Making money from real estate, even if you have no money to start with sounds like an enticing proposition, especially for anyone who has spent years struggling financially and dreams of breaking free. But is this really possible, as promoted by the books, audio tapes, programs and seminars of Carleton Sheets and his No Money Down Program? 

If you believe the hype, Carlton Sheets will set you free of your financial worries forever simply by following his proven real estate investment techniques. But while Carleton Sheets claims to have made lots of money over the years by investing in real estate, it appears these days, his income is coming more and more from selling his techniques to would-be property investors. And this has led to an increasing chorus of complaints and criticism from those who have purchased from Carleton Sheets and also from others in the real estate investment business. 

One of the major criticisms from purchasers and other professional real estate investors is that the techniques taught by Carleton Sheets' programs simply don't work. Many people who have purchased his programs complain that when they have taken his advice they have been laughed out of the real estate office or lending institution. They complain that the programs teach techniques that are unrealistic and even in some cases, illegal. Whether this is true is open for debate, but the fact is that there are unhappy customers out there who claim that they have gained nothing from the programs they have spent good money on. 

Another major criticism that purchasers appear to make is the that they have been billed for products and services that they have not ordered, that they have been billed even after they have returned goods within the money back guarantee period and that they find it difficult, if not impossible, to rectify these problems. There are also reported problems by purchasers in the way that the Carleton Sheets mentoring program works. While these issues are subjective, they are all complaints by purchasers that can be found on internet forums dedicated to Carleton Sheets problems. 

For anyone considering investing their hard earned money in a Carleton Sheets program, it may pay to do some research into what others have to say about the programs before ordering anything. And that goes for anything, not just Carleton Sheets programs.

But it just isn't unsuspecting purchasers of Carleton Sheets' books, audio tapes, seminars and training courses who have voiced their concerns. There has been criticism from other professional real estate investors as well. In fact, one of Carleton Sheets' most vocal critics is real estate investor and author John Reed.

John Reed has been in the real estate business for over 30 years and has written countless books on real estate investment including How to Manage Residential Property for Maximum Cash Flow and Resale Value and Aggressive Tax Avoidance for Real Estate Investors. 

In his criticism of Carleton Sheets, John Reed claims that some of the techniques taught by Carleton Sheets No Money Down Program simply won't work. For example, commenting on one of Carleton Sheets' No Money Down techniques, Reed says "Sheets says also that, 'Sellers have been known to join the buyer in signing a note and mortgage...' Comets have been known to pass near the earth, too, but I am not sure which is more common, comets or sellers co-signing on the buyer's note. Actually, sellers will do that in some cases in special situations, like the buyer is their adult child. In theory, there are some other situations where it might happen. I have never seen or heard of such a deal in 31 years in real estate.

(1) John Reed also comments on the fact that one of Carleton Sheets' techniques involves using an assumable mortgage as the first mortgage. However, according to Reed, assumable mortgages are a product of the past and have not been used much in the last twenty years, in fact he goes so far as to say that "assumable mortgages are now almost entirely a thing of the past".

(2) Whether Carleton Sheets is really a real estate investment guru or just a clever salesman who is making a killing from enticing people with little or no money to make an easy fortune from real estate is debatable. There are possibly many investors out there who have profited from the lessons taught by Sheets, however the criticism from both purchasers, real estate agents and other property investors is perhaps too loud to completely ignore.

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