With the new climate in the real estate world come the self proclaimed gurus and experts on Short sales and REO's. There are seminars popping up all over the country run by people that claim to the top authority on the subject. How is that only a year or two ago there were only a few people in the country that had the knowledge to train and sell short sales & REO,s and now everyone does?
Here is what is happening. Now that this is a hot item everybody is trying to make a buck off of writing a book, selling a video, doing a seminar, whatever is the quickest path to making money. I get bombarded with junk emails daily from people try to sell their phony baloney designations and how to succeed in this market strategy guides. Everyone has a Blog on the subject and its hard to filter out the right from the wrong.
I've done a considerable amount of research and what I'm finding is that many of the people who are now training others, have very little or no experience themselves. They have taken an online course or, a seminar on how to work REO"s and short sales .they see money that can be made by doing these themselves and launch their own training program. I have even seen national trainers who have hired enigmatic speakers with less than adequate credentials. There is only so much that you get out of a book. You're real training is in the marketplace.
How do you protect yourself from getting misinformation? 
Ask questions.
•1.) What makes this person or company so knowledgeable or special that will prompt me to spend your valuable time attending it?
•2.) What are their credentials? Has this speaker been hired for his/her knowledge or personality? A fun speaker will not have relevant answers to your questions.
•3.) Can you substantiate the cost with the knowledge that you will receive?
•4.) What feedback have you heard from your peers? This needs to be taken lightly because everybody has a different level of knowledge going in. What's good for one person may be a complete waste of time for another.
•5.) When getting information from open sources such as Blogs and wikipedia, go with what you feel is right.
REO's have a solid track record with a more standardized system. It should be easier to get qualified information on this subject.
Short sales have been around a long time but, until recently have been an obscure part of the business. There are no hard and fast rules or standards set within the industry. Most agents and lenders are winging it and learning as they go. This is an exciting time to be involved but it also means that mistakes are being made. People are falling over themselves to try and become the number one source for information myself included! What makes me so special? Nothing! I do what I love and I believe that I have the experience and knowledge to back it up.
We are all setting the standards by how we do business in this volatile market. Eventually there will be an agreed way to handle REO's and Short sales. But don't listen to me, listen to your heart. If someone tells you something that just doesn't seem right? It's probably not.
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I honestly can't believe people still buy in to this kind of garbage. If someone had a "million dollar secret", why the hell would they sell it to 400 other people for $79.99?
Rob - Seems like you're providing a good service to people who need it. These "gurus" are absurd.