car accidents? How about just some simple warnings about how many things can go wrong with the auto and how many different ways you could get hurt because of it and how much it might cost to fix it? How about a new computer system…do the instructions go into detail on the value and amount of information that could be lost should the system crash, or the possible detriment to your livelihood should your personal information be leaked on the Internet while you are using the machine?

The point is
a) everyone is responsible for learning about what they’re getting into before they actually get into it…it’s called “due diligence”…a phrase most often used in—real estate.

b) the risks involved in real estate investing are exactly one of the main focuses of some of the courses. This is why there are classes such as “Real Estate 101” covering the basics, including the RISKS involved in RE investing…as well as others entitled “Market Analysis”, “Legal Strategies”, both of which include content related to possible pitfalls. There is even an entire course entitled “Buyer Beware.”

And in general, real estate value DOES go up over time. The fact is even stated many times that since such figures have been logged (1968) the average appreciation in RE has been 6% annually. In the past 20 years, it’s been more than twice that.

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10. NRU never mentions the special risks inherent in residential real estate investing, such as problem tenants, financing and interest rate risk, structural and environmental risks associated with housing, the cost of maintenance, the prospect of asset depreciation or declining rents, and the risk of litigation including from eviction and foreclosure. Bottom line, investing in residential real estate is very risky and comes with a host of hazards you would not find in other asset classes. NRU discounts all of this and presents real estate as a perpetual money tree.

–Again, these are ALL risks covered in the actual courses. I would love to see you run a company selling a product by only talking about its negative aspects.

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11. We will likely never experience again in our lifetimes the type of appreciation in residential real estate that we have seen these past few years. There are several reasons that this is very likely to be the case: reversion to the mean, unsustainable public/private debt burdens, massive transfer of wealth to developing nations, slowing economic growth, an aging population, greater regulation in the financial sector, etc.

–Once more, a complete opinion statement, and a SPECULATIVE statement at that…one which would require an EXTENSIVE knowledge of residual real estate markets and trends, economics and historical data to make…all of which I seriously doubt the author possesses.

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12. Historically, residential real estate prices have appreciated at the rate of inflation.

–This is a completely false statement. Either the author just made it up or heard it somewhere and didn’t bother to check it. It is something that is easily verifiable. Since 1968 the average inflation rate in the United States is 4.71% (http://inflationdata.com). Over the 36 year period (when RE appreciation data was first recorded/collected) up to 2004, the average price increase in the U.S. has been 6.4% (http://www.realestateabc.com/graphs/natlmedian.htm).
And that is the AVERAGE appreciation of the MEDIAN home price over the past 36 years…imagine if one had a little EDUCATION and foresight enough to be a little smart about which markets, locations and specific properties they chose to invest in…

In one particular online forum discussing this very issue, one user stated his own property values:
1978 condo purchase in Diamond Head Hawaii 9%
1986 SFH purchase in SFBay area 10%
1994 SFH purchase in Vegas, baby, 8%
2003 condo purchase in Diamond Head Hawaii 20%
2004 condo purchase in Waikiki Hawaii 15%

And while the average median price has dropped considerably in the last few years, this shift is unique and uncharacteristic of the market trends overall, making it unlikely to occur in the same fashion or in the near future…not to mention, it means that currently many markets of real estate are being offered and sold at extremely discounted prices.

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13. Real estate, like any other asset class, carries risks that are commensurate with the returns you are likely to generate. For example, leverage is great in good times, but people are quickly learning how easy it is for your equity to get wiped out a result of relatively small declines in home prices.

–This is for the most part a true statement, which is also covered in class…but again, as stated before, what we are currently seeing is not a “relatively small decline in home prices”.

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14. Investor Concierge deals are generally market-rate deals, but they are advertised to NRU students as amazing deals that generate positive cash flow. There are other sites that break this down, but generally speaking, the appraisals are usually 2-3 pages long and contain nothing more than a broker’s opinion of value, the financing is almost always interest only or neg-am, the rents are inflated, and the only way you get ‘positive cash flow’ is if you include certain seller incentives like pre-paid HOA or guaranteed rent, most of which will expire within 2 years. Additionally, maintenance and vacancy will almost immediately eat away at the $100 of positive cash-flow a month you get. NRU members hate talking about the details of the Investor Concierge deals.

–Most of this is either untrue or a stretch of truth. For a clear general breakdown of Investor Concierge deals see http://newrich.wordpress.com/2008/02/01/are-the-investor-concierge-deals-any-good/

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15. Typically, there are only 15-20 available properties on the Concierge at any given time, so the pickins are slim. NRU encourages you to “reserve” a property you like as soon as you see it online, because it could get snatched up by someone else unless you do. The non-refundable fee for reserving a property is $350.

–Again, see the link above.

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16. Investor Concierge deals are mainly located in historically depressed or undeveloped, sub-urban or rural real estate markets, you will generally not find properties on the system in established, urban markets. These properties are likely to experience declines in this market and will not likely appreciate much at all when the economy recovers.

–Again, see the link above.

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17. Anyone who has purchased a deal off of Investor’s Concierge over the last two years has either lost all of their equity or is underwater. This is a terrifying prospect for many people in NRU because at the briefings, many of them go up to the front and brag about how they have bought 5, 10, 15 or even 20 properties over the past few months. Many of these people are going to have to walk away from their homes in the coming years, which will destroy their credit and eat up any ponzi money they made from the marketing.

–Another completely unfounded speculation statement presented as fact from someone without evidence or figures to support such claims.

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The Marketing

18. The real estate investing component of NRU is used mainly to support the primary business of the company which is selling tuition packages. There are three options which cost different amounts, but most people are pressured to purchase the ‘Regent’s’ packing together with the ‘Encyclopedia’, which total almost $20,000. There are certain commission and tuition-related perks you get for buying the most expensive package.

–Gee. The product the company sells is mainly used to support the primary business of the company, which is selling the product it sells. Go figure.

The rest of the information in #18 is mostly true, as there are different commission and tuition-related perks that are included with the different tuition packages. Basically the higher price you pay (i.e. the more you buy), the more you get. Again, go figure.

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19. The commission system is what really drives NRU. NRU members can get a 50% commission for each package they sell, so sometimes that amounts to nearly $10,000 a pop, and there is an added wrinkle that causes that number to multiply very quickly if people you sign up also, in turn, sign up additional students. The mathematics make the commission structure extremely lucrative IF YOU ARE GOOD AT SALES. This is hook that gets most people to fork over the money.

–I don’t see anything wrong with this statement, other than a possible implication of a pyramid scheme setup. There is no “sign up fee”. Commissions are made only when a product is sold…just like any other business. The author might claim “signing up” and “buying tuition” are the same thing, but in the definition of illegal pyramid schemes, this is an important distinction to make. There are tangible products and verifiable services marketed and sold. Once a marketer is “certified” to sell a certain product or service after giving up the commissions on the first few sales to his Independent Student Advisor, he is the sole profit taker in his sales. Never after those first few “training sales” does any of the marketer’s commission go to anyone else. Even during the training phase, the commission he gives up to his ISA ONLY goes to his ISA. There is no one at any other level that partakes in those commission profits.

The only time the “added wrinkle” the author refers to occurs is when a marketer, still in training, makes a sale to a person who then also makes a sale of his own before said marketer is certified himself. In this situation, said marketer does not have a right to the sale commission, as it is still his ISA, not himself training the new marketer that just made the newest sale. In other words, even though it was the trainee who referred the person who made the latest sale, it was not the trainee who was responsible for that referred person. The trainee cannot receive commissions for someone else’s sale before he can take commissions on his own sales.

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20. Most people are unsuccessful at selling tuition packages. It’s akin to trying to sell a used car, except you would probably get more value from a junker than the ‘education’ that NRU offers. It’s obvious why the ‘education’ NRU offers is not worth $20,000, most of that needs to go subsidize the commission system, which is needed to lubricate the entire NRU machinery.

–The first sentence here is by definition a factual statement, yet it is not based in any fact whatsoever. I would be interested to see any sort of evidence suggesting “most people are ‘unsuccessful’ at selling the tuition packages.” To be sure, there are plenty of people that pay for the tuition and attend the college that are not interested in marketing it. They are interested in doing what they attended the college to do in the first place: invest in real estate. I don’t believe anyone would NOT pay the $75 startup cost for the ABILITY to market the college and collect any commissions they might be privy to when they refer friends and family, but there are many students of the college that have no interest in making a business out of marketing it.

Interestingly, the author suggests the education is useless, and that the only “real” product is the commissions to be made from selling it, which he in turn claims most people are unsuccessful at selling in the first place…even though the college has grown tenfold in the past two years. What’s more, CEO Jim Piccolo has invested nearly 100% of year 2007’s revenue from the college into the development of a 30+ acre permanent campus for the college complete with nearly 400 housing units, the plans for which were featured in the June/July 2008 issue of Success magazine.

If the product being sold is so horrible, and the people marketing are so bad at selling it, why the growth? Why the investment of a state-of-the-art campus facility?

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21. The commission system places a lot of pressure on NRU members to sell, sell, sell. This is how all the top ‘producers’ have made most of their money. This also creates a massive conflict of interest. More on this later.

–It is an oxymoron to equate a “commission system” with “pressure on the seller.” It is even more ridiculous to claim commissions somehow create a “conflict of interest.” The commission is an incentive to refer others to the college. No one HAS to do it. No one is “pressured” into marketing the college. You have to pay a startup cost to even do it. No one is hired to sell the product. It is never stated to be a sole means of income. Many people state that they have been able to replace their W2 income with the marketing and have therefore decided to quit their former job, but there is no reason for any person to feel “pressure” to sell. There is no quota to be met in some time frame to lock in a Christmas bonus. There is no number of “team sales” needed to reach a “company goal” so that you can get a promotion and finally make ends meet. Where does the “pressure” come in?

And even if anyone was in such a position that they felt they needed to make a sale, how would it be any different from any other commission-based sales job? And wouldn’t it be fair to assume one understands what commission-based sales is before one takes such a job…especially when it is explained to him multiple times?

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22. The direct marketing aspect of NRU preys on the greed and naiveté of all sorts of people, but mainly lower-middle class individuals, young people just starting out, and real estate agents/brokers, many of whom don’t have a lot of education and work crappy jobs that they aren’t happy with.

–I’m guessing you consider yourself naïve and in one of these categories. Interesting, you seem to infer you have little education while at the same time presume to have such extensive knowledge of the inner workings of major universities.

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23. NRU is tied in with the likes of Robert Kiyosaki and ‘The Secret’. I’m not going to bore you with the analysis, but try Google and you will find plenty of critiques.

–And by “tied in with” you mean “mentions the names of and quotes from…”

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Conflicts of Interest

24. NRU generates tremendous income directly from its students. They make money not only from the tuition, but also from marketing materials and services, credit services, mortgage brokerage services, accounting and legal services, special seminars, Investor Concierge transactions, all of which cost extra, and they’re not cheap. You also have to pay for lodging and the plane ticket to get to the college. All of the NRU instructors also offer consulting deals and other professional services, which also cost extra. The $16,000 for the Regent’s tuition only buys you ‘college’ credits, you get NOTHING ELSE. You even have to buy the forms and brochures you need to sign up people for NRU. I take that back, you do get a tote bag, but it looks ridiculous.

–The first sentence here essentially translates to: “The company generates a lot of its income directly from the people who buy its products.” …Yet another revelation for the record books.

Let’s see if the exact sentences and phraseology can be used to describe anything else…perhaps replace “Nouveau Riche” with, say “Harvard”…It would then read: “Harvard University generates tremendous income directly from its students. They make money not only from the tuition, but also from marketing materials and services, credit services… [at this point the services become unrelated, but you get the idea.]…all of which cost extra, and they’re not cheap. You also have to pay for lodging and the plane ticket to get to the college.”

Gee. This “Harvard University” sounds like a really sour deal, doesn’t it?

The statement of “the $16,000 for the Regent’s tuition only buys you ‘college’ credits, you get NOTHING ELSE” is completely false. The author completely contradicts himself here, as he specifically stated in #18: “There are certain commission and tuition-related perks you get for buying the most expensive package.” So which is it? Are there “added perks” or do you get “NOTHING ELSE”?

The truth is not only is every tuition package good for TWO people, each one also grants a certain level of access and usage to the Investor Concierge website, with the highest level of access reserved for the Regent’s tuition holders. The “tote bag” the author speaks of is actually a black business-type satchel that comes with myriad other marketing materials which are all covered by the $75 marketing startup cost, supposing you even wish to pay for that.

The extra services are just that: extra. They are not required, not inherently necessary, not actively marketed to students in any way. They are barely even mentioned when introducing potential students to the college. They are offered as services to aid in different facets of a student’s individual investment and business development strategy. Many students may not need or ever use some or any of the extra services offered. What is so wrong with offering extra services that some might find useful? If you don’t want em, don’t get em.

It would not be a far stretch to contend that if such services WEREN’T offered, the author would then complain that “students are left to fend for themselves” with “no helpful means with which to help them protect their assets or set up the mortgage deals they learn to construct in their classes” or any of the other things the services provide.

It seems this author wishes to only mention the things he feels will help his complaint sound better and in a way that makes normal and even additional business attributes sound negative.

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25. NRU members are supposed to be ‘mentors’ to the new members who they sign up, but what they really want from you is for you to sell the tuition to others, because they will get a cut of the first few sales you make. There is a huge conflict of interest here because there is a big incentive for NRU members to sell the tuition, irrespective of the quality of the product or the unique situation of people to whom they are marketing.

–I’m not sure what sort of services you expected to get from your ISA, but there are no false claims presented at any stage of the process. If you wished to know what is exactly provided to you for any cost you pay, be it the $75 startup cost to be a marketer or the $16,000 tuition to take 120 hours of classes, I’m sure all you had to do was ask.

And again, if you want to claim that a commission on the sale of a product provides a conflict of interest for the person selling it, then there’s not much anyone can say to you. Talk to any business that pays any sort of sales commission and ask them if that’s what they call it. Or better yet, start a company of your own and try to sell your product while paying your sales people an hourly wage only.

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26. NRU encourages you to sell to friends and family, which destroys relationships when people are dissatisfied or feel cheated, which is often the case.

–Another completely embellished, more than likely fabricated speculative statement made without evidence. No one is “encouraged” to sell to anyone. No one even has to market the college at all.

And one just has to love the rich verbiage used by the author here: “destroys relationships” followed by the complete lie of “which is often the case.” That entire sentence is an obvious and ridiculous attempt at defamation of a company the author obviously has a bias against.

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27. The most distasteful defense of NRU to me is that ‘it’s not for everyone, but it worked for me’. It may be that there are some people who are successful and make lots of money in NRU, but the system cannot support a situation where most of the people in NRU make tons of money. This is the inherent, mathematical limitations of these types of marketing structures. I’m sure someone smarter than me can prove this. Likewise, the real estate market cannot support most people in NRU making money in residential real estate investing. Case in point is the short sale strategy, which NRU shills tout as the way to make money in a down market. Well, there is so much competition in short sales right now, and even more with each ‘college’ I suppose, that short sale investors are bidding up pre-foreclosures pretty much to market. These fundamental concepts virtually guaranty that only a small minority of 28. NRU members will make any money either from the marketing or the real estate investing, and REQUIRE everyone else to fail in order for the system to sustain itself. This is the biggest conflict of interest of them all and lends to NRU’s reputation as a ‘scam’.

–First, the statement of “it’s not for everyone, but it worked for me” is not a “defense” of anything. Direct sales and real estate investing ARE NOT for everyone. I believe that is an empirical fact that no one can rightfully deny. The “…but it worked for me” part is a statement of fact for anyone who truthfully says it. As for “lots of people make tons of money” there is truth and falsity there. It depends on what you mean by “lots of people” and “tons of money”. It also depends on whether you’re talking about simply selling Nouveau Riche products or real estate investing.

There is essentially an infinite amount of money to be made in real estate. Not only is the urban development expected in the next 30 years worth trillions of dollars in the U.S. alone, there are deals constantly being made on currently existing properties all the time, and situations are created in which all parties involved win, many times with the “fast nickel vs. slow dollar” outlook. The problem is the average person is not versed well enough in real estate to understand or even see that such opportunities exist, much less know how they work, how to spot them and most importantly, how to take advantage of them…which is why as of 2001 the top 1% of households (the upper class) owned 33.4% of all privately held wealth, and the next 19% (the managerial, professional, and small business stratum) had 51%.

And again, doing a simple search into “what the wealthy invest in” you’ll see most of it is real estate. If it’s so bad, why do the rich keep getting richer? Are they just that lucky? Or is it possible they know a few things other people don’t? Sure a large bankroll makes certain deals and acquisitions easier to come by and having more money to invest and utilize does open more doors as to the types and number of deals someone can get involved in…but not everyone with money knows what to do with it. There are plenty of those who made and are currently making their fortune using their own knowledge and utilizing the funds of others. And just as the more money you have the more the door opens on the number and types deals you can be a part of, the more knowledge and experience you have, the more deals you can create for yourself…in any industry.

So can “lots of people make tons of money” in real estate investing? Well, what is “lots of people”? 10 million? 50 million? 100 million? And what is “tons of money?” $300k a year? $750k? $1million? $10 million? There is no question there is that much available. Another problem is people cannot easily grasp such large numbers. How much is 1 billion? One thousand seconds is a little less than 17 minutes. One HUNDRED thousand seconds is a little over a full day: 28 hours. Count off 1 MILLION seconds, and you’ll be busy for over a week and a half. And 1 billion seconds? That accounts for almost 32 years of your life. How about 1 trillion seconds? 31,709 years.

Nouveau Riche actually mentions in lecture the November 2005 feature article from Business 2.0 magazine detailing the outward growth and eventual connection of major U.S. metropolitan areas into 10 megapolitans…the resulting estimated development market by the year 2030? $25 trillion. There is plenty of wealth to go around in real estate.
(http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2005/11/01/8362817/index.htm)

As far as making money marketing the college, there are currently over 300 million people in the United States and the number is constantly growing exponentially. Even though nowhere near all of them would be interested in attending Nouveau Riche, there is far too large of a market for RE investment education for it to be completely tapped any time soon. People are constantly looking for ways to learn more and leverage their time and money to get ahead and advance in their lives. There is virtually no realistic scenario that could occur in the next few DECADES in which the market would be so saturated with current NR students that a marketer could no longer sell the product. The numbers are just far too big.

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Conclusion

NRU is a marketing business that encourages and monetarily incentivizes its members to use high-pressure sales tactics to sell a highly expensive real estate ‘education’ package with questionable value to unsophisticated people with the lure of quick money and unlimited riches in real estate. Success in NRU is highly dependent on (1) a booming real estate market and/or (2) a unique talent in sales and marketing. What makes NRU so insidious is that it plays on the fear and greed of ordinary people, often friends and family, most of whom will go bankrupt by following NRU investment strategies during a severe and sustained real estate down turn such as the one we are experiencing now, and most of whom will fail in selling the tuition package because they lack the sales and marketing expertise, which is further exacerbated by a declining real estate market. Taken as whole, NRU may be perfectly legal, but many people will feel like they were cheated out of thousands of dollars by someone they trusted. If after reading this, you are still interested then by all means sign up. But just be prepared to live with it if at some point you find yourself either financially bankrupt, morally bankrupt, or even worse, both.

–Again, no facts to be found, but plenty of personal opinion without supporting evidence: “ ‘education’ package with questionable value”, “…friends and family, most of whom will go bankrupt by following NRU investment strategies” “many people will feel like they were cheated”.

And not to mention still so self-deprecating: “sell […] to unsophisticated people”, “plays on the fear and greed of ordinary people”.

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Epilogue

Finally, you’re not going to see a whole lot of posts like this from people who have joined NRU. Most are very disillusioned at the loss of thousands of dollars and don’t even want to give it another thought. The rest are out searching for marks. I can only hope that NRU won’t survive this bear market in housing, and if this post can hasten its demise, so much the better. I don’t blame the person who signed me up, he incidentally has had to find a full-time job now since NRU is apparently not doing it for him. I walked into this with my eyes wide open, which shows you how greed can overcome any good judgment you may think you have. But I am thankful that I didn’t end up dragging anyone else into this apart from a good friend as my partner in this scheme, but with whom, as a result of NRU, am no longer on speaking terms. So for all of you NRU shills out there who still think you are doing God’s work, why don’t you try calling each and every person you have signed up and ask them exactly what they think about NRU. I think you will find that my experience is not so unique. If you can keep on selling after that, well then, good luck to you.

–Wow. You’ve got every angle covered don’t you? You claim that “MOST people are BANKRUPT from implementing strategies” they learned from seasoned investors…so of course the next question becomes “Well how come we aren’t hearing from all these people?” Which is definitely a fair question, because I haven’t read ONE single negative review in which the poster makes any claims of bankruptcy or even loss of revenue or income.

So what’s the answer? Well apparently that’s easy: The fact that we don’t hear from any of these poor, “financially and morally bankrupt” souls is of course because all those THOUSANDS of “cheated” individuals are so “very disillusioned at the loss of thousands of dollars and don’t even want to give it another thought.”

Are you kidding me? Thousands of people have attended Nouveau Riche college sessions. The author claims that “MOST [of those] people are BANKRUPT from implementing strategies” they learned there, and the only reason we haven’t heard about it is because they all would just rather not think about it? Give me a break.

The truth is that entire “report” is made up of about 2% semi-truth, 48% opinion and 50% attempts at defamation with no supporting evidence, and in multiple areas statements that are complete lies.

The truth is Nouveau Riche is a legitimate business, it is what it says it is, and it does what it says it does. It offers specialized education and tools in a realm of investment that not many know about or even know how to learn about, and it does so through seasoned investors, all teaching techniques and strategies they personally use in their own businesses.

Is the product sold worth the money charged? That is for the individual to decide. There are many people not at all interested in real estate investment who would probably say $50 is too much, as they have no interest in the product. They would rather spend their money elsewhere. There are many other students of the college who have said the college has changed their life, and that the information they gained from the courses has offered them opportunities they would not have otherwise had.

If you are reading this it is fair to assume you are considering attending the college and are doing your due diligence, which is exactly what you should be doing. Just as with any other major purchase or investment, find out as much as you can about the business and the products it sells. Most importantly, seek out the opinions of those who have been exposed to the services as well as identify your own interests, personal attributes and goals. Attend one of the weekend events. Nouveau Riche calls them “intensives”. One can attend such an event for free as the guest of an ISA. The event is basically a day of free instruction from one of the college instructors. There is nothing offered for sale other than the college itself. “Intensives” are essentially a free and almost literal “test drive” of the college and are the best way to see the type of service one would be paying for with a tuition purchase.

The business IS legitimate and is what it claims it is. The only question, as with any other business/product is: do you find it useful for you?

By John on Aug 13, 2008

John, I believe you summarize your rebuttal to Dean with your very last statement.

”The business IS legitimate and is what it claims it is. The only question, as with any other business/product is: do you find it useful for you?”

Obviously Dean and several other NRU customers would say that they do not find the “product” purchased from NRU usefull. I am sure Dean finds the Toilet Paper he buys from his local market store much more useful and satisfying then the NRU “education”.

Yes that is right folks I just said Toilet Paper is a more usefull product then the NRU education. It is my humble opinon not backed by any facts other then personal experience and statements made to me by others.

By turtle on Aug 20, 2008

I wonder if “John” is the same person now being sued by NR as of a few days ago….hm….wonder what’s up??

http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-azdce/case_no-2:2008cv01627/case_id-401363/

By Unknown on Sep 12, 2008

Well well well, no wonder NR is taking action against the group. It looks to me like they have copied the NR concept & now they are doing the same thing again under a different name – YIKES!! Maybe through the trial each side can air the others dirty laundry & the world can finally see the truth behind these great sales pitches. They might as well be selling snake oil…The hype, the fun, the sale of something…big commissions for nothing – it all equals one nice flow of money to the founders of the company – why else would Cheri Tree leave NR making millions & millions according to their site & hers – I guess she realized that Picollo was making more & like every good salesman eventually learns…it’s better to sale for yourself….Can’t somebody stop this insanity?

http://www.cheritree.com/Site/The_Founders.html

By Unknown on Sep 12, 2008

wow, this stuff is hilarious. The fact of the matter is that everyone can’t cut it in the real estate business or in the business world, period. Most people can only take about three hard rejections and then they go into their closets and cry, whine, complain, and blame other’s for their lack of success. After many years of rejection knocking door-to-door I finally got my hands on some sales training books and learned how to handle rejection and the art of sales. Most people that go into something like this probably have absolutely no idea how to sell a thing, most have probably been working for someone for so long that kissing butt is all they know how to do good. haha, wow how many of those people do you know? people that actually bow down before their employers and kiss the ground they walk on. Wow, i would hate to be sitting at the ripe age of 65 and looking back on life to see what a kiss ass i had been the whole time. I guess bottom line is that if you have a strong enough desire and reason to learn something that you can and will be successful doing it….if you can cut it.

By Anonymous on Oct 1, 2008

I guess the worst part about all of these complaints is that it goes to show you how damn ignorant and selfish people are in this world. Money hungry animals that have no intentions of helping other’s when they have made their millions. If people would learn through experience that by giving more you actually increase the happiness in your life, something that money will never do, then you would be so much better off.

By Anonymous on Oct 1, 2008

Amen to what John said!!!!!… And can I add that Nouveau University is applying for full national accreditation in the Spring of 2009. I see no reason it won’t achieve it. watch the headlines folks. This will give them all the credibility and backing and priviledges that any other accredited college has to offer.

By Ryan on Dec 1, 2008

I am a real estate Broker, and for the past 5 years, I’ve spoken to clients and agents who had interest in Real Estate Investing. Being someone who cares about my clients, I began studying. I already have two Bachelor’s degrees and an MBA, so I understand how to study. I spent nearly $30,000 on courses, books, seminars and CD/DVD’s. I know a lot about real estate investing and guess how much I own? ZERO! I don’t know why, but I just haven’t felt ready to invest my hard-earned money.

Yet, my clients needed information, so I began to put a class together. That’s when I found NRU. I realized I couldn’t match what they’re offering, so I decided to investigate them further.

As of yesterday, I paid my $75 and will become an ITA/ISA. The first thing that’s happened is that my “Sponsor” and NRU both contacted me to let me know further information would be forthcoming.

I’ve done my due diligence. I’ve spoken to people who paid the $16,000 tuition, people who’ve attended the college and people who haven’t.

What I’ve learned so far is that there is a lot of rah rah at the meetings and at the college, but there is also value there. Some of the people have implemented what they’ve learned and are making money, others have not done so yet, but are thinking about it.

As for me, I’m going to see how hard it is to sell. My plan is to make the education self-supporting and use it to make investments.

I’ve checked out 20% of the instructors, read many blogs, checked in with the business press and conducted personal interviews. So far, I’m convinced of the value. I’ve already paid twice that and I still don’t own any real estate! I firmly believe that this system (the education, tools and community of investors) will change that.

I’ll check back in down the road to let you know how it goes.

By Jay on Jan 28, 2009

So it’s early in the morning on day 3 of my adventure with NRU.

As promised NRU delivered my log in and I was able to access their Business Center.

There are some alarming things going on, but I have emailed my sponsor/coach and am waiting to hear back.

To begin with, I was aware of the $75 enrollment and the $50 attendance fee for events that I’m supposed to invite people to.

What I wasn’t aware of was the additional $10 fee per person I invite, the minimum $29.99 monthly fee if I agree to sign up with their Simple Biz Tools program, and the requirement to use their vendor to buy business cards (500 cards cost $58.95)

And while I was able to download the logos and marketing literature free, I still have to print it if I want to use it. I was also able to download training audios and some scripts I can use to help explain NRU to people.

I don’t doubt the value of the real estate education, but I’m beginning to feel like this is a real money pit.

To be fair, My sponsor told me anyone I bring to events is free, and he hasn’t had a chance respond to my concerns yet. Perhaps my perception is premature.

So I’ll be back…

By Jay on Jan 29, 2009

Good News. I heard back from my sponsor. I am under no obligation to buy cards from their vendor (even though that is what NRU would prefer)and I don’t have to sign up for Biz Tools unless/until I wish to.

Finally, and most important to me, while I do pay for meetings (that’s how we fly instructors and others to the meetings), I don’t have to pay for the people I invite. They are free as my guests.

So my perception was indeed premature. So today I’ll invite some folks to next Tuesday’s meeting and see how it goes.

By Jay on Jan 30, 2009

What happened to Jay?

I don’t consider my self smarter than others. I have invested in many programs that promised a path to wealth. Which are normally paved with the money of new recruits. However, folks if you have to buy something, and sell something isn’t that business. In order to be successful you have to learn how to add value and benefit, not just take customers/recruits money. I feel bound to say I am an ISA, but I have not attended the College. But you can bet I will. I feel for the lost, that have spent their money, only to give up the dream. I will attend the College after I have completed enough investments to pay for my courses. I think we all need to wake up, you have to educate yourself about money and debt. You can not go into debt to start a business without seriously endangering the success of the business. You should always test the products, get to know the material, find a former student, and offer to buy them lunch if they will show you how to do a completed deal. Take the profit and build a business. Reinvest in the business first, and only when the revenue is available to pay for such College expenses, do so without regret. Mr. Kiyosaki is his own best critic, when he states to learn you should work for free. Don’t pay someone to teach, offer to work for free in exchange for the education. I hope to hear that Jay has become a successful investor and business owner. I will try to remember to have my assistant update this blog one year from now. I am on a mission, and this market needs more people looking to help families find homes, stop foreclosures, and create jobs. I will do my very best to improve our economy while living my dreams. Wishing blessings to all, even the critic’s and nay sayers.

By James on Jul 10, 2009

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