Review of Armando Montelongo Real Estate Program

 

Armando Montelongo

Review of his Seminars, Bus Tours - Is It A Scam?

Armando Montelongo is one of the "big names" in real estate gurus today, thanks to being the (former) star of A&E's hit show, "Flip This House". But his success as a reality show star does not mean he can teach you how to succeed in real estate investing - he had the deep pockets of A&E to fund his projects, and a team of professionals at his disposal. The Armando Montelongo course seems to focus on just one or two methods - primarily fix & flip foreclosures. That's only one of the 22 methods of real estate investing listed here courtesy of "The Simple Man's Guide to Real Estate. As markets change, investors need more than just one strategy.

Montelongo starts with a "free" Seminar. The word free is what gets the sales ball rolling. In this "free" seminar, he feeds you just enough information to get you fired up, but intentionally not enough to be able to go out and make money. Instead, the bulk of the seminar is spent on convincing you to take the next step - usually Armando's 3-Day Seminar for "just $1497" which leads to a $30,000+ "bus tour". In short, the free seminar is a high-pressure sales pitch. As the Forbes magazine article on Mr. Montelongo points out, seminars are not designed to teach, the are designed to sell! And Armando Montelongo and his team of professional medicine show pitchmen are expert at selling. If he were as good at teaching as he is at selling, he just might have a worthwhile gig going.

Here's the point: No real estate program is worth $30,000. NONE! (see below for a very low cost alternative that works)

The Texas Attorney General got on Armando Montelongo's case for his high-pressure and alleged misleading pitch. Without admitting guilt, Montelongo cut a deal and agreed to certain stipulations. And the Better Business Bureau issued a warning on their site and online concerning his, and similar seminars.

Armando Montelongo Seminars had an "F" rating with the Better Business Bureau, but he has managed to boost that to an A+ - commendable that he put in the effort to respond to complaints posted with the BBB but a BBB rating is determined mostly by simply responding to complaints, and not necessarily by resolving them to the customers' satisfaction.

FYI - over 400 of his students had sued him for deceptive practices, though the court dismissed the case in 2018 claiming the plaintiffs did not provide "sufficient" facts. It is still worth noting, however, that 422 of his students believed so strongly that they had been deceived that they spent over 2 years fighting him in court.

Aside from that, most of the complaints both online and at the BBB revolve around not honoring their refund policy (he only allows 3 days) and/or not providing the services paid for or expected. As we all know, a some complaints can be attributed to "sour grapes". However, when the number of unsatisfied customers is substantial as is the case with Armando Montelongo Seminars, then you know there is a real problem.

A Low Cost, More Effective Choice

If you want to learn all 22 different methods of investing decribed here, and you think you would like access to a free coach who has at least 20 years field experience in real estate investing, and if you want to save a ton of money, then check out the course that beats them all, combined. With an "A" rating at the Better Business Bureau, and offered by a non-profit to keep it affordable, "The Simple Man's Guide to Real Estate" is the most comprehensive and effective of all the courses available today. It doesn't cost anything to look...