The Globe and Mail on May 26, 2016 (in print May 27) ran a story by reporter Mike Hager on “Success Path” real estate seminars:

For the full story see: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/bc-real-estate-seminars-prey-on-house-hunters-promise-insider-tips-lawyer/article30182672/

Excerpts from the story:

“Almost every month, real estate seminars in and around Vancouver promise ordinary people the insider tips and tricks needed to find a backdoor into the region’s frenzied housing market.

Inevitably, many of these free seminars end with the promise that attendees will learn real secrets and even get connected with a group of mysterious private investors if they pay thousands, on the spot, for another workshop or a mentorship.

…

About 20 tickets have been sold to the upcoming three-day workshop, at which at least one instructor and three experts will work with the participants, Mr. Carlson said. He denied allegations in complaints published on the Better Business Bureau website that experts at these events size up participants to sell them more courses, not to gauge what types of real-estate deals they can start making. He added that attendees are all invited to seek more education at one of his company’s intensive, $10,000 investor summits, which are held about five times a year in Las Vegas.

Tom Rogers, a 77-year-old from B.C.’s Sunshine Coast, said he and his son paid for this weekend’s three-day workshop to get connected to SuccessPath’s network of U.S. and Canadian private lenders. The pair wants the promised loans – at interest rates below 4 per cent – to buy properties in Canada to fix and flip.

“If there’s some hitches there, then I’ll be going to get my money back,” Mr. Rogers said. “I’m mainly after their contacts, their investor contacts.”

He said consumer complaints are “obviously bad news,” and added that “unfortunately, there are gullible people in the world that don’t take the time to do the research themselves.”

Last week’s energetic free seminar started with a brief video from reality TV home improvement gurus Tarek and Christina El Moussa, who apologized for having to stay behind in California filming their HGTV show Flip or Flop. The El Moussas did not respond to requests for comment.

In the short clip, the couple described how flipping property changed their lives dramatically.

“Four years ago, we never imagined we’d be where we are today. We went from driving cars we hated, living in places we hated, to driving the most amazing cars money can buy, living in the house of our dreams, with a beautiful yard. Literally, our life is better than we ever anticipated,” Mr. El Moussa says.”