Anyone purchased Armando Montelongo’s Real Estate Package?
Posted: April 16, 2007 Filed under: General 2,399 Comments »Armando Montelongo, though the magic of Google Ads, is advertising his Master Home Study Course and Flip and Grow Rich Ebooks on the sidebar of this website. Several people have commented on the $997 package, but thus far I’ve not received a report from anyone who has purchased the materials.
If you’ve purchased this package, and would be willing to share your review, please contact mark at flipthislawsuit dot com.
The San Antonio Crew has been very effective in maximizing the return on their appearances on A&E. Their first episodes focused on their business website, Melina launched a site focusing on motherhood, and now Armando is focusing on sharing the lessons he’s learned in real estate.
It looks like some of the season schedule for “The Real Deal” is up at TLC, through May 28th!? Complete with episode descriptions and air times.
This so called guy who states he’s THE BEST in the field is an inflated ego of a jerk. Ive seen his realty show episodes of flipping houses. He has a poor production team. What a joke. He has no structure he just blabs and blabs , and tries to take short cuts with materials and labor. Thus more in his pocket. In one of his episodes he explains that ” this is a low income area, hispanic area!!!!. WOW. Guys all you need is common sense, HOOK UP WITH HIM YA GET ‘NONSENSE’.
I agree. I watched his show flip this house season 2 episode 1 and was disgusted with his behavior. Kept Barking orders, did not want to pay a fair price for labor and was upset when the workers showed up late on the first day because they were actually doing something important which was a strike for immigrant workers rights. What a douche bag. Then he was also upset because they “weren’t working fast enough “ it’s hard work and if he has those expectations of them then he needs to pay them a better price. Can’t expect people to do more than what they are paid for.
You’d have to be an idiot to want to be like Armando Montelongo. Whose stupid enough to give him $1,000.?The guy is a complete jerk & his career will reflect that. Let’s check back with him in the year 2027 & see where he is. You might be able to treat people like trash once, but they won’t be back. I can’t believe A&E waste tape on these fools.
I ACTUALLY PURCHASED THE KIT, BOUGHT HOUSES AND FOLLOWED THE STEPS AND IVE MADE IT PRETTY GOOD SO FAR! THE KIT T IS EXTREMELEY EXPENSIVE LIKE 1000. I NO LONGER NEED NEED MY KIT NOW! I HAVE IT ON EBAY (.99 NO RESERVE AUCTION)
I am interested in your kit. please email me asap. thank you.
I have a full brand new set for sale if interested email me. Captivatinggaze@yahoo.com
So what is his “kit” supposed to be? How to give Real Estate a bad name and be a Douche Bag Real Estate Agent.
If you Google him you’ll see it’s all starting to catch up with him… you can’t run around treat your contractors like shit, half ass do stuff, always try to get something for nothing and generally just be a complete D-Bag and expect to keep a good reputation.
It’s people like this that give Real Estate such a bad reputation.
Do you still have the complete kit?
So what is his “kit” supposed to be? How to give Real Estate a bad name and be a Douche Bag Real Estate Agent.
If you Google him you’ll see it’s all starting to catch up with him… you can’t run around treat your contractors like shit, half ass do stuff, always try to get something for nothing and generally just be a complete D-Bag and expect to keep a good reputation.
It’s people like this that give Real Estate such a bad reputation.
I think its 100 not 1000. I bet its filled with pointers to a special section of his website that directs you to buy more crap.
Lipstick on a pig rehabs
if don’t know what your talking about maybe just don’t post anything because those of us who have taken the course and have half a brain know that this stuff works.
Armando Montelongo is an idiot! I think that’s visible from the intro of the show. What with his “if you screw us well come back and find you and make you sorry”. Yeah, very business-like. It’s obvious Armando doesn’t know much about business and running a successful business.
Actually Armando says “do not screw with us, do not stick a knife in our backs because we will come back and find you and get what we want”. You Guys get all worked up about the two shows, but we all know that Richard fist fought Armando and won.
Curt, there are 2 packages, so technically everyone’s right. Again, those guys are fools. He treats his wife like crap too, that’s bull.
Yes, he DOES treat his wife like crap, but she is just as big an idiot as he is, because she STAYS
!
I really enjoy all Montelongo’s episodes and would buy his package!
I think that Armandos work ethics are great, he just doesnt take anyones crap.. otherwise he treats everyone fair and with respect, I watch the show almost religiously and I like the fact the it is a family business. There is a lot of people out there hustling trying to figure out how they can provide for their families for generations to come and he found his way so dont knock him.. learn something!
These guys remind me of Dave Deldotto, and Carlton Sheets. Dave Deldotto made almost all of his money off the sale of zero down packages. $200 million if Im not mistaken.
Most of the flippin” profit is in the purchase. If you buy it right you will make maoney. I think I can sum it up in 10 steps.
1. Spend a few hours each day or week treat it like a part-time job looking everyday for real estate deals., until you can afford to do it full time. Your full time job isnt all that bad once you have an outlet to do this. Your full time job helps you qualify for loans and makes you look more stable to lenders.
2.Make offers, you lose 100% of the deals you dont make an offer on. Dont listen to realtors. The law states they must present all offers. Dont over pay there is always another deal.
3.Find a hungry realtor that will work with you.
4.Find and use subs that will stick with you over the long haul. Did you ever notice how much time is wasted looking for subs?
5. Dont be a pig when selling a home. Take and work with any and all offers.
Usually the first person to look at it is the most interested.
6.Dont cut corners like Armando.
7.Pray about every deal. Seek advice from those that have success. Real Success, not what Armondo is doing.
8. Donate 10% of your profits to charity.
9. Get a used pickup, Sam Walton drove a used beatup pickup til he died. I drive 1994 Ford f-150 XL and I can afford to drive anything. Dont drive a Big SUV you look like a XXXX well, others will decide what you look like.
10.Set realistic goals. 1-2 homes per year in your first year is a realistic goal. As you are learning keep a journal and learn from all mistakes, we all make mistakes, learning from them is success….
Wow!!! Great advice. Wish there were more people that based their business practices on honesty and integrity.
I agree Mary! Best advice I’ve heard in a while, and it didn’t cost me $997!!
What is a “subs”, u mentioned it in #4
Thank you
Sub are sub-contractors. Meaning drywallers, framers, roofers, plumbers, electricians, etc.
I have 2
2 families that I would like to unload and would love
A creative deal in this market!! And personally I don’t care
Where it comes from as long as it makes sense!!!
I like what you wrote about Armando Montelongo, do you have any more tips for me?
I want to start flipping houses but have very little knowledge on the business.
Thank you.
Carlos
My friend set us up to attend the “conference” on Monday. I’ve got NO IDEA what I’m getting myself into and I was JUST LAID OFF and don’t have $1k to my name that ISN’T ear-marked for bills to support my being on this earth, health insurance (try COBRA @ $620/month when ur unemployed) or my son…please email me Ive got loads of questions before tomorrow!!!! -Jeanne
Do you have a lesson plan or could you recommend a reading list? I fail to see how Mr. M is “giving back- so other people can do what he did and provide for their families” by selling his kit for $ 900.+ which he clearly did not have. If the idea is to help those help themselves then why charge more than a months rent or mortgage payment.
Thank you
Well said!!
lol.. sounds about right .. i am deep in my first flip for myself since the market crashed. its a different game and the laws have made it very advantageous for the motivate little guy. although our c are getting close to max we have faith. i wish u all the best.
after hearing the pitch! i said give me the same help that Mr M received a chance let me pay your additional coaching from the profit from the first sale and i will sponsor one person a year for the next three yearsr as a way to giving back. have not heard from them yet
Sean, you summed it up and you are funny too! PS. I’m a Realtor.
I know how far this scam goes because I experienced the ENTIRE charade, not just the ‘flipping CD kit’.
You should write a book. I read your 10 basic steps and I couldn’t agree with you more. Wife and I will try and do 2-3 “flips” a year for starters.
I purchased the package and cant wait to get it if I can even be a fraction of Successful as Armando that would be great the Montelongos are great!
DO NOT BY THE PACKAGE!!!! I paid (Like and idiot) $97.00 for the 5 volume book that he is advertising. It is worth $5.00(e-mail me for details). The think turned out to be only 13 pages and it only a teaser to the $997 package. STAY AWAY!!!
OK, THEN SELL IT TO ME FOR $5.00
ROSE
Yep, you are a smart guy!
Richard Davis is a business man. Armando Montelongo is a piece of trash. Period.
AAAAAAAMEN!!!!!!!!
One look at the Armondo version of Flip This House should be enough to tell you everything that is in his books:
Buy the worst house possible.
Push your contractors to lower the prices for their work as low as possible, and then threaten them until they lower them again and again. Promise them “future work”, but never deliver.
Do as little actual work on the house, and worry mostly about painting the walls nice colors and covering up any issues so they aren’t visible, but don’t resolve them.
Hassle your employees, cut every corner possible, and present a half-assed job.
The reality of house flipping is that it isn’t something learned directly from a book, but rather through experience of knowing what to look for, what to buy, and what to pass on.
I find it totally hilarious to see his ads in the google boxes on this site. I guess he has to make a living some way besides beating down his contractors.
That is the MAIN reason why I think he STINKS as an investor! He berates, and brow beats those poor guys down to the lowest dollar, because he doesn’t care if they make a money or not…as long as HE does. What a JERK!
Hey rob, Curious about the details of that 97.00 dollar package. Can’t seem to find a way to e-mail you. Maybe you could e-mail me or post the details on the site before others get ripped off. Would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.
Sure Jeremy. I could e-mail you.Give me your e-mail address and I will contact you.
I want to joint his program.
Do you buy his package? $41,000?
If you did so, tell me about your inves
J_Brown1384@yahoo.com
Like every other show on reality TV, if the guy or girl doesn’t have some sort of disturbing behavior about them, it gets boring to watch. That’s part of show biz.Even though it’s marketing the average joe, it’s still show business.
Armando’s attitude towards flipping isn’t that much different than Trump’s. Trump tells you that if someone attacks you, you attack them harder. I look up to both men for different reasons. I’ve been considering the course, the $97 one that is, because I am curious about it.
I can not believe the program last night with the “cat house”. It seems that the only honest person there is David Montelongo. Armando fought his brother for being honest and telling him what to do? And he was right. Armando ended up demolishing almost everything anyways. I will not buy his system or watch him again. After last night I do not think I can trust him.
Re: The Cat House: copied from my post on another site (I really have bought and sold more than 100 houses in my life, but I do not sell or give advice) :
I hate this show because it is staged for dramatic effect. But I got a new DVR and decided to program the DVR to record a couple of dozen programs over the next week as an experiment. The Flip This House episode Saturday was one of the programs. After seeing that it was someone new, and not those clowns from Benchmark Realty (or whatever they are called), and that the house was in extraordinarily bad shape (cat, rat, roach droppings everywhere), I decided to watch it.
This is the house, 12906 Lone Shadow Trail in San Antonio, TX: http://san-antonio.housealmanac.com/home-86547.htm
This is the guy that did the rehab, Armando Montelongo:
http://www.armandomontelongo.com/
http://www.montelongohousebuyers.com/
The show had the usual Reality TV standards… a couple of attractive women, a false drama about meeting the scheduled opening house date, conflict between the partners, recreated sceens where it is obvious that there would be no camera person on site normally, a final price scorecard that failed to include holding costs, closing costs, and the costs of sale, and a final profit calculation which is based upon an alleged signed contract resulting from the first open house (accoridng to the Bexar County Recorder records Montelongo, aka 12906 Lone Shadow Trust, bought he property on December 8, 2006, but has not sold it yet) But the thing that irrated me more than anything about this episode was that this BS artist claimed to have bought and remodeled more than 1000 houses in the past 5 years. The first time he said it, I just assumed that he had meant that he had seen more than a thousand houses in the past 5 years, but he said it a second time!! There is no way this joker, even if you factor in that he is working with his brother and both wives, has bought more than a 1000 houses in the past 5 years. If your buying anywhere near that many houses you have to employe a dozen or more fulltime workers. He didn’t have any fulltime workers, in fact he was hiring contractors to do everything, and paying inflated prices because of the false urgency of the open house date.
I would be surprised if Armando Montelongo has bought and sold more than a dozen houses in entire life, it is clear to me that he used this show just to advertise his faux guru services. Too bad for Aramado Montelongo that he got his A$$ kicked by this house. The show says that he bought the house for $55,000, put $85,000 into it, sold it via an open house by his wife for $165,000, for a $25,000 profit. But the County records indicate that he paid $101,400 for it and hasn’t sold it yet. He most likely lost $30,000 on this property, unless he stiffed the contractors which is a good possiblity.
I was going to say that I would periodoically check Bankruptcy records in anticipation of a BK filing from him, but he filed Chapter 13 BK on 11/10/03 (03-32986), and he is still operating under the Chapter 13 plan!, in fact on 2/5/07 he filed a motion to modify his payment plan because he claimed his only income was from diability insurance and that he could only afford to pay $150.00 per month. And his Brother/Partner David is also still operating under a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy from 2003 (03-31980).
This is interesting to read. I am so glad I found this. Potosh: I, too, search the Public Records for more info. Not sure when Trademark did their flip, the “The House that would not sell: episode is still listed on their website. Now they never claimed to have sold it either. Armando does seem like a bit of a creep, and does not suprise me that they are in Chapter 13. I’m sure their money is coning from the show, and not houses.
Last night on the Cat House episode it appeared to me that they (Armando and David) split. So are they still a comapnay together? I really like David.
I purchased the $997 Master Course, and it’s outstanding! I’ve already put a house under contract. Armando’s cd’s and Workbooks are so easy to read and follow. He has helped me start my flipping buisness. That is what his program is about. He holds back nothing. I recommend for whoever is interested in this buisness, to purchase the course. It’s a step by step tool guide on how to make money flipping houses.
[Webmaster’s Note: This post was made at 6:52 PM from a computer having an the IP address 70.114.19.218, which indicates that it is a residential Time Warner cable modem in San Antonio, TX.]
Hey Adam, I was just wondering how you are doing with flipping houses now that it has been going on 6 years since you started. Are you still flipping? Are you still using Armando’s system?
I also have purchased the Master Course. I’m reading and listening through it now. However, I will say I love the emails I receive from Armando. He really keeps my spirits high, and my mind in the right place. I’ve learned there is a whole mindset that goes along with making money. There is no other program out there like this. It has everything in it.
[Webmaster’s Note: This post was made at 7:00 PM from a computer having an the IP address 70.114.19.218, which indicates that it is a residential Time Warner cable modem in San Antonio, TX.]
I love Armando and his wife Veronica. I’m going to be purchasing his program this month! I can’t wait!
[Webmaster’s Note: This post was made at 7:02 PM from a computer having an the IP address 70.114.19.218, which indicates that it is a residential Time Warner cable modem in San Antonio, TX.]
[…] One of the commentators to another post pointed out that he believes Armando and David Montelongo to be in Bankruptcy. I’ve pulled the dockets and some important documents found while searching for “Armando Montelongo, Jr.” and “David Montelongo” at the Western District of Texas Bankruptcy Court’s website. Please note, I have not confirmed that these two individuals are the Armando and David featured in Season Two and Three of “Flip This House”, but will be contacting the attorneys tomorrow to do same. These filings raise more questions than they answer, but I’ve decided to post them for those who have emailed me about the recent comment indicating the bankruptcies. At this point, the geographical and employment information tends to indicate that, while these people may share the same names as Armando and David Montelongo, they are not the same people. […]
Potash, Nice work on the research. Keep it up!
The best way to financial independence is build your on home, flip it every 2-4 years. Repeat.
Even Armondo’s biggest profit was on his primary residence. Also it is tax free profits, ask your accountant.
Armando Montelongo is a highly incompetent developer and his book is of little or no value to anyone. I have been building/remodeling for decades, and what I see on tv is mostly repulsive. (you’ll notice you rarely see the same tradespeople because they don’t seem to want to work with him again.) I still decided to download the free first 6 pages of his book and give it a fair shake, but what I saw made me realize that I need to alert others that it is a ripoff.
Here’s why. In the very first pages, Armando claims to flip “20 – 30 houses per month”. STOP right there. Did you hear that? A house every day or 2. You’ve seen the show – every house takes a week MINIMUM and he barely makes it and that’s the only house he’s doing. Do you believe for a MINUTE that he does one a day? It’s a lie, I’d stake my name on it. Armando: prove me wrong – post the transaction records, before and after pictures, bills and contracts for a month in which you remodeled 30 houses. Until you do so, I say this highly unlikely.
Further, Armando claims to have bought “over 1000 houses in the past 5 years”. I say no way. Armando: post the transaction records for all 1000.
Now, I can go on and tell you that the techniques described in that first 6 pages are mostly useless, but what’s the point – you already know you’re being lied to, so why read any further? Armando says he never makes less than $20,000 per house and that he’s done over 1000 in the past 5 years, which means he made $20 million and now has a monthly income of $400-600K. If you had those numbers, would you be hawking an infomercial book to give away your trade secrets? Sorry Armando, but I say bullshit. Prove me wrong.
Bottom line: Montelongo is a flipper and flippers are to real estate what day traders were to the stock market in 1999: unskilled speculators who only make money when the market carries them. He’s in San Antonio, for Chrissakes – a house can be had for $30,000 there, how can anyone NOT make money?
Sorry Armando, but I’ve been at this for decades and have forgotten more than you’ll ever know, and I say you’re not legit. Please feel free to post the proof I have suggested and I’ll post a full retraction.
Until then, I suggest that no one should buy Armando’s book. If he wants to send me a copy free to review, I will be happy to read it and give a full review here for all to see. Otherwise, don’t waste your time or money,.
Mike
What’s more, on Montelongo’s own website, on the first page he says he flips 30 homes a month, then on a page inside he says he flips 200 homes a year, which is 16 homes/month or 1/2 the other claim.
Here’s a tip everyone: When someone tells you 2 different figures, throw both out. As far as all available empirical evidence available shows at this moment, Armando Montelongo flips 1 to 2 houses per month. Again, I invite him to come on here (as we can see he already does from shill posts) and post evidence to the contrary.
Like they say, believe HALF of what you see, some or none of what you hear…
There are no shortcuts. Period.
I also have purchased the Master Course. I’m listening to it now while I wipe my rear-end with the pages from the book. It’s the most expensive toilet paper I’ve ever purchased and I’ll tell you that the sh*t really sticks to that sh*t. However, I will say I love the inspiration I receive from Armando. He really keeps my bowel movements regular, and my mind in the right place. I’ve learned there is a whole mindset that goes along with making BM. There is no other program out there like this. It has everything in it, plenty of good crap.
P.S. Now I know why we real estate investors have such reputation; people like Armando.
Armondo and his whiny spoiled brat wife are a disgrace to the Real Estate biz. Where’s Richard……… sniff sniff
Gee, three “different,” gushing, pro-Armando posts in ten minutes from the same IP address. Clever.
[golf clap]
Yeah and, oddly enough, that same IP address browsed my website this afternoon…
Rob- I would like to hear more about the 5 books by email that you bought. Please email me. Elizabethdunn@aol.com
I own a real estate club in California and we do alot of rehabs in other states. So I was interested to pass his info onto some of my members. They might learn something that I do not have in my vault. But if the kit is not worth the money, I would like more details.
Also if anyone else is doing this, needs help, support, and has homes, please email me also. I have investors who are rehabbing right now. Thanks so much.
Hey Liz, nice scam you got going there charging people $250 to join your club which appears to have no resources whatsoever. Way to go looking to further mine the wreckage of Armando’s scam.
People, THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS! Save your $250 – you can learn FAR more at the public library or lounging in Barnes and Noble and can make more connections at a nice hotel bar or working for Habitat for Humanity, where you’ll also learn trades.
Ever hear what Suze Orman thinks of networking groups? The other people all need YOU more than you need THEM, hence it’s a waste of time and money.
QUALIFY anyone professing to be an expert or having the ability to assist you. This one is another ripoff.
Mike
Mike, nice job on the house. A little more upscale from what we do but I like what I saw. 4″ cans throughout?
San Antonio is in Bexar County. Check out the Property Tax
Records and District Court (civil) for some interesting reading ; ) It’s available online, free.
Nice catch on the IP thing, Webmaster!
LOL
Joseph – thanks for the kind words. Good eye – those are indeed 4″ cans throughout (A few Halos and mostly Liton ICs)
Check in a few days for a whole bunch of new pictures as it just got staged the other day and is almost ready to list.
Best regards,
Mike
Hi Mike!
I know your post was years ago but I am hoping that this will get sent to your email (and that you’re still using the same email from 5 years ago!). I’m just wondering if you have any advice/ books to read for people who would like to get started in real estate investing and flipping? My husband and I think we have what it takes to make it in the industry but aren’t quite sure where to start. Any advice from you (or anyone else experienced in the business) would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Jaden
WARNING MAY 2007: I have found out from a friend of mine that Armando is going to be sued by a large number of people who are organizing a class action lawsuit and federal charges against Armando over this product which he advertised as a dvd course WHEN it really is NOT a dvd course whatsoever. It is an audio only course! Do not waste your time sending your money to Armando thinking this is a DVD course, you will be taken by Armando’s scheme.
From watching his show everyone should see he is a con artist, now he has taken his scams to the public as well and committing the felony of false advertising, and this time he will not get away with it.
He is going to loose millions of dollars over this suit and mark my word he will not be one of the speakers for the Trump tour coming up. I know of insiders in the Trump organization who have become aware of Armando’s falsehoods and very soon Armando will be notified that he will no longer be included in the Trump tour as Trump does not want to be associated with Armando anymore over this.
Also…
His sources do not know exactly how many fraudulent courses Armando has sent out at $1000 each, but certainly it could be in the tens of thousands, easily putting him in one of the
largest felony cases of false advertising in history.
what’s up w/ the divorce with children vs. armando and veronica in 2003?? lol guess they worked it out…..
I was checking out the interesting reading you mentioned Steve. 🙂
I haven’t seen Armando’s stuff for sale, but you can pretty much guess that it’ll be crap. Like most other materials people are charging hundreds/thousands for. Does it make sense? No. I’m surprised there aren’t more class action lawsuits… I agree with the person who gave his 10 suggestions and I agree with the other person who suggested going to the libary. I would suggest joining your local real estate investing association and soaking up knowledge for free. Spend money on houses, not expensive toilet paper!
What a bunch of idiots you all are. Get off this website and go make some fucking money you clowns.
Why are you on here idiot.
I find it very telling that Armando has not even bothered to try to respond to the challenges posted here. I think it’s pretty clear just what he is at this point.
ibyprprty,
LOL You found it! Re: 2003 ; )
“Cast members from all three Flip This House temas under one roof!
WHO: Mike Huey, Michael Hellickson, & Than Merrill just to mention a few Nationally recognized speakers, who will teach you what you need to know first hand!
WHAT: For over two days you will participate in five extensive classes strengthening your knowledge and understanding of the various aspects of real estate investing.
You will learn everything from creative financing strategies and techniques to how to successfully negotiate purchases and sales to your advantage — plus a whole lot more!
WHERE: Hilton Dallas Lincoln Centre,
Dallas, Texas
WHEN: July 27-29, 2007
Deadline for Registration is June 15th, 2007
SPEAKERS
• Michael Hellickson
• Mike Huey
• John Hyre
SPECIAL GUESTS
• Than Merrill
• Angie Wilford
I checked the price -$750.00 per person and I’m sure there’s a whole bunch of more stuff FOR SALE once they get you in the corner, er, I mean door ; )
It’s at tribeworkshop(dot)com. David Montelongo
I think it’s amazing my instinct told me to find you- you are a Godsend!!! I HATE being a chump- I’ll almost bought it! I would have hated myself.
The excellent news investigation of con artist Sam Leccima has made it fairly clear to me what transpired with Flip This House: After losing Trademark (and the jury is not, by any means, out on their legitimacy either, though they seem more legit than any of the other casts) the production company scrambled to find new casts to get back into production asap and did no due diligence on Montelongo, Leccima, or anyone else they featured. When making reality tv shows, this is just misrepresentation, but when the casts are selling products based on the false claims they made during the television shows, it becomes fraud and criminal conspiracy at the very least.
To be very direct, the casts of the current season of Flip This House never passed the smell test and it is now abundantly clear that they are all little more than criminal con artists using A&E to further their false credibility in order to defraud potential investors nd customers. A&E is now aiding and abetting criminals by airing the shows which feature these people, and I call on the network to immediately kill all episodes until full background and criminal investigations are performed on their casts. I encourage everyone else to do the same and BY NO MEANS should ANYONE buy products from these lying criminal con artists!!!!!!
This entire debacle disgusts me. People like Leccima and Montelongo belong in prison. Period.
Mike Voss
Whoa! I am so glad that I found this website. I loved the Flipping shows for ideas only, and found that my favorite was Richard Davis. Those brothers were comical, but I watched for comic relief, especially after watching the one where they had a duplex that was CONDEMNED and they kept rehabbing it to sale to a *so called* investor. Anyway, I am glad for sites like this that show the truth to those who are out to make a killing in real estate… Watch out or you will become a victim.
Review of Armando’s 995 product:
He steels information from
1. Ron LeGrand’s Cashflow program which is actually the late Bernard Hale Zick’s product.
2. Bill Effro’s how to sell your home in 5 days (Auction is almost exactly the same, he adds in a “reserve” which is mentioned in the book)
3. Peter Conti How to negotiate information (I don’t know for sure on this, but the technique is similar)
I don’t know where he got his hard money lender information, it’s lame information.. go to google and type in hard money lender…
Also, the original website said it was 12 DVD’s it’s 12 CD’s.. I only purchased because I thought it would be 12 hours or so of video on how he does everything, not him reading a script that someone else evidently wrote…
Armando is a piece a sh*t and I hope he gets what it deserve!!!!
Anyone that buys this is sucking on Armando’s tail pipe. What worked then, doesn’t work now, the game, market, rules, and requirements have changed.
Those that can, do. Those that can’t,
talk about it (and sell it)
JUST WENT TO THE LEARNING ANNEX HERE IN DALLAS OVER THE WEEKEND. WHAT A MARKETING TOOL TO MAKE MONEY OFF OF UNSUSPECTING FOOLS, IM GLAD I WENT TO IT SO THAT I AM NOT TEMPTED TO GO AGAIN. IF YOU GO FOR ANY OTHER REASON OTHER THAN COMICAL ENTERTAINMENT (BECAUSE THEY WERE PRETTY FUNNY) YOUR WASTING YOUR TIME. THE TITLE LEARNING ANNEX ITSELF IS MISLEADING TO BEGIN WITH, YOU DONT LEARN ANYTHING YOU YOU GET A SALES PITCH THE WHOLE TIME YOUR THERE. SOME PRESSURE YOU MORE THAN OTHERS AND SOME JUST MAKE YOU FEEL GUILTY LIKE YOUR A FOOL FOR NOT BUYING THEIR PRODUCT AND GIVING THEM YOUR MONEY AND BETTERING YOUR LIFE. IF I WANTED THAT I WOULD HAVE SAVED MY $100 BUCKS THAT I SPENT AND WATCHED INFOMERCIALS ALL NIGHT. IT REALLY WASNT A TOTAL LOSS, I GOT TO SEE DONALD TRUMP WHICH I AM A FAN, AND I GOT TO SEE ARMANDO MONTELONGO WHICH I THOUGHT I WAS A FAN OF BUT SAMETHING HE SOLD OUT AND IS SELLING THESE PACKAGES. HE CLAIMS TO HAVE DONE 1000 HOUSES FLIPPED AND WHATEVER ELSE BUT YEAH EVEN I COULD FIGURE OUT THE TIME FRAME AND THE NUMBER OF HOUSES HE HAS DONE DOES NOT ADD UP. THE WHOLE TIME WE WERE THERE EACH SPEAKER BASHED THE OTHER SPEAKERS ON HOW THEIR PROGRAM WAS BETTER AND HOW THEY DID IT EVERYDAY, THEY ARE REAL, THEY WERE NOT IN IT FOR THE MONEY OH REALLY SO WHY DONT YOU POST ALL YOUR INFO FOR FREE FOR ALL OF US TO SEE ON YOUR WEBSITE. NOT IN IT FOR THE MONEY,BS, $1000 PACKAGES, $2000, $4000, ONE HAD A HELL OF A DEAL FOR $5995 AND THATS A ONE TIME OFFER ONLY AND PEOPLE WERE JUMPING UP GIVING THEM THEIR CREDIT CARDS. IM JUST GLAD I DIDNT GET TEMPTED AND ALL I WAS OUT WAS $100. BUT I GOT TO SEE DONALD TRUMP SO IT WASNT A TOTAL LOSS. I WOULD NOT PAY $100 BUCKS AGAIN TO SEE HIM BUT HE SHOULD NOT BE INVOLVED WITH LEARNING ANNEX CAUSE HE CLAIMS HE ONLY PUTS HIS NAME ON QUALITY THINGS THIS IS NOT A QUALITY EVENT ITS A JOKE ALONG WITH ALL THE SPEAKERS THERE TRYING TO MAKE QUICK BUCK ON PEOPLES DREAMS. IM GLAD HE DIDNT GO AND TRY TO SELL SOMETHIG TO US HE COULD HAVE BUT DIDNT ONLY ONE ALL WEEKEND NOT TO DO IT.HE WAS ENTERTAINING AND ACTUALLY STUCK AROUND AND ANSWERED SOME QUESTIONS LIKE HE SAID HE WOULD. HE KEPT IT REAL TOO DIDNT SAY ANYTHING NICE ABOUT CUBAN OR BUSH TO GET SUPPORT FROM THE CROWD KNOWING HE IS IN MAVERICKS AND BUSH COUNTRY. BUT HEY THATS HIM AND HE CAN DO THAT. HE WAS THE ONLY ONE WITH A WELL DOCUMENTED PROVEN RECORD THAT REALLY DOES HAVE SOMETHING WE COULD LEARN FROM. NOBODY THERE WAS HONEST AND WAS THERE TO REALLY HELP ANYBODY OUT OTHER THAN THEIR BANK ACCOUNTS. THEY COULD MAKE OUTRAGEOUS REAMARKS ON HOW MUCH LAND THEY OWN AND HOW CAN ANYBODY PROVE IT. FORGET BUYING THEIR STUFF DONT EVEN GO THERE AND WASTE YOUR TIME, LET ME SEE YOU PAY $100 TO GO AND SEE THEM SO THEY CAN SELL YOU THEIR CRAP, THEY SHOULD BE PAYING YOU TO GO AND SIT THERE AND GIVE THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO SELL YOU THEIR CRAP. NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. ATLEAST A FREE LUNCH OR SOMETHING SANDWICHES WHERE $8 BUCKS THERE AND $2 FOR A CAN COKE. OH AND ON THE BOOKLET IT SAYS GUEST SPEAKERS INCLUDE, TONY ROBBINS AND DAVID BACH THEN YOU LOOK INSIDE AND IT TURNS OUT THEY ARE ON A MONITOR ONLY. HELL FOR THAT THEY COULD HAVE INCLUDE PRESIDENT BUSH AND JUST TELEVISED ONE OF HIS SPEECHES. UNLESS YOU LIKE BEING PITCHED FOR TWO DAYS, AND GIVING AWAY YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY, DO NOT GO!!!!!! IF YOU HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO THROW AROUND LIKE THIS YOU MUST BE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT AND OTHER GUY WAS RIGHT “THEY NEED YOU MORE THAN YOU NEED THEM.” AND IF YOU DONT HAVE THE MONEY AND ARE PUTTING THIS ON YOUR CREDIT CARD OH YOU ARE SAD, YOU WILL BE PAYING FOR THESE PACKAGES THAT WILL BE COLLECTING DUST AFTER A FEW WEEKS FOR A VERY VERY LONG TIME. THATS WHEN YOU REALLY THING ABOUT THE 100 OTHER MORE IMPORTANT THINGS YOU COULD HAVE DONE WITH THE THOUSANDS FOR DOLLARS YOU GAVE AWAY LIKE TAKE CARE OF YOU FAMILY NEEDS.
It is interesting that either A&E or the production company had restructured the Atlanta cast before the news of Leccima’s criminal activity had become public – clearly they knew something in advance and took preemptive action. I had been wondering why they were structuring a show around this totally incompetent Angela girl, and now that is apparent.
The show has lost all credibility and, more alarmingly, is still running the Montelongo episodes despite the fact that it is clear that he is a con artist and the subject of pending legal action. Remember, the casts shot all this crap at least 4 months ago. Now, Leccima and Montelongo are suddenly hawking courses *just* before negative news breaks. The timing suggests they knew something and were scrambling to exploit their exposure on the show before it was too late. I suspect their casts were about to be quietly shelved.
I think it is time that someone post an online petition asking A&E to pull the show until such time as it can get the producers of the show to do proper due diligence on it’s casts. If they’re going to make a fake show for entertinment, then the casts need to be legally prevented from marketing products based on it and the show needs to run a disclaimer to protect viewers who might be enticed to invest with those castmembers. If they’re going to make a show that is supposed to be factual, then they need to verify the backgrounds of the casts and the projects depicted on the shows.
If A&E cannot do these things, then the show needs to be cancelled for the benefit and protection of the viewing public. We, thw viewers, should demand this from A&E. Making a show for entertainment value is one thing, but blurring the line of reality and then allowing criminals to exploit that distortion to steal from the viewing public is a crime and must be stopped.
I see that no new episode of the show got recorded in my Tivo this weekend – I hope that is a sign that A&E has pulled all episodes until such time as they can properly examine the show and it’s casts and issue an apology to the public. Until then, count me out as a viewer.
I have been approached more than once to be the subject of shows of this type and I have always declined because I don’t knock out projects in weeks and don’t do things to make good TV. It would be great if someone would do a reality show covering the many months it takes to follow a quality building crew as they construct a quality house….oh, wait, that’s been done. It’s called This Old House and has been running for 25+ years showing how things are really done correctly and without shortcuts!
Mike Voss
Mike Voss,
Nice post, Mike. The first season of FTH with Trademark was clearly ‘The Real Deal’, flipping a house in 2-3 weeks. They had the organization and in an appreciating market to do it.
They left and Departure Films and/or A&E decided to carry on with the ‘2-3 week flip’ formula in a soft market, and with those that clearly couldn’t pull it off even in an appreciating market probably. So, they cheated and got caught. ALL OF THEM
The newer ‘flip teams’? Yep, complicit, no doubt but it starts at the top and sh*t rolls down hill. A&E, Departure Films etc., IN MY OPINION ; )
What’s funnier than hell to me is they put the street address on the various ‘flips’. What, they think we can’t check property records online? LOL ; )
Steve,
Yeah, I suspect Richard Davis is having one hell of a good laugh right about now. The whole debacle makes a very strong case for Trademark having developed the show format since Departure/A&E couldn’t even *continue* it after they left. I’d settle in a hurry if I were them.
In don’t always agree with how trademark does things, but they *seem* to at least be a reputable and moral company that spends a lot of time helping their community. All of these other teams were fly-by-night come latelys who were just plain slimy IMHO.
A&E is in hot water and owes us all an apology and refunds to all those taken advantage of.
Mike
Much gossip, in San Antonio. I manage a strip club here. Guess who was smoke marijuana and kicked out. Davd Montelongo. He and Armando frequently come by my club… I wonder when they work. What a great family foundation.
I found this site by accident…I’m glad I did…I was thinking about buying the 997 kit from Armando..his stats sounded impressive..
Let me tell you all this….I too, went to the Learning Annex in Boston(dec. 2006) within an hour we bought an “asset protection” kit for $2000 and then went to another seminar in NJ.
After NJ,then we were harrassed by a couple of different companies that sounded like great ways to make money…well one of the companies hooked us for $12,000 you read that correctly…
Now we are $14,000 MORE in credit card debt and feeling like fools…
I’m just so disgusted with the whole thing…I mean before we purchased we told them our financial history and where we are now…they said “You’ll make back this money in 120 days, if you follow how we do it!”
I must say that we do have a person that calls us once a week for a 30-45 min. information and discussion session and she is available to us through email as well. (We have 8 scheduled discussions with her and then we get a tax person to talk to…they still won’t tell us what the tax part is about…we don’t know how many sessions or anything…..
I’ve tried to get in touch with the “salesman” to find out about a refund..but he seems to be “in conference” all the time….he still hasn’t called me…
Well, I’m starting to ramble…but you get my point… anyone have a suugestion on how to get at least, some of my money back???
Selena,
you manage a strip club? you saw David and Armando smoking pot in your club??
I’m not sticking up for the Montelongo’s but…what’s that got to do with real estate flipping??
This is just spreading gossip.
IM WONDERING HOW STRONG IS THEIR RELATIONSHIP (ARMANDO’S & DAVID MONTELONGO’S) THEY WERE NOT TOGETHER AT THE ANNEX I WAS STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO DAVID WHILE DONALD WAS SPEAKING AND HE AND HIS WIFE LEFT WALKING OUT ALONE AND FLAGGED DOWN A TAXI AND LEFT. SOMEBODY WITH SO MUCH MONEY YOU FIGURED THEY WOULD HAVE ARRIVED IN A LIMO TOGETHER AND LEFT TOGETHER. IM WONDERING IS ARMANDO GOT THERE IN A TAXI TOO. I KNOW I WOULDNT OF IF I HAD MILLIONS.
Hello Mike V.,
I really appreciate all the informative comments you’ve made regarding Armando Montelongo. How can I contact you ?
All I can say is that I feel VERY sorry for Veronica Montelongo for having married that piece of crap man.
The way that Armando treats her is DISGUSTING.
She needs to grow a spine and leave the loser. He’s a total con man with an ego LARGER than TEXAS!
RE: David leaving in a taxi – doesn’t surprise me a bit. When you see Armando driving around in brand new hummers and Mercedes, you can be sure he’s all flash. I believe you Texans have a saying for people like this: “Big hat, no cattle” !!
Daniel, you can email me at info@hyperion1.com Best regards, Mike
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Angie Wilford has been scrapped as a ‘Guest Speaker’ from the Montelongo’s Real Estate Workshop. This was scrubbed on the web site within the last few days.
http://www.tribeworkshop.com/
Is A&E going to pull the plug on her too?
Close, Mike. It’s ‘All hat and no cattle’ ; )
This was changed as well…
“Cast members from A&E’s Flip This House will be at the event! All of whom will be available to answer any questions you may be dying to ask!”
It WAS…
“Cast members from ALL THREE of A&E’s Flip This House teams will be at the event! All of whom will be available to answer any questions you may be dying to ask!”
I just saw the episode where the contractor “stole” the cabinets out of the house they were remodeling. I wonder if the stole the cabinets are cashed them in because they were owed money?!?!
No police, no follow ups, makes me think this is a civil and not a criminal mater.
I recall another episode where one of the Montelongo women (cant remember which one) picked up a couple of California investor at the airport and wisked them away to a duplex closing IN A LIMO.
I could understand if they were closing on a multi lillion dollar deal, however, this duplex was in a ROTTEN neighborhood (AKA ghetto) I was also amused that Armondo called it “working class”… BUNK. I drive a cab for a living and I refuse to go into a crack infested area they rehabbed this duplex.
This should have raised red flags in my book that they splurged money on a limo for such a mickey mouse deal. I would have not have been impressed
UPDATE:
Mounting legal pressure upon Armando has forced him to now change his website where he had his false advertising which led to his major con.
Now he changed it to cds instead of dvds, so at least now fewer people will be conned.
If anyone doubts it was always advertised as dvds, the copies have been kept and will be used against him in the coming class action suit against him. Copies can also be found online now if you know how to go about that. Armando is going to pay very dearly for this major scam of his, mark my words.
I found the house the the Montelongo boys flipped on School street. According to Bexar County records:
They bought the house on May 3,2006 for 46,550 David Montelongo signed the document – recorded on book number 12108 page 947
They sold the sold the house FIVE MONTHS October 6, 2006 later to a Investor in San Antonio area for 53,550. Document signed by Armando Montelongo – recorded on book number 12447 page 1104.
I recall on the show they bought the house for 34,000 plus 11,000 for improvements and sold it for 70,000 dollars. And I was under the impression that this house sold quickly (less than a month). These numbers DONT MATCH!
I drove by the house and its the one featured on the show. It look great up front However, the thing need major foundation work and the roof is slightly warped looks like it about to colaspe in a couple of years.
I guess I’m too trusting….I assumed they wouldn’t need to inflate numbers on these shows and that the people on these shows were actual “experts”..
I stumbled on this web site after wanting more information on the YouTube video I saw on Sam Leccima being a scammer. This thread has been very interesting to read.
I too was contemplating buying Montelongo’s course, but after reading his five free pages, I could tell that the writing of the books would not be great. Plus the following questions/red flags were raised:
1.) Why 5 ebooks? It’s an ebook! Why not just put all the information into one book? He’s doing that to make it sound like you’re getting more. Which probably means you’re not.
2.) If he is really making $20,000 per house at 20 to 30 houses per month that means he’s making between $400,000 and $600,000. Divide that by a 60 hour work week and he would be making between $1,666 and $2,5000 dollars per hour! Why in the world would anybody making that much money per hour need to sell a course? I figured because he isn’t making that kind of money.
My biggest problem was that was not giving out any information for free. At least the other FTH team of Than and Mike have free articles up on their web site. When you are that successful it doesn’t hurt to pay forward a little good will.
I am not going to buy anything from any of the Flip This House people.
It think A&E made a big mistake by not having a non-compete clause in their contracts. That way they would be able to prevent the teams from exploiting their publicity with crappy “courses” and then A&E would be able to put out a branded Flip This House course of real estate rehabs, for free.
Hi Mike,
Thanks for the information you’ve been providing so far. I have a question for you. What’s your beef with flipping houses? Specifically wholesaling. That’s what I was planning to do because it seems to be the easiest way to get my feet wet in real estate.
I just started looking into real estate investing the past week and have found a ton of information online for free. I also went to the library and grabbed a bunch of books on the subject.
The bottom line is between Google, iTunes, and YouTube, there is way too much free information online to have to pay thousands for anybody’s courses.
Gregory
Gregory;
Flipping is an illusion. The illusion is that someone can buy a flawed house for next to nothing and, with little or no knowledge of construction trades or contracting, spend very little money and add enormous value to that property and sell it for a huge profit in a matter of days. It isn’t that way.
Never has been, and never will be.
The fact is that I can drive down the street and immediately spot houses that were ‘flipped’. Why? Because, to the expert eye, the flaws are obvious. I have pictures of houses with lovely new paint and landscaping where the grade slopes 20% TOWARD the house and the stucco never dries. This house will fall apart in a year and have termites even sooner. Or the heavily improved house with only 1500 sq ft. that never sold because a competent builder would have added a 2nd story and another 1500 sq. ft. I can find problems with most houses built by experienced professionals, so the condition of houses that have been screwed around by amateurs is always appaling.
Check out a show on Discovery Home called Holmes on Homes and you’ll see what a real builder finds checking out the work of other contractors – many of them licensed. Then imagine stuff about 3 times worse and you’ve got the true condition of most flipped houses.
No permits, unlicensed tradespeople, and totally inexperienced owners acting as GC are a sure recipe for disaster.
As for wholesaling, the concept of getting great deals on houses and then reselling them is great, problem is it also doesn’t exist. LONG before a home of any value gets to the point of being available to the general public via auction, NOD listing, etc., professionals who know what they are doing have already known about it for a long time. If it gets to the pulic, they passed on it ofr some good reason. Now, if you’re in a very depressed market like San Antonio, there are some workable properties possible *if you know what you are doing and can inspect them yourself accurately*. However, here in LA, you will *never* get a shot at any easy money houses because professional experts have networks of people alerting them to anything good *long* before it ever hits the street. There is no free lunch.
So, in a nutchell, my problem with ‘flipping’ is that it’s bs. There are no quick, easy deals, and obody who has little or no experience in the trades ever turns out a quality product. When it comes to homebuilding, there is very little new under the sun in the past 30 years and certainly nothing has changed to make ‘flipping’ a viable prospect in any other than a rapidly ascending market, which no longer exists in most places.
Mike
For years, I have dreamnt of buying homes, adding value and selling for a profit. I am now in the position to turn my dreams into realtiy, BUT I did it the hard way. I went to college, and majored in Finance and Real Estate. I got a Broker’s license, and bought and sold other people’s properties. I managed properties for investors, etc. Now, after 4 years I am a Project Manager for America’s Luxury Builder I know the cost of labor and materials b/c I contract all my jobs. My bonus is tied into how profitable my homes are.
For those of you that think I’m bragging, you’re wrong. The truth is, in 1999 I saw a Carleton Sheets infomercial on T.V. My family bought the program for me ($400!) I went through the course, and was devastated to learn much of what he was teaching was based on assuming mortgages (almost impossible now), and other ancient tactics. Not only that, the course just seemed to gear me towards EXPENSIVE personal coaching, and seminar courses. Much like the Tribework Shops. I was crushed, and felt like a fool for buying into this crap.
I dedicated myself to learn about real estate, and since 1999 I have bought, sold, managed, developed and FINALLY invested properties. Like Mike Voss writes, there is no “Get Rich Quick” techniques in real estate investing, Period.
As far as these so called reality shows, my favorite has always been Trademark Properties. Even though you can tell on the Real Deal that some of the show is staged, I think Richard does a good job being honest about his dealings. Personally, I think the show was more interesting when he was on “Flip This House” season 1. The Real Deal also needs to goto HD!
Bottom line, if you buy right, do your homework and dedicate yourself to this business in a professional manner you can make some $$$$.
Best of luck to all of you.
Well said, Shannon.
Reading your remarks reminded me of why I got into homebuilding and I think I should mention it so people can see how and why I got to where I am now.
When I was in college 20 years ago, (studying Computer Science) I did a lot of studying outside of school of things that interested me (yeah I was a bit of a dork) and learned 3 things that I never forgot: 1) 9 of 10 American millionaires (at that time anyway) made their money in real estate 2) a house is the most expensive thing most people will ever buy, sell, or own in their lifetime and yet 3) most people know close to *nothing* about houses.
This struck me as a huge, multi-faceted paradox, and began my lifelong quest to learn everything about houses. (it’s still ongoing) As a kid, my parents had contracted to have houses remodeled and when I was 12 we moved into a big old house and did about 1/2 the work remodeling it ourselves, and my whole life I’ve found some odd familiarity and comfort in the smell of sawdust and construction adhesive. To this day, it just seems to be in my blood and other people who have the same affliction know what I mean immediately. It’s what I truly love, and it never gets old.
When I got out of college, I spent years working in the computer field and working on various projects I lived in – some in exchange for rent reduction, then later some of which I lease optioned ( a powerful tool that anyone with interest in RE should understand and use – it got me my start) Over time, I got tired of the almost universal unreliability of subcontractors and started to learn their trades myself so I wouldn’t have to rely on them. (remember – if you try to do something yourself and screw up, you can always hire someone to fix it and it’ll probably cost the same or less…) I spent time as a free apprentice, volunteered on Habitat for Humanity projects, and continually challenged myself to take on bigger and bigger projects. On my first house, I was hard pressed to repair an electrical circuit. On my last one, I ran every inch of wire, including the panel and service head. Along the way, I read and acquired a couple hundred books on different trades(which I refer to frequently) and literally watched *every* episode of every home improvement show ever aired at least twice, no joke. I’ve forgotten more than most people who call themselves builders will ever know, and yet I still consider myself to know very little. The more I know, the more I realize how little I know. The education is ongoing and a constant evolution. If you have the desire and the love for it, however, it never gets old. My worst day housebuilding is better than my best day working for someone else ever was, period! I hope everyone can enjoy it as much as I have and not get ripped off by the creeps out there looking to do no more than enrich themselves at the expense of others and give real housebuilding a bad name. All you need to know is out there, free or very inexpensively available, it’s just not available fast.
There’s an old saying amongst builders: Good, Fast, Cheap – pick any 2! When it comes to learning housebuilding and developing real estate, good and cheap is the route you want to take, so forget about fast because you can’t buy real enlightenment at any price.
Best regards,
Mike Voss
Host of A&E’s “Flip This House,” Sam Leccima, Arrested for Fraud
http://www.shoutwire.com/viewstory/71574/Sam_Leccima_Flips_Out_Arrested_For_Fraud_For_Faking_Home_Renovations_And_Sales_
Opps – just realized – maybe this should have been posted on the Samuel Leccima page under comments.
Sorry.
LMAO @ Armando or his wife posting #23-25 praising him! Guess they don’t know what a proxy is!
David Montelongo seems nice and honest enough but his brother is a different story.
THe trademark people were fun to watch. I thought they were overall decent people. After that the show went downhill. The Atlanta shows were just garbage and the armondo shows – what a clown with his clown wife.
Anyone who thinks they are going to make money flipping in an inexperienced fool. Not Richard and trademark were not flippers – they rehabbed houses. Big difference.
Much like the dotcom mania this whole RE mania will bankrupt Armondo and many others.
Well I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks the Montelongo’s are a joke! There show is good “fluff” for the brain. You need a good laugh now and again. As for Armondo’s CD, I hope that nobody else wastes there hard earned money on his crap. Mike has been right all along…”THERE ARE NO EASY MONEY DEALS” I should know, I’m a licenced carpenter and have been in home construction and renovations for 18 years. If you have the passion for houses like I do, you can earn a fair living, but you will NEVER be a millionaire at it!
Just a further thought. If you ARE interested in trying your hand at house flipping remember this; DO NOT JUST CANDY COAT IT. Do more than just paint and carpet. Put yourself in the buyers shoes. Imagine that you are buying this house beliving it has been “renovated”, and once you move in, you find all of the mistakes that are going to cost you thousands to repair. There is something to be said for craftsmanship. Stand by your name, AND behind your work! Your reputatation will proceede you if you are known for poor workmanship! Good luck!
Hi Mike,
After further research, I think you are making an all inclusive overstatement by saying wholesaling “doesn’t exist.” What further makes that evident is your contradiction in your same paragraph.
“However, here in LA, you will *never* get a shot at any easy money houses because professional experts have networks of people…”
Networks of people screams wholesalers or bird dogs or whatever the terminology. Point is that you nor anyone with the work ethic you have has the time to go out and find ALL of your properties on your own. You pay people to do that. Either in-house or network. So to say that wholesaling doesn’t exist seems a bit much. I checked out “Holmes on Homes” and missed the first 15 minutes, but I got the idea. I also checked out “Flip THAT House: Updated” which takes place in the Los Angeles area. I saw episodes with homes in North Hollywood and Sherman Oaks. Those people, some 1st timers, took MUCH longer than 2 weeks, but they made a profit.
Your post is really telling. It seems that you love building homes. It is your life and you turn out top quality houses. I may have even seen some of your work first hand because I’ve looked at some of those newly built / remodeled homes around Sherman Oaks Galleria. But I’m not looking into wholesaling at this point to be a major homebuilder like yourself or Trademark Properties. I’m looking to make some extra cash first and it looks as though wholesaling provides extreme flexibility. Then, once I get more hands on experience in real estate investing, I’ll determine if rehabbing properties is right for me.
Anyway, it seems like you’re not saying it can’t be done. You’re saying that people should just take more pride in the workmanship they do.
Chris, to say that “you will NEVER be a millionaire” from real estate investing is so far from being true. A large number of U.S. millionaires make money from real estate investing.
I was watching “The Real Deal” where Trademark rehabs their IT guy’s house and at the beginning of the show Richard said that they now have 44 employees and did $250,000,000 million dollars in sales in 2006.
I’d say that’s pretty good.
Gregory
Hi Gregory – I guess I should clarify about wholesaling – what I actually meant is that it is like building in that it isn’t just a simple thing out there waiting to be done easily. Bird doggers is the correct term – when people know you are a builder and know your work is good, they bring deals to you. Many times, they become ongoing sources of such deals – people like BK trustees, financial advisers, realtors, etc. When you develop relationships with such people, then it is possible to find the properties which never get into the MLS, classifieds, etc. Great example: I helped a friend rebuild a house here in Sherman Oaks – we knew the owner from going to parties at his house for years – it was a piece of junk on a magnificent lot which is on a hilltop overlooking the whole valley. The guy got foreclosed on, but he was a lawyer and sued the bank and won and the property ust sat empty for 2 years while the battle went on (rare around here) At the end, he just wanted to sell it for what he owed on it, which was about 1/4 what the land alone was worth. Because my friend knew him, he got the first crack at it, and because he knew me, I inspected it and told him to get a written contract THAT DAY because it was a great deal and I didn’t trust the seller. A week later, the guy wanted to reneg and go try to get more money (he was slimy), but it was too late because my friend had an ironclad contract and had paid. We bought a $2MM+ property for $600K. We built a house for about $400,000 more and today it’s easily worth about 3.7MM.
That’s a rare example, but the moral of the story is that the general public never saw anything about that house (except in foreclosure listings, which are mostly useless like they were in this case) and my friend got it entirely because of his relationships with lawyers and a builder. (me) If someone is willing to take the time to develop the connections, there are definitely deals to be made out there (my friend could have sold that house the day he got title for over 2MM – John Salley was there the first day we saw it and wanted it BAD. To this day I don’t know who his connection was, but he had one!) If you’re willing to put in the time and effort, it can definitely be done. It’s just that, like building, the shortcuts people like Armando pretend to have don’t exist – it takes time and hard work. At least here in LA.
-Mike
PS: RE: Flip That House – I know both the women who did the house in Sherman Oaks and the one in North Hollywood. While both did sell, Susan’s house took about a year and the work was not very good quality. Kelly’s sold faster, but it was even lesser quality. Susan still is a flipper and really hasn’t improved much quality or knowledge wise. She’s great at decorating and staging, but cuts many corners and doesn’t make any structural mods on any properties that I’ve seen. Kelly never flipped another house and washed out of Real Estate and moved home with her parents. That’s the reality of what happens to most flippers.
There WAS, however, one episode of Flip That House that had a builder who was fairly impressive – check out the English guy who did the craftsman style house – Paul I think was his name? He was talented – really nice work.
Mike
You’re right Greg, I guess I was a little over zelous in saying that you will “NEVER” be a millionaire in real estate. I was referring to all of the first time “house flippers” who belive they too can be the next overnight success story. Real estate is and always will be your best investment, as nobody is producing any more ground to build a house on. There is more to “flipping” than most new comers are aware of. Yes it is best to by property in a depressed market, but you must also analize the market shifts, and possible job growth. If you are planning to be the next success story, than get a mentor, and expect it to take time. Richard Davis did not get to were he is overnight. If you are in this just for a quick buck like Armando Montelongo, then you will not last in this industry!
Veronica is HOOOOOOOT. Her husband is….a used car lot’s worst nightmare.
Hey Mike and Shannon,
thanks for finally telling it like it is. another reason flips dont work in a market like san antonio is banks are not stupid. hey look at comps. we dont have a lot of cash buyers to skew the numbers.
I wrote all three news stations and even got on the phone with one of the writers of the express news to ask why no one has exposed these idiots and no one seems to care. When I asked why such a successful company was operating out of a converted garage in an 80K home in Dellview the express news writer admited to never meeting the Montelongos, only that she was contacted about the show and did a phone interview. I’ve checked just about every success story on the show and the only one that even somewhat holds water is Armandos personal home he sold in Hunters Creek. Which, by the way he had to use a realtor from a small company called pleasant realty. Ineresting since his older brother is married to a realtor. His older Brother Rick runs his fathers old company and according to his web site, has nothing to do with cast or its crew. Armandos house of cards is going to come crashing down soon, just like most con men. I was recently contacted by a man that called on one of my real estate ads who stated he was buying a home, owner financed by Armando but was being foreclosed on by the real note holder. Apparently Armando was not making the mortgage. This is called a wrap and with todays laws I’m not even sure if its still legal.
anyway great advice Mike, I’ll drop you line some time. By the way I took photos of Armados latest success that he claims to have sold for 165K in Universal city. the home in good shape would be worth maybe 120K. regardless, it was flooded, the fence falling down, the pool green and the interior still smelled. Also, the genius converted part of the garage.
ps- Richards show is great. if Armando did even a fraction of the homes he claims his staff would be something like Richards.
Shannon,
Discovery is rolling out HD to their ‘family’ of channels (which includes TLC) in September. So far Direct TV has signed on the rest won’t be far behind.
Discovery just announced this a few weekss ago.
Wow, this is a great website and very informative. I am not a realtor or flipper, just an average working gal who is fascinated with home improvement. I have to admit that I found the Montelongo & Leccima espisodes of Flip this House entertaining. I assumed there was a certain amount of fraud in involved in these shows, as it appeared there was a lot of playing to the camera, and I couldn’t fathom that people would actually purchase houses that had only cosmetic fixes. But I didn’t realize just how much fraud was involved.
Can anyone explain to me why Angie is now a part of the Flip this House team? She acted as a real estate agent on the Leccima episodes and can be seen stating that she brokered the deal for Sam to purchase these homes and is shown placing a SOLD sign on one of homes — when in fact, it has been proven by GA county records that Leccima never owned/purchased the homes (as Angie stated) and nor did the homes ever sell (as Angie stated). Isn’t she just as fraudulent as Sam? And, if she is indeed a realtor, shouldn’t her license be revoked as well?
Last question, am I the only one confused by Flip this House and Flip that House 🙂
Denise,
Originally I was very confused between Flip This House and Flip That House. After watching many episodes of each, here is the difference. Flip That House is a 30 minute program that features a different person each time trying to flip a house. Flip That House airs on TLC. Their shows are taped in different parts of the country, although 90% are in Southern California. They have also done several in Las Vegas. Flip This House airs on A&E and is the show that Richard and Trademark Properties in South Carolina started. After the contract dispute with Richard, A&E recast the show with Armando & Crew, Sam & Crew, etc. It is a one hour show that follows the same people around from week to week. Flip That House is more normal, everyday people while Flip This House are the “professionals”.
I’ve read many of the comments on here and agree with what a lot of people have said. However, I do not agree with people on here saying that you cannot make money flipping houses. You can definitely make money in buying and selling real estate, ie…flipping. I can tell you first hand because I have personally completed four houses in the past year and have made a good and fair profit on every one. There is no big secret or magic formula. It is not a “get rich quick” scheme. It is hard work, pure and simple. To be successful, you have to invest time in looking for properties. You have to know your market cold! It takes time and you have to do your homework. One in 20 properties that you will look at might be worth flipping, based on the price, location, etc. When looking for properties, you need to search your local MLS daily as well as craigslist and other websites. It takes time and again it is work. I work a full-time job(and then some), but I try to find at least 20 hours per week to dedicate to my part time real estate business. My goal is to eventually be in the real estate business full time, but that is still a few years away.
By the way, I am not a believer in books, tapes, etc that “teach” you how to flip houses. The best way to learn anything is by participating. You can read books until you are blue in the face, but the way you really learn is by doing. If you want to flip a house; get your financing in order, get with a local realtor, and get to work! Just be prepared to see the 19 dogs(most of which will be overpriced) to find the one diamond in the rough.
Why is it that Angie, Marina and Veronica are so hot and have idiots for husbands? David, dump your brother, Veronica dump your hubby and find someone who appreciates you, and Angie, dump that idiot of a husband who can’t do construction to save his life.
How come when you go to the Montelongo’s web site (Montelongo House Buyers) you don’t see any houses FOR SALE listed?
The only thing I see FOR SALE are CD’s, get rich quick seminars, and so on.
Where are the ’25 houses a month’ they ‘flip’ hiding? ; )
If my math is right, to buy and sell 1,000 houses in five years, a person would have had to buy 3 to 4 houses a week, which would be quite a challenge for a large scale company, much less Armando, and his brother. I am suprised that A&E, at the least, did not do a few public records checks, and a criminal background check to ensure the accuracy of the claims, and the background of the individuals being showcased on the series.
Montelongo’s…
“The Roach House”
254 Erskine Place
San Antonio, TX
On the show…
Paid $40,000
Rehab $17,000
Total ‘in’ $57,000
Sold $110,000
Profit $53,000
__________________________
Zillow $76,906 est worth
http://www.zillow.com/
Cut and pasted from the FTH board before they delete it. Heh
“Roach House”…
“Let me add more:
bought on June 6, 2006 for $66,500
sold to an investor in Blanco, TX on Nov. 10, 2006 for $68,000
Appraised by Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collector for 2007: $70,100
There is NO WAY that THIS house sold for $110,000.
The construction time line/schedule, Armando and Veronica’s vacation (which occurred during the “cat house” filming), and the open house, were ALL STAGED!
And once again, another episode where the buying, selling, and possibly the construction costs, were OVER INFLATED!!
In light of the Sam Leccima scandal, I cannot believe A&E would continue to broadcast this show without checking out the facts.
Shame on you A&E!
PS. The Montelongo’s claim they flip 25-30 houses a month. Strange how the entire Montelongo crew spends nearly a month on this SINGLE project.
What about the other 24-29 houses they are flipping?
And strange that Armando at the open house talks about moving to the next (singular) deal.
PPS. Does it bother anyone that Melina and Armando are deciding how to market the house as if this was the first time Melina marketed a house?
I thought she was doing this for at least 3 years?
The more I see the Montelongo’s on FTH, it becomes painfully apparent that they are 3rd rate amateurs in the real estate business but they are 1st class liars!”
I cannot understand A&E for letting this sham go on for this long.
It took me less than 5 minutes to do a background check on the Erskine house.
What will it take to realize that A&E has another PR train wreck in progress?
I also uncovered a questionable loan made to Armando on a house on Lemur Dr . According to loan documents filed with the county clerk, they have him listed as a “single man” – not married. No reputable lender would make such a mistake. Furthermore, they allowed a house on Basswood Dr go into foreclosure in April of this year.
Fred,
I suspect the Montelongos are not what they seem.
However, don’t assume that “taking a taxi” is an indication of a lack of wealth. Many (most?) millionaires are NOT “flashy” and don’t take limos.
One of the reasons people get to be millionaires is that they don’t waste money on “flash” or “bling”.
Mike V.,
I’m curious as to why you call San Antonio a “depressed” market.
While housing costs in San Antonio are well below what you will find in CA and certain portions of the east coast (for similar properties), it is a market where housing prices have risen fast in recent years. The market is slowing this year, but still increasing (unlike some of the “hot” markets on the west coast where prices are flat or falling).
Thanks Steve for reposting my message from the A&E board. Sure enough, A&E or the moderator removed my post:-).
Disappointed but not surprised.
A&E and Departure Films (the people who produce FTH) need to come to grips and face reality.
Removing my post only makes me wonder what other things have yet to be discovered.
boyson,
Anytime ; ) I watched that episode like a hawk last night on a 42″ HD plasma (and a DVR) just looking for the street address. Got it! I’ll be doing the same thing with subsequent San Antonio reruns ; )
And boyson,
Nice tag team effort last night …
1,2,3 TEAM!
Teamwork is our trademark LOL ; )
LOSERS, STOP TRASHING PEOPLE, GET A LIFE. START MAKING MONEY AND NOT EXCUSES.
BTW, didn’t he and his wife get divorced a few years ago?
That would explain him applying for the loan as a single male.
Justin:
They filed for divorce in April 2003, however, I did not find a divorce decree. Perhaps they reconciled and drop the petition.
Moreover, on Montelongohomebuyers.com website, Veronica’s bio says “…Nothing is more rewarding than the quality time she spends at home with her husband Armando and their son Armando Sebastian…”
correction, link to Veronica’s bio:
http://www.montelongohousebuyers.com/personal_info.html
Good one Steve. I went to his website too, it appears all he is selling is get rich quick schemes. From what I read on this website, its all severly outdated information. Probably just more stuff trying to get you to goto more seminars, etc.
On a side note, I love this blog. When I’m having a tough day at work, I’ll come on here and just LMAO reading everyones posts.
Anyone gonna tune in to hear David Montelongo tonight?
Save your money. Richard Davis gives it up for free (video)
“The Number One Rule in Real Estate Investing”
http://tlc.discovery.com/beyond/index.html?playerId=203711705&categoryId=914140632&lineupId=987239221
Lifted from the TWOP forum.
Too funny! LOL
“Did anyone else notice on the TRIBE site that not only were David and Melina special guests, but Than Merrill is a featured speaker. Looking over this site and the one posted earlier for Than, it looks like they are all jumping on the get rich quick scams.
The “I’m so successful at what I do that I’m going to stop doing it and teach you how from the generousity of my little heart. Now cough up the bucks and buy my package.” Which actually means “I’m not making enough money doing this right now, so I’ll get you to pay me to teach you how to not make enough money either, as I laugh all the way to the bank.”
Why is it that I hear Armando, Veronica, David, or Melina, I check to make sure my wallet is not missing, roll my eyes, or at a Amway sales presentation?
have you all tried renting their houses
Montelongo’s
“Condemmed”
508 W Baetz
San Antonio, TX
On the show…
Paid $31,900
Total “in” after rehab $63,000
Sold $120,000
‘Flipped’ in 21 days
______________________________________
Per Bexar County Records. The house is owned by…
BAETZ LAND TRUST
239 DALEHURST
SAN ANTONIO, TX 78201
Take it away, boyson! ; )
Can anyone tell me what is the situation with David? Have he and his brother parted company if so what is he up to?
Montelongo’s….
“Condemned” (‘The Burnt Duplex’)
508 W Baetz
San Antonio, TX
On the show…
Paid $31,900
Total in with rehab $63,100
“Flipped” and sold in 21 days for $120,000
______________________________________
Or not. Bexar County records show the owner as
BAETZ LAND TRUST
239 DALEHURST (Montelongo Real Estate Solutions)
SAN ANTONIO, TX 78201
Steve, thanks for the link. Really good advice from him.
You know, I think they are both so full of themselves, but it makes for good TV 😉
They both have the only two flip shows I watch. The other flippers on “flip this house” bore me to tears.
I would be more apt to buy a book from Richard than Armando though. I like Richards team mentality and treating people well.
Wow! What an awesome website. I’ve been interested in flipping homes and found the Flip This Home episodes very entertaining. The first thing that struck me as odd was the ridiculous claim that Mr. Montelongo made regarding how many homes he flips a month. Something like 25 to 30. What an insult to the intelligence of your viewers. I already knew about the Leccima’s cause I live in Atlanta, but I did not know he went so far as to stage people. It’s so sad to see so many people fall victim to greed. Anyone interested in real estate investing should check out John T Reed. He has serious credentials and has a very informative website.(www.johntreed.com) God Bless to all.
I loved the episode tonight when Armando was teaching “Mondo Man” how to flip houses. He explained that sometimes daddy has to yell at the contracters, but you also have to take care of them. So he shows up with a six pack cooler with a couple of waters and a couple sodas.
Yeah that makes it all better.
“Veronica Montelongo for Vice- president”
Too funny! The editors ‘fuzzed out’ the street address on this one. And no fake buyer either, instead, ‘asking price’. Although there was an alleged ‘sale pending’
Too little, too late. Every tree I’ve barked up so far with this gang has had a cat in it ; ) Good luck trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube! LOL
Steve,
What is the website for Bexar county were you get all your info on the homes? I would love to read some of that!
Re: “Veronica Montelongo for Vice- President”
Shameless plug for ‘Pella Windows’.
Although it looks like they’ve dropped
the “Added Value” phony premise they used in Connecticut with the “Burning Down the House” episode and the “Condemned” episode in San Antonio for ALCOA (aluminum siding)!
‘Product placement’ is one thing. Phony ‘infomercial’ garbage disguised as legitimate show content is another.
I have learned more on this one website than I have on any of the “Flipping” shows. Thank you. All of the links have led to some interesting reading. It is amazing what you learn when you “google” just a few simple words.
I was actually looking up the book that Armando was writing on tonights “Flip This…” episode and came across you guys……Interesting!
Needless to say, I no longer feel the need to look up his book!
Re: “Veronica Montelongo for Vice- President”
Also kind of funny, Armando shooting the windows out with his sling shot! Geeze,
can you say FOLLOWER? Keep watching
Richard Davis Armando, hey, you might learn something. And apparently, you already are ; )
I was initially interested in picking up a copy of Montelongo’s book, but I found this blog, and now really have no interest in it.
It’s amazing what can be found with just a few keystrokes!
Thanks to everyone here for the good info, and hopefully A&E will get their act together, and yank junk like this off the air.
I guess that is where “reality” tv is going these days.
My skepticism grows on a daily basis!
Hopefully it helps me(and others) keep the money in OUR pockets!
armondo you gonna let these people bash you, respond tell us its not so, give us the real deal, a real man sticks up for himself, lets hear it, cant mess with peoples lives brother give it to us here, what do you say sir.
Armando is the best illusion artist on A&E. Criss Angel is a close second but “are you ready”…for Armondo’s new book! My favorite illusion in the episode tonight is Veronica’s line to the window guys (who all had uniforms on and there company’s name plastered everywhere like they were part of a pit crew in a NASCAR event… anyway she says something like “Whoa you guys are professionals and work so fast with a beautiful product line” and then the window truck drives off into the sunset with a just another job for us, its what we do, kind of vibe going on, and one more final plug on the back of the truck to a fade out (it was really touching, I called my mother afterwards to tell her I love her). No way Armando payed 18 grand for the windows and doors, ITS ARMANDO! He turns everyone on that show into a puppet and still had time to write a book! Now thats magic 🙂 Welp, I love the website. Best wishes to you all.
~Valentino
Back about 7 years ago I was working for my stepfather in Corpus Christi during the summer between college semesters on an old run down house that he purchased for around 30K. He put about 15K into beefing up the foundation, framework and remodling it completely. It took about 2 months to complete. He then sold it about 6 months later after living in it for a little while for 75K. I can see where you could make a very good amount of money if you could do a house every 4-6 weeks or so. I have always wanted to get into this, but do not really know where to start or what it takes.
this armando is a prick the way he treats people is sickening, like he is better than everyone else. especially the time he was sitting outside with his feet in that swimming pool drinking beer and trying patheticaly to make it look like he was having to force those contractors to work, what a piece of shit. I wonder just how many of those contractors have gave him an asswhooping?1000 houses = 1000 or more asswhoopins! LOL
I did some searching on http://www.taxnetusa.com/texas/bexar/list.php and found Armando Senior owns one property, and Armando Junior owns 3 properties and Armando owns 1. Isn’t his son Junior? How can a 9 or 10 year old kid own property? Also doing a check on Veronica, she has seven houses under her name…someone else see something wrong?
Some more on them:
http://www.co.bexar.tx.us/webapps/html/DKLITDSP01.asp
David has a lawsuit pending against him for breach of contract on 6/15/07
Mike,
Great site. Glad I stumbled across it as I too was about to purchase their $97 set.
Also, as others on this site have said, I’ve learned more from the info posted on this site than any of the flipping shows I’ve watched.
Information is Power.
Thanks again for the insight.
ok, quick question, i know this is all pretty staged and all, but with the trademark properties, and of course Armando, it seems like they start demoing and building within a couple days of signing papers… in my County it takes like 4 months to get a building permit.. what is going on there? how can they start demoing and building within days?, i mean it is obvious that there is working going on for the project that they are taping, this part is not staged?
thanks in advance for anyone with any answers…
I also was looking for the book to purchase and found this site. Incredible what people will do to make a buck. Has he really written a book or is that the lead in to his $100 or $1000 kit? I agree Richard seems to be genuine and not so full of himself. I would prefer to have him as a mentor. I will be back more often
Does anyone know the real story on whether Armando & David have split up as business partners and why? Thanks for your website. You have saved me money; I was seriously considering investing in Armando’s program. Has anyone gotten the email invite to David’s live conference call next week for TRIBE? I thought the Montelongo’s were a legitimate example of a family business, but it seems as if they are getting pretty greedy and focused on $$ only. They are making their $$ from the show and not flipping houses.
Also RE: “Veronica Montelongo for V.P”. I am thankful for the internet and the ability to do instant research. I was actually looking to purchase the book they were slinging, needless to say that I am no longer in the market for it. I quickly reviewed the website, http://www.armandomontelongo.com and noticed several mispelled words on the page under the forclosure section. I am not the best speller in the world but I would certainly spellcheck my website at the very least. First impressions are everything. How can you spend $1000 on his “DVD/CD’s” when he does not even have the ability to make sure his site is at the very least accurate and concise. If you mispell a word here no big deal…on your business website, that is not good. Looks like the Montelongo brothers are parting ways. There was a new intro that didn’t even mention David or his wife Melina..interesting. How funny are the three bogus postings probably sent by the “MONDOMAN”. Great site, thank you everyone for the valuable info. I found Mike Voss to be especially credible. They should make a show about him instead of these other flip artists.
Yep I was looking up the book info from tonights show as well and “Holy Smokes” This site was the first thing listed on Google for ‘montelongo book’. Wow guess this saves me an embarrasing triumphant (told ya so)dance from my husbund. And is saving thousands (well maybee hundreds) of people from wasting bandwidth down loading the site. $997?? that would have scared me away anyway. Guess they should have sold it for 19.95 probably would have made more money on the volume.
I’ve been very interested in trying to “Flip” but I am unsure of the approach I should take. I have done construction for most of my adult life and half the stuff I see on “Flip This House” hosting Armando Montelongo is total Bull.
I had contacted a company here that “Flip” homes and they said that I can take an internship as long as I provide my construction know-how. I’m not a know it all, I’m just real friendly with the codes and permit/blue print processing. They told me that it may take anywhere from 1 – 3+ months to fully rehab a home and then you must factor in the time it takes to show and sell the house.
This should be a real interesting few months.
I must say that I am happy I found these web postings because I was in search of trying to find the books that Armando wrote so I could better my experience with this company I’ll be spending a few months with.
Thanks for all of the posts. I REALLY can’t afford a book at this cost, but was considering buying it. I wanted to add to the posts to keep this the #1 hit when someone is searching for this book.
You know, there definitely is money to be made in buying and rehabbing rundown properties, so I plan to do some of this in the near future.
I agree, however, it is just not as easy or quick as Montelongo states.
It will most likely take some good legwork to find the properties, and then some good elbow grease to do the rehab work.
I sold my first house for a good profit, but I also lived in it for ten years, so it wasn’t a quick flip.
Mike Voss, I second the motion for you to get your own show!!
Thank you SO MUCH for this site. I was also looking for Armando’s book, and I’m glad I’m a researcher at heart. I love all the remodeling shows on HGTV and want to thank you, Mike, for the suggestion to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity to both learn and do something for the communities we live in. Keep that great info coming!
i also want to flip houses and now i see the best advice is to talk to the bank and learn as u go.
What a shocker! I (was) a huge fan of the Montelongos show! I loved every episode! ON hopes that these kinds of stories are more rumor than fact, but hmmmmmmm…… I feel like I did when I was a kind and found out that Santa Claus wasn’t real…this is a shame!
Two things struck me as odd about the Armando episode I watched last night. First, the contractor (I believe it was foundation work) who showed up to get his money and threatened to put a lien against the property. I don’t know about once a property changes hands, but I do know that in Texas, a contractor can stick a lien on a property and the house can’t be sold until the lien is satisfied. The context of the episode was like this guy showed up demanding pay for work he had not done, but I bet the truth is that someone skipped out on paying him.
And did anyone else catch the blatant advertising for Aaron’s rental? There was a little blurb about how rent-to-own is a great way to get furniture for little cost upfront. But continue renting the furniture (and there’s bound to be some sort of length of terms), and you’ll pay far more for that couch than it is worth.
And slick how Armando made of big show of having to get ready to go shoot his commercial for his book.
lsj,
Re: “I don’t know about once a property changes hands, but I do know that in Texas, a contractor can stick a lien on a property and the house can’t be sold until the lien is satisfied.”
True, providing of course it’s a ‘licensed’ contractor. I think that whole thing was stagged anyway
I agree with earlier posts on educating yourself as the best course of action for this type of business. I look at FTH and other similiar shows as entertainment, not education. A very good book I found for anyone wanting basic starting information on flipping housees is “Flipping Houses for Dummies” by Ralph Roberts. Very easy to read and understand and is honest about the process. Much cheaper at $21.00, than Montecrooko’s program.
My favorite part of last nights episode was the shameless plugging and extended camera stops on the Snapple Tea he was sipping in the dark writing his book while chatting with his wife who was out in the daylight. The panning of Valspar paints was pretty funny as well like people are such sheep and won’t notice when they are being advertised to. I have felt this guy is a fraud from day one …but I will not miss an episode because it is entertaining as hell albeit fake as hell.
I posted this on the A&E discussion board and will probably get deleted (like some of my other posts. Steve, don’t worry, I got the info on the Baetz house and other properties aired yesterday. Plus I have a interesting theory about the newest flip – “Veronica Montelongo for Vice President”.
Once again, the numbers don’t add up….
Here is that post:
Laws or no laws, guess what? The house was LISTED in a foreclosure database for 171K. WOW, Armando is such a genius to come up with that figure and WOW that girl was able to talk the bank down to that price.
Coincidence?
What makes me believe the entire incident was nothing more than pseudo drama. It’s not like Departure-Films and FTH crews have ever staged pseudo auctions, pseudo open houses, and pseudo closings. Why not pseudo buying?
Do you honestly think that girl had the demeanor or confidence to negotiate a bank down 50K? She gave me the impression she was a student intern/walk-on that was placed in front of the camera and told to ad-lib as real estate wholesaler.
boyson,
Makes sence.
“Ohhhh, Armondo, I’ve wanted to work with you for SOOOOOOO long, oooo, ahhhh”
LOL
“Veronica Montelongo for VP”
I freeze framed this on my DVR. Armondo
is working on his ‘book’ and this is on his laptop, verbatim…
“When I was first broke, it was the hardest time of my life. ‘No’ being able to provide for ‘muy’ family, son, wife, and those I love the most. Once I learned the secrets of ‘lfippign’ and growing rich, my life turned around. It was the best time of my life. The time that was ‘certaintly’ the greatest to me.”
LOL
First I just want to say thanks for all the nice things people have said and emailed me in relation to posting here. If the day ever dawns where production companies want to spend the time and effort to make a good show about homebuilding/remodeling, I’ll be happy to talk to them. As long as they continue to produce shows the way Sam Leccima builds houses though, I’ll steer clear! 🙂
Like many of you, I found lots of interesting stuff in yesterday’s latest Montelongo episode. First off, I noticed that, on the voiceover for the new David-free intro, Armando now calls his company “the most aggressive” company in San Antonio instead of “the fastest growing” company. I also noticed that the correction to the purchase pricing on the house appears to have been edited in later in the production. (notice it is of a style never used on the show before) Clearly, A&E is clamping down or Departure is starting to actually worry about their claims and reigning Armando in. About time.
My take on the episode was that Armando was really desperate to start selling a book and/or materials because something was up. Combined with the fact that his own brother had clearly quit the show as of that episode, Armando’s schemes seem to be unraveling right on camera. As ye sow…
As for the house build, the product plugs were indeed everywhere. This goes on all the time with these shows. Typically, the builder is short on money and entices the supplier to give them discounted or free products or installation in exchange for tv exposure. It is a tipoff that the builder is looking to exploit the tv airtime and probably would have budgetary issues without the tv show. (at least in my experience)
I do applaud Veronica’s attempt to work in a more green manner (why not on every house? It saves money and is good for everyone.) We always recycle/reuse metal, wood, etc. (I can get a house torn down free out here by giving one company the wood to sell/recycle) Had they had a clue, there was lots more they could have done like installing tankless hot water (huge savings on gas and good units work amazingly well) or solar powered attic vents. And as for Armando’s hummer, don’t even get me started. I’m looking into getting a dual fuel pickup truck soon that runs on gasoline or compressed natural gas(CNG) and installing a CNG refueling system into my next home. CNG costs about $1.25/gallon when you make it at home and is the cleanest burning fuel there is! Why are we not all using it? Hopefully it will be something we can interest people in for future properties – for now I’ll be happy just to have cheap fuel and a clean vehicle!
I’m very glad to see that people who might have fallen for Armando’s book or courses are finding this site and learning that there are better resources available for free.
Happy father’s day,
-Mike Voss
Heather Jimenez “property scout” was also seen helping Chris “the intern” prepare for open house day.
She was also in the final shot where Veronica slapped on the “Sale Pending” sign.
I guess Armando was so impressed with Heather (she tried to take Armando for 30K) that he had to hire her to help prepare the property for open house :-).
BTW, this is the SAME Heather who was one of the intern/victim applicants on the “Bobwhite House” episode.
Hmmmmm….
WOW. Finally a cure for insomnia. That would not even be good toilet reading. I guess you could at least use the pages for a toilet paper back up.
Lol, I was just telling my wife that that girl on the latest show posing as a real estate agent was the first intern interviewed on the bob white home episode. Armando making that poor kid chase the peacock cruel but i LMAO.
Has anyone looked into the Program “Rich Dad Poor Dad”. Just wondering if this is also a get rich quick scam.
I was right, the house listed on foreclosuredeals.com is the same house featured on “Veronica for Vice President”.
The listing price was $172,900 and listed on March 6, 2007.
Unfortunately, Comal County doesn’t have their real estate recordings online. However, Comal Appraisal District has their appraisals online :-).
The most current appraisal (which includes the improvements done on the show), is $187,000 . Although I don’t have copies of the deed, I doubt that any one would pay 325K for something that’s worth 187K.
Once again, numbers do not add up!
How or why would Armando put 65K into a house that he already has 172K invested?
This is not the first time the Montelongos lost money on a flip (Bobwhite) featured on FTH.
Sure there were lots of shameless product placement plugs though out the show, but that would not pay the entire cost of the renovations.
Did you notice Armando didn’t seem as pissed off when paying for all these renovations – especially new windows? I’m sure Pella gave them a discount, but I doubt they gave windows and labor for free.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Departure Films/A&E is either subsidizing or paying for the renovations on these houses.
Remember, Sam Leccima’s former landscaper admitted getting paid by the production company for landscaping services done on one of the houses.
David – Rich Dad Poor Dad is a great book – I highly recommend it and you can find it used on Amazon very cheap! I haven’t bought/used any of the related courses or materials, so I can’t say anything about those, but the book is very good. Another favorite of mine in that genre is The Millionaire Next Door – a fascinating book worth every penny, it’s the best one I’ve read so far.
Mike
boyson,
The ‘product placement’ stuff is national in scope, they pay A&E. First the egg
($$$), then the chicken (placement). And again, the shameless “Added Value”
garbage to showcase it further for some
of the stuff
What an interesting website. I watch/ed all FTH episodes for the last 2 seasons and am glad to see I am not alone in my thoughts. I never liked Leccima. The entire group was too unprofessional for me. Angie and here husband as a spin off are very annoying and even more unprofessional than Leccima. (I had wondered where they went). Aaah, the Montelongos. Interesting to watch but with a grain of salt. Armando is disrespectful and I’m glad that contract he worked with came to his senses and left. I also hope his brother David finds himself instead of his brother’s shadow. I was sad this past season to see Trademark Realty gone and then overjoyed to find them on The Real Deal. They have always been the most professional about what they do, the emphasis on family/team work is key. I also like how they don’t try to squeeze blood from their contractors for pennies on the dollar and want to do what’s right for the house to sell and for the buyer instead of lipstick.
Anyone who watches any of these shows (except for Trademark) and believes that every episode can end with someone walking in and buying is also the person who spends 997.
I could go on but these are just my thoughts.
boyson,
Great find! LOL
Any idea where that “Flip 101” (‘Investor Special’) house is? It looks like they went out of their way to hide the street name, the address number though is allegedly ‘4719’.
NO WAY that house sold for $95K
Great point about the windows Boyson. Armando usually never spends more than a few thousand on windows, regardless of the house. He almost couldn’t wait to drop 15k to 20k on the Pella windows. They also put Boshe appliances in the house, spending 3 times what they normally budget for appliances. I can’t believe that Armando would be able to get any investor to give him 65K to renovate a home he could only net about 15k on.
Just a side note: I like how Armando “accidently” damaged part of the garage when demoing the add on. It was probably condemed and was required to be torn down anyway.
David,
my advice is to do some research on rob kiyosaki just like you did on armando…
here’s something to start with…
http://www.johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html
good luck
i suspect kiyosaki made most of his money selling his books and not investing in real estate…
after watching a few episodes of the montelongos, somethings smelled fishy. making money in RE is possible, but not nearly as easy as they make it out to be. of course, it’s easy when alot of it is fabricated.
Even though I love to watch the “The Real Estate Pros a/k/a “The Real Deal” they seemed to have “jumped the shark”. They’ve turned more into an Extreme Makeover show than an real estate investing show. First he restores a house and car for one of his tenants, then fixes up a restaurant, then a concession stand and now is helping out a high school friend with a shave and haircut. Same thing with “This Old House”. Before it was just work on an average Joe houses now it’s nothing but mansions.
Ok Steve here are the stats from public records:
Baetz House
Purchased price $48,000 with another lien for 36,000 for improvements = 84,000 total investment. Closing date 10-27-2006
Sold for 96,000 to Cherrie and Alfred Retter (same buyers featured on the show), closing date 3-22-07
Besides David losing his goatee on day 2 and growing it back in less than 2 days, check out the landscape across the street. Day 1 nice and green, Day 8 grass is brown and the trees have no leaves :-(.
Around day 11 there was the ice storm (January 16th), which would have put day 1 around January 5th – just more proof that their time line was bullshit.
Tax Appraisal for 2006 – $106,810
Tax Appraisal for 2007 – $71,380
—–
The investor special was 4719 Castle Rose.
Purchased by Rhumb Line Investments on 8-26-07, could not determine purchase price.
Sold by Rhumb Line to David Montelongo (acting as trustee for 4719 Castle Rose Trust) on 9-13-07 for $42,000. A note was secured on the property for 42,000 + 13,000 more for renovations equals total investment – $56,000.
Sold….well, it didn’t, and the tax appraisal for 2007 is ….$56,720. Who knows, maybe they can sell it for $95,000 in 2013.
“Veronica Montelongo for VP”
boyson,
If the street address is ‘8467’ then I found that house as well (sorry Departure Films, ya missed one) ; )
The square footage and year built don’t match though. Then again, I don’t trust those numbers on the screen anyway.
Zillow puts it at $244,742 ‘market value’ But yes, the appraised value by the county is $187,440.
Another thing, how come the female half of the ‘couple’ that was ‘buying’ it wasn’t wearing a wedding ring ; )
Zillow values are effectively useless the majority of the time. The information comes from public records (usually WAY out of date) and then it uses machine generated comps (always inaccurate) to guess values based on the inaccurate data it starts with. If you have nothing else, you might use it for rough guess numbers, but for anything more than that it’s just worthless. I’m considering legally forcing them to remove any properties I own from it so as not to possibly devalue them with incorrect information.
True Mike about Zillow.
I prefer this site but their data base isn’t as big. I’ve heard it’s reasonably accurate
http://www.realestateabc.com/home-values/searchresult
Rob, I was very interested in purchasing the book until I saw your comment. How can I email you?
To make things accurate…
Armando Montelongo’s BOOK as featured on the “Veronica for Vice President” episode has not even been released yet, so for those of you viewers who are looking for info on that book, you will NOT find it here.
What you WILL find is info on Armando’s SET OF 5 E-BOOKS (different than the published hard-copy book!) that he sells for $97.00, apparently as a lead-in to his Audio CD course that sells for $997.00.
I am not defending Armando in any way…I am just clarifying some things because some viewers have posted that they typed “montelongo book” into Google.com in an attempt to find more information on the BOOK that was featured in the recent Flip This House (San Antonio) episode.
“Veronica Montelongo for VP”
One more thought about the (cough)
‘couple’. The guy has a digital camera.
The gal has what looks like a ‘one time use, Kodak disposable camera’ (that uses film). Makes no sense. NO SALE! ; )
“Veronica Montelongo for VP”
OK, one more on the ‘couple’ ; ) There
was no couple ‘vibe’ there whatsoever. No interaction, nothing.
I watched the latest episode, “Veronica for Vice President,” and if there was any doubt that Armando is scum of the earth, this episode confirmed it. The bulldozing scene was completely acted out and stupid. The plugs for Snapple and Pella were all too obvious. The real estate chick looked like she just graduated high school and definitely didn’t carry herself in a way to be selling houses. I can’t believe this crap makes it to TV. What a complete joke.
Armondo does not treat his wife like trash as indicated in this thread. Armondo is an AlphaMAle and his wife appreciates that. In other words he is the boss. So men, learn from him and get women to respect you. WOmen want leadership wheather they admit it or not. Stop paying attentio to what wome say and pay attention to what women do. Which guys get the hottest girls. The manly ones.
Wow, just found this site and the info about the people featured on this show is great. I am a real estate agent in NJ and always knew that “flipping” is alot harder than they make it seem on this show. If you are looking to get into this business to try and make a profit, be very careful. I have seen alot of people lose their entire life savings trying to “flip” houses. By the way, you are rehabbing houses, not flipping them. Here are a couple of things you need to be aware of in this business.
1) If you find a property that you think you can make a profit on by fixing up, spend some money first and get a home inspection done. When you walk into a house that has visible problems, there are usually much more expensive problems with the house that you cannot see.
2) Being able to turn a profit depends on what price you can get the house for. Your best bet is to find foreclosures and find out how much the owners owe and offer them that much. Just make sure that you do your research on comps in the area that have sold recently to find out if it will make sense to pursue financially.
3) You need to have a substantial cash flow available to do this.
If you really want to get into this business, try building new houses.
you guys are crazy> Armando knows what he is doing. Get a life.
i belive that armondo is not a jerk or anything that you people explained. i belive he is a good man who is trying to make a living for his family. futher more i don’t think his book which is arould $100 or his cd’s which is arould $1000 isn’t trash.i do belive it is a little expencive but i dont belive that its trash like you all explained.also i got a sample of his book and even though its a sample i think he does give good examples and good ways on how to flip houses.
after posting i contuied to read and i noticed that mpost of you say that armondo says that he fliped 30 homes a month than you go on to say he is lying and that he would have to flip 1 house a day saying that it is crap well i wanted to say did you ever stop and think that armondo flips more than one house at a time just like richard davis , thats why they say come to the ____ house and gives a spisfic name. That makes it possible.
i know i made many mistakes during my second post i wasn’t paying attention i just wantedto get out what i had to say
Of course we considered that he might be working on multiple properties at once. He isn’t. The property records in his area show that he does not do anyhing remotely close to 30 houses per month. He’s been invited to post the proof of his claims and not responded.
It’s your choice if you want to believe his claims, but the evidence does not support them and it is clear to any knowledgable remodeler that he is inexperienced bordering on incompetent and looking to make a quick buck off any sucker he can.
Mike
I don’t believe that Armando has the staff to flip more than 1 house at a time (Richard Davis has like 40+). Not to mention that all of the people Armando works with on the show appear to be incompetent boobs, other than his brother who wised up and left. The only thing that Armando is consistently good at flipping is contractors. He’s pissed through about a dozen different contractors since the show started. All the good contractors I have met or worked with have plenty of work and would never put up with the type of crap Armando gives his. Lastly, I don’t think that Armando has the financial backing from investor to do more than 1 to 2 projects at a time.
Re: “Armando knows what he is doing.”
I’m sure he does, but does A&E?
“A&E Television Networks is not a party to any of the transactions shown in Flip This House, and we believed that the programs accurately depicted the featured properties and sales.”
Can they honestly say that with a straight face? It’s the laughing stock of “Reality TV” in it’s current form.
Armando Montelongo is a jerk! I would never do business with anyone who treat other people like that.
If they (A&E) want to keep up this farce
maybe they SHOULD script it, AND, get
some better ‘actors’
“Veronica Montelongo for VP”
Buried in the ‘credits’ at the end of the show was this…
“Promotional assistance provided by
Valspar Paint
Bosch Appliances
Pella Corporation
Snapple”
Promotional Assistance? LOL
Re: “Promotional assistance provided by
Valspar Paint
Bosch Appliances
Pella Corporation
Snapple”
Let’s see. At one point, Veronica says something like…”I was looking for the BEST windows and these are the best”
bwahahahahaha
Wow….I landed on this site looking to see if David split from his brother…not only did I find that to be the truth but loads of other info…I knew these guys were “chachi’s” but thanks to all of you…I wont be buying any of there crap… albeit I have to say that this (fth) in an extremely entertaining show…I hope people do homework as most of us on this site have done as to not be suckered by TV and take is as entertainment…ie…girls gone wild…and the Ron Popeil Instant hair in a can spray…last words…NICE THINGS ARE CHEAP AND CHEAP THINGS ARENT NICE
Armando Montelongo is a poor example of a realestate investor he treats his contractors like dirt and shows no respect to his family and friends. The show highlighs his faults not his qualities if he has any.
You are all a bunch of idiots. There will always be people who bash others who have had success.
FIRST OFF: Richard Davis is a stuck up asshole. I offered him leads and he was too much of a snob to take them.
As far as Armando goes, how many of you are hiding shit that will also come into the light if you were on TV?
And for the 200 houses per year, 30 houses per month thing, how do you know that wasn’t a mistake made by the webmaster.
You are all amateurs. Even those that claim to be flippers “doing it right”. You know nothing about flipping. This website is a joke.
The public records cannot be viewed as accurate. Have you ever purchased a home with a lease/option, subject 2, or a contract for deed? These sales are not public because no deed transfers hands until the principal is paid out. Learn before you post.
Re: “Have you ever purchased a home with a lease/option”
A lease/option isn’t a SALE as you
suggest. It’s a LEASE, and will remain a lease unless or until it becomes a sale.
Funny but I haven’t seen any Montelongo episodes where it says ‘Lease/Optioned
For’. Only ‘SOLD FOR’
Re: “And for the 200 houses per year, 30 houses per month thing, how do you know that wasn’t a mistake made by the webmaster.”
LOL Hilarious. Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt ; )
Lease option is going to be stated on TV as a sale. Legally it is. The person leasing it takes over full responsibility. Amateur.
Re: “And for the 200 houses per year, 30 houses per month thing, how do you know that wasn’t a mistake made by the webmaster.”
Brandon – give us a break. Armando SAYS it right in the video on the website. He says it AGAIN in the first 5 pages of his e-book. You wanna chalk those up to webmaster errors also? You’re rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, buddy. Even YOU know your position is unsupportable, so give us all a break.
I smell a troll and an IP to block in the future…
i think bandon IS armando. it is not hard to put a different name on your postin
Im a 23yr loan conslutant studing to get my realestate license…Armando Montelongo is a joke take a look at the facts the only thing he can do is tell 20-30 lies a month I really doubt he can even sell a house in a month….THis fool at A&E really need to do a background check on who they give TV contracts with because its looks bad for their brand
“A lease with option arrangement is NOT a sale, but rather a landlord-tenant relationship. In rare cases, a court may re-characterize the transaction as a sale if it looks like a sale. Furthermore, the IRS does not classify a lease option as a sale until the option is exercised (see, Tax Court Memorandum 1999-11).
http://www.premiereteam.com/lease_option.htm
That will be $997 for today’s lesson, “Brandon”. Can I interest you in some CD’s as well? ; )
Brandon wrote:
Lease option is going to be stated on TV as a sale. Legally it is. The person leasing it takes over full responsibility. Amateur.
TOTALLY incorrect. A lease option is a lease contract, usually for one year, which grants the lessee the exclusive right to purchase the property during or at the end of the term of the lease, and usually crediting some portion of the rent toward the purchase. Entering into such a contract in any state in the union would not constitute a sale, only an exclusive right to purchase, which would not even be recorded. Any person who represented that they owned a property who was only the lessee in a lease option contract would be guilty of misrepresentation or title fraud. They are nothing more than a tenant with a contract giving them exclusive right to purchase the property which they have leased. Ask any RE lawyer.
Free advice Brandon: It’s better to sit with your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove any doubt.
I smell a troll.
Sounds like Brandon might be a little disgruntled that Richard Davis figured out he was clueless and wouldn’t do business with him. Might be time to take up a new career like javlin catcher.
I have worked on houses for quite a few years. I freely admit that there is far more that I don’t know than I do know. I recently bought a newly constructed home to live in. I quickly found that much of the homes construction was far below the standards I had been trained over the years to provide. Doorways are NOT plumb (or completely straight vertically in laymans terms). Most of the finishing work is what most true quality builders would call “hack work”.
I looked at a lot of homes, and saw many that could use a little improvement. I even contemplated taking a few of them on as projects. In the end I chose the one I did because it had none of the issues I found with the older homes.
My Grandfathers house, built in the 1940’s has a wall that is 3 inches out of square over 6 feet. Every home will have it’s flaws, I just look for ones with the fewest flaws.
I am still interested in the concept of “flipping”. However, having actual experience, I know that two week flip is totally unrealistic. I assume that if I did try “flipping”, my first house would take about 3 months. I figure that it will take this long because I refuse to lower my standards over a couple bucks here and there. Builders and contractors who spend the extra hour ot two on various things, and spend the extra two or three hundred dollars on various materials, always end up with a finished product that enyone can tell is high quality. Those who opt out of that additional time and expense always end up with something that is noticably CHEAP.
I am sure that if I try this out, and do the kind of workmanship I plan on, that I could succeed. My name is all I have. I refuse to be known for doing crappy work. If I do good work, realtors will point their clients to my houses because they will know that they’re selling a truly good home.
I’ll NEVER be a millionaire, that’s for sure. but I can make a very comfortable Hundred or so Thousand a year eventually.
Armando’s figures are simply not realistic given the visible size of his company. It would take approximately 15 – 10 man crews (150 people, not counting support staff) to process that quoted 30 houses a month. I have never seen him running around checking in on anywhere near that many workers. Given the visible size of his company, that figure is simply impossible!
I signed up to get the ebook, and looky what i got in the email today! He wants me to be his business partner! YAY!
——————————————–
Hi Scott
THE BOOK
The response for my new book “Flip and Grow Rich” is phenominal! It is sure to open your eyes of how you can create your own personal rags to wealth story as well as a “tell all” of how I went from $50,000 in debt and on welfare to making millions flipping houses .
The book is currently in print and will be available in late July to early August. I promise that you will be among the very first to know when it comes out.
If you haven’t already picked up a copy of my “Flip It Now” e-book, it is available NOW at http://www.armandomontelongo.com and it will teach you the strategies needed to do your first flip.
BECOME MY PARTNER
As I have been promising I have an
opportunity for you to become my partner.
I want to be very clear as I do not mislead
people. This is not a partnership in a real
estate deal, but a partnership in my internet business and a way for you to make income from home without putting a dime out of your pocket!
You will be receiving a video message from
me tomorrow laying out the details of our
partnership and how we can work together.
See you tomorrow!
Armando Montelongo, President
Scott:
Thanks for the heads up. I signed up for his five free pages and the irony is it was sent to my junk email folder :-).
You forgot to add the very last line of his email:
Armando Montelongo Worldwide, Inc.
Geez, another company. These guys have more corporations and LLCs than real estate holdings :-).
So this partnership he’s talking about…internet based, I sure hope it’s not Don Lapre and The Greatest vitamin in the World. 🙂
Re: “So this partnership he’s talking about…internet based”
My guess is the “partnership” will
consist of setting up a web site to link to and or/drive traffic to his web site
or some such. We’ll see
I purchased Armando Montelongo’s e-books off his website last week. I thought it was great reading and pointed out a lot of information some of the other articles and information on home flipping did not. I have not flipped a home as of yet but trying to collect as much information and educate myself the best I can. I found it good reading but you have to decide that for yourself, just like any other material you may or may not choose to read, it’s your choice.
I just found this website, I was browsing look for information on real estate investing (I guess you can say flipping houses) and for anybody out there that knows anything about the process of getting started, and could share some information with me on the financing part of it, and some different option for that I would appreciate it.
PS. Montelongo is a snake.
Did any body hear what david had to say bout him leave FTH?
As far at the Montelongo family goes, they are the only real people on Television. Everyone in America is too scared to even feel, think or act like a real person. So many Americans in this generation have gone beyond and overboard of being sensitive, politically correct and paranoid!!! It’s called superficial judgmental people; they can’t see beyond or in the future of any outcome but you all get in the way and speak your minds anyways, unwise!! We all might as well give birth to robots instead of humans, that way everyone can program their off-spring to think “one way”. There is no individuality in America and Americans are becoming prey to “being too scared” to even move out of line in being an individual. So many people are running around making like it’s the end of the world if someone isn’t saying the so called right thing and doing the so called correct thing, even doing something REAL, but of course it comes down to one thing….you can’t make everyone happy and don’t die trying but bottom line, the world believes it’s has become so intelligent, yeah right! Without knowledge there is no understanding and without understanding, there is no wisdom to construe criticism upon another, which it wasn’t intended for anyways. People today can see as far what the surface reveals about another person, what does your surface reveal more than what you would like the “inner you” to reveal that is more than what meets the eye? Isnt it beneficial to you, preventing others from mistreating you right? Or I bet allot of you wouldn’t want the inner you to reveal the real you, that is why so many stay on the surface and have knowledge as far as what the surface will say about another person. Wisdom does not judge, man’s intelligence judges others because of a superiority complex they believe they have gained through whatever. So many have no wisdom, understanding and knowledge of realism, it’s all about what the surface entails about a person but nothing beyond that which would make people understand where another person is coming from. The truth is far from what so many believe about the Montelongo family, the truth is that they represent bravery, courage and individuality of being real; Does anyone live according to what’s in their heart or is it what’s in their minds where one spews out garbage, the enemy’s play ground. Jesus gave all the greatest commandment, to love God and to love one another. The Montelongo family isn’t mean, superior or doing anything wrong, that’s not why they are where they are, trust me. The truth lays within God not within the world, I bet so many haven’t gone any further than what the world can teach you, the highest achievement is to seek God and see what entails in what it teaches you. How many can say they know about all of that? So to the many critics that think they know what they are speaking or thinking of others, don’t, your understanding is limited if you’ve gone as far as what the world has offered you in education, seek the highest wisdom called truth.
Mike, have you ever considered writing a weekly review of the FTH show on your website? I’ve noticed from some of your post, that you not only know a lot about flipping houses, but you also known about production values. (Your comments about product placements, etc.) I think it would be very interesting to read a review of the show from your point of view. I suspect your reviews would be more educational and entertaining then the show itself. 🙂
Dale: Lovely semrmon you wrote there. Too bad it didn’t contain a single fact. You wrote: “The Montelongo family isn’t mean, superior or doing anything wrong, that’s not why they are where they are, trust me. ”
The FACT is that they are doing LOTS of wrong things, READ the research posted in these threads. Armando is a PROVEN LIAR and is seeking to take money from unsuspecting people based on the lies he has told both on TV and in his website. Public records have proven his dishonesty in a major way. Even his own brother walked away from him. These are NOT good or honest people, and thast is a fact supported by evidence.
Contrary to your opinion, these people are dishonest and seeking to profit from their dishonesty. You’re right about one thing – they ae indeed real – they are REAL liars, REAL con artists, REas a__holes, and REAL grifters. Don’t confuse likable (to you anyway) TV personas with trustworthy businesspeople unless ou want to give away your money.
Mike Voss
Chris – I hadn’t considered that, but I think I’m already spending way too much time on FTH as it is! If they somehow stay on the air, I’ll certainly consider it. 🙂
Mike
I too signed up for his free preview of his e-books…. My husband and I, along with my brother, have a rehab/construction company. We started with rehabs and now build new homes. We love watching the flipping shows and have from the very beginning loved Richard. He seems to care about the people that work with him. From the first show of Montelongo, I did not like him. He is arrogant and mean. It is now an example of how to treat your employees. My husband and I have always wondered about the numbers they use on the shows. They just don’t add up.
I received the following email from Montelongo yesterday. Thought you all would find it funny.
Dear Deena
I know that you have a desire to make money and what
better place to make it than from the comfort of your own
home.
You will always here the term ‘residual or passive income’.
However, that usually entails lots of effort. I believe passive
income should be just that… passive.
Don’t worry, I’m still flipping lots of houses and love doing
it. I thought at the same time, what can I do to get you started
on your journey to making money. Since I see that you have
been interested in making money, and I understand it’s hard
to take that first leap of faith, I took it for you.
I have decided and it would be my pleasure to make you one
of my Joint Venture Partners!
Here’s what it’s all about:
You don’t have to:
Invest money
Invest time you don’t have
Take Risk
Know real estate
Know the internet
How do you make your money?
Do you know people who like our show or who like to
talk about it?
Do you have friends or family who would like to get into
real estate?
Do you know co-workers who talk about flipping real estate
around the water cooler?
All of these are opportunities for making money!
Since the demand for my Flip It Now E-Book is in such high
demand, I have set up a referral program for you to make
money also.
This is a ground floor – referral opportunity and a way for
you to make money from the comfort of your own home!
All you have to do is refer friends, family and co-workers
who would like to get into real estate to Your Personalized
Web Page.
Now don’t worry because I have already gone through
the expense of creating your web page for you.
That’s right, you don’t have to do a think and it won’t
cost you anything.
It’s a website in a box. Pre-packaged for you!
There is no set-up or techy stuff to worry about!
All you have to do is take the website I give you and
forward it to your friends, family and co-workers and
anyone interested in flipping real estate or in reality TV.
You can check into the “back office” of your website
(which I have also already created for you) to see the
money your generating in real time.
**I will send you a commission check every single month
as your sales stack up!**
How much are you making?
I will pay you 40% of every Flip It Now E-Book that is
purchased from the website that I have already created
for you!
All you have to do to earn the 40% is forward the website
to the people you know.
Start now and I will start sending you your commission
check once a month!
I am committed to your success and it will never be easier
than me already doing the hard work for you.
To sign up as one of my exclusive JV partners please visit
====> http://www.armandomontelongo.com/invitation.php
It will be a pleasure to work with you!
Armando Montelongo, President
Armando Montelongo Worldwide, Inc.
Like I said, the truth lies with God. Allot of what has been so called reported about the Montelongos, started out from people trying to get the “dirty” on Armando and family. Trust me, it started out from that, judgement. As far as liking TV personas, what? Why are people disliking TV personas, they dont even know the guy. If you go back and read the trails of comments, it contains more of a personal perspective about Armando than real facts about his so called scams or dishonest business transactions. And it reflects such a shallow perspective about others. I am not looking to backing up a guy on TV nor will I drag him in the mud if proven guilty, I am only trying to broaden the perspective that so many lack of. Have any of you tried flipping houses, let alone dealing with when it comes to dishonesty; dishonest contractors, plumbers and so forth. Where the Montelongos are located, there are allot of trustworthy reputable workers but there are many many individuals that would take him and his family for a ride. You all are not in his shoes in knowing what his actual business situations consists of day to day. Flipping houses is a venture; a risk with hopeful financial gain. This is not a real estate type of situation, this is a down and dirty type of situation. People today have no idea about roughing it and toughing it out to survive, life’s experiences broadens ones knowledge. I’ve been there and done all! Let me paint the bigger picture for others: I know the challenges Mr. Montelongo faced coming up in the business, he more than likely had snakes, liars and the worst of the worst screw him over in the beginning. Then you have dishonest, irresponsible, and down right mean scam artists that wouldnt care if they left you in the mud along with your family out in the cold type of contractors, plumbers, etc. Talk about greedy individuals, talk about mean downright cold a–ho–s that only care about the mighty dollar than getting the job done for the good for all to benefit, yeah right, no one cares about doing the job so that another profits, they want a bigger portion everytime. And then last but not least, flipping homes are at the bottom of the line in the real estate business, it’s not a ready to sell house nor is it a newly construction type of situation, this is a money taking risky hardcore business. Think about the people they are up against, now that’s where the REALLY dishonest, REALLY mean and REAL scam artists exist. I commend the Montelongos for surviving in the business, to the ones who speak without knowledge… you have no idea what they’re up against, you all would be cheering for a strong guy that’s surviving in the business like Armando, who doesnt look like anyone would pull the wool over his eyes. Mr. Montelongo represents a guy who’s been there and had more things that you can imagine done to him, he conducts himself in a proper manner and appears to have the knowledge of making sure he and his family arent taken down in a shark infested business, what a survivor!!!! So many are sitting back watching a show, the Montelongos are living the real life and the real challenges. He isnt acting like a jerk, he’s coming off in a way that he’s got the jerks that come up against people like him nipped in the butt. Trust me, if you all could of seen the people he probably dealt with before he got to do the show, you all would be cheering him on for being a man putting all of the REAL jerks to shame, at least there is one man who the sharks coudnt take under. How many survivors or house flippers do you know who are successful, go talk to one and see how hardcore this business is, especially about the jerks you have to deal with to get just one house completed, on a budget keep in mind, no one will help you no matter how nice or how mean you are, it’s all about confidence and knowledge that makes others do the job and do it right without screwing you over.
Dale – seriously, do yourself a favor and stop talking until you know what you are talking about. Everything you say is blind conjecture and opinion and it’s clear that you haven’t done any research nor even read the posts here and that you are not an experienced builder or remodeler to offer an informed opinion as such. You’re free to like the Montelongos for whatever reason you care to. But the TRUTH, which GOD knows, is that they do NOT flip 30 houses per month, that they did NOT flip 1000 houses in the last 5 years, that they LIED about having sold certain properties and performing certain work, and that they are considered INCOMPETENT at best by experts in the field, of which I happen to be one. Yes, there are plenty of shitty tradespeople in the business, and we all have to weed them out. After years of doing it, some of us form long lasting relationships withi good trades (not the Montelongos – watch Mike Holmes sometime), others learn all the trades themselves (I did this), and then others become proficient at brow beating and hassling the tradespeople for lower prices (The Montelongos) and have to keep finding new trades because nobody wants to work for them more than once – not even when getting free advertising on tv! That’s the reality of your hero Armando – he is universally disliked by people in his field in that area.
You need to learn to distinguish opinion from fact and not blur the line between the two – that’s exactly what the FTH casts are in trouble, some of them with the law, for doing.
The Montelongos and the others can build crap houses and lie about it all day long for all I care, but when they start charging people money for knowledge they don’t have or deals that don’t exist, decent people will speak up and stand in their way to put a stop to it, and THAT is what you see going on here, whether you understand it or not.
Mike Voss
I purchased the $97 package as a process of my educating myself re: flipping. While it is clear that Armondo thinks alot of himself, he has compiled useful “bones” of information to direct you to other sources — which I have found provide same but more detailed (and free) information. One thing I did find is a FREE 5-day video seminar — excellent source of “real” information. Here is the link:
http://www.rehablist.com/Investment_Course-108.aspx#frm
Dale wrote: “The Montelongo family isn’t mean, superior or doing anything wrong,”
if they aren’t doing anything wrong, then why did someone from their family post on here three times in about as many minutes with three different user names from the same computer about how great the “e-book” was?
riddle us that Dale?
why is the “family” saying they are flipping 20 to 30 houses in one month? when anybody can figure out that they are barely doing 1 every once in awhile?
tell us Dale, since you are so “close” to the family, why they would lie about doing 30 a month?
better yet, tell us why anyone in their right mind who was making so much money from a venture, publish a book that would produce a whole bunch of competition for their own business?
only someone stupid or a scammer goes to a bar after discovering a gold mine, and telling everyone in the bar that they found gold, and where that gold is…
explain to us Dale whether the “family” is stupid? or scammers??? because there is no in-between on that one…
Mike,
“I rolled in to town on my last tank of gas”. LOL
Oh well, what can you do. Like
‘PT Barnum’ said…
“There’s a sucker born every minute.”
And, I’d be curious to know how an able bodied man could be on “Welfare”. More BS
“Veronica for VP”
Too Funny. I DVR’d this and remembered at one point they showed Armondo showing a plat map to Veronica.
Sure enough. It’s ‘8467 Bindseil Lane’
Boyson nailed it! ; )
“Veronica for VP”
Further to that. This was on the show as they were talking about this while looking at the plat map…
Veronica: “What’s the address?, hehe”
Armondo: “It doesn’t matter what the address is…”
Busted
Mr. Mike Voss:
By the way, you may address me as Ma’am, whether you care or not, but I’m sure you were raised with a respect for women, I’m sure you would care. My husband, father in law, two brothers and nephews have been buying old homes, restoring it and selling them to buyers for the last thirty years. I’ve witnessed first hand the hardships that flipping houses created but even more, the prosperity. I am well aware of the fact that the many people who are sending in very useful information about the Montelongos packages, whether the packages or e-book works or not is much needed information from others, saving innocent victims but it seems as if it’s a one sided deal here, some may post against the Montelongos and some may post “for” them. I am for. I did read the E-book which Armando offers and being a supporter and actual participant in flipping homes, some it was useful for the first timer. But all in all, I read allot more of the rude comments made against Armando in a personal way and I wanted to balance it out, it seems as if you want it to be a one sided deal to be against him. We are free to post against or for right? He is not our hero at all, if anything I think you need to stop talking or instigating useless responses because maybe we’ve been where he was in the beginning and we all make mistakes, what helped us to stay on track was helpful advice, not weeding out or a witch riot type of action, help the guy out and make him see the light, I wouldnt even go towards this lighted forum of discussional posts, so try using tact instead of hate, maybe that will help him get on the rigth path. Last visit to this site, thank you and God bless you.
Why would anybody wouldd buy a house nore a book or course from this fool…you need to have your head check if you think the montelongos are real realestate investment pros
It’s just a TV show, meant to entertain! Most of us can see past the staged parts.
Just signed up for the armondo 5 page sample.. Here is the link to look at iot your self.
Hi Spam_ me,
Congratulations on accessing my ‘Flip and Grow Rich’ system!
I made a promise to my wife on our trip across America. I
told her that if I became successful, that I would share it
with the world. Now that I have made my fortune by flipping
houses, I am unlocking the vault to my business and sharing
my flipping strategies and techniques with you!
You can download my ebook as promised by going to
=====> http://www.armandomontelongo.com/book/ebook5.pdf
You may be asking what is the difference between my new book
Flip and Grow Rich and my E-Book Flip It Now!
The Flip and Grow Rich book is the story of our journey across
America and shows the rags to wealth transformation. It is
currently written and in production.
The Flip It Now E-Book will show you how to flip your first
house. It will show you how to find your first house, where
to get the money for your first house (even if you don’t have
money or credit), show you how to fix it and then sell it
for profit! You will get this on an immediate download.
Driven to Help You Succeed,
Armando Montelongo, Pres.Corp
http://armandomontelongo.com
hDale:
Fair enough, Ma’am – you are entitled to your opinion and I will respect it whether I agree with it or not. THe only things I’d take exception with are that 1) I do not believe anyone here would classify any of my posts as ‘hateful’ or ‘useless’ and 2) I hold Montelongo accountable for intentional misrepresentations, not unintentional mistakes. There’s a *big* difference between the 2.
God bless you as well and so long.
M. Voss
Just wanted to put my2cents in I just read all these posts and I too was looking for (the book) and of course I absolutely have to buy it now just so I can make up my own mind.this site is great but who knows who anybody is here and what their agenda is (if any).I gotta agree with Jan,this is TV folks, nothing else. here for entertainment. and by the response given here it is doing what its intended to do ENTERTAIN! what you or I get out of these shows is our own business.why do you continue to watch these shows ?is it to look for more dirt? or maybe just maybe you secretly like the show and think you could possibly get A little something out of it.Personally I cant get enough education Ive gotten a few things from these shows that is truely helpful.use your own mind make your own assumptions
I think A&E has a problem checking facts on the shows it airs. Remember “Family Plots,” the show about a funeral home in California? It lasted two season and never came back after the owner of the funeral home was exposwed as not having a license and other legal problems. Do a search on the internet for Family Plots, or Poway Bernardo Mortuary, etc., and I think you’ll see what I mean. Shame on you A&E. Your track record stinks.
To Dale:
…. blah…blah….Pardon me, Ma’am!
Help whom????
I hope YOUR husband does not treat you as well as this idiot Armando treats his already trash looking wife!
And with all respect to all YOUR experience in flipping houses, please, get some experience in internet research and find out that this Montescrewlongo never did anything successful as much as he babbles about. Yes, it is a TV show, but after being fed up with the lowest class trash behavior of Armando Montetrashlongo we do not watch it anymore – there are better shows about flips, even being just shows…. I think only a complete idiot would buy anything from Montelongo, believe in his trash stories, and moreover feel pitty for or help such a trash sitting on the neck of taxpayers!!! How much did he pay back for his welfair??? Oh, pardon me, he might just sell books first! Such a “writer”…
Does anyone have a link they would like to share where Armando’s stuff has been put online (bittorrent?)?? 🙂 I am curious to read a bit more, but wouldn’t consider sending him real money unless I see that the system is real. 😉
Tim,
What does it matter if you “know anyone here”? Facts are facts, and speak for themselves. It’s all here, phony buys, phony sells, and on and on…
It’s DOCUMENTED. Check the facts!
I bought the 97$ package after getting the 5 free pages, and I could not be happier… I wish it had a bit more meat in it, but… to me, its very worth it, not sure what some for the other folks are talking about, but its about 100 pages over 5 chapters, its simple, easy to understand, and if you pull even a single tip out of it, and do a single flip….. you should WAY more than make you 97$ back … its worth it if you ask me, and I think I will go for the Master Kit when I flip my first house.
Andrew,
Why is it then, Armondo can’t seem to pull a “single flip” in todays market?
Those that can, do. Those that can’t, talk about it (and SELL it to you). Garbage in, garbage out.
Wouldn’t you be better off following someone that was, you know, successful at actually DOING what you are paying for?
I just love these shill posts – anyone else notice they’re all the same: “I bought the $97 e-book and it’s great! I’ll probably buy the master course next”
Gimme a break Armando or Veronica or whoever you are having post this crap for you – you aren’t fooling anyone.
Let’s pretend for just a minute tht these posts were real: I challenge the posters to tell us exactly what was in the book that they found useful. I’ll wager it could have been learned in seconds for free in any number of places.
If anyone is really foolish enough to spend money on Montelongo scams, you should at least have enough sense to spend an hour at the library or doing online research first – it’s free and anyone here with depth of experience will tell you there’s far more available.
What you WON’T get, however, is some of the illegal stuff Armando talks about like how to defeat loan seasoning to commit mortgage fraud. Ask yourself why in the HELL anyone not doing something wrong would know this. I’ll be happy to post the email he sent out discussing it if anyone wants to see it.
Save your money people, there is better info available for free. And my offer still stands to review Armando’s materials – all he has to do is send me free copies – I’ll return them when I’m done. He won’t – and we all know why.
I just finished reading 230 postings. It has been an interesting journey to say the least. Mike Voss, man, you are the truth. You’ve become a real celebrity with your sound advice, professional manner and industry knowledge. I will always favor those who have the courage to scream, “Buyer Beware!!!!!” I, too, want AM to come clean and speak truthfully, if only for a minute, about a real-life flip and overselling his short trip to success as he defines it. I guess he only appears to be a harsh and heartless businessman on TV. Although he pales in comparison to other Texas knuckleheads like Kenneth Lay (RIP). Hey AM, if you grow balls, you MUST wear them! Maybe AM is Trump without the seven-figure inheritence. The RE biz is not for suckers and WILL FEED YOU AND EAT YOU. Period.
The sad fact is that there will always be a cluster or contingent in our society that never see things for what they really are and will continually buy into falsehoods. Oh well. As such, there will ALWAYS be beachfront property for sale in Colorado.
To all: Life Liberty and Happiness!
-marc thomas
Armando is a proven fraud. Nothing more than a telemarketer. But if you want his book on flipping, why risk the money? There are dozens of books on the subject to choose from. Why would anyone choose the most controversial guy with a questionable track record? Because he treats his wife and workers like crap? Real manly!
Does he have a connection with Trump, or are people just comparing them? What a pair of lying crooks. And not a drop of class between them!
Love them or hate them, these guys are jerks. The women are treated like crap and as comic relief. And those poor kids! (is A+E mining their current shows for future shows about all the confused children? Take the kids of ‘Dog’, Gene, Armando and such, put them up, realword style, add some Interventionists and a confessional Matchmaker… HEY – I WANT A PERCENTAGE! (haha) )
Their ethics… we can guess, but we really don’t know more than what we are shown. They show fast negotiations that have already been agreed to. A contractor agrees to half their price. Are they desperate? Dumb? Just learning the business? Has the amount of work been changed? We don’t know the real price of the bid or the final price – just what this ‘reality’ show reveals to us.
The last show I watched had Armando telling a publisher he sold 25-30 houses a MONTH! (I was so shocked I went back and replayed it – twice. He fudged it by saying he ‘could’, not ‘does’ ) 30 houses at a conservative $10k profit is $300,000 a month. Just guessing, but I doubt he does a tenth of that. Maybe he means BOOKS a month? (and didn’t he also say he wrote it in 3 weeks? Does he also walk on water?)
The HUGE office building they purchased, which was way too big for them, now seems to be something they are refurbishing for investors. I’ve not seen many shows, but saw this building just once.
Veronica for VP? – ??? Was that in reference to the brother leaving? An olive branch to his mistreated wife? I guess she likes to think ‘green’ to his ‘greed’. It was an odd house. The windows were an obvious ad, and were too expensive for the house. Not that they paid for them.
My final observation – I hate ‘reality’ shows. They are really just post scripted shows, adding phony drama and conflicts to the mix. That said, I (we) loved ‘queer eye’. I’m a straight, married guy who could do with a whole lot less male smooching on TV (I’m fine with it being part of life, but it is so flavor-of-the-month overboard these days, on every show…). But these guys didn’t have an agenda, other than marketing themselves. They came in, made some minor changes in someone’s life, and the (mostly guy) recipients were so obviously moved at the end that THEY were the ones initiating the farewell hugs. The product plugs were all from small places obscure to anyone outside of NY and in the end we all sat in with the guys to watch the results. Which leads me to a least favorite show – Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Everything is a plug for a national corporation, every heartstring is shamefully plucked, everything is amped up beyond reason… UGH! And the Makeover guys make the QE guys look butch in comparison. I’d rather watch an hour about the people volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. But that would really be beyond reason!
(this rant is brought to you by sears, home depot, walmart and all the other congloms selling our future to China)
to steve in texas;
If you read my post I didnt mention anything about the”facts”.Personally I could give 2 shits about whether the flip it people are crooks or not it doesnt effect my life in the least i havent bought a house from them nor have i sold one to them..All I was saying steve is that if your going to watch something on tv expect it to be just that…TV .do you believe captain kirk and his crew visited all those other galaxys? no ,neither do I. why? because its TV.So its been proven that their dirty….now what?
Maybe there is alot of bull on these shows but look at the positive for once ,did you pick up anything you could use in real life? maybe when armondo told his son to save 10% of his earnings for investment later or maybe when he said to the viewers to live in a property for 2 or 4 years to aviod capital gains and to invest into a more expensive home the next time ,do this again and again.
Dont get me wrong Im not condoning what they do I just try to see the best for me..so steve ole boy you just keep checking the facts about something you obviously know already.and keep beating that dead horse and ill continue to watch and learn all i can …my own way
Every now and then…
Tim then (223):
“Just wanted to put my2cents in I just read all these posts and I too was looking for (the book) and of course I absolutely have to buy it now”
Tim now (234):
“If you read my post I didnt mention anything about the”facts”.Personally I could give 2 shits about whether the flip it people are crooks or not”
So, Tim. It sounds like you’re going to take a pass on the book.
And, you’re welcome ; )
i thought it was coolio man!!
I LOVE YOU!!! YOU GUYS EFFIN ROCK MAN!!
did you know the people on trinity st. were kicked out , honestly i knew them , they were told to get out , to think mexicans screwing mexicans …. sorry mexicans giving back to the community
Believe it or not, I was listening to Armando via the learning annex last night. It was free teleseminar so I thought why not. It was decent and I did learn something, He is an excellent salesman. Nothing more. When it came to pitch his course, he stated that his course sells normally for $2100 and he was selling it as a discount for $997 and for a limited time, for the first 15 people, he was offering a dvd where they would walk through the whole process, step by step. As I usually do, I always check stuff out before buying especially at those prices and I see on his site he was selling the whole program for $997.
He is a good salesman, and in this day and age, that is all you need to be.
I don’t see how he can be sued because if the users who purchased his products would actually read the indemnity clause it states the following: “You agree to indemnify and hold Armando Montelongo Worldwide, Inc., and its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, co-branders or other partners, and employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of Content you submit, post, transmit or make available through the Service, your use of the Service, your connection to the Service, your violation of the TOS, or your violation of any rights of another”.
I’m a fan of flip this house and I don’t see what he is dong is wrong.
The only thing I see wrong is that to flip over 1000 homes in 5 years, that would be 200 homes a month or 6.66 homes a day. Will I buy his course? Not sure, maybe just the ebooks but then I’m sure I can find a place to get them for free someplace.
Jeff – You don’t see what he is doing wrong? Are you kidding me? There are pages and pages of documentation of his frauds, your own post even quotes the fact that he does NOT flip 30 houses/month and he did NOT flip 1000 houses in the past 5 years (both pillars of his sales pitch) and any reputable/competent developer will attest to the fact that he has no knowledge nor skills to offer. but you don’t see what he is doing wrong?
Let me spell it out for you: he is a proven, documented LIAR trying to take money for a course based on things he never did and skills he doesn’t have.
That’s fraud.
THAT is what he is doing that is wrong.
Clearer than that I cannot make it.
Mike Voss
Has anyone here ever bought a property from the Montelongos?
It is only a sales pitch, nothing more. In the 5 years as he says, if he is close to flipping 1000 homes,I believe he can say that without being misleading. Sure it’s better to say “Close to 1000”. I’m not sure if you can sue somebody for their sales pitch.
The way he does business may be very shady and crooked. The only reason I say may be (until I look up additional information)is because we don’t know what sort of contract he has with the contractors he hires. Every business man wants to pay the least amount of money for anything. So to convince the contractors to do something cheaper than what they would normally do, that is part of business. That is why he doesn’t hire employees. It’s cheaper to hire a contractor and get the lowest bid that to have employees and have to pay medical, dental, etc.
There could be a clause in the contract where the contractors don’t get paid until the house is sold or something of that nature. I would like to see one of their contracts.
If the contractors are working without a contract which stipulate terms of payment, then technically he doesn’t have to pay them. Is it wrong? Sure it is, but with out a contract there is no agreement…unless it is less than $500.00 then it only needs to be verbal.
They just don’t pay at the end of the project, the contractors must send out an invoice then they have a certain amount of time to pay,again unless the contract says that they have to pay at the end of the completed project. If they don’t pay, then the contractors have to do follow up calls, send out late notices etc. so that by the time it is all over, they won’t get any money for months if at all. Their only option would be to take them to court which from the the above threads is already in the works.
Now, would I do business with him? Not with a tarnished reputation such as his and definatly not with out a contract.
Now for their website, They are selling the same stuff as the other infomercials that you see on tv. Is it any good? Probly, probly not. The problem with the information he is selling which IS false is that he is toting it as a dvd course when in actuality it is an audio cd course.
I just checked his website again and he has changed his website to say cd vs dvd course. Now people will still buy from him and of course he will still recup any lost money from the lawsuit (since he will most likely settle out of court) since people won’t know that he is being sued.
Unfortunatly, as long has he is withing the law, regardless of how crappy or shady he is, there isn’t much the law can do.
One more thing, is he saying that he flipped 1000 homes in 5 years or is that part of a script that A&E is having him read to make him and the show more credible. If it is part of the script then A&E can be held just as liable.
yea and they screwed them like the episode done here in san antonio the one with the whole block ever wondered what happened to them well they kicked them out period and try renting from them they will rob you blind i know cuz i knew who rented from them and i knew the people who lived in thoses houses before they so called flipped them even flipped the house are in bad ways
oh, I just received an email from Armando that for the next 12 hours, he is going to reduce the price of the book to $48.00
So for those who are interested and want a copy, paypal me $1.00 and I’ll send you a copy. paypal address is [REMOVED BY WEBMASTER]
Mike Voss, your an idiot, If you don’t like the Montelongo show, why do you even watch it you dumb ass, and you still waste your time posting stupid ass messages on this site. Your still stuck on the 30 homes a month issue, no one is forcing you to believe it idiot, you either believe it or not.
Get a real job you clown!!!!!!!
You must not be doing to well in the remodel bussiness if your wasting all your time posting dumb messages on this site.
get off wellfare fool and make some real money and quit wasting peoples time with your dumb stupid ass messages.
Robert P.
Hey, where did my replies go? Since this is moderated, it appears that this site is one sided. I posted two other replies to this after 6pm and now they have been removed.
ok, now they who up. Sorry
david has several failed Businesses that when out of business , bbb.com says that most complaints went unfixed at each business , david also rates unsatisfactory by the bbb, and Montelongo Developments LLC is not listed
scott David has a lawsuit pending against “breach of contract” on 6/15/07 can you tell me more please
I find it interesting the variety of opinions that people have about the lies that are clear and not very difficult to understand. I have a real estate company, a home flipping company and also a home building company. I have flipped approximately 200 properties (mostly vacant land) in the past 6 years and when i heard that Armando flipped over 1,000 homes in 5 years i could not wait to get a copy of his book, thinking i could increase my production, but as usual “if it sounds too good to be true it is”. It is a shame that the people that seem to protect him are the ones that have no experience and are looking for that gleam of hope. With all the free information on the internet, if you can’t figure out how to flip a home from the net a book will not offer you any more ACTION, and action is the key. you can all talk about investing in homes and some dream and some even do, but until you take the action required to buy your first home it is all a dream. The book, the e-books may contain something that may help you buy your first home but you will have better luck driving around looking for homes with old roofs that need replacing, tall grass or any other signs of distress and making them an offer. if you just do what i said above you will probably own your first flip before his book is even available. those that stick up for him are the same people that buy self help information, read, listen or watch it and then think of what they can do next and never do it. someone commented about some galaxy show on t.v. referring it to what armondo is doing. sorry, you are not even close, if you want to get technical, it would be more like captain kirk selling a part of the galaxy and then offering a book & cd teaching you how to purchase your own galaxy and sell it for a profit. big difference from a show that is portrade as fiction and nothing but figurines being sold from it to a show that causes one to believe it is reality and then packaging it up and selling ideas that they themselves could not get to work. Good luck to those that are really trying and to those that believe these books and cd’s will get you going, i wish you even more luck because like someone said earlier “this is a business that will eat you up and spit you out” and if you are that naive you really won’t last that long in it.
Relax Rob P. Mike Voss has been the most informative person on this thread. We’re having an educated conversation exposing this so-called expert with his paper thin credentials. No more name calling, my friend. It’s not that kind of party. Montelongo is that dude on the corner that just sold all of us a big of sticks and stems; The dude that charged me premium and filled my tank with water; The dude that gave me a neck bone when I asked for a 48oz Porterhouse; The dude that put a donkey in the Kentucky Derby. The dude that will ‘glady pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.’ No one ever takes accountability anymore! We’re ALL sick of it and this site is letting people know that we’re completely fed up with TV execs mistaking the viewing public as (to use your word, Rob P) idiots. When I see reality TV. I expect, at the very least, some truth. This dude Montelongo is straight out lying. And A&E is in bed with him. A cowardly way out is to simply turn the channel. I completely understand Mr. Voss’ point of view considering the passion he has for his business and how it is being grossly misrepresented…..on national TV for all of us to see. Chamberlain claimed to have slept with 10,000 women and he got blasted by people like us, too. Like the 1000 homes, it JUST DIDN’T HAPPEN. Rob P, I know you have respect for the truth. This site represents just that. No one here is an idiot.
Furthermore, ‘Your’ is You’re…as in you are. I wouldn’t get too comfortable about calling anyone an idiot, Robert Pee.
marcthomas
Rob P,
You probably need to learn the difference between “your” and “you’re” before you call someone a ‘dumb ass’.
Just a thought ; )
Rob P:
“Strong and bitter words indicate a weak cause.” – Confuscious
Funny that you call me an idiot, yet you demonstrate an inability to form proper sentences or use correct forms of simple words like your and you’re.
As for getting a “real job” and your further accusations of my not doing well in this business, I’d suggest you check out http://www.4125allott.com, which is a property for sale on which my profit will be over $600,000. Sorry but, unlike the Montelongos, I’ve never been on welfare. You really should get a clue. Unlike Armando, I can refute your accusations against me because they have no merit.
So, sorry to disappoint you Rob, but I’m doing just fine and I think it’s fairly obvious which one of us actually *is* an idiot.
Mike Voss
Dear ‘Nick in Albuquerque’,
I flagged you craigslist posting as ‘spam’. If anyone else want to also here’s the link.
http://albuquerque.craigslist.org/rts/358755630.html
Couple of people trying to sell this garbage on eBay too…
“This listing (200122679500) has been removed or is no longer available. Please make sure you entered the right item number.
If the listing was removed by eBay, consider it canceled. Note: Listings that have ended more than 90 days ago will no longer appear on eBay.”
Whoops!
Mike, I looked at your site, very nice home. Congrads!! Your just proof that there is money to be made in any market.
I think the main gripe with Armando is that he is stating he is an expert in flipping homes then turns around and sells information on how he has done this on A&E. He quotes that in 5 years time he has flipped 1000’s of homes which with all the paper work etc, is nearly impossible. His company would have to close out 7 homes a day everyday for those 5 years and that is impossible. If you look at my first post on here, I stated that I listened to him on a free teleseminar hosted by the Learning Annex. I do remember him stating that when he first started flipping homes, that he was approached by an attorney to be an expert witness in a trial. If I understand this correctly, the attorney would call him forward and ask the court to have him credited as an expert witness. He stated that he was an expert witness in a couple other cases. If this is true, Does that make him an expert in the field? Unfortunalty yes it does. Here is the defination of an expert witness:
An expert witness is a witness, who by virtue of education, profession, publication or experience, is believed to have special knowledge of his or her subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially (and legally) rely upon his opinion.
By the above definition, regardless of how homes he has flipped or how incompetent he is, he could be considered an expert. I feel your pain. He is stating he flipped 1000’s of homes in 5 years when it is more like 100’s and using his experience to sell a product, which no one here has yet purchased and tested to see if it lives up to the claims. Again the unfortunate thing is that people who purchase the products from him basically give up any rights do to agreeing to the terms and agreements noted in a previous posting of mine.
He is using the A&E show to promote a product. The bad thing is that when he was first selling the product he was stating DVD instead of CD. That is what got him into trouble. Since he has changed it to CD on his website, he is legit. Can you find the information that he is selling for free on the internet? Sure you can. He just created a product from that information along with his 5 years experience (regardless of how good or bad it is) and is using the show to help him promote it since that is what he is famous for. There is nothing wrong with that. He probly won’t sell a whole lot since this website is 2nd on a search with his name.
I’m not defending his business pratices. With the lawsuits, we know they are not very good. However since I don’t know if his product is any or not, I’ll be the guinea pig. Since I got a deal ($47) for just the ebooks, I went ahead and purchased them. I’ll review them and see if I can flip a house or two. I have bookmarked this site and I will keep you all posted. If anything, I’m out $47 vs the $97 or $997. If it works then I’ll put more money in my pocket and the $47 will be well worth it.
Re: “I do remember him stating that when he first started flipping homes, that he was approached by an attorney to be an expert witness in a trial.”
There you go, “him stating” and you bought it. Best of luck
It’s called Fraud. See if what Armando does fits the legal description.
Definition of Fraud
Under the “common law” of all states, there is a body of definitions, including the definition of fraud, that have been developed and refined by judges and lawyers over the years. As more cases about fraud have been adjudicated, the definition of what constitutes fraud has become more precise. Fraud has a specific legal meaning. The following essential elements must be present before an actual finding of fraud will occur:
Misrepresentation of a material fact consisting of a false representation, concealment or non-disclosure;
Knowledge of the falsity (scienter);
Intent to deceive and induce reliance;
Justifiable and actual reliance on the misrepresentation; and
Resulting damages.
Just got this in my email. I knew he wasn’t smart enough to think of this himself:
Hi Scott,
This is a very important message about
***********THE MONEY YOUR NOT MAKING!***********
For those of you who have not taken me up on
my offer to become one of my JV Partners..
I want to give you a little background on the opportunity that awaits you. It WILL change the financial future of all those who take part!
Six months ago, a very persistent man by the name of Joel Therien continually contacted me via email. At first I thought he was a crazed fan, but I soon found out he had a business strategy that I needed
to model.
After several emails and phone calls he flew down from Canada to meet with me to tell me about the************MONEY I WASN’T MAKING!***************
That caught my attention…
If there is one thing that I am particularly good at is getting ahead of the curb of making money. However, Joel’s strategy was so new that I had not even heard of it.
He told me two things that I will never forget:
1) There have been internet marketers who have made upwards of $1 million in a single day.
2) They share the majority of this wealth with other internet marketers who share in the launch of their information based products.
Now, at first I was a bit of skeptic so I decided to “test” Joel’s business idea on my own web based business.
I previously had my internet business for almost a year and never made a dime. You already know I make A LOT of money flipping houses!
After implementing his strategies…
I WAS ABSOLUTELY STUNNED WITH THE RESULTS..
My skepticism turned into one of the biggest and best decisions I HAVE EVER MADE! All I took was a leap of faith and listened to someone I hardly knew!
Now Scott, I want to humbly ask, will you take that leap of faith with me?
Here is where you share in the wealth with me. We are launching my e-book Flip It Now where I will be paying out 50% commissions To YOU!
We expect to pay out nearly *$250,000* in commissions in the first 24 hours! We have set the Launch date for July 3, 2007 at 9:00 am EST and have named our launch
“Financial Independence Day”.
Mark your calendar, because I will say it again,
Tuesday July 3rd, at 9am.. with your help we will launch my e-book to the world!
So how can you take part? Just visit
======> http://armandomontelongo.com/opportunity.php
To become one of my VERY valued partners for our launch on Tuesday July 3rd 2007!
–Armando Montelongo
President
Armando Montelongo Worldwide INC
PS – If you have a lot of questions, please do not worry, I will be conducting a webinar next Sunday before our launch, the exact where and when I will send to you tomorrow
But remember, we don’t officially launch until Tuesday July 3 2007 at 9am so please hold back your promotions until then:D
I’m wondering…Is Armando a fraud or isn’t he? I have tried to look at property records in San Antonio and could not find “Armando Montelongo” or “Montelongo House Buyers” on anything. Does anyone have any DIRECT or CONCRETE proof of the homes he owns or has sold. I have e-mailed Mike Voss and he has not e-mailed me back.
Is it possible that Armando uses an agent to sell his properties and that’s why they’re not listed on his web-site. I did find it strange that he never has any property listed.
I wanted to believe him, but I had some questions of my own as well. Such as:
Why would you sell a package instead of directing your efforts into your REAL ESTATE business if you’re flipping 30-50 homes per month? Think about it…if you make $20,000 average profit per flip and you’re flipping 30-50 homes per month, that equals about $600,000.00 to $1,000,000.00 per month in profits. Why would you bother selling a “package” for $97.00 AND when would you ever find the time to put efforts INTO that?
How do these guys get the permits SO FAST?
If he has made about $20,000,000.00 flipping, how come his office was SO small and why were there not more people working there? AND why was his marketing budget ZERO for the launch of their web-site?
SOMEONE PLEASE PROVIDE ANSWERS!!
Thanks in advance!!
-Christopher
Geez I’m absent for a week and I get to read all this :-)…
flipthislawsuit.com is an excellent web site and I will continue to post comments.
Yet, I would like to expand more on my comments and post documents I have made reference to online. I also, would like to have a forum or area in which people can get together and share their experiences, tips, advice, and scrutinize other deals aired on TV.
Therefore, I registered the domain FlipThisForReal.com and plan to have it online near the end of July.
I POSTED a message here last night, now it’s GONE!!!
I want to know WHY?
This is a BULLSHIT site, if you don’t agree with the masses, you’re out of here. All I had were some Armando questions….I WASN’T DEFENDING the guy!!
Now it’s back….hmmmmm….
Mike Voss…Why won’t you e-mail me back?
Scott,
RE: “After several emails and phone calls he flew down from Canada to meet with me to tell me about the************MONEY I WASN’T MAKING!***************
That caught my attention…”
Canada, eh? Check this out…
http://cgi.ebay.com/ARMANDO-MONTELONGO-REAL-ESTATE-MASTER-HOME-STUDY-COURSE_W0QQitemZ110143764221QQihZ001QQcategoryZ102328QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Chris – sorry I didn’t get your email – probably sitting in one of the spam folders as we have very heavy filtering here. Feel free to ask me anything here and I’ll reply. -Mike
Chris – as for records, there are virtually NO records of houses turned by either Armando, David, or either of their wives, any LLCs bearing their names, or any known businesses they are part of. Most or all of the houses identified on the show have not turned out to be theirs nor sold by them from what I have heard and the numbers reported on the show did not prove true, but I did not do this research directly. (however I verified some of it)
Contrast this with, for example, Richard Davis. You can find plenty of records on properties owned by him or Trademark, and in an email to me he even offered to show his title transfers and tax records – even though he’s not been questioned. (I had stated in an email to him that, altough I believed Tademark is legit, I didn’t KNOW that, and that was his response.)
It’s pretty near impossible to hide property transfers. I invite everyone to email Armando directly and ask him for the records or how to get them. I predict you’ll get dead silence as a reply. I also encourage you to write the FTC and ask them to investigate his claims until he proves them. On other shows, like flip THAT house, you can find and verify every flip record. Indeed, I personally know 2 people who did that show (Susan and Kelly – both live near me) and have seen the properties/numbers myself. It should be simple to verify any house actually flipped on TV as well as historical transactions, yet we cannot find any of Armando’s claimed 1000 flips. Where are they? Anyone, anyone?
Mike
Christopher:
Are you searching the correct database?
Try Bexar County Clerks website:
http://www.countyclerk.bexar.landata.com/
You will need to create an account. Takes about 24-48 hours to get one. As for searching try:
Armando Montelongo Jr.
David Montelongo
Veronica Montelongo
You can also search for the legal description (not the address) of the property. If you know the address but not the legal description, you can cross reference it via the Tax Assessor Collector database.
Hope this helps.
Jeff:
You said…”I’ll review them and see if I can flip a house or two. I have bookmarked this site and I will keep you all posted. If anything, I’m out $47 vs the $97 or $997. If it works then I’ll put more money in my pocket and the $47 will be well worth it.”
Trust me, you only made a down payment.
Not only does he have 47 dollars of your money, he has your name, email address, mailing address, and phone number. Ohhh and your credit card number :-).
If you read the fine print, you enter into a agreement with this guy. Meaning, he has the right and without penalty, call you and try to sell you more stuff. AND it would not surprise me if this guy will sell/lease your info to other telemarketers.
Did you also notice the lack of a privacy policy on his web site?
Check out his testimonial page, Bob Ward is Montelongo investor. He backed them on the 5 houses on Trinity, the office located on Vantage Dr., and other properties.
Can we say conflict of interest?
It’s equivalent to using a relative for a job/credit reference.
Mike:
Armando or David signed as trustees in most of their flip deals. In March-April of this year, several of their holding were transfered from trusts to LLCs.
Someone should set up a page with every subject property from every episode. Then we could post all the info/misinfo discovered in a central place for everyone to see. The Leccima section will sur ebe easy. 🙂 Then people who want to know the truth could look up every property/episode.
Boyson – maybe on your new site?
Mike Voss
Boyson,
Re: “Check out his testimonial page, Bob Ward is Montelongo investor. He backed them on the 5 houses on Trinity, the office located on Vantage Dr., and other properties.”
LOL That ‘testimonial’ garbage is one of the oldest tricks in the book. They use friends, relatives, actors, whatever. To say what the ‘SELLER’ can’t say or lay claim to.
u say bob ward backed montelongo on the trinity houses and on the vantage dr business but then why is he in court and why do the houses on trinity sux not to mention he charges 580 to rent a one bedroom and one bath house that is super tiny now that is a rip off
Boyson,
Yep, that $47 is just for startes…
‘A would-be real estate mogul follows boom tips straight to bust’
“After spending a year and upward of $15,000 (borrowed on credit cards) going to real estate seminars and buying home education courses from everyone from Russ Whitney to Bruce Norris and, of course, the aforementioned Robert “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” Kiyosaki, Serin embarked on his brilliant career as a real estate flopper, er, flipper.”
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2006/10/06/carollloyd.DTL
Steve – thanks for posting that link about Serin. I saw him on TV a while back. He is a PERFECT example of why I burn time posting here and why the public needs to be protected from the false lure of the fast flip and easy money.
Mike Voss
Mike and Boyson,
RE: “Someone should set up a page with every subject property from every episode”
Hey! Look what I found! ; )
http://armandomontelongo.blogspot.com/
Mike,
Yeah, Serin is a must read for those that land here as a result of those ‘Googling’ “Armando Montelongo”
How interesting. At 7:03 AM this morning, my phone rang and the caller ID said Montelongo, Veronica (210) 491-xxxx.
I thought someone might be pranking me with one of those caller-ID spoofing services. Curious, I looked at the tail of the HTTP log for my webserver and saw this entry for the contact page with my phone number from minutes before the call: 70.114.19.218 – – [30/Jun/2007:06:54:31 -0700] “GET /contact_image.jpg HTTP/1.1” 200 46190 “http://www.hyperion1.com/contact.html” “Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322)”
Does that IP address, 70.114.19.218 look familiar? That’s right, it’s the same one from the shill posts #24 and #25 aboove. Clearly, it is confirmed that that IP address belongs to the Montelongos.
Here’s the forumla.
Look like an average guy, or, better, an idiot. Pretend you made lots of money, show it around (hummer, 1000s of flips, etc). Then sell your ‘secret’ in books and seminars.
The average sucker will say “Hey, if that IDIOT can do it, so can I!!!”
It’s nothing new, Armando Montelongo is just the latest incarnation.
Mike Voss has made some terrific observations and it’s nice to see that professionalism and pride in one’s trade is job one.
Nike mentioned a Canadian show called “Holmes on Homes” and it really is wonderful. Mike Holmes is a master builder who is called in to undo the damage done by unscrupulous contractors and shoddy tradespeople like the Montelongo family.
The Montelongo’s projects are garbage and all they are interested in is sugar coating properties rather than fixing the underlying problems. No insulation or vapor barrier is used, no permits are obtained, tradesmen that look as though it’s their first day on the job….it’s truly laughable.
I am disgusted by the Montelongo family and it’s nice to see a website where these fraud artists are exposed.
Cheers from Canada.
I just can’t wait to watch his next episode just to pull it apart.
He is a total fool.
His intern is a tool.
Anyone that has purchase the $97 thing or the big $997 course please email me with your comments. Thanks
I just watched an episode of Montelongo and wondered what his education and qualifications were. I didn’t look very long and I stumbled on this website. Does anyone have the answer to my question?
bette
Just finished watching the Intern episode.
Finally some honesty from Armando. He showed 2 houses he didn’t sell, one house he sold for less than the amount said on TV.
And the best part…he called himself an asshole…
Talk about Honesty!
Mike,
Thank you for responding to my posts. I have been trying to learn everything I can about real estate, but I have hesitated to make the leap because of people I know personally that have been burned. Is there a real way to slowly break into this business without destroying your financial future?
What about “bird-dogging”?
Any tips or advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Chris,
Without knowing your detailed background, I can give you some generalized advice.
Let’s start with bird-dogging or scouting properties for others. As I’ve said before, real estate is a localized market business, so if you can become an expert in a certain area and get to the point where you know *everything* going on in that area, you can develop a skill that is worth something to others. However, in the age of the Internet and cell phones and email, information travels so fast that you really have to develop expertise to find deals that nobody else knows about. Then comes the hard part: having people to give the deals to that you trust and who will buy them. You only get paid when they buy, so this can be tough. What’s more, you need to have legally binding contracts in place before you ever tell them about a deal, and that won’t prevent them from passing on a deal and then secretly telling a friend about it so they can get it for free. As you can see, the relationships are the key element and they are hard to develop. So, if you have the time to develop the expertise, detective skills, and relationships, you can certainly make money this way, but it’s tough and a big investment of time, especially getting started. One key skill missing from any of the FTH crews including Trademark is having the expertise to inspect houses thoroughly before buying. If you can develop this skill you’re way ahead of the competition.
If I had to recommend one simple way to get into this business, it would be the use of lease-option contracts. If you’re renting a place to live, there’s no reason not to use this method. A lease-option is a simple contract which, basically, is a lease, say one year, which credits some part of your rent (say 1/3) towards purchase of the house and sets the price in advance. It also allows you to have the first right to purchase it until the lease is up. So you find a house that needs some work that you can get a lease-option on. (hint: houses for sale a long time that switch to for rent are good targets – sellers are likely feeling the pinch) Make sure the option is assignable – that is, you can transfer the right to purchase to another party. Now, live in the house for a year and make whatever improvements you can – most owners will gladly let you do anything at your expense. At the end of the year, you will hopefully have a house that was priced a year ago with a year’s appreciation plus your improvements – it should be worth more than what you can buy it for. (If it’s not, you rented a house for a year which you would have anyway, but this is rare if you slected a good house) Find a buyer for the house at the option price and transfer the option to him for a fee of up to the difference between the option strike price and the current value of the house. My first deal ever I optioned at $395,000. It was renewable, so I kept it 2 years during a soft period in the market and put about $20K into it. At the end of the lease, it was worth $595,000. I sold the option for nearly $125,000. I’ve done this more than once early in my career – it’s an effective technique, especially at low points in local markets when people are scared and happy to have a year+ lease to pay their mortgage!
If I had just one tip to give for someone starting out,that would be the one.
Mike Voss
Hello everyone,
I live in Ottawa Canada (nation’s capital) and I’ve had experience in buying, renovating and selling properties.
Mid’es advise is sound and I echo his sentiments. Know the market you’re buying in to. Study it and research it to the nth dgeree.
If for some reason you cannot “flip” your investment property, is there a contingency plan to have it rented to carry mortgage costs, taxes etc.
Secondly, if you’re planning to renovate and sell, get qualified, experienced professionals to complete the renovations if you’re not very handy. Be prepared to oversee the renovation because it’s YOUR money at stake. Insist on quality work and good materials (ulike the Montelongos). Your profit marging may be a bit smaller but you can walk away from your “flip” with pride and honour knowing you’ve not screwed someone over.
Use the same contractors and trades people if you can. A large degree of trust and loyality is built up and they will go the extra step for you. Unlike the tv show, qualified professionals are busy and don’t cut their prices by 50% on the promise of getting another job.
Great forum…I enjoy it. And good luck to all of you with your respective projects.
“The Intern”
‘I’m a very private person… But I am on this show on A&E Sunday’s at 7:00pm called “Flip This House” I play the Intern and I work with Monster Energy Drinks.. I do alot of acting, commericals, movies,etc…’
http://www.myspace.com/Smallville1976
What happened with the teleconference the David was suppose to have? I know it was rescheduled but have not been able to find out what he said. He was suppose to give his reasons for quiting FTH.
“The Rookie”
Full mode attempt at damage control, too funny. I’m surprised that Armondo found the time to revisit those three houses. I would think that with flipping 25-30 houses a month it would be difficult to even remember three of them ; )
Just saw a YouTube video of Armando and Veronica in Mexico talking about the cat house and how they will have to deal with the smell when they return from vacation. They state they have been in Mexico for a week-and-a-half. So much for the deadline. In the episode they make it sound like they have been working straight through, but the video exposes the reality.
See the video on YouTube http://youtube.com/watch?v=qUYAa6FQMFU. “I Got Crabs in Mexico” is the title of the video in case the link does’nt work and you have to do a search.
He’s just as full of himself in real life as he is on TV. I feel sorry for the kid, “Mondoman.”
It’s all FAKE. That guy is not a real intern, he’s an ACTOR. Armando was trying to cover his ass by going back to the old houses and saying they didn’t sell.
The heat is ON. A&E should be ashamed of themselves for trying to pass the Montelongos off as “reality television.” This is a soap opera, no more, no less.
And anyone who buys his “real estate” package for $997, $97, or 95 cents is a damned fool.
Steve,
I think he was trying to cover his butt. He does not want to be considered in the same boat as Sam Leccima. By revisiting and airing an update on his flips makes him more legitimate, in his eyes anyway.
I have had such a great time reading these posts! My husband and I caught two of the FTH episodes late last night, and are just incredulous at how *awful* that Armando guy seems. Of course I went online to look him up and came across this site! OK – can we talk about his websites for a second! They are SO BAD! Anyone who is making as much money as he claims, would have much higher quality websites than this dude. I mean, if his websites aren’t even coded properly, imagine the houses he flips. Oh and just as an FYI, every time someone puts a link to one of the Montelongo’s websites on this thread, the Montelongo’s benefit. The more incoming links there are to a website, the higher their ranking is on search engines….so you may want to consider not making the links to their sites linkable and just make them plain text. Why help them out…you know.
Now I wonder how much longer Chris will be the “Intern” now that his true identity has been found out? You would think that AE would have had him sign something to the effect that he wouldn’t reveal that he’s a paid actor. Now if one participant is an actor, my feeling is like many others, they all should be actors.
I dislike Armando for many reasons, but his blatant disregard for others is the highest of course. But looking back, of course so much of that is scripted. Who is he really? Someone who sold his soul to the highest bidder. Actually several bidders.
Now this mistake which was taken apart in an earlier post #240 by Robert Pee appears again in one of the invitations by Armando to Scott:
Hi Scott,
This is a very important message about
***********THE MONEY YOUR NOT MAKING!***********
Either they are one and the same authors or this is a common grammatical error. Very said either way.
I am not an agent, a flipper or even remotely interested in getting into that business, but like so many others, Richard Davis held my attention and when Sam and Armando came along, I just sort of watched like one watches a train wreck….unable to take my eyes off.
The difference of course, is that with those two there are the gaffs and obviously the laughs as well.
I love this forum and while I may never contribute again, I do so enjoy the dissection from the others….we love Mike Holmes and have learned much from him.
Cheers,
Bonnie
tiffanydog,
The NEW ‘revised’ numbers still don’t match with reality! LOL
Bonnie,
Too late, you’ve delurked and there’s no going back ; )
Thanks Steve,
I know….now you all know I’m here!
But for you who deal in real estate on one level or another for a living to know that through this forum you are reaching more people than who do respond to you, that has to mean something, no? My goodness what a runon sentence! But you know what I mean…
Bonnie
In hawking his product his website says “Armando, how do you flip 25-30 houses per month – every month!” or “Where do you get the money to flip your houses?” or “How do you find so many great deals?” .” If he doesn’t flip this many houses, this is faulse advertising. As everyone posted above, it doesn’t seem at all possible. Besides if he did, would Cat house have gotten him so stressed out? That would have only represented 1/3 of 1 percent of 1 year’s income.
Guess his brother David had enough of his b/s
Bonnie,
I’m not in the real estate biz in any way ; )
Steve,
Yes, my husband and I were laughing at the discrepencies and when told the “intern” that he has to make hard decisions and things don’t always work out. We picked up on the “intern” being fake right away. There is no way that someone would do all that crap for no money.
Don’t forget to check out the YouTube link from my previous post. It’s a real scream!
I think I’ll stick with the TLC and Richard Davis and his team. I still want to know if Richard is having a thing with Ginger. Can’t seem to find out!
The New Haven team is a strange group, but seem like a good group overall.
Atlanta, what a joke that is–Sam and the new show with Angie.
Just my thoughts.
tiffanydog.
Something more to laugh at! LOL
http://armandomontelongo.blogspot.com/
Steve aka Cozumel
Sorry, I have been away for a while. I did see the intern episode and yes it was all staged. Did everybody notice that he as also changed the begining of the show? He doesn’t say that he has flipped 1000’s of episodes.
As for the intern, He needs to take better acting lessons becuause he was just not very convincing. My cat can act better while taking a crap!!
As for them having my credit card number, phone number, mailing address etc. I’m not concerned. If they want to call me, fine, if they want to drive from texas all the way to California on their dime to visit me, more power to them. If I see credit card charges to my credit card that I know I didn’t use, that is why their are lawyers and laws protecting me.
Sure they have $47 of my money, but that is much better than $97 or $997.
As I said, I bought it out of curiosity. He knows that he is starting to get caught and now he has to change his tune. But here is the thing, Wouldn’t A&E be held responsible as much as Armando for misleading the people.
Now for his website where I purchased the ebook. In order for you to purchase the book, you automatically become an affiliate to sell the book. Will I do that? no I won’t. There is nothing that states how you will get paid for the people who purchase it. If he isn’t careful, he will become the Don Lapre of our time.
I should be finished with the ebooks by the end of the week, after which I will post my review of it.
Some schmuck is selling the $997 package on eBay. 3 bidders so far. Probably 2 ‘straw buyers’ trying to run the price up on some fool! LOL
Get this!
“I got this product as a birthday gift, but I realized that I already own this in my large Real Estate Course collection, so I’m selling an un-opened BRAND NEW course that my cousin purchased only 3 days ago. A fantastic comprehensive course that teaches you everything you need to know about Flipping homes from A&E’s star from Flip This House, as seen on TV this is my best purchase on flipping homes, everything is explained in step-by-step detail.”
ROFL! I’ve got a bridge… ; )
I started recently watching those shows. Now I never miss a show maybe because Armando is a good looking guy 🙂
Too bad he’s married 🙁
These guys are business savy and they got experience. Not sure why some people say bad things about Armando. He makes his living best way he can and he’s doing pretty damn well.
His business is great because his wife is a realtor and it was said on the show “she can sweet talk anyone to buy a house” – that’s a huge plus, don’t underestimate to have a person or better a relative who’s a good realtor and can sell houses like hot cakes.
I admire his business savy and his tactics. He’s energetic, business driven. If you are looking to start such business. Flip your own house to start with and see if u can sell it and make a good profit on it anywhere from 25-50K per house.
Also cinding a good, honest/dependable contractor is a huge plus. Many of them cut corners or like to charge for nothing.
I can’t belive that “HeyforArmando” actully likes his business savvy (or lack of it) and his tactics.
The man is cheap and crude and doesn’t know which end of the hammer to hold. I know that anyone in the home reno trade will not drive around in a Hummer or Cadillac Escalade. We have a saying that goes “All flash and NO CASH”. His wife picks up propective “buyers” at the airport in a limo? It would be laughable if it weren’t so sad.
The “intern” they have is a complete waste of energy? Let me ask you this….if YOU were the developer who was purchasing homes and you had a deadline to meet, would you have someone with ZERO experience overseeing the project?
I live in Ottawa Canada and the tax law here states that if you buy an investment property and sell it, you have to pay capital gains taxes on one half (50%) of the total gain.
For example, I buy a house, renovate it and flip it, and I walk away with a $20K gain. Then I have to pay tax on half of that gain at my marginal tax rate. If I’m in a 50% tax bracket, then I walk away with $10K.
This doesn’t take into account legal fees, real estate commissions etc. So, when the Montelongs sell a house for a $20K gain and there are 4 of them who are involved in the scam…errr….business transaction, what kind of profit have they actually made?
So the guy sells thousands of homes? RIGHT….and that’s why when he and his family stayed at the hotel, they had to sneak in their pets like a bunch of criminals and he’s crying about paying $150 a night for the suite? Can we say staged, phony SCAM ARTISTS? lol
Love the site….
Thank god I’m not the only one that thinks FTH is staged! My favorite has & always will be Team Trademark. In my opinion they are the only ones with any kind of structure at all. Can anyone please tell me why every house that Armando & Veronica flip is that horrible FUGLY khaki color? The last one would have been cute if they had painted it a different color. I heard Veronica say once that they got a good deal on paint so they bought a bunch.. I sure hope they run out soon~! I’ve enjoyed reading all your comments 🙂
Hi everyone. Last week I went out on a limb and decided to purchase Armando Montelongo’s e-books, at the discounted price of $47–after not purchasing at full price, I repeatedly got emails from his company offering me the lower price. I finally bit. Unfortunately, the money was deducted from my account immediately, and I did not receive any order confirmation, receipt, or any e-books! I can’t locate a phone # for Armando Montelongo Worldwide, Inc., and I have tried emailing through “contact us” on his site 3 times with no response. The Better Business Bureau does not have his company listed. I don’t know what to do! I even resorted to emailing Veronica through her My Space page this morning; I’m interested to see if she will respond or not.
Jeff–I noticed your post that says you did get the e-books. How did you get them? I am curious, since I ordered them and got NOTHING, but they did get my money. I’m also curious to see if they have any decent info in them. I’m interested to read your reviews.
Maureen H,
Try this number. (210) 341-7355
Montelongo Real Estate Solutions
8026 Vantage Dr
San Antonio, TX 78230
http://www.anywho.com/rl.html
Good luck!
Maureen – email me at contact@hyperion1.com and I will be happy to give you Veronica’s direct phone number so you can try to reach her.
-Mike
would you believe this i know some people who rented one of there houses, boy was the house screwed up they even have pictures, ne way they decided after seeing what a mess the house waas they wanted out of the lease and they told them no finally after a couple of weeks pass they decide to rent it to some one else while the other person still had a lease and they(david montelongo) still had the first lessee’s money and he won’t refund them their money back, they hadn’t even moved onto the house in the first place and he is getting money from the other renter’s too
don’t trust the vantage dr business they will bullshit with you and give you alot of bs
“Today was a great day! I learned how to make a blog as well as advertise with my partner Armando Montelongo. Armando will be releasing his new book “Flip it Now!” July 2nd. To purchase his book just click the links on this page.”
I’m not going to post the link but…LOL!
Yeah, that is the interesting thing about their site. After I click to purchase them, it takes me directly to a thankyou page and that’s it. To get the books, you have to go back to their website and click on members, then enter your username and password.
Interesting. Guess who just paid a visit to my blog?
IP Address 216.89.67.# (A&E Television – NewYork)
They are afraid, do a google search for armando montelongo and this website is second on page one.
Hey everyone. I just wanted to update you–I emailed Veronica Montelongo through My Space earlier today about the e-books, and she responded just a couple of hours later with instructions on how to download them. She said they get tons of emails similar to mine; I suggested they need to tell people what to do after they make the purchase.
I am so glad that I found this site. I have been skeptical of the Montelongo Business since day one of their show. My father and I recently finished our second property in Texas. There are no easy ways in this business and it simply takes good old hard work and determination. I always knew his claim of flipping 25-30 homes am month was bull. I totally agree with Mike Voss and Sean and would rather buy a book from them then the Montelosers.
I’m out!
it’s interesting to hear your guys comments, 99 percent of you have not received or saw their packages and yet you lashing at them with just pure foolish thoughts. thus far all who have purchased their packages seems to like it. Quit your bitching and get a life, stop knocking people down when you have no solutions on your own.
I have not purchase the package just simply because I cannot afford it with my government salary, however since I have not seen it I will not go around and batch the product like an idiot. you guys are like ABC news reporting on sh*******t that never hapens.
I you guys have some since you would try to get with someone in your neighborhood who have purchase the package and see for sure if what they are saying are helpful. they guy that said that he been a builder for a long time now and declare what Amando is saying are complete crack. as a builder you sound completely broke and sinceless. Just because something may not work for you does not mean that it not good, maybe its your ability to comprehend new matter that is the issue instead of the package.
one big thing that you guys failed to realized is that, once you open your business and get the first 3-5 deals, you need to hire others to work for you and concentrate on building your business not be a worker in the business that you are trying to build.
It is possible to him to flip 20-30 houses a month if he has other people working for him. then all you have to do is supervise to make sure things are going the way that you want them to go.
If you can build of team of people to work with you ,there is no reason why you should not be able to flip this many houses per month. when someone say they make a certain amount of money in a business you must keep in mind that the profit the person is claiming to make is the gross not the net, meaning that the profit that was made will be divided among those who are helping me make the money.
regarding the lady that said her friend is going to sue, I can tell you right now base on the information you provided your friend will be just wasting her time, because audio’s lessons are considered to be courses, you do not have to see the person with a piece of paper in their hand showing you line-by-line what to do for it to be a course.
you guys need to wise-up a little bit, I am not saying go ahead and by this guy package, but find out who in your area may have purchase the package and speak to them instead of listening to these idiot who are posting here, find out for yourself dont listen to people who thinks because they cannot do something that it must be fake…..
Halla
BigG,
I’ve got a sure fire ‘deal’ for you. I’ll triple your ‘investment’ in five days. First though, I’ll need some good faith, no strings attached, money up front. Interested? ; )
More like Big G.E.D. if you know what I mean…
If you REALLY want Armando’s 5 ebooks it looks like you can get them on eBay for a “buy it now” price of $.99 (ninety nine cents) with FREE shipping.
http://cgi.ebay.com/FLIP-THIS-HOUSE-W-ARMANDO-MONTELONGO-e-BOOKS-LOT-NEW_W0QQitemZ190128666113QQihZ009QQcategoryZ102486QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
It’s a scam auction. He claims to be “selling” the information of how to link to Armando’s website to buy the ebooks. Total eBay policy violation and should be removed.
AMAZINGLY, we now have 325 posts in this thread and NOT ONE person who has bought Armando’s products has been able to tell us about some specific useful information they got. All we have are random defenses of Armando and generic defenses of the book – not a SINGLE example of what was useful to anyone. Hmmmmm.
I may very well go ahead and write a book if people keep asking me to do so. And if I do, I’ll make it available for free and with a PayPal link that readers could send any amount to if they found it useful. (since, as a real builder, I make my money on development, not book sales!)
STILL no reply from the Montelongos as to my request for a review copy.
Mike
“BigG”, maybe you should consider decaf.
Re: “It’s a scam auction”
Figures, why am I not surprised. Nice catch
Movie Star episode house was rented to his brother while his divorce was pending. Second episode first season…..potential buyer was Melina’s Mom. Professional photographer that Melina got for free…family friend with a big ego that needed to be stroked by being on television
Amazing isn’t it that Pella can miraculously deliver and install custom fit windows in a house in just a couple days notice when, in reality the delivery time on any Pella product in San Antonio is at least three weeks. The store here is a depot and does not stock anything. Amazing television.
People, stop being mean to poor Armando. Gheez, he is just trying to make a living. Sort of like he did a few years ago when he was a mold remediation expert and took as much money from the insurance companies as he could, did as little actual work on job sites as possible and left all of his clients unhappy and disgruntled…..you want names and addresses, I have them. Oh yeah and before that Two by Two, a multi-level marketing scam where he took all his friends money and then dumped them. And, let’s see prior to that, oh yeah a cook book with his picture on the front containing as many healthy recipes as his friends could come up with and give to him for free. You should have heard him at the Two by Two seminars….he told this story about traveling across America and rolling into San Antonio on his last tank of gas….hilarious.
I am so glad that I found this site!
I was at my mom’s this weekend and we were watching FTH. My mom could not even stand to watch it – she kept telling me to change the channel but I told her it was like a train wreck in the making with Armando as the conductor.
I couldn’t wait to get home and look these scam-artists up!
I have never been so disgusted with a tv-personality. Armando’s tactics are degrading, disgusting, fraudulent and down-right mind-numbing.
I feel bad for the people who don’t know any better and will shell out the $1,000 for his b.s. get rich quick scheme. I’m sure many of these people will use their hard earned money that they probably cannot spare in hopes of making a living for themselves or for their families.
People, if it sounds too good to be true, it is.
Mike Voss – you sir, are the man.
Everyone else, good job on digging up the research and publishing the info. The more information that comes out the quicker these jackals will be taken off the air.
Shame on you A&E. Just how dumb do you think your viewers are?
Re: “It’s a scam auction. He claims to be “selling” the information of how to link to Armando’s website to buy the ebooks. Total eBay policy violation and should be removed.”
I just sent the ‘seller’ a message via eBay informing them they were in violation of eBay’s TOS. It’s gone now! ; )
Yeah it’s such a great product that they have to sell it by viral marketing and fake eBay auctions to generate links and page views.
Looks like eBay’s admins are now onto the abuse and killing all the fake auction advertisements. Scams to sell scams – you gotta love it. The Montelongos remind me of an old joke I saw once where a snakeoil salesman rolls into a Western town:
Sheriff: “You run an honest business?”
Salesman: “Honest as the day is long.”
Sheriff: “Good, when are you open?”
Salesman: “Sundown!”
Seriously, if anyone on here spent the money and owns these things, please lend them to me so I can review them. I promise to return them to you and to post a fair, honest review.
MV
ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, people please dont tell me that the armando and veronica are fakes, i love them on the tube, i beelived them, i am getting into the real estate career, an interested in all the tips i can get, so help anyone.. thanks
martie,
OK, here’s a tip for you! ; )
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0470068353/bookstorenow56-20
Has anyone else noticed that Armando keeps getting fatter every episode? And his hair is getting higher and fluffier too (I think he’s trying to keep himself from looking like a peanut head!)
Veronica…..RUN LIKE HELL NOW AND TAKE MONDOMAN WITH YOU! LOL
I wish I had found this website before I purchased the $97 ebook. I was going to take a one day course at my local community college about Women and investing in real estate by Marshall Reddick (anyone familiar with this course?) It was around $50. When Armando’s ebook was offered to me at half price I purchased it thinking it would be about the same I had intended spending on the college course anyway. The content of the ebook is very small. I just finished it last night. I don’t know much about real estate, but I don’t think I learned much more from the ebook. There are some basic common sense tips. But in general, it is not worth it.
Also offered with the purchase of the book is to be allowed to “attend” Armando’s webanair live computer seminars. The first one was all about getting us to promote his book to our family and friends. For everyone we referred, we would get a percentage of the sale. To me it sounds almost like a pyramid scheme.
Real of fake – I love the show and can’t get enough of it. The Montelongos are by far my favorite. I think they’re quite entertaining. I also considered buying Armando’s RE Pkg, but it seemed too good to be true and I find that if it seems too good to be true, it is. After reading this thread, I’m thankful I didn’t purchase it. That said, I’m not at all mad at A&E for this “docu-soap”, as they call it, for having some embelishments. My husband and I have flipped one house. It had it’s ups and downs. We’ll probably do it again. But I don’t get mad at this show for not portraying certain aspects. The show isn’t a direct “How to” guide that has tricked us all, though I often get that vibe from the posters here. It’s a TV show and I take it for that. I don’t believe there is a single reality show on television that’s actual “reality”. Maybe Armando is a scam artist, I really don’t know. He and David obviously went their seperate ways for a reason, but I won’t pretend to know what that is, but I do miss seeing him & Melina. (David did bring a lot of professionallism and level-headedness to MHB.) All I know is I enjoy watching his episodes and will continue to do so.
Sarah:
Sure, the show can be entertaining, although I will no longer watch anything with the Montelongos. I’d much rather be entertained by Richard Davis, who seems to care about the people who work for him and the customers who buy from him. No, A&E isn’t just presenting an innocent entertainment program. They owe it to their viewers to at least run a disclaimer at the start of the show that some scenes are set up, out of sequence, re-enacted, use actors, etc. It’s clear that many people have been influenced by this show to try to get into what they see on FTH seems to be a relatively easy and sure-fire way to make big money, or, like yourself, have considered buying Armando’s garbage because there’s a level of trust from what you’ve seen on tv. Thank heaven for people like Steve and Mike who are saving people from their own naivete and willingness to be parted from their hard-earned savings. Mike, I am not even interested in flipping anything myself, but I’d read any book you write, just to see how things are done the right way. Steve, I hope you’ll continue to write here–I look forward to checking back each day.
Barbara,
Ah shucks, thanks! I can’t even remember how I ended up here exactly. I’m not in the real estate business. Like Mike and Boyson, the Montelongo ‘scam’ bothers me to no end. 25 houses a month my ASS!
Disclaimer: I’m not associated with Trademark in any way, other than a fan of the show.
Barbara, I don’t know, I guess I’ll just never take television as reality. I watch TV to be entertained. If I want to learn, I read a book on the topic I’m interested and ask live people in that field I can actually interact with. I live across from my local library, so I do research. I don’t rely on A&E to map it out for me in 47 min. And Steve and Mike (no offense to either of you) seem like nice people, but I know nothing more about them than what they post in a thread. I won’t sing their praises to the heavens because of what they’ve typed about themselves. If A&E had to run a disclaimer, so should every single other program on television. A&E doens’t push Armando’s RE pkg, Armando does. And I’m not vouching for his character because I don’t know him either. But as you point out, the show is staged.
Sarah – Actually, I’ve gone out of my way not to post anything about myself, so I’m not sure where you’re going with that.
To be clear, I don’t think A&E knew anything about the “questionable” Montelongo transactions just as they didn’t know beforehand about Sam Leccima
Sarah:
I understand your point, and I, too, tend to take most tv with a grain of salt. You, however, are obviously not as easily swayed as many people are, to see things presented as “reality” programs as reality. Just look at how many people on this thread alone have been tempted or have gone ahead and purchased Armando’s garbage because of what they saw of him on tv. It’s no accident, and it’s really pretty shady on A&E’s part that they aren’t distancing themselves from that a bit. Are they obligated to disclaim everything? No, but one would hope that a seemingly entertaining and enlightening network would care a bit more about what they present. No, every show shouldn’t have to run a disclaimer, but those that purport to educate, even in a seemingly benign way, should if they value their credibility. As for Mike and Steve, I simply know what I’ve read here. Mike is obviously very well-versed in this arena and Steve has done some great research. I appreciate their entertaining and enlightening posts, complete with disclaimers throughout.
Okay, guys. I read every entry in this chat site. I just watch the show for giggles. I don’t take it seriously and just kick back and enjoy the antics. I really giggle when Armando gets mad and throws things. How funny. I think Trademark this season is boring, and I actually fell asleep watching it. Armando is purely entertainment. Please, just take it for what it is – with a grain of salt – and laugh with me.
Just because it bothers me so much, I decided to write to A and E about Armando. Oh, I’m sure that was original, but I couldn’t help myself. I have received no reply and frankly do not expect one. I’ll sure share it with you if I do though!
See, Steve, it’s like potato chips, I can’t post just one….
Cheeers,
Bonnie
Bonnie,
LOL! I want to reiterate, I think A&E was duped along with the rest of the viewing public, just as with the Sam Leccima episodes. I think they’re discovering (along with us) that the Montelongo episodes featured don’t jibe with are actual contrary facts as provided with what are easily obtained property records, free, online
But Steve, one would think that a channel that presents shows steeped in fact like City Confidential and American Justice would due it’s due diligence when presenting this, new-to-them format.
Well, one would hope anyway and as the producers are just that, either they were duped or they just didn’t mind duping us. Either way, as I wrote to them this is beyond the taping of a dysfunctionial family.
Let me clarify, the taping of a family as dysfunctional as others they have taped, not to imply in my post that Armando and Co are dysfunctional.
[…] Originally Posted by New Mommy For everyone whose blood pressure goes skyhigh when watching Armando: there is some interesting information about him at a place called flip this lawsuit. A friend directed me there regarding his “book” and some bankruptcies. Interesting to read. Here is the link Flip This Lawsuit » Anyone purchased Armando Montelongo’s Real Estate Package? __________________ "A bear, however hard he tries, grows tubby without exercise." […]
Mike,
Re: “25- 30 house a month”
“Brandon – give us a break. Armando SAYS it right in the video on the website. He says it AGAIN in the first 5 pages of his e-book. You wanna chalk those up to webmaster errors also? You’re rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, buddy. Even YOU know your position is unsupportable, so give us all a break.”
Update: Armanmdo said it on the show too. “25-30 houses a month”. I heard it 5 minutes ago on the ‘Rancho Montelongo’ rerun ; )
“Rancho Montelongo”
Armando: “Like this – the stress you feel here? Magnified times 20 to 30 houses a month and that’s what we do all the time…”
Veronica: “Well I know, but…”
OK, it was 20-30 and not 25-30 ; )
I checked the site this evening because i was suspecting someone would possibly purchase his product on launch day. Anyway, I just want to credit Mike Voss for giving FREE advice to Christopher regarding getting started in the business. My other post is #251 and when I started real estate i had 5 jobs, ya 5, then I made myself a promise that if I ever made as much selling real estate in one month than I did working at UPS in a year, that i would quit UPS and go into real estate full time (my wife did not want me gettting into real estate because her best friends mom was an agent and they never had any money). I was a part time pre-load supervisor so i worked UPS from around 4:00 a.m. to approximately 9 a.m., then the rest of the day i would devote to either building homes (framer), selling real estate, re-roofing homes, putting up soffit and last but not least laying tile. Basically anything that would pay the bills. well the month came about a year and a half after starting real estate that i made as much in one month selling that i did in a year as a part time supervisor. Long story short, i am not much of a risk taker so it actually took a bet that a friend and i made $1000 that he would give me, but i had to quit the monday moring, my first day back to work & I did & he paid, best bet i ever made, it changed my life forever. I truly love the business and would never do it just because it pays well. I am now a real estate broker in florida and do just about anything that you can with real esate and to me that is what makes it so exciting. Like Mike said earlier about the lease purchase (LP), now is the perfect time to be doing them with so many investors that are way in over their heads. That is great advice and you (Christopher) should really consider it the way for you to break into this market. When i retire from investing, developing, building, selling, flipping and whatever else you want to call it, I want to do seminars or disc programs that really work. I have helped several people in my area make millions flipping properties prior to me having money to do it myself. It is true that you do make your money when you buy, not sell! along with Mike’s advice that would be the one thing you must always remember and when figuring your costs for a flip, at first, double them and also add in at least a 10% depreciation factor, just in case the market is even softer when your flip is ready to sell. Good luck and I wish you the best. To this day I still get a true sense of pleasure when i find a buyer a good deal or sell someones home for top dollar. It is the people that get into this business to make a quick buck that are truly upsetting & make alot of good people seem questionable at best. Wait until the first time you save someone from going into foreclosure, not only do you win, they win, the bank or mortgages get paid and everyone is happy. It really is a great thing! Take your time and don’t ever get emotionally attached to a property, that can always kill a great deal.
Tim (Florida)
Mike Voss & Christopher,
I just posted you two but did not specify anyone at the top of the post. Sorry, it is from Tim.
Thanks Tim!
It seems that there is a lot of vehemence being directed against the Montelongos on this site. Most of it stems from the fact that they have exaggerated their flipping accomplishments and they have the audacity to package their knowledge in an e-book and expensive courses.
Armando may come off as a jerk on TV but I admire the way he went from broke to TV personality and quasi-successful business man. The Montelongo shows are by far the most entertaining flipping shows on TV. Team Trademark is much more professional and accomplished, but the show is fairly boring. And for A&E, it’s all about the ratings. If I wanted to learn the nuts and bolts about flipping properties, I’ll do my own research. But for entertaining TV, the Montelongos get my vote.
Quit the hating and take everything you see on TV with a grain of salt. If the Montelongos had to exaggerate to get the TV deal, then it’s no different than those of us who exaggerated to land a job. Armando obviously has flipped some properties so I wouldn’t call him a scam artist or complete fake.
[…] Anyone purchased Armando Montelongo’s Real Estate Package? […]
Montelongo family has been aroung a long time. I even remember the TV ads from whan I was a kid. David Montelongo worked for his family for years. These two guys are not what they seem and I think David is regretting getting the family name dragged through the mud by his brother. They are promoters, thats all. Certainly not real estate experts. Google John T. Reed if you want the real truth on investing and flipping and such. Reed seems to be a grumpy old man with an MBA from Harvard and a military background. His information is dry and detailed and its the truth. If you can get through his dullness, you will learn all you need to know.
Wow!!..what a bashfest you people have going on here.
If I was Armando, I’d sue this website or some of it’s posters for libel as almost all the views and detective work here is unsubstantiative.
First off, only a complete idiot would take everything on their show as the gospel truth, it’s obviously embelished for entertainment purposes.
The show is quite entertaining and motivating though. My brother and I are about to buy our first house to flip and we’re not going to try and do it the Montelongo way, nobody can do it the way they can, especially first timers. But I have learned a lot and now have the motivation to do it. I’ve been self employed for a long time and this will just be another venture for me.
I see the biggest problem in other people trying to flip houses is fear.
I have no fear of quitting my job as I don’t work for anybody and have no fear of hard work or this type of work dominating my life for awhile.
I’d also like to say that Veronica is an extremely hot red head and Armando is very lucky to have her.
Hi everyone – I’ve been reading almost all the posts on this site (up to #257) and I have to say THANK YOU to everyone, especially Mike Voss (and by the way, that house on 4125 Allot – to die for – just gorgeous!). I, too, was searching the ‘net for info on Armando’s book and came across your site. Thankfully, I like to do research on everything before I purchase. You’ve saved me and many others a lot of $ – so, thank you again for this wonderful forum.
By the way, I was just checking eBay and sure enough – someone is selling the complete “master” set now… http://cgi.ebay.com/Armando-Montelongo-Flip-This-House-Master-Course-NEW_W0QQitemZ320134446140QQihZ011QQcategoryZ102332QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem – too bad it’s a “private” listing. I was going to email everyone that is bidding on the set a link to this site! Anyway, keep up the good work and thanks so much (again).
Now… back to reading the remaining posts… LOL =)
Yvette
Naples, FL
I must say there is alot of bashing going on here and some of it is deserved, some of it is probably not. I have rehabbed (flipped) houses and did wholesales. I will say that in real estate investment circles, the Montelongos are well liked for one reason: Ethics. When you don’t pay assignment fees to wholesalers, back-door people, whether that be fellow investors or home-owners you are purchasing homes from – you can’t do that for very long until it all will catch up to you. At least that’s what my Grandparents, and parents taught me and I teach my own kids and employees.
I think Steve in Texas is awesome! Richard Davis and Trademark properties seem to be the only legit flippers yet. I am also from Texas, actually San Antonio and have seen the Montelongos around. They seem nice, but some of the work they do is pretty damn shady. I like the fact that Veronica went green on one of her projects. It’s nice to know someone is trying to help our planet. Either way if you want to see honest work you should watch HOLMES ON HOMES on Discovery Home, that should open your eyes up and see what should be done when fixing a home. I hope TRADEMARK properties takes over TEXAS, like Richard Davis says on the Real Estate Pros “We’re going worldwide”, did you catch that!!!!
MACDADDY is also his favorite word lol
Ciao!
[…] Second, the TV show, the A&E network, and the couple themselves are under fire for alleged misrepresentations in the show, and in Armando’s website and home study course. (For more info, check out this site.) Look, I’m not going to pretend that I know enough about the Montelongos’ legal situation to pass judgement on them. But is it wise, with the controversy they’ve managed to generate recently, to hold them up as role models that the rest of us should emulate? […]
“Also featured during the same season was Armando Montelongo a man who so deeply repulsed me I frequently had to turn the show off in order to reduce my blood pressure. One of the biggest questions concerning Montelongo is the actual purchase and selling prices of the homes featured on the program. The blog FlipThisLawsuit.com does a great job digging into the property histories and the history of Montelongo himself.
http://www.sonorancity.com/sonoran_city_news/2007/07/famous-flopping.html
DAVID’S AT LEAST PROMOTING OTHER REPUTIBLE REAL ESTATE INVESTORS AS HIS SPEAKERS.
I bought the $100 ebook. Got one little bit of info in it. Was expecting ALOT more for that price. Most of the fluff is found in countless other books. So if the one piece of info I got turns me a profit from that technique, its worth it.
I think Armando was trying to make up for it the other day when he offered everyone who bought the book to join in on his webinar for free. I was hesitant, but did it thinking it was going to be a recording. It was him live. He was very funny and spent over 30 minutes answering questions. One thing that caught my ear was that he said he didn’t like the way A&E has portrayed him as a brass negotiator. He said he was much more of a joker in real life. So for what its worth, there’s reality shows and then there’s reality.
Speaking of books, Anyone going to Richard’s speech and see the unveiling of his new book?
I was thinking about buying the cheaper package. I think that Armando is perfect version of the american dream
Hey everyone, like a lot of people I found this site by accident, but I just spent the last 2 hours reading all 364 comments and am blown away of what a pos Armando is I was going to buy is $97 book but screw that…lol. For the last 5 years I’ve wanted to get into house flipping, but don’t know how to, can anyone help????? Where to go to get info, any contact info of people who do this? an intern job or a job in general. I’m not one of those easy money people, I know it takes hard work and planning but I’m willing to do whatever it takes to either learn from someone who is willing to teach. You all seem incredibly knowledgeable and I turn to you for assistance. If you have any information about any way to get information, get experience on flipping houses please email me at juda222000@yahoo.com ……anything would be greatly appreciated and not forgotten.
Thank you for your help,
Ryan
Ryan,
Get “Flipping Confidential” by Kirsten Kemp, who hosts ‘Property Ladder’. Everything you need to know is in it and then some!
$13.57 at Amazon.com
Mike Voss, I sent you an email that I was hoping to have a response to. I realized recently that the email may have not gone through due to you spam filtering. If you wouldn’t mind, I’ld like to resend the email. let me know the best way to do so.
Dan – I did receive your message – and a lot of others from many other people asking the same things. I am working on something to answer these questions and when I have it completed will make it available to all of you. -Mike
Thanks Steve
I have enjoyed reading the post. I just received an email for an online REI training where Armando is marketed as “Bonus Guess #2”.
The marketing material states “…together with his brother David, built the largest real estate investment firm of its type in Texas. Now Montelongo House Buyers purchases 20-25 houses per month.”
Below is the marketing piece re: Armando..
Armando Montelongo – A&E’s Flip This House – BONUS GUEST # 2
Armando was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas and is the seventh child in a family of eight. Armando moved his family to California due to life threatening complications with his wife and unborn son in order for his wife to be with her family. After working past massive medical challenges with the two people he loves the most, Armando found himself $50,000 in debt with no job, and no money. He lost his personal home to foreclosure and was forced to live in his in-laws garage. These extreme challenges created ‘the rage within’.
He took his life experiences and chose to be better, not bitter. He moved his family back to Texas, and in a period of 5 years he has, together with his brother David, built the largest real estate investment firm of its type in Texas.
Now Montelongo House Buyers purchases 20-25 houses per month. His no “holds barred approach” and drive to excel in the Texas real estate market mixed with his passion for helping his customers create their ‘American Dream’ is the perfect recipe for success. Armando enjoys studying real estate market trends as well as developing techniques for creative real estate investing. He has master-minded some of the industry’s lucrative and creative investing techniques. He is currently developing an educational CD series to release with his “Millionaire Investor Tips” where, as Armando says “every investor, from beginner to seasoned veteran, can learn how to make a million dollars in real estate in a year”.
JT,
Re: “I have enjoyed reading the post. I just received an email for an online REI training where Armando is marketed as “Bonus Guess #2″.”
I’m not quite sure what you’re talking about but here’s my take. You’ll NEVER, and I repeat NEVER, ‘buy’ it all. Once you get sucked in there’s ALWAYS going to be something MORE for $ale that you NEED, and is a must have ; )
Steve in Texas – Simply pointing out there are claims in another publication to Armando’s ability to flip 20-25 houses a month. I have read the many posts regarding his claims on the television program and his book.
I have not purchased his book or training; however, I have watched the program and have heard him make the claim. I will not purchase his book or training based on the way Armando comes across on the television program.
This is the link I received via email:
http://www.reimostwanted.com/
Near the bottom is the portion regarding Armando.
wow guys, have you also background checked DOG the bounty hunter, and any actor you might watch on tv. Some of you should open up an investigations firm…and make some $$$$!
C,
So you’re saying Armando is an
‘actor’? ; )
“1 : one that acts : DOER
2 a : one who represents a character in a dramatic production b : a theatrical performer c : one who behaves as if acting a part”
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/actor
C,
I think you’re right that he is in fact an ‘actor’, and that he doesn’t really flip 20-30 houses a month, or 1,000 in the last five years. And, my personal favorite, ‘Rolled into town on my last tank of gas’. LOL
When you try to $ELL your ‘act’ though, it becomes something else ; )
Did anyone happen to catch the “Rancho Montelongo” episode? If you have it recorded, watch it again. Armando’s time frame is all wrong.
When they first “sell” their old house (which, by the way, was sold by another realtor…pretty funny if your wife is a realtor) and start plans for the new house, Mondo Man’s hair is “buzzed” cut. At the end at their little party, it was supposedly only 3 weeks later, but Mondo Man has a head full of hair. Either this kid is the fastest hair grower on earth, or Armando is fibbing.
What can you say… he’s a Chia Kid.
You folks crack me up!! We have caught a few episodes with the “Montefakos”. The first thing I noticed was such a successful firm had makeshift offices, cheap furniture and no budget for a real website. Wouldnt you want to build credibility by having nice meeting space? Or a functional website? Also for clearing $400-600K per month on 20-30 flips I would expect a larger personal home for Armando. I know people dont always showcase their wealth, but a guy with his ego surely would. Give credit to the “Montefakos” for rising from the poorhouse, but karma is a b****. Guess he will be heading back to the poorhouse after all this. Veronica, be a real mother, take your son and run away.
Hi my name is Derrick and I just relocated back to San Antonio from Springfield Missouri. My wife Ruth and I began watching your show in Springfield we had never heard of Flip this house, and what drew us to the show was the fact that the Montelongos were from San Antonio which we loved because that was home to us. Anyway we grew to love the show, however we realized there were things we disagreed with. I do support the montelongos in what they are doing I know its not easy however there are certain things that I disagree with. From the comments I have read here I would not buy the program, but I still want to read the book when it comes out, even though I may not agree with everything in the book
i think that you all are just jelous u need to stop woring aboutut others and worie about your selfs…. you all do know this is all gosip………and he stop selling the 1000 book so you stop talking about it
I rehab houses (not flipping in the traditional sense but the phrase flipping has been perverted by TV). I sold 4 houses last year in a non-inflated market in Nashville. We don’t make $200,000 a house like on most of the flipping shows but we don’t have bubbles bursting either. I made a pre-tax profit of $137,000 on the 4 houses with the highest profit being $55,000 and the lowest being $15,000. Profit verses investment is close to 30% so far. Two were foreclosures, one was an estate sale and one was bought off the MLS. I did 90% of the work myself with mostly carpet being subbed out. I picked houses that didn’t need major overhauls but were basically just outdated. Overall I made a fairly decent living doing what I enjoy but it’s not something you’re going to get rich doing, at least in most markets. I also have a real estate license to keep 3% of the sale price. I figure this type living can be made by most, more in hot areas, if you just spend the time to learn the market & not try & get too greedy. NO one can flip 200 houses a year without having built up a HUGE organization behind them which would take, I assume, 20 or more years at least.Flipping can be profitable but you better know your market and at LEAST be fairly handy yourself. I see no way, at least in my market, to buy a house and flip it using all subs and still make a minimal profit of 10%
We buy homes for remodel and resale….We make a living at this…we do not make a killing.
We watch most all the shows on flipping and in truth these shows are meant to give people the impression that this is easy money and a way to get rich….and yes,in some cases this is true .but that is the exception,not the rule.
We live in a small southern town.and our biggest obstacle are wanna be “flippers”Who come into this not knowing the market and having unrealistic ideas.and over bid on houses.and in turn cut us out.
If your wanting to flip homes….first you need to decide if your interest lies with being your own boss…or if it lies with making a one time killing….second know your market.Location is EVERYTHING.In some areas a 800 sq ft home can go for $200.000.in our area $50.000 at best.even with all the bells and whistles.
You don’t need to spend a $1000 on a how to dvd…all you need is a defined plan and some common sense.
check out this article. Written 2 years ago it explains the basic concept of the seminars and books:
http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/11/real_estate/investment_prop/re2005_scam_0506/index.htm
I’m hesitant to even post this, because of admiting to getting “sucked in” to Armondo. I guess mistakes are the way we learn, though it’s embarassing. I didn’t spend the 997, but they cut it in half and I bought that. My goals are not flipping, but investing in real estate to hold, and was mainly interested in the information about hiring contractors, materials and that sort of thing. As I am not in construction, I need help in this end of rehabbing.
I have never even received the course to evaluate. I wrote “Armondo” to get my money back. In going back to his site, I now find that my user name & password don’t work anymore. Hmmmm – THAT’S funny???!!! WHAT a coincidence.
If anyone knows how to join the class action suit, or any other sort of help on this, I would be grateful. I guess it’s the principle of it more than anything.
Thanks all!
Julie
Julie,
If you paid by credit card you might have a “buyer protection plan” with it. Check to see.
You can also contact the FTC and file a complaint…
http://www.ftc.gov/
And, file a complaint with the Central Texas BBB…
http://www.centraltx.bbb.org/
Good luck!
Julie,
One more. File a complaint with the Texas Attorney General…
http://www.oag.state.tx.us/
Alan,
I have to disagree with you on your last sentence. I am also in Nashville and have done four houses so far this year. On the first two, I did some of the work and hired out the rest. I quickly realized that the work should be done by the professionals and that my time was better spent managing the project and looking for more properties. So, on the last two I hired out all of the work. My ROI was 15% on house 1, 18% on house 2, 21% on house 3, and almost 25% on house 4. As you can see, I actually made more money on the two houses where I hired out all of the work. I think this was due to two main reasons, 1) the work was done faster by hiring it out and thereby lowering my holding costs, and 2) The work was higher quality when done by the pros thereby increasing my sales price. Your work may be higher quality than mine so that part may not be a factor for you.
Anyway, thats just my take on it. I do totally agree that you that you better know your market very, very well. Its not hard, it just takes time and research.
We should exchange contact info since we are in the same area. I would also like to see how you got your real estate license(how much did it cost, where did you go, etc.)
Todd
Just a quick note to say that someone was nice enough to loan me their copy of Armando’s $100 e-book set. Once I finish reading it, I will post my review here for you all to see. I’m only through the first of the 5 ‘books’ so far, but there’s an incredible amount of fluff, most of which is standard fare from ‘how to get rich’ books and courses. (telling you the ‘mindset of getting rich’ – not what you are generally expecting from aq book on house flipping…) Anyway, I will hold my tongue until I have read it all and will take the time to write up my impression of each of the 5 parts. I’m a bit busy, but will try to get to it within a week.
Mike Voss
Thanks Steve – I will file the complaints and re-write Armondo’s and let him know as well. I appreciate your help!
Julie
And A&E continues to run their show? How ridiculouse and extremely stupid they are!!! I’m very proud for Richard and company for moving to TLC.
No doubt A&E is owned by mobsters and they refrain from good people.
My Mom is a real estate investor/flipper in Dallas, Tx I can promise you that Armando and his team is a complete fraud, not only is there tv show misleading, but the market in Texas is in a all time slump, doesn’t matter what city your in; the market has shot down the last two years and has not come back up a point. I am a real estate agent and I know there is no way he sells these houses for what he claims he does, my mother owns property’s (mainly lots) down in Houston but has friends that invest in property’s down there, and they can’t even owner finance there house’s out let alone have them bought with cash.
Please do not pay for this guys bullshit e-book, and don’t take the show seriously, don’t get me wrong its entertaining but it is very misleading.
I’ve just finished reading this entire string. What has always troubled me about these shows is that they never show people failing, yet (in the real world) it happens all the time.
I’ve spent the past eleven years as a lawyer advising clients, dealing with sellers and buyers, dealing with brokers and contractors, and sometimes trying cases concerning shoddy work and deals gone bad. I’ve watched people make money and I’ve watched people lose their shirts.
Mike Voss, you are right on. You, and many of the contributors here, should be commended for their diligence and their excellent investigative research. Thanks to you, the charlatans are being exposed.
And Mike, I must commend you on the incredible restraint you’ve demonstrated in dealing with the shill posts. I can’t say that I would have been as kind or considerate under the circumstances.
In business, a bit of humility and honesty go a long way. Nobody has it all figured out. Trust me, the “heavy hitters” lie awake at night and tremble with anxiety over these deals just like the rest of us. In my judgment, the advise given by Mike and others here (you should be able to figure out who they are) is sound: know your market, read, study, learn, and ask questions. Remember: you can be bold and innovative and still treat people with respect and courtesy. We all have a lot to learn from eachother.
OT- More shenanigans in Atlanta it looks like ; )
http://www.flipthislawsuit.com/2007/06/05/fox-5-atlanta-leccima-night-one/#comment-14707
BTW, I’ve found the best way to navigate the comments on this blog is by using the “RSS Comments” link on the left side of this blog…
http://www.flipthislawsuit.com/comments/feed/
And, the front page of this blog is here, btw
http://www.flipthislawsuit.com/
Greetings from a lurker. One of the reasons you can’t find the ‘Longos in the Bexar County Deed Records is because they do many deals in the name of land trusts i.e. 1234 Main Street Land Trust. Hmmmm…. I wonder how many ‘trusts’ actually have legitimate trust agreements. For those of you with a login for Bexar County, might I suggest that you do a land record search on grantor/grantee “San Bernardo Land Trust”. Specifically look at the transfer record dated 04/02/2007. This document lists approximately 25 properties (along with others unrelated to the ‘Longos) that are titled to various trust names which were personally guaranteed by the Brothers. I would guess they are being transferred back to the hard money lender for foreclosure as many (if not all) subsequently appear as TRUSTEE DEEDS for sale on the public courthouse. I do not know if they were actually foreclosed on, or if they pulled them out. I leave you all to the rest of the story. p.s. If you research each of the individual trusts, you will find the original purchase docs with both purchase prices and rehab reserve amounts. Happy hunting!
Document Number: 20070075940 That’s easier.
And further reading of the individual Trustee Deeds would appear to show that YES! They were foreclosed on to the tune of twenty-something properties. Wow.
FTHFan…NOT!,
I’ve got a Bexar County Records ‘login’ and I’m still digging around! WOW! Nice find ; )
4719 Castle Rock was included in that ‘document dump’ and was one of those “flips” featured on FTH ; )
Steve – so if I read this correctly, 4719 Castle rock, which Armando ‘flipped’ on the show, not only never sold, but has now been foreclosed on.
Hmmm – would having 25 homes foreclosed on in one month count as ‘flipping’ them? Maybe that’s what Armando meant when he said he flips 25-30 homes a month! HAHA LMAO!
This REEKS of mortgage fraud, btw. A few months back, I helped out a friend of mine whose identity had been stolen. She’d been involved with a guy (no names, but his name is Dwight Shelton so beware if you enocunter this guy) who conned her into signing a power of atty and then used it to buy houses, cars, etc. in her name. Long story short, this guy had over 20 houses he’d bought in collusion with an appraiser and lenders, never flipped one, and never made any mortgage payments. He DID, however, take cash back at each purchase and lease expensive cars and live like a pig on the stolen money. He’s just a step ahead of the law still, amazingly.
Armando’s situation sure does seem familiar….he didn’t sell too many houses, but he sure did go out and get himself a Hummer…..
Mike
Re: 4719 Castle Rock
Correction. That was a typo. The property is 4719 Castle Rose (not rock)
Mike,
If I remember correctly, “4719 Castle Rose” was the property featured on the episode called “Flip 101” and referred to during the show as the ‘investor special’.
At the conlculusion of the show it allegedly sold for $95,000! LOL Again, if I remember correctly
PS.
Re: 4719 Castle Rose
I checked upthread and my memory was correct. “Flip IOI” (investor special), ‘sold’ on the show for $95K ; )
FTHFan…NOT!,
Re: “I suggest that you do a land record search on grantor/grantee “San Bernardo Land Trust”. Specifically look at the transfer record dated 04/02/2007.”
And the very next day… ; )
Cause Number: 2007CI04979
Business Name: VCH FUNDING CORP
Litigant Type: DEFENDANT
Style:
MANDOMAN MANAGEMENT INC
vs VCH FUNDING CORP
Court: 057
Date Filed: 04/03/2007
Docket Type: INJUNCTION
Case Status: DISPOSED
http://www.co.bexar.tx.us/webapps/html/DKLITDSP02.asp?txtLitIsn=0004363996
I’ll show you something better:
check out document: 20050260027 dated 11/17/2005
It’s a public affidavit to draw funds out of a new home construction loan.
Meredith Keller is one of Armando’s testimonials.
And who is David Montel? 🙂
Is this technique covered in Armando’s study course?
boyson,
LOL I saw that doc but not the
testimonial thing. Nice catch!
Check out this one…
20060157090
Hey! Have we unlocked the secrets in Armando’s vault? LOL ; )
Re: 20060157090
That was yet another “Lien Transfer”.
Filed on 7/05/2006
It appears that whenever VCH funding lends money, it always transfers the lien to Texas State Bank. It’s probably where they get their money. I wouldn’t make anything of the lien transfers EXCEPT where the bank transfers it back. That would seem to signal problems or paper that the bank doesn’t want to deal with or have in its portfolio.
FTHFan…NOT!,
You’re right. In fact 20060157090 was transfered back and sold by the
“whatever” ‘land trust’ a few months
later ; )
Steve,
With reference to the civil case you cite above (Post 407), it would seem that they probably sought an injunction to stop the foreclosure. The next time I need to run down to the courthouse, I’ll stop in and see if I can view the original petition. Regardless, I guess they weren’t successful based on the trustee deeds that followed. It’s too bad. I bet it would’ve made for a heckuva show! Now THAT’s reality TV.
FTHFan…NOT!,
Shoot me an email using the address at the bottom of the webpage.
If you’re willing to gather records from the courthouse regarding these transactions, I’d be happy to reimburse you the costs of copying, etc. I’d like to run down more details about the San Antonio crew and their suspicious transactions.
Same applies to those in other cities where the Flip This House and Real Estate Pros casts operate. I can’t visit all the courthouses, and would greatly appreciate your assistance in obtaining documentation of any nefarious activity.
– Mark Lyon
FTHFan…NOT,
Re: “With reference to the civil case you cite above (Post 407), it would seem that they probably sought an injunction to stop the foreclosure.”
I think that’s what it was also. Clearly though, ‘VCH Funding’ now holds the deed
(owns) the ‘few’ I’ve checked according to the latest Bexar County Records filings. And again, I’ve just checked a ‘few’, so far ; )
FTHFan…NOT,
Re: it would seem that they probably sought an injunction to stop the foreclosure.”
Or to be more specific, the auction on the court house steps on 4/3/2007 of the “defaulted” properties ; )
Hi, Mark.
I don’t mind doing a little sleuthing in Bexar County (San Antonio) for FTL, but unfortunately, I am going to be unavailable for a few weeks starting tomorrow. HOWEVER, the bulk of the filings that we have been referencing here are freely available for viewing and printing on the Bexar County Clerk’s site:
http://www.countyclerk.bexar.landata.com/
You’ll need to create a (free) login and I think you might need Java installed for the viewer app. That site will give you access to any land records (deeds, transfers, liens, etc.) that have been filed with the county.
The injunction I mentioned looking up is a civil filing so to view that one you would either have to go to the courthouse, or it might *possibly* be available to an attorney if those filings are digitized but that is on a different fee based system if it’s available at all.
Good luck and I will check in with you all when I return.
To all the haters, you just wish you had HALF of what Armando has.
I bought the full $997 package and that thing is overflowing with information.
Now, if some of you don’t know how to read or can’t get off your arses and be productive, I guess all you CAN do is bitch and moan about how everyone is a scammer.
Before you spend your life putting others down, you should really try to be positive and make things happen like Armando did and is doing for me with his teachings.
Yes, this is pointed towards Mike and all of you who don’t know jack but still are trying to slam a good GOOD step by step guide to flipping for profits. I would like to end with a swear word for you but you are not worth it.
Armando’s master course taught me alot! If you want to flip like a pro, go get it!
So Robert, how is it that you can rant 3 paragraphs against everyone here and yet not give even a single example of what is so great in the $1000 course you bought?
Obvious shill post. My regards to Armando.
Mike Voss
Well, Robert. I’m looking forward to you posting all about your successful flips, to include location and property record document numbers. Oh and Robert, you make your money on the BUY, did you skip that part? Cause’ if you paid $997 you must have missed this stuff being dumped on eBay for far less. Hey, but keep thinking ‘positive’ with your new rose colored glasses that you obviously bought into that make your credit card seem like something it’s not ; )
Robert,
Re: “you just wish you had HALF of what Armando has”
Well it certainly wouldn’t be that half that was the multitude of properties that got “repoed” on 4/2/2007 and then actioned off on the courthouse steps the next day. Was that covered in the course you bought?
Ouch ; )
Steve – last time I checked, half of nothing was….nothing. 🙂
These bs shill posts are so freaking obvious. They start out calling everyone ‘haters’, then talk about how great and succesful Armando is, then how the poster bought the course and is sure of his future success. And they NEVER follow up post when confronted.
Armando: you don’t fool a single person reading this blog – you’re pathetic, man. They should call you Con-mando insead of Armando, because a con man is what you are, period.
I’ll be posting my review of your $100 course very soon, and it doesn’t look good. Hopefully I’ll receive your $1000 course soon and put an end to that shortly after.
We all know you read this blog – it’s been proven. Either be a man and post under your true identity or bugger off and die because you fool no one.
Mike Voss
“Well it certainly wouldn’t be that half that was the multitude of properties that got “repoed” on 4/2/2007 and then actioned off on the courthouse steps the next day.”
Got proof of that?
All I see is shoddy detective work with a lot of guessing of who owns what, whos affiliated with the Montelongos, etc.
You haven’t seen the paperwork nor do I think you would understand it if you read it.
Just watch the libelous statements because I can guarantee you Armando has a lot more money than you and can sue your ass off.
If you have rock solid proof with all the paperwork then post it or make a website with it instead of spreading rumors here.
I’m not sticking up for Armando if he’s a con man but until he’s charged for a crime then I’ll take him at his word…or embelished word…for example when he says he flips 20-30 houses a month maybe he means he buys that many. You heard of tax sales? Maybe he buys that many houses at tax sales per month?
Texas has a redemption period of 2 years for the owners to pay the buyers back what they paid for the houses at the tax sale price plus 25%. It’s a great deal for investors like Montelongo but not worthy enough to mention on the show since there’s no drama or renovation. Maybe that’s what you’re seeing on the county records.
Anyway, that’s just one possibilty that you may have missed.
Well at least we know that in April 2007, Armando & company flipped at least 25 properties… sorta 🙂
Hi Mike
Buy it so you can find out. Honestly people like you who complain at the wind should get their feet on solid ground.
Did yo9u check the info Armando has to give? All the way through or did you stop wherever you felt it was futile?
Most people make up their minds real quick and most people here seem to be like that. Without basing their thoughts on FACTS and checking before they comment.
Purchase everything Armando has to offer, then your comments will be worth something. Your IGNORANT thoughts show how little knowledge you have.
Little minds achieve little results.
Oh and please stop commenting about how Armando sucks. You probably do that for everyone you know so better yet, just stop posting all together you negative nanny.
I got screwed don’t buy anything everyone is out to get you death and taxes blah blah blah
Enjoy life you have only one of those to live. 🙂
Robert – blah, blah, blah. Post ONE thing you got from your wasted $1000 on Armando’s bs product. You still haven’t done that, just as I said you wouldn’t.
If you had a clue you’d know that all the reserch posted here is easily verified and Armando has been proven as a liar long ago, just as you’ve now been proven a shill. That’s why Armando HAS been cut from Flip THis House, Learning Annex, and all other associations he had and is now desperately hawking worthless courses.
For the record, you can’t “guarantee” Armando has a penny (inless, of course, you ARE Armando and are willing to post proof of your liquid assets), so you ought to just stop talking because YOU are the one demonstrating your ignorance.
Post your business name, properties, etc. and show us your bona fides, otherwise YOU are the one who can just screw off as you have no legitimacy and your words carry no weight.
There are REAMS of evidence posted here that Armando is a liar and a con artist, including DIRECT challenges to him to prove otherwise. If you want to take the opposing view, post PROOF, not your opinion, which is worthless and inaccurate.
Later, fool.
I know Mike Voss personally as I live in Canada
and do business in Los Angeles. Mike likes to “act”
like an expert in everything from real estate to raising chickens.
He is one of those guys who is the annoying “know it all” at a
party (if he even gets invited) that no one takes seriously. He is financially broke
and lives to knock anyone who doesn’t agree with him.
Let’s review Mike’s canned responses to this post:
1) You must be Armando
2) You must be a friend of Armando
3) Give me a record of my being a “know it all”.
4) Now that I can’t think of anything else, let me pick on your spelling or grammar.
Mike Voss is the jealous little kid that none of his friends like and the
grown adult that hasn’t made a name for himself.
To Robert:
If you are Robert what I doubt by the way you talk….
Armando not only SUCKS but also is an ignorant, selfish idiot!
After his shows we stopped watching most of AE if they could not see who is representing them in their “shows”
Not only I am not going to buy the sh..t Armando is “writing” but also tell you YOU are an idiot inspired by the “crapreation” like that…
Having 1000 I’d rather spend it on something worthy or just have a huge party making fun of Mentelongo and enjoying ourselves, not on some crap you are advertising as “book”, you, idiot!
I suppose if Armando and/or MHB were legit, they could just easily supply a list of all the properties they have flipped this year (Jan 1 – July 1)…heck, keep the financial details to themselves…but share what *should* be easily verified via public records.
It is time to put-up or shut-up.
Armando/Veronica/MondoMan…stop the shill posting…
On the otherhand…maybe Armando has a method that he is not sharing in this $997 (sometimes discounted) book of his that he doesn’t really want to share…like shell trusts, cut-outs, multiple names, wrap-around sales, whatever…
Lee,
Re: “Well it certainly wouldn’t be that half that was the multitude of properties that got “repoed” on 4/2/2007 and then actioned off on the courthouse steps the next day.”
Got proof of that?
It’s public record, foolio. Look it up
It’s ironic to see people attacking Mike Voss, when all he’s doing is protecting people who are quick to buy get-rich-quick nonsense from Armando, who has yet to prove that any of what he says works. Bob, you’ve said nothing that disproves any of Mike’s postings and you’ve made a personal issue out of something that doesn’t belong in that realm. I don’t know Mike and he obviously doesn’t need me to defend him, but I think you’ve missed the point of this site.
Bob wrote:
“I know Mike Voss personally as I live in Canada and do business in Los Angeles.”
Really now, Bob?!?
Then I’m sure it will be no problem for you to identify yourself and your company so as to prove that you are telling the truth and not either Armando or some lying idiot making that up. Since I know *nobody* from Canada (other than a female model working here on an H-1 visa) it’s pretty obvious that you’re lying. Post your full name, company, and where and how we met.
Since we both know you ARE lying and don’t know me, and that I’ve substantiated myself and my background here numerous times, it’s fairly obvious we’ll never hear from you again and that your post is either by Armando or on his behalf.
PS: Armando: you write just like you talk – in staccato, incomplete, childish bursts that are frequently not even completely formed because, like a child, you cannot contain yourself long enough to complete them. Additionally, the recurrent themes (I have money, you don’t, I have a name and am important, you’re not) which reveal your personality flaws make it really easy to see through your shill posts and identify you. We all know who is really posting here.
If you want to conceal your identity more effectively, ask a therapist to screen your fake posts to hide your personality flaws. (or maybe just use your wife, like before)
The fact of the matter is that plenty of people ARE smarter than you, wealthier than you, and better people than you. You fool no one. (except maybe yourself)
I looked up Armando Montelongo on the Bexar County Assesors website and he and his company do not have more than $200,000 worth of properties – including his own residence
Does anyone want to comment on this?
I ran across this web site as I was doing some research. I had purchased a house and immediately had problems with it. I’m hoping to sell it and have spoken with some folks that “flip” houses in hopes of selling it for what we owe. The story about what happened to my family because of this house is long and involved. I won’t go in to that but I am going to post some tips from what I have learned from my experience. This is a bit off the topic here so I hope nobody minds.
Here are a few tips for those of you that are purchasing a “used” home of any age. These tips are based on what I have learned from this one house (purchased in Texas):
1) Talk to the neighbors that live around the house you are considering purchasing before you purchase it. Don’t be shy, knock on the door and say hello. Maybe you might start by asking them about schools or local churches, or whatever. Then ask them if they know of any problems with the house. If they have seen any repair trucks at the house for example. Ask them if they know why the sellers are moving.
2) In Texas ALL real real estate inspectors are licensed with the state. Never hire any inspector suggested by any real estate agent involved in the deal! Find your own inspector and get references and CALL those references! See if you can find one with professional liability insurance. MAKE CAREFUL NOTE of the agreement the inspector wants you to sign! I repeat! Make careful note of the inspectors agreement! In Texas the inspectors all have a clause limiting their liability to what you pay them. So, if you pay them $495 and they make a huge mistake that costs you $100’s of thousands you are screwed. Strike through this part of the agreement if you can. I suggest you videotape the inspection. Open up every door in the place, every attic door and anything else you can get in to. And make the inspector look at everything you can. When you get the inspection report read every line! And demand the inspectors written notes they made during the inspection. Usually they just put what they noted in a computer and sometimes they screw up. Get the notes and compare it to the computer generated inspection report. If the inspector finds things to fix and writes up money estimates DO NOT trust that they know what the real costs are. If there is a plumbing issue and the inspector says it’s going to cost $100 get a real plumber in to give you real estimates, etc.
3) No matter what the inspector finds bring in a plumber, HVAC people. Hire an electrician, a roofer and pool company if there is a pool. If you have any question about anything bring in a professional! If they do an estimate make sure you read and understand it.
4) If the house is expensive hire an engineer to inspect the house besides hiring an inspector.
5) READ THE SELLER’S DISCLOSURE. READ ANYTHING THE SELLER PROVIDES THAT LISTS PRIOR WORK, IMPROVEMENTS or ANY KIND OF WORK THE SELLERS HAD DONE ON THE HOUSE!! If they have anything listed on the disclosure they repaired or improved get all the receipts for any work they have done.
6) Again, I’m speaking of “used houses” here. DEMAND they provide and carefully review the disclosure the person selling TO YOU received when THEY PURCHASED the house they are trying to sell you. Also get the inspection from when THEY purchased the house. The earnest money contract may stipulate that they have to give you prior inspections if they have lived in the house less than a certain number of years. No matter how long they have owned the house get the disclosure they received and the inspection they had done.
7) Go to city hall and find the permit department. Give them the address of the house you are considering buying and see if there are past permits that have been pulled for the house.
8) Call your insurance agent. Get them to run the address on the house you are looking at in the ChoicePoint CLUE system and the ISO A+ system. These databases may list past insurance claims. If your agent does not have access to these databases find one that does. You may find out things about the house they are not telling you about.
9) I’ve listed a lot of things above. if you can’t get these things RUN!
10) Ask the listing agent and the selling agent if they have Errors and Omissions insurance. If they don’t do not use them. Ask your agent to pull all the MLS data on the house you are looking at and to let you read it. Find out how long it’s been on the market and what the person selling to you paid for it when they bought it if possible. A lot of houses have been sold several times. This is especially true of houses with problems. If you can find out who the prior listing and selling agents were on prior sales CALL THEM and ask them if they know of any problems with the property.
11) Besides not using an agent that does not have liability insurance BEWARE of real estate agents that work as “independent contractors”. For example, there is one HUGE real estate organization (think balloons) who has agents that rent their offices, etc. from the franchise owner. In the event your “agent” that works for these types makes a mistake you will have a tough time getting to the rich folks that own the balloon.
OK, let’s say you do everything right. You hire the right people, you have a great inspector, etc. You do everything right and you buy by the house only to find that the house has horrible problems that have been covered up. And you are screwed. Big time! If you have to sue be very careful when it comes to lawyers and litigation. Find a board certified real estate lawyer and only sue of they take the case on contingency.
Sorry about the long post. But I assure you that you never want to learn what I did after buying what I thought was my dream home.
It’s amaizing that A&E will produce and air a show with these jokers and liars, and yet cancel the best reality show ever created in Random1.
Good job A&E, and Dog is a real hero, with his 10 or so illegitimate kids, hey why not give Sean Kemp a show too!
Very sad
F Baken,
WOW! Can I say it again? WOW!
If you don’t mind I want to showcase one of your many points. Which is if you don’t like something in a contract, strike it out before you sign it!!! There’s no such thing as a “standard contract”.
Audrey,
Re: “looked up Armando Montelongo on the Bexar County Assesors website and he and his company do not have more than $200,000 worth of properties – including his own residence
Does anyone want to comment on this?”
Forget the Assessors. Go here and get yourself a FREE login registration…
http://www.countyclerk.bexar.landata.com/
Once you get there here’s a few off the top of my head to check out ; )
Mandoman Management
Montelongo Acquisitions
VCH Funding
Great White Ventures
I was so excited when I seen this show for the first time. Like everything I search the internet for his book. It seemed odd that I was getting bounced around. I ordered the free pages and noticed quite few spelling errors which had me thinking that the editor did a terrible job.
Long story short, I do not know how I fouund this website but I thank God Almighty that I did. I had the order page filled out on another page that I was ready to pay. Once again, thank God I didn’t get robbed!
I’ve worked in real estate for 13 years. Sadly, the nature of the market created conditions that made it attractive to guys like Armando. He’s another “Johnny Come Lately” and represents the camp of people who came into real estate industry with no regard for the client – and even less regard for the industry. Many of the people that came into it were failures in every other venture in their life a la Armando Montelongo. People are either lazy or ambitious by nature. It isn’t a trait that can be turned on and off so for me it’s hard to digest the fact that he was essentially a bum until he turned 31 then “found his calling”. He’s another classic example of how easy it was to make money in real estate the last five years. Let’s see how he does now that the market is finally correcting itself, lending standards have tightened, and honesty and ethics are becoming more standard (again).
His whole “rags to riches” story is terribly flawed. Wouldn’t you at least attempt to get some type of health insurance if your wife was expecting a baby? It’s not like they both woke up one morning and she went in labor. They had nine months to prepare for this baby. There are a lot of jobs that offer health insurance. They may not be ideal jobs but at least they will have insurance. He didn’t have a job when his kid was born? I’m more inclined to think that his $50,000 credit card debt was due to lifestyle choices. We can clearly see that in the show, how he dresses like a pimp, is groomed like a princess, and struts around in his Hummer.
I did get his free pages out of curiosity. It looks like it was rushed to print because there are a few print errors. He states, “With this system, I am able to fix and flip 25-30 properties a month consistently. That means 240 to 360 houses a year. We make a minimum of $20,000 per house.” Um….I did the math and figured that flipping 25-30 houses a year would be 300 to 360 homes. Obviously, if doesn’t have the pride to make sure that something in print is accurate and perfect, do you think he’d do this for his real estate? He’s only in this for the money and that wasn’t how real estate operated 13 years ago. People in my camp do a lot of free work because sometimes it’s the right thing to do. We are all in business to make money but at the same time any good leader knows where to draw the line and let humanity have it’s role. Remember Richard’s friend, Gus? Take that as an example. Plus, sharp businessmen in real estate aren’t generic. They are very specific on their numbers. They will tell you, “I averaged 23.4 flips last year and am currently averaging 26.2 per month year-to-date. My average net profit on them is $21,500.”
I seriously hope that TLC is done with them and that this delay in filming isn’t intended to give Armando time to market/scam his newest product. He also took a $5000 course on internet marketing to learn how to build a seven figure internet business. If he already has one, why not expand on that and make it better? You can see his testimonial right here, stating he went from making $0 to $48,000 in just a few months. However, he states in the recorded interview that he made $48,000 a month. Haven’t we already heard that story? Scroll down to the bottom and listen to it:
http://the7figurecode.com/
i think there are a lot of people out there that like to mess with otheres that are happy and doing good for them selfs so why dont you all leave them alone and get a life losers
erik wrote:
i think there are a lot of people out there that like to mess with otheres that are happy and doing good for them selfs so why dont you all leave them alone and get a life losers
Well, Armando, there “are things that go bump in the night and we are the people who bump back.” We are the advocates who prevent scammers like you from getting away with the damage you’ve done to innocent people.
I’d like to invite you to open your morning paper and read about the subprime lending implosion and violent increase in foreclosures. This is a condition of a market where the “professionals” were “left alone”.
Strange! Doc # 20060085873
Grantor: Back Alley Land Trust
Beneficiary: Manodman Management, Inc
Beneficiary’s Mailing Address:
4535 W.Sahara Ave. SE
Las Vegas, Nevada
Why, I wonder would Armando use an out of state mailing address for that!? And not the ‘usual’ San Antonio one????
Typo alert!
Should have been…
Beneficiary: Mandoman Management, Inc
Beneficiary’s Mailing Address:
4535 W.Sahara Ave. ste 204
Las Vegas, Nevada
OT – More fun in ‘Hotlanta’…
http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=3128626&st=1155
where can i go too get info or learn how too flip a house. i never did it and need to get pointed in the right direction. please help email at theott7@hotmail.com
Howdy Folks,
You have all entertained me for many hours tonight. I’m wayyy past my bedtime but this is like a book that I can’t put down.
Anyhoo, good job on crying “Foul” on the Montelongo folks. I haven’t liked them since the first episode and thought something was amiss. So, I rooted around on the net found out stuff and that was it. Watched a few more shows to prove myself wrong but nope a rat is a rat is a ratmondo.
Here are some more links to check them out.
The Texas Real Estate Commission website shows who is licensed and if you click on their name it gives their courses taken. If Veronica’s first name is Laila then she is listed. You can search “montelongo” at the top middle of the screen.
http://www.trec.state.tx.us/index.asp
This site is the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. You can search and see that some of the Montelongo businesses (that are associated with the A&E Montelongos) are noted “Not in Good Standing”.
http://ecpa.cpa.state.tx.us/coa/Index.html
Just thought I’d share.
Hey Steve-
He’s probably set up a corporation here as corporations to not have to pay employee state tax. I’m right around the corner from that address and will be going by there today. I’ll stop in and check it out and see what’s there. I’m betting it’s a virtual office address.
There are plenty of good books (used)
on Amazon that teach the same thing. The used books are as low as ten dollars. This is a much better way to spend your money. Paying $900 for Armando’s info is crazy!
Katie2U – Re: “If Veronica’s first name is Laila then she is listed”
That’s not it, her name really is
Veronica ; )
Hey Darryl – I googled that address and it’s had several occupants.
Steve on #444:
It appears he originally setup Mandoman Management as a Nevada corporation. That address is to a company that will (for a small fee) setup a company, file papers in their name (so you can remain anonymous), setup an address in Nevada, act as your registered agent, setup phones lines, answer your company phones and forward your mail.
As for filing, what they do is setup up the company in their name and once setup, they resign and make you president, vice president or whatever. In Nevada, you are only required to file your list of company officers yearly. Thus when it comes time to do your yearly filing with the state, you simply reverse the process.
People think they can setup a company and operate anonymously under the protection of a company and with little or no consequences.
YET, there is little or no advantage setting up a Nevada company and operating primarily in Texas.
1)You have to file in Texas as a foreign corporation and pay the corporate franchise tax (our version of a company state income tax).
2)Although the federal government does not have direct access to Nevada state records, they can still subpoena those records.
3)You may have some limited protection of civil liability (eg defaulting on loans); however, it offers NO protection from any criminal liability (eg fraud, tax evasion).
4)Operating like this will set off red flags with the IRS or Attorney General and if you don’t keep good records, the government will be more than happy to make an example out of you.
Looks like A&E is going to show a new FTH with the Montelongos:
http://www.aetv.com/flipthishouse/flip2_episode_guide.jsp?episode=235646
Wow. Thanks for the warning everyone! I just watched the show the other night and thought what a good way to get out of our student loan debt. I began to research Armando and found this site. I guess the first thing that came to my mind is that if the Montelongo’s want to help the poor people like me by sharing their secrets to success then why are they charging such a high price for the secrets??? Us poor people can’t afford to throw away 1,000. As I read on and saw more comments, my thought was confirmed. Thanks for saving me the trouble. I would hate to have to use the book as toilet paper.
Katie2U,
Re: ““Not in Good Standing”.
http://ecpa.cpa.state.tx.us/coa/Index.html”
NICE find ; )
The address listed for Mondoman Management Inc, is in fact Nevada Mail Center. Which you can post your company information at and rent mail boxes, etc.
Howdy Sleuths,
Steve–yes Laila is Rick’s wife. I found that out today while rooting around in the Bexar County website. The V in her name is the initial from her maiden name.
That Las Vegas address reminded me of a story by USA Today about people setting up corporations in Nevada. Here’s the link to that story:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/regulation/2007-02-23-tax-havens-usat_x.htm
So I went to the Nevada state government website. Armando has set up two corporations there.
-Armando Montelongo Worldwide Inc
-Mandoman Management
Here is the state’s website to do a company search:
https://esos.state.nv.us/SOSServices/AnonymousAccess/CorpSearch/CorpSearch.aspx
I tried the Orange County California website and found that Armando had some businesses there:
-A&D Auto Glass-3/25/1997
(two owners)
-A-Express Auto Glass-8/12/1997
(one owner)
-Montelongo Health Solutions 8/4/2000
(one owner)
I went ‘next door’ to Los Angeles County but was called away before rooting around there much.
The most fruitful was the Bexar County website. Those guys have a variety of business and/or trust names. Coral Reef Ltd is another one of theirs.
Did you see where the Montelongo’s were to pay some woman’s taxes and then didn’t do so?
They also have taxes past due on a number of properties under Armando, David or Veronica’s name.
Given David’s new venture into Real Estate seminars…shouldn’t he have a license for some credibility?
Ha! I associated credibility with Montelongo.
Check with y’all later.
Katie
Thanks, all! I figured at best (or worst?) the Las Vegas address was a “mail drop”.
But that brings me back to the original rabbit hole I crawled into. Why that doc, and why the Las Vegas address when everything else I’ve seen so far lists a San Antonio address for that “Inc” ???
There was a reason for it. What, I don’t know. Yet ; )
Mike and anyone else who thinks Armando is a bad person.
Why in the hell would I post here if I was actualy Armando. Don’t you think Armando has better things to do and is rolling in cash anyway? Isn’t this a futile exercise in trying to your/my point across? Get off your Internet crack wagon and get a clue. I am someone who really gets pissed off at people who point fingers and try to put people down while it is based on pure guessing.
You want proof that what I am saying is true about how Armando is truthful? BUY THE PRODUCTS YOU CHEAP SO AND SO AND SEE FOR YOURSELF.
I don’t have to give you ANY info about how this is real, YOU however need to prove that the products are no good. How can you say what Armando is doing is a bad thing while you don’t even know what the true offers are?
Can you say:
– This is not true
– That fact is wrong
– etc
All you can say is “It’s all garbage because anything Armando does is bad”
Back it up buddy. Put your money where you mouth is. I did and Armando is NOT me but he sure as heck has my support.
Again, negative nanny death and taxes everything sucks. That’s what you seem to be all about. Nevermind that some people in this world actualy take a good thing and make good with it.
My grammar, attack all you want it is nothing compared to your negative text based polution.
Mike,
I know this website is mostly directed towards exposing this Armondo Montelongo guy, but it also seems that a lot (by the way Dale…and others….this is how “a lot” is spelled! 2 words!)of people seem to also be searching for info on flipping since obviously they are not going to get valid info from what Montelongo is selling. SO…I just wanted to say that I really do believe in most of what you had to say in post #74, and do respect the fact that you seem to have been in this game a long time and have made yourself a lifetime student of Real Estate. The only way that I know, and with all honesty do have limited experience (but I do have some experience)that so called flipping can work is:
1. First and formost when you target a property, figure out, based on the comps in the neigborhood, what you think you will be able to sell the house for in the amount of time you are allowing for the rehab. In other words WORK THE NUMBERS BACKWARDS. Then from that figure, subtract your remodel and labor costs, loan fees for the purchase, your carrying costs (include the possibility in most markets of contributing to seller closing costs as an incentive), property taxes, if you are selling it by owner, but want to offer an incentive to agents bringing you buyers, then consider around 3% of your price for that (you don’t have to…but you might want to), and then pad at least another 10% to that number for the unforseen. Then you have the an idea of what YOU should pay for the house ( and not what some seller is hoping to sell it for)
2. When making an offer you have to low ball. And you can’t just be looking at one property. You have to be doing this to several….as many as you can find. Because you are going to be submitting lots of low ball offers and of course not all of them will get accepted. But that one that does for whatever reason could be your gold mine. You never know when someone is desperate to sell. Also, learn how to write offers yourself, if you come in with no real estate agent, then you can save the seller possibly 3%, more or less, that they would have to pay out to your agent, and you use that fact as a negotiating factor. Yes, it is riskier, just familiarize yourself with all the laws of being able to back out of the contract and being able to get your earnest deposit back. This is where an agent, if you have one, helps protect you. If you elect to go with no agent just read the contract carefully. And if you want internet access to the listings that only agents see without using an agent, see if you can make friends with one who will let you use their access code. Obviously they are not supposed to do that….but you just want to do the leg work instead of them. Plus, at least in San Diego, CA, there are lots of cool ways you can use the system to search for properties for you.
3. If you get an accepted offer, get an inspection on the property. Its anywhere from $350 to $600 and is one of the best insurance policies against possibly losing thousands in the end. Plus it will give you a better idea of how to budget and will eliminate a lot of the stresses of the dreaded unknown. If you know that you have not only addressed the cosmetic issues of the house but also the things that not everyone can see, you will be a more honest and confident seller. PLUS whatever the inspector finds you may be able to use these issues to negociate a better price when buying. For example, if its found that the whole house needs to be rewired, you find out what the RETAIL cost of getting that done would be. Retail is what most people out there expect to pay. But if you want to flip houses you of course know how to get it done for a lot less. Right there you have increased your profit margin….thanks to getting an inspection.
3. speaking of getting it for less….that is the only way I think you can make flipping work. Negotiate everything, labor, materials, appliances, paint etc. I think a lot of these flippers just go down to Home Depot and get everything. If you research enough, you can get quality items for a lot less. Its just takes time. And I am not suggesting cutting corners…all I am saying is don’t pay retail.
Anyway…I seem to be going on and on. I know there is A LOT more to it then what I have written here. And I know this website is mainly geared towards exposing this scammer. But I just wanted to comment on Mike’s post that flipping a property is “an illusion”. Although I do agree with most of your points Mike and again respect your obvious experience. It can be done. Its just not as easy as it used to be simply because of the market and is not as easy as these shows make them out to be. But Real Estate has always been a cyclical market and it will come back. So like Mike is doing, become a student of Real Estate, because as in most things, knowledge is power.
BTW….any comments on the show “Property Ladder” and Kristen Kemp? seems to be a more realistic approach to the game. And they, unlike Flip This House, mention the carrying costs and RE agents commissions, as part of the costs and when they mention the profit….they clearly say “gross profit.” And one show I just saw, they said the people still have not sold the house. So not all the stories are success stories…unlike FTH. Kemp has a book called “Flipping Confidential.” Anyone know anything good or bad about it?
Not that I am supporting “Bob” or anything….but really….has anyone here bought the Armondo’s program…..read the entire thing and have attempted to implement what the course tells you to do? I mean that is really what the argument of all this should be based on. That what he is selling, what he has written about either works or doesn’t. AND is what he purports on his website about his books actually true and workable? Until that is answered I don’t think people can have a valid reason for bashing the course/books.
Isn’t this the real question here?? I am not supporting him or condemning him b/c I don’t know. I have heard him quote these ridiculous numbers about his business, like over 1000 homes in 5 years and even worse 30 homes a month. Come on! So based on that I have little faith in the guy.
Actually the more I think about it, “Bob”, I think at the very least Mike Voss and “Steve from Texas” among others have shown in these posts that IF Armondo does what he says he does, then why, one, is there no proof of it in public records and two, there is actually counter proof to all his claims? At the very least these guys have proven him to be a liar. And how many people want to give their hard earned money for some course, that may or may not work, to a proven liar?
And you say:
Back it up buddy. Put your money where you mouth is. I did
They did back it up….actually public records backs it up! And what did you do to support your arguments and “put your money where your mouth is?” And, sorry Bob, but Mike is right….you do sound like a little kid arguing. I am not trying to “bash” you….I don’t really know you. But if you want to post constructive poignant arguments to support your buddy Armondo, then you should rethink the logic of your sentence structures. Just a friendly suggestion…
I’ll take this one with pleasure:
Armando (pretending to be Bob) wrote:
“Why in the hell would I post here if I was actualy Armando.”
** Because you are being exposed as a fraud and are desperate for money since you are in default on numerous properties, owe taxes, and have little income other than your ripoff courses.
The word is out on you and you are desperate for income. That’s why.
“Don’t you think Armando has better things to do and is rolling in cash anyway?”
**Nope, in fact it’s pretty obvious from the 20+ foreclosed houses, the fake rehabs, the past due taxes, and the desparate attempt to defraud the public that Armando has little or no money and is desperate to negate his exposure here as a fraud and thief. People with money don’t buy expensive cars when they cannot even pay for the properties they’ve tied up – broke people do that.
“You want proof that what I am saying is true about how Armando is truthful? BUY THE PRODUCTS YOU CHEAP SO AND SO AND SEE FOR YOURSELF.”
** I already have them. Didn’t cost me a dime because people who got ripped off and want to save others sent them to me for free. In just a few more days, I will tell everyone here just what a worthless pile of nothing they are, and also how to get real information at a fraction of the cost or free from other sources – books and such by people who know what they are doing, unlike you. As they say, the best things in life are free, and you cannot even produce a single person with one good thing to say about your $1000 stuff in 500 posts here.
” How can you say what Armando is doing is a bad thing while you don’t even know what the true offers are?”
** As I’ve said, I know what the offers are- they’re crap. Your desperation gets worse with every ill-formed sentence.
“Back it up buddy. Put your money where you mouth is. I did and Armando is NOT me but he sure as heck has my support. ”
**LOL What pathetic hardcore sales crap – try to intimidate people into buying. You loser – go rent Glengarry Glenross and learn something. I think everyone here can see that I’ve backed up every word I say, and that you haven’t backed up a single one. As I predicted, you were lying about knowing me or anything about me, lying about who you are (post your identity – you can’t, because you’re Armando), and you can’t post any useful info from Armando’s (I mean your) course because there isn’t any. I HAVE backed it up – I’ve exposed you as a liar by demonstrating you cannot substantiate your false claims or even your identity. You, however, have backed up zero.
“Again, negative nanny death and taxes everything sucks. That’s what you seem to be all about. Nevermind that some people in this world actualy take a good thing and make good with it.”
** No, what I’m all about is that the truth stands on it’s own against lies. You posted a pack of bs, I challenged you on all of them, and you did not substantiate a single one. I think anyone here will agree that you’ve been exposed as a liar and the fact that you would make such a pathetic attempt to defend Armando can only mean that you are him, because nobody else has any reason to defend him. There’s PLENTY of good out there, and most of it is free and FAR better than your worthless crap. TIck Tock – that’s the clock ticking down to the last sale of your courses as more people learn the truth every day.
On a personal note, Armando, you’re a coward. You might be able to intimidate some poor subcontractor or your brother or wife, but trust me, I’m way out of your league pal, so quit while you’re behind.
Mike Voss
Sloan,
Re: “Kemp has a book called “Flipping Confidential.” Anyone know anything good or bad about it?”
I read it and I thought it was pretty
good!
Sloan – your points are all valid. When I call flipping an illusion, I am specifically refering to the kind of things shown on FTH, most of which have, consequently, been shown to have been faked. Most people in the real universe aren’t shooting 3 week projects for TV ratings – people need to know the difference before giving away their money. I’ve been approached by at least 2 of the shows talked about here – I turned them down because I had work to get done, which was my priority, not making tv.
With respect to Kirsten Kemp and her show and book, I have a lot to say about that and will do so in the review I am preparing to post in the next few days as I have alkso read her book and seen her shows since they began.
As you have suggested, I have thoroughly reviewed Armando’s $100 course and have the experience and background to tell everyone what is/ is not viable advice in it. Some of it can be used, some of it could land you in prison instantly. It has taken me a while to write the review because I am being very thorough. As you might expect, though, everything that has been discovered through research about The Montelongos and their past work is borne out in my review – those who have been paying attention/doing their homework will not be surprised, and a lot of people will save a lot of money and find better alternatives going forward.
Best regards,
Mike
Katie Sleuth ; )
Nice job!
No there’s a reality show I’d like to see!
“Mike Takes “Bob” to the Wood Shed” lol
Sloan’s post was very informative. As a budding flipper myself, I found it very useful. Has anyone reviewed the home flipping package created by Than and Paul of CT Homes LLC? They seem to be a lot more legitimate than Armando. Their courses are being marketed at http://www.fortunebuilders.com.
Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!
Hehe. Want to hear an hour of complete bullsh*t?
“Interview With Armando Montelongo!”
http://www.retuexclusive.com/
I’ll say this though. The book “pimp” Brian said this at the end that I DO believe…
Brian: “Armando gave unbelievable information.”
Oh, and Armando has cut back to 5 to 8 flips a month (from 25-30) “several months ago” because of “all of the TV stuff and the book” doncha know. And, he’s looking for a second “beach house” in California! LOL
Mike Voss:
I’m unclear on how to contact you offline. I think I have some info that would be helpful to you.
Everything Armando said on that webcast “SOUNDS” great, on paper it “works”. Unfortunately though, it doesn’t mesh with reality in the real world.
One more thought… “You buy a property for 30 cents on the dollar and sell it for 70 cents on the dollar”. Nothing to it!
Dream on ; )
RayMass – I can be reached at contact@hyperion1.com
Best regards,
Mike Voss
Folks,
I live in San Antonio and if there’s something I can do to help y’all out–let me know.
Katie
Steve in Texas wrote:
No there’s a reality show I’d like to see!
“Mike Takes “Bob” to the Wood Shed” lol
That’s out of line you mother F’er. Go on and trash the Internet with your useless garbage. As far as I am concerned, you can all go have a “lets trash good people and make ourselves look good party”
Slimes. Leaches. Degenerates. You should all be ashamed of yourselves talking out of your arses with zero FACTS.
F you all. Track my IP webmaster I ain’t in Texas
no but i bet your in one of his affiliate locations
Hello, first time poster looong time reader. My wife is so mad at me for being on here so long lol. I love how you can read this blog then click a link then another then another and get so much info so fast. I have to thank Al Gore for building the series of tubes and switches and things we call “internet”.
First off Mike V. and a couple others are calling a lot of folks on here Armando. In posts 23, 24, 25 the webmaster edited them to show the IP address of the posters but has not done so with any of the post that were called “shill” posts since. Any chance they might be other people? My next comment is about David Montelongo. I see a lot of people asking about why he left the show but no one has answered why he left and what he is doing now. Just the tribe thing? I would love to see a link or any info anyone has about him. I cant find anything about his departure from the show except for his wifes blog post. I knew the Texas and Altanta shows had alot of staging but I couldnt of guess it would be so deep. My wife and I were embarrased for Armando when we watched the show. Especially the show where he was beating on his chest and talking about how he was not going to let that peticular house beat him. It was like a car wreck. I wanted to look away but I just couldn’t. OK my last thing is about all of these workshops and real estate information kits that are available. DO NOT FALL INTO THE TRAP!!. I was surfing around late night TV one night and I saw this infomercial for http://www.nationalgrants.com/. They had a free 2 day seminar here in Indianapolis and were giving away 4 free booklets just for attending. So I went and sat through a 4 hour sales scam just to get the free items. Well I came back the next day just to hear what they had to say and it sounded awesome!! The guess speaker spoke alot about being a Christian and making so much money he helped his church out with. So being a Christian myself I was like how can this be fake. At that time I was really looking for some help getting started in real estate so I bought what I though was their full program. They said my counselor would be contacting me within a week. Well it turned out that the “counselor” was a salesmen and that my $1000.00 was only the limited package and to get actual help from the national grants staff would of cost another $4000.00!!
There really is no feeling like finding out you have been scammed by someone.
Type in national grants conference in Yahoo search bar and look what comes up in Yahoos “also try” suggestion above the first result: it says national grants conference SCAM!!!!
No Joke!
Also a friend at work ordered one of the highly promoted on late night TV real estate kits and gave it to me to check out and it just had very basic common sense information in it. A waste of money.
The fact is if you want real estate information go to the library and get books free. My locale branch has dozens of them and you dont have to pay a dime.
Take the lesson I learned and steer clear of Armando Montelongo’s junk.
sorry for the long message
Jeff
Hi Katie,
Any chance you can get a copy of this doc?
http://www.co.bexar.tx.us/webapps/html/DKLITDSP02.asp?txtLitIsn=0004363996
Bob wrote:
Slimes. Leaches. Degenerates. You should all be ashamed of yourselves talking out of your arses with zero FACTS.
Public records are not facts?!?!?
YOU have not posted ONE fact that can be backed up. The only thing you have done well is name calling.
Speaking of which, lets take a good look at what you said…
Slimes. Leaches. Degenerates…
For a second I thought you were speaking about the Montelongos. Armando does excel when it comes to speaking out his arse.
Richard and Montelongo are great at their respective jobs. Everyone should stop pointing the finger at Montelongo and look at themselves. I’m sure if anyone was followed around with a camera all day, and spliced it for the maximum response on television that they would also not look so pleasing on T.V. I have been buying and selling real estate for 5 years and have found the shows extremely helpful. Just remember everyone posting hate messages that “Ignorance is Bliss.”
To Bob:
First of all, I do address you directly, not “all of you..””
Second, I am not your buddy, as I am not drinking beer with you (God blessed!)
Third, I am not cheap, NEITHER I am stupid to buy such a shit from such an idiot like Armando.
If you are so “rich” do whatever your brain tells you, and support whomever you want. As well as I will always have the right to tell you that Armando is an idiot. So back up yourself!
I do not need to prove anything neither to you nor to other idiots who think that Armando is at least a penny-worth human.
I do support everybody on this site who is not as dumm as you and can use internet IN A POSITIVE WAY and find out that Armando is nobody else than just a scammer, liar and shiit for flipper. If you missed out proof of how he never flipped anything – your loss, I am not your mother or teacher helping you finding a way all paople see anyway.
I do notice grammar just because of my profession and interests. So instead of correcting it you choose pretending like everybody here is just trashing negative stuff and you and Armando are so positive and nice… Do you treat your wife (if you have any, or your girlfriend) the same way Armando treats Veronica? I do not consider her a woman at all – just a female. Forget about lady (to everybody). Just a trash attached to a male dog. You did miss out how Armando treats people or you are just lazy to read those who knew the people suffered from ambitions of Armando’s sick imagination? A kind of Hitler sickness… I HATE people sitting on welfare. Moreover, Armando Montelongo is a piece of fricking shit (sorry to all ladies and gentlemen reading me) sitting on welafare and making his business on your tax money, Bob, too, if you ever pay taxes.
I think such a shit should not even be shown on TV flips, but rather in a show how he looses welfare.
I am negative in some parts of my note, sure I am. I am discussing a piece of shit Armando Montelongo – why shpuld I be positive?
I can be positive about those who deserve it. And if you again missed out what everybody here is talking about – keep it up, there will be more to talk about. And if you are not as cheap and bought a book, be also not cheap and pay your sucker Armando welfare from your rich pocket. Or is it too much for you? Are you that cheap??? If you like him do support him in all ways, go on… more tax money will be given to normal people.
Jeff brought up a very good point – Its all at your library. I was given the Rich Dad, Poor Dad book a few years ago and decided to read the rest in that series. So being money smart, I went to the library and checked out all the books. I found so much information at the library, that I never bought a “course”. It is all common sense. I think the major problem people have is that fear and they are willing shell out money to the experts to tell them “they can do it.” Heck I was scarred the first investment property I bought. But after the 3rd, its gotten pretty routine.
I’m always looking for new ideas and techniques to help in the process. In fact, I love going to the “free” seminars to figure out what their angle is and then I just research it. Its really not worth paying these experts.
In fact Kiyosaki once said that there is a so called real estate expert out there who only makes money on his systems rather than actually buying real estate. I believe he was talking about Robert Allen, the “nothing down” guy.
My partner and I were talking about writing our own e-book about flipping and doing lease options. Then we would sell it for like $5 to shut these experts up.
I’ve always offered information to those who’ve asked for it. I would rather help someone out of a finacial mess than to charge them for my knowledge.
There are some great books out there – however many of them are fluff pieces to promote boot camps or mentor programs. Even the Rich Dad book is a fluff piece for the cashflow game he made.
I’m reading the flipping confidential book right now and its a nice overview of things to look out for. Pretty straight forward. Glad this site reccommended it. Any others?
As for Armando – he just sent out another email to buy his course for half off. Guess the sales have slowed down.
I bought and read Kristen Kemp’s Flipping Confidential and its very good. Some other books which I has a lot more detail are Flipping Houses for Dummies and Real Estate Investing for Dummies. Get these 3 books for about ~$50-60, and you will get tons better information than you will ever get in any Infomercial seminar scam.
Why is Armando on air to begin with for a real estate related show? Totally clueless about real estate investing and makes A&E look bad for airing that garbage.
Thank you, Mike, for the info on Armondo. He’s a disgrace and painful to watch. What IS A&E thinking?
Mike,
Ah…yes…I see now what you were referring to about flipping being an “illusion”. Yes, that is an illusion…that it can be done successfully and with quality in like 21 days (oh and with no permits too! I love it when they do that!)
Thanks
And thanks everyone for the info on the Kemp book…I’ll check it out.
Bob,
2 Simple questions…no name calling, no arguing:
If Armondo is so successful why do public records show he declared Chapter 13 BK and is still requesting financial reorganization from the BK courts? (And if you say that is some sort of financial strategy….do you think its an honest one?)
And secondly, how come if Armondo buys and sells all these properties, the public records do not support that?
Steve from Texas has pointed this out to you several times…but you seem to rather get all defensive and call people on this site names.
So can you constructively answer those 2 questions about Armondo, who you so vehemently defend?
Steve in Texas about #476:
I have a copy of that case. In a nutshell its a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) filed on the morning of April 3 (appx. 2-3 hrs before the foreclosure sale)- primary the property on 4719 Castle Rose.
He was seeking 10 more days to get funding for that property and pay off VCH Funding in full.
I’ll have a copy of that posted om my site this week.
If Armando is so rich (as he claims), why he doesn’t use $50,000 of his company money and pay off this loan?
I am so glad I found this thread .. I was really looking to buy the Armando montelongo book. I went to his website and the cheesy infomercial presentation and mentality of it was an instant turn off so I looked further and found this thread… THANK YOU THANK YOU .. Of cour I WILL NOT, I repeat.. WILL NOT purchase the Armando Montelongo book or anything … I will say the info I learned here! in this thread has been invaluable. Thanks again 🙂
You are all right, and wrong. The truth is that there is money to be made flipping houses, but it is not as easy as shown on T.V. There are actually some shows on other networks now that I really like that show people that are making money, but also those who are losing money. What is sad to me is that it is the financially desperate people with absolutely no knowledge or experience that are taking out second mortgages on their own homes and assuming huge risk of loss. Here is the facts about flipping and real estate in general.
1. If you can’t afford to make the monthly payments and sit on an investment for a year or more without additional income, you can’t afford the project period. Simple answer, DON’T DO IT!!!
2. There is no easy way to get money. You either need an invester which is always the best option since they will not forclose on your own home if the investment sits for too long, or most folks have to borrow against their own house which I do not recommend. Risk capital needs to be liquid, not borrowed. Unless like I said you have the income to support the additional payments until the house sells.
3. There are different markets for flips. Low Income, Middle Income, High Income. Each of these markets need to be treated differently. I agree with much of what Mike Voss has been saying but it all depends what market you are flipping in. The bottom line is that poor folks need a place to live just like anyone else. It needs to be dry, clean, and safe. But there is an absolute cap on the amount of money you can put into one of these properties. You can’t dump $200,000 into a property to make it perfect when the market will only support a $100,000 house. This means that some corners will more than likely have to be cut. No one wants to do that but sometimes tough decisions need to be made. Otherwise no one would fix up the house at all, entire neighborhoods would fall apart and the housing that poor people have to live in would continue to degrade since they cannot afford to do the repairs on their own. Make sense? So for low income housing you need young contractors just starting out and will to work for less, still get an acceptable end result but realize it won’t be perfect and really it doesn’t need to be. On flips in the housing market of around $100,000 you should be happy with a profit of around $5,000.00 or less. If you get $5K you did good. If you are well organized you could do one per month a make a decent living.
In middle income markets the game changes some. You need to obviously up the quality standards and along with that your budget. In this market to make money you ALWAYS buy the worst house in the best neighborhood. This is not easy and the deals are very hard to find because insiders usually get this info and close on the properties before they ever make it to the market. That doesn’t mean that they aren’t out there, it just means they are harder to find and you need to be picky. While you need to spend the money to make things right, you have to be careful to not over spend and put your house value outside of the market. House values are essentially created by the banks who borrow the money to buy the houses. Market values are created by recent sales usually within the last 6 months within a 3 mile radius of the property you are trying to sell. If you buy a house for $160K, overspend and put $100K into a house for a total of $260K in a market where the comparables are going or $210K you have created several problems for yourself. The first is that someone with that kind of money more than likely won’t want to live in that neighborhood. Second is that the banks won’t borrow the buyer the money for the house unless they have a down payment large enough to cover the gap between the sales price and the market value. Most buyers in that market don’t have large amounts of money saved to cover those kinds of costs, and if they do it is because they are savers and not spenders which means your house will be out of the question anyway. In this market to need to buy low, do quality work and upgrade to match the rest of the neighborhood, but don’t over do it. If done right you could profit $10K to maybe $20K per deal. But realize that only a few months on the market could take that profit away in a hurry so look and consider all offers and don’t get greedy. Take your profits and run to your next opportunity.
Here is the part you all don’t want to hear, the rich get richer! There is very large amounts of money to be made in high end real estate, commercial real estate, and multiple units. You need a large amount of liquid assests to make these deals happen. It is possible in this market to buy a house for $400K, stick $150k into it and sell it for $650K and make a $100k. You need to know what your doing and you need the money to do it. Most people with this kind of cash started from the bottom and worked their way up over the period of many years. This is possible because in luxury markets people are able to buy what they want as opposed to what they can afford. It is also possible because of the large value differences within the local neighbor hoods. One house may sell for $400K and one down the street for $550K and yet another for $800K. This wide spread allows you to buy low, make the improvements you need to bring the value up and sell for a large profit and not over price for the neighborhood. These homes also tend to have good “bones” as we call it. You are much less likely to be sticking money into structural fixes that don’t add value. Strucural fixes don’t add value, it is money down the drain, unless you point it out to the seller before you buy, get the purchase price down to reflect the gap, and get the work done for cheaper than you expected. This is never easy though because most sellers need “X” amount of dollars to pay off their mortage to be able to sell the house so they don’t have the ability to come down that far in price.
I don’t agree with selling get rich quick books, cds, or whatever for $1000 or more, but one thing I give Armando credit for is his drive and work ethic. I have that same drive and work ethic and that is what makes me successful. My biggest beef is that if he really promised himself that if he pulled himself out of the ruts that he help others, he wouldn’t be charging $1,000 for information that is on the internet for free. The information I just gave you folks is real estate 101 and you just got it for free. The rest comes from experience and doing it everyday.
The only thing in this world that will make you successful is you. You need drive and guts. You need to wake up everymorning asking yourself, what can I do to make my life better today? I have no sympathy for those who sit around blaming others for their problems. Get off your butt and make your life better and realize that it won’t happen over night. If things were that easy everyone would be doing it. There is only one true formula for success no matter what business or personal endevour, DEDICATION, MOTIVATION, SOUND DECISIONS, & PURE GUTS.
This could make some mad but it is just the truth. Some people just are not wired for the high paced life required to be successful. Spend time with your family and be grateful for what you have and don’t waste money trying to get rich because it just may not happen.
Good luck to all of you, Brendon
After reading the comments on this website I’ve come to the conclusion that the people posting here can’t stand the fact that a Hispanic family has actually made an name for themselves through hard work and has proven that we are not a bunch of lazy slobs collecting government checks. I can’t believe I wasted my time by reading this garbage and will try to to have nightmares kowing that this site exists.
Goodbye and God Bless.
I forgot to add that you don’t need large amounts of money to be successful, you just need to be happy and take care of those around you. That is what makes someone successful. Take Care, Brendon
This like everything else in life is a big lie.
Ultimately its a battle within: Do I choose to be greedy or not?
Without fear of reprisal most people will tend to act without regard to others.
Both the people who are posting against Armondo and those who support him are clueless. Simple.
Bob must be on the rag, I follow this site because it is funny and interesting.
I remodel house in Tyler Texas and do 4-5 a year. Less if they are big houses. If you clear $25,000 on a small house you are doing great and most of the time its $15,000 or so. For those of you looking to remodel you had better learn codes for your area because if you get a crappy contractor he will not do anything to code and its you name and money on the line. Do you research and this is not easy and you are not going to get rich in a week either. You’d better have some gloves on and want to work.
Love the site
mike
“Retail is $97.00, but you can BUY IT NOW for a huge discounted price!!!!
Once item is paid for I will email you THE ENTIRE 5 EBOOK SET!! This is an opportunity to turn your rags story into a story of riches and set you and your family on the path to financial freedom!”
Too funny. That’s on eBay. What you’re ‘buying’ is an email! LOL I’ve seen a few buy it and then stick the same offer right back on eBay for sale, an email. I guess Armando isn’t getting any of that $$$.
Tick – Tock, just like Mike said ; )
Steve in Texas,
As per your request on that particular document…let me see what I can do.
Will let y’all know.
K
The package is 97.00 not 1,000.00!
it looks like armando’s site is down..weird huh?
melanie,
Re: “The package is 97.00 not 1,000.00!”
The ‘cheese’ is 97.00, the ‘RAT TRAP’ the cheese is on is 997.00 ; )
the site is back up and there are 2 packages one is 97 and the other $997
“Everything Armando said on that webcast “SOUNDS” great, on paper it “works”. Unfortunately though, it doesn’t mesh with reality in the real world”
It meshes for people with common sense, a little bit of smarts and ambition.
It doesn’t mesh with people that are wannabe detectives and spend most of their time arguing on chat boards.
“Public records are not facts?!?!?”
What some of you Barney Fifes are stating as facts are not in the public records, as demonstrated here:
“boyson wrote:
Steve in Texas about #476:
I have a copy of that case. In a nutshell its a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) filed on the morning of April 3 (appx. 2-3 hrs before the foreclosure sale)- primary the property on 4719 Castle Rose.
He was seeking 10 more days to get funding for that property and pay off VCH Funding in full.”
You see, Steve thought he found a juicy tidbit but when in reality it was a common business move.
If Armando is so rich (as he claims), why he doesn’t use $50,000 of his company money and pay off this loan?
You never, never use any of your own money if you can borrow it instead. Business 101.
Lee,
Let me repeat this for you very s*l*o*w*l*y. On 4/2/2007, VCH Funding “Repoed” a multitude of properties and then they were actioned off on the courthouse steps the next day. Actually, you don’t need to see the injunction details to see that because it’s clearly stated in filings by VCH Funding AFTER the injunction was sought, and AFTER the auction on 4/3/2007 did in fact, happen.
Sooooo, again. Is that covered in the course? ; )
About “comment” #489 by “Andy from San Antoni”:
Yes, not all hispanics are a bunch of whatever. But I just can not stand shit like you who does not bother learning English enough to spell your own city correctly. You deserve the nightmares then…
Unfortunately, MOST of “people” like Montelongo and you are “a bunch of lazy slobs collecting government checks” -from your words it sounds even more true than from mine.
I do recognize people mistypying…but not being able to type your own city! Why on a hell did you and your idiot Montelongo are neeeded here at all!
By the way, I am a recent immigrant and proud that I am not like a bunch of you and your tribe members shitting in this country and walking with mexican flags proving some shit nobody cares for.
Of course, you would not bother checking Armando Monteshitlongo’s status – you’d prove to yourself that he is from that bunch fed by taxes of real Americans. If you have no clue who made A name (not AN as you “write” like Monteblongo writes on his site, too) – Armando made his name of an idiot, lazy ignorant piece of animal being and just worthless NOTHING!
If you are so defensive of hispanics – where is your defense towards those hard-working mexicans screwed by your assmando montescrewlongo???
Hope, you’ll have Armando in your dreams…. 😛 :):)
Lee,
That’s around 21 properties, plus or minus by my quick count just now. GONE! TAKEN! TOTAL LOSS!
Some real estate ‘Guru’ ; )
From Montescrewlongo’s site:
“Learn by my Failures. When you see me on television, you get to see my successes. What you don’t see is all of the failures that I have had before I started flipping houses. It’s very easy to share your success, but much harder to share your failures with the world. However, I believe in being dirt honest and by doing so, I believe that sharing my failures will actually help you be more successful.”
I bet it will!…He is definitely right about Dirt :):)
We, obviously (by all these posts and valuable researches of many good people on this site)
did not see any of his failures…. :):):) like one failure being a descent human being to at least YOU OWN PEOPLE :):) OR WIFE :):):)
Thanks to everybody for great research work and letting us know more about this idiot Montescrewlongo!
—————-
Lee,
Re: “You never, never use any of your own money if you can borrow it instead. Business 101.”
Let’s zoom in for a closer look at that, um, K?
“Interest rate on hard money
The rate is not dependent on the Bank Rate. It is instead more dependent on the real estate market and availability of hard money credit. Currently and for the past decade hard money has ranged from the mid 10% to 16% range. When a borrower defaults they may be charged a higher “Default Rate”. That rate can be as high as allowed by law which may go up to or around 25%-29%.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_money_loan
“Bob finds a house that needs some cosmetic repairs and possibly a new roof. The owner is selling it for less than value to get rid of It at a current price of $200,000.00. Bob gets a list of repairs needed and prices them out. After negotiating with contractors the cost to repair the house completely including a new roof is $35,000.00. Bob currently has $20,000.00 to put into repairs. He wants to buy the property but conventional banks will not give him a loan for the purchase due to the condition. He knows that once he fixes the house, based on current similar homes in the same neighborhood, the home would sell for roughly $350,000.00. In order to make $100,000.00 off of the property, he decides he needs a loan for $235,000.00 from a hard money lender. Since the property will be worth $350,000.00 after repairs, Bob can use the future repaired value to obtain a loan for 65% of $350,000.00, totaling $227,500.00.
Gary is a private money lender that specializes in helping out people just like Bob. Gary decides to loan Bob the $227,500.00 for 6 months to a year with INTEREST ONLY payments and a small loan fee. While Bob has the money to purchase and rehabilitate the property, Gary is receiving interest only payments from Bob for 6 months to a year.
In the end, Bob was able to sell the home quickly for $320,000.00, Gary was then payed back the full amount of the loan at the time of the sale and Bob walked away with over $92,000.00.”
http://houseflippingloans.com/houseflipping.html
Unfortunately though, If “Bob” didn’t sell the house by the “six month or one year drop dead date” and make the interest payments on time, then what? “Bob” loses $20,000, PLUS, all interest payments he’d paid and other fees on ONE house! Not to mention the time he wasted ; )
So, Lee. You never, ever, borrow money like that if it limits your options when you buy a property, i.e. refinance it after repairs and 1) live in it yourself
or 2) rent it or 3) or lease/option it.
That Lee, is ‘Common Sense 101’ ; )
Steve in Texas–bravo!
Yikes! Five more filings today…
MANDOMAN MANAGEMENT INC
Litigant Type: PLAINTIFF
Style: MANDOMAN MANAGEMENT INC
vs VCH FUNDING CORP
Date Filed: 08/07/2007
Docket Type: INJUNCTION
Case Status: PENDING
2007CI11751 MANDOMAN MANAGEMENT INC 08/07/2007 PLAINTIFF
2007CI11750 MANDOMAN MANAGEMENT INC 08/07/2007 PLAINTIFF
2007CI11749 MANDOMAN MANAGEMENT INC 08/07/2007 PLAINTIFF
2007CI11748 MANDOMAN MANAGEMENT INC 08/07/2007 PLAINTIFF
http://www.co.bexar.tx.us/webapps/html/DKLITDSP01.asp
Steve in Texas:
I just scanned case 2007ci04979 and posted it on my website:
http://www.flipthisforreal.com/records/FTH/montelongo/foreclosure/2007ci04979.pdf
Boyson,
Interesting. That was just for ONE property ; )
You never, never use any of your own money if you can borrow it instead. Business 101.
Not entirely correct, using other peoples money can be a great tool, however, borrowing money is an expense and can be quite expensive if you do not have good credit and/or made poor business decisions (eg cut corners, fail to notify lenders of transfer of deed (mortgage wraps), have sufficient funds to make payments if you renter/buyer bails out, fail to pay property taxes on time).
This can lead to the situation that the Montelongos went though in April-May of this year.
If it’s Tuesday, it must be a busy day at the ‘Sheriff’s Sale’ on the courthouse steps, again ; )
Great! Thank you Boyson and Steve in Texas!
Hope Rob(ert) and the rest of the retarded Montelongo’s cheerleaders (including the last mexican idiot) can read and shut up!
Steve in Texas on #506
The five cases you listed are in the filing room and will be available either Wednesday or Thursday.
BTW, in July 2006, he filed a TRO to stop a foreclosure sale on a property located at 1126 King, San Antonio, TX.
Although he managed to sell the property, he lost the hearing held July 17, 2006 and forfeited the $500 bond he posted to Waring Investments’ attorney.
As you said, what chapter is this technique covered Armando’s course and will this house be included in the David and Melina Tribe Workshop bus tour in September?
http://www.flipthisforreal.com/records/FTH/montelongo/1126_king/2006ci10190.pdf
Boyson when will your website be live?
Re: Post #506
Steve,
Today (the first Tuesday of the month) was the foreclosure sale day on the Bexar County Courthouse steps. Probably more attempts to stop foreclosure.
“Lee,
Let me repeat this for you very s*l*o*w*l*y. On 4/2/2007, VCH Funding “Repoed” a multitude of properties and then they were actioned off on the courthouse steps the next day. Actually, you don’t need to see the injunction details to see that because it’s clearly stated in filings by VCH Funding AFTER the injunction was sought, and AFTER the auction on 4/3/2007 did in fact, happen.
Sooooo, again. Is that covered in the course? ; ) ”
VCH Funding nor any other business can auction off houses on the courthouse steps.
House that get auctioned off on the courthouse steps are owned by the state for deliquent taxes.
You are not understanding what you read.
Armando is borrowing money from VCH funding and is missing deadlines to pay them back, therefore VCH files an injunction against the house(s) to get Armandos attention to pay them. Armando then counters back getting an extension or whatever. It’s common business practice.
It doesn’t pass the common sense test that Armando would let a house he bought get repoed if he could have made an interest payment or some kind of payment to VCH.
Again, you are not understanding the county records and who owns what and what the circumstances are.
You’re making allegations and commiting libel.
On another note, I believe I read Armando is of Italian decent, not hispanic??
Has anyone gone to his web-site lately? http://www.ArmandoMontelongo.com has been DUMPED. It’s now directed to “Register.com” Hilarious!!
Has he been shut down?
in simpleton terms what does the 507 post mean….other than he’s a fraud???
obtw…I love this site and I am seeing cockeyed now from reading all 500 posts in one night. My wife and I love the A&E shows, but we had our doubts about Armondo And the Atlanta group. We truely enjoyed Richard Davis’s show and the other one with Kristen.
Thank you all for some good reading, now I must move out of teh way so that my wife may read.
p.s. it’s so obvious that the posts here sticking up for Armondo is truely Armondo. What an F’er, snake oil salesman.
Lee,
Re: “VCH Funding nor any other business can auction off houses on the courthouse steps.”
You are a complete idiot. Read what I wrote again. I never “said” that ; )
Lee,
What a mangled mess you wrote! lol Do you know how to read court docs? How about property records? Do you know what an injunction is? How about the difference between a defendant and a plaintiff? ; )
FTHFan…NOT!,
Re: “Today (the first Tuesday of the month) was the foreclosure sale day on the Bexar County Courthouse steps. Probably more attempts to stop foreclosure.”
No doubt! I wonder if the 5 is just part of a much larger number, again ; ) Since VCH Funding is the ‘lynch pin’ it will be easy to tell once the filings are posted
About #516
Christopher,
It works now maybe not for a long time… to Arando’s miserable pleasure :):) it’s all he has for now :):):)
Ken in Houston: #517
Armando filed a Temporary Restraining Order to stop the foreclosure sale on the property located on 4719 Castle Rose, San Antonio, TX. This is the house featured in episode-27 “Flip 101” on FTH.
Lee,
Re: “House that get auctioned off on the courthouse steps are owned by the state for deliquent taxes.
You are not understanding what you read.”
Wrong again, genius…
http://weberlaw.com/BAPCPA/texas-property-code.htm#51.002
Jeff in Indy: on #517
I hope to have a soft opening this Monday.
There was some security issues I want to test out before making it public – mainly to prevent spamming the message boards.
I have been in the real estate industry for over 20yrs. 1000 homes in 5yrs? lol….come on get real. you need a full time crew of at least 100 people to get that done, and from the looks of the show you dont have it. And if you have done that many deals WHY..WHY in gods name would you make that public, have you ever heard of the IRS?? maybe they want there cut of the supposed 20 Million in profits you’ve made.”your brillant”
Como se diche MORON..however their show is entertaining, its like Investors gone wild on crack in the hood.
Good Luck Armando, Your gonna need it.
A fellow “REAL” Investor,
why haven’t any of the news stations here in san antonio tried to expose the Montelongo clan? I first wrote all news stations when the show first aired. They all lied about the homes selling on the episode with the wives competing against each other. I watched the MLS and niether home sold for another 2-3 months. The other night one of the stations did a live feed from Chachos about the extra 30 cent charges on cheese without it being disclosed on the menu. They can do that but they cant find time to uncover these scam artists? As for David, he and Melina are just as bad ripping people off with thier workshops. I personally think one of the main reasons for the split was Melina wanting to take on a more featured role. Have any of you seen her sites featuring advice and another where she is trying to be a model or host of another show? when it comes to real estate the Montelongos are not qualified to flip a burger much less a house. One last thing, if you want to know where these guys probably learned their scam go to the other brothers web site: paulmontelongo.com
Steve in Texas:
They are indeed TROs to stop foreclosures sales on 4 properties. He filed each TRO in a separate district court.
You keep mentioning 5 cases but I only locate 4 of them. Do I miss something?
Hi Boyson,
It’s 5 by my count. All filed on 8/7/2007/…
2007CI11751 MANDOMAN MANAGEMENT INC 08/07/2007 PLAINTIFF
2007CI11750 MANDOMAN MANAGEMENT INC 08/07/2007 PLAINTIFF
2007CI11749 MANDOMAN MANAGEMENT INC 08/07/2007 PLAINTIFF
2007CI11748 MANDOMAN MANAGEMENT INC 08/07/2007 PLAINTIFF
2007CI11747 MANDOMAN MANAGEMENT INC 08/07/2007 PLAINTIFF
Boyson,
I did a reverse check with VCH Funding and
doc #2007CI11747 isn’t there!? Weird!
Boyson,
Here’s the cause number and info.
Cause Number: 2007CI11747
Business Name: MANDOMAN MANAGEMENT INC
Litigant Type: PLAINTIFF
Style:
MANDOMAN MANAGEMENT INC
vs VCH FUNDING CORP
Court: 131
Date Filed: 08/07/2007
Docket Type: INJUNCTION
Case Status: PENDING
It’s a race to the bottom on eBay! ; )
ARMANDO MONTELONGO – FLIP IT NOW COURSE
Buy It Now price: US $6.99
Tick (no tock).
Thank you for saving me $97.00!!
I saw the “Montelongo Family” on TV and I live in San Antonio. I figured if that guy could do it…anyone can.
I was about to purchase his 5 E-book set when I decided to check out Ebay and see if someone might have a used copy printed out.
When I saw that I could win a bid for 99 cents, I started to wonder why these pearls of wisdom would be so cheap. I did some surfing and bingo..I found this site.
Thanks for saving me some $$ and opening my eyes to the Monte-Loco scam.
BTW: Ebay canceled the 99 cent auction and emailed me a notice. I guess even 99 cents is too much for the books. LOL
Checking my email, I found one from the Montelongo website, it was an auto response type thing that offered me two easy payments of $48 to help me with the cost of the 5 e-books. I went back to the website and used the “Contact Armando” link. I emailed him my story, letting him know how close I came to buying his books. Then I posted a link to this site (which he apparently knows about).
I told him I would be doing some independant searches of my own to confirm his profits and business stability. I will check things on my own (nothing against your own research, but we all know how that goes).
Thanks again!
HELP! I’ve started reading and can’t stop! A lot of GREAT information being shared and the shills, well they are entertaining. Glad to know we understand we can’t get rich sitting around in our underwear listening to some really expensive…what? Shill? Post 428 (Bob): none of his friends like him? hmmmm? I thought friends liked each other! Post 436 (F. Baken): I am sorry you had a bad experience! Buying a home is a huge investment, the largest most of us will make; representation is paramount. I am a Texas REALTOR and have been for years. You make very good, valid points. We are all “independent” and pay a Broker (called a Sponsor) a monthly flat fee, transaction fee or split commission (some times all three) to hold our license unless we personally hold a Broker’s License, own and operate an independent office. CAVEAT EMPTOR! Seeing and signing a Seller’s Disclosure only means the Buyer has read it. Receipts can be “created”; ask for copies of the cashed check payable to the trade. Texas Buyer’s can and should visit http://www.trec.state.tx.us/inspector/default.asp for a list of inspectors. Some cities have formed groups of inspectors that must meet certain criteria to be a member (www.HAREI.com) Some Seller’s are not required to provide a Seller’s Disclosure Notice. Don’t stop at having resale homes inspected; New Homes are built by humans and should be inspected at frame (pre-sheetrock) and before closing NOT MATTER WHAT THE BUILDER TELLS YOU!
P.S.: Post 366: Cost of air fare to South Carolina and Hotel on Debit Master Card under $997.00 – Hearing what Richard had to say…..PRICELESS!
Have a GREAT Day 🙂
Interesting link in the San Antonio Express News about new law concerning builders and house flippers:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/MYSA081007.01C.BuilderBill081007.2b098e5.html
Last summer, I worked on a house in N.H for a guy who builds homes in the south. This guy builds over 10,000 homes a year. Literally, 10,000.
SO, is it possible that they flip 20-30 a month? YES, but I still don’t believe it. The afore mentioned builder, his home was worth more than my family tree, he has a $20 million private jet, and more people working for him then most small town populations. I just don’t see a two person oper. with no retained subs doing 20 – 30 a year, never mined a month!!
LOL! My hubby told me,today, we were moving back to his hometown, San Antonio. Aggravated with him that I have to give up my decorating/consulting business to relocate . I thought I would give Montelongos a call. Especially after the last episode of the intern! That had to be staged! I was dumbfounded. I actually felt sympathy for them,All!Contractor, Montelongos and the intern. ( I kept thinking, this has to be staged!)
I like how it showed Armondo’s soft side,believing in the intern no matter how much he screwed up. He believed in the guy. Contrary to his normal character.I was shocked. From day one ,I thought he was an overbearing ,controlling ,pompuos jackass who thought he could intimidate people.
But I can see how $ and power gets to people.BEEN THERE
I don’t know what happened. Half of the writing got lost in cyberspace!Been there.
I hope I am not duplicating this. Sorry if I am. I was trying to make a point , and 1/2 my message got lost.
Climbing the mountain is adventerous and fun, but the way down can be hazardous to your health and livlihood when both of your feet want to go in different directions, because you are uneducated about the journey.
This is why they need to pull the books etc.If indeed they made a mess of the business,they need not be leading .(blind leading the blind)
The Tv shows make it look too easy. Too many families suffer hardships stress and financial ruin over the dillusions of granduer to get rich quick with unrealistic time frames set by the tv shows.
Mike,Steve ,and all who are working on this Thank you for your comments!Keeep it up! This was the first time I heard of it!
MIke you need to do that reality show!
I WAS going to call for employment,until I read this blog.
The Montelongos are in my prayers.And if they made a mess, I pray they make it right.
A wise elderly lady told me. If you are not in God’s will, he will jerk your chain or put you on a shelf.
I think that Armando is a scumbag. I do watch the show for pure entertainment. Not sure if anyone noticed but with that house where he accidentally knocked parts of the mother section of the house down with a bobcat…. when Veronica was asking him to check the address on her so called green house…she did mention several times to him that she didn’t want to keep working on the house if he didn’t “PURCHASE THE HOUSE RIGHT”. That has to be the biggest flag and mis-step on her part. Why would she question that if he isn’t doing shady things.
I presume that the brothers have split as it no longer references them in the open credits. I went to the website to check and see if it says anything about them but nothing. I did find somewhere where David and Milena are giving seminars.
David seemed to have some sort of moral when it came to flipping the houses. Hopefully he can go on and do the right thing and build an honest business.
I was going to purchase this set for my husband who is considering going into the flipping business (not exactly what I call it, but oh well!!) anyway, after much reading of these posts, I think I’ll save my $997 and buy him a new set of golf clubs instead! Thanx for the tips!
I did also notice the flagrant product placements in the current episodes. Very very said if you ask me. I do believe that the only honest and worthy person in these series has been Richard of Trademark. He is defintely building a great company, takes pride in what he puts his name on and seems to honestly care about people and not just the bottom line.
If it came down to it I would definitely buy a property from Richard and not from any of the others.
Thanks for this site full of information. I too was contemplating buying the books but I got a bit wary when I realized that something was up when the brother dissappeared and also the excessive product placement recently.
A lot of Armando’s figures on repairs seem very off to me. I recently installed hardwood flooring in my house and renovated my kitchen. No way was I able to spend as little as he does in a house with the inclusion of labor.
“why haven’t any of the news stations here in san antonio tried to expose the Montelongo clan?”
Perhaps because there’s nothing to expose except a bunch of legal manuverings and no scam?
Perhaps because they don’t want to misread the county records and make up lies and be sued for libel?
Perhaps they could contact Steve and some others on here and get an ear full of hogwash and have a good laugh and tell them not quit their day jobs and leave the investigations to the professionals?
Oh, Lee???
“Armando turned himself into a flipping machine, inspiring millions with his rags-to-riches story. In less than 5 years he became America’s largest residential real estate investor.”
http://www.armandomontelongo.com/armando_montelongo.php
Largest in America! ROFL!
Here’s part of one, Lee, just for you! It’s in Java Script so I can’t cut and paste it here. I’ve typed it out…
________________________________
“Note Secured by Deed of Trust
Date: June 15, 2006
Holder: VCH Funding Corp.
Borrower: 114 Repose Land Trust
Date of sale of property: (first Tuesday of month) April 3, 2007
Time sale of property began: 11:19 AM
Place of Sale of Property: South enterance door of the County Court House in Bexar County, Texas
Buyer: VCH Funding”
_________________________________
“Misread” that!; )
Oh, and Lee. When you’re in a hole? Put down the shovel.
Just a thought ; )
What is everyone’s problem with the Montelongos??? Man, you people really need to get a life–for real!
Re:#501 Shell?? You need to spell check your own message before you try to put someone down for their own mistakes—stupid ass! (why ON the hell…)you are definately an immigrant, and you call yourself a real American–bull shit!!! you have no idea what it is to be an American$$$$$! You just hate the fact that a Mexican is making more money than you can count and it eats you up inside, that’s why your life sucks and you will always be in a stand still.
Hey Armando – here’s free advice: when you shill post, try to come up with something new – the ‘get a life’ attack, race card, and ‘your life sucks’ approach all give you away immediately you’ve done them so many times.
You’re a broken (and broke) record, dude.
PS: it’s definitely, not definately, fool.
RE:548 -I am a mexican. my mom came to this contry without speaking english, my father worked downtown selling fruit before joining the army at 16. they worked hard so today all my siblings have college degrees and good professions. You are showing your ignorance and lack of class by insunuating everyone is mad over the Montelongos because they are hispanic and supposedly successful. They are liars. I have access to MLS and the homes are not being sold like they claim. Also, non of the values they claim are anywhere near what comps for the area can support. From day one Armando has been trying to get into books and seminars which is fine, IF you really can substantuate what you claim. I will gaurantee you if the news ever did care to investigate they would expose all the Montelongo claim very easily. I advertise quite a bid with the express and just spoke to one of editors the other day about the Montelongos. there response was they view the show as entertainment.
Armando’s 12 min preview of his DVD today is the same house on tonights episode. Funny how on the video he said he will take $300 for the landscaping and on the show hes putting in $1000. Its also ironic since he said to never put in over $750 for the landscaping…
Realtor4U, all
RE: My post #436
We lost $100’s of thousands of dollars.
I’m devastated. It’s the darkest time of my life.
Sometimes sellers lie and cover up problems, sometimes real estate agents help them or look the other way and sometimes the inspector makes big mistakes. But the worse people I’ve dealt with are lawyers.
Lee,
Because you “asked”, I’m putting a list
together of all the properties “sold” on the courthouse steps on April 3, 2007. And “bought” by VCH Funding.
It looks like it might be as high as 27 properties. It’ a LONG list so I’m just giving you an update. I’m still working on it ; )
Lee,
Just to be perfectly clear, and again, because you “asked” (for it!). I already have the list put together of the various “Land Trusts” etc. What I’m doing now is looking up the Trustees and/or Guarantors behind them. So far, six out of six are “Montelongo”
Just thought you’d like the LATEST update ; ) Still working on it.
Did anyone catch the new episode on 8-11-07? Not to sound perverted, but does anyone else think Veronica got Butt implants? Don’t get me wrong, it looks great, but it didn’t look that good before. Just curious.
Notice Armando piped down after the webmaster posted the ip info?
Love it.
Hey Armando! Banished to reading and not responding? Sweat through another shirt reading these comments and rest assured big brother is watching.
The heat’s on and you’re gonna fry.
Get your books in order, armandick.
Oh my God I just finished watching the show where AM heads to FL to speak at an event. I actually went to google to see where AM may be coming to my area to speak because I enjoy him so much that I wanted to attend a seminar. Well I found this website instead and for the past 2 hrs I have read over 240 comments and you all have confused the hell out of me. I really believed the show was real and I was considering ordering the $97 dollar deal, but after reading ALL of the comments especially from Mike Voss I am scared as hell to do anything because I’m shocked at all of the information you all seem to have. However after thinking about some of the things he is quoted as saying don’t you believe he is merely being a salesman. Also why is writing a book or offering a guide to become rich eating at some of you. Don’t you think it’s smart to market what you do and who better to sell your product but “you”. In my opinion you are saying okay now that you have success don’t pursue the other options that you have. I do not have a negative opinion of AM because I have not taken the time to dig into his personal public business deals, however it seems like he is doing something “right”. What I found disturbing was that he was driving the Mercedes formally driven by his brother and when I didn’t see his brother on the show I said to myself there is about to be some drama. And I too think that “Brandon” might be AM and I also think “Dale” is too.(smile) Well I guess you have to speak out for yourself without causing a riot somehow, huh? I will say that my hopes of becoming wealthy flipping properties is now fading after you guys bust my bubble by “exposing” AM, whether it’s true or not. But you know what alot of us want an easy solution to good ole fashion hard work and determination and AM makes it seem soooooooooooooooo simple even though we ALL know it isn’t or each of us would be doing it if it were that simple. Question: I want to know if anyone can tell me how one figures out what size loan they may qualify for without going through a pre-qualifier to find out. Wasn’t there some easy formula to kind of calculate the numbers yourself ? Okay I am almost 40 and I want to move to Miami. I have never owned a property before. I have 3 children and have been self employed for 5 years, earning about 200k per year. Can I buy a million dollar home ? Sounds crazy but I have no clue. i’m in a 5bd 3bth rental paying $2600.00 monthly. If someone knows please share the answer with me. Thanks
Steve in Texas wrote:
Audrey,
Re: “looked up Armando Montelongo on the Bexar County Assesors website and he and his company do not have more than $200,000 worth of properties – including his own residence
Does anyone want to comment on this?”
***** According to a search on Bexar County Appraisal District (bcad.org), seven (7) houses are Veronica’s name only (??), including their primary home on Jung Rd. in SA:
http://local.live.com/?v=2&sp=Point.nxww7t6sz2m5_4152%20Jung%20Rd%2C%20San%20Antonio%2C%20TX%2078427_Montelongo%20residence__&encType=1
This was the ‘Rancho Montelongo’ house featured on episode 18 in season 2.
HY MIKE VOSS IM GLAD I FOUND THIS SITE THANKS.
IM NEW BUSINESS OWNER IN FLORIDA IN THE EPOXY FLOOR COATINGS AND GOT MY SELF A EXCLUSIVE TERRITORIES 7 MAYOR AREA CODES.
SO I WILL LIKE YOU TO HELP ME WITH MY NEW BUSINESS ON BETTER PROMOTE OR ADVERTISING.
I JUST NEED YOU TO GUIDE ME ON THE RIGHT TRACK IF YOU HAVE TIME.
I WILL PAY FOR YOUR SERVICES IT JUST WHEN I GOT IN THIS SITE AND FOUND ALL THE PEOPLE THAT CARES ABOUT COMPLETE STRANGERS ,YOU BEEN THE CREATOR OF IT MAKES ME PROUD OF KNOWING THAT WE STILL CARE ABOUT EACHOTHER IM SORRY MY TIPPING IS NOT THAT GOOD.
I LIKE WHAT YOUR DOING AND TO EVERY BODY INCLUDING Steve in Texas: GOD BLESS YOU AND IF YOU CAN HELP ME I WILL NOT FORGET.
THANKS MANNY DIAZ
http://WWW.CREATIVECOATINGSYSTEMS.COM
Anne, #548, you are ripping someone because he/she did not “spell check” his/her post, rotflmao, try using it yourself. “definately” ?
Everyone should do plenty of research before making any type of investment whether it is buying a home, going into a new career choice, buying a “get rich quick” kit or buying stock. If there are red flags, then the amount of research should triple at the very least. Sadly, A&E either didn’t do any research or they are totally knowledgeable of the scams involved in FTH. If the latter is true, and my guess is that it is true, A&E is worse than the tabloids printing the “My mother is an alien from Mars” because A&E purports to be legitimate while the tabloids are suspect at best. It certainly causes one to question the credibility of any show on A&E.
What a terrific website this is! I have watched all these flipping shows for a long while…and have to laugh a bit about it. My husband and I also do flips. It’s NOT an easy business, that’s for sure. We’ve made money on some, and lost money on some. That’s the nature of the business. But, I will tell you this…one of the things we pride ourselves on is the care we take when rehabbing/flipping a property. We don’t just “put lipstick on the pig.” When we rehab a house, we really think about the buyer’s needs. Because I’m also a realtor, I WANT that’s buyer’s business when they’re ready to sell that home! And I WANT that happy buyer to tell everyone how much they enjoy their home, and what great service they received from their realtor, and flipper!
I like how each episode from shows like Flip This House notes how much a flipper will make after the house is sold. Ummm…what about all the other costs? There are holding costs, costs for selling the property, marketing costs, just to name a few. All that needs to be added in. It IS possible to make good money at flipping, IF a person knows how to buy a property correctly. But, these shows make it look like easy money. And that’s not really the case.
As for Montelongo’s course, I haven’t looked at it, and don’t plan to. My feeling is…if he’s making such good $$ at flipping, then why do a course? And how would he have time to manage that business, since he’s so busy with his flips? I know from experience that doing a couple of flips at one time is really difficult. Even with good subs (and I do have some, thankfully) it can still be a scheduling nightmare!
FIFI_33 – To get some info on what you might qualify for to buy a home, I would suggest contacting a mortgage lender. If you know a realtor in your area, or if one of your friends has a realtor that they know and trust, that realtor can suggest a good, trusted mortgage lender to you. That mortgage lender can talk with you (without doing a pre-qualify) about the options that are available to you, what loan programs might work best for your situation. They will also talk with you about your fico score. But I have to stress, BE CAREFUL! Don’t allow any lender to get you into a negative amortization loan (those are rare these days, but some places still offer them.) Also, don’t just assume your bank will give you the best options…many times you’ll pay higher fees to get a loan through your local bank. I can also suggest, if you are a member of a credit union, talk with them about a home loan. You can often get better rates through your credit union than you will through a bank, or even a mortgage lender. Lastly, you can find a good mortgage calculator on bankrate.com, which will give you an idea of what your mortgage payment might be. Good luck on your house hunting!
Mike Voss – Good info you’re providing! I just read your posts #74 and #76. They are spot on!
Turner at 558,
LOL I didn’t write that but your post makes it look like I did. Just sayin’ ; )
Did you see the episode last night. I was laughing at the fake and almost scripted banter between him and his current project manager. Can you imagine any boss that would take being called a dick by his employee. Don’t think so. It’s also funny how they showed him and his performance at the learning annex…he was like it’s a sell out. They packed all the people towards the front and only showed them standing…lol. If you look carefully there would have been a good bit more chairs empty when they were seated.
It really does suck how they get away with this nonsense. You have a lot of people that thought that they were being honest about their rags to riches story…yeah right.
It’s ok because Karma is a bitch and it will come back on them. The way he “Fixes” these houses is a down right shame. Can you imagine the poor first time homebuyer that buys his house. For the most part a new homebuyer is a bit house poor when they buy a house. So go figure the shit they end up in after buying one of his houses.
It seriously disgusts me when he goes on about just doing things cosmetically enough so he can get things past the inspectors eye. I hope all or some of the house inspectors in Texas see him and do their damndest to look much harder at one of his rehabs. The last episode he totally and clearly states how he does the cosmetic fix to just get by the inspectors eye so they don’t know any better. What a scumbag. Absolute and total scumbag is what he is.
Partial list of the properties “sold” at the Bexar County Courthouse on April 3, 2007 and “bought” by ‘VCH Funding’. I have 8 so far and 19 more to look up ; )
Bristol Land Trust – Guarantor and/or Trustee – Armando Montelongo
Weidner Land Trust – Guarantor and/or Trustee – Armando Montelongo
1609 Jefferson Land Trust – Guarantor and/or Trustee – Armando Montelongo
San Carlos Land Trust – Guarantor and/or Trustee – Armando Montelongo
Kashmuir Land Trust – Guarantor and/or Trustee – David Montelongo
Gibbs Sprawl Land Trust — Guarantor and/orTrustee – Mandoman Management
Lennon Land Trust – Guarantor and/orTrustee – Mandoman Management
114 Repose Land Trust – Guarantor and/orTrustee – David Montelongo
Re: Angie & A&E
This is a bit off on the thread but I was curious if Sam was busted for this fraudelent stuff as well how come Angie got her own show? Does A&E just think that everyone is a dummy or do they feel that the whole scandal with Sam was hushed up enough.
Here they are giving Angie a show meanwhile how much credibility can she also have if she was working with that guy Sam on another show.
That would be a “Jr.” after all of those listed as ‘Armando Montelongo’. Armando Montelongo Jr. ; )
To Steve in Texas at 563. – Oops, I meant to quote Audrey from 435. 🙂
Kathleen I really appreciate the positive info. I literally just started moving around at 1pm after staying up until 4am raeding all of the different comments. Okay I’m sure I can ask one of my friends for a reference. I’m just wondering as far as the numbers go is my income enough to qualify me for that type of loan. I’m considering 20% down and my credit score was around 700 the last time I checked. Well I’ll take your advice, thanks again.
Wow, some people really get worked up over nothing. You’d think he was Bin Laden by the way you people here talk about him. Calm down, it’s just a show.
Wow…I have been on here for hours and I must say this is something!!!! I have to comment on Steve in Texas and of course Mike Voss…while I do find your information great in many ways, I don’t understand how you both have the time to be on here 24/7 and continue to go on and on. You both have stated your point over and over, and seriously I have to agree with you two…BUT do records and the same old thing and childish banter have to continue? I can see you are trying to protect people from being ripped off but after saying something it …never stops. Mike, I also have to say to you that just because someone drives a Hummer and has a new car that doesn’t pollute like many out there…you shouldn’t be so concerned. Yes, I have one also, and if I can afford one and enjoy it, then who cares? I’m the one that makes the payments and can afford the gas! And my dog loves to hang her head out the window..lol Don’t judge because of that…I have flipped a few homes and got into the Lending business because I was taken advantage of with not knowing enough and didn’t know I could have saved my home years before. I now give back to the community and have that satisfaction of doing so. I know you and Steve are trying to help, I just feel that you carry it too far. So..be gentle on me…lol I don’t mean this in any way to be a slam. Also on Post 437…I can’t believe what you said about “Dog”. I also judged how he looked and his past, but after actually reading about him after he was the one that was responsible for the capture of Andrew Lester…I found him to be someone that turned his life around…I have seen things he has done with a lot of people and where he truly tries to make a difference now. Whew..I never thought I would ever respond to something on here…oh, one more thing, Rich Dad, Poor Dad I felt was a great book as it showed 2 different sides of Real Estate. OK…I am done now. Keep up the good work and seriously Steve and Mike..I do feel you are only trying to help but also had to speak my mind like everyone else…lol Mike…I wonder if you’re related to the “VOSS” water Company….I love that pure water…seriously.
Kathleen,
As far as neg ams go, unless you acutually are a Lender I wouldn’t say they are a bad loan. It really depends on what State you live in. I have about 6 rentals that are in the loan and including my own personal residence. For years I would never do that loan but after really learning and understanding it, I would do that loan in a heartbeat. I am in CA. and while property is down here like everywhere else, it still gives you an option to pay 3 other ways such as an “Interest Only” a 30 year or a 15 year. If the Lender makes sure your margin in index are decent then there is no reason to do that type. I however would never do in TX and a few other States as they don’t appreciate in value as quickly. Just sharing…lol
re: Manny D post 559
“HY MIKE VOSS IM GLAD I FOUND THIS SITE THANKS.
IM NEW BUSINESS OWNER IN FLORIDA IN THE EPOXY FLOOR COATINGS AND GOT MY SELF A EXCLUSIVE TERRITORIES 7 MAYOR AREA CODES.
SO I WILL LIKE YOU TO HELP ME WITH MY NEW BUSINESS ON BETTER PROMOTE OR ADVERTISING.
I JUST NEED YOU TO GUIDE ME ON THE RIGHT TRACK IF YOU HAVE TIME.
I WILL PAY FOR YOUR SERVICES IT JUST WHEN I GOT IN THIS SITE AND FOUND ALL THE PEOPLE THAT CARES ABOUT COMPLETE STRANGERS ,YOU BEEN THE CREATOR OF IT MAKES ME PROUD OF KNOWING THAT WE STILL CARE ABOUT EACHOTHER IM SORRY MY TIPPING IS NOT THAT GOOD.
I LIKE WHAT YOUR DOING AND TO EVERY BODY INCLUDING Steve in Texas: GOD BLESS YOU AND IF YOU CAN HELP ME I WILL NOT FORGET.”?????
My brother, you didn’t ask me for help but I have to give you some anyway. You have to take some writing, typing, reading, english or some kind of class to make yourself seem a little more educated. People will not do business with you or maybe just take advantage of you if they see weakness. Im not trying to put you down, put after reading your post through two times, I still have no idea what you are talking about. Really my brother God bless and best wishes. I hope things go good for you.
Jeff
Yo Steve in Texas
about post 656
what the flip does all that mean? Can you explain all the legal mumbo jumbo pls?
thanks,
Jeff
I know this is in response to a post made over a month ago and most of you have probably forgotten it but I wanted to address something. Dale wrote a very lengthy post about how the Montelongos are the only “real” people on TV and that “everyone in America is too scared to even feel, think or act like a real person. So many Americans in this generation have gone beyond and overboard of being sensitive, politically correct and paranoid!!! It’s called superficial judgmental people.” I am a middle school teacher. My patience is tried on a daily basis but never once have I cussed a student out because they didn’t get their work turned in on time. Even more, I don’t have the desire to cuss them out. Not all Americans treat others like crap. On the episode last night he said that he was really good at being a b****. Not all Americans take pride in that personality trait. You don’t have to agree with the posts on this site but you also don’t have to insult me. I am a real person and I act nothing like the Montelongos.
Btw, thanks for all the real information, not just personal attacks. Public records (most of the time) don’t lie. Thanks for shining light on the truth.
Also, why on earth would you respect someone that destroys a phone, cusses you out, completely defies your authority, kicks in a wall, and then trespasses on your property. Who works for whom????
Jeff in Indy,
Here ya go! ; )
51.002 Sale of Real Property Under Contract Lien
http://weberlaw.com/BAPCPA/texas-property-code.htm#51.002
I found the ‘51.002’ thing on the docs themselves ; )
Karen,
No problem ; ) I’m self employed with a home based business so I’m on the Internet all the time anyway. This is just the ‘Perfect Storm’. The hype doesn’t jibe with the easily searchable property records for one thing.
Actually, I find the Montelongos’ MILDLY entertaining : ) lol
FIFI_33 – While a score of 700 is excellent, I’m not sure your income is enough to get you qualified for that size of a loan. My personal experience tells me that based on the income you noted, you’d be more in line to qualify for somewhere between a $500-$600K property, but that would be for a lender to truly decide, as they’ll look at a lot of factors to make that determination…most importantly, your debt ratio. If you have a lot of extra money to put down, you could make up the difference to get the size home you want. However, if you have that much money to put down, it could be a better decision to buy less home, which would require less money down, and keep your additional money diversified in other investments.
Some items of note…the lender will be looking at the ratio of debt that you are carrying, and how quickly you pay off your balances. Your debt ratio will need to be below their limit…around my area, the top limit typically has been around 36% of a person’s income (with A+ credit), but lenders are tightening up on their qualifiers these days. So, you may find that some lenders will require that you are carrying less debt to qualify for a large loan. That’s where shopping for a lender is important…but just be sure the lender is reputable and is truly interested in getting the right loan for you, the potential home owner. The LAST thing you want to have happen is to lose your home because of a “funny money” mortgage.
Another item to consider…my understanding is that the housing market in much of the Miami area is soft right now. So, you may find that you can pick up a wonderful property for less…which also means you’ll be able to sell that property more quickly when the time comes for you to sell! Remember, expensive homes normally take much more time (and money) to sell, and they typically eat up a lot of money in maintenance and repairs during the time you own it. Again, here’s wishing you great luck in your home search!
Oh, and Karen – That dipstick Lee accused me of committing ‘Libel’, twice! If anyone is going to try to ran that kind of SMACK on me they better be able to back it up. Hence, the property record details ; )
Karen (post #572) – You’re absolutely right, and I probably should have clarified a bit…a neg am loan is not necessarily a bad thing. However, as a realtor, I NEVER recommend them for first-time home buyers. I also have rentals, and I have a couple of variable rate loans with a neg am payment option. I find them perfect for me, as a rental owner. But, so many first-time buyers (and even savvy, experienced buyers) get themselves into trouble with these kinds of loans. I live in Colorado…we are running #3 in the US for foreclosures. Much of the foreclosures are because people got into loans that they could not manage, and they decided to pay only the lowest option, which forced them into a neg am situation. Couple that with a serious rate increase after the initial low interest period, and it’s a recipe for disaster. But…if an individual understands how to handle that kind of loan, it can work just fine. But again, I NEVER recommend that kind of a loan to a first-time buyer.
Despite their best efforts to conceal the identity of the house, I found it.
Armando is trying really hard to cover his tracks, but not good enough.
Either this was a contract flip or he is operating under/with GJ Properties LLC.
They/he took out a 192,371.09 loan (May 15,2007). I guess that covered the sale, rehab and closing costs. Of course this DOES NOT add up to what was shown on TV.
Good luck in getting 235K, comps in the area are going for around 200K. The curb appeal is terrible.
Legal disc: Lot 18 Block 18 New City Block 10065
Address: 219 Shannon Lee, San Antonio, TX
Current Tax assessed value: 135K
Notice some changes on the show:
He is now founder of Armando Montelongo Companies. Veronica is vice president of the same. What happen to Montelongo House Buyers?
I got this vibe that Randy the roofer didn’t want to be there.
Chris the Intern, nowhere to be seen, no loss.
Jeff in Indy,
Here’s how it breaks down easier. ‘VCH Funding’ was their hard money lender on a ton of properties that they, Montelongo et. al., defaulted on in some way. And subsequently lost on April 3, 2007.
Kathleen wow how informative you are. Let me tell you I was looking around for property in Miami and stumbled across Keyes RE website and I saw some phenominal property. I love the nice homes located on the water where you also have a boat slip for those with boats. I also saw some very nice properties in the 500k-600k range as well. I was really going back and forth over the downpayment @ 20% on a million dollar home anyway. So I may just go with one of the nicer lower priced homes. Thanks
Boyson!!!
You ARE good!!! I knew you’d find it ; )
I caught the ‘219’ on the show but that was it
Boyson – On the show…
“The Montelongo Bunch” – Episode 40
Paid $125K
Renov $45K
Overage $4K
_______________
Total Inv. $174K
Asking $235K
Pot. Profit. $61K
Texas Steve
Thanks for the link but I still dont understand a few of the “terms” and “players” in the mix. for instance: what are
Docket Type: INJUNCTION
Case Status: DISPOSED
Guarantor and/or Trustee
who are:
VCH FUNDING CORP
Bristol Land Trust
Weidner Land Trust
1609 Jefferson Land trust
Or maybe you can explain the process of losing your house on the court house steps(something I dont want to experience.)
I know I sound like a twit but I just dont know about all this litigation stuff
Jeff
Steve…totally understand about the Lee comment…all is good here. I feel better just by commenting.
Kathleen…I agree, but I have done 1st Time Buyer’s with a neg BUT they have totally understood the loan and also put 30% down. This was before the market went soft everywhere. They are still ok though, as when someone put’s down that much in CA…the equity they keep is good even in a tough market. Besides, I have faith the market will get better, it always does…You have been wonderful with explaining things though on here, I wish the CA Realtors cared like you do 🙂 Although…I would never tell a client about what the Realtor’s job is and I would never want a Realtor to tell my client about loans when that’s my job to be the informative one. I do understand how many people are not ethical though. I always tell my clients when they ask about something that pertains to the house they are buying…ask your Realtor..that’s their forte’ mine in reagarding the loan. The Realtor always appreciates that. So…best of luck to you and I appreciate all you have said here.
Jeff in Indy,
A contract lien was put on all of those properties due to default.
My best guess would be 1) The contracts had an expiration date for full payment and the clock ran out and/or 2) The interest payments weren’t kept current. That’s just my best guess and ONLY a guess. The only thing I know for sure is that it happened ; )
Correction:
My mistake, GJ Properties, LLC was the (hard money)lender and not the owner. The property is still owned by 219 Shannon Lee Land Trust. The trustee (one of) is still MANDOMAN MANAGEMENT, INC. – Armando Montelongo as it’s president.
Moreover, MANDOMAN MANAGEMENT, INC. failed to file it’s required list of officers with the state of Nevada and thus is NOT in good standing. Then again, he may have moved his company to another state.
Operating a company not in good standing can expose it’s officers to the company’s debts, lawsuits, taxes, and liabilities. This mistake can screw you up big time.
Steve in Texas:
There were way too many tells.
1) I knew Armando was driving on McCullough near Oblate (I saw the bus route number on the side and the school sign) when he was telling us how he found the property.
2) Typical ranch one story homes built in the 60’s located in Shearer Hills or north of the area.
3) When Armando mentioned center of town and behind a major mall. I knew he was talking about North Star mall. The house is located about a mile north of the mall.
4) The basketball court across the street was another tell. It’s still in the driveway.
5) They forgot to cover the address up when Veronica was waiting outside for the Kitchen expert, but I already found the house.
6) The house is a few blocks away from their first featured flip – “Movie Star” episode. Not a tell, just FYI. 🙂
7) Position of the garage and shadows (street going east-west) means it was an odd number address. The terrain was flat and one block away east of a busy street (Armando bouncing the test ball in the street – McCullough Ave). Took about 30 minutes to find it.
Boyson,
Re: “The Montelongo Bunch”
That HUGE yellow background with black letter silk screen thing on it tacked on the house at that end of the show has NO contact phone number on it whatsoever. Same deal with the ‘FOR SALE’ sign planted by Veronica in the yard.
Only this on BOTH of them as a contact. http://www.ArmandoMontelongo.com
And of course we already know that site has NO houses listed ‘for sale’ on it. Only Ebooks and similar “product” unless I’m missing something ; )
Haha. Busted again ; )
Jeff (Post #587),
VCH Funding is a hard money lender in San Antonio. They lent money to the Montelongos on numerous properties. The Montelongos titled those properties in the name of numerous trusts – Bristol Land Trust, Weidner Land Trust, etc.
From the research others are doing it appears that while the property was titled in the name of the trust, many of the the loans were personally guaranteed by the Brothers Montelongo.
While we may not know exactly how, or to what extent, the bottom line is that the loans being discussed went into default and were foreclosed on and taken back by the lender VCH Funding. In other words, the Montelongos had the homes repossessed.
I am told by someone locally that many of them are now listed on the MLS and are for sale by VCH Funding.
Shame on the Montelangos, the Atlanta people, and A&E for continuing to push forth with this travesty.
Shame on my wife for contiuning to make me watch it. 🙂
Armando, if you do read this site…where you are going…don’t drop the soap.
Thanks for the fun read folks.
I sent an email to the dynamic duo about the claims via their myspace pages.
I think the show is a farce. It makes outrageous claims. It makes real estate look like a game for clowns with more time spent with Hummers than anything.
997 dollars is a tax on stupidity. I’m glad for this great resource!
I’m going to make a show called “Flip This Stock” where I’ll drive around fancy cars and yell at others to find better stocks. I’ll throw things and blah blah blah.
Then I’ll start selling $997 programs to pick good stocks as well as I do. I’m successful; you see me on TV!
Successful people DO write books about their experiences. People like to teach. Guess what? I can buy a book by Bill Gates for less than $997 dollars. Oh sorry, CDs and DVDS- what a joke.
Scam scam scam scam scam scam…
“Yo Steve in Texas
about post 656
what the flip does all that mean? Can you explain all the legal mumbo jumbo pls?
thanks,
Jeff ”
He doesn’t know, he’s guessing Armando got some of his houses repossessed.
“Steve in Texas wrote:
Jeff in Indy,
A contract lien was put on all of those properties due to default.
My best guess would be 1) The contracts had an expiration date for full payment and the clock ran out and/or 2) The interest payments weren’t kept current. That’s just my best guess and ONLY a guess. The only thing I know for sure is that it happened ; ) ”
When you have actual facts about what the records mean then come back and post them…until then I suggest you stop giving the impression Armando is a con man and is defaulting on loans, etc, etc.
Armando mentioned in his webinar he recently sold off a bunch of houses and is going to concentrate more on commercial property.
My guess is he had VCH funding sell the houses for him or something like that.
Yesterday I heard, for the first time, a commerical on the radio starring Armondo himself. I cannot remember what he was hawking because near the end he said “Being broke sucks!” I was floored! That is SO professional. And he wonders why people don’t think highly of him. What a joke!
Lee,
Re: “My guess is he had VCH funding sell the houses for him or something like that”
ROTFLMAO!
Boyson,
I figured you saw some landmarks ; )
FTHFan…NOT!,
Yep. “VCH Funding” is the current owner of record on 37 properties according to the Bexar Appraisal District site ; )
Lee:
You said…
“Armando mentioned in his webinar he recently sold off a bunch of houses and is going to concentrate more on commercial property.
My guess is he had VCH funding sell the houses for him or something like that.”
YEAH RIGHT… then why did Armando go through the trouble and file a TRO…not once but SEVEN times (July 2006, April 2007, August 2007-five times)????
Boyson – GREAT job finding that house brother! You should be CIA or a cop or something! 🙂
Mike Voss – When are you going to fill us in on your review of Armandos junk? Or did I miss it???
This kinda sucks guys… I used to idolize Armando… Thanks for the knowledge here! 🙂
Steve:
Other things that could have happened…
1) As of April 2007, all those properties had unpaid property taxes. The note clearly states that property taxes must be kept up to date. On May 31, 2007, the property taxes on all the foreclosed properties were paid on May 31, 2007 by the various Montelongo trusts.
2) Transfer of a portion or all of the interest of the property without getting permission from the note holder or trustee of the lender. Discovery of such transfers can trigger (at the option of the lender) a “due on sale” which the borrower has 30 days to pay the note in full. See Section 16 on the note.
I think number 2 was the most likely scenario. Someone must have notified Texas State Bank (or they discovered) several of their deeds of trust were transfered from the original borrower to another party and in some cases had addition liens (second mortgages) made by the second party.
Many of Armando’s controlled properties show a transfer of deed to another party but there is never a release of lien from the original lender (Texas State Bank/VCH Funding). I suspect he never sought permission to transfer the deed to another person and unfortunately the bank found out and thus triggered a multitude of “due on sale” notices.
Facts:
All these foreclosures in 2007 are being conducted by one lender – VCH Funding.
Moreover, several release of liens (notes paid in full) from Texas State Bank on other Montelongo properties…
Doc #20070151288 $297,500 – Rancho Montelongo
Doc #2007051265 131,240 – “Movie Star” house.
On the “Movie Star” house, the Montelongos had the new owner sign a 170K promissory note. And then the Montelongos sold that note to another hard money lender.
However, there was never a release of lien from the original lender (Texas State Bank/ VCH Funding) but there was a transfer of deed to the new owner. Thus, this property which is tax appraised at 135K in 2006, and sold for 175K (according to FTH), at one time had mortgages totaling more than 300K!
Lee,
You first landed on this thread on July 10, 2007 (post #359) and you said you and your brother were about to buy your first house to flip. After trashing just about everybody on this thread first, of course ; )
Nothing wrong with flipping, nothing. I might do it myself. You had best take off the ‘Rose Colored Glasses’ first though, Lee.
Aren’t you at least intellectually curious enough to get a FREE registration and read for yourself the documents that you keep incorrectly guessing about?
Do it here, right now…
http://www.countyclerk.bexar.landata.com/
If you don’t educate yourself backwards and forwards about what’s involved and think you’ll “learn as you go” on the financial and contractual end, you’re Shark Bait!
Forget what Armando said – “Flipping is like riding a bicycle” – It isn’t ; )
I have been watching the Montelongos for some time. I have always thought Armando was a jerk and treated his wife like a contractor. How can she take this and even the contractors and project managers call him harsh names in front of her.
I like the show but I hate his arragant attitude.
Boyson,
Killer job of pulling it all together! WOW! Excellent!
I was flipping homes before it was actually called flipping. Trust me there is not a whole lot to it. I have purchased over 50 properties all will VERY little or no money down, rehabed them, rented some and sold the rest. You don’t need a $100 or $1000 package from Armando to figure this out……
Karen – Sounds like you know your stuff on the loan side! I agree with you…the market will get better. It’s only a matter of time. And now is a GREAT time for investors to buy and hold properties! I’m trusting you’ve got some terrific loan business coming your way! And I do understand your thoughts…best to leave the loan questions to the mortgage lender, and the realtor questions to the realtor. :^) Here’s wishing you well, too! And thanks for your insightful comments!
FIFI_33 – Here’s wishing you well, too! Sounds like you’re finding some interesting info on properties in the Miami area. Have great fun finding and buying your perfect, first home! (My favorite part is the doing the showings. I LOVE looking at homes!)
Steve #604:
Yes, my brother and I did buy a house several weeks ago, we close Aug 24.
We bought a 1400 sq ft, 3 bedroom house in Grand Prairie, TX for $43k. Assessed value is $74,500. The house needs very little work and we’ll make a good profit.
I didn’t buy Armandos book nor recommend buying it(because of the cost)…but watching Armando has given me motivation to flip a house. I’ve learned a lot from him and still am.
I’m not interested in the Armandos county records because like you I’m not going to understand all the legalities and business manuverings he and his lenders are doing, nor do I care to know.
I’m flipping a house using common sense and a little bit of smarts…and motivation from Armando.
We’re paying for the flip house with cash so no need for financing with someone like VCH financing.
Actually I have a personal line of credit I’m using for my half to pay for the house, like I mentioned before..use other peoples money, I’ll keep my cash under my mattress.
Steve in Texas post 604
That is what I have been doin for two years now. Learning the flipping game everyway I can before acually buying. I am glad I did because, 1. I now know what to expect and 2. the market is changed and I might of taken a hit from the soft market. I live in Indianapolis and our market is not as hot as say, Chicago or Detroit. I read earlier this year that Indys average housing market only appreciates .02% – .75% a year so any negative change in the national rate hurts us alot more then a place like L.A.
Anyway I have been thinking and I came to the conclusion that A&E not only knows about the Montelongos(which includes all 4 of them because David, Milina, and Veronica all had their parts in this lie)but also help them with their lie. Think about it. If they kick them off the show that will me 3 different cast they had to change. That would hurt rating and also slow the sale of people buying they shows online. Not to mention their reputation would be hurt. They are probably getting a Percentage from Armando’s book and cd’s. We know Departure Films were in on the Laccima scam. Also, if they took the San Antonio cast off they would be left with the Connecicut guys and IMOH I dont think they are pulling in the ratings. They are ok but there is no drama or personality on their shows. Its somewhat boring. What would A&E put in that time slot, more Dog the Bounty Hunter? Things just dont add up. Maybe I am reading more into it than I should.
Jeff
Boyson – Great job in finding that house from the episode on August 11, 2007.
I just recently found this website, and I have to reluctantly admit, that I stayed up late last night reading all 600+ posts.
My comments are as follows:
1. I started watching the Flip This House (FTH) series on A&E during the first year with Richard Davis and really enjoyed it, mostly because I am a weekend warrior and watched the show mainly to learn more about home improvement projects. The learning thing is still the main reason that I watch the show.
2. I continue to watch FTH on A&E with Armando, again, mainly to learn.
3. As with all reality shows, my on-going assumption is that alot of the show is “staged”, and take with a grain of salt some of the overacting, especially with Armando. Yes, he comes across looking like a total ass sometimes, but again, I chalk alot of that up to the staging and pure entertainment value.
4. I also take with a grain of salt some of the proposed profits that Armando claims on the show. And, I also seriously doubt that he is able to do some of the flips on the show for the money that he claims he spent.
5. All aside, I view this FTH show as purely entertainment.
6. Mike Voss, I am anxiously waiting on your assessment of Armando’s material, more out of curiosity than anything else. I would never pluck down $1000 of my hard earned money for his material, because as with most things like this, you can get the same expert stuff at the library, or somewhere on the internet.
7. I am not here to try to convince people that Armando is a saint, nor am I here to villify him. With that said, here are my other comments:
a. Why are people knocking Armando for trying to sell his expertise, whether or not you believe he has any expertise? He certainly is not the first so called “expert” to try to sell educational material to the public.
b. Even if Mike Voss finds that most, if not all, of Armando’s material can be found elsewhere, what’s wrong with that? Again, he won’t be the first person to charge for something that is available cheaper elsewhere.
c. This is a case of caveat emptor (let the buyer beware). This applies to both the FTH show, as well as anyone contemplating buying his course. As stated before, I don’t believe half of what I hear/hear on the show because I consider it to be meant for pure entertainment only. And for those of you thinking about buying the course material, then wait until Mike Voss’s review before making a decision.
d. Although I have never flipped a house, I can imagine during the housing boom in many parts of the country these past five or so years, that there was alot of money to be made flipping. Now, with the housing markets slowing down, I am also sure that it is now much more difficult to make money flipping. So, whatever techniques are in Armando’s course, those techniques may not work in today’s market.
’nuff said I suppose.
Lee,
Re: “We bought a 1400 sq ft, 3 bedroom house in Grand Prairie, TX for $43k. Assessed value is $74,500.”
Howdy, neighbor! Sounds like I’m about 30 minutes from you ; ) That’s the way I’d do it too. Bankroll it myself. Let us know how it turns out
Jeff in Texas,
I don’t know if there ever was any but any credibility Armando may have had with me flew out the window when he obviously embellishes what he’s done and is doing to the point of absurdity.
20-30 flips a month ain’t happening and never did, IMO, and he also isn’t the “Largest residential real estate investor in America” either ; )
In sales, you first have to sell yourself. No sale ; )
Boyson,
Again, great job! There’s a laundry list of things that can trigger a lien on those hard money loans which is basically anything and everything that constitutes “non performance” and/or deviation of the agreed upon terms.
Lee,
Re: “I’m not interested in the Armandos county records because like you I’m not going to understand all the legalities and business manuverings he and his lenders are doing, nor do I care to know.”
The details of the notes aren’t available to the public. Hence, “best guess” why the default(s)
It’s “Contract Law 101” and that I do get ; )
Steve in Texas:
I agree that flipping 20-30 houses a month has to be a gross exaggeration of the facts. But, as I said before, I consider Armando and the FTH show to be nothing but pure entertainment, and alot of playing up to the cameras. I do learn things from the show just by watching demolitions and some of the reconstruction work.
It’ll be interesting to see if he stays in business, or if A&E continues to air his show. He had to lose a lot of money on that house that had the seriously cracked foundation and resulting “warped” roof. I wish A&E would have showed us how he fixed the cracked foundation.
As for those people who buy these self proclaimed expert’s products, well, there’s a sucker born every minute, or so I hear.
Jeff in Texas,
They leveled the foundation (for now) and “fixed” the roof because it was visible. The ‘bones’ or structure though has gotta be severely ‘tweaked’ with loose nails all over the place I would think at minimum.
Lifted from the TWOP Forum (posted tody). LOL!
“My husband called me on my way home from work yesterday to tell me that a Montelongo SUV was parked at a house up the street from us. I did not notice a “for sale” sign when I drove by nor did I see a camera crew but I will keep my eye on it for awhile. It seems that my husband was almost hit by the same Montelongo vehicle (driven by one of the women) in traffic not too long ago. I sure would hate to see his ass in my neighborhood. If they start filming, we have vowed to drive by regularly and yell, “Armando is a tool and a douchebag!” and other such truths.”
FYI:
It appears The Montelongo Bunch house is still being rehabbed. I drove by to do some photos, but there were contractors outside. The garage door was opened and I noticed a pallet of sheet rock inside. I thought they were finished with rehabbing?
I have the raw jpeg (large 1.5 meg) picture on my website and decide for yourself.
Boyson,
I guess that “potential profit” of $61K is circling the drain ; )
Boyson: RE: THe Montelongo Bunh house still being rehabbed: Undoubtedly all Armando’s work is now being ripped out and done correctly by someone competent hired by whichever investor foreclosed on it, took it back, and is now liquidating it! (yeah Armando, a tennis ball is much better than a level or laser….especially since it has a felt-like exterior subject to flattening or catching – a solid ball would have been a more competent incompetent tool.)
FYI Everyone sorry I am so far behind on getting my review of Armando’s e-books up. Unlike Armando, I actually have to build houses most days and do other things when I have free time! I am shooting for having it up here by the weekend.
Best regards,
Mike Voss
Boyson,
I saw your PDF’s too. So the TRO’s were for…
433 Marquette Land Trust
San Bernardo Land Trust
Jesse Land Trust
Painted Horse Land Trust
boyson wrote:
FYI:
It appears The Montelongo Bunch house is still being rehabbed. I drove by to do some photos, but there were contractors outside. The garage door was opened and I noticed a pallet of sheet rock inside. I thought they were finished with rehabbing?
I have the raw jpeg (large 1.5 meg) picture on my website and decide for yourself.
Look like they got new windows and a nice lawn but the drive way could use some work.
Jeff
To steve in Texas…you go…lol. That gave me a good laugh to think of you driving by their job site and hollering “Armando is a douchebag and a tool!”
I am a realtor here in San Antonio and have heard thru numerous sources that the whole show is fraud. These houses they show that have sold for so much are still available now. I have access to the Multiple Listing Service and they are on there with price reductions. Reality TV is nothing but a huge prop of crud.
Well I just read all the recent posts and figured mine wasn’t as informative as I thought. 🙂 You all know it’s fraud.
Just a note:
You can now find the set of 5 ebooks from Armando on ebay for about $5.00.
Prices are falling fast….get it while you can!
Seems as though Armando keeps thinking of new ways to sell his “knowledge.”
******
WOW! Over 10 000 emails have come in today about
our Assessing Properties DVD located at
http://armandomontelongo.com/dvd.php
My internet team and I are working VERY diligently to
get all your questions answered in a timely manner
but please give us a few business days.
I just wanted to let you know
that if you do not get a response today, you will get one
with in 2 business days!
My deepest apologies!
–Armando Montelongo
President
Armando Montelongo Worldwide Inc.
FRAUDULENT SALES………Steve and Mike. I was just told about this website from my brother. Unfortunately I am related to Armando through marriage. However thankfully we don’t share blood. I am not an avid viewer of the Television show, however on occassion I have seen it. There was one show in particular, I believe this was the show where they purchased the home from a flipper who had gotten in over his head. Veronica sold a home to a woman with red hair, who was purchasing the home for her son who was moving to San Antonio from California. The lady got out of what appeared to be a silver colored Dodge vehicle. This woman was Veronica Montelongo’s mother Maria, pretending to be a buyer. I am sure that there were several other shows that were doctored as well. Just food for thought…
Here’s how it ends….The fool is outed nationally, the wife dumps his A as she tells the media she was “put up to it” and never meant to hurt anyone – in fact she’s a victim herself. A few months later she’s flippin’ for Playboy and the fool goes on Oprah saying he’s reformed, redeemed, and born again. They start a ministry and make billions laundering money for the Cartels.
Jane,
Hehe. So according to the video… Armando gets a hard money loan, buys the property, rehabs it and has about $20K left over which he keeps and puts in his pocket right out of the gate. I’m having a REAL hard time believing that, real hard time.
Steve in Texas,
I agree with your last poat (632). I had to listen to the video twice before I totally understood what he said about the $20K that “he put in his pocket at closing”.
So, what he’s basically saying is that he got a loan for $65K for rehab costs, used only $45K to rehab the house, and put the balance in his pocket?? And, the lender just says, “sure, keep my money??”
Yeah, right.
Re: “I’m having a REAL hard time believing that, real hard time.”
Deed of Trust Terms
“A portion of the indebtedness, the payment of which is evidenced by the Note is in part payment of the purchase price of the property…
The balance of the indebtedness, the payment of which is hereby secured represents cash advanced to the Grantor, by the Lender, for the purpose of construction of improvements to the hereinabove described property.”
Steve:
Lets just say he actually pocketed 20K at closing, yet this is LOANED money, he has to pay it back. I guess he was flipping out on those cost overruns because he already had that 20K spent :-).
Mike:
I doubt they were refixing defects. We would have seen a TRO :-). Did you notice they only showed ONE of the bedrooms, ONE of the bathrooms AND no after shots of the backyard (bet the back part of the house is unpainted).
I also went by “The Cottage” house. Guess what, they’re still working on it. The east part of the house is unpainted and there is a side door also unpainted. Chris the intern must have missed that :-). It was covered up by a clump of trees.
Jane:
I got the same email from Armando. My guess he’s shitting bricks that the truth about the “Montelongo Bunch” house is out and has to re-edit the DVD and do damage control. If it was 10,000 emails, I wouldn’t be surprised if 9750 of them are requesting refunds. 🙂
Jeff:
You mentioned the lawn appeared in good shape. Sorry to say but the lawn looks awful (the photo doesn’t really show it). There are three types of grass mixed in the yard with weeds and dead spots. There are several house in the area on the market that have 10 times better curb appeal.
FYI, David and Melina Montelongo’s website tribeworkshop.com is offering a bus tour in an upcoming seminar in September showcasing properties featured on FTH. It’s now been re-edited and there is NO mention about FTH on the bus tour.
I wouldn’t be surprised if David and Melina claim they were victims of identity theft and it was their evil twins from another dimension who appeared on FTH… it could happen 🙂
Boyson,
Re: “Did you notice they only showed ONE of the bedrooms, ONE of the bathrooms AND no after shots of the backyard (bet the back part of the house is unpainted).”
Hehe. Yep. If you recorded it take a CLOSE look at the tile on the bathroom floor ; ) LOL
wow, this is alot of information. I did not know all this about the show. But even with all the good and bad of the show, its making everyone here take time off their lifes to write something about Armando and Veronica. So that means that they are doing something right,with our without merit they are getting paid. We all play the roll when were at work to get the job done even if it means telling the customer what they want to hear to make them feel good about themselves. I have small independant real estate and mortgage compnay in California and I enjoy the show,true or not. its entertaining and it makes us do what they want and that is watch the show. all reality shows are edited and staged, theres no script in life only in reality TV.
they are taking advantage of their recognition and there is nothing wrong with that. We are all grown men and women and can make our own mind.
AS THE SAYING GOES,”DON’T HATE THE PLAYER, HATE THE GAME”
TO POSTING #607 JAMES IN CALIFORNIA: DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR A FIRST TIME FLIPPER ? MY IDEA WAS TO DO WHAT YOU HAVE DESCRIBED RENT SOME AND SALE SOME. WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR A FIRST TIME PURCHASER ? AND DOES IT MATTER IF THE PURCHASE IS A TOWNHOME/CONDO VERSUS A SINGLE FAMILY HOME ? I WOULD APPRECIATE SOME KNOWLEDGE FROM AN EXPERIENCED “FLIPPER”
I’ll go on record and say right here and now that any DVD Armando is selling purporting to tell people how to assess properties is 100% worthless.
Armando and his cohorts have next to zero knowledge as tradespeople, builders, or assessors and, as such, have no place advising anyone else as to how to assess the value of properties. I know full well I have better qualifications than most of the appraisers/assessors in my local phone book, yet I do not hire myself out for that purpose. The ability to determine the value of any property is in direct proportion to one’s knowledge of constructing such a property and years of experience spent doing/evaluating such construction *in that specific market area*. Mechanics are the experts when it comes to cars, builders and tradespeople are the experts when it comes to houses, and housing is regional so they need localized expertise.
Armando is nothing more than an amateur speculator and, as such, has no business selling a DVD purporting to tell people how to value properties.
Don’t buy it – it is a waste of money. End of story.
Mike
Boyson,
Re: “219 Shannon Lee”
Check out the house next door, 215 Shannon Lee, at the “Records”. It’s owned by “GET OUT N GET IT CASHFLOW SYSTEMS LLC”. 2brm/2bth, 1,300+ sq ft. Recently sold for $1,6+M. LOL!
Hehe. There’s some serious games going on here ; )
Boyson,
Re: 215 Shannon Lee
Doc # 20070167308
$1,658,625.00! LOL!!!!
I’m getting that “sinking feeling” that the entire street has some foundation “issues” ; ) LOL
FIFI_33,
DO NOT look at a single family residence as being an ‘Investment Property’
– Richard Davis, 7/27/2007, Charleston
I paid about $1,000 to get there and hear that, among other things ; )
You just got it for nothing ; )
Boyson,
Nice picture there. hehehe Looks like a quick drive by picture.
My wife and I have driven by the properties on Trinity and off of Babcock. The Trinity one’s were still being worked on and the Babcock was up for rent for the longest time. This was a few months ago though, dont know how they are now.
Steve:
You might recheck that, the property listed on that document is in near/in Hill Country Village.
Boyson,
Good eye! Forget the doc# then but check out the address, 215 Shannon Lee
Boyson,
“GET OUT N GET IT CASHFLOW SYSTEMS LLC” owns 215 Shannon Lee and several others. I just grabbed the wrong doc#
VCH FUNDING CORP 20070186824 8/7/2007
It looks like the 4 that had a TRO on them were it in the last go around ; )
Long time lurker, first time poster. I HATE Armondo, he is so phoney, any way the reason I posted was no one said anything about his “sweaty man boobs” about 3/4 of the way through the show, it’s where he is firing his new “contruction foreman”. You can see his shirt is wet under his ol nasty man boobs.
Boyson,
Ha! I found the 5th one! The one we couldn’t find a TRO for.
34th Street Land Trust
It’s unclear though at this point if it was foreclosed on and sold at auction on 8/7 though!? We’ll have watch the records as they become available.
Hey all…I live in Vegas and there are a lot of homes for sale out here. I own a house and have always thought about flipping one. Thanks for all of the advise. Im one of those people that watches all of those house flipping shows. I watch for the entertainment but also to learn. Im glad I found this site. You all have opened my eyes to a lot of the BS stuff and I just wanted to say thanks. Ric
Good info on Real Estate Investing http://www.success.org/re/
Some good info about the credibility of Flip this House on here. To those who did some credible reasearch for this site, thanks for the help. And for the few who just keep cryin and whinning about Armondo, shut up and see a psychiatrist for god sakes, we know you hate him already. LOL.
to mike voss:
so mike what do you suggest for a 38 year old who has a no where job but can’t quit because of a disabiled wife and a 3 year old child? I would love to finish college but can’t because of my family obligations and also for a lack of money. I’m very interested in real estate and want something that can give my family a good future and income. I’m not sure what to believe with all these experts out there. Where do I start?
There is some really great advice in this forum and the general consensus is that Armando is a crook. I love the Flip This House and Flip That House shows for entertainment value only.
Armando Montelongo is so popular with people because he represents the false dream that you can be exceedingly wealthy with no effort or resources to begin with. No knowledge, no money down and this appeals to the public mass because many of them have no knowledge of this business and no money to get started. It’s the classic “if I can do it you can do it” lie. He repeatedly says he couldn’t do the simplest of home repairs if he had too yet he does 25 – 30 flips a month.
This is like someone telling you that you can be a doctor quite easily with no lengthy and expensive formal education.
I want to get into this biz, but my plan is to learn as much as possible in a year and start small with a townhouse rental and attempt to acquire 1 – 2 properties per year and get the real world experience.
In my research I’ve found a true guru who doesn’t even call himself that. John T. Reed. He won’t sell you a multi-thousand course or one-on-one time with one of his personally trained “mentors”. His books are about the nuts of bolts of the real estate world and cost about $30 each. Research him for yourself and make your own conclusions http://www.johntreed.com/rateseminars.html
Mike Voss is right. There are no shortcuts in this industry.
On the John T. Reed website there is a B.S. checklist. Armando hits many of the points on this list. http://www.johntreed.com/BSchecklist.html
P.S. I ordered montelongo’s ebook through a half off offer ($47). Interestingly, the book is five chapters long and I don’t recall seeing the word “tax” once.
His whole premise seems to be to prey on other’s misfortunes, con them out their dire situation, fix the property, and sell it for below market value. All with the help of a hard money lender.
David Corley,
Re: “The Real Estate B.S Artist Detection List”
LOL! PRICELESS!!!! ; )
I have flipped 3 properties in San Antonio. My father, who is my invester, is also on the county tax appraisal review board. He’s heard claims made my Armando. We find it really hard to believe the money amounts that are listed as being true.
I’m sorry that I don’t have a specific show in mind but weve commented many times that with the amount of workers on the property there is no way the improvements cost what they are showing.
There was one show in particular that I really got a good laugh out of. When they were flipping the house that they then moved into they sold their previous home too soon and had to move into a hotel for a while. He complained about spending $200/night. In San Antonio $200/night is almost the best hotel in town!!! If he doesn’t want to spend that money then he could have spent the time at a nice hotel for $100-$150 without any problem!!
Doesn’t A&E mean Art & ENTERTAINMENT???
I love to watch the show for the pure entertainment value. I’ve been flipping houses full time now for 9 years and there is no way that one person or 10 people can flip 25-30 houses a month. That’s a huge hint that the show is for the pure entertainment value it offers viewers.I can see though how newbie investors would believe that it’s real. The flipping shows appeal to a large mass of people looking for a better life style. Rehabbing is a whole lot of work that comes with a whole lot of headaches that can come with a whole lot of money. Unfortunately, the flipping shows are too short to show what really happens on a day to day basis and they rarely stress that flipping is NOT a get rich quick scheme.Most anybody can get in the game and most everybody Will make money IF the house is purchased properly and the renovations are appropriate for the area and if they can take the stress. I love this line of work and wish I had started when I was 20 years younger instead of wasting 22 years of my life in the electric/gas utility business. I say Go For It! Who cares what Armando or anybody else does? Read everything you can get your hands. Here’s a hint, I’ve been reading many different “guru” programs for many years and they all basically say the same thing. Different words, maybe a different path but all seeking the same results. I started with Carleton Sheets in 1998 and it was just what I needed to begin the education process..I knew nothing! His course was a complete eye opener for me, just what I needed. It was easy to learn and it made sense. To this day,I continue to be on his national infomercial (since 2000). No matter where you get your educational materials from or who motivates you, it’s all a step in the right direction to a new career in real estate investing (buying,holding,flipping,renting,etc.). Most courses that you buy for your business are a tax write-off so keep that in mind, with your receipts. If you like Armando and his style suits yours, then you will probably learn something of use. Bottm line: Whatever floats your boat or trips your tigger..go for it!
Stacy,
Re: “Doesn’t A&E mean Art & ENTERTAINMENT??? I love to watch the show for the pure entertainment value. I’ve been flipping houses full time now for 9 years and there is no way that one person or 10 people can flip 25-30 houses a month.”
“You can put lipstick on a pig but it’s still a pig” ; )
stacy:
At what point does entertainment become fraud? when your passing yourself off as an expert and making false claims to have people buy your products when does a “realty show” cross the line?
I watched flip 101 again and they now have an update at the end. It says that the sale fell through and it’s currently being rented for a profit…
They need to do yet another update. Armando sold the house on August 3, 2007. The new owner took out a loan for $51,000.
Even if the new owner put up 20% down (I doubt it), it still doesn’t add up to the $95,000 Armando claimed it was worth. If you add up the holding costs, back taxes, closing cost, and filing a TRO to save it from foreclosure, he lost money on the deal – even if you add in the rental income.
Reference docs 20070186471, 20070186472
If someone can call themselves a success at flipping 25-30 houses a month how come they have such a small team. I believe it can probably be done but with a huge support team and staff. Which these guys definitely don’t have. They can’t even keep their contractors and laborers on staff.
I watched that house last night where Armando bought it from a guy trying to do a flip and couldn’t hack it. I wonder how on earth he thought he could tell the new foundation guy that he could take the previous guys tools. Did you guys find anything that shows if the foundation guy did indeed put a lien on the house or was that just more hogwash?
657 & 658 I couldn’t agree with you more and I certainly don’t condone fraud. My point of view was more from an entertainment value that the show offers, with a few truthful and helpful points made along the way coupled with motivation (for sale).
Like I said, I can see how a want-to-be flipper may be conned by the show with the idea that the business is a get rich quick business. However, the show certainly does reveal that there are real headaches associated with the business of flipping. You are right: “putting lipstick on a pig still makes it a pig” but most folks can identify a pig as a pig..all it has to do is open it’s mouth and squeal.
I would also concur that motivation and education can come from many cheaper sources, most come free of charge. However, IF an individual likes the style of the person they are watching, (and can identify with them in some way) AND they find some sort of motivation to do something different in their life, then the money may be well spent. It all boils down to making a decision, based on your own due diligence, prior to making a purchase of any product.
661 stacy:
The reason I don’t like what the montelongos are doing and I feel they are seriously hurting some people is I have clients all the time that want to buy houses and flip them based on shows like Flip this house. I’ve been a successful realtor in san antonio for over 10 years, before that i was a construction supervisor out of college. I have to talk people out of stupid investment at least 2 times a month. There are only a very few areas of san antonio where you can buy a home so below market that fixing and selling it at a profit can even work. Also, you can’t sell the home FHA or VA for just about a year. Even conventional loans will not allow you to flip without verifying work, getting reciepts and then a complete inspection and appraisal. People are risking their savings, even refinancing their homes to take out equity to buy another home based on lies and false pomises. It can be done, yes, but its getting harder and harder. Only two of my investors know what they are doing and will turn a profit on flips maybe once or twice a year. Also, they have the recources to cover multiple mortgages and cost over runs. With the market slowing contractors are in need of work and offering discounts but sellers are also having a harder time and discounting prices.
Re: “I watched flip 101 again and they now have an update at the end. It says that the sale fell through and it’s currently being rented for a profit…”
Even taking that at face value (ha!) a ‘profit’ is when you have a Debt-Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) over ‘1’ (one).
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/dscr.asp
No way! ; )
Beth:
There was no mechanics lien filed on the house.
I think the interaction between the foundation guy and Armando was staged. The kids coming up to Armando and telling him that someone was lurking around the house was obviously staged. All of that plus getting a guard dog for the night was just for phony drama.
I think the sob story that “new flipper” was just that – a story. Rumb Line Investments (the previous owners)are not new to flipping. It would not surprise me that they feed Armando’s ego with this sob story of getting ripped off and Armando in his greed thought he could take advantage of this opportunity.
However, I think Rumb Line realized in mid construction that they bought a junk property and were more than happy to unload this money pit to an another flipper.
post 656 Doesn’t A&E mean Art & ENTERTAINMENT???
I love to watch the show for the pure entertainment value. Who else called Flip This House just a show? Let me see? Oh yea it was Sam Laccima right after he got busted.
I see Alanta crew was on the show last night. I thought they did away with Angie and her crew? Anyway how did it go. I missed it. I was watching The Real Estate Pros and Property Ladder.
Beth,
I don’t see any “mechanics liens” that were ever on it but the “bailing out another flipper” part appears to be legit from the records. On 9/13/2006 David Montelongo got a hard money loan from VCH Funding for it for $56K. $13K of that was held back for rehab costs to be dispersed “only in proportion to the satisfactory progress of rehabilitation” being made ; )
Re: “David Montelongo got a hard money loan from VCH Funding for it for $56K. $13K of that was held back for rehab costs”
According to the “show” they paid $40K for it and rehab costs were $21,300. Oh, and they “staged” it too. What did that cost? Another $3K? ; )
Steve:
Even taking that at face value (ha!) a ‘profit’ is when you have a Debt-Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) over ‘1′ (one).
Steve, that is all mumbo-jumbo gobblygok greek to me. These guys have no idea about real estate and sit all day in their ivy-league tenured jobs :-). I bet Armando was making more than $500 positive cash flow per month on that house. So there! 🙂
And who is this Darrell guy? 10 years selling real estate with a background in construction. That’s nothing, Darrell didn’t come into San Antonio on his last tank of gas. That’s what is takes to make millions in real estate.
He’s jealous of Armando’s short cuts and Armando’s disregaurd to truth in lending, full disclosure, warranties, building permits, regulations, etc…
You know, those things that a ethical licensed real estate professionals such as Darrell have to follow everyday.
What’s wrong with going full steam ahead, living “credit rich”, keeping one step ahead of your creditors, one day away from foreclosure, robbing Peter to pay Paul and then paying John with interest from what you borrowed from William, filing a TRO to find another Peter, and offering DEEP discounts on course material just to stay afloat?
boyson,
LOL! ; )
Jeff in Indy,
They did MAJOR structural work and NO permit was ever pulled and a “stop work” order was posted on it. It ended with the house being foreclosed! LOL
Don’t forget to stop by A&E and read
Angela’s “Flipping Tips” LOL!
662 Darrell: Like I said, I don’t condone what they are doing but there is SOME truth to what they do so maybe that is how they are able to pull off any fraud charges? I know there are seasoning issues when trying to sell a flip, at least in my state and the lenders I have dealt with. I do wonder how they are able to get around this even if they do provide all receipts and copies of contracts for work performed by Class A contractors. You and I both know that a property being sold to a buyer getting a government loan must be inspected. I have a question: Wouldn’t you think that the Montelongos would have a legal team advising them what they can and can’t say on national tv? Has Armando actually tried to sell his course on tv or was it just the ebook? I don’t remember hearing him pitch his course. And what about the credibility of the author of Chicken Soup for the Soul that supposedly recommends the book? Wonder what, if anything, this negative stuff has on him and his future?
Not defending them but the dog that they got was supposed to be Armando’s dog. I remember that episode where they had to sneak the pets intot he hotel and it showed them owning a Rottie.
I also wonder how on Earth that A&E still has Angie doing her thing. I would assume that by association with the whole Sam nonsense they would have put a wrap on her as well.
Re: “They did MAJOR structural work and NO permit was ever pulled and a “stop work” order was posted on it.”
The house is ‘378 S Howard Street’ in Atlanta. I checked the permit site and indeed, no permit was ever pulled on it.
Brilliant! ; )
Ms. Wilford, who watched and was inspired by the series last year, and who will be a familiar face on this season’s show, felt confident that she “could do the same thing” for Atlanta property.
http://www.houstonrealnews.com/printer/article.asp?c=180867
Richard Davis, owner of Trademark Properties and creator and star of A&E’s reality show “Flip This House,” says no one can watch his show and get the impression that this is an easy way to make a living.
“In our original video, we had a warning,” Davis says. “`Do not try this at home. It’s for trained professionals. You will lose money.
http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2006041108?OpenDocument
That pretty much says it all ; )
Boyson, back at ya! ; )
“The percentage you’re paying is too high priced While you’re living beyond all you’re means And the man in the suit has just bought a new car From the profit he’s made on your dreams But today you just read that the man was shot dead By a gun that didn’t make any noise But it wasn’t the bullet that laid him to rest Was the low spark of high-heeled boys, high-heeled boys
http://www.everydaycompanion.com/lyrics/songs/low_spark_of_high_heeled_boys.asp
Stacy,
The “Chicken Soup” guy, the guy sitting
next to him, and Armandos’ brother Paul are all part of that motivational speaker crowd.
For what it’s worth, I went to Richard Davis’ speech last month in Charleston. He’s not a fan of that real estate infomercial garbage and has never messed with any of it. Furthermore, he’s been approched by the ‘Learning Annex’ and basically told them to take a hike! ; )
stacy:
I’m sure A&E has a legal team that really lets them massage the grey area of any legal issues with armando, or they some how distance themselves for liability purposes. Regardless, after the show my rule of thumb is I wont deal with any contractor on the show or anyone named Montelongo. I was actually getting estimates on my home to change my roof from composition to tile. One of the estimates was going to be Burch roofing until he started showing up with armando. I cancelled immediately. We do have seasoning issues in Texas as well so as best I can tell, if they actually do sell anything its probably on a wrap. (lease purchase)
Also, FYI on the last show with the new supervisor, the realtor Tracy Smith with c21 that comes on and tells Veronica how great the home is and she has some buyers to call immediately, is also peddling a book and being promoted by Paul Montelongo.
Steve posts 671&674
Drama makes good TV Staged or not. A&E does not care if the casts make or dont make money because they are producing ratings which equals high commercial prices. I can just hear the dramatic music play as the voice over guy tries to build up the tention right before a commercial lol. I always skip that part on my dvr just so the surprise isnt ruined 🙂
Stacy:
Just wondering how much money you made being Armando’s affiliate partner:
http://www.yesyoucaninvestments.com/links.htm
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=208478103&blogID=283095599
There’s another saying, if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck…
Jeff in Indy,
By “staging” I meant renting furniture
etc for the “open house” ; )
Boyson! NICE catch!!!
Ok can you tell me what ever happened to Montelongo Plaza. Remember a bit back it showed David and Armando unveiling their new building that they bought.
I am listening to a webcast by David and it seems that he bought that building with an investor named Bob..no mention of Armando.
I have watched Armando on a couple of episodes. I am in Real Estate investing so I don’t watch to get tips. i watch because i find it interesting and he kind of pumps me up and motivates. His tecnniques are a little over the edge and unusable but I like the show because guess what people its TV. I could tell people how to make money in real estate too. There are so many techniques and different approches.
steve post 681 rgr that.
I say we start a new thread and everyone can answer Boysons duck saying. If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck…lol
662, though i agree , buyers see these shows and are quick to jump in head first. however how is it different from what richard davis and armando, they both claim to flip properties for a profit. I beleive were all grown men and women. there is no way in hell that someone even with a staff can flip that many homes in a month, that is why its on TV. its entertainment.
We as licensed REALTORS have an obligation to educate and consult our clients,because we are not saleman we look for the best intrest for our clients. Not all REALTORS do the same. That alone has helped push the market to a dwonfall and increse in foreclosure in California. We must all understand that its TV,entertainment, at least until we see it on 20/20. they will unravel the truth in this flipping craze in san antonio and atlanta. You will never see a California firm flipping home on TV. Its just not possible right now for the average joe.
I say enjoy the show, have your clients watch the show and tell them “what not to do in real estate”.
Beth,
EXCHANGE PLAZA II
8026 VANTAGE LLC
BOBBY J WARD – % Ownership: 100.0000000000%
Mailing Address:
198 SADDLE RD
BLANCO, TX 78606
2007 Appraised – $1,444,610
lmao at all you texas people mad at armando making all the money and trying to get revenge on him by badmouthing him.
Its funny how the mods of the site go through the trouble to trace isps and turn this into a game of clue when something good is said about armando,then another guy researches the bankruptcy accusations,finds out its a different guy with the same name,and no mention of this by the mods because theyd rather have the mud out there.I would love you to trace my isp,i bought the course,loved it,and flipped my first 2 houses already profiting 72000 total
“The market turbulence is not only pushing people from their homes, “it’s weeding out the novice investors, the seminar junkie investors,” Brandt said, referring to those who got the low-end real estate bug from late-night infomercials or shows like “Flip This House.”
http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/stories/2007/08/20/distress_0821.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13
Excellent article!
Stacy,
Re:”I would also concur that motivation and education can come from many cheaper sources, most come free of charge. However, IF an individual likes the style of the person they are watching, (and can identify with them in some way) AND they find some sort of motivation to do something different in their life, then the money may be well spent.”
Well, Stacy. That’s PURE crap. You can’t BUY ‘motivation’. That comes from within, you have it or you don’t. You’re conflating ‘motivation’ with short term ‘feel good’ which lasts about as long as it takes to get your credit card out of your purse/wallet ; )
jason,
Re: “i bought the course,loved it,and flipped my first 2 houses already profiting 72000 total”
Excellent! Post the addresses of the ‘flips’ and we’ll take a look! Until then, buzz off ‘Armando’ ; )
677 & 678 Good info guys, thanks!
680 boyson: nutin’ honey! LOL
With all of his hype I was interested to see some follow-thru…talks like a duck must be a duck. So far no duck, maybe it’s too soon though, I’ll let you know. Heck boyson, this site even advertises for Montelongo, and others. Look at all of the advertising shown on this page and the home page. Makes sense that the web site owner would want to offset some, if not all of the costs associated with operating the site. I post to this blog and others AND read armando’s blogs and others, just as you do and countless others too. I post to blogs where there is a lot of chatter, makes for good informational reading and sometimes humorous. Afterall, how do you think I found this site? boyson, are you quacking at me? LOL..I’m having fun with you kiddo, nothing more.
689 steve: good point. You are right that you have to have the drive first. My opinion is that sometimes the words or actions of others might stimulate the motivation process. BTW, my eyes are brown..LOL!
As one who “signed up” on Armando’s site and Forum, I can truthfully say that I’m glad I didn’t buy into the “Masturbator Course”. Yes, you read it correctly. That’s exactly what it is, because if you go to the site forums and read about it, you’ll find you’re getting jerked off! The $97 eBook he offered had nothing solid to offer and after reading the many threads on the many sites, including the armandomontelngo.com forum threads, I’ve determined that I’m not quite as negative or skeptical as I thought I was, but rather I’m a realist!
My wife beckoned me to buy the $97 eBook Armando put out on his site, which I did. After reading it I discovered that I myself had better writing skills in my left eyebrow than this guy has in his entire person. What a pile of fodder! You charge me 100 bucks for no real information and then want me to spend another 1000? I was born on a day, but it wasn’t yesterday. He “told” his wife that if he was successful that he would help others learn how to do the same? Wait, just one minute here. This is rapidly starting to sound like a job for Mythbusters.
In his latest webcast he states he received an email from a woman named Janice, who tells him she wants to break into the biz, but can’t afford the $40 for his 2.5 hr long DVD, but can afford $30, and thus he decides to offer it to her (and others) for $29.97. But wait,… if you login to his forums you’ll find that several attempted to buy into this wonderful DVD only to find that their order couldn’t be processed. What amazes me, is this woman must work for the CIA, because she was able to send a personal, private email to a man that not only doesn’t have his personal email address listed anywhere on armandomontelongo.com or montelongohousebuyers.com, but doesn’t list a single phone number that can be reached.
Here’s the way I see it. If I were busy buying and selling 30+ houses per month, with no real work force or staff to speak of (which by the way, I believe is BS), I would have to ask myself, “where DO I find the time to spend with A&E filming a series, write a book, and do ‘webinars’, and run my ass off taking care of REAL business?” I could easily go on for hours on this, but at what point? Several posts have made the same and other points, which is; Don’t be conned by a con artist.
It was once said, “There’s a sucker born every minute”. Yes, I bought the $97 eBook because my wife was (at first) convinced that Armando is the ‘real deal’. Sometimes lessons are expensive. I’m one who believes that acquiring an education in real estate can be done by learning from people who are really willing to openly share their knowledge and experiences. But you must seek them out, because real investors and action people don’t have the time to baffle you with BS. They’re too busy DOING what they do.
Cheers.
Jason AKA Armando…
You make quite the claims in your email… I would love for you to provide proof, or addresses of the homes, or your phone numberto talk further with you about this… 🙂
-=Chris=-
It’s just amazing how much smoke screens there are in the whole Montelongo gangs dealings. I am not saying that people like Trump don’t have investors and subsidiaries and all that nonsense but these guys have a maze of crap. It would be interesting to see how much the Montelongo’s really declare as income on their taxes…too bad that isn’t public knowledge or can it be seeing as they are filing returns as a corporation?
Stacy,
The advertising you’re referring to is Google “pay per click stuff” based on relevant content. If we talked about ‘Hamburgers’ about 1,000 times you’d be seeing ‘Hamburger’ ads. The site owner has no control over which ads Google displays. Savvy? ; )
Re: “If we talked about ‘Hamburgers’ about 1,000 times you’d be seeing ‘Hamburger’ ads.”
Just to expand on that if I wasn’t clear. Googles’ automated system picks out “key words” and displays the ads based on that. That’s basically the way it works ; )
I’ve been monitoring this forum for several days, and I don’t believe I have read a post from anyone who has actually ordered and read Armando’s $1000 real estate course. Is there anyone who has? If so, what are your thoughts?
I noticed Mike Voss has not posted in awhile. I know he got the AM course so I am wondering, did he learn so much from the course that he is out busy flippin houses? Oh crap I bet he is out buying and flippin all the hot deals! OK I have to go buy the course myself now! Later!!
Armando is great at what he does, I am in the flipping business and understand what he is talking about and agrees on the way he treats contractors. All of you saying negative things must be jealous of the Montelongos because they are doing fliping better than anyone in the US. Just mt thoughts…
Has anyone heard of the “Inverse Purchase” real estate program being offered by John Alexander? His websites are http://www.paperbiz.com and http://www.johnalexander.com
Dal,
Re: “they are doing fliping better than anyone in the US.”
Are you talking about just the mainland
US or does that also include Alaska and Hawaii?
Dal,
I still stand by what I posted on this thread on May 19, 2007 (comment #53)
which is this…
“Anyone that buys this is sucking on Armandos’ tail pipe. What worked then, doesn’t work now, the game, market, rules, and requirements have changed.”
RE: 687
“Its funny how the mods of the site go through the trouble to trace isps…”
Explanation of Technological Terminology for Armando’s benefit:
The “mods” most likely need not go through the trouble of doing anything. Efficient webmasters utilize programs that automatically extrapolate information such as IP (Internet Protocol) addresses, domain names, etc., from server logs to generate reports. These reports are useful in determining marketing strategies, as well as keeping track of certain redundancies such as repeated visits (from the same crackhead), attempted intrusions and much more. It’s something we refer to as “automation”, and is widely used in the world of “information management”. I could go into more depth, but I’m sure you’re extremely busy, so we’ll keep it short.
To reiterate on a previous post and to elaborate just a bit, the fact that they make mention of the “ISP” (Internet Service Provider) is moot. The relevance is in the IP address itself. It simply reveals that multiple messages are originating from the same IP address in a short time frame from allegedly different people. Same IP, hence the same computer, hence the same person(s).
Anyone possessing this knowledge might, and in this case I place heavy emphasis on the word ‘might’, be savvy enough to contact cohorts using computers in different locations to send their retorts for them. But, surely someone has brought this to your attention by now.
Not to conclude that message 687 was written by Armando, only to clarify the terminologies so that he can better understand how things work, in case he stumbles across this post. I hope this helps.
Kahplah!
Steve,
Not sure what business you are in, but flipping still works. Lot’s of people making money in various states from flips. Real Estate will always be big bucks, regardless of the high foreclosure rates right now.
What I do not understand is all the hate towards the Montelongos. You all must agree that they are making money and will continue to make money.
So Steve give up your hate and turn it into positive energy and try to flip a house or two…maybe it’ll make you enjoy life and not hate! Best of luck.
jason is right in one aspect not everyone can flip houses, I myself have sat on my investments at least a year before selling them fora profit, not always the case but i have been lucky to rid of them at a good time. like i said before “DONT HATE THE PLAYER…HATE THE GAME” if you cant play the game you dont belong on the court. The montelongos have been and are still making money on your dime. good or bad reviews, rating are up and i think that what matters to A&E.
Keep up the hustle Armando say Hi to your beautiful wife for me.
Well, Dal. I never said flipping doesn’t work. What I “said” was Armandos’ info
is dated and apparently doesn’t work NOW, as evidenced by the 20+ properties that were foreclosed on, on 4/2/2007
alex,
Re: “I myself have sat on my investments at least a year before selling them for a profit”
There you go. If you’d used a “no money down”, hard money lender (Armandos’ method) and the note called for payment in full in six months or a year… TOAST!
Dal,
Re: “Not sure what business you are in”
I flip used machinery. Same deal, you make your money on the “buy” ; )
Flip Tip. If you buy the property right, you’ll always make money. There’s many factors in flipping homes. I think I should right a book. I sell million dollar homes in 4 days, because I buy the right, do the right renovations, and sell 1-2% below the outdated homes in the area. Armando is a butterfly when it comes to me dealing with contractors. If you dealt with contractors you would understand.
Check this out from a Craigslist list in Austin. We all heard that Armando got picked up for another season, now they will have a new team in Austin. This team just formed and has never flipped a property. How can they show people how to flip properties?
We are a growing investment company and we have several homes in the prime Austin location that we would like to purchase to flip. We are Extreme Homes. Our team of seasoned professionals are in the running for a show on A&E. We are looking to gain serious investors to purchase homes to renovate and sell. Please contact me at sabrina_gkem@msn.com
it’s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
License info: Unlicensed
PostingID: 405340048
I think you all are hating on ARMANDO. he obviously is doing something right to get on T.V. the man has his own show and MIKE VOSS why are you so worried about what armando is doing?? worry about yourself!!. If ARMANDO is involved in fraudulent activity he will get what he deserves. His books, DVDS are all GARBAGE !!! but I have to admit i do like the show. his wife is pretty hot. The bottom line is the man is a con, he has a hot wife and his own T.V show. HE HAS SOMETHING COMING TO HIM
Throughout this thread there are several comments regarding the negativity toward the Montelongo’s, and I too am guilty of throwing stones. Shame on me.
I don’t begrudge anyone their success or wealth, but when anyone wants to sell me a course on how I can get rich “just like they did”, then I have an obligation to myself (and my wallet) to question the methods on how they obtained it, or even IF they obtained it by practicing what they preech. Too many scams via television and the internet have left too many people broke, both financially and in spirit.
WAKE UP!!
I believe that if the majority of networks and media companies had any real moral integrety, they would perform in-depth background checks on self proclaimed gurus selling their information. The bottom line is, they’re in the business of making MONEY. They don’t give a damn if the info is good or bad as long as it brings in the purse!
If you apply for a loan to make a major purchase, the bank checks you credit history, right?. They look at YOUR CREDIBILITY,… DUH!!
The general public MUST begin asking the same of ANY self proclaimed guru, expert, or whatever they may label themselves as, in order to protect their hard earned dollar.
Take it with a grain of salt if you like, but BEFORE you spend money on any wealth building idea, send off an email similar to the one below and see just how long it takes to get a response, if you get one at all.
Dear
Your success in real estate is phenominal and I’m very excited that you want to share your your ideas and methods with me for the low price of X dollars!
Before we get started though, I’ll just need to check your CREDIBILITY. Please post clear and legible copies (without any text blacked out) of your 10 most recent completed transactions on the web reflecting all profits from sales. Also, If any transactions took place under an entity name, I’ll need documentation stating your relationship with that entity.
I’m sure you can understand and appreciate these requirements to insure my utmost financial interest in this endeavor. Please send an email containing the URL where I may view these documents as soon as as they’ve been posted. I look forward to purchasing and delving into your course soon!
Sincerely,
Iwasbornonaday Butitwasn’tyesterday.
If you happen to get a reply, don’t fall for a smokescreen of nonsense regarding the legal reasons why they can’t disclose this or that, it’s BS. Legitimate businesses have nothing to hide. Financial statements for those companies listed with the stock exchange are made public, so why would you expect any less from someone you’re about to throw money at?
Armando may not be the most likable person in the world of flipping. However, he presents the appearance of success and demonstrates drive needed in business today. People complain about how he talks trash to contractors, but he realizes there are two types of people in this world, “givers and takers”. He just decided to “give it” rather than “take it”. Even with all the complaining, Armando has manage to still get your attention because some of you have taken the time to write about how much you feel about him, good, bad or indifferent…
“The Cat House”
Update at the end of the show…
The sale fell through and it back on the market. I’m SHOCKED! :o)
“The Cat House”
Also, at the end of the show they showed a pre “flip” photo of the house. No leaves on the trees whatsoever. Then then showed a post “flip” photo immediately afterwards, leaves all over the place! 20 days later? LOL
Armando Montelongo = William J. McCorkle. Google it.
I’ve purchased the system and I think it’s great. I was concerned at first because it took a bit to get to me but I have ZERO complaints.
Armondo is a total fraud!!! I cannot get over the fact that A&E allow this goof ball to continue on there network. Richard Davis is by far my favorite, He gives back to the community and has a “staff” like a “real” company! I think all the “new” flippers since Richard Davis suck. Armondo is the worse of course but Angie is a prop and Than is little bit better than Armondo and Angie. Wow- A&E really keeps missing it.
I would also like to say that “The real deal” is a very good show. I also like “The Property Ladder” show. They show the reality of flipping on that show. People lose their butts alot and then over price it and sit on it for 6 months if its not priced correctly. Kirsten Kemp gives great advice on the show and no one ever listens to her! Lol
Armando is the classic wanna be tough-guy investor/ contractor. Excpet for one detail…. He is not! As him what a 10d nail is or what a TrusJoist is or the word Simpson StrongTie. As a general contractor myself in the state of NJ flipping houses and new construction in the US sucks right now. If you do not have knowledge on residental remodeling or custom one off homes and just do straight new construction “cookie cutter homes” right now you are out of work as are many companies that just do new construction. I wish I could drive a new Hummer like Armando’s. But then again any degenerate con contractor drives a Hummer and in the black color too. Real hardworking general contractors drive Ford Super Duties or Chevy utility bodies that are still being paid off while still trying to get customers to pay. Thats why Armando goes through so many guys. He doesn’t pay. Soon he will be bankrupt again and maybe in jail.
Hey.. If you watch the intern show, then it shows that not all the sales went through. Of course, the producers like a quick ending, but it’s not always reality. That’s why Armando is FLEXIBLE. There are no real roadblocks; only mental roadblocks. I love listening to Armando and am interested in his bookset. I’m not too interested in flipping houses, but I do think I’d be good at it if I followed him & my gut. By the way, it’s not really cool to hear about how Richard is better. He’s so ADHD that it’s painful to watch. Anyway, I’m very interested in buying his book when it becomes available. Everything he says is so inpiring to me.
I enjoy watching A & E’s flip this house, simply because I enjoy observing people in the same profession as me. (By the way Richard Davis is the best though)I like to see what design choices they make for a property and pay no attention to the false numbers that are randomly spewed to the viewing public. I do believe it is wrong for a TV program to do that simply because they are going to get amateurs who are interested in flipping into a whole lot of trouble. (just watch property ladder!)
Most people do exaggerate when telling stories. I do agree with the research you guys have done on Armando, pretty much proving he has not flipped 1000 houses in five years, and that he has exaggerated the numbers tremendously. I also think that every almost every property flipper on TV ever has done the same thing. From being a pro in the game, I pretty much knew this without having to do any research (I’m sure you did too, you just like facts to back you) I also think that currently the way the market is, that you have to get creative with your flip. There is a property that instead of me buying it, fixing it up and selling it- I found a person interested in living in it to buy it, and I fixed it up. Technically not a “flip,” but I found the property, I found a buyer, suggested what to pay for it, and fixed it up. It was a classic flip minus the property going into my or my partners name at any point. What Im saying is, that if I said I flipped a 1000 homes in the last 5 years, that I would include that one in my comments. Maybe he does construction work on the side for other people, and is calling it flips. Those are not quite as close to flips as mine, but he would still be doing the real work. Okay, Armando, I love you show but soley for its entertainment value. My suspicions about Armando not being as big time as he claimed came to the surface at the same time as many others. On the cat house episode where he claimed he flipped 1000 houses in 5 years. I do not think this feat is impossible, or even that improbable for a person to do, by the way. But what aroused my suspicion was that if Mondo made even an average of 20,000 off of each of these deals, which wouldn’t be all that great, that he would have accumulated over 20 million in the past 5 years. If he has 20 mil plus, then why would he be sweating sleepless nights over possibly losing on this one property. Whats wrong with winning on 1000 and losing on 1? If he lost 20,000 on that deal, it would be .1% of his total wealth, hardly enough to lose sleep over. It would be like someone who only has 2,000 dollars to their name, losing 2 dollars. The wouldn’t give a crap. When attempting to sell his “secrets” (I’d be more interested in buying his real life secrets by the way) he claims he rolled into town on his last tank of gas 50k in debt with bad credit, and didn’t even have rent money when it was going to be due. But he also claims that he flopped and lost when starting out like many others and we can avoid making his mistakes by learning from his. If he was 50,000 in debt, bad credit,no rent $, how could he afford to keep sinking deeper and keep at it? Also Armando, if you and your family were in fact living in someone elses garage for a while, then sir, its time to suck it up and get a job at McDonald’s or something, not try your hands in flipping, and risk even more, even if just temporary-provide for your family. Beyond these immense exaggerations that are being spread to the public, which are potentially harmful, I would like to reiterate that I do still enjoy watching the programs. I do not mind Armando’s attitude one bit, and he does have a beautiful family, and all the opportunity in the world, just give us the real numbers, it really doesnt matter what they are, you are still on TV, people will still watch and appreciate you (on property ladder people dont make that much, if any at all and people still tune it), and I’m sure you’ll sell just as many of those cd’s at 1000 a pop.
ps if that is a true story about your wife and kid were not supposed to survive, Im very glad that turned out in your favor-thats all that really counts. They are beautiful.
Although I do not agree with driving a Hummer to a jobsite, simply because it can only cause your contractors to drive up prices, thinking you’ve got it great- whats wrong with spending some of your wealth on nice things? You can’t take it with you, so you mine as well enjoy it. In Armando’s defense, Richard Davis whom everyone thinks the world of (including myself) has a helicopter, and nobody seems to think that is a waste of money. (His “protege” Ginger drives a Mercedes)
Brandon,
Re: “(His “protege” Ginger drives a Mercedes)”
That’s a very LOW END 2003 Mercedes. Bad analogy
“Low-end Mercedes”-thats just an oxy-moron, although I can’t claim it costs as much as a Hummer, the Hummer is no Bently, or Ferrari, everyday people have them everywhere, I live by hundreds of them. I’ll take that Mercedes over that Hummer any day of the week, I’ll bet it gets at least 100k more miles on the engine and trans. The Hummer isn’t even the best SUV on the market, not even 2nd, or 3rd… Still no comment on the Helicopter? After all Ginger is just the protege, even Armando’s brother only drives an Acura or something similar. People who have money should be able to buy nice things without being criticized- that Merecedes although is not in the highest class of cars, is the best cars in its class (more dependable, safer, more luxurious). Its not a Ford Fusion, or a Toyota Corolla. Are you telling me that if you have a surplus of money, you wouldn’t buy nicer things? A nicer, bigger house in a more stable, safe location, and a higher quality car?
Some people in fact, have a lot of money and don’t buy nicer things- Conan O’Brien still drives a old school beat up Taurus, and there is nothing wrong with that (Of course he lives in NYC and has less need of a car). But there is also nothing wrong with him wanting to buy a Hummer if he can easily afford it.
The real question is: Can Armando easily afford it,or his he living beyond his means to appear flashy? My answer: None of my business- I got my own problems to worry about.
Brandon,
That’s a 2003 C240 Mercedes. ‘Best guess’ is she paid around $25K for it, give or take
Brandon,
That’s a 2003 C240 Mercedes. ‘Best guess’ is she paid around $25K for it, give or take.
Update: Sheesh, wrong thread, disregard! ; )
Well, form a practical point of view, a hummer is really overpriced, gets terrible gas mileage, is not particularly good as a 4WD, has no payload to transport stuff, and is a target for lots of people who hate them. So, why does someone buy one? Probably mor to project an image than anything else, and Armando is nothing but image, so that shoe sure fits.
If he were a real builder, he’d have some kind of truck with a payload area. I personally am hoping to get a CNG capable dual fuel pickup next year and install a CNG filling device in my garage. (you can get one for under $3k now) The cost works out to about $1.10/gallon even after factoring in the electricity to make the CNG! And, best of all, you can flip a switch and run on gas if you ever run out of CNG. I don’t know whey more people don’t use CNG – it’s the cleanest burning fuel there is.
Mike
Brandon,
Does he even OWN that Hummer???
http://www.dfweliteautorental.com/cars/black-2005-hummer-h2
My guess is not
The rental of an exotic, classic or luxury car in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, or San Antonio is a great way to getaway or to impress a client if your luxury car rental is for business.
The rental of a truck, suv car is a smart move. Your Hummer H2 rental can be delivered right to DFW Airport or your hotel, timeshare, or condo. Nothing turns heads like a sharp black Hummer H2 rental in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, or San Antonio!
http://www.dfweliteautorental.com/cars/black-2005-hummer-h2
LOL
The Hummer – Several Observations
1. Veronica FREAKS OUT when she sees the pump price on a fill-up on one episode
2. Armando takes the Hummer 4-Wheeling through pot holes and mud on an episode
3. It’s ALWAYS super clean on the inside, no personal stuff laying around.
All of the above leads me to believe it’s a RENTAL ; )
Steve – you’re close – it’s leased, as is his CL 500 Mercedes and Ford Mustang. All leased. In truly consistent fashion, he has no equity in much of anything.
Entirely possible he made a deal to trade airtime for usage, but probably not as those are usually not leases – just straight loans from the manufacturer for some period of time.
MV
Never saw my messages posted.
To AME: you are an idiot if you think Armando is successful.
I’d care less about his “success” as he is a scumbag and cheater.
Good luck in being lost in this life.
Although I cannot deny the fact that the Hummer could be a rental, all of those facts also point to someone attempting to produce entertainment for a TV show (say when they are lacking in other areas) Hummer- flashy TV vehicle, clean inside- the camera man is always in there, 4-wheeling- for TV entertaiment or to say “look at me, money aint a thing” and the gas price quote-more talked about amongst everyday people than the weather. It sort of reminds me of what I despise about the New Haven shows, is that 30 minutes of their hour long program is spent with filler. Many drive-bys of scenery, the sun going up and down, the local neighborhoods, mindless banter in the car rides, and of course non-property related hogwash such as soccer games, hyperberic chambers, coffee shop visits, wheat-grass drinks, buffets, etc. I thought it was a program about property flipping? Also, they show that they really don’t know too much about construction themselves…The contractor cut himself on a miter saw and one of the guys called it a tablesaw, the episode where the contractor ripped out the tub and pulled some pipes from the wall, it held the project up forever, like it was a big deal, when it should have been taken care of in 30 minutes. Armando would have deducted it from the contractors pay 🙂
Oh yeah, I’m giving up on the mercedes comment, not because I concede, but merely because I don’t want to get tag-teamed bt the great Steve in Texas, Mike Voss duo- just playing:) Still waiting on word back about Richard’s Helicoper vs. Armando’s Hummer. Again, Richard’s awesome, but he’s almost never used that chopper except for flash (intro for program, to jump into the lake for TV)
Ame,
What’s the problem with the Montelongos (particularly Armando)? They are rude, crude, crass, tacky, cheaters, liars and just all around crap.
I have a question for you…what kinda medication are you on?? Whatever the doctor prescribed for you needs the dose upped a bit.
As for “Shell” being an immigrant…uh…so the friggwhat?? If you are an example of what it is to be an American…then we are all in deep doo-doo. Who said anything about Armando being a Mexican…unfortunately, he is an American…(sigh)…as I am guessing, are you. I just got done reading these posts…and where do you get that Shell (or anyone else) feels their lives suck or are at a standstill?? You must be a better “read” of text posts than 99.9999% of the rest of the population to get that kinda information.
I think you might want to call Armando and get him to stop by and reno your rock before you crawl back under it.
Ame wrote:
What is everyone’s problem with the Montelongos??? Man, you people really need to get a life–for real!
Re:#501 Shell?? You need to spell check your own message before you try to put someone down for their own mistakes—stupid ass! (why ON the hell…)you are definately an immigrant, and you call yourself a real American–bull shit!!! you have no idea what it is to be an American$$$$$! You just hate the fact that a Mexican is making more money than you can count and it eats you up inside, that’s why your life sucks and you will always be in a stand still.
Well…I think I am done reading for a while…seems that the results of all these people’s hard work is to confirm a simple and obvious truth…Armando is a shyster and his wife is a willing patsy.
Good Job A&E…good reality show…but it should be “How to Screw the Unsuspecting”…pay Richard Davis what you know you owe him.
Brandon,
Awesome helicopter, isn’t it? Maybe Richard will take me for a ride in it someday!
LOL
I’ve seen all the episodes with the Montelongs in it. I like them. They show their true colors. It’s nice to see. I’ve learned so much from watching their episodes from what to do and what not to do. No business is going to come easily, and I’ve never seen him treat his wife badly. The one thing that bothers me, is the fact that they still keep that idiot intern. I totally would’ve fired him, espially after the project he tried to do on his own. Now that’s an idiot.
I’ve been reading the 738 posts about Armando, and the comments about the other flippers that are popular right now, and would like to add some comments from a slightly different perspective.
I have a degree in psychology with a focus on trauma and its effects, and work with abuse victims. Just watching Armando’s behavior as he deals with people leads me to believe that he is a serious abuser.
There was one episode that I found particularly telling and disturbing. This was the one where Veronica wanted to have a “tricked out” garage instead of replacing windows. While the issue *seemed* to be that a good compromise would be a nice carport and new windows (since there wasn’t enough in the budget to do both the garage and the windows), it was clear that Armando’s agenda was to abuse and control Veronica by bullying and humiliating her, instead of just being a coach and mentor by pointing out the compromise between either garage or windows.
And it wasn’t enough that he was verbally abusive to her–he then started breaking windows. This is not funny stuff–this is terrorism no matter how you look at it, and with respect to abuser profiles, breaking the victim’s stuff when they won’t do what you want is one of the most common characteristics of someone intent on getting power and control over someone else at any cost (to the victim). Then as if that wasn’t bad enough, he got his son involved and not only encouraged his son to disrespect his mother, but he got his son involved in the physical violence of breaking the windows. As I sat there watching this, I couldn’t help wondering what kind of similar stuff is going on at the top levels of A&E that they would actually be stupid enough to air something like this as “entertainment.” The lies about property improvement aside, to me the most important issue in all of these Montelongo shows is the way Armondo’s abuse is passed off as entertainment. And then to add to that the teaching of a child that being verbally and physically abusive to anybody, and in this case his own mother, is something to be rewarded for, is beyond disgusting.
In my opinion, the exagerations about the money being made is important, but it’s minor compared to the issue of celebrating the bullying and intimidation of a woman tha then escalates to physical violence, and which then escalates to training a child to do the same thing, again as “entertainment.”
I listened to Armando’s recent one-hour interview with his buddy, and I noticed that when commenting about his relationship with Veronica, he stated that the reason *he* married *her* (as if he was out shopping and picked her as the best bargain and she had nothing to say about it) was that she was very patient and nice. Hmmmm…. Now ain’t that innerestin’. Basically Armando wants a wife that is compliant and submissive, not one that provides any intellectual stimulation or contribution. In other words, the ONLY aspect of her that he cites as HIS reason for marrying HER, is that she more patient and kind that other people (women). This also fits in with the profile of an abuser…abusers don’t go after people who set boundaries. Abusers “groom” their victims using specific mechanisms of abuse and terrorism, and they “reward” their victims for being patient and nice.
I would not be at all surprised if eventually we heard that Veronica left Armando, and that she started talking about what has been getting covered up all this time. There are just too many occasions in which Armando bullies and verbally abuses people on these shows where that is labeled as “the drama of entertainment” for me not to suspect that there are very bad things going on that we are not seeing.
I also noticed all the verbal “false starts” he made during his interview, promising to tell you something and then getting ‘sidetracked’ with some other issue, never really going back to the original point and clarifying it. This is also how abusers work, and it’s also how cult leaders work–they get people all hyped up by staging some kind of pep rally type thing, but there are no specifics to back up what they say.
While I recognize that in business sometimes properties are held in names of other companies instead of in an individual’s name, that is still no excuse for the Montelongo clan to not spell that out as part of their “how to” guides, how the titles to the properties are held. The fact that so much of what Armando writes is replete with misspellings, grammatical errors, and ambiguous statements makes me think that he doesn’t even have enough money to hire someone to take care of that stuff for him…
All in all, from what I’ve seen of the shows, Armando and David fail repeatedly to do their homework, and then when the result is something unexpected, they try to bully their way into getting what they want. There is nothing else to say about that except that it is classic abuser behavior.
On a final note, if Armando is so concerned about helping people get ahead financially, why isn’t he creating some low-income housing with incentives for people who are in school, or single mothers who are in job training, etc? You don’t change society under the guise of trying to help people get ahead financially by telling them that you are going to teach them all the oppressive “tricks” of the big dogs…in other words, there is nothing wrong with having money. There is something definitely wrong with telling people that getting rich any way you can, no matter who you abuse and terrorize in the process, is an entertaining and great thing to do, or that it is a good thing to teach our children to do.
A&E, in my opinion, has a lot bigger things to worry about than Armando lying about the financial end of things and misrepresenting how easy it is to flip or rehab houses…they owe the public an explanation as to why they are promoting a verbally and physically abusive individual and promoting it being OK to teach that behavior to little kids.
A&E…shame on you.
wyldwmn
One other thing about Armando…for all the people who say that they purchased his course, learned a lot from it, and believe he is interested in helping people: You are exactly right. By that I mean that Armando is not writing for other experienced professionals with whom he can excchange tips, perspectives, and resources…he is specifically targeting people who do not know how to research a topic, who do not know how to utilize public libraries (including on college and university campuses), and he is specifically targeting people who believe that the only way they can get 1) out of a bad financial place and 2) informed about something that he makes seem “glamorous,” is by getting “lucky” when someone who has power (money) decides to give them some information. So, did you learn something from the boosk you bought? Of course–that is how the sale of the books is designed. And that is exactly how the “grooming” takes place by the abuser and the cult leader–the victim is given some information or experience that on the surface “seems” to be exactly what they were **hoping** for. The brainwashing process happens by giving little bits of “truth,” albeit often twisted bits of truth, in order to maintain a trust bond that is actually an ever increasingly dependent bond between the victim and the abuser. People who are calling Armando on his bheavior and his falsehoods are not jealous of Armando–they are incensed that he is taking advantage of a specific sector of the population by manipulating their vulnerabilities.
If Armando were a decent human being, he would be telling people where to find this information at low cost in the library, and he would be telling people how to get jobs that would give them a “closer look” at real estate flipping while they were picking up some skills, instead of running these pep rallies about making big bucks through manipulation and deceit that he calls “leveraging.” Be aware that your thinking that he is a helpful, nice guy is based on your thinking that you got a bunch of really helpful information…it is true that the information helped you. Armando’s intention, however, is not necessarily an honorable one just because you are happy that you “got lucky” and found information that you enjoy having. In other words, another characteristic of abusers and cult leaders is convincing the victim that the abuser or cult leader cares about the victim enough to just hand over some kind of valuable information or sense of belonging, just because the abuser or cult leader cares more about the victim than anybody else. This is entirely based on the mechanism of convincing the victim that the abuser or cult leader is the *only* source for that information or sense of belonging. It’s a kind of favor placing where that favor can be called in at a later time. In other words, he’s giving you a big discount on the books now, but later on when he tells you that you “need” these other books that cost a whole bunch more, he will very subtly “guilt” you into buying those books, and very subtly throw in your face that you found the first ones really helpful, and so you can’t go wrong on the next, more expensive set, never telling you that you can also get that information (and more) for free.
That is not jealousy…that is putting the light on the specific mechanisms of abusers and cult leaders so that people can see exactly how the engine of abuse works…and so that they can take steps to dismantle those parts and stop that engine from running us all over.
wyldwmn
Steve and Mike,
Great information and thanks to you all for sharing.
As to Nevada entity for Montelongo….probably due to different usury laws in Nevada which, as I recall, provide for charging approximately thirty percent interest. I noted that the corporation was “Beneficiary” in the cause number.
I know a number of private lenders who have Nevada corporations in
order to take advantage of this benefit.
Keep fighting the good fight. It breaks my heart to see the scam artists thriving from the crushed dreams of the decent person.
Hey wyldwmn …..
Your post are tooo long man. Its like reading the dictionary.
Armondo is a fraud. Everyone knows it. Especially Armondo!!!!!
Okay, well…I’m sitting here feeling like a fool. I actually have the loan request form open on my desktop to take a loan out on our retirement fund, to become a part of Montelongo’s Coaching Program.
That’s right…we fell for it, to a degree. I say a degree, because I did google him tonight before finishing the loan app, and found this site. Two hours later I sit here almost in tears.
My husband is in the Air Force. We get out next year. We are young, 30, with four kids and no college education. We were looking for something we could do together, for ourselves. No more working for someone else. This flipping/real estate investing seemed the perfect thing for us. We weren’t trying to get rich quick…just make a life for ourselves by working hard, for ourselves.
I feel like the rug has been pulled out from under us. We were too nervous to try it on our own, but felt confident that, with a team of “experts” helping us every step of the way, we could do it. Now, to discover the expert is a liar…I feel betrayed.
I don’t even know if we should stick with the flipping/real estate plan now, or, with just 11 months to go, look into something else. So lost now.
Anyway…I want to thank you guys for all the info you have put out there for people like us. You saved us from making an $7,950.00 mistake. Thank you!
Amy
Wyldwmn – you rock – are you single? 🙂
As someone with a minor in psych and more than a passing interest in the field, that was fascinating to read and well put. The dynamic of needing to belittle others to make himself feel important permeates everything Armando does that I’ve seen at many levels.
His characteristics also make him pretty easy to profile in writing – see how many of his shill posts here you can find – it’s fun!
Fortunately, his reach long ago exceeded his grasp, and it’s just a matter of time now.
Amazing how reality tv shows always find these classic narcissist types – Armando, Rocco DiSpirito, Jonathan Antin, Jeffrey Lewis, etc. Bad business makes good tv I guess.
MV
First of all, its obvious wyldwmn is a woman, not a man. Wyldwmn, great points indeed. I have no idea of your knowledge of real estate or a jobsite, but my question is…Do you think this is an attitude he could have easily carried over from a jobsite to his family, treating them as he is used to treating his workers in order to get what he wants, or do you think it is simply a part of his inherit personality. One thing I’ve never had a terrible problem with, like others is SOME of his aggressive behavior, because the real estate industry is a go-getter business, where you must be in command and in control of your business and your contractors or they will take advantage of you. It must be obvious to them that you know the aspects of their jobs (hence you can’t go in with no knowledge of real estate and expect to get rich-start from the bottom, work to the top) and you must be stern so they understand its important to show up everyday, on time, and work in the order you want things done, etc. Now that being said, I know Armando can take it too far, let the power go to his head and be border-line abusive to them, which is why he has run through contractors like toilet paper- but I think hes got the right idea, he just enjoys the power too much. Also he doesn’t use his knowledge as leverage, he just uses. “my money, my money, my money- hey my name is Armando Montelongo- my money.” He could be fooling us all, he may not even know how to hablo ingles, just may be able to say “my money.”
But one important fact is that your wife is not a contractor
Re: Amy post #745
Try this site if you are looking for a plan. http://www.daveramsey.com/.
This guy tells it like it is.
Jeff
Amy,
WOW! You and yours have a GREAT weekend!
Amy, there is plenty of other literature, for a much more affordable price that will give you the correct info on what you need to do to proceed with your desires. You just need to research it. Go to bookstores, check libraries, and surf the web. Check out the blog page regarding Mike Voss’ reveiew of Arando’s E-Book. (The very first entry of flipthislawsuit.com) He has a list of books to purchase that I back as a solid list. Also, understand in order to learn how to flip a house, you need to know about a house. So check out not only books that have to do with flipping homes, but also books about rehabilitating homes. I always say it is best to start from the bottom and learn what you can, and work to the top. Someone on your team needs to know the jobsite, and how to evaluate what a property may need. You need to be able to know if a worker is doing something wrong, or if they are taking too much time, or doing things in the wrong order. You cannot simply trust people you don’t know with your investment (hmm-hmm…Armando). You need to know the areas you plan to invest in. Historically what have they been like. Not just what are the comps in the area, but is the government funding growth in the area? Has it been on a steady rise or decline? Buying properties can be like investing in the stock market, buy low, sell high, have some kind of insight to the company- ex./would you invest in toyota stock, or ford stock, smart reason to invest in toyota is not only because of ther product, or because they have been rising while ford has been falling, but whats behind the companies? Toyota has been working towards the future, mastering fuel efficient hybrid cars, ford has been laying off workers, shutting down plants and stopped production of the minivan all together. Toyota is optimistically looking toward the future, Ford is cutting bait and hoping something works out.) Buy the ugliest house on the best block. We all know the first 3 rules to flipping are 1)Location, 2)Location, 3)Location. Furthermore, don’t rehab your home to your taste, because you are not selling it to you. Make choices that will attract the majority of people. Don’t spend unneeded money, you need to be able to get a dollar or more out of every dollar you put it. If the house will only max out at 250k in the area, you simply can’t make it worth 500k, no matter what you do to it. Get in touch with a good realtor early, and sit down and go over your plan. Have multiple contractors bid your first jobs and walk through it with them, to compare their prices and to see which ones seem more knowledgable….tell em Mike- “Good, Fast, Cheap- pick any 2 (so true)” Don’t ever get precious about a house- set max limits what you are willing to give for a property and don’t exceed them because YOU JUST
HAVE TO HAVE THAT HOUSE- no you don’t. There are plenty of fish in the sea. If you are not confident about you or your contractors ability to inspect homes, get them inspected for major issues. Check thoroughly (if u can) those things that could cost you to destroy your budget and shoot you into red numbers- foundation, sewage, asbestos, termites, electrical, etc. These are just key critical key aspects for beginning flippers- not even the beginning of flipping 101. Just do your research and don’t trust anyone who spends there time trying to sell their secrets, because if they were any good at flipping, they would spend most of their time doing that.
Armando is a serious investor who knows how to make the money consistently. I purchased his $97.00 program and loved it. He is so full of ideas.In his defense….
You say Armando is a liar, politicians are liars too. We trust them to run our country! Armando is a jerk. Jerks get the job done! He stated “DVD” instead of “AUDIO”. You think Trump cares about that? Or making money? Give me a break. The best of the best get sued all the time for being the best. Mike, I will look for your self help book on “Frivolous Lawsuits the Easy Way!” Underdeveloped individuals are upset because they dont have the “ganas” to do the same!
Do you and your families all a favor. Swallow your pride, learn something from somebody who makes more money than you (irregardless of how), and do something constructive with your life!
721.Colleen….. I mean Armondo, Let me just say Richard Davis Is the REAL DEAL. Armondo is the very cheap substitute. With bankruptcy written all over it/him. And as “Wyldwmn” wrote earlier. he is headed for the big D as time goes on. What an arrogant Tool Armondo monta-crook is. I hope you give him some money Colleen cause he needs it so bad. It will go to good use. NOT
Fascinating analysis, wyldwmn You’ve nailed it! I’ve read it three times (so far)!
Christie,
Re: “learn something from somebody who makes more money than you (irregardless of how)”
Brilliant, so that would include Amy tapping her retirement savings for $9,750 in the form of a loan against it for Armando’s crap advise. That’s OK with you, “irregardless of how”. Your words.
Robbing banks also fits your, um, ‘standard’ as well it would seem.
GET a clue and while you’re at it, BUY some ethics
For a review of Armando’s e-book, click here ; )
http://www.flipthislawsuit.com/2007/08/28/mike-voss-reviews-armando-montelongos-e-book/#more-56
Christie (aka Armando in drag)
You have no idea what Armando makes. And, if you were smart, you’d be able to tell he is likely close to insolvent based on the public data unearthed here, so you are, in fact, hearing from many people making more than he.
We don’t say anything we cannot back up, and you’d be wise to do the same. Armando is a clown, I’m not. Tengo mucho ganas, amigo. Hola a Veronica y Mondoman!
MV
Hey Christie,
How about drug imports. You could make lots of money selling drugs. Its all about the money right? Like you said “irregardless of how”…..
Just to let you know irregardless is not a word. Its regardless. That way, next time you won’t sound like Armondo Montacrook.
Amy – You don’t know it yet, but what you will some day feel when you look back at what just happened is incredible relief and good luck. You just avoided making a huge mistake. That money would have been gone forever and you can do so many far better things with it. Pleae take a look at the other books and sources of information talked about here and THEN decide if real estate is for you. If it is, then use that money as part of a down payment on your first property.
You dodged a bullet for you and your family – that’s something to be happy about, not sad. Everything you need to know is available free or very inexpensively – the only investment you need to make is your time.
Believe me, you just KEPT the rug from being pulled out from under you.
You’re off to a good start – you spent your time doing reserch and avoided making a mistake – that’s something to be very happy about. Keep it up.
Mike Voss
My favorite Armando episode so far:
The one in which he buys the “cat house” that smells beyond belief and repair WITHOUT seeing the house from inside.
Unbelievable.
The icing on the cake on that episode was the fake buyer at the end.
Thank you Wlydwmn for explaining so eloquently that ripping people off is the least of Armondo’s problems. May Veronica one day see what the rest of us do…a controlling, dehumanizing personality who gets pleasure from his abusive ways. Worst of all he is the role-model for Mondoman…what is that sweet child learning about honoring and respecting one’s wife? Thanks again…I agreee wtih Mike – you rock!!!
PS Christie
After you BUY some ethics take what’s leftover and buy a dictionary
“Irregardless” is considered nonstandard because of the two negative elements ir- and -less. It was probably formed on the analogy of such words as irrespective, irrelevant, and irreparable. Those who use it, including on occasion educated speakers, may do so from a desire to add emphasis. Irregardless first appeared in the early 20th century and was perhaps popularized by its use in a comic radio program of the 1930s.”
Hmmmm..Brandon thinks Armondo “has the right idea”. Since when is tearing people down through humiliation the “right idea”? A lack of maturity leads to such behavior when one cannot manage success and relate to people. Birds of a feather?
Montelongos have defaulted on over 20+ loans. Has any major media outlet picked up on this story yet?
OK. I read some earlier posts about Montelongo’s defaults. The reason for Montelongo default is simple:
Hard money loans typically last 6 months. They held theirs for 15 months–way into default.
Example:
131 Bristol – Purchased Jan. 20, 2006
Foreclosed – April 3, 2007
They couldn’t flip the house for 15 months! (I thought it was like riding a bike?) Not to mention they bought the house for $39K, but borrowed $48K, pocketing approx. $8K at closing. Do that 20 or 30 times quickly and you have a nice chunk of change to effectively ‘take the money and run’ as they say in real estate. I feel bad for whoever lent them the money. They’ll never get it back.
“Veronica for Vice President” and “The Rookie”
What do they have in common? The SAME ‘potential’ buyers. In “Veronica for Vice President” the gal has her hair down and the guy has no facial hair. In “The Rookie” the SAME gal has her hair pulled back and the SAME guy has a goatee this time, and they have a kid in tow.
Just MY OPINION but that’s what it looks like to me and I have both episodes on DVR ; )
RE post #752
“Christie wrote:
Armando is a serious investor who knows how to make the money consistently. I purchased his $97.00 program and loved it. He is so full of ideas.In his defense….”
Well of course your going to say you “loved it” because who would waste their money buying that junk and then post here saying what a mistake. No one wants others to know that they go taken especially when it comes to cash.
Really!! Why don’t all you whining ass people get a life and try to make some money doing something constructive besides “hating” and fomenting your venom. You sound like a bunch of jealous fools!! Get a life!!
Steve in Texas (and several others):
Wow, I re-read all the postings here, and you have done thorough research on these quick-study artists. I knew about some of their loan defaults, but not the extent you have discovered. Have you been able to forward your research to any national publications? The information is plain as day on the county clerk’s website.
BTW, for those who have attacked you and the truth seekers, I guess the truth hurts. (Also, it’s not libel if it’s the truth).
HOW TO SPOT A SHILL POST BY ARMANDO:
(example, # 768 above)
Look for common elements including
– the word whining (often misspelled)
– the phrase “get a life”
– the phrase “hating”
– reference to ‘jealousy’
– phrases like “why don’t you try to make some money”
– no concrete reasons or examples of anything good or useful originating from Armando, just negative attack on people posting here.
As you can see, post 768 is so obvious it’s comical. You can find many other posts by Armando by looking for these things – you’ll generally find several of them in each shill post.
You guys need to understand something. I do video production, although unrelated to what Armando Montelongo does. When my girlfriend and I watch his show, we usually break up laughing at the contrived conflict (yes, CONTRIVED) that is added to the show to create drama.
That’s right, it’s contrived and it’s drama. Lighten up guys. It’s a SHOW and it’s on TV and it’s not intended to be a Bob Vila how-to knockoff.
I have never met any of the Montelongos but I’m pretty sure Armando is a decent guy. Once more, people, just for emphasis. It’s a show, it’s TV, it’s contrived drama, it ain’t real. If you don’t believe me, find someone who produces or directs TV shows or movies, ask them to watch the show with you and comment on things as the episode unfolds. Chill out, man. Hahahaha.
That’s funny! Classic case of attacking the messenger’s character instead of dealing with the facts/issues–several dozen defaulted loans (so far) by the self-proclaimed biggest investors in Texas?
FYI, Just learned this the other day…did you know that one of the contractors from the show tried doing a flip and lost it to foreclosure recently? (It was listed on MLS). What a shame because he’s a nice guy(contractor is nice guy, not seminar graduate Armando). You would think they would bail out their contractor, but I guess they were too busy making a book and trying to bail themselves out at the same time…
He’s just another internet tough guy who will get what he has coming to him.
Rob can you send me details.on the purchase did you had a chance to send it back? Because i was looking on their web page and i had order something for 29.99and when i finish it showed that i had bought 2 programs for 47.97 and i wanted to know if you were able to send it back. i just had that done 8/31/07 and was ttrying to find a #but coun’t find it so i close my bank card but bank told me that they had charge it off already and that it was going to cost me.to cancel the purchases:(
I meant by the comment “the right idea” in reference to him taking command of his investment. I did go on to say that he takes it too far, which would reference him humiliating his contractors and leveraging his “money” of their heads rather than just proving he is an expert who knows how it should be done. You must in fact control your contractors and not let them control you (but this does not mean humilitate them and act like you are much better than them.) One of the only comments I believe that Armando has said is…”this business is not for the weak at heart.” It is a business, and you are the CEO.
Where do I begin?
I just found out about ALL of this about 3 days ago. Before that time, I never knew who Montelongo was. I wanted some advice on flipping, and found out about Armando through the TV show and was originally inspired that he was from S.A., where I live also. Now, wow, I don’t know what to think of the guy.
I think Steve de Tejas and Mike Voss have been great crusaders for the cause, and its easy to get wrapped up in fighting for the ‘good’ in life. Ultimately, though, I think Armando lost those houses more because of the market than anything else. I think he’s made money flipping, and he obviously wasn’t homeless on the street before A & E brought him fame. He’s got skills, I will give him that, but he DOES NOT have a problem lying either, and that could lead to his downfall. While he hasn’t seemed to be as bad as Leccima or commit criminal acts, he may be headed down that long, winding road eventually. As for A & E, they are more to blame than the Montelongos, and claiming that they aren’t responsible for the buy and sold claims on the shows, that doesn’t help their reputation for solid programming.
On the flip side (no pun intended), this makes Richard Davis and Jeff from ‘Flipping Out’ look like angels, and it makes us more disgusted about having people and TV stations lying right before our very eyes, which is actually a good thing.
I have nothing but love for Armando and A&E. I don’t know about the people who have spent $997 on his program, but honestly, if it carries the message that he conveys on his 10 minute sampler ( http://armandomontelongo.com/dvd.php ), then I think its a worthwhile investment for someone getting into flipping. He is knowledgeable, lets at least give him that.
OK I couldn’t leave well enough alone. I’m not done yet.
Like anyone reading this would spend $997 anyway, knowing they could get it on EBAY, I retract my prior recommendation: Buy for $0.99 on EBAY instead!
Now, with the understanding that A&E and, likely, the Montelongos both keep an eye on this webblog, I am giving my 2 cents. No crimes have been committed, other than crimes against people’s dignity (I’m thinking of reporting to the San Antonio Current, S.A.’s underground publication, since Express News won’t report it). However, my advice to the station and the flipper is to go back on the air with new shows, scrapping the actor(s), and being honest about the flips. We all know Montelongo can make money flipping, and who REALLY cares that its $10,000 profit and not $50,000. There’s no need to lie to the public. Be honest, and realize that even with honest profit reporting the level of entertainment in a Montelongo show is still better than a more boring Trademark show.
I’ll try, but I doubt I’ll be able to avoid posting again and getting involved on this website. Feels like an addiction coming on.
That smokin hot Veronica is obviously going to leave Montelsmallgo as soon as the money runs out.Look me up when it does babe.
Classic Armando in the “…house that hasn’t been rehabbed since the 60’s…”
Roof: Armando says, “I just need it to pass the inspectors eye so I can sell it.” Translation: Fix it so its good for one important day, after that it will be the buyers problem.
To On-Site Supervisor: yelling about him continuing to be over budget- though budget issues came from foundation problems that were worse than Armando originally thought, after Armando purchased the house knowing it had substantial foundation issues. Secondary budget overages came from the roof which was damaged due to foundation repair, and any other overages would had came from his wife’s design choices. None of the budget overages were due to on site supervisor, yet he was getting screamed at for them. Also Armando commented to the on-site supervisor after encountering some more issues, “All you want to do is throw money at them, money solves your problem, it doesn’t solve mine.” Hello, hes the on-site supervisor, he has no problems- if something is wrong with the house, its your problem Armando, and you must fix it, and how do you fix it- maybe labor and materials which cost….hmmm…money, which will fix YOUR problem. Your real problem is that you thought you could buy a house with visible substantial foundation issues and it thought it would be fast and cheap to fix them, creating an unrealistic budget that you would have to go over, then blame someone else for going over it. This entire comment is simply idiotic, and proves that he is the worst kind of blame-shifter.
To Keno (the foundation guy): Keno asked for 4 grand extra due to the foundation being much worse than originally thought, and Armando swindled him into doing the sidewalk for free as a part of the deal (labor and materials) and then told him “you’ve been honest with me in the past, so this one time I’ll cut you a break and do it for you.” Hello Armando, its Keno who is cutting you the break, Armando said himself in the same episode, “if Keno can’t do this, I’m (screwed).” Someone does Armando a favor, and its Armando who acts like hes doing the favor. (Something tells me Keno won’t be around for too much longer.) This sounds very close to the wyldwmn description of an abuser.
Also in the same episode, Veronica goes with some higher end design choices than usual- including higher end cabinets and appliances than they usually use. Trying to attract the potential buyers eye somewhere else? You go over budget, and none of the blame goes to choosing some of the best cabinets and appliances you’ve ever used on a job?
I do not think Armando is this stupid, I really don’t. I don’t think he is unintentially blame-shifting, or believes he cutting the workers he swindles a deal. This is simply just the way he abuses his power to get what he wants and once again uses his “money” and not his knowledge as leverage over his contractors.
#776 & 777: I agree with everything you just said except the part about who cares if it’s 10K or 50K (or zero). And no crime committed.
I think people do care, because 20+ times they made a whopping ZERO profit. I looked at the house on 131 Bristol and the reason he lost that one was because it’s in a gang area, plus two huge barking dogs on each side of the property. These are serious considerations when re-selling a house.(a guru should know this). Few people want to live in a gang area or next to huge dogs. That’s why it sat on the market for 15 months. Plus, they paid too much for it–full listing price on MLS. Apparently in a bid to acquire as many properties as possible, they decided to pay top dollar. There simply are not enough deals out there and they must’ve felt compelled to buy things at full price to meet their monthly quota. Problem is when it came to resell, they couldn’t get the high re-sale price because they paid too much for ’em in the first place. It’s all on MLS for anybody to see how much they paid for their houses.
As for the crime thing–jury is still out. But if buyers of the program soon realize they won’t make $50K on a flip like these guys claim, they might ask for their money back. I don’t know. Attorney General Dan Morales went after McCorkle about 10 years ago for the same thing when people complained they weren’t making the profits like the guru said they would. Check it out…
http://www.lubbockonline.com/news/020797/ags.htm
Michael M,
I’ll give him this much. As a “cast member” on FTL his “role” is to play an “asshole”. Which he does quite well ; )
Al,
Re: “I think people do care, because 20+ times they made a whopping ZERO profit.”
Or WORSE than ZERO if you figure in carrying costs ; )
Michael M, I think some folks here just want to get the facts out to people so they can make their own judgements about these guys is all…
Interesting link, Al!
Check this out, you too Veronica! LOL
http://www.freechantal.com/frames/home.htm
Messages #776, #777, and #780 don’t pass the sniff test. Nice try, though.
Chantal Watts McCorkle (born 1968, Slough, England) is a British citizen. Along with William, her American husband, she was tried and convicted in 1998 in Florida for her part in a financial fraud. The McCorkles sold kits purporting to show buyers how to get rich by buying property in foreclosures and government auctions. They advertised on infomercials; among the grounds for their conviction was their representation in the infomercials that they owned luxury automobiles and airplanes (actually rented for the commercials), and their use of purported testimonials from satisfied customers, who were actually paid actors.
She and her husband, both represented by F. Lee Bailey, were each originally sentenced to over 24 years in federal prison under mandatory sentencing laws. After two appeals, the McCorkles’ sentences were reduced in 2006 to 18 years.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chantal_McCorkle
Interesting. Seeing that the TX atty. general went after McCorkle, I wonder if Montelongo is on their radar yet. Clearly, sale of his courses is predicated on false claims and deceptive practices.
Amazing how McCorkle was doing the same crap 10 years ago – these guys are all the same. “Fortunes in Foreclosure” – yeah – how many of you know some foreclosure millionaires from 10 years ago? What crap.
Wow, Steve in Texas, I had no idea the McCorkles actually got prison time. I thought they were sued and paid financial damages or something like that. Very interesting. I wonder if history will repeat itself with Montelongos?
#785, not sure what you meant when you say it doesn’t pass the ‘sniff test’. But here’s something to scratch at…From the Bexar County Court House, I’ve just now downloaded the .pdf files of some of the Montelongo’s acquisition deeds and Trustee’s Sales (foreclosure documents) that I can email to you directly, or maybe post somewhere on this web page. It is public record after all.
Mike,
Re: “how many of you know some foreclosure millionaires from 10 years ago?”
That would be none ; )
Remember “Bob” of Enzyte fame? Same outcome. “This is Bob” now…
On September 21, 2006, Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals, its owner and president, Steven Warshak, and five other individuals were indicted by the United States, Southern District of Ohio, U.S. Attorney Greg Lockhart, on charges of conspiracy, money laundering, and mail, wire and bank fraud. The indictment alleges a massive scam totaling roughly 100 million U.S. dollars. The United States Food and Drug Administration, Internal Revenue Service, postal inspectors and other agencies participated in the investigation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enzyte
I bought his ebook. Yesterday. I just printed it. It has 94 pages if you buy from him it cost you $97. if you buy somewhere else it cost you $4.25 I didnt read it yet so I cant judge. but looking forward to it. Let you know later.
In post #744 Rock wrote:
“Hey wyldwmn …..
Your post are tooo long man. Its like reading the dictionary.”
Now, a lot of people might just dismiss this post as being Rock’s personal issues, but I think that it is a really good example of how anger makes us vulnerable to abusers and cult leaders.
First, everything that we write is about ourselves and what we want to say about ourselves.
Second, all of the issues of our lives are what can be called “bi-level,” meaning that there is a surface issue and then a deeper, underlying issue. It is that we do not know this about ourselves and our brains that makes us vulnerable. Then, it’s that *feeling* of vulnerability that comes from not having the words to describe and articulate these feelings, that contributes to our anger and lashing out. It’s not that everybody has a hidden agenda—it’s just that our brains and psychology work in this bi-level way. In other words, we can say that our goal is to provide retirement income by getting into house flipping, but there is also an underlying goal that is rooted in our instincts for survival, including getting our emotional needs satisfied, that is referred to as the “underlying” issue.
Third, what Iyanla Vanzant says is very true: When we know better, we do better. The road to knowing better is what we often refer to as our “learning curve,” and as we travel that pathway our feelings of frustration come out under the *umbrella* of anger and angry statements. What a lot of people don’t take into consideration is that it’s one thing to acquire information about house flipping and it’s an entirely different but related and *highly essential* thing to understand how our brains and our psychology work. I know, for example, that if I want to eat a steak, it’s wise to help my innards a little bit by cutting it up into manageable pieces instead of just stuffing the entire thing down my own throat all at once. It’s the same thing with information—it’s up to me to know what my brain can acquire and internalize and how it does that, because otherwise I’m doing the mental equivalent of trying to swallow the entire steak at once, which is *exactly* one of the vulnerabilities that come up on the abuser/cult leaders’ radar when they are out gillnetting for victims to dupe.
In psychology, anger is considered to be an “umbrella” emotion that holds frustration, confusion, pain, sense of helplessness, etc. This is why *on the surface* it might seem like Rock is all about making a personal attack, when it’s the underlying issue that is the more truthful issue, i.e., that it was probably frustrating for Rock to read those two posts. My guess is that he hasn’t learned yet how to take a big piece of information and use a mental steak knife to cut it up into chewable and digestible pieces, so he reacts in frustration and anger, making a personal attack in order to avoid the reality that he doesn’t know how to manage his feelings of discomfort, frustration, etc. It is *that* behavior that gets picked up on the abusers/cult leaders’ radar. Abusers and cult leaders are looking for people who are lonely, frustrated, angry, scared, speak in cliché’s (more about that later) and who do not know about their own psychology or thinking processes. Abusers/cult leaders look for people who are invested in trial-and-error thinking alone, with little or know analytical thinking. In other words, they look for people who make choices based on the desperation that comes from unsatisfied emotional needs. They look for angry, frustrated, irritated people who make personal attacks because the know that these people can be lured into the gillnet with a few strategically-worded promises.
One way of *reacting* to Rock, then, would be making sarcastic remarks about it being obvious that I’m a woman, etc. A way of *responding* to him, on the other hand, would be to offer to break the information up into smaller chunks so that he would have an easier time accessing, processing, and internalizing it. However, *before* making an offer to anyone to break up the information into the chunk sizes that are better for *them,* it is essential to first take the time to learn more about that person’s deeper issue. For example, I have no way of knowing if Rock’s issue is that he gets frustrated when he gets too much information all at once about human psychology, or if he’s just randomly looking for people to snipe at, or if there is some other issue for him that maybe even he isn’t aware of. Is Rock’s issue that he wants to access the information and feels frustrated and angry because he doesn’t know how? Or is Rock’s issue that he feels entitled to be mean to other people when he doesn’t like what he’s feeling?
What is essential to know about wisdom-gathering is how to distinguish our own *reactions* to other peoples’ behaviors from our *responses* to other peoples’ behaviors. Gathering wisdom is about putting away from ourselves that which does not serve us, and creating a plan to open the doors so that we can access what *does* serve us. Reacting is a roadblock, whereas responding is stepping back and taking a broader view with an open mind. Making a rude personal attack is a *reaction.* Asking for clarification or smaller pieces of information at one time is a *response.*
I read a quote recently that I think was attributed to Ben Franklin…it said something about wise people surround themselves with other wise people. I have a different take on that. I am a wisdom-gatherer…so I surround myself with other people who are wisdom-gatherers. There is a big difference between a person that I label as having wisdom, and a person that clearly has wisdom-gathering skills that they are constantly bettering by looking in the mirror. I don’t want to surround myself with people who *appear* to be smarter than me. I want to surround myself with people who are good behavior models.
In our society we can easily find books that explain how car engines work, how clock mechanisms work, how plants benefit from different kinds of compost or watering methods, but we don’t have enough books that teach us the basic psychology of our own brains and we don’t have any books that I know of about “brain tools” that we can use to tune up and better the way we acquire information and wisdom. It doesn’t do me any good, for example, to buy a box of candy bars on sale if my thinking is that doing so would cut my food bill in half. It does me a lot of good, on the other hand, to first go learn about my nutritional needs and digestive system, and then decide whether that box of candy bars that is on sale will free up some of the “treat” money included in my food budget. In that sense, buying the box of candy bars on sale might meet two of my needs—a low cost stash of treats *and* an extra few bucks to add to an investment. And that investment might just be in the form of library fines for the books that I check out on house flipping. :-} :-} :-} :-} :-} :-} :-} :-} :-} :-}
And yes, I am writing a book about brain tools.
wyldwmn
In post #745 Amy wrote:
“Okay, well…I’m sitting here feeling like a fool…
We were looking for something we could do together, for ourselves.
I feel like the rug has been pulled out from under us…I feel betrayed.
I don’t even know if we should stick with the flipping/real estate plan now, or, … look into something else.”
A lot of times when people are figuring out what to do, they skip the step of figuring out what has just happened and why, and instead use “all-or-nothing” thinking to pick a next step to take. The step of figuring out what has just happened and why includes first identifying the information that the person had right before the experience that left them feeling like a fool or feeling betrayed, and identifying the information that they *didn’t have.* Then the next thing to identify is what was the information that the person didn’t know that they didn’t have.
So, as I read Amy’s post, it was very good that the information that she did have was that she and her husband were looking for something that they could do together for themselves. This statement says a lot about Amy’s relationship being a solid partnership. Maybe some of the information that Amy didn’t have was about house flipping. And maybe some of the information that Amy *didn’t know that she didn’t have* was about how con artists, abusers and cult leaders work, and how they make you want to be part of their group, clan, religion, etc. The result then is that Amy is left wondering if it’s house flipping that she should avoid, which is where the “all-or-nothing” thinking happens, i.e., maybe house flipping isn’t for her family.
What I would offer then, is that it’s not about whether house flipping is a good or bad thing or whether it is right or wrong for her family…it’s about what a person knows about their own learning style and what a person knows about how to figure out if the information source is a reliable one. In other words, a lot of people go straight to the first loud-mouth source of house flipping that shows up, because nobody has ever taught them how to first give that source what I like to call “the job interview.” Before I decide to take someone else’s information into the intimate and sacred pathways of my brain, I’m going to do some research to make sure that I’m really going to receive what they are promising to deliver. If I do not take the time to give them the “job interview,” including a background check and calling their references, then I’m not just handing over my money—I’m handing over my *TRUST*, which is a far, far, far more valuable thing.
I research psychology and how the brain works. That means that I don’t just pick up an article or a book, read it, and then react to it. It means that the first thing I do is research the author. I want to know where they went to school, what kind of training they have had, what articles they have published in *peer reviewed journals,* and I want to know what their critics say. Now, that doesn’t mean that I choose not to read their stuff just because a bunch of “respectable” psychologists don’t like them. It means that I look at what the “respectable” psychologists are saying and how they are saying it. If they are speaking to the information and citing research, then that’s a good sign that reading the article or book would be a good idea. If the critics are *reacting* in anger or personal attacks, then I know that the critics are processing their own personal issues at the author’s expense. Now, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t bringing up good points, doubts, etc. It just means that the wisest thing I can do is recognize *reactions* when I see them, and set them aside while I look for *responses.*
In this forum, there are people who are telling the truth about Armando in anger which is a reaction, *and* some of them are also responding by offering very valid, reliable guidance and information. That is a sign that it’s not “house flipping” that is a good or bad thing—it is a sign that it’s how a person goes about learning to flip houses that is the issue. To illustrate this point, I notice that on Kirsten’s shows in particular, she interviews the wanna-be flippers and asks them the basis for their budgets. A good portion of them giggle and laugh instead of showing the numbers that they have “crunched.” In other words, they appear to be just picking numbers out of the air for their rehab budgets, and then insist on doing it their way just because they like it, refusing good, solid advice and training. Then they are shocked when they get in trouble, and they blame it on everyone else. Even when Kirsten asks them what they know about flipping, they choose to giggle and laugh. The analogy I see is that this is like deciding that you would like to learn to dive, so you go find a bridge and jump off head first not knowing what’s under the surface of the water or how far is a safe distance to dive, head first or not. Con artists, abusers, cult leaders, etc., are looking for the people who are ready to jump off a bridge head first.
When I am approached by people making me “big promises,” I get stupid. I ask a lot of “essay” questions, and I ask for a lot of clarification. One reason is that con artists and abusers have a certain style of grooming their victims, which includes a lot of flattery, professed “love,” professed “selfless sacrifice,” etc. They also look for people that they perceive to be lacking knowledge in certain ways. That doesn’t mean that they are looking for “stupid” people—it means that they are looking for people who don’t yet have certain types of analytical or research skills, and they are looking for people whose thinking tends to be toward assuming that there is some guru out there that will teach them everything they need to know so that they can go jump off a bridge and live happily ever after (often in great wealth). Life doesn’t work that way. There are some great honorably-intentioned people out there who are willing to share information and knowledge, but if we do not take the time to learn about ourselves, then we make ourselves very vulnerable to those who would take advantage of us. It’s not enough to use the either/or thinking of “Mike Voss is a better guru than Armando Montelongo,” for example. It *is* essential to know about how our brains work, to learn how to learn, to learn how to research information, etc. People like Mike Voss are going to be generous with those who are showing that they are learning about themselves in order to help themselves. People like Armando Montelongo are going to go after people who are convinced that they have to join up with some group or cult and pay a bunch of money before they can receive the big promise… The reality is that the big promise never becomes reality. When Mike Voss and people like him say that the information about flipping is available for little or no money, he is correct. What is also correct is that all the information in the world about flipping isn’t going to get you very far unless you also know about your own learning style, your own abilities to identify and process reliable information, your own vulnerabilities, and unless you know how to spot a con artist.
Amy, I think that it’s good that you figured some things out before you “took the plunge” with Armando’s books, but in my opinion it’s not enough to be satisfied with “at least I saved my family from losing it’s retirement savings.” The most important thing is to make sure that it doesn’t happen again by not “just” identifying what you now know about con artists like Armando—but instead by identifying what things about yourself that you didn’t know, that in turn made you vulnerable to that kind of person. Avoiding disaster is one thing…knowing what to change so that you avoid disaster in the future is what wisdom-gathering is all about.
wyldwmn
In post #746 Mike Voss wrote:
“Wyldwmn – you rock – are you single? :)”
Yes.
wyldwmn
Laying out the addresses of Montelongo projects geographically, he’s been all over the city. I would expect, although I haven’t yet flipped any houses, that the best way to flip is to concentrate on a few key areas of the city that you flip in. Areas, for instance, who have strong neighborhood associations, property values, historic districts, proximity to work centers, etc.
I would be interested in some comments by flippers as to why this is. Also, I’m curious about flipping in different areas of the city. In San Antonio like most cities, we have different rings of suburbs starting with 1950’s first ring housing, culminating with lush northside development of the past 10 years which likely needs no refurbishing, therefore no flip potential. Anyone’s comments are appreciated.
In post #747 Brandon wrote:
“Wyldwmn,…I have no idea of your knowledge of real estate or a jobsite,…
and
Do you think this is an attitude he could have easily carried over from a jobsite to his family, treating them as he is used to treating his workers in order to get what he wants, or do you think it is simply a part of his inherit personality.”
First, I grew up in a family of people in the trades, so I have some familiarity with how to do certain things, and some familiarity with terminology. I also know about board stretchers and sky hooks… ;-} ;-}
Second, Armando doesn’t have “attitudes” so much as he has *behavior.* That behavior did not start at the job sites—it is inherent in his personality. Most likely he has read this book that was popular a number of years ago about winning through intimidation and most likely he has encountered his own set of con artists who have taught him how to take advantage of people and how to “play the numbers.” But the bottom line is that people who abuse do it because they have serious mental problems. And the statistics on the reformation of abusers is more than just dismal. In other words, anger management classes don’t work. Abuse is not about anger management—it is about power and control. It’s not the money Armando wants—it’s the opportunity to have power and control over others. He has graduated from having power and control over his wife and kid, to having power and control over his contractors, to having power and control over the victims of his house flipping scam. Some people have heard the quote “Those whom the gods despise they make mad with power.” I would say it’s a good bet that Armando has pissed off quite a few gods….
Abusers and cult leaders all exhibit certain behaviors that are based on instilling fear, making grandiose promises, and then verbally and emotionally abusing their victims. The other night I saw just a few minutes of an Armando show where he was berating this contractor whose name was Brent I think. When I tuned in, the camera showed Armando in relationship to Brent where Armando was really going at him verbally, making statements about how it was Brent’s responsibility to ensure that Armando didn’t lose money, etc., and then at the very end of the show, Armando is standing above Brent, wearing sunglasses, going off about how “it’s all about respect” and how lucky Brent has earned Armando’s respect by hanging in there and working with integrity, which means that Armando was “rewarding” Brent with a little bit of Armando love, for having accepted the abuse. This is a main characteristic of abusers, i.e., “The fact that you put up with my beating you up and stay with me, makes me love you all the more.” What Armando and other abusers do is create what are called “double bind” situations. These “double bind” situations require that the victim accomplish tasks that are either impossible for the victim to accomplish, or impossible for anyone to accomplish. The double bind causes very serious trauma, and in these situations the victim is expected to do the impossible, but no matter what they do, they are hurt. Then later the abuser goes back and gives them some kind of reward—notice that Armando hands out pats on the head to his victims, not money, when those victims have put up with the abuse and worked for far less money than what they deserve. That’s what makes Armando’s followers cult-like. With Brent, you could see that Armando was acting like it was a pat on the head that Brent wanted at the end of the job, not a cash bonus, and you could see on Brent’s face that he was trying to smile and be happy, but there was a good deal of hesitation going on. Most likely Brent instinctively knows something is not right, but doesn’t know enough about his own psychology to be able to articulate what, exactly, is happening to him.
I think Amy made the comment that she just wanted to belong to Armando’s group, and that is exactly what abusers and cult leaders want to manipulate—the desire to belong. Human beings have a very strong instinct to feel like they belong. Con artists focus on that vulnerability—and again, the need to feel like we belong is not a vulnerability because it’s a defect—it’s a vulnerability because we don’t know about it.
Also in this episode I saw snippets of Armando getting ready for some public speaking engagement. He was completely full of himself in a way that was frightening. Jim Jones type frightening.
wyldwmn
In post #752 Christie wrote:
“Armando is a serious investor who knows how to make the money consistently.
and
Armando is a jerk. Jerks get the job done!
and
Underdeveloped individuals are upset because they dont have the “ganas” to do the same!”
These three statements are perfect examples of one of the major thinking errors that humans experience—using “cliché” as logic, or to justify abuse.
First, is it true that Armando is a serious investor who knows how to make money consistently? Yes. Unfortunately, that is only a *partial* truth. Armando knows how to make it *look* like he is making money. And Armando knows how to make money at other peoples’ expense, which is not making money—it is financial abuse.
Second, is it true that Armando is a jerk and that jerks get the job done? Of course. Unfortunately it’s how you define “the job” that is the issue. Abusers will use the *partial truth* of needing to get the job done to justify their cruelties. They justify the harm they inflict on innocent people with the excuse that it’s the big money that is more important than the dignity of the individual. Armando rewards his contractors for putting up with abuse by giving them approval and pats on the head, and excuses his own behavior by saying that he had to be abusive in order to get the job done. What is missing in this picture is that Armando creates an *impossible* situation, and then puts each individual in a “double bind” when he is alone with them. How many times have you seen Armando humiliating a contractor or demanding the impossible from them when anyone else (except the camera) is around? He yells, speaks quickly, makes accusations, makes threats, gets in their face, invades their personal space, doesn’t give them a say, and otherwise humiliates the person. He is not asking what the person needs in order to do their job—he is asking *them* to make sacrifices because *he* (Armando) has to make money. This is no different than how a pimp operates with a prostitute—she has to go out there and take all the risk and be humiliated in order to take care of *his* needs. If “the job” is to make money by abusing and humiliation other individuals, then you are correct that Armando gets the job done. By claiming that what Armando does is admirable, you make it OK for someone to treat you abusively, to humiliate you, and to make you feel like it’s your responsibility to make sure that they get rich any way they can. But most importantly, using clichés as logic is a thinking error that makes you vulnerable to abusers and cult leaders.
Third, saying that people who complain about Armando’s are “unerdeveloped individuals [who] are upset because they dont have the “ganas” to do the same!” is exactly the type of abusive behavior that Armando is inflicting on his intended victims, and exactly the type of justification he is utilizing for his abusive tactics. And it is exactly the kind of abusive behavior that Armando and abusers and cult leaders like him require that their followers utilize to bring more members into the group or cult.
Furthermore, “ganas” means desire, and there is a big difference between having the desire to flip houses and being an abusive coward. Abusers are not people who have “ganas.” Abusers are desperate, cowardly individuals who are desperate to have power and control over other people any way they can get it. Armando’s behavior has escalated, like I’ve mentioned before, from abusing his family, to abusing his contractors, and now to abusing his would-be followers by selling them a bunch of promises. I don’t know where you learned your Spanish, pero el decir “tengo ganas” significa que “tengo deseos,” no que “tengo huevos.”
He dicho. Caso cerrado.
wyldwmn
Its fairly plain to see by watching Armando and his group, that they are less than honest in their dealings, so why would anyone be suprised that this man, would put out crap and sell it on line. I could sell you a book, everything I know about running a multi million dollar business….never have I done that, but it would be the same vien as Armando and his get rich quick books…..btw what he doesn’t tell you is the only one getting rich is him, $100 for every sucker, and $1000.00 for everyone that took the intial bait. These books will sell because every con knows that people are greedy, and greed breeds stupidity. Can you make money flipping? Definatley, is it an overnight process, never. People look at the differance between Richard Davis / Trademark and Armando. Richard Davis runs Trademark which is a full service commercial residential real estate service, with property management. Not a flip a house business. Richard Davis has said we flip a house and it helps the niegbourhood. Armando flips for his pocket book, and he’s made money, but the question is who’d he screw to make the buck. Also I’ve noticed that there is now product placement / endorsement, windows, top of the line cabinets & appliances. My favorite quote on this I read on A&E’s forum, it deals with the Montolongo’s “two assholes flip a house” Now David’s gone so it should be called One Asshole flips a house and sells a crappy book.
Hello! I have been reading a bit down this website and have found all the comments yall have posted to be quite interesting 🙂 We were in SA this weekend for Labor Day and had the chance to go drive around and see some of the places related to the Montelongos. We went to their current office, or so I assume, at 8026 Vantage, their name was on the directory posted inside, so I assume so. We also went to the house from “investors special” WOW it looks worse now than it did before!! We also went by what I assume is their old office? On Dalhurst, are they still affiliated with that location at all? It looked awful! 🙂 Anyway, we had fun! Just wanted to share. We took pictures too if anyone is interested 🙂
Elizabeth,
You can host the pics on ‘Photobucket’ FREE and then link to them here ; )
http://photobucket.com/
re: post 799
I think alot of people would like to see your pictures Elizabeth 🙂
Wyldwmn you are awesome, right down to exposing bad Spanish. 🙂
Reminds me of a funny spring break movie I saw ages ago where a kid wants to talk to a Mexican street vendor:
kid: “Hablo Espanol?”
vendor: “Yes, you speak Spanish.”
I always have trouble in Mexico because I learned Spanish in high school back East, where it is (or was)taught more with the dialects of Spain. Once in Tijuana, I asked a shop owner about an item, “¿Senor, cuánto es éste?” He replied, “Ummmm, it’s five dollars, sir!” 🙂
MV
Peter,
There’s an excellent review already on this website, click here…
http://www.flipthislawsuit.com/2007/08/28/mike-voss-reviews-armando-montelongos-e-book/#comment-17730
In Post #798 Greg said:
“These books will sell because every con knows that people are greedy, and greed breeds stupidity.”
I disagree. Con artists know that their products will sell because they learn how to manipulate the emotions of their targets. People do not fall victim to con artists because they are greedy and stupid–they fall victim to con artists because they have a goal, don’t know how to accomplish it, and their naturally occurring thinking errors draw them to the promise of instant gratification.
If I were to put the “stupid” label on anyone, it would have to be on Armando for not recognizing that he’s the self-proclaimed emperor that a lot of people are now saying is not wearing any clothes. But that would be a thinking error on my part. Armando is not stupid–he is desperate for power and control.
wyldwmn
hey wyldwmn…
I was being sarcastic. I like words…..(sarcastic again) Beer is good-Armondo is a tool
wyldwmn,
Once again, WOW! Fantastic comments!
wyldwmn,
Re: “I research psychology and how the brain works. That means that I don’t just pick up an article or a book, read it, and then react to it. It means that the first thing I do is research the author. I want to know where they went to school, what kind of training they have had, what articles they have published in *peer reviewed journals,* and I want to know what their critics say.”
This was of particular interest to me. It’s no secret here I’m a huge Trademark fan and am open to the possibility of becoming an ‘Area Partner’. My research though has been far more focused on Richard Davis himself, what makes him tick etc, and everything else you mentioned in that vein.
Don’t worry Richard, it’s all good ; )
“I think Amy made the comment that she just wanted to belong to Armando’s group”
Actually, no, I didn’t say that. But I thought about what you said, and I agree, we were vulnerable for one main reason:
My husband and I, how shall I put this…we both err on the side of caution, you could say. USUALLY. I don’t feel that is a bad thing, normally, but it seems most entrepreneurs are the fast acting, bold, confident types. And we are just not. So, here we are, wanting to start our own business, something in real estate, and we are shaking in our boots. We have four kids, 8 & under, and the thought of one mistep sending us to the streets is just terrifying.
Enter Armando, who promises to walk you through it, make it easy as 123, with weekly phone calls, unlimited phone & internet support, a team of experts there to help us with every decision. We figured, we can take a chance on doing it on our own & losing the $8,000, or pay that much to *hire experts to guide us, minimizing our risk of failure.
So, I’m not sure I have a character flaw that guides me to a scam like a moth to a flame, but I did reach out to this particular flea for his seeming expertise and drive to succeed. We were missing both and he offered to lend it to us, for a price.
I do want to thank everyone for their kind words following my first post. I am reading all the suggested material asap. We have decided to continue to research the real estate/flipping idea. It has been a love of mine for years, so I don’t want to quit the idea just yet. Thanks again!
Amy
Amy – good for you. Feel free to email me if I can ever help you and your family answer any question. (unlike Armando, I’ll do it for free. 🙂 )
Mike Voss
Amy never give up on your dreams, but following Armando down his path, can lead to no good on your part.
Greed is a trait that all of us have, admited or not. Greed breeds stupidity, because greed blinds us. Who hasn’t wished to be rich, or have more? All of us are guilty. Con men know this and exploite it. Its the same with Nigerian bank scams…..we have 20 mil in a bank, and require your assistance to get it out….please provide your account numbers so we can transfer the funds to your account, and we will pay you x%…..is the same as buy my book for $100…then buy my kit for $1000. Whats $1100 if you can make $60,000 per house x times a month like Armando claims???? Its a lot of money. Even 1 house a month is $60,000 a month, thats $720,000 per year! Theres the hook.
In Post #808 Amy said:
“So, I’m not sure I have a character flaw that guides me to a scam like a moth to a flame, but I did reach out to this particular flea for his seeming expertise and drive to succeed. We were missing both and he offered to lend it to us, for a price.”
Amy, I think this is an extremely important statement for several reasons, and it shows that you are a very intelligent person.
First, you are clearly questioning the whole issue of having a “character flaw.” This means that you are in the process of dismantling a lot of societal brainwashing, i.e., you are no longer willing to accept that if you were nearly duped by Armando, that it’s because there is something wrong with *you.*
Second, you acknowledge that you reached out to him for his *SEEMING* expertise and drive, which shows that you aren’t going to be falling for that kind of thing again. That is another piece of very healthy dismantling.
Third, when you say that you were reaching out to him for the expertise and drive that you were both missing, that is *exactly* what Armando wants you to believe about yourself, and it points to a long list of other behaviors of his. In other words, Armando is specifically looking for people who *think* that they don’t have expertise and drive (among other things), when the truth is that every single person who believes Armando, DOES have expertise and drive, or they wouldn’t be listening to him in the first place. The part that is left out is that the people who listen to Armando don’t know what they don’t know about their own thinking and psychology. And *that* is where Armando makes his money. In other words, it’s good for people to seek information and instruction, and it’s not their fault, it’s not a character flaw, and it’s not stupidity just because some information and skills about *how* to find information and instruction are still missing for them.
What Armando is taking advantage of is that many people have never learned the difference between trial-and-error thinking and analytical thinking. Trial-and-error thinking is a person who buys all the get-rich-quick schemes hoping to get lucky. An analytical thinking person is a person who researches the subject, talks to people who are successful, and checks the backgrounds of the loudmouths who are professing an easy path to great wealth. Trial-and-error thinkers are like the little train that bumps into all the walls trying to find a path to their goal, when the analytical thinkers are the people who look for the wall with an open door so that the train can drive right on through to the next room. It’s one thing to think about the “little train that could.” It’s another thing to think about “the little train who, once it knew that it could, then did some research before just driving off into the dark of night.”
As for education…remember the comment in the movie “Good Will Hunting” about getting an education in the public library for the cost of a few dollars in late fees? Well, that is very, very, very true. Anybody can go to a community college or University website and get the course syllabus and then go buy the books and read them. If the professor is using copies of journal articles, all that information is there so that anybody can go to any library that has that publication and make a photocopy. And if they don’t have that journal, they can order a copy of it for you for a fee. And if you have friends who are students, *they* can order a copy for you for free. I have many times printed off the syllabus for a class that I was considering taking, and then gone to the library and looked at the text and readings to decide beforehand if I wanted to travel *that* professor’s suggested path for learning about that subject.
Another thing…at the beginning of each school term you can go to the bookstore of any college or university and purchase the books for whatever course you are interested in even if you are not a student. What I often do to save money, is go find out what texts a certain professor is using, and then go buy the most recent previous edition for way, way less money. In other words, if the professor is using a $150.00 text that is the 6th edition, I go buy the 5th edition somewhere for $10. I also then research what papers that professor has published or essays that he or she has published, to see what else they have said since the old edition was published. There are people who do this in order to challenge courses so that they don’t have to take them, or to score higher on the placement tests. In other words, if you have to take Algebra to get your AA degree and you never did well in math in high school, you can just go get the book and work the problems so that when you are ready to take the class, it’s easier because you are familiar with the information.
And another thing I do is research the critics and competition for whoever’s work I’m reading. That does not mean that I am trying to decide who is right and who is wrong—it means that I am opening my mind to collect as much valid information as I can.
I think a very wise thing to do is to take out two sheets of paper and put Armando Montelongo’s name on one of them, and Mikie Voss’ name on the other. Then on each sheet make a list of what information each one of them has shared, and how much they charge for that information. Ask yourself which one of them is claiming to have all the “secrets” and which one of them is saying that the information is available through multiple sources. Then have some chocolate and sleep on it. ;-}
On a final note…it shows a high level of intelligence, wisdom and courage to post about a personal learning process on a public website. It shows a high level of cowardice and desperation for power and control to represent yourself as the newest godlet selling high-priced tickets to instant-wealth heaven.
wyldwmn
Amy,
Re: “We have decided to continue to research the real estate/flipping idea. It has been a love of mine for years, so I don’t want to quit the idea just yet.”
Go team! ; )
Here’s what I’m looking at, ‘big picture’. And I’m still schooling myself on all of this by the way. I’m looking at exactly that, the ‘big picture’. Buying and selling real estate and/or investing to hold, which may or may not include flipping houses (at this time). Generally that would include everything! By that I mean commercial, land, multiple family residences etc. Find the need, and then fill it. Or, if you prefer, ‘trend spotting’.
The same rules apply, you make your money on the ‘buy’
I’m not there yet but that’s where I’m heading ; )
PS Amy,
Knowing the ‘big picture’ can only help you with the ‘small picture’ (house flipping) if that’s you sole interest.
I listened to Armando’s hour long webcast and he said he’s cut back to flipping just 5-8 houses a month because of his TV obligations! LOL Yeah right. Even THAT is an embellishment! As well as his claim that he’s looking for a “second” California ‘Beach House’! LOL
My “Crystal Ball” says NOT on ALL of the above 🙂
I was hopeful all Armando said could be true. I live in Austin and frequently travel to San Antonio for work, so I checked out the row of houses they “rehabed” in one of their episodes–I believe it was called “Building Blocks”. They stated that they bought each house for about 25K and sold 2 to an investor for about 65K. Please forgive my figures, but I have since deleted the episode from my TIVO and am unable to verify exact amounts.
I was hesitant to step out of my truck to look at the houses, as they were in such a troubled neighborhood. To my untrained eye, the “investor” who bought them did not make his money investing in real estate. The homes were all in such poor condition that I would not let my dog live in them. They were located at the intersection of two of the cities interstate highways, and the noise was terrible.
Despite the condition of the neighborhood, the “rehabed” homes were an eyesore. Oh, and they were all vacant, about 4 months after the show. It is true that the homes could be valuable, but not in their industrial location. The show made gave the impression that the Montelongos had turned around a troubled neighborhood, but they had just put the lipstick on an ugly pig. I can not imagine that they could be valued at more than 30K even after the rehab.
In the episode “Rancho Montelongo” the family flipped their own house. Purchase price of 220K, rehab of 115K and had an “appraisal” of 550K afterwards. For those on the east or west coast, this might not seem extreme. In SA, you can buy a 4500sq ft home (new) on a golf course for that. The appraisal was based on comps for a home of that size on acerage. The issue is that the house is so far out of SA, it is really in a pasture.
Thank you for the info and the discussion. There is money to be made in truly rehabilitating homes, but there is also money to be made selling tapes and books. Work hard, provide VALUE, and maintain your reputation. The Montelongos have done none of the above.
Ok, sorry. It took me a bit to settle in from our vacation. I uploaded the pics to photobucket and here they are! The first are of the directory inside the building on Vantage, which I thought I remembered it being white and green from the show… am I wrong or was it painted? Anyway, then there is the acutal building.
The green house is the “investor special” on Castle Rose… what a awful area. We were there at night, and luckily my husband is good with the camera and we got a good picture… makes it look like day time without the flash. I thought we were going to get mugged!!!
The last set of pictures is from 239 Dalhurst, who knows if they are still there or not, there was lots of dog food bags and I know they have big dogs, but so do alot of people. This is just a few miles from the office at Vantage.
I hope you enjoyed them!! 🙂 🙂
New Mortgage Foreclosures Set Record
“Now with home sales falling, the inventory of unsold homes rising and prices stagnant, some speculators are choosing to default on their mortgages.”
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070906/late_mortgages.html?.v=8
Amy,
Rock here…. I just wanted to say that if you have the desire to flip then go for it. With that said follow a few steps first….If your not a realtor….find a “good” realtor {there are honest ones} that can help you with the “comps” in the neighborhoods that you are considering on doing your first flip. You MUST flip in a neighborhood that will sell. Do Not Do want Armondo the crook does and buy a home in the “hood” or an area that homes are just not “moving”. You must also see how the market in your city is doing. I live in Tulsa and our market is one of the best in the nation! Thank GOD! But as you know many areas of the country are having serious problems with moving homes that are listed. They may sit on the market for more than a year…..Ouch. It is most definitley a “Buyers” market. I also agree if you do a flip-that you mark the list price down from your competition so that (hopefully) yours will sell quicker and you can search for another home to flip again. I personally would rather make 15-20K now then sit on a home making the mortgage for months and months trying to get 25k-30k. Good luck. NEVER GIVE UP!
Rockman
A&E falls short on agreement with students, faculty member
snip
“I have been told that Armando has been contacted by an attorney and it is my understanding that he has now agreed to pay the students,” Tisdel said. “Currently, the money has still not been paid to the students.”
more…
http://star.txstate.edu/content/view/3602/178/
Scott,
Re: “I live in Austin and frequently travel to San Antonio for work, so I checked out the row of houses they “rehabed” in one of their episodes–I believe it was called “Building Blocks”
Can you post the address(s)?
Steve the single guy (he was just sayin’) in texas asked:
“Re: …I believe it was called ‘Building Blocks’…
Can you post the address(s)?”
Is this what you are looking for? See post #16:
http://www.flipthislawsuit.com/2007/06/27/casting-a-new-season-of-flip-this-house/
wyldwmn
wyldwmn,
No, that wasn’t it, dagnabbit ; )
You got me all excited there for a minute! lol ; )
wyldwmn,
My mistake, that IS it!!!!
You Rock! ; )
I’ll see what I can dig up. He he
“Building Blocks” – 5 ‘Row Houses’ get ‘Rehabbed’ as the Montelongo’s “give back to the community” ; )
It appears that 4 separate residential homes share the same address for appraisal purposes, 1507 N Trinity
Address: 1507 N TRINITY
Owner: 1507 N TRINITY LAND TRUST (aka Mandoman Management)
Owner ID:2508525
Mailing Address:239 DALEHURST DR
SAN ANTONIO, TX 78201-2204
The 5th home is currently owned by…
Name:COBBS GREGORY
Owner ID:2537759 Mailing Address:3863 CHERRYWOOD AVE
LOS ANGELES, CA 90008
All of that is from the Bexar County Appraisal site (no log-in needed) …
http://www.bcad.org/clientdb/?cid=1
I’ll be happy to post a retraction if I’ve “misread” this! Ha! ; )
“Building Blocks”
Oops! The 5th house is 1515 N Trinity
The ‘Lien Holder’ for 1507 N Trinity et al is none other than Bobby Ward! Who, as I understand it, BOUGHT two of the units on the show FROM Montelongo et al.
What a mess ; )
Re: post 815 from scott
RE: post 815 from scott
PICTURES DUDE!! Us folk from Indiana arnt able to just drive to Texas. Post some pics of the houses please!! thanks
Sorry I got cut off
Scott from post 815
PICTURES DUDE!! Us folk from Indiana arnt able to just drive to Texas. Post some pics of the houses please!! thanks
Second attempt at this, I guess the last one fell down a rabbit hole ; )
“Building Blocks” – 5 ‘Row Houses’ get ‘Rehabbed’ as the Montelongo’s “give back to the community” ; )
It appears that 4 separate residential homes share the same address for appraisal purposes, 1507 N Trinity
Address: 1507 N TRINITY
Owner: 1507 N TRINITY LAND TRUST (aka Mandoman Management)
Owner ID:2508525
Mailing Address:239 DALEHURST DR
SAN ANTONIO, TX 78201-2204
Bob Ward is the “Lien Holder” for 1507 N Trinity et al
The 5th (1515 N Trinity) is currently owned by…
Name:COBBS GREGORY
Owner ID:2537759 Mailing Address:3863 CHERRYWOOD AVE
LOS ANGELES, CA 90008
Steve,
The houses for “building blocks” was originally purchased by Bobby J Ward, one of David Montelongo’s backers. The 5 houses sit on one parcel of land and (from memory) 2 houses were sold off.
The Montelongo’s never owned the property :-).
Updates:
Castle Rose house was sold (for a loss) in August to Heather Boroweic and a loan for 51,000 was taken on the property.
Cat house on Lone Shadow Trail was refinanced in Veronica’s name via a sub prime lender (married woman – but separate from Armando) for 116K. I guess they will try to rent it out.
Cat House and Investor special (Castle Rose) had one common element, the previous owners was Rumb Line Investments.
………..
New episode “Estate of Affairs” airs this Saturday. The house on 6839 S Forest Haven in Leon Valley. Veronica took out a hard money loan for 101K (married woman but separate interest). I guess Armando’s credit is shot to hell from all those foreclosures. 🙂 Another quirk in now Veronica is signing loans as Veronica R. Montelongo (R is for Rodriquez – her maiden name) and not Veronica M. Montelongo (M for Monique her middle name), the name she used to sign out for loans, etc.
BTW, the house on Forest Haven is still being rehabbed :-).
………
There are 2 promos for Armando new funding DVD:
http://www.armandomontelongo.com/funding/index.php
Him in front of the house on Forest Haven. Mike check out what he says about submitting draws to lenders. 🙂
http://armandoinfo.com/videos/fund/
Him in a room at “Rancho Montelongo”. It’s really cheesy :-).
…………
Speaking of “Rancho Montelongo” episode, that was misleading. He claims he purchased the property for 220K and it was appraised for 550-650K… What he failed to mentioned that they also purchased several tracts of land surrounding the house and thus such a high appraisal – there was no instant windfall of equity as depicted in the show.
BUT at one time he had loans totaling nearly 1 million dollars on the property.
One which was a promissory note for 97K with Great White Venture (a Montelongo company). Another for 297K from VCH Funding, which has been paid, one for 417K from a conventional lender, and the last one was an assumable note from Schertz State Bank (possibly for 220K or less).
BTW, they owe $10,709.89 in taxes for the house and as of 9-5-2007 are still unpaid.
Elizabeth
We would love to see your pictures on photobucket. What are they posted under? Thanks
Come on everyone this is not for real the whole thing is for television. I know because I have seen a script of a future show. The writers and producers make this shit up. The scenes are staged and are dramatized for effect. Anyone who thinks this is reality TV is an idiot.
Would you watch if Armando wasn’t such bully and jerk. He knows exactly how he is being viewed, it is his character and he plays it up. I have met the guy and I can tell you he has an ego, but the bully/jerk attitude is his character and he finds ways to reinforce it in the show.
Now I disagree if he is out selling DVD’s proclaiming to be an expert but the show is for entertainment and anyone who can’t see it is blind.
boyson!
Good to see you!
Re: The houses for “building blocks” was originally purchased by Bobby J Ward, one of David Montelongo’s backers.
Yeah, I caught all that!; ) And have noticed the more recent activity with Veronica too ; )
You read this stuff FAR better than I do!
Again, good to see ya boyson!
You Rock! ; )
Steve – amazing – Armando actually goes on record on video describing how to 1) pad an estimate to pocket the overage (theft) 2) Falsify an estimate to an investor (a felony under securities law I believe) and 3) falsify estimates as part of a home loan application (a felony). Anytime you borrow money from an investor and use it for purposes other than you lead the investor to believe, it is misappropriation of funds at a minimum.
There you have to – from his own mouth -Armando is a criminal. You heard it here first.
Mike
PS – Mikey – post # 833: Nobody disputes that the show is for pure entertainment. We take issue with the cast (Armando) using that false entertainment to make people think he is an expert and take money from them. That’s fraud, and we seek to put an end to it.
Note in video 2 that he literally cannot even SPELL professional.
Elizabeth,
Can you give a link or keywords to your pictures on Photobucket please?
thanks
Jeff
In post #831, Boyson reported:
“Veronica is signing loans as Veronica R. Montelongo (R is for Rodriquez – her maiden name) and not Veronica M. Montelongo (M for Monique her middle name), the name she used to sign out for loans, etc.”
It is common in Veronica’s culture for women to use their maiden name as their middle name when signing legal documents. It is also common for them to sign “de [husband’s last name]”. So, for example, Veronica might also sign as Veronica Rodriguez de Montelongo, especially if she lives in Mexico. As well, she could also sign as Veronica Monique Rodriguez de Montelongo, again, especially if she lives or does business in Mexico.
It is also common for abusers to let the victim take the risk for their own dirty deeds.
wyldwmn
Boyson,
Re: “New episode “Estate of Affairs” airs this Saturday”
So I take it it’s this one? ; )
“Betty Mills on Flip This House: The Montelongos Bond Over a Playhouse from The Betty Mills Company”
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070905/20070905005330.html?.v=1
Mikey,
Re: “Now I disagree if he is out selling DVD’s proclaiming to be an expert”
And the title of this thread what again?
“Anyone purchased Armando Montelongo’s Real Estate Package?”
What boyson is talking about re: Veronica. This is verbatim from a recent doc…
“The Undersigned Veronica R Montelongo (“Grantor”), a married woman, not joined herein by Grantor’s spouse…”
Armando who?? LOL ; )
wyldwmn post 838
Re: “It is common in Veronica’s culture for women to use their maiden name as their middle name when signing legal documents. It is also common for them to sign “de [husband’s last name]”.
The first thing I have to say is her culture is AMERICAN. I know you are talking about her being Hispanic but she lives here which means she should follow our laws and customs. If my wife started doing that I would think somethings up.
The second thing is why do people keep calling her a victim? I remember in a couple episodes that she said “I think we just sold the house”. She knows about all the shady deals. She used her mom in an episode to act like an interested buyer. She appears in the videos and on the phone calls for the ebooks. I remember a lady earlier in this blog saying she received an email from Veronica telling her how to receive her ebook order. Just because she is attractive and seems like a nice person on the show doesnt mean she is innocent. She is an enabler.
Jeff
Steve the single guy in Texas gave the URL in Post #839 with the blurb about Armando’s new show this Saturday night.
So, I read the blurb…and it sounds like what they want us all to believe is that to show our children the value of hard work, we should solicit endorsement fees and very probably royalties from a company that makes outbuildings that cost just under $2,000, and talk about family values, hoping that those who have witnessed the abuse we regularly perpetrate against our families and others, will just turn their heads.
Hmmmm….reminds me of a song…”How many times can a man turn his head, pretending that he just doesn’t see???”
wyldwmn
wyldwmn who wrote – “How many times can a man turn his head, pretending that he just doesn’t see???”
The answer my friend is blowing in the wind ; )
Yep, yet another garbage ‘product placement’ written into the ‘story’
Jeff in Indy,
Veronica is a ‘Chicana’. Which is a ‘California female Hispanic’ and it looks like she’s from the same area I grew up in. You’re getting WAY ‘off topic’ with that, IMO.
PS. LOVE Mexico and plan to retire there! Specifically, Cozumel, and sooner rather than later ; )
wyldwmn (who’s screen name is self explanatory) in post # 838 wrote: – “It is also common for abusers to let the victim take the risk for their own dirty deeds.”
This is a fairly recent development as boyson noted and I’ve noticed it also.
It’s like he’s “used his name up” and now it’s your turn! And, it’s in HER NAME, no LLC’s, Trusts, Inc’s, etc
All my opinion ; )
In Post #842 Jeff in Indy wrote about Veronica:
“… she lives here which means she should follow our laws and customs.”
and
“Just because she is attractive and seems like a nice person on the show doesnt mean she is innocent. She is an enabler.”
First, another characteristic of a bully, abuser, and cult leader is that they insist that the victim give up their identity and take on a new one. I don’t remember any laws saying that it’s against the law to use any name you want, as long as you aren’t doing so for illegal purposes. So Veronica signing her name different ways *is* in keeping with “our laws and customs” as well as her own.
Second, victims who are in the clutches of abusers are not enablers. The seeds of “you let me do it, so that makes you as much to blame as me” are sown by the abuser well ahead of the time that other people start becoming aware of what’s going on (if they ever do), and those seeds are usually in addition to seeds that are sown in early childhood, not just by the victim’s own family, but by the culture in which they live. As you pointed out, Veronica is an “AMERICAN,” and so that suggests that it is the “AMERICAN” culture that has sown a lot of seeds that have led her to be vulnerable to an abuser like Armando.
As for pointing the finger at enablers, I have always thought it wise to look to the community around the abuser. In other words, it is “enabling” when the community around the abuser does not educate themselves about the specific mechanisms of abuse, the affect the abuse has on both the victim and the community at large, and why it is enabling to say nothing, turn one’s head, or do nothing and blame the victim for “letting” the abuser get away with it. In other words, it’s just a *tad* hypocritical to blame the victim for “letting” the abuser get away with the abuse when the person doing the blaming isn’t really doing anything more than name-calling and blaming the victim.
wyldwmn
Werid… I posted them from Photobucket with that last message that I wrote. I wonder why they didn’t work. Here they are again. Maybe this forum doesn’t support Photobucket?
Does anyone have compassion for Armando?
I’m just curious, as it seems this site is filled with either intense animosity against him, or a blistering protection of him loaded with an often vulgar arsenal. Is this actually ‘Armando’ that we are hating (or defending), or is it someone else? Is this the ‘real’ Armando? I am not speaking of his colorful TV act, which most people here agree is put on. Rather, I am talking about the real Armando behind the asshole, the abuser, the anger, the cheapskate, etc. When all is said and done, and the true reality is put on the table for consideration, this is not Armando.
When we realize that, we are able to see him in a different light. What a wonderful gift! And it is not only for seeing Armando, but for seeing others in life who cause difficulties and conflicts. It is fun, then, to see the real Armando behind his mind projection of who he thinks he is, and to know that he is just fine. No matter how bad he acts, if his wife divorces him, he goes bankrupt, and others hate him, the real Armando is just fine.
This has happened to some prison inmates who have, through incredible suffering and emotional pain, finally realized their reality.
By the way, I had lunch with someone who knows Armando, and he said he is likely wealthy not from flipping, but rather from his construction business. My friend also told me that there was money to be made through foreclosures, given the many foreclosures Armando has gone through this year. I didn’t understand his explanation, though, and wonder if anyone else feels the same way. Thanks.
David,
“As I write this email, the memories of being cash strapped are
VERY haunting so I still know the value of even a copper penny!
(name) if you commit to yourself I will
commit to you and help you in the real estate flipping game!
But in order to help you, you need to understand the system I
have in place.
So here is my commitment to you! I understand that $97.00 is
a lot of money for many people.
So I have a proposal for you, I will take my $97 dollar e-book and
offer it to you in 2 easy payments of only $48.50 spread out over 30
days.
Yes, get my e-book today for only $48.50 and a second equal
payment 30 days from now!”
http://flipandgrowrich.blogspot.com/2007/09/armando-montelongo-real-estate-course.html
He’ll GLADLY take the last ‘copper penny’ from people that don’t have two nickels to rub together.
That’s not ‘projection’, it’s a fact
HELLO, JUST READ ALL 848 COMMENTS, JUST ONE COMMENT OF MY OWN, WHY CANT ARMONDO MAKE THAT KIND OF MONEY? WHY CANT HE FLIP AS MANY HOUSES AS HE SAID HE DID? EVERY BODY TELLS THE WHITE LITTLE LIES, SOME JUST TELL MORE THAN OTHERS. IVE ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED IN THE REAL ESTATE BUSINESS AND HE HAS INSPIRED ME TO GO AHEAD WITH MY DREAM. I HAVENT BOUGHT ANY OF HIS BOOKS, BUT FROM JUST TALKING TO OTHER REAL ESTATE PEOPLE THIS IS A GREAT JOB TO GET INTO, YOU JUST HAVE TO BE A GO GETTER AND MAYBE THATS JUST THE MONTELONGO ARE. AND WHY NOT PICK ON OTHER FLIP THIS HOUSE “ACTORS” THERE ARE SOME ON THERE WHO ARE WORSE THAN ARMONDO. LOVE THIS SITE, THANKS MERRY
“Estate of Affairs”
From the show…
Armando: “When I’m not on a job site I’m very busy. Working on the book, putting seminars together, checking what they’re saying about me at ‘flipthislawsuit’, man, ‘wyldwmn’ is killing me. And spending time with my family”
OK, I made some of that up ; )
Just ny opinion. Doesnt matter if its Armando,Richard, or Mr. Smith.I think fliiping houses are just that you put your best effort forth and get what you can from them,usually at a discount ot the buyer for any sub par work, again just my dealings with flipping. I dont claim to be the best at any 1 trade. Just give my best effort toward completing the product and the buyer will let me know if its good enough. Steve it appears from postings that you put out a good product and the evidence is you get paid for it. Are you trying to be the next A& E person? I dont feel that it is up to me ,you,are whoever to say that what/how a person/s flips a house is the correct or wrong way to flip it. If a buyer decided this is the house and price they want then it is a good flip/sale. Doesnt matter if it is thier money,hard money,or private money. It went to a person who wanted that home and wanted to pay that price. Again this is just my opinion and my thinking as I Flip homes. Good day to all.
Well this blog has certainly been enlightening. I found it tonight while doing a search on info about Armando after watching the latest episode, where he “bonds’ with Mandoman after Veronica strategically discovers the Betty Mills playhouse on the internet.
I couldn’t believe the phonyness of tonight’s episode–that is what made me search in the first place.
The fake animosity and drama between Randy and Brent–who the F*** is Brent? What happened to that moron Chris-the-Intern? The staged drama and out of character hostility and obstinance from Randy–the overacting and downright BAD acting–sheez, I was embarassed for THEM tonight. What a terrible episode, and it just reinforces what terrible people the Montelongos are.
Never seen anyone paint bathtubs and countertops as much as Armando. He really knows how to screw the buyer and people who buy his crap. It’s not wise to cut corners when a camera is filming. Priceless!
What about the compassion of people who buy his e-book based on the phony flip show portrayed on A&E?.
The guy has DEFAULTED on 20+ properties. Haven’t seen that disclosure anywhere on the ads for the ebook or A&E.
Do you guys have any info on the docs for the “Estate of Affairs” house that just aired?? Said the total investment was $96,200 (75k to buy, 18.2k for renovations and 3k in overages)… Wonderign if he even owned it or what it sold for hahahaha
Gypsytrill,
In the latest installment of the ‘Flip This House’ comedy show, Armando tells his ‘contractor’ “Randy the Roofer” what he intends to sell the property for. Only an idiot would do that in ‘real life’.
Ok the obvious product placement in this recent episode was just rediculous. I also was disgusted by the prima donna acting that Veronica was getting about her being questioned about the changes she wanted to the kitchen and blah blah. Jeeze. The whole fake and scripted interchange with the drama between Randy and Brent was also outrageous. Talk about bad TV. The producers and script writers of this show should be fired.
Another thing…that whole learning lesson he dispatched by bringing sugar to the job site was just stupid and I couldn’t figure out just what theyw ere suppose to have learned.
Funny how the ASPCA goes after Britney but they should have seen that episode. That was a bad thing to have two grown men chasing the poor scared pig. What if godforbid one of them had falled on her and broke her back or something. Then you see how Veronica came on saying how she loves Sugar and she is a member of their family and how she would never put her in jeopardy. How about the damn pig was terrorized as a “Learning Lesson” to his two stupid employees.
I am also curious to know. Randy is a licensed Roofer (or so we hope). For the renovations he does in the house shouldn’t he have any further licensing. Not sure how that works.
I thought the product placements where funny, a girls play house for a boy…Armando’s self admitance that he couldn’t build it lmao….the shingles….for the play house….and the flooring ad…..had to laugh when he told his ‘site manager’ and contractor to texture the wall, when every other flip show takes off the texture.
Hey did you guys get a good laugh when the supposed home owner said how she contacted him because they wanted someone honest..blah blah to deal with their house. Also if a house is in Estate doesn’t the estate have to be settled before they are allowed to sell it?
Did everyone get a good laugh like I did when he put on that hissy fit show in the messy room. How nice that everything is totally a shamble but there are dishes nicely stacked on that table for him to throw and then act like an idiot.
I have to give it to them though…they are good at scamming things. That product placement for the playhouse that they built allowed them to get it for free.
My God, even his son was given lines to say this time.
In all fairness to A&E I suppose they couldn’t be more thriled that this web-site exists, to them it just means people are talking about “their” show. Are this many people talking about Gene Simmons or Dog the Bounty Hunter? I rather doubt it.
I wrote more but it’s all been said before….why add to the length the new folks have to wade through?
Bonnie
ChrisInDetroit,
Re: “Do you guys have any info on the docs for the “Estate of Affairs” house that just aired??”
Boyson mentioned this upthread but Veronica took out a hard money loan for it in mid July for $100,343 from UMTH Lending Company. That’s the TOTAL amount, part of which included the purchase price.
I think Armando and Veronica are great. I dont know why people are bashing them. I enjoy the show. I dont think he treats his wife bad. She is a strong woman and if she felt that way. She would leave him. Armando makes the show more watchable now then ever. If it wasnt for them, I wouldnt watch the show.
I just read the Betty Mills article. The FTH coordinating producer’s name and address are on there:
Flip This House
Marcia Turner, 212-629-9666
Marcia@departure-films.com
Bonnie
Here’s something I just realized many of you may not know and which further substantiates the fact that Armando is not wealthy whatsoever.
I know at least 3 people who have done reality TV flip shows and have seen documents used by the production company of FTH. When you see product placements like the Betty Mills house or Owens Corning shingles plugged last night, you probably think the network made a deal with those companies to promote thier products in the show. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, when you do a show like these, the production company gives you a letter on their letterhead with contact info for both them and the network saying that you are, in fact, appearing in a show for them. Since you are paid nothing for doing the show (Armando is not paid), you can then use that letter to go out and barter free products from companies in return for highlighting them on the show. They get a free mini-commercial, and you get free stuff. The people appearing on the shows do this to get free stuff for their flips, and that’s why Armando is doing it. THat should tell you a LOT about how much money he doesn’t have, especially seeing how the placements keep increasing in number. The contractors are subject to the same thing, and that’s why they frequently have on brand new t-shirts with their company logo, info, etc. on some shows. (on others it’s too much screen time so it’s not allowed – it varies)
So now you know the real deal – Armando is out there scrounging freebies for his substandard remodels, most of which never sell nor turn any profit. Small wonder he’s trying to sell books and such.
Did you ALSO notice that, at one point, he concedes to his son that he can’t even frame a wall for a playhouse and has to hire people for that, yet he would have you believe you should pay $200 for a DVD from him telling you how to appraise properties?!? Tell me, how does someone who by his own admission does not know how to drive a single nail to frame a wall purport to have the ability to assess the value of a structure? I’ll answer for you: he cannot and to ask you to pay him to do so is a flagrant ripoff, if that’s not obvious.
Good point Mike! I wonder how far he goes with these promotions… E.G how about the vacation he went on in the one episode? The restaurants he goes to? The Hummer or the Benz?
I wouldnt be surprised if he has a flunky intern follow him with a home video camera all the time trying to get free meals, stuff, etc hahaha
Chris in Detroit, if you can find the property address I can look up the details at the county clerk’s website for you. No prob. Just takes a minute.
I noticed even his son was given lines to say this time.
In all fairness to A&E I suppose they couldn’t be more thriled that this web-site exists, to them it just means people are talking about “their” show. Are this many people talking about other a&E shows? I rather doubt that.
I wrote more but it’s all been said before….why add to the length the new folks have to wade through?
Bonnie
Mike,
I think last nights product placements were just as you said, freebies. They weren’t mentioned in the credits.
However, some have been mentioned in the credits in the past, “promotional consideration provided by”… Those I think are paid for (to A&E). 20% of households now have a DVR and it’s BIG business because of it ; )
Beth,
Re: “For the renovations he does in the house shouldn’t he have any further licensing. Not sure how that works.”
To legally do what he CLAIMS to be doing you have to be a “licensed” ‘General Contractor’ in Texas ;
oh much bonding can you do with your child, when you pay someone else to assemble the play house for you?
Something else here. I read on a site that the Two Corey’s has staged story lines. I believe that Gene Simmons show may have some staged senerios. Sometimes I have watched Dog, and wondered the same thing. Now there is a big difference between these shows and Flip my convictions. A&E has billed these are reality shows as they follow real people being themselves. Really no one is getting hurt if they are produced and somewhat staged. What Armando is doing is the exact opposite. He is using the format provided by A&E to promote poor business practices, and decieve honest people from thier hard earned money….and thats criminal.
wyldwmn said this in one of her book like posts.
“Second, victims who are in the clutches of abusers are not enablers.
Let me guess Armando keeps her in a cage and made her say those rehearsed lines on the show Sat night? She does not appear phisically or mentally handicapped. If she has it so bad she can LEAVE. The show has sceens of Veronica alone. She simply get the son and drive away to safty at ANY time.
You also said:
“it’s just a *tad* hypocritical to blame the victim for “letting” the abuser get away with the abuse when the person doing the blaming isn’t really doing anything more than name-calling and blaming the victim.”
Why do you call her a victim? She is there for the money and limelight. If she was divorced she would be working a regular job just like us regular people.
You have no facts to keep saying she is a victim except for that freshman year psych book crap you keep babbling from.
If you want to see how Armando and Veronica really act around each other when the TV cameras are off then watch the video on YouTube of their vacation in Mexico.
oh and Texas Steve:
How is talkin about American/Hispanic culture getting OFF topic but Wyldwmn’s 5 or 6 book like posts about her being a victim is ON topic? *boggle*
You guys just cant stand to see someone successful.
Where do i begin.First off,I do not like Armondo.But,I do like his show.It is entertaining.It must be because you pack of wild dogs seem to live,breath,eat Montelongo.You all HATE the show….and then camp out hours before it starts.Then rush to get on here and give the critiques.Come on people,you sound like a lynch mob.Why dont we hang,draw and quarter him in public?Would you feel better?For anyone watching the estate episode,couldnt you see the acting?BAD acting but acting none the less.Its obviously not THIS OLD HOUSE.Its more like THIS OLD HOUSE MEETS the O.C.What do you people want?I m really glad Im not doing one of these shows.Just because the Montelongos are on TV doesnt give you people the right to put them under investigation.Seriously you people are looking into his personal finances,whether or not he owns or leases vehicles,where he makes or doesnt make a profit etc.Whats next,a spycam in his bedroom?You are all obsessed.Its kinda like hes being stalked.A few of you people are off the deep end…..Mike Voss,you obviously know youre stuff,but you seem to want Armondo dead.Why such hatred?Did he kill your dog?And Wild woman?WTF?This is a stupid house flipping show on Aand E.Veronics seems like a lot of things but abused is not one of them.So ,long posts about abusers and victims…..are you sure you are on the right web site?I cant believe earlier posts where Melina was defending herself against some of you who were calling her a whore.WTF.A whore.Where the hell did that come from?And noone here defended her at all.I think I watched most episodes…could someone please tell me the episode where she was whoring?I THINK I MISSED IT.I have been lurking for some time but I could take this mob mentality no more.Personaly I hope the Montelongos get picked up again.I watch Richard on TLC and the Montelongos on A and E.Unlike some of you,I can do both.
Re: “promotional consideration provided by”
In contract law “consideration” means “money” 99% of the time ; )
Ok, I have posted the pictures I took twice now, this website doesn’t support them. Any suggestions on where else I could post them?
Mike Voss:
You’re right that Armando is not wealthy. One would think if he was wealthy, he would easily have paid his bills on the 27 DEFAULTED MORTGAGES in April 2007. But he didn’t. I wonder if he still has the Hummer?
Man, the last time I saw that much bad acting, it was a porno. They even had cheesey music towards the end of the show. Do they think people are falling for this garbage, it is becoming unwatchable, even for “entertainment”.
i wonder why they don’t show the dudes from CT any more?
#866 Mike Voss you are not correct. The network/producers do indeed negotiate the deals with the companies it plugs in the show. The companies supply the materials for the flip and pay a fee in exchange for the plug and placement on the show.
I know this because I work for one of the manufactures who have been plugged.
I just finished watching the “Lesson” that someone posted. The one where Armando is “teaching” people how to get money to flip houses without putting their own money into the mix.
I just had a horrible flashback to another “real estate entrepreneur” who did infomercials many years back. The premise was that you offer the seller a lower amount if you’d pay them in cash and then you would take cash advances from your (minimum) 200 credit cards to buy the house. Next you take out a 90% mortgage on the house and then sell it to someone else for the full amount or at worst let them take over the payments.
Armando had the same slick-talking, if-you-do-this-you’ll-make-money-hand-over-fist and NEVER have to spend a dime of your own money attitude.
All I could do was just shake my head. Thanks again guys for this site. If it saves just one person from making a BIG mistake it’s worth it.
john,
Re: “Just because the Montelongos are on TV doesnt give you people the right to put them under investigation.”
Oh yes it does! Comes with the territory. If you can stand the heat, get out of the kitchen ; )
Al… I am not sure of the address of the house, as I am not local to Armando… But I would bet that someone on here will have the address of the house up this week! 🙂
Jeff in Indy,
I think ‘wyldwmn’ has Armando’s ‘number’ all the way. Just my opinion and you are certainly entitled to yours ; )
John,
Re: I cant believe earlier posts where Melina was defending herself against some of you who were calling her a whore.WTF.A whore.Where the hell did that come from?And noone here defended her at all.”
This is an ‘open forum’, any idiot can post here. Including YOU or MYSELF ; )
Mikey – do you know when this was as of? I saw evidence to the contrary (the letter used to get free stuff) as recently as season 2. Maybe it changed at some point when the show started making enough money (perhaps from not paying Richard Davis his cut!) Or maybe they do both types now. It looks like there are both long plugs and super short ones, that might explain why.
I would like to buy Armando Montelongo for what he’s worth…then sell him for what he thinks he’s worth. I wouldn’t have to flip a house. One flip of Armando and I’d be a very wealthy man.
I WISH PEOPLE WOULD TELL THE TRUTH AND STOP ALWAYS TRYING TO GET OVER ON OTHER PEOPLE.EVERYONE DOES NOT HAVE A $1000 JUST TO WAIST ON SOMETHING WITH NO REAL GURENTIES.
Voss
I have to comment about product placement. AE made 10 mill this year in add dollars for the show. I have it on firsthand that are selling placements and have booked about 1.3 mill for the next cycle.
Re: posting 876
No one started out to bash Armando. I think everyone including me is just overall pissed at the whole sham that he has put on. I know when I first saw them and the intro I was totally taken by their “Success Story”. I watched because I was proud to see that someone made it. I started to wonder though at his practices and then when he started hawking the book that sent up some red flags.
Everyone that has participated on this site is just amazed and disgusted that A&E continues to allow this farce of a show to go on. 99% of all that he says is a bunch of horse manure. The bad thing is that there are so many unsuspecting people that have been taken by him and his how to help. When people see crap like that it tends to get the hackles up. I personally applaude Mike Voss and the others that have uncovered all the truths and put it out there. Honestly if you are so offended by the supposed witch hunt of the Montelongos then you shouldn’t be bothering to read much less post. You too were obviously questioning the legitimacy of what was presented or some other aspect of the show and that is why you came looking for info on them on the site. I know I personally came on after I saw the brothers break up and it was never addressed. I also noticed the change in the stated amount of houses flipped per month and that made me very curious and that is how I found this site.
So anyhow to those that have put the information here for enquiring minds I applaude you.
Also for that comment about people being nosey and checking into Armando’s personal finances…no one has done that at all. Comments have been made about his financial status but no one has tried to look up his tax information. What has been presented is information that is out there for anyone in the publice to find. If it weren’t for access like that we would never have things like the BBB or other reporting agencies.
The best thing is if you don’t want people to think badly of you or question your ethics then live above board. Keep things honest and don’t try to scam unsuspecting people. I wonder how many people have purchased his how to book and dvd…then actually gone on and invested in his scam.
David & Melina are cancelling their Real Estate workshop in San Antonio, Texas this month. Anyone have any ideas why?
http://www.tribeworkshop.com/workshops.htm
from an e-mail –
“….AS YOU KNOW WE HAVE been looking forward to taking OUR workshop to the next level in San Antonio. However, at this time we have to postpone the SAN ANTONIO event….Your registration fee will be refunded in full. Please send us your mailing address and phone number so that we may make proper arrangements to return your money to….”
I just passed by the house on S Forest Haven right now and it didnt seem that there was any construction going on anymore. I did notice some plywood towards the back of the house but that’s it. There was no for sale sign outside either.
i THINK THAT ARMANDO MONTELONGO IS A GENTALMEN AND HE IS A VERY SMART PERSON,WHAT EVER HE IS OR WHAT EVER HE DOES IS NOT YOU GUYS BUSSINESS. GET OF THE WEBSITE AND DO SOMETHING OF YOUR LIFES AND STOP HATTING ON ARMANDO.M. THIS MESSAGE IS TO ALL THE “FUCKEN HATTERS”
THIS MESSAGE IS FOR ARMANDO.M.: DONT LISEN TO ALL DOES HATTERS,THEY DONT HAVE A LIFE, THATS WY THEY GET ON THE WEB TO SEE WHO THEY HATE ON. I AM SO PROUD OF YOU ARMANDO.M. AND KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.”HUGES AND KISES”
Now we get Silvia – Armando in drag.
Every time ‘someone’ defends Armando it’s the same old broken record – ‘get a life’, borderline illiteracy, ‘haters’.
Dude, you are SO incredibly obvious and predictable.
If a real Armando supporter could come along, speak intelligently, and support their views, I think it would have happened by now.
From Armando on his blog…
“When I sign contracts with sellers, I also have agreements that I have the seller sign that puts my “interests” on title.
YES, the sellers happily sign this document and it creates A LIEN ON THE PROPERTY, before I even own the property. I simply have them sign this document when they sign the real estate contract.
The beauty is it only costs me about $14.00 to file the document at the county records department. If the seller tries to sell the
property to someone else, I have a ‘lien holder’ position on the property.
This means the seller cannot sell the property without my written authorization.
THIS MEANS I ALWAYS GET PAID.
I figure that this one strategy usually saves (or makes) me between $40,000 – $80,000 A YEAR!
____________________________________
From one of just a handful of approved comments on that topic on his blog….
“The Document Armando is talking about is called an “Option”. An Option to buy… yes, many people do sign these documents and here is why…
Let’s say you where selling your house for $100,000… Armando came to you and said “If you do not sell your house in 90 days… I will buy from you for $65,000 – I will not make another offer… Just sign this document and give me that option. Oh one more thing if you sell you house in the 90 days just pay me $1,000 to get out of the deal.” Well, you say what have I got to lose if sell my house I am out $1000 – If I don’t I get $65,000 and can move on with my life.
This works in C and D class neighborhoods…”
__________________________________
In one of Armamdo’s wecasts he talks about slipping the “lien” doc in the middle of the other “offer” papers he has the owner sign. In other words, undisclosed. “C and D class neighborhoods”. Very nice.
Anyone who types in all caps is a moron, thus anything they say can not be taken seriously.
Cause Number: 2007TA103246
Name: ARMANDO MONTELONGO JR
Litigant Type: DEFENDANT
Style:
BEXAR COUNTY ET AL
vs MONTELONGO ACQUISITIONS INC ET AL
Court: 225
Date Filed: 09/06/2007
Docket Type: DELINQUENT TAXES
Case Status: PENDING
no hatters here……..lmao atleast spell check before you post….its spelt haters…….no one here has claimed to HATE anyone……are we disgusted…you bet you ass…….Got to love how Armando got his mom to post in his defence!
LOL!!! He can’t pay his taxes, he can’t pay those Texas State Architecture students the $3K he owes them in award money, and God knows what else we don’t know. Gee, i’d like to be as “successful” as Armando, maybe i should really pay the $1K for his “Real Estate Package”…lol I’m starting to feel sorry for Sugar, ’cause she might end up like bacon pretty soon :'(
Joel Therien (Armando’s Webmaster) has a video on hist blog site (2nd video dated 8-14-2007). Near the end of the video he admits being over at the “Cat House” and it’s still not being worked on and the smell is still there!
http://joeltherien.com/blog/
Armando is a great business man. People who know business know that in order to get your way you have to be aggressive, otherwise the business will tear you apart. Yes, of course his package is to make money, but I believe he is trying to help people excel in the field as well. Just because he is mean to people on the television show does not mean he is out to rob people of their money.
Brandon McAnuff… I have something to sell you… Your gonna love it! 🙂 Don’t worry about the quality or the price, or that you can get it free online… E-Mail me your credit card number TODAY – as this is a Friends only sale and only lasts today!
Hahahaha… Sucker born every minute…
Brandon he is out to rip people off. I have no problems with an aggressive business man…. that is the name of the game. But I do have a problem with a person that states that he does x,y and z and attempts to sell a book/dvd/information when it is in fact a damn big bag of lies. He doesn’t flip the amount of houses he stated in the intro, he doesn’t sell the property as he states on the show. Thus no profit as evidenced by the default judgments and filings listed against his corporation.
I know that a lot of the controversy is staged on the show….that is what these producers feel sells a show but I still have a big problem getting behind the pack of lies that he is trying to throw at us. It’s despicable that he promotes himself as a succesful and fairly wealthy individual due to the flipping and ultimately tries to sell that “Dream” to unsuspecting and trusting people. Meanwhile if he does probably have any money it’s from being paid for appearing on A&E.
Someone on here had asked why they don’t show a lot more of the guys on CT….they have started but honestly I think that show with that group is rather boring.
Hey did they cancel the show with Angie and her husband?
“Investor sues ex-star of ‘Flip This House’
Web Posted: 09/14/2007 07:54 PM CDT
Rachel Stone
Express-News Business Writer
One of the house-flipping Montelongo brothers could be headed to court over a real estate deal.
A lawsuit filed in June accuses David Montelongo of breach of contract and fraud related to a real estate investment in Schertz. Montelongo denies the accusations.
“Mr. Montelongo has meritorious defenses to all the claims in the petition, and he’ll be vigorously defending this lawsuit,” Montelongo’s attorney, Clayton Smaistrla, said.
Montelongo co-starred with his brother Armando and their respective wives, Melina and Veronica, in one season of the A&E network’s “Flip This House.” David and Melina Montelongo left the A&E series after the second season, but Armando and Veronica Montelongo appear in the show’s third season.
Both couples have side businesses selling real estate investment programs.
Montelongo and wife Melina sell a workshop called The Real Estate Investors Boot Camp Education. Armando and Veronica sell a series of e-books called “Flip It Now” and a home study course on CD.”
more…
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/MYSA091507.01D.MontelongoLawsuit.29d6146.html
Hi, again 🙂 Just thought I’d share my most recent encounter with Armando’s coaching program. After I posted my 2nd post, I got a phone call the very next day from my “coach”. He said he had come across a post on a site called Flip This Lawsuit that sounded like I might have written it and he wanted to check and see what was going on.
So, I told him all my concerns, and how we no longer felt confident enough in Armando to go thru with the coaching program. He was kind but obviously frustrated with us. He said that the site was ran by someone that had a major beef with Armando, naming Mike Voss specifically. He claims you are a relative of the guy from The Real Estate Pros, Richard, and that you just hated Armando for pushing your relative off of A&E’s show. He said the site is just a bunch of people that resent Armando venting, with no proof to back up their claims. I did tell him people had posted various documents to support their claims, but I’m not great at reading the legal jargon.
He wanted to address my concerns, so
I asked him about some of the stuff I’ve read on here, specifically about bankrupcy. He said Armando has never filed bankrupcy. I said, NEVER? He repeated, NEVER. I asked, what about flipping 30 houses a month? He said, now it’s about 6-8 due to his tv & speaking schedule. I said, but has he ever? He said, Absolutely. I promise you, I know him and he has done everything he said he has done. I asked if he had any proof of this and he said he’d have something ready for me the next day.
When I asked why we never see his houses listed for sale like we can Richard’s, he was very vague, finally saying to check out a site of Armando’s that listed either some buildings or MLS#’s or something. Then he said it’s because Armando has real estate agents that sell his homes. I said, well sure, but most real estate agents now use the internet to market & sell their homes as well…why can’t we see them on the agent’s site?
I also asked why Veronica’s mom was featured on the show as a buyer – he said he didn’t know about that one (seemed to throw him too).
Whenever he would finish assuring me how real Armando was, he would launch into his anti Mike Voss speach, then remind me of all the deals I was losing while I drug my feet, etc. Finally, he told me to contact Armando thru the email address on his site and ask him myself, let him have a chance to explain. I asked if he would give me proof too, or just “promise” me he was telling the truth, like my coach was doing. He didn’t have a good answer.
In the end he kept telling me he’d call me the next day and have something he could fax or email me, to help answer some of my questions.
Well, 30 minutes after I got off the phone with him, he called back. I let it go to voice mail and he said he had been thinking and he didn’t feel like he should have to defend Armando against people like Voss, that if I was still interested, I could research it myself then contact him, but the ball was in my court.
I felt like that was such a cop out. I do feel you should be prepared to defend yourself when people have legitimate concerns before handing over $8000 of their hard earned money to you, without any guarantee. Speaking of which, when we asked about any sort of guarantee or promise, he said Armando considered it but decided he didn’t want people to “limit” themselves by reaching the goal that Armando set in a guarantee, then stopping before they reached their full potential 🙂
Either way, after more research and checking back here periodically, we are sticking with our decision to rehab a house, minus Armando’s expert advice. Even if he is doing all he says, his business practices are questionable at times, and that is something we do *not* want to pay someone to teach us. I value honesty above all else in business and life in general.
Besides, between watching Property Ladder and some of the other Flip shows, and this site, we realize that there are many people doing this that don’t even have the sense God gave a bird, but they manage to come out on top, so we feel we should definitely give it a shot 🙂 I’ve ordered Kirsten’s book and a few others. We are very excited, especially since we still have the $8000 in our pocket. Thanks again, everyone! And I guess my “coach” now knows our final decision 😉
Oh, I meant to tell WldWmn, I really enjoyed your wisdom gathering advice. I’ve heard that before but you put it as concisely as I’ve come across anyway. I feel like I should lay on the couch when I read your posts, or at least fork over some money LOL (hmm, maybe the flaw that led me here?).
And forgot to mention as well that my Armando “coach” mentioned a possible lawsuit against Mike Voss & this site, for slander. His exact words were, “There’s nothing we can do to stop people from posting their lies about Armando online. Well, actually there is something we can do…we can sue them for slander….”. He trailed off without actually saying that is what they were going to do. Anyway, that should be interesting, seeing as Armando is the one that has to constantly keep rewording his sites after flaws are pointed out on this site 😉 Keep up the good work, guys!
RE: post 748
DO NOT believe all in Dave Ramsey’s website, or what he’s selling. I recently responded to his offer of a “certified” Ramsey-trained investment specialist to contact me, and received an e-mail reply from some broker, who said he would be calling me in the next couple of days. Never heard from him.
I then sent a message to Ramsey, himself, via his website, relating that his “representative” never followed through.
Guess what?
Not even a reply from Ramsey or anyone in his organization/website.
Bottom line.
These guys are only in it for themselves.
Don’t buy into half of what they’re shilling.
Do your own research, ask friends, make your own moves.
And be very skeptical of anyone who claims to “have the answer” to whatever you’re interested in pursuing.
Local newspaper reports lawsuit filed against David Montelongo:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/MYSA091507.01D.MontelongoLawsuit.29d6146.html
Brandon McAnuff wrote:
“Armando is a great business man
Brandon – you state your opinion intelligently and reasonably. I would ask, though, what do you base your impression that Armando is a great businessman on? From all the solid evidence I have seen, it would appear that just the opposite is true. He appears to have not sold most of the houses he purports to on tv and to have lost money on nearly all of them, he has defaulted on more than 20 properties, he has treated other businesspeople so badly that they consistently refuse to work with him again, and has even had his own brother walk out on him. In all seriousness: what makes you feel he is a good businessman and why? In my opinion, a good businessman makes money and does it while enriching those he works with and treating them well. I see no evidence that Armando does any of these things and a mountain of evidence that the opposite is true in each case.
Additionally, being aggressive is not always the best approach in business. THere are essentially 2 models – competitive and cooperative. THe cooperative model’s benefits frequently exceed that of the competitive model, especially in a market tht will support multiple businesses. Additionally, Armando is not competing against his subs and such, so all he accomplishes my saving a few percent is thathe has to constantly replace them – hardly an efficient model as compared to forging a relationship with a good and low proced vendor. (just one example)
Mike Voss
Geez people,Im not Armando,but get a life.If you dont like what hes selling…dont buy it.I mean seriously,no body forces anyone to dish out any money for his stuff.I watch his show and I m not sending him a dime.For all you people who say you are defending the naive….dont you think you are being patronizing?Youre infatuation with this dude is making you look ridiculous.I think at the end of the day you are all suffering from a little jealousy.He has a hot wife,hes a minor celebrity and he gives the appearance of having wealth.So until hes indicted…why dont you internet IRS agents but together a flipping crew,and approach And E with your own idea for a show?I nstead of hanging out here bashing him?Might I suggest a Mike Voss crew?He can show us how to put 150,000.00 into a 40,000.00 dollar house and sell it for 35,000.00.As long as the client is getting a deal everyone should be happy.Cmon people,the idea of business is to sell something for more than you pay for it.How much work to u think can go into a 35 -40 thousand dollar home?Granite countertubs?jacuzzi tubs?I dont think so.So anyway,I know you all love this word…..but you sound like a whiney,group of haters.Give it a rest.
FYI, Montelongo sued for alleged bad business dealings. Here is link:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/MYSA091507.01D.MontelongoLawsuit.29d6146.html
Amy,
Too funny!
Hey “coach”!
NO SALE! LOL
Amy,
THanks for your post – I’m honored to know that I’m a thorn in the side of Armando and his boiler room personnal. Just to clarify something there IS something they could do if I were spreading lies here, which would be to sue me for Libel (slander would be for spoken or gestured lies, written is libel, illustrating how little this “coach” you heard from knows)
However, since I go to great lengths to make sure I don’t say anything here that I don’t know or believe to be true, they cannot do so and, hence, have not. The first step for anyone believing they are being libeled would be to send a cease and desist letter to the party they felt was doing so. I have never received anything from Armando, despite the fact that I am 100% aware that he knows how to contact me, so I think it is readily apparent that, in fact, he knows that everything I say is true and as such that he can do nothing about it. Incidentally, the statements of the individual who spoke to Amy claiming that I run this website (I don’t) and that I am related to Richard Davis(I’m not, but that is really amusing) actually *would* qualify as slander (claiming falsely that I am libeling another for personal gain – that’s a crime), so maybe I’ll have my lawyers look into that. Be advised Armando, everything you do and say, even through your reps, gets back to me and documented. Sometimes in video, understand? Conduct yourself accordingly, as I’m no joke, amigo.
And just so there can be no doubt, I have personally invited Armando to substantiate his claims here at least twice (obviously he knows what gets written here, right?) and not a word has he spoken, yet he will have his boiler room flunkee tell any manner of lies to attempt to steal $8000 dollars from her. Amy – has that proof he mentioned shown up yet? haha, of course not. I wonder, why doesn’t this “coach” post that proof here since, by his own admission, HE READS THIS BLOG! Well Mr. “Coach”? WHERE IS THAT PROOF AMY IS WAITING FOR??? WE ALL WANT TO SEE IT !!!!!
I’m sure Wyldwmn will tell you that this “coach’s” tactic to isolate Amy to pressure her was no accident. Speak to us all here, Mr. Coach. Enlighten the whole world as to how we are mistaken about Armando being a liar and a con artist. I await your response.
Bravo to you Amy for seeing through these creeps, educating yourself, and pursuing your dream with real knowledge and $8000 in your pocket.
And I guess we know who writes Armando’s shill posts now. 🙂
Sunlight disinfects.
Mike Voss
Re: Mike Voss, #916–that’s why I read this thread. Bravo!
While you all go on and on… I’d like to say that I LOVE watching the show. Armando deserves an Emmy 🙂 for his performance. He is obviously good at one thing…ACTING! He’s full of ****
But the show is sooo fun to watch… I think it should have an “NSPP” rating though to warn some viewers from being easily impressed. No Stupid People Please.
In an interview in May, David Montelongo said that his brother had put “good TV” ahead of sound real estate investments.
“We have different business philosophies,” he said then. >>>
And that is exactly our main reason for pulling out. Say he really does what he says he will do – coach us for one year to flip houses. We are not interested in learning his particular techniques & style of doing business. Integrity above all, always.
>
I thought you might enjoy that 😉 Again, thank you for all the *FREE* advice you have given us already. And Wldwmn: I copied & pasted your entire wisdom gathering post into Word, to always remind me, good information can always be found for free, if we are motivated to find the truth. Thanks!
Shari,
Interesting. Here’s the title of this thread you just posted “on and on” about, “Anyone purchased Armando Montelongo’s Real Estate Package?”
What was that again? About “stupid people”?
I agree from previous posts about a lynch mob mentality which has taken root early into these 900+ posts and which has become a growing vine intent on suffocating Armando’s empire. It reminds me of the Twilight Zone episode where the lynchmob mistakenly attacks each other when they suspect of wrongdoing. It is the human mental condition which has been so evident historically, and which often goes unrealized until its too late.
I don’t want to personally criticize anyone on this page, neither the ‘haters’ nor the ‘lovers’. Armando is not the best businessman, or the greatest of moral character in the world, but he is still a human being. There are countless people in business in America these days who are much worse than him, let alone people who commit barbaric physical crimes against others.
My main point is this. If there are mothers of murder victims who can find the empathy, compassion and love within their hearts to forgive and ‘love’ the perpetrators, then can’t we love someone like Armando also? We should definitly point out to people on this website that we feel they are wasting their money on his publications, especially since it is a lot of money and there is some evidence to back that up. However, such vitriolic hatred toward him can become something destructive. Anyone who falls into that hatred is not seeing the ‘real world’. To see the real world is to see it the way that children see it, and animals. They don’t have time to let their minds get wrapped around things like the ‘flip this lawsuit’ website, but rather they are too busy enjoying everything about the present moment.
This last part was a plug for Tolle’s book, ‘The Power of Now’, and he talks about the lynchmob mentality as well as the characteristics of behavior like Armando and Veronica. A fantastic read for bringing this world closer together. I dream of one day seeing Armando and Mike Voss embracing in peace. Seriously.
:-O ouch! Dont forget to breath there steve from texas…XOXO…
David,
Re: “It reminds me of the Twilight Zone episode where the lynchmob mistakenly attacks each other when they suspect of wrongdoing.”
I know the episode you’re talking about and it’s a piss poor analogy. It has NOTHING to do with the topic at hand, nothing.
Your “hate” characterization of us ‘regulars’ is bullshit also but thanks for the book plug. Yawn. I’ll see your ‘Tolle’ (utopia) and raise you a ‘wyldwmn’ (reality)
How did you land on this web site and thread again? I missed that part I guess.
Back to the boiler room, amigo. If this is your “A Game” quit while you’re behind
Shari,
Back at ya! LOL
XOXOX
Greetings to all from Long Beach, CA. I’ve been following the posts daily on this site since early June and decided that I should throw my two cents into the mix for the possible benefit of what may be the vast majority of posters and lurkers. I too discovered this site when I was performing basic Google searches on Armando Montelongo, Richard Davis, et al, and keep coming back for more.
First, thanks to everyone for your posts – they have been entertaining and in some cases real eye-openers. Not so much for the revelations about Armando’s “flipping” acumen (or lack of), and character flaws, but the behind the scenes, legal background investigations, which present a more complete picture than what the television producers convey to the viewers.
Anyway, the purpose of my post is not to condemn, promote or praise any of the “flip” shows that are being discussed. But hopefully, to provide a starting point for the visitors to this site that are interested in flipping – (I prefer the term rehab; flipping seems to have become a somewhat pejorative term) – homes and are seeking an inexpensive way to gain some basic knowledge without bankrupting their household budget by purchasing possibly questionable programs hawked by the many gurus seeking to fatten their own wallets.
Education and hands-on experience (practice makes perfect) are the keys to any successful venture such as rehabbing. Whether one intends to provide their own sweat-equity, or hire general or specialty contractors (subs) to do the work, the flipper absolutely needs to have some knowledge of the various construction processes – if for no other reason than to keep everyone honest, or risk having them take advantage of you.
There are many books and videos dealing with specific trades (e.g., framing, roofing, floor covering, painting, plumbing, and electrical, etc.) that are available for a pittance compared to the potentially high and disasterous costs that can accrue from ignorance; and, which should be part of everyone’s library if they are serious about pursuing rehabbing on a long- or short-term basis.
First, in the interest of full-disclosure, I do not flip houses. However, I am a California licensed general contractor and also hold another five specialty licenses (e.g., painting, floor covering, ceramic tile, etc.). While I used to have my own contracting business in the past, I do not hold myself out as an “expert” in the construction field and would defer any technical issues to someone such as Mike Voss, who appears to have the expertise I lack. With that proviso, I would recommend the following:
1) The first must-have book one should obtain is the Uniform Building Code (UBC), which is available from many sources (and, in various iterations), such as: http://www.constructionbook.com/icbo-uniform-building-code/?CMP=KNC-Google (Note: I am not promoting any particular source that I list – they are but one source that I located while performing a simple Google search). While most cities and counties have adopted the UBC, they may have other specific codes to which they adhere.
2) The Very Efficient Carpenter: Basic Framing for Residential Construction by Larry Haun available from Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Very-Efficient-Carpenter-Residential-Construction/dp/156158326X
List $22.95, and selling for $15.61; and, 34 used copies are available from $10.64
3) Carpentry by Leonard Koel available from Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Carpentry-Leonard-Koel/dp/0826907288
List $88.00, buy for $79.80; 16 used copies available from $1.62
4) Carpentry and Building Construction by John L. Feirer and Gilbert R. Hutchings available from Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Carpentry-Building-Construction-Louis-Feirer/dp/002838699X
List $76.64, sells for $50.58 and 18 used copies are available from $33.50
A good source for construction books and videos for the various trades are available from construction book stores, as-well-as contractor license schools that have in-house book stores. A couple of retailers that I found online include:
Builders Book Store
http://www.buildersbook.com/
Construction Resources Bookstore
http://www.constructionresources.net/bookstore.htm
For do-it-yourselfers (DIY), Home Depot, Lowes and probably Orchards Supply have a variety of books and videos, and often have live demonstrations on the weekend for certain types of projects.
In addition, most if not all, construction material manufacturers publish product installation and usage pamphlets, manuals and videos for contractors and installers. These materials may be listed on their websites or available by written request from their customer service departments if you indicate that you are interested in using their product in your project.
While I apologize for the long post, I have one last pet-peeve that I would like to air; and, that’s concerning the waste of particularly good materials (cabinets, appliances, etc.) that appear to be the norm on the flip shows. Again, I’m not promoting any organizations, and have absolutely no affiliation with any organization/company that I have mentioned. However, I cannot condone the destruction and thoughtless disposal of materials that could be recycled for the benefit of others. One organization, Habitat for Humanity (and, there are probably others), has an outlet for donated materials from contractors and others, which seems to be a more responsible and in this current environment, a “greener” solution to the throw-away mentality characterized in these shows. If nothing else, donations are an alternative worth consideration (and, there may be tax cosiderations), when feasible. For more info, check out:
Habitat for Humanity ReStores
http://www.habitat.org/env/restores.aspx
Again, thanks for your continuing posts. While I probably will not contribute (at least I hope I contributed – that was my intention)again, I will continue to lurk and enjoy the varied viewpoints.
David – I appreciate the spirit of your post, but I do not see “hatred” anywhere here really. The shill posts supporting Armando are repeatedly calling people posting here “haters” (# 913 is the latest laff fest) however, I see nearly zero personal attacks on Armando (more on me I think) and hundreds of posts stating facts and how they contradict his claims. That isn’t hatred, that’s people looking for the truth and asking pertinent questions and only someone with an interest in obfuscating the truth would attempt to depict it as otherwise to dissuade them from doing so.
Almost 1000 posts, and not a WORD from the Montelongo camp refuting any of the things discovered so far. That’s what I see, not hate.
Another thing the shill posts always claim is how people are “wasting their time here”. Nothing could be further from the truth. If Amy above is the only person who has taken pause and saved their hard earned money (I’m sure there are many more, though) then, as far as I’m concerned, every minute here has been well spent.
I’m sure somewhere in San Antonio there is a dingy office full of boiler-room phone salesmen watching their leads dwindle and die who spend every minute reading this blog and desperately thinking up things to post here to stop the hemmoraging. There’s just one problem: they cannot refute the facts, which leaves them with little to say except that we’re haters, jealous of Armando, whiners, wasting our time, etc.
I should save us all time and bandwidth and just list and number the same crap they put in every post, then they could just use a numeric shorthand and write like, “2,5,6,7,9” for a post instead of writing out the same lame things every time.
They’re re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Sometime soon the national news will pick up Armando’s story and that will be the end.
Mike Voss
Numeric notation for armando shill posts:
1) You’re a bunch of whiners!
2) Get a life!
3) I’m not Armando, but
4) You’re all jealous of Armando’s success
5) Don’t you think Armando is too busy making money to care what you think?
6) Why don’t you get out of here and go make some money!
7) You’re all wasting your time.
8) You’re all haters!
9) Mike Voss doesn’t know crap
Armando and shills: Please use this new notation to conserve bandwidth. For example, post number 913 above could be condensed to:
” 3,2,4,9,8 ”
If anyone has more entries to add to this new notation protocol, please post them here for addition! I’ll see about getting an RFC number or something. 🙂
For now, let’s call it ASN – Armando’s Shill Notation.
Yawn, Steve from Texas.I find you extremely boorish.Face it,you are a member of the pack,nothing more.
[…] Here is a comment posted on FlipThisLawsuit: […]
I somewhat agree with David and dont agree with what Steve in Tx responded to him. I’m no Armando “lover” or “hater” I live in SA also and have driven by most of the properties on the show. Some are still undergoing construction and one other was still waiting to be rented out. I dont find anything wrong with the show, my wife and I watch the show mainly because its here in SA and its even better since I keep her informed of all the news from this website. I dont pass judgement on him or his brother, I just like it for its entertainment value. I was dumb enough one time to buy one of those $1500 seminars a couple of years ago and never used the info I learned from it. I’m sure there are some of you out there who get pleasure from hearing all the bad news on the montelongos, it doesnt really matter to me.
Ok, I am sorry this has taken me so long, I haven’t been on this site in a bit. I try to keep up and read, but sometimes I don’t have time to respond 🙂 Anyway… here are links to the photobucket pictures. Hopefully it works this time!!! ENJOY!
“Investors Special” House- Looks beautiful eh? LOL. It was dark outside but luckily my husband was able to get a better pic with his nifty camera. This house was in a really bad area… I was slighly afraid 🙂
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c277/nmetcalf84/IMG_3384.jpg
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c277/nmetcalf84/IMG_3389.jpg
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c277/nmetcalf84/IMG_3388.jpg
This is the office building on Vantage. Apparently this is David and Melina’s office?
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c277/nmetcalf84/IMG_3381.jpg
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c277/nmetcalf84/IMG_3380.jpg
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c277/nmetcalf84/IMG_3379.jpg
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c277/nmetcalf84/IMG_3377.jpg
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c277/nmetcalf84/IMG_3376.jpg
And this is the house on Dalhurst. Are they still there? I remember this house from a few episodes, but I wasn’t sure.
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c277/nmetcalf84/IMG_3372.jpg
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c277/nmetcalf84/IMG_3373.jpg
Mike Voss,
Your new “ASN” system is not even close to mildly funny, it is extraordinarily funny!! 🙂 If I think of any more to add, I will let you know 🙂
John,
Yeah, well, whatever John. Here’s your Twilight Zone episode: “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street”
http://www.scifilm.org/tv/tz/twilightzone1-22.html
Go back and tell your “coach” your game of divide and conquer didn’t work.
Put in another quarter and try again ; )
And another thing. Stop hating, get a life and go make some money! LOL
Mike Voss, #926 is right on.
You are right. Since Armando camp can’t refute the facts, they resort to attack the messenger, instead, i.e. ‘hater’ comments, etc. Sort of a weak attempt at cyber-bullying I think.
However, such vitriolic hatred toward him can become something destructive….they (children & animals) don’t have time to let their minds get wrapped around things like the ‘flip this lawsuit’ website, but rather they are too busy enjoying everything about the present moment.>>
I just want to say, I hate NO one. Not the nice guy that spoke with my husband & I on the phone about the coaching program, not Armando…no one. I don’t wish anyone harm or ill will. My hope is that Armando & the coaching staff realize just how many people are trusting them to be honest & reliable, and they live up to their expectations. Other than that, I am not their judge…God is.
As for this site, I came here looking for more info on a man before I spent $8,000 to have him mentor my husband & I. What I found here raised enough questions to make us turn down the offer. I keep coming back, though, because the info is useful, the people friendly & caring, and all for free. Can’t be that with a stick!
PS…I’m definitely enjoying the present moment MUCH more with the money still in my retirement fund 😉 Personally, I feel like I dodged a bullet.
PS LngBchMike – thank you so much for the book suggestions. Just today I was in Books A Million, on info overload. I finally bought just one, Kirsten’s (thanks again, Mike!), and took pics with my cell phone of the other ones I was interested in, to check for them my local library first 🙂 Thanks!
That cat house episode showed just how low Armando is. There is no wonder (from the web masters video) that house still stinks. Armando would not replace the walls. He painted over that roach and rat crap on the walls. Ya’ll know that cat urine seeped into everything. If it wasn’t on slab it seeped into the ground below the crawl space if it was on slab it seeped into the concrete. I’m no contractor and I can figure that out. Not to mention the carpet was butted up to the walls so you know that sheet rock soaked up it’s fair share of cat pee. This is low of the low. It shows a total lack of integrity and no forthought into the over all health and stability of the home.
I just found this site a couple of days ago. I have only read thru #200 but I was checking out this and that and looked at the montelongo site mentioned and read some of the reviews. All you have to do is type in a name of a reviewer/testimonial person suck as Robin Feltner like I did and then check out one of the names on the reviews. A Felton of Cincinnati, Ohio. I don’t know what I stumbled on but after doing some searching I found a spider web of info giving great reviews of specialty candles, letter to newspaper editor on property upkeep, and that there was a female RF with two different last names but her family connections have listing in San Antonio, TX. I agree with most everything that has been posted so far, can’t wait to read the rest and the only show I prefer to watch at this time is the Property Ladder that shows how much time, trouble, unknown problems that arise shows pretty true to flips (or should I saw flop this house since most of these have failed or barely broke even)? Call me paranoid but I would like to add my 2 cents and my junior detective work. I would be interested if anyone else has followed through looking for Veronica’s maiden name, her sibblings and their new names in order to see if family, friends and some of these posts that I do believe are Mondoman undercover!
BTW–my dad is from Arkansas, he says guys like this are “Big Birds” — all mouth and full of shit!!
my mother in law has a cat basement, and I am not looking forward to the day I have to rehab it. I know it will be days with a heavy mask on, you walk by the window and you can smell it…..so imagine what a whole house would be like! I know at my inlaws, the drywall, vapour and insulation will have to be pulled, flooring as well….I am thinking even the cielings…..then I can worry about taking care of the concrete….no way would anyone imagine leaving urine soaked drywall in place, UNLESS they where scamming people.
Thanks for the pics Elizabeth. We were in San Antonio at the same time and I too wanted to scout out a few of the Montelongo’s “projects” and their office building, but my wife said no way we were spending any of our vacation on that! I’ve enjoyed seeing the “other side” of the Montelongos on this website that would have probably never been exposed until after the Texas Attorney General got involved.
I remember the first time my wife and I saw the Montelongos. Ironically it was during another vacation in San Antonio earlier this year (gotta use those theme park season passes!) that I actually saw an episode. I was impressed at first, especially with the “fact” someone rose up from deep debt to own a “lucrative” business, and now is getting national fame for all his hard work. As I watched more episodes, the “facts” about his business really started to seem exaggerated. I looked at his old website (before the seminar days) when they actually had several houses listed for sale, and a couple of them were homes featured on FTH episodes.
I realize much of his on screen persona is probably an act, but he sure is entertaining! I especially like it when David and Armando’s own wife go against him behind his back and do what they wanted to (and what was right) like in the house that needed the whole new bathroom, from floor joists to ceiling. Their episodes just feel like soap operas to me. LOL!
As an aside, I noticed on the episode of FTH this weekend that A&E was allowing the CT guys to plug their own version of how to seminars and such. I guess A&E is going the way of the “get rich quick” infomercial cable channels.
Keep up the good work on here guys (and ladies).
What kind of trickery is used when we watch Armondo “completly” flip a house to looking great and ready for sale ,, then to find out it is all sham ??
I purchased this course after seeing the show and then finding the site on the web. I love the materials, the webinars and the emails. I was a total newbie to flipping homes but I already have one sold and another one in the works. I could not have done it without finding this course or something like it! If you haven’t actually tried the materials I personally don’t think you should criticize it! I flipped one house for $15K Profit and hopefully on the next one we will come close to doubling that.
I will keep you posted of our results. Almost every method I used I got from the Kit from Armondo and Veronica & A&E Flip This House.
Help! I am here in San Antonio and seeing Armando on TV and being here in this same city – I thought surely he could be someone I could learn from – Now I come here to this blog and I think I am in trouble. When purchasing this DVD fro $47.97 (price was reduced after several “offer pages) – there is no “confirmation of purchase” on the website. I did not know if I had completed the transaction and there was no “confirmation” e-mail coming to my inbox for sometime. After going through the steps again, I then discover that the site shows I purchased the same program twice ($47.97 each) – when I did not authroize this purchase. This was on September 9th – Now, I have e-mailed the Support at Armando’s site, 7 times and have not gotten any communication from their “billing department” – I would like to join any class action for injunction or for civil restitution if possible. The response I get is from “technical support” 5 days ago which said they would notify the “billing department” and have marked this as a “high priority” issue. They would not provide any contact for the billing department and asked that I be patient? I am very angry and the charges are on my credit card. I cannot believe I fell for this – but I will keep you posted on any further developments. Thanks
Why does Armondo use female names in most of his post ???
ASN #10 LOL
Alisha:
Specifically, which course did you purchase, what methods from that course did you use, and what was the address of the house(s) you bought/sold?
Please substantiate your claims, as your post appears highly suspect.
Doug,
Texas Attorney General
Consumer Protection & Public Health Hotline: (800) 621-0508
First, contact the business. Take your problem to the salesperson, manager or the company’s customer service representative. Most problems are resolved at this level. If you are still not satisfied, contact the owner or the company’s headquarters.
Then seek help. If the business will not resolve a problem directly, consumers can file a complaint with the Office of the Attorney General, the Better Business Bureau, or a small claims court. The complaint should explain in detail, with documentation, what the problem is, who it is with, and what you have done. In particular it should:
1. Identify the business. Include the name and current address of the business.
2. Describe the problem. Describe as completely as you can the problem with the product or service you have purchased. Were you told something that was untrue? Describe what you were told and how it was untrue. Is it defective? Explain what is wrong. Did the business refuse to honor a warranty? Explain what needs repair and include a photocopy of the warranty.
3. Include photocopies. Always include photocopies of documents relevant to your complaint receipts, warranties, both sides of cancelled checks, contracts, etc. Do not send originals. Only send copies.
Credit Card Purchases. In a credit card purchase dispute, the card issuer may credit your account and charge the item back to the business – if you follow certain steps.
1. Write to your credit card issuer at the address for errors or inquiries found on your billing statement.
2. Include vital information such as your name and account number, the date and amount of the disputed transaction and the business name and address.
3. Describe the dispute. Explain in detail actions you have taken in good faith to resolve the complaint, and why you feel the business should not be paid.
4. Send photocopies of any papers or other documents you believe relate to the transaction. Do not send originals!
The business must then try to collect the disputed amount directly from you. You or your attorney may wish to consult the federal “Truth-in-Lending” regulations (1 2 C,F.R. 226.12 and 226.13).
More…
http://www.oag.state.tx.us/consumer/consumer.shtml#ifyou
Doug,
Before you do ANYTHING else, call the Texas Attorney Generals Office…
Main agency switchboard
Public Information & Assistance
Consumer Protection Hotline
Open Records Hotline
(800) 252-8011 or (512) 475-4413 (in Austin)
Wow! I love Flip this House, and Armando’s episodes are my favorites. I tease my husband all the time that I want to be just like him. I’ve busted my butt for everything that I have and why put down somebody that is making something of themselves. Oh, I know why, you must be jealous. But oh well, to each his own.
post 947 ASN #11
Greg wrote: – post 947 ASN #11
LOL!
“Little House of Horrors” – ‘The Cat House’
12906 Lone Shadow Tr
On the show…
Purchase price: $55,000
Total Inv after Rehab: $140,050
Sold For: $165,000
__________________________________
Well, not exactly. According to the ‘records’ it was sold in late August for
$116,000!!!!! Ouch ; )
‘The Cat House’
Clarification: On second blush, maybe not
The original loam amount was for $101,400 flied on December 8, 2006. The $116,000 amount appears to be a loan transfer and refinance for $116,000.
Borrow: Veronica Montelongo
Doc # 20070196195 at the “records”
So they still have the ‘Cat House’.
Meow! ; ) LOL
It is rather amazing how other flipers waite days, weeks or months for a buyer and Armondo always gets a buyer on “open house” day ,,,, wow how does he do that .
‘The Cat House’ continued…
Sorry for all the previous typos! Yikes!
OK, the $116,000 loan is a conventional 30 year loan (now). Borrower: Veronica. So at least NOW the bleeding is less than it was. Still though, they’ve lost their ass on this one and continue to do so just not as fast now! LOL Meanwhile, the smelly ‘cat house’ continues to ‘cook’ in the hot Texas sun!
1. “You’ve got to know when to hold them. Know when to fold them. Know when to WALK AWAY and know when to RUN!”
2. “There’s never enough time to do it right but there’s ALWAYS time to do it over” ; )
ASN? Excuse me? Not up on the lingo.
Doug:
Since you are in Texas, you can make your complaint online to the Texas Attorney General. Here is the link:
http://www.oag.state.tx.us/consumer/complain.shtml
Currently, the Texas Attorney General is going after mortgage scams, so they seem pretty pumped up about protecting the public welfare regarding real estate scams. If enough people make complaints, the attorney general will file suit to protect the public interest from these guys. Same thing happened 10 years ago with some ‘get rich quick with foreclosures’ guy named McCorkle. (Sadly, he’s in prison now).
Actually post # 947 translates to ASN:
4
🙂
I love how now that all the negative shilling lines have been outed, they’re switching to positive. I’ll catalog those soon too.
Something like:
10. FTH is my favorite show
11. I think Armando is doing great / a great businessman
12. I bought the course and am very happy!
13. I just flipped my first n houses and made (n).
etc.
Mike,
Re: “I love how now that all the negative shilling lines have been outed, they’re switching to positive”
And any many of ‘other’ also, IMO.
As the saying goes… “The dogs bark but the caravan moves on” ; )
My wife purchased the $99 e-book, I took it to work yesterday and read the entire thing she stayed up till 3am reading it the night before. I thought it was good info, until tonight when I found your site I was a noob. All of the same info seems to be available free or nowhere near $99. I work in Encino and we are moving to Utah in about 9 months and are interested in flipping but will be taking it slow. My wife did a split pay and only paid for 1/2 of the book the other half didn’t go through as she pushed her card to the limit. I would love to not pay the remaining $47 but I feel it would be bad business Karma.
Mike V. you saved me $997. Thanks
Talk to you on the “Flip” side
If Armando is such a great businessman, then why didn’t he go inside the Cat House before purchase to inspect. I am not a Realtor, but rats and excessive pet waste have a distinctive smell anyone
with half a brain would not invest in. It is just too costly to deal with in most cases and has way too much liability. What if the people moved in with children and they got sick from the mold and biological hazard! This could be deadly to young children!!
Even if he did go inside, the failure to realize the house was a tear down, (even the foundation and plumbing were bad), shows he should not be giving advice to people about making money.
It seems every show he finds out it is going to cost much more or he has major problems that he missed. This shows that he doesn’t know what he is doing. There are always extra expenses, but he obviously has not flipped thousands of houses as he claims.
I think the show is entertaining, nothing more. Of course watching people doing stupid stuff is always entertaining and funny too, “Bro, Don’t TAZE me, Ouwww Ouwww.” It’s the same “Look at me!” mentality.
I don’t have any problem with Armando at all for doing an entertaining show, but I have a problem with him misrepresenting himself for money.
He is no expert! I just feel sorry for the people who don’t know better and waste their money on his worthless plagiarized garbage.
Armando, stick with doing goofy step all over yourself TV, and stop taking advantage of people! Also, be a little less obvious with your shill posts, it’s annoying.
BTW, Thank you Mike and Steve. You are doing a true public service in your thorough investigation and exposure of this “here today, gone tomorrow” wanna be celebrity. Cheers!
Armando’s failure to even go into the Cat House shows a lack of experience and poor judgment. As bad as that house was, it should have been obvious from the smell that this was not a suitable investment property.
Even if he had gone inside, he should have realized it was a “tear down” and not attempted to rehab it. The way they fixed the plumbing by digging tunnels will eventually settle and continue to crack the foundation and break the plumbing lines. Houses that have rats and animal waste are almost always a bad idea. They are too costly to renovate and have way too much liability. What if someone moves in and gets sick from the mold or biological hazard. This can be deadly to small children for Gods sake!!
I have no problem with Armando filming an entertaining TV show. If nothing else his wife’s surgically enhanced sweater puppies are nice to look at. But Armando should stick with “Step all over yourself TV” and not try to profit from it by making false claims and plagiarizing other sources.
I know this might offend some, but Richard Davis is only slightly better. His failure to pull permits and all the problems he has with, mold, rats, etc. shows his lack of experience. They also fail to properly inspect the houses they buy.
Get an inspection from a licensed inspector and bids from contractors for the work before you buy. If the bids are 2 or 3 times more than you can afford and still make a profit, then it is unlikely you can make the money back by doing the work yourself.
All this house flipping is good TV, but it is not for most people. If you can’t afford to loose the money, don’t even consider it. Flipping can be good every 10-15 years for a short time with real estate cycles, but for the people who watch it on TV and think they can get rich quick, they need to look else where. When flipping is on TV, it’s already too late to attempt to copy. Unless the market is overheated and there is not enough supply, it is not worth it to fix up houses for most people.
Kirsten Kemp does a much better job at exposing the real truths in rehabbing houses. I have rehabbed houses in the past and currently build new houses, so I am speaking from personal experience. I just hope that people realize there is no short cut to success or profits, just hard work and educated decisions.
Steve and Mike, thanks for your public service. Hopefully people will realize that Armando is not all he seems and seek out other sources for information.
Armando, please stop being so obvious in your shill posts, it’s annoying. Either you or who ever you are manipulating into doing it, needs to be a bit more convincing.
“Bro, don’t TAZE me!”
As I have pondered the cat house episode and watched that video clip again I wonder.. does Texas have any type of public health inspectors? I would think that a home that was “infested” for lack of a better word with cat urine would be a health risk for the public. If they got a ticket for that house smelling so bad and by their own admission saying you could smell it several doors down. One wonders what kind of negative impact that might have on a persons respiratory system. Not to mention that fecal matter that was painted into the walls. Roaches carry a plethora of diseases not to mention the other vermin feces. The Monetelongs should be looked into for no other reason than for public safety. What other things are they “putting lipstick on” that are potential public health hazards. The house that had the rotten floor and mushrooms growing in it was also very nasty. David replaced those floors but Armando was VERY against it. That low standard of ethics on Armando’s part really puts all of his work into question, in my two cent opinion.
What ASN is post #941 ?
“don’t think you should criticize it ”
I thought wyldmn chased Armondo away LOL
Becky refer to post # 927 🙂
“””PS…I’m definitely enjoying the present moment MUCH more with the money still in my retirement fund 😉 Personally, I feel like I dodged a bullet.”””””
no you didn’t dodge a bullet, you did gymnastics around a bullet…. because you were doing research that everyone should be doing before “investing” a dime…. unfortunately, fools and their money are easily parted, as con men have found out through the ages… it is too bad more people are not like you, and actually figure out that research is not that hard.
jon.
Jon,
You are so right, there is no excuese NOT to research when we have internet and libraries.
It is so easy to research even a caveman can do it .
post #965 spelling correction “excuse” sorry 🙂
Sounds like the ‘cat house’ episode must have run again. That episode really does make it abundantly clear just how completely inexperienced Armando is. It was a simple job and he was about to crack.
When a house has that much bio-contamination, a smart builder knows what to do. Either you tear it down and start over, or you bring in a biohazard mitigation team to make it safe before you start work on it and then do the demo with appropriate safety measures. It’s a relatively new line of business, but in recent years, these types of companies have become fairly common. They mostly do work like crime scene cleanups (yes, nasty, but someone has to do it), but can ususally handle all types and do a very good job. Once they’ve been in, THEN it’s safe to start doing demo and look at what’s necessary to treat the structure of the house before rebuilding starts. Safe to say if the small makes you want to puke or run out when you walk in, this is in order. In something as bad as the cat house, there should have been air sampling and such being done. I’m not surprised that it didn’t sell.
They bit off more than they could chew, got in way over their heads, and got their collective ass kicked. The show glossed it over and made it look like they still came out ahead – they didn’t. We now know they didn’t finish, didn’t sell, and lost money. Anyone with moderate experience as a remodeler would have known better. Certainly if someone had “flipped 1000 houses in 5 years” they would have, but since nobody has done that….
Mike Voss
RE: post 967
Mike your post was way off subject. I’m surprised post police Texas Steve didnt notice.
I would just like to say that there is money in flipping homes. Here in Michigan anyway. I am wacking banks on short sales for as much 60,000 in equity. I don,t do high end homes and stick to blue collar homes. These houses need max 10,000 in repair(and thats high) And I sell in the 125000 range. Typically I make 15,000 to 20,000 a home. I take pride in what I do and sell beutiful homes back to good people at below market value so they walk into instant equity. I have bought and sold 5 homes since Nov 06. to present. Michigan ranks as one of the highest foreclose in the country but life goes on and people move on in life and keep buying homes. I beleive that if you are honest and study your market you can be succesful in RE investing. the only problem I have is not enough money to do more houses. There are sooo many deals and I only deal in three cities in the metro detroit area. My biuisness is good and I am expanding. As i watch These A&E Real Estate Shows I watch them for amusement. Please dont expect to start a real estate biz by what you see on TV. They only show maybe 10% of what happens in real life, if that. These shows are for amusement only NOT FOR REAL EDUCATING MATERIAL. I was fortunate to find an RE Investing Guru from michigan that only works in michigan and went to his 3 day workshop. It was awsome and changed my life forever. My advice is to find someone from your area who is a pro and have him or her help you out. Remeber asking is FREE. Ohhh also read Think and Grow rich, that book helps tremendously. only you can make your desire for what you want out of life.
Peace.
Mike Voss:
You should consider patent/copyright/trademark the whole ASN thing. Too funny. You’ve got his personality and M.O. nailed to a T! (And maybe could earn a 5 cent royalty each time he uses the ASN lines).
Is it me or doesn’t anyone think that Kirsten Kemp, although being helpful, say the same things each week?
Kitchen and bathroom, a large percent of your investment; Check out the comp’s for the neighborhood and don’t over spend hoping to get more money back; etc., and almost every episode she pushes staging. I find myself making the same facial and eye movements before she makes them each week (and they kinda are like the same ones I’ve been watching John Black make on Days of Our Lives for the past 20 some years).
Don’t get me wrong, I am not dissing her or the show at all and I enjoy watching flips, flops and Armondo’s flapping mouth. Just like a Soap Opera as mentioned in one of the posts.
I would love to flip my house. I am afraid that even after watching all the different shows I would do exactly what I have been learning but probably in the wrong order. I also have found reading these posts as fun as watching the shows.
One more thing…Remember the 1960’s TV show theme song for Flipper? – well one more time for the great AM……..
“They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning—no one you seeeeee…..is smarter than he”
Yeh, right!
This site is the funniest thing ever. The Montelongo’s a joke. They need to go to jail for ripping people off.
Great outfits is the only thing Kirsten Kemp does differently each show .
Jeff in Indy wrote in #842…
Re: “The first thing I have to say is her culture is AMERICAN. I know you are talking about her being Hispanic but she lives here which means she should follow our laws and customs.”
OK, Jeff. “Off topic” was a bad choice of words on my part. How does “off base” sound instead? Our “customs”? That’s a rhetorical question by the way. As far as I’m concerned that’s my last comment on that ‘topic’.
Peace
My wife paid the remaining $47.50 for the e-book as promised and got a confirmation e-mail from the Montelongo team. Ten minutes later she got an e-mail stating that her account had been cancelled. Does this mean that she won’t get the opportunity to be partners with Armando or to make 40% off the sale of his E-book.
If I was responsible for selling this to my family and friends I would expect them to promptly kick me in teeth. Thanks again for all the great info.
Cat House shoulda coulda woulda……One of the reasons of the apparent brothers split….David wanted to take it down to studs, Armando disagreed……no wonder it still stinks!
Do you know how hard it is to take cat smell out of furniture ??? even out of walls?? it never leaves . Cat smell stays in everything it touches ,,, ewww that sound so gross
This is my firt post since I posted my investigative report on Armando’s Cat House back on May 7th (post #20). I have appreciativelly read the subsequent investigative posts on other Monteglongo misrepreseantaions.
It is funny that cat house has still not sold, and that people are still talking about it. BWWWWAAAAAHHHHAAA!!!
The shill posts defending Armondo are a hoot as well.
In the past two weeks I have been hearing Armondo’s sale pitch on local radio. It goes something like this: “I have the #1 Reality TV program and I am the #1 House Flipper in the Country.” The guy and his wife are shameless. I will gladly urinate on their graves.
Hiya potash! Don’t hold back! ; ) LOL
Interesting about the radio ads. There are a couple posts at TWOP about them also…
http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=3128626&st=1230
Radio ads CAN be relatively inexpensive depending on the market. In cheaper markets they call them “A Dollar a Holler”. Somebody is bank rolling this though and it AIN’T Armando, he’s probably getting a “royalty” on each sale from them. Hopefully whoever’s backing this will lose their A$$ and that’ll be the end of it ; )
Potash (post 978), you would gladly urinate on their graves? You’re a disgusting and pathetic person.
Steve,
Funny you should mention “not holding back” and TWOP in the same post. After I shreaded the numbers on four straight episodes of Season II Property Ladder by posting property addresses, actual purchase prices, showing that the properties were never sold and still listed for sale, etc.., and my personal favoite, the property in Santa Barabra that was ‘sold’ to a Nevada Corporation that was owned by the flipper’s wealthy parents, I became the target of a shill attack and I was unceromoniously banned from the site. I guess TWOP is not completely without pity.
In post #874 Jeff in Indy complained with regard to Veronica:
“Let me guess Armando keeps her in a cage and made her say those rehearsed lines on the show Sat night? She does not appear phisically or mentally handicapped. If she has it so bad she can LEAVE. The show has sceens of Veronica alone. She simply get the son and drive away to safty at ANY time.”
and
“Why do you call her a victim? She is there for the money and limelight. If she was divorced she would be working a regular job just like us regular people.
You have no facts to keep saying she is a victim except for that freshman year psych book crap you keep babbling from.”
As a matter of fact, abusers don’t have to resort to keeping their victims in a cage, the reason being that they use threats and humiliation, among other tactics, to control their victims. I call Veronica a victim based on the many years of research by highly respected psychologists which is just a little more advanced than “freshman year psych book crap.”
wyldwmn
In post #876, John wrote:
“…Just because the Montelongos are on TV doesnt give you people the right to put them under investigation.”
The Montelongos are not “under investigation” because they are on TV. It is Armando’s behavior and business dealings that are in question because he is not a truthful person.
wyldwmn
In post #894, SILVIA wrote:
“i THINK THAT ARMANDO MONTELONGO IS A GENTALMEN AND HE IS A VERY SMART PERSON,WHAT EVER HE IS OR WHAT EVER HE DOES IS NOT YOU GUYS BUSSINESS. GET OF THE WEBSITE AND DO SOMETHING OF YOUR LIFES AND STOP HATTING ON ARMANDO.M. THIS MESSAGE IS TO ALL THE “FUCKEN HATTERS”
So, Silvia, let me see if I understand you correctly: Your position is that what Armando does is not the business of the people posting in this forum, but what the people posting in this forum do is *your* business. Am I wrong, or is that what you are saying?
wyldwmn
In post #900, Greg admonishes another poster regarding spell checking by saying:
“no hatters here……..lmao atleast spell check before you post….its spelt haters…….no one here has claimed to HATE anyone……are we disgusted…you bet you ass…….Got to love how Armando got his mom to post in his defence! “
Um, Greg, I think your spell checker is broken. Otherwise I’m sure that you would not have mistakenly typed “hatters” instead of “haters,” “atleast” instead of “at least,” “spelt” instead of “spelled,” “you ass” instead of “your ass,” and “defence” instead of “defense.” Oh, and all those extra little periods at the end of each sentence–we can’t ignore those.
wyldwmn
In post #903 Brandon McAnuff wrote:
“Armando is a great business man. People who know business know that in order to get your way you have to be aggressive, otherwise the business will tear you apart. Yes, of course his package is to make money, but I believe he is trying to help people excel in the field as well. Just because he is mean to people on the television show does not mean he is out to rob people of their money.”
Armando claims to “front load” the costs of fixing up a house by inflating them individually when he talks to his lenders so that he can pocket a good chunk of money before he even begins work. Then he pockets another chunk of money (or so he claims) when he sells the house. In the meantime, instead of offering a bonus for a job well done in record time, he demands that his contractors work long hours for little money and that they put up with his verbal abuse and threats of being fired. Then he sells a bunch of get-rich-quick promises to poor people, telling them that they don’t have to spend any of their own money to get rich—they just have to give what little money they have to *him.* Exactly how does all that add up to Armando **not** being out to rob people of their money?
wyldwmn
In post #908 Amy writes of her conversation with her “coach” that:
“He said Armando has never filed bankrupcy.”
It is probably true that *Armando* has never filed bankruptcy. Even in “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” the author recommends that the reader start a part-time home business, and then goes on to talk about how to put assets that are for personal use under the ownership of the business. From what I’ve read from the detectives who post here, it is Armando’s *businesses* that have filed bankruptcy. What the coach said, then, is an example of the subtleties that people like Armando use to manipulate the minds of their would-be followers. In this case, the coach was trying to imply truth when there was a lie of omission, the omission being the explanation that it was Armando’s *businesses* that went bankrupt and not Armando personally.
Amy also said:
“Well, 30 minutes after I got off the phone with him, he called back. I let it go to voice mail and he said he had been thinking and he didn’t feel like he should have to defend Armando against people like Voss, that if I was still interested, I could research it myself then contact him, but the ball was in my court.”
This is another example of attempts at mind control—making the would-be victim choose between their own instincts (misgivings) and the abuser/cult leader when the would-be victim is asking for verification of something that is in question.
wyldwmn
In post #913, John wrote:
“Geez people,Im not Armando,but get a life.If you dont like what hes selling…dont buy it.”
Hey, John, I think this is absolutely *excellent* advice. Sorta like people who don’t like what other people write on a website—they too, don’t you agree, should get a life if they don’t like what they are reading?
wyldwmn
In post #921 David wrote:
“I agree from previous posts about a lynch mob mentality which has taken root early into these 900+ posts…
My main point is this. If there are mothers of murder victims who can find the empathy, compassion and love within their hearts to forgive and ‘love’ the perpetrators, then can’t we love someone like Armando also?”
and
“I dream of one day seeing Armando and Mike Voss embracing in peace. Seriously.”
So, do you think it is enough for mothers to forgive the murders of their children, or do you think it would be wiser for the community to educate themselves about how to spot the murderers and stop them before they murder those children? What do you think the mothers would pick? Forgive after their kids are dead, or ask the community to educate themselves to prevent their kids from getting dead?
As for Armando and Mike Voss embracing in peace, the issue is that Armando is not a person who appears to have any remorse for his actions. There are some people who are posting their anger here, and that is a natural result when someone has attempted to take advantage of them. But there is a good amount of posting here about the truth about Armando’s dealings and the truth about the nature of his behavior. That isn’t hate—that is wisdom in action.
wyldwmn
In post #923, the brilliant, hilarious and apparently still single Steve in Texas lazily calls David’s hand by saying:
“Yawn. I’ll see your ‘Tolle’ (utopia) and raise you a ‘wyldwmn’ (reality)”
Raise him a ‘wyldwmn’???????
{{{gasp}}}
I think I’ve just been flipped!!!
And here I was saving myself for Armando…
wyldwmn
In post #935 Amy said:
“My hope is that Armando & the coaching staff realize just how many people are trusting them to be honest & reliable, and they live up to their expectations.”
My sense is that Armando and his coaching staff have taken some “get rich quick” marketing courses from someone else who is selling that type of information, and are counting on using a numbers approach, i.e., all they have to do is pitch their products to x number of people that they’ve convinced that they are honest and reliable, and statistics would indicate that they would get a certain percentage of that number to actually send them money.
It has been mentioned that it would be nice to see Armando and Mikie Voss embrace, and I agree with that. But what it would take for that to happen, and what it would take for Armando and his coaches to live up to the expectations that they have created in the minds of their targets, is for Armando and his coaches to have some humility and moral values, in addition to a good dose of remorse. Has anyone noticed that Armando never talks about what he gives back to the community? He talks about how he takes a lot of money for himself, but when does he talk about helping out any of his contractors, about giving them a bonus for getting the job done in record time, for staying late? The most I’ve seen him do is hand them a can of soda from a little ice cooler that doesn’t even have any ice in it after having verbally abused them and never apologized, while he tells his son that this is “taking care” of his workers.
wyldwmn
In post #951 the brilliant, hilarious, and apparently still single Steve in Texas showed us his potty mouth when he said:
“The original loam amount…”
Loam? Steve, I’m surprised at you…I never expected to hear such “dirty” talk from your lips. But then what should one expect from a man who goes around flipping unsuspecting wyld women?
wyldwmn
In post 959 Mobic asks:
“If Armando is such a great businessman, then why didn’t he go inside the Cat House before purchase to inspect.”
The reason Armando did not go inside to inspect is that Armando is *not* a businessman. Armando is a scam artist. I listened to his webinar the other night about how he tries to “front load” the costs of repairs on a house when talking with his lender, and he specifically stated that he front loads the costs of each individual repair so that the lender doesn’t recognize that he is asking for more money than necessary for the purpose of pocketing it. I find it very difficult to believe that people in the business of loaning money to people who flip or rehab houses, don’t have their own experts to advise them on how much the repairs cost. In fact, it seems to me that Armando is trying to convince the potential buyers of his how-to-scam-lenders instruction books that he is the one putting a fast one over on the lenders, when the truth is probably more along the lines of Armando and the lenders being in cahoots from the start, or perhaps it’s more like the lenders being the ones who are playing Armando. Common sense tells me that Armando isn’t the only get-rich-quick clown that they’ve dealt with who uses something like house flipping as the ruse when the real agenda is to make money change hands quickly for the specific purpose of pocketing some of it when no one seems to be looking or noticing.
wyldwmn
In post #962 Confused wrote:
“I thought wyldmn chased Armondo away LOL”
Not yet. I’m waiting for still single Steve in Texas to flip him like he did me. 🙂
[Advice to Armando: Make sure you have panties on under your dress when Steve flips you. I wasn’t wearing any and I caught a chill. I was going to ask Mikie Voss to loan me a blanket, but his dog was using it.]
wyldwmn
In post #965 Confused wrote:
“Jon,
You are so right, there is no excuese NOT to research when we have internet and libraries.
It is so easy to research even a caveman can do it .”
Even *Armando* can do it. But the thing is, Armando *pretends* to have researched house flipping. That is not the truth. Armando has researched how to manipulate peoples’ thinking to get them to part with their money. When Armando was talking in one of his recent webinars about how he didn’t have anyone to teach him the things he writes about in his books, he did *not* say that he wishes that he had known *where to purchase the information.* He says that he wishes that he had known someone who could have taught him. He never mentions *paying* for that education. He tries to make his would-be victims believe that he cares so much about them even though he doesn’t know them personally, that he is going to give all of them the information he so much needed and desired when he was just starting out. Then, of course, he wants them to hand over money—money that he never admits having “wished” he could have handed over to the people he “wished” had been there to teach him.
This is a tactic that I call “slight-of-mind” in the sense that it works the same way as a “slight-of-hand” trick works for a magician—it plays on the vulnerabilities of the brain. In other words, Armando talks about how hard he had it, learning all this stuff all alone, and then talks about how much he cares about his would-be victims, and how much he really wants to help all of them. Then he asks for money. Yet he never once says that he would have been willing to go get an extra job to be able to pay money to learn what he is now claiming to be selling. This is a very common tactic used by those who would manipulate the minds of their victims—they create the illusion of having done something selfless and generous, and then ask for something big in return. It’s no different than saying “After I paid for this really expensive dinner, the least you can do is put out for me.” In Armando’s case, he is making his sales pitch to people who have no money—that’s the whole point of his repeating over and over that you “don’t have to have money to make money.” So he keeps repeating the same themes over and over, inciting the *emotions* of his intended victims, and then when they are all excited he asks them for money…and he continues “doing them favors” by slashing the original prices of his products, all because he cares about them so much. Like I said before, Armando talks a lot about how helpful it would have been if he had had someone to teach him when he was learning about using other peoples’ money to get rich, and he holds himself out as the little godlet that’s going to take on that teaching role for the rest of the world, rescuing them from poverty, but first they have to fork over the bucks.
One of these days Armando is going to dupe the wrong person and find *himself* being “forked over.”
wyldwmn
In post #969 Winston wrote:
“I would just like to say that there is money in flipping homes.”
I agree. There is a lot of money in flipping homes. I’ve known quite a few people who have built up quite a bit of wealth purchasing properties that they then rehabbed. But they didn’t do it by lying and cheating, and they didn’t do it by puffing themselves up and showing off, and they didn’t do it by paying the lowest wages possible to contractors that they then verbally abused. They did it by treating their contractors with respect and consideration, by giving them bonuses once the property sold, and by frequently expressing their appreciation. Armando, however, is not in the business of flipping homes. Armando is in the business of selling the dream of getting rich quick by leveraging *other peoples’ money.* The home flipping is only the ruse to keep the focus off how he makes money move around in such a way that his “slight of hand” results in bunches-o-money in his pocket, or so he claims.
wyldwmn
wyldwmn,
Bravo! Clap, clap ; )
Cause Number: 2007TA103246
Name: ARMANDO MONTELONGO JR
Litigant Type: DEFENDANT
Style:
BEXAR COUNTY ET AL
vs MONTELONGO ACQUISITIONS INC ET AL
Court: 225
Date Filed: 09/06/2007
Docket Type: DELINQUENT TAXES
Case Status: PENDING
If you want a classic example of what Armando is selling and what happens to those who buy it, look up the name Casey Serin.
Many of you may know of this guy. At age 24 in 2005, after watching the ‘flipping’ tv shows and getting caught up in all the hype and then spending *$15,000* on ‘flip’ seminars (using credit card advances) he started buying houses with the intent of flipping to make a living and quit working as a web designer. Although he claimed to have made money on his first flip, I just today found a video on YouTube where he is interviewed by Robert Kiyosaki and he actually explains that his first sale was tied to a purchase that lost money, effectively negating any profit. Long story short, he bought 7 or 8 houses, lied about his income on all the loan apps, made simultaneous applications to hide his debt load since the new purchases weren’t on the credit reports yet, and got in WAY over his head. (all tricks he learned from seminars , tapes, etc.) He only sold 3 of the houses – the rest were foreclosed on. His case would have gone unnoticed except that he documented it in a blog called iamfacingforeclosure.com. I hadn’t heard much about him for several months (he came to light late last year and was in the news and even on Suze Orman at one point) so I started doing research. His willingness to tell all has not gone unnoticed – the FBI is after him. Lest anyone forget, lying on a credit application is a felony.
Serin fled the US and was in Australia for 2 months (without his wife), but appears to be back in the US now. Last I heard, he is being investigated by the FBI, owes more than $2MM, has ruined credit, no home, and more trouble than anyone can imagine. Even a book he was trying to write to make money by telling all about his experience has gone sour and been taken away from him by the publisher for him breaching the contract, netting him nothing.
Read my lips: this is a guy who was doing all the kinds of things Armando pushes and endorses. Padding purchase prices to get cash back, “front loading” repairs, lying about income to get loans, using shady contracts, and on and on and on.
THis is not how legitimate businesspeople buy, develop, and sell real estate. Casey Serin, who is NOT a dumb kid, went in with his eyes wide open knowing nothing about real estate and believing all he was told, and look what he got for it: He’s broke, 2 million dollars in debt, and looking at a long federal prison sentence.
THAT is the reality of doing things Armando’s way. Believe you me, the clock is ticking on him, andthat’s just based on what little we know.
As we approach 1000 posts (!) on this thread, I hope you have all learned just one thing:
THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS!
Mike Voss
Cause Number: 2007CI09026
Name: DAVID MONTELONGO
Litigant Type: DEFENDANT
Style:
DAVID ESCALANTE ETAL
vs MONTELONGO DEVELOPMENTS LLC ETAL
Court: 288
Date Filed: 06/15/2007
Docket Type: BREACH OF CONTRACT
Case Status: PENDING
wyldwmn wrote – As a matter of fact, abusers don’t have to resort to keeping their victims in a cage, the reason being that they use threats and humiliation, among other tactics, to control their victims.
As of mid August Armandos ‘problem’, the “Cat House” became Veronicas problem. It’s in *her* name now and *her* name alone
Why would anyone want to buy ebooks from this guy?? To learn how to go bankrupt? According to the San Anotonio Clerks office site he has been foreclosed on over 20 houses… this information is posted on A&E’s blog for the show… even with the addresses for the houses. They were all bought in Land Trusts. What a joke!
In Post #999, Steve in Texas who, as far a we know is still single (I’m just sayin’), wrote:
“As of mid August Armandos ‘problem’, the “Cat House” became Veronicas problem. It’s in *her* name now and *her* name alone”
And this is an example of *one* of the many tactics that abusers use to make their victims carry the responsibility for their actions. There is no such thing as “what an abused woman looks like,” mostly because by the time there is physical evidence such as a black eye or a broken limb, an unbelievable amount of insidious mind control has taken place. It is a *myth* that if Veronica is abused she should look like she is abused.
To put it into a simple analogy, this is how abuse works: If you have a pot of boiling water and try to put a frog in it, the frog is going to kick and scratch and do everything possible to *not* be dunked in that boiling water. On the other hand, if you put the frog in the same pot when the water is cool, it happily goes in. Then as you start heating the water one degree at a time, the frog will adjust to the rising temperature, one degree at a time, never jumping out. It will stay there and boil to death.
So…at what point does that frog look like it has been abused? When it is cooked well done? Or does it look like an abused frog when the rest of us recognize that the intentions of the person putting it into the pot are to cook it to death?
Veronica is in Armando’s boiling pot of water. And so is her son.
Steve is a person who is willing to look at Armando’s intentions and understand how those intentions affect Veronica and her son. Other people would just criticize Veronica, saying that if she hasn’t boiled to death yet, she’s not abused and hey…she can jump out of the pot whenever she wants, so if she doesn’t, she deserves what she gets.
wyldwmn
Oh boy tonights show was so damn corny. Why would a person tear up landscaping like that with a truck. Then to top it all off that corny speech he gave while she was on the porch about how he had run on and they brought the plane back so they could see what he wanted. Does that just stike anyone of horse shit or is it just me. Sure they are going to let him by the gate and out so he can have then bring back the plane..so not happening…his ass would be right in jail.
Bizzymammabee,
Not only that but they let him on the plane without a ticket too, yeah, that’ll happen. Not! LOL Not pre 9/11, never.
Makes one wonder what Mike Holmes (“Holmes on Homes”) would have to say about the “flips” of the egomanical Armando.
Instead of tearing up the lawn, I think Armando and Veronica should have solved their differences by chasing a greased up pig. It work for Randy and Brent…right?
This episode clearly shows Armando’s inexperience on how to deal/manage/supervise people. Throwing tantrums or chasing pigs/peacocks is no way to solve problems.
Just got done reading all the post and love it. I cant stand Armando and it makes me sick to hear his commercial on the radio. I have some other info that is not mentioned. This fool and his wife took over a little Mexican restaurant on Pierrin-Bietel&Wurzbach Pkwy, a very low income area with mostly tattoo parlors, hole in the wall bars and lots of auto repair places. He tried to turn this cockroach infested place into a white table cloth restaurant by having the servers wear tux shirts and bow ties. This does not fly in this area where you can choose from a handful of little mexican places and eat for under $5. Needless to say it only lasted for a few months before he had to close the doors. He is now suing the former restaurant owner who moved about a mile away and claims that she stole all his customers. Talk about sour grapes. Everything this fool touches turns to crap. I would love to see him exposed for the fraud that he is.
To the brilliant and hilarious wyldwmn, who got a “chill” when I allegedly ‘flipped’ her while she had no panties on,
Did you catch tonights episode? Veronica jokingly said she and Armando were “Partners in Crime”. I’ve seen this before. “It’s me and you against the world, BABY!” (and everyone else is fair game, and/or a potential ‘mark’). “Isolation 101”, that’s how it starts. Whudaya think wyldwmn? Am I right? ; )
this place is full of inch high private eyes. i read every post. i need a life as bad as armando needs a loan lol.
you people rock.
I do think that Armando hit it on the head when he was reaming Veronica out about over spending. She definitely did what she wanted to do because she knows that he wasn’t going to tell her no if he ever wanted to have a chance of getting some in the near future…power of the goodies. Lol.
He struck me as some sort of hilly billy white trash driving that truck like that while decorating the outside of the house. Then his stupid hissy fit talking about how he is going to put slate on the driveway.
Don L, are you talking about the area near the Main Post Office on Perrin-Beitel? I dont think that its a “very” low income area, I’d say that somewhere off of Southcross or General McMullen would qualify as very low income.
That is interesting about the restaurant though, maybe he figured that anything he tries he will automatically be good at.
Alright people, lets focus… Especially you down there in Texas… Let’s find the address of this house on last nights show, check the records and see if our freind Armando once again lied like a rug… Let us all know! 🙂
ChrisInDetroit,
I’m looking (online) but no luck so
far ; )
‘E Sunshine Dr’ and ‘Dickinson Dr’ was on Armando’s GPS and ‘Timothy J DeWein’ was on the paper ‘Heather’ had! lol
wyldwmn, why did my mistakes in grammer upset you so? I am sorry that I do not run everything through spell check, or that my typing skills arn’t at the same level as yours….btw spelt is a word, and colour is spelt with a u same as labour… you might have fiqured out that I live above the 49th, actually quite close to the 50th… We can’t flip houses here, Armando’s bs won’t fly, why you ask? Cuse all our equity melts in about July, and the rehab starts in Sept……If you believe that we live in igloos, I have a ebook, and a seminar for you to.
Re: “E Sunshine Dr’ and ‘Dickinson Dr’ was on Armando’s GPS”
YIKES! “‘E Sunshine Dr’ and ‘Dickinson Dr’ WERE on Armando’s GPS” ; )
The show was staged to prove Veronica can stand up to Armondo and is not controled by him . But we know better 🙂
Lifted from TWOP…
“And I could not believe (well, I could, because it’s Armando), that he said this to his wife: “I taught you everything you know, but apparently I didn’t teach you everything I know.” Condescending, insulting, dismissive. . . it’s just beyond belief that anyone would actually say that. That’s the kind of statement that would have me right out the door, assuming I had been crazy enough to marry someone like Armando in the first place.”
anyone notice that on the 9-22 show, armondo used the phrase “at the end of the day”??????
sa wrote – anyone notice that on the 9-22 show, armondo used the phrase “at the end of the day”??????
He sure did and he also said something VERY similar to, ‘get in, get out, and go home’ ; )
I guess I should have watched last night….turned it off after the kitchen…..I tell Armando that you did the plans…..its in your hand writting…….If I wanted to watch poor acting and pandering for the camera, I’d rent porn.
This guy has a huge banner at this website:
http://www.linkedin-entrepreneurs.com/group/startinginternetbusinessstepbystepinstructions/forum/topic/show?id=804293%3ATopic%3A5251
*It is the 4th vertical banner ad from top to bottom on the right corner of the page – at least as of today 09/23/07.
I went to school to learn RE and property management in Germany. I am glad I have the foundation necessary to recognize a legit operation and calculate risks.
I was curious with the design of the banner and went to his sales website/page, watched him and his wife in what I call amateurish video, including obviously denoucing body language (pretend you can change it from this on, but you can not), and from there I was curious to get my suspicions sustained. Ditto. Not only google has it… Get a comprehensive search on many other search engines.
Who is paying his advertising campaigns around the whole net?
Black list and watch all them! Connect the dots and vaccinate yourselves!
As far the comment of him being an abuser, I do not doubt it from what I just saw in one of his video presentation. Every school teaches a bit of speech, presentation, sales pitch, and the art of manipulating, and it is a weapon given at own discretion. He misuses it.
I would like to say, “what goes around, comes around”. Where is he supposed to enjoy his “mighty” (or hallucinating) power of manipulation? In his own vultures & hyenas cage? Is he going next convert to a religious extremism and pray upon but not letting a rifle off his side? Though… He probably must be slipping with a gun beneath his pillow.
The biggest battle is within one self. He lost it already. “He has the disease”
Watch yourself to not get infected!
Cheers!
Steve in Texas: Ha! I knew you would be on it!!! Please humor all of us with your findings… I know that you guys will come up with the address, and thereby the truth in the numbers 🙂
Great job on the detective work so far!! Hahahahaha, very impressive with the GPS and the paper… Armando has no idea the caliber of people that are on to him! hahahaha
“The Jungle House”
Someone on the A&E board who says they grew up in that house says it’s on ‘East Quill’ but didn’t give a street number. E Sunshine (which was on Armando’s GPS) intersects it! ; ) Getting closer ; )
I wish I could say I read *every* post (prolly the first 20-30 and the last 20 or so), but I’d have to say I agree with most people here that Armondo is full of it. I’m no RE genius, but I’ve been around and in it for a loooong time. My dad had rentals since before I was born, put me to work demo’ing, painting, and doing basic labor when I was 12 (and yes, I got at least the prevailing wage). I passed the Journeyman Carpenter’s exam at my Local Union w/o taking the apprenticeship (goes to show what dad passed on, huh?), and have built decks, sheds, and rehabbed homes on the side for the past 10 years. Today, I own 1 (yes, Armondo, one) rental, and plan on building my “empire” (I seem to remember him telling Mondoman about building his “empire”). So many people ask me if I’m going to “flip” it, like they understand RE. If I had a decent offer that made me more than 5 years profit on the rent, yea, I’d sell, but at this point, I’m bringing in $300 after taxes each month (here’s the secret…pay for everything in cash – if you can’t buy it with cash, it’s not worth buying. i.e. My rental was bought for $7500). Next year, I plan on buying another and rehabbing it for rental. If I continue this pace (a realistic ONE HOUSE A YEAR) and continue to pay in cash, at retirement, I’ll have roughly $6000/mo. and full ownership of 20 homes. I’m not a betting man, but I think I’ll be better off than Armondo.
Steve:
I’ll know exactly where to look and will tell you in the morning. I always find it 🙂
BTW steve, thanks for the clues. I watched bits and pieces of the show (on tape). It’s too painful to watch the show – even for research!
Steve I found it.
“Jungle House”
The house is located on 130 E Quill off Bandera Rd. House includes a gang graffitied mailbox (great for curb appeal). GOOD Luck in getting 160K for it. Tax appraisal is at 98,000. My guesstimate is around 115,000 on a good day.
Guess who owns the house?
Not Armando…..
Not Veronica…..
Not little Mondoman….
Not David…..
Not Melina….
Not Sugar the Pig….
Brandon Holt…AKA Brent Holt the Montelongo’s project manager!
Check out documents 20070154814 and 20070154815 in Bexar County Clerks Records.
Document …815 shows that Brent took out a 65K loan (5K for closing cost). Hard money lender of course 🙂
Did A&E learn from their mistakes with Sam Leccima – (flipping houses he didn’t own)?
BTW, It’s going to be interesting to see how Brent will sell this property. He has 2 outstanding judgments for over 20K.
The reason I’m written this is because I have a client that has done business with Armando. My client did some work on a house that was featured on Flip This House in San Antonio. The guy I know never got paid for the work that he has done. I asked my client what he was going to do. He said that he stops by Armando’s house and asks him for money and Armando says he does not have the money. Said he told Armando that he would put a lien on the house that he completed the work at and Armando said he did not care. This just shows the type of person that Armando is. I have another client that has an office near Armando’s personal residents “Rancho Montelongo” which is in the middle of the city surrounded by homes that are in the 80K to 100K range! So I drive by Armando’s residence at least once a week. I have noticed that nice new Benz is not around any more. I also asked if the show that my client was on was staged and he said every bit of it. For example you will see Armando get out of his car and walk into the home like it is the first time he has been to the property today and be covered in sweat from head to toe. I know his leased Hummer has A/C.
Boyson,
Way to go! Too funny, I actually looked at that house on the appraisal site (and every other ‘3/2’ on East Quill) but didn’t catch the name ; )
From the A&E website:
Re: Armando the plane-stopper
Sep 23, 2007 6:16 PM Report Abuse
Well, I watched the episode last night just because this was the house I grew up in. My Dad was the out of town owner who needed to sell the house. Although the house looked great, I have to say that I was very disappointed with the opening of the show.
My Dad did NOT get 65k for that house as was disclosed during the show. He asked for 65k, but Mr. Montelongo said he would only give him 60k which is fine. My Dad really needed to sell the house, however I think it would be helpful if the show was honest with the viewers and not misleading.
So, if you think about it….he actually invested more like 115k to “rehabilitate” the house. Although I am very thankful that the house looks nice because of the emotional attachment I have to it, I really think that I needed to let everyone know what actually occurred. Thanks.
Boyson and Steve in Texas, and what was the number they said they bought it for in the show (I cant look it up, at work, not at home)? You know, the number Armando said he was going to buy it for, with no negotiation, so that the seller could pay his medical bills (what an angel Armando is)! lol
Please keep us posted on the sale (or repo!)… hahaha
Also, does Holt have a published number, I will gladly give him a call and ask him about it! 🙂
Boyson – brilliant work. Funny – I saw that gang graffiti on the mailbox by slowing down the show in my DVR to 1/15 speed while trying to see the address. When you consider that this episode was shot at least 2 months ago, that says a lot about how little upkeep has been done on that house. In fact, that would indicate that it was never even gotten into a “showable” state. If the graffiti was a big red “R” looking symbol, it’s the same as I saw and the show is a flat out hoax as not even someone as stupid as Armando would show a house with that on the mailbox.
You hit it square on the head: this is now Sam Leccima all over again. Clearly Armando now cannot even purchase anything and is having to get others to buy the houses he pretends to remodel.
Time for Fox Atlanta to start looking into this one like they did Leccima. This won’t be getting any better…
Mike Voss
Boyson,
Re: “BTW, It’s going to be interesting to see how Brent will sell this property. He has 2 outstanding judgments for over 20K.”
There’s a judgment in 1999 for $11K+ but the other entry in 2006 is a payment on that judgment it looks like. It wasn’t payment in FULL though so there’s still a balance due ; )
Steve:
What I did was I went through 2006 tax records and did a deed search on those properties with out of town owners and with transaction activity for 2007.
I drove by the house to confirm my findings. Sure enough… 130 E Quill :-).
If you drive by the house you will see that there is NO way they will ever get 160K in todays market.
how bout when armondo said he didnt build new homes—there’s no money in building new homes–its all in flipping!! ive been in new homes for 20 years—i’ll take my business over his anytime!!
Boyson,
Yeah, the curb appeal is ZERO! I saw the red spray painted mail box on the show. The front yard looked like cr*p and driveway looked worse! And, who in their RIGHT MIND would buy a house with an A/C vent smack dab in the middle of the kitchen floor! LOL And that’s just for starters, I could go on… ; )
ChrisInDetroit,
$65K! ; )
Boyson,
I’ve developed a very simple system if if I just know the street name. I open up Zillow in one window and the appraisal site in another. I literally go down the street on Zillow and plug the street numbers in on the appraisal site. Takes about 10 minutes. ‘Brandon Holt’ although I saw it didn’t register!
NICE job! ; )
Steve #1035:
Those are 2 separate Abstract of Judgments against Brandon Holt. The second one (2006) reads more like an affidavit. If it was a payment, it would have been filed as a partial release.
When he attempts to sell off the property, whatever profits made can be taken away to satisfy the judgment.
I’m surprised they didn’t get Randy the Roofer to file a $50,000 mechanics lien.
SA: I laughed at that too. Consider the source: Armando can’t make a dime in flipping, so for HIM there’s certainly no money to be made in homebuilding. (as opposed to competent builders everywhere who make money in any market by leveraging their SKILL AND KNOWLEDGE.)
Now, if he just figured out that he isn’t making any money in flipping EITHER, then he’d be on to something!
What a tool. Actually, tools are useful for something, so Armando doesn’t deserve even that designation.
Hey, where is that COACH with Amy’s proof of Armando’s bona fides? COACH, WHERE ARE YOU?! POST THAT RPOOF!! HAHAHAHA!
Mike
Re: “I’m surprised they didn’t get Randy the Roofer to file a $50,000 mechanics lien.”
LOL Every one of those ‘good friends’
would slit each others throats if the price was right, IMO ; )
Boyson,
I used a variation of the Zillow method with Angie’s Atlanta ‘flips’ on another thread and nailed every one of them except for one. They ALWAYS did major construction so I crossed Zillow with the Atlanta permit office. The only one I missed was the last one that they didn’t, but should have got a permit for. Notice I said ‘last one’? ; )
Just when I thought he couldn’t top himself….he out does himself again!
Just a few pokes at this weeks show:
1. Don’t you have to wear safety glasses when tearing up the kitchen and other areas?
2. Randy and “Flopper” also took chances swinging and breaking all that stuff.
3. When did they stop dressing up for Open Houses and putting out signs, balloons, candles, cookies, etc.?
4. Flopper had a bad 5 o’clock shadow at his supposed 3 o’clock open house when showing it to some couple I think that they pulled off the street.
5. Veronica cloths–Vision San Antonio, hot weather and summer months, she has on sleeveless tops but manages to wear two different styles of, I believe, winter courderoy caps. Do you think she gets free cloths and stuff like Flopper does for promise of advertising or however they work the system?
A & E, what the hell have you purchased! I will continue watch and hope they find better people to represent. I love this site because it is REAL.
Last, thanks for everyone who is doing the P.I. work out there. You are greatly appreciated.
Jen
Interesting about the Jungle House. My brother lives one block from there, I could literally walk there in 5 min. I’ll drive by tomorrow and take a look at it. There is no way he can get 160K in that area. I dont know how Heather figured the average sale price was in that range.
Oh and one more point for that neighborhood. My brother had his mailbox broken and some punks spray painted their graffiti tags on their driveway. Not a good area at all.
How do you guys know that Brent Holt is Brandon Holt and not a family member?
“The Jungle House”
OK, I’ll ‘go on’… ; )
I’ve got HDTV and the after ‘rehab’ shots of the house looked horrible. From the painted kitchen cabinets, bathroom tiles with grout voids, missing light switch covers and funky unidentified ‘other stuff’.
But the kicker was this, wall paint slopped on the baseboards and/or visa versa! They must have been pretty heavy into those cases of ‘Dos Equis’ and ‘Bud Lite’ beer when they painted. The empty (and fresh) cases were on top of the dumpster as they were hauling it off! LOL ; )
Jeff in Indy,
Re: “How do you guys know that Brent Holt is Brandon Holt and not a family member?”
It never occurred to me that “Brent” is short for “Brandon” but Boyson nailed it! Learn something new everyday ; )
re post 1034 Mike Voss:
the only ones it seems that could expose the Montelongos for the frauds they are is the fox channel in Atlanta. I talked again to the express news when going over my ads and they again said the show is entertainment. when reading an article last sunday about how flipping shows contenue to be popular dispite the current market slow down the article mentioned one of the owners of the show, Flip this House, also has ownership in the express news and local tv news channel five. Why the other television stations wont jump on this is byond me. again, channel 12 (KSAT) literally sent a crew to cover the 12 cent increase in cheese to a local restaurant but this is too beneath them?
chris in detroit:
the price armando said to give to the guy with the medial problems was $75,000.00
I looked at the web site just to see what they were selling. I set up a second screen name thru my carrier and now I am getting spam from everywhere just by signing in to look at their offer. Do you sell peoples email addresses for profit? Also the price is lower now for the product offered.
I received email of which I directly got a laugh at and I was rude and wrote my thoughts back. This email was sent back undelivered but another email came from Armando stating box is full, etc. as you will read in the following post. I also sent email to stop their emails which didn’t work. I received one about the show Saturday and as you will read on Veronica is supposed to be emailing me. Again, I have gone to their site to stop the insanity before it gets to far.
This is what I get for being nosy!
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After signing up on the page to stop getting email i sent this to them.
Montelongos,
I been watching FTH for almost two years. I have not always liked the way
you treat your family, the women especially, and the contractors.
It seems to me that you can’t get contractors most of the time because of
perhaps your anger or the way you bring down the prices that they need in order
to live as comfortable as your family is made to look.
I still thought at this point that I might just want to invest on your $997
package for the information to try flipping since we came into a nice sum of
money and want to start close to my own home!
After watching the shows, esp. “Cat House,” I would not sell something like
that or even some of the patchwork stuff you have been throwing out this
season. I looked for info on the houses you flip to get an idea of potential profit
but after reading blogs under flip this lawsuit and other blogs at other such
sites, I have to say there is a good deal of evidence out there showing you
have bombed.
Even the web links to the Bexar County documents where you had 27
foreclosures recently, that you have taken a loss on many houses that were shown on the
TV program as sold with a profit when actually the homes were foreclosed on or
even the evidence shows your wife taking out a loan on one of the homes just
to help.
Is that misleading or what? The final thing that put the icing on the cake
was the seem to be acted out “sugar the pig show.” Veronica says that was her
baby but yet it got hauled across town and two men chased it like idiots. The
poor pig was frightened, and you should have been turned into animal
cruelty/humane department.
Sorry fella, as I have read many blogs on the web sites, and A & E sight
also, as they say on DESIGN STAR …………””YOUR SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELLED”” at
least by me, friends or ours, and you should really read what is being blogged
about you, your family, your business, etc. Is any of it true?
Sincerely,
PS: The weight that you have added to your butt and stomach and your huge
full face really doesn’t say much either, except that your eating so much that your body is expanding its square foot but giving you enough energy to have sh#@ come out of both ends.
+++++++++++
ALSO I received an email from them 1 day later that says this:
Hi ,
Armando here. I will NOT see this message so please
do not email me here. If you would like to get in
touch with me please visit:
http://www.armandomontelongo.com/contact_armando.php
The reason I ask this is because answering emails is
now taking up words of 4 hours a day because I have to
sift through hundreds of junk mail.
–Armando Montelongo
President
Armando Montelongo Worldwide Inc.
ALSO I then got this message:
Hi ,
If Veronica wants design and I
want rehab, who will win the
battle?
What is the difference between
design and rehab?
Design is the desire to upgrade
a house more than necessary to
make money. Rehab is the bare
essentials needed to make a house
look good and still turn…
**** A MAJOR PROFIT! *****
However, here is the trick. You must
know that good design is what sells
a house.
So what is the happy medium?
Catch tomorrow nights new episode
when …
VERONICA AND I GO HEAD TO HEAD!
Find out if design and rehab can have
a happy medium and…
WHO WILL WIN THIS DOMESTIC BATTLE!
Tomorrow catch a new episode of Flip This House.
Saturday @ 8:00 pm CST.
See you tomorrow night!
Armando Montelongo, President
Armando Montelongo Worldwide, Inc.
http://armandomontelongo.com
P.S. Veronica will be emailing you some
free design tips after the show and she
still has a special surprise for you!
If you no longer wish to get my emails, you can unsubscribe foreverby clicking the link below. http://www.armandomontelongo.com/contact/remove.php?c=42959
So, again I have emailed this address to stop the incoming crap and you are back to a company promoting online seminars featuring Armando.
Where does he find the time to flip houses, be husband and father, a businessman, and try to answer over 400 emails a day…………?
Bocage: Thanks! Thats funny that he said 75k, because he was such a good guy and all, but then Steve In Texas found he actually only bought it for 65k!
Changed his mind on the guy with the medical problem after the cameras stopped rolling and went down 10k maybe? lol
I heard about the free CD on the radio so called to order. They sent me a complete package asking $450.00 for it. I went thru the training package and now Armando’s TEAM is calling and wanting me to jojn them for a small fee of $10,000 to $20,000. It is a scam for these people to get rich off idiots who buy their crap.
Armando’s claim is how he made a fortune with no money and he will show you how to do it. Then they ask for $500 to $1000 for the training program and then $10,000 to $20,000 for his support. I asked them what happened to doing this without any of my money. Their answer, its an investment in my future, what crap
Now this is downright sick…
I have a longer post I’m preparing about several issues regarding the show where Veronica called Armando a maniac and then at home told him he was dining alone for disrespecting her…but I couldn’t help posting about an email I just received allegedly (to borrow a word from apparently-still-single Steve in Texas) from Veronica. She goes on about her confrontations with Armando on the recent show, and then says that she is going behind his back, using HIS email account, and selling his e-books for two low payments. Now…maybe it’s me, but is that a way to attract customers and instill trust in them, i.e., telling them that you are breaking into your spouse’s email account and selling your spouse’s property at a low price without your spouse’s knowledge?
Maybe it’s me, but it looks more and more like the Montelongo’s are patterning their behavior on those wrestling shows. Geez…why would I ever give my money to anybody simply because I wanted to be part of them getting back at someone else????
I think they should change their last name from Montelongo to Tackylongo. They can call their next business “Tackylongo Flop Houses, Ltd.”
wyldwmn
wyldwmn,
Geeze! What a bonehead gimmick, and yes, definitely ‘allegedly’
Armando on Vacation…..talking about the Cat House……priceless.
Ronnie (or anyone else),
Re: “I heard about the free CD on the radio so called to order.”
I’d like to call that number and get my FREE CD. Can you post the phone number?
In post #1060, the brilliant, hilarious, and apparently still single (I’m just sayin’) Steve in Texas sets himself up by asking:
“Re: “I heard about the free CD on the radio so called to order.”
I’d like to call that number and get my FREE CD. Can you post the phone number?”
1-800-BUY-CRAP
wyldwmn
Re:#1042 (Hey, where is that COACH with Amy’s proof of Armando’s bona fides? COACH, WHERE ARE YOU?! POST THAT RPOOF!! HAHAHAHA!)
Right?! I’m still waiting! Well, not really, but it would have been nice 😉
This site is addicting!
Make sure your phone number is blocked when you call for the FREE CD 🙂
Before Armondo moved to the “ranch” there were older episodes showing the outside of his house and when he first started writing his “book” . Then he moved to the “ranch house ” . The newer episodes should show his “ranch house” ?
In the “jungle house” episode
It is showing the same house and doesnt look like the “ranch house” he moved into except for the remodled kitchen . Am I wrong or has be been living in the same house this whole time ??
I just called 1-800-BUY-CRAP and just got Armondo’s answereing machine ,,, bummer
“1-800-BUY-CRAP”
Apply Directly to the Forehead LOL
Actually, I just want to do some due diligence on the phone number ; )
post1054
ChrisInDetroit wrote:
Bocage: Thanks! Thats funny that he said 75k, because he was such a good guy and all, but then Steve In Texas found he actually only bought it for 65k!
Changed his mind on the guy with the medical problem after the cameras stopped rolling and went down 10k maybe? lol
The girl on the show said the owner wanted 65K and Amando said give it him and not haggle.
The offer was never 75k
Jeff
In post #1066 Jeff in Indy said:
“The girl on the show said the owner wanted 65K and Amando said give it him and not haggle.
The offer was never 75k
Jeff ”
My recollection was that the WOMAN was recommending that Armando counter the asking price of $65K with an offer of $60K, and Armando then dramatically said to give the man what he wanted.
I was curious about what her role is in the Tackylongo empire…it seemed like she may have been a finder of some sort.
wyldwmn
wyldwmn wrote: “it seemed like she may have been a finder of some sort.”
This was verbatim from the phone call to Armando..
“Hi, it’s Heather. I just got a really hot lead off THE website…”
I just took it as a shameless plug for THE website. They seem to do it at least once on every episode. And I believe NONE of it! ; )
Funny that ‘Heather’ didn’t get a mention in the credits but ‘Honey the Pig’ did a couple of weeks ago! LOL
In post 1067 wyldwmn wrote:
In post #1066 Jeff in Indy said:
“The girl on the show said the owner wanted 65K and Amando said give it him and not haggle.
The offer was never 75k
Jeff ”
My recollection was that the WOMAN was recommending that Armando counter the asking price of $65K with an offer of $60K, and Armando then dramatically said to give the man what he wanted.
I was curious about what her role is in the Tackylongo empire…it seemed like she may have been a finder of some sort.
wyldwmn
I cant remember for sure but I dont think 60K came up at all. But my point is that the CHICK or Am…. never said anything about 75k. Im not A.M.’s name anymore here because it helps his web advertising anytime by finding key words.
Dios te bendiga
Jeff
wyldwmn: #1067
I believe her name is Heather Boroweic.
She’s a real estate agent for Executive Reality and has recently purchased 3 properties: 4719 Castle Rose, 202 Jesse, 527 S San Bernardo. All of these were about to be foreclosed on by VCH Funding but the sales were blocked by TROs filed by Armando.
Each property is occupied (rental) and she got them at a bargain price. 🙂
She also just listed (today 9-26-2007) the house on 219 Shannon Lee. Not sure of the asking price.
I think you have it backwards. It’s not what her role she has in Armando’s empire but what role is Armando in hers. 🙂
In post #1070 Boyson points out:
“I think you have it backwards. It’s not what her role she has in Armando’s empire but what role is Armando in hers. 🙂 ”
I agree with this. Is she a house flipper? I wonder why she would get involved with someone like Armando? What else do you know about her?
Interesting.
wyldwmn
Hey guys, some of you asked for the 1-800 number for the Armando commercial… I figured I would never hear the commercial, as I am in the Detroit area and not Texas… but, last night while bowling (maybe they have sat radio or something) I heard the commercial! I cracked up! I immediately copied the number down to post on here… Here it is…
800-970-5644
Enjoy!
P.S. I called it today… Call if you want a laugh! You have to PAY $9.95 for shipping and they said it normally takes 10 to 14 days to get to you. If you dont like it, you ship it back. They said it costs between $1.50 and $2.00 to send it back (3rd class mail bookrate). I asked then why are you charging me $9.95 to ship it, if it only costs ME $1.50 to $2.00 to ship back… She stumbled around trying to find a good answer (claiming because since its unwanted, the Post Office is going to give me a price break, etc). Hahaha
She said the package includes Armando’s CD “How I built my flipping machine” and the DVD “How to assess properties”… She claimes these alone are worth $99.00
She said it also includes Armando’s complete “Flip and grow rich” program for 30 days. She said if you dont like it, then you owe nothing, just send it back and you get to keep the CD and DVD. If you do like it, you have 5 payments of (and they stress ONLY) $79.95!! What a crock!
I said I needed to think about it, as it seems fishy that they are making money off the shipping when they advertised it as free. She began to ask me how long I had been investing in real estate, if I ever flipped before, etc… Since I have, I think she didnt know what to say (couldnt say “Well, with this you can learn” etc).
She asked if I have ever heard of Armando before. This was great because then I told her yes, that I watched Flip This House and also read about 1,500 posts about him on FLIPTHISLAWSUIT.COM… She repeated the website, acting as if she had never heard of it (yeah right!). I told her how there were some interesting things on here about houses being foreclosed on, begs for proof of claims from Armando with no response, etc…
Her response was that A&E wouldnt let someone on if it wasnt true. I asked her if she was familiar with Sam Leccima being on Flip this House… After she said she was, I politely filled her in on the basics of his story and how that has all unfolded. hahahahahahahahaha. Of course, she played like it was all news to her.
She then, in a last desperate attempt to get me to do it told me how her company (so its apparently not Armandos) really researches and looks into all aspects of someone before getting involved with them. And that they had the proof of the claims being true. So, I politely asked if they could mail or e-mail this proof to me and then they would have a sale. Of course, as we all expected, she said they could definitely NOT do that! 🙂 Says it all…
I would caution you, if you do order it… BE CAREFUL! I wouldnt be at all surprised if they bill your card for the payments (the same one you give them for the overinflated “shipping fee”)… I also wouldnt be surprised if they try to screw you on the 30 days free (e.g. they said it takes 10 to 14 to get to you, the may try to count that, and then the time it takes to ship back, etc). Anything for a buck?
If you call or order, would like to hear your experience…
ChrisInDetroit,
Bravo! That’s pretty much what I wanted to do, screw with them! lol Great info!
ChrisInDetroit,
It sounds like it could be VERY similar to this ; )
http://www.infomercialscams.com/scams/video_professor
Here’s another one (scam)…
“John Beck Free and Clear Complaints”
9/21/2007 – Don writes:
I bought the so-called Free & Clear Real Estate “System” thinking that I was going to receive a complete system that was not only going to enlighten me as to ins and outs of tax lien sales but also act as a sort of guide by which to follow. My first impression of the Free & Clear package that I received was not good. The booklets and CDs are just full of poorly written and very general information leaving you with still more questions. Much of the info was full of repetitive statements added over and over as filler. Although there is some educational value in the materials that I bought, I soon realized that this was not any type of “system” and that the so-called “Property Vault” that could be accessed via the Internet, that I believed would have tax lien listings in it, were just lists of lists that you could purchase. A few days after getting the package a got a phone call from a John Beck rep. who talked about setting me up with a specialist who could help me achieve my financial goals. Then I relized that the actual system, if there was one, was something extra that would cost me more money. After talking to the rep and then some clown calling himself director of something for about 30 minutes he finally asked me how serious I was about making big money and I said that I was serious and then he rambled off a lot of fast talk that included something about $8000 up front. When I questioned the $8000 and said that I would not make a decision to hand them over 8 grand on the phone at that moment, he said somewhat rudely, that the program was probably not for me. Then I relied probably not and then hung-up. It’s a shame that we allow poeple like John Beck and his associates to suck us in, leave us fealing like we are not getting what we thought we were buying, and then allow them to just continue to do this to hundreds of other poeple every day seemingly without fear of reprocussions.”
More here…
http://www.infomercialscams.com/scams/john_beck_free_and_clear
In Post #1072 ChrisInDetroit commented about his conversation with the Flop-o-mongo hawkers:
“I asked then why are you charging me $9.95 to ship it, if it only costs ME $1.50 to $2.00 to ship back… She stumbled around trying to find a good answer (claiming because since its unwanted, the Post Office is going to give me a price break, etc). Hahaha”
In times past companies often charged only the postage and cost of packaging for shipping. Eventually the trend toward “shipping and handling” became more prevalent, where the “handling” chcarge included the administrative cost of the shipping department personnel. In other words, shiping departments stopped being a cost of doing business and became, instead, a profit center. Nowadayas in addition to the cost of postage, supplies, and wages, there is an added something-or-other that creates profit in the shipping department.
Recently I read somewhere that inasmuch as eBay charges fees on the sale price of items being auctioned, that some sellers will inflate shipping and handling charges while selling for a lower price, in order to avoid paying commissions on sales. I have not researched this, however–I only just recently read about it.
My guess is that the hawker you talked with gets some kind of commission for every Tackylongo packaged crap they sell. Wouldn’t it be a hoot to find out that the hawkers were family members who had been given a quick tutorial on hawking? Just another attempt to amass hangers-on so that Armando can pretend that the clock is not ticking (to borrow a phrase from Mikie Voss) on his “empire” (such as it is).
wyldwmn
Guess what you lucky folks in California? Armando is back on the seminar circuit and he’s heading your way in October. Now you can learn the secrets of real estate investing from “The #1 property flipper in America- a man who flips between 25-30 houses EVERY MONTH.” As “America’s LARGEST investor of residential real estate, Armando is not an expert…he’s the EXPERT.” Yeah, I’m just devastated that I live on the opposite side of the country and won’t be able to take advantage of this priceless opportunity to invest in my future.
WhyStillWatching,
I can sell you a great cheap air and hotel package so you can see Armondo in person !!
I will make all the arrangements so you dont have to waste your valuable time . Just simply give me your credit card and social security numbers and have a peace of mind 🙂
Re: Heather Borowiec
“Fawn Creek Project
A joint venture between Bill Embley and Heather Borowiec
Well, here it is, the reason no one has seen me for three months. We purchased this house for $28,000 in November. We invested $15,000 into repairs, fees, utilities, etc. Our asking price is $83,500. The house sits on 1.7 acres in Spring Branch, TX, on the north side of Canyon Lake. My sister, Heather, found the deal and ponied up most of the money. I used my remodeling company to do the work. Heather handled most of the design elements. David Gonzalez and I did all of the rest except for carpet, electric, and a/c. Special thanks to David for helping it all come together.”
http://home.satx.rr.com/fawncreek/
I really do not know how toll free numbers work but……would it be a pinch to the pocket book of a company such as flopper’s if people started bombing them with phone calls? Long, questioning calls as described in post #1072. Phone calls until I get to talk to the boss. Does anyone know how toll free numbers work? I am guessing here but could the toll free number cost a set amount per month plus so much per call if they receive over the set agreed amount? That way all of us can ask questions, demand answers, ask to talk to the “boy” (with a small b) and/or his wife and get some of this SH*% out of our systems and put it where it belongs in the first place — directly to Mr. and Mrs. Flopper Tackylongo!
I am going to do it first thing Monday morning because I have time to do it then. The more I read the angrier I get for believing in this show when it came out until S*&t started flying. I have misplaced anger and yes, I want to do some damage where it hurts – the checkbook, even if it is just a few cents, I will not talk to an employee though. If you can’t get answers from the persons responsible it is not right to take it out on the hired help. I’m not saying that has happened, just that it happened to me at work doing what I was trained and paid to do and took alot of butt chewing until I had the sense to say shove it to my cheating, sly, etc. boss (who was fired several weeks later by the out-of-state owner after customers catching up with him). aybe in this situation they are the hired help! But, as I posted earlier, if they don’t have time to answer emails and their email box is full because of receiving over 400 emails a day because they don’t know what is spam or not (do not believe this bullsh&^) and they are busy buying, selling, flipping, etc. everyday (do not believe this bullsh@% either) and no money to pay for hired help as shown in past episodes or could it be Veronica on the phone? (BTW – where is their old contractors like Keno? Can anyone around San Antonio find any of these fellows that used to work for FTH A-hole?) I am going to ask many questions Monday, but I am not going to get bitchy unless I am talking to the right scam artists.
Now I read flopper is going to California to promote his Rip Off Scam….I am not on a soap box, I am not whiny, I am ready to “GET IT ON”.
Jennifer,
The ‘Boiler Room’ on the other end of that phone number could be almost anywhere, i.e. Florida, New York, etc. I sounds like a third party marketing firm
Jennifer… If the company actually answering the phone isnt Armandos clan, then, then they will surely drop him when it costs them more (in headaches and money) than they make as a commission of his weezly package.
Would be a shame if you accidentally set your fax machine to call the number, and then it automatically kept redialing it trying to connect…
In Post #1077 WhyStillWatching hilariously posted:
“‘America’s LARGEST investor of residential real estate, Armando …'”
My guess is that Armando changed that wording to “LARGEST” once he realized that viewers were noticing that he has gained a lot of weight. Maybe we should suggest that yet another way for him to make big bucks scamming, would be to become a spokes-person for Jenny (Craig). ;-} ;-} ;-}
wyldwmn
In Post #1080 Jennifer commented:
“I really do not know how toll free numbers work but……would it be a pinch to the pocket book of a company such as flopper’s if people started bombing them with phone calls?”
I have my phone number signed up on the “do not call registry,” but I still get telemarketing calls. I tell the caller that I make it a point not to do business with companies that use telemarketers and ask to be removed from their list. The next time they call (I keep a list), I keep them on the phone as long as I can and then ask to speak to a supervisor. I then tell the supervisor that I kept the caller on the phone as long as possible so as to prevent their company from making any money. Every single time I have done this, I have never received another call from that company.
As for junk mail, I was told by my local postmaster a while back that the postage-paid return envelopes only pay for one small slip of paper which is charged to the junk mailer at a very low rate. As soon as more than one slip of paper is put in the envelope to increase the weight and/or the envelope is thicker than the acceptable thickness for one first-class stamp, the junk mailer is charged full postage and then some if the amount of stuff or thickness in the envelope is more than what would normally be charged first class. In the case of local companies who send me their junk mail, repeated requests to be taken off their list have not been successful. However, when I stuff the return envelopes with everything they sent me and then some extra stuff, I don’t get any more mail from them. In one case, nothing worked–not calling them to be removed, and not stuffing their envelopes. So finally one day I took a length of toilet paper and squirted chocolate syrup on it, and sent that back to them in their postage-paid envelope. I haven’t received anything from them since. 🙂
As for junk faxing, there was a travel/vacation company that was sending me faxes on an automated fax program, and when I called them to ask them to please take my number off their auto-dial, they were rude. So I finally set my fax machine to call their 1-800 number every five minutes. After about 4 hours of this, I called to ask them if they liked it that my fax machine was dialing their number. They didn’t. I said “Well, then perhaps now you understand how I feel about your fax machine dialing *my* number all day?” They took me off their fax list and I never received another fax from them.
wyldwmn
Re: Jennifer post 1080
“I really do not know how toll free numbers work but……would it be a pinch to the pocket book of a company such as flopper’s if people started bombing them with phone calls? Long, questioning calls as described in post #1072. Phone calls until I get to talk to the boss. Does anyone know how toll free numbers work? I am guessing here but could the toll free number cost a set amount per month plus so much per call if they receive over the set agreed amount”
It has been a few years since I had a 800 number but mine worked this way. We payed a small monthly fee(about $10 if I remember correctly) and also payed 5 cents per minute for incoming calls.
I dont think you can really hurt their pocket book much but you could disrupt their business by organizing a group of people to call the number at the same time of day for a couple of weeks.
Jeff
In post #1081 Steve in Texas (who is still single??) said:
“The ‘Boiler Room’ on the other end of that phone number could be almost anywhere, i.e. Florida, New York, etc. I sounds like a third party marketing firm ”
I’m guessing it’s in Nigeria.
wyldwmn
The Montleongo Bunch house is listed on MLS:
List price 235,000 … good luck. I would love to see the discloser list on this house :-).
http://realestate.mysanantonio.com/Sales/Listing.asp?lid=12627-681498
wyldwmn,
They might be getting some calls via craigslist from guys seeking ‘escort services’! I’m just guessing of
course ; ) lol
Re: steve post 1070
Who are Bill Embley and Heather Borowiec and what is that flip about?
sorry I meant post 1079. I didnt proof read.
Regarding your earlier post about the contractor threatening to file a lien (I saw that episode).
Any supplier of labor and or materials used to improve real estate who is not paid, can record a lien against the subject property in the State of Texas. You do not have to be a licensed contractor, you do not have to be a contractor at all. You do have to provide statutory notice to the owner of the property within a prescribed timeframe prior to recording a lien. If in fact that foundation contractor was hired by the previous owner (not Montelongo) then his lien would be invalid, he’d be out of luck because his claim would be against the previous owner.
The owner of a property undergoing improvements also has requirements that need to be followed, particularly withholding a percentage of payment for a prescribed time period (retainage) so that if any claims are made by unpaid contractors, those payments would be disbursed from the withheld retainage. If the owner did not follow this procedure, he would be liable for paying the claimant. If he did follow this procedure, he would only be liable for payment to the claimant to the extent of retained monies. (For example, if his builder’s contract was $5,000, owner would have to hold $500 until the timeframe for claminants to make a claim is expired. If a sub made a claim for payment of $700 (within the timeframe), he would only get $500 and the owner would only be liable for $500.
Again in this example, the foundation contractor can’t make a claim against the new owner’s property. New owner has no obligation to him, and unless it was a lightning-fast sale, that contractor, in all liklihood, missed his window of opportunity to file his statutory notice and record his lien prior to sale, then he would have been paid by the title company at closing.
In any event, my point is, you do not have to be a licensed contractor to record a lien on a property in the State of Texas. In fact, the State of Texas doesn’t have much in the way of any licensing requirements to begin with.
Not all states are the same, in Louisiana, for example, you do have to be a licensed contractor to have a valid lien claim.
Boyson,
Re: “The Montleongo Bunch house”
Too funny, it’s Heather again! I thought Traci Smith with Century 21 got the listing (on the show)? What was that all about? ; )
Wow, I cant believe some of the posts on here about having fax machines call and posting ads on craigslist to bother the Mongoloids. Yes I call them Mongoloids and I’m not a defender them, I just watch the show for the entertainment value. I like reading this site but I think some of you on here need to really get a life. Spending hours searching Bexar county records? I do drive by the houses and know not everything is at it seems on the TV show. But I’m not logging on to the Bexar county website or searching on mysa.com for listings. I think there are other ways to get your points across other than harrassment.
AF (who likes reading this site) wrote:
“I do drive by the houses and know not everything is at it seems on the TV show. But I’m not logging on to the Bexar county website or searching on mysa.com for listings.”
So instead, you’d rather we do the research for you while you knock us for “spending hours searching Bexar county records” and that we need to “get a life”
NEWS FLASH! It doesn’t take “hours” but then you wouldn’t know that, would you.
This thread, on this forum, is the most comprehensive source about the REAL ‘The Montelongo Comedy Show’ on the Internet. Bar none!
As for the fax and craigslist thing, Those were presented as being hypothetical in nature and not actual 🙂
AF (who like reading this site) wrote:
“I do drive by the houses and know not everything is at it seems on the TV show.”
And just where did you get those addresses? Could it be HERE, from Boyson? Who “spends hours searching Bexar county records”??? ; )
ROFL!
AF,
HAHAHAHAHA! What are you doing on this board???????????????? Hope you havent read all the posts, as this would obviously take time… But if you havent, dont judge this board or the content thereof…
To AF (short for Almando Follower)?
You don’t have to read this board.
____________________________________
To Steve,
“Nobody Says It Better!”
In Post #193, AF (Armando’s Friend) chastises us all by saying:
“I just watch the show for the entertainment value. I like reading this site but I think some of you on here need to really get a life. ”
Hmmmmm. I’m not sure that I understand exactly what it is that you are saying here. So,…let’s see…I’ll just reflect back to you what I’m heairng and then you can let me know if what I’m reflecting is accurate?
What I understand you to be saying is that *you* watch the show for “entertainment value* and that *you* enjoy spending time reading this blog, which means, of course, that you are spending time on both those things.
Then you say that some of the people posting to this blog are spending too much time *doing research* and that instead of posting factual information and information that actually helps save people from con-artists, that they should instead “get a life.”
Hmmmm….so as I undestand what you are saying, it’s OK to watch Armando’s show as entertainment, and it’s OK to read this blog site for entertainment, but when it comes to exposing Armando’s mental manipulations and dishonesty about his business dealings, then that’s NOT OK.
OK…I think I get it. Sitting by and watching a con artist in action is OK, and exposing that con artist and helping people to stay out of his clutches is NOT OK.
I am *SO* glad you pointed this out to me. Geez…and here I thought I was actually helping other people by sharing information about how con artists and bullies get control over people, when all along I should have just been enjoying watching Armando lie and rip people off, not to mention laugh my ass off while he abuses his wife and child.
I feel so very fortunate to have been let off the hook with regard to any responsiblity I felt to contribute to the betterment of society. Now I know that I can just sit back and pop myself some bon bons and *enjoy* knowing that people are getting deeply hurt by Armando.
I feel so relieved now.
wyldwmn
Guys, I get this crap from Armando on a weekly basis. The stuff he writes is obviously attempt to get me to buy his e-book for $997.00. I never buy any thing for Armando but when I’m looking for a good laugh I read his email. Here’s is just one of the emails he has sent me.
Dear ?
I am frequently asked what is the biggest mistake people make when trying to create wealth in their life.
I am going to tell you the mistake and why so many people make it.
You must read these words carefully and understand the power of what you are about to read.
If you simply read these words and do not take action, you will continue to fall in the same trap that 99% of all Americans make.
The single biggest mistake people make when trying to create wealth in their life is…
TRADING TIME FOR MONEY!!!
Trading time for money is the single most foolish mistake a person can make when trying to create wealth or time for their loved ones.
A doctor is only worth the amount of patients he can see and a lawyer is only worth the amount of documents they can process.
THIS IS CALLED A PAYCHECK
or…
TRADING TIME FOR MONEY
You see ?, the key to wealth is that you can never make more money than your money can make.
What if you have no money? Doesn’t matter!
When you know the principles of investing and specifically investing in real estate you are no longer trading time for money.
Please visit:
>>>>> hxxp://www.armandomontelongo.com/news/?p=26
to read a real life testimonial of a couple who no longer wants or has to trade time for money.
They have done well on their first deal and done well in a BIG WAY!!!
Update on house located 130 E Quill (Jungle House):
The house was transfered to a Quill Land Trust on 9-14-2007 (file date)
Details of the document number 20070219532:
Dated: 7-5-2007
Notarized: 7-24-2007
Filed with County Clerk: 9-14-2007
Air date on A&E : 9-22-2007
This clearly shows that Armando and Veronica have to resort to loan fraud via a third party because it appears they can’t get a loan – even a hard money loan. I thought they funded properties based on the deal? 🙂
My question is what chapter in his flip course does Armando cover this technique?
It looks like Mr ’25 Flips a Month’ is having trouble coming up with ‘product’ for A&E so he can continue to create the illusion that he’s making a fortune doing ‘rental quality’ (at best) rehabs in a falling market while paying Hard Money interest rates, carrying costs and so on. Too funny!
Mr ‘Flopper’ has been losing his A$$ for quite some time according to the ‘Bexar County Records’, IMO. I guess it’s a ‘loss leader’, keep the illusion going on TV and make up for it on the back side (or try to) selling crap that doesn’t even work for him anymore.
A fitting end for ‘FTL’ would be (and there will be one), Armando leaving town, on his last tank of gas! ; )
Gaspard,
So his point is, I suppose, is that you need to purchase his $997 ‘Decoder Ring’ so that you can decipher all of that gibberish! LOL
Lifted from the Melina thread…
Well lookie here!
Premier Mentoring, Inc DBA “Armando Montelongo”
Here’s the BBB report…
http://www.saltlakecity.bbb.org/commonreport.html?bid=2009446
Premier Mentoring, Inc
“Based on BBB files, this company has an unsatisfactory record”
It’s Monday! Usually that means “oh, geez, back to work” – but today, it is phone call day!
I called this afternoon, got someone on the first ring, she said something like “hello, I’m (name)” asked me my name, spelled it back to me, asked for zip code, street address and town. She was very pleasant, even when I told her that I wasn’t giving her my phone number. I live in a town where we pay a $1 a month for caller id block and also if you call me you get the phone companies speech about if you are a telemarketer it is illegal to continue and if you are not then push #1 to connect the my phone, for another $1 a month.
Anyway, I told her that I had been doing research about flipping and was interested in checking out the product but that my email had came back with one from “AM” and that he was too busy with over 400 emails a day to correspond with me. She pondered that statement. She asked if I watched the show and I said I had been a fan of all the flipping shows for a couple of years. She told me that was wonderful! I then said that I didn’t jump into purchasing things on the internet or TV without researching the item first. She said how smart I was. Then I said I had found “FTL” and that I was concerned about what I read and about the way “AM” has been getting more reckless lately and how badly he treated his wife.
HER ANSWER: “He is not really like this. He is a character they created for him, you know, reality TV!”
I asked if I could speak to “AM” or “VM” and she said that they were just a type of answering service. Then she asked if I would hold and I did but after several minutes I decided she was probably trying to check me out or whatever…
I have many thoughts here but my question is if this is just an answering service, how can they say that he is not really like that and that it is a character they created for him? Who is they? I thought this was an A & E TV program. This gal commented on his TV character, his personal character, was acting as a spokesperson for “AM/VM”, “A&E” and told me she was just an answering business for his infomercial at the same time.
Wow…I was confused before and now I’ve just located the pain in my brain!
Where is all this going? If we continue what’s the chance of them cancelling “Stumpy”?
Any idea’s?
Steve I am sure they will tell you that $997 for a ‘decoder ring’ is a steal.
Jennifer,
Re: “This gal commented on his TV character, his personal character, was acting as a spokesperson for “AM/VM”, “A&E” and told me she was just an answering business for his infomercial at the same time.”
If this ‘marketing firm’ is claiming to speak for A&E they are in DEEP SH*T, legally 🙂
Check out Premier Mentoring’s website. They “create and implement wealth-oriented coaching programs for authors and intellectual property creators.” My guess is that Armando is one of their “strategic partners” and they are running his little boiler room for him.
Hahahaha. Called Armando’s 800 # again today. Now they have a $6.98 shipping plan you can do, where you get the CD and DVD I mentioned in post 1072, but not his full package to try.
I talked to Laura. She was very slow and stumbled at the beginning. Then she started laughing and said that it was because her script didnt pop up on her computer like it was supposed to! lol hahaha
I asked her about this site, and while I would swear it was the same lady I talked to before (and mentioned this site), she claimed she had never heard of it. I LOVE when they say that! Totally opens the door for me to tell them everything about it!
She questioned the credibility of our research here, asking if I actually clicked the lins to the tax authorities, etc (as you guys might have made them to smear Armandos good name).
She also doubted Mike Voss’s review. I informed her how I read in his review that most stuff in Armandos book were either filler or available free (or next to free), so why would I pay the $400 for it?! She stated “We probably can get a lot of it free, but do we? It’s about the way its presented here. And how in his way, we will actually do something about it.”
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I asked her if she worked for ARMANDO or another company just selling the stuff, etc. She stated, several times, that ARAMDO owns the company. I asked her if she watched the tv show, she stated no!!!! Hahahahahahaha SHE doesnt even watch it! She stated she has only seen him on the DVD and the internet!
I asked her how come he is charging $400, after he said that if he was successfull he would help others, etc… She stated that she couldnt answer that. But that it might be because he didnt realize how expensive it was to ship this stuff out!
HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA
Interestingly, she said she was in Utah, and it ships from another branch of their company in California.
What are your stories?
I was seriously covering the phone the whole time trying not to laugh!
WhyStillWatching and ChrisInDetroit,
LOL Yep, that’s Premier Marketing in Draper, Utah and they actually do business as ‘Armando Montelongo’ and about a dozen other names. Click on this link and scroll down to ‘Armando Montelongo’…
http://www.saltlakecity.bbb.org/commonreport.html?bid=2009446
Correction: I meant Premier Mentoring, Inc, not ‘marketing’ ; )
Lifted from the Melina thread…
“RE INVESTOR wrote:
I’d like to hear from someone that’s been talking with the “Armando’s Flip and Grow Rich Program”
They want $5,540.00 for mentoring services for a year. I enjoy the Montelongo’s show. I’ve had 4 different people from this place call me in the past month nad seem shocked when I tell them I’m talked with someone else. I pulled the company, “Premier Mentoring, Inc.” up on the better busines bureau website and found an “UNSATISFACTORY” rating. A total of 76 complaints in the past 36 months and 44 of them were closed within the past year.
Take a good hard look at the Better Business Bureau information before you make any deals with anyone. It might just save you a whole lot of money. It sure did me.”
Steve in Texas wrote:
“If this ‘marketing firm’ is claiming to speak for A&E they are in DEEP SH*T, legally :)”
I believe this gal said her name was Laura also and you have my word on my posting. I am not the type of person that says “what comes around – goes around” I say “and I am the one that is going to push it on around”! My husband calls me a “pot stirrer”. I still can’t get over her exact comments.
and to “ChrisInDetroit”
Has she put you on hold? Do you ask her why Flopper is mean to his wife or why he seems to act childist last week? Ask her if A&E is cancelling his show because of, oh I don’t know, his bullsh*%. See if she tells you the same thing she told me.
How come they seem to stay on the phone with you, answering questions seemingly not to question why you really called?
If they are associated with Flopper, along with all these companies, etc., (that the great posters on this site have found) – how far does that dollar get split up?
Anybody else game to call and give us data or just call to piss’em off. ,>
Jennifer and all,
The ‘FREE CD’ is a “come on”! Yeah, they might do something “else” with your credit card number once they get it for the “shipping” but the PRIZE is the ‘Mentoring Program’. That’s what they do, at “Premier MENTORING” (‘Coaching’ $$$$$$$!), in Draper, Utah.
I notice that Armando has sent out a new email message titled “I married an ugly bride.” Nice going, Armando, comparing women to houses, and alienating at least half of the prospects for your DVD scam. He’s hawking some DVD that originally sold for $197 for the incredibly low price of $29.97. Yep. Sounds reasonalbe to me. And all those people who paid $197 are probably thrilled to know that Armando is now selling the same thing for about $170 less than what they paid.
wyldwmn
On the phone with Armandos 800 # again right now… Got a Jennifer this time. She stated she even purchased the system for herself. I highly doubt that! The last lady told me this too, part of their schtick I am sure!
She too stated she had never heard of this site…
I asked her, as I did the last lady, if they work directly for Armando or a third party. She too, stated they work directly for Armando. Then, armed with the information Steve in Texas provided in message #1111, I said “So you don’t work for Premier Mentoring?” Hahahaha She stumbled and stuttered for a second then asked what that was… I repeated it, and she said (what do you know), she was new there and would have to check with a supervisor if I wanted to hold… She also stated that she was in Salt Lake City when I asked if she was in Draper, Utah… I am on the phone and holding now…
Okay, she came back… HAHAHA, get this! She said something to the effect of “I am soooo sorry. I guess you learn something every day! I found out that I do work for a company called Premier. I thought I was working for Armando. It says “Flip and Grow Rich” on here.” HAHAHAHAHA
I let her say her whole script… Then she said she has never heard anything her company being bad. I informed her of the better business bureau statistics on her cmopany (e.g. 76 complaints in last 36 months, 44 in last year, etc) HAHAHAHA.
I could go on and on and on… Needless to say, she said she has to go to training now, right after the call! lol haha
I told her hos strange I found it that she didnt even know the company she was working for… I told her I had never worked for a company before and then one day realized “Oh my God, I dont know the name of the company I applied to, work for, and pays my checks.” lol hahaha
Anyway, after 29 minutes and 4 seconds she hung up on me saying that I was probably fired from Premier Mentoring.
For those of you who have gotten burned, HERE IS THE 800 number to call for CUSTOMER SERVICE (to cancel, etc). She gave it to me… The other people wouldnt… 800-731-6072. Hope it helps you out.
She also referred me to this number stating that she had “missed some training days” and they could answer all my questions…
What a hoot… Jennifer, did you call again? Steve in Texas?
ChrisInDetroit,
Hilarious! You are tenacious! So the moral of the story is you can never have too much TRAINING at Premier Mentoring!!! LOL
In post #1118, Steve in Texas jokes:
“So the moral of the story is you can never have too much TRAINING at Premier Mentoring!!! LOL”
Actually, I think the name of the company is pre-“merde”. ;-} ;-} ;-}
(Pardon my French, of course.)
wyldwmn
RE: Post 1111 (Chris)
I have not called again but I did email that place with some of the web sites in the posts showing Floppers record in Texas, some info about how he changes his price on things every few days on his web site just in case they were interested, made a few pointers from all the good detective work done on this web site (without giving out how to find it OR copying direct quotes from anyone – just short summations). Then pointed it out that I had been checking out all people/companies they represent backgrounds, etc. I didn’t give out our “flip this lawsuit” at all!
Then, I sent A&E email to their customer service department with the same information semi-demanding a reply about this place in Utah highly (very highly) stating that “they” had created this character for Flopper on FTH and that in real life he is not the asshole nor treats his wife that way in person. I was confused about the real role in FTH or if Armando was running A & E. I did give them the same info about Flopper’s foreclosures/finances/etc. Espressed my anger at A & E for not checking or continue to check into this butthole and gave them the same web sites and info as I did the Utah company. Pretty much I told them that I could provide backup for my concerns and could take all these informational posts to write it out in BLACK AND WHITE, unless you all who post want them to have this site. I wouldn’t want them to take it away from us.
That was Thursday afternoon and it is 9:44 pm cst here and have not got any responses. I won’t hold my breath but I will let you know what response I do receive.
Your feedback is appreciated!
In awe of the detective work done here!
Also, I noticed in the list of people who work for the company in Utah a gal named “Laurel” which could be who Chris and I talked to. But, I can assure you that there are many people named Jennifer and she is probably new due to the amount of people calling to debunk Flopper the other gal’s have stopped trying to defend him or got into trouble for saying things like what was said to me.
Jennifer (in Kansas) Volunteer Caregiver
Re: FTH
According to my on air program guide, tonights episode (Connecticut) is the ‘SEASON FINALE’! YAHOO! lol
are they going to do another season with these morons?
Hey,
Anyone want to speculate on this web site with all the different businesses that Flopper is/has against him? A couple shows him as owner of some kind of Disaster Planner.
I’ll bite!
Jennifer
BTW you can look up Sergio Yutani, Sam Gomez, Miguel Garcia owner of Carrier, etc. basically check out any/everyone who is shown on FTH.
http://www.co.bexar.tx.us/webapps/html/DKLITDSP02.asp?txtLitIsn=0003948099
Armando sure is on his last tank of gas. You can flip any house in this market, unless you live in The San Francisco bay area. Thats where i live. I own 5 homes in California. 4 in the Sf bay area and one close to the beach in San Diego. Flip this house show is a real joke, anybody can do it, there is so much that goes into buying a house selling and they make it seems that they make so much money. Keep in mind, he is buying houses for like 20 grand, Armando, come to Cali to flip a house, his company and show is going off air, and yeah, he is a baby and a real jerk for sure.
Alright, so I am sitting around the house on Sunday, after getting home from the gym, watching re-runs of Cops… Figured I was bored for a minute so I thought I would check out Armando’s terms of service for ordering his crap or becoming one of his associate sellers, etc… I found the following part interesting! hahaha
“In addition, for this type of information particularly, the phrase “Let the investor beware” is apt. The Service is provided for informational purposes only, and no Content included in the Service is intended for trading or investing purposes. Armando Montelongo Worldwide, Inc. and its licensors shall not be responsible or liable for the accuracy, usefulness or availability of any information transmitted or made available via the Service, and shall not be responsible or liable for any trading or investment decisions made based on such information. ”
So basically, Armando is marketing a Real Estate INVESTING program, but doesnt want to be responsible for any investment decisions made from his program! hahaha
Also, I love how they actually put in there, “Let the investor be aware” (of what he is buying) hahahaha You know its crap then! lol
Alright, let me not waste the rest of this beautiful day on Armando and his B.S… Im out!
This book is a JOKE! See for yourself
http://www.geocities.com/armandoflipitnow/
Password: flipandgrowrich
“Alright, so I am sitting around the house on Sunday, after getting home from the gym, watching re-runs of Cops… ”
I thought you where going to say you saw Armando get arrested in Cali…which is why he bailed for Texas on his last tank of gas.
Thanks for the info on his disclaimer….
Ok I just logged on to that site to read his manual. I skipped into the funding section first.
Not sure if what he states on buying a house on “subject to” basis is legal…does anyone know if it is?
Did anyone else feel that he scumbag took advantage of the home owner.
Also I am a bit disturbed by this statement from his book and I quote:
“We signed agreements that she would keep her existing mortgage in place, while I agreed to make payments. I told her that my paperwork shows that if I idn’t make the payments, I would not be held liable, nor would any of my companies. In addition, I could put a renter into the house, and shehad no right to the rental money”.
That really sounds like she had no recourse at all in anything. I mean why would I sign my house over to someone that would retain the mortgage in my name thus can be a blemish on my credit report and he is telling me that he nor any of his companies are liable for anything. Seems like a stupid move to me. I rather either have a fire sale and sell it for what I owe the bank and not make a profit or just let the bank foreclose. Her credit is already tainted with the late payments reported on her credit. I think it would be safer to not sell him the house the way he is trying or has gotten it from her.
I bought the 5 Armando e-books on ebay (only spent 9 bucks, don’t worry). I got my $9 worth of info out of them, but he says in there that he owns over 100 rental properties. Browsing the Bexar County records, I saw no such thing. Or if they are under lots of different names, wouldn’t he still need masses of assistants or property managers or something just to keep up with the rentals, much less the flips? Hmmm…
Man that seems to have been a waste of your $9. I never saw him mention anything on any of the shows stating he has rental properties (sounds like he wants to be like Richard Davis…lol). I also haven’t seen any come up in the research these guys have done so it’s just a bunch of hogwash.
He would definitely need a full team. As we can tell his team was once 4 and is now 2 and he has yet to be able to keep a group of contractors on staff….so we know that the whole rental mogul angle he wants to put out is just a lot of BS.
“Alyssa wrote:
I bought the 5 Armando e-books on ebay (only spent 9 bucks, don’t worry). I got my $9 worth of info out of them,”
is thier a money back guarentee?? Send em back and get you $9.00 back. What you learn’t could possible cost you $thousands$ in legal defences!
Beth,
Yeah, that’s bunch of baloney. 100+ rental houses my A$$! lol I went to Richard Davis’ speech in July and he said very specifically…’Never look at a single family residence as being an ‘investment property’. I guess Armando didn’t go or he wouldn’t be making stuff up like that! ; ) LOL
Steve in Texas wrote:
Beth,
Yeah, that’s bunch of baloney. 100+ rental houses my A$$! lol I went to Richard Davis’ speech in July and he said very specifically…’Never look at a single family residence as being an ‘investment property’. I guess Armando didn’t go or he wouldn’t be making stuff up like that! ; ) LOL
What is that supposed to mean? Why shouldn’t a single family residence be viewed as an investment? That statement without any context makes no sense to me.
PapuManiac.
He also said “Remember Gus?” just after that.
They rehabbed a house, rented it to Gus (who never paid a dime). Evicted him a year later after Gus had AGAIN trashed the house out and they had to rehab it all over again. $$$$$
The key words here are “investment property”
Some people want to play landlord on a SFR. If that’s your thing, do it!
Me? When Richard speaks, I listen ; )
“What is that supposed to mean? Why shouldn’t a single family residence be viewed as an investment? That statement without any context makes no sense to me.”
What that means, is a single family residence can only be rented to one family at a time, there by limiting the amount of income it will produce. If it is sitting empty it will earn $0.00 per month. However multi family units, will earn income X the amount of units. The price for a complex will be higher than a single family unit, but that is offset by easier management, and income potential. Can you make money with single family units? Sure, but you will earn that much more with multi family, with that much less risk.
Ok, I dont think you guys get the idea here. ARMANDO MONTELONGO and his company is making $$$$$$$.Alot of money,yeah he has legal issues but yet still making a S**t load. He has done what has not been done before….making you watch and occuping a milisecond of your life on him is what drives him to say…..keep talking my bank account keep growing. anyone can be an investor and learn to flip, but it has to be at your own expense,time and hard work. hands on is what builds experience its like any job you may have at fisrt you dont know the business then eventually you become a professional inthat field. Live and Learn,as I have said before. “DONT HATE THE PLAYER..HATE THE GAME. If your were in armandos shoes youwould have a differnt prespective on these issues. but your not so live with it. build your own wealth…get your ass to work.
Greg,
Well said! And I would certainly look at the ‘DSCR’ as well on a potential “investment property” and personally, would pass if it was less than 1. ; )
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt_service_coverage_ratio
Hey “Alex”!
Re: “get your ass to work”
Seriously, you need to get some new material. YAWN!
How are those 100+ rentals working out for ya???? As, if…
Guess what? I have 6,000+ SFR rentals in San Antonio alone, AND, three condo complexes (400 units per) on MARS! PLUS, a 600 unit apartment complex close to completion on the MOON!
Idiot
Dear Alex/Armando
Armando is nothing more than a modern day snake-oil salesman. He/you is/are a con-man. And we are on to him/you. He is not a hard working guy trying to make an honest living. He is actively trying to deceive people. If Armando was simply making a crappy show (which he does) nobody would have a problem with that. The problem is that Armando is using that crappy show to sell a product that is worthless. The problem isn’t that he is a crappy flipper, (we can all live with that) or that he is making money (which we all doubt) it’s that he lies about it, then uses those lies to pick the pockets of unsuspecting people who see his lies as truth. The fact is that people watch reality shows and expect reality. We are upset that those people are being defrauded out of their life savings.
But you already know this. You, Armando/Alex have preyed upon them.
These posts that defend him are ridiculous and useless. This is not simply entertainment, as you suggest. This is fraud. It stopped being entertainment at the point that he/you started using false claims to deceive the public at large into buying his/your freakin’ snake-oil. He/you have no shame. He/you should be run out of town with hat in hand. He/you is/are a stain on the home improvement industry. There ought to be a criminal investigation. And, if I have my way, there will be. So, grab your hat.
alex “Ok, I dont think you guys get the idea here. ARMANDO MONTELONGO and his company is making $$$$$$$.Alot of money,yeah he has legal issues but yet still making a S**t load”
Alex go back and read all 1137 posts. You will see that Armando is not making S**T loads of cash, but very much the opposite.
Alex:
Give me a break, Armando is not making a a sh$tload of money. He is robbing Peter to pay Paul. I’ll sum it up, Armando is a “Johnny come lately” in the real estate game that created the illusion he is making money.
His secret, mainly taking cash back on loans, padding invoices, and deceiving people via the show FTH to sell his ebooks and mentor program.
Getting cash back on loans is NOT creating wealth. It’s the same as getting a 20,000 credit card in the mail. YOU DON’T have $20,000 in wealth, you have to pay that back.
BTW, if he is SO rich, why is he $10,000 past due on his property taxes on his house (plus $17000 for the current year)?
If he is SO rich, he wouldn’t have defaulted on nearly $1,000,000 in mortgages…right? I failed to mention the seven TROs he filed to prevent seven properties from going to foreclosure.
Armando’s credit so so shitty and Veronica’s is so overextended that they needed to use another person to buy a house to feature on FTH… If he was SO rich, why did he use someone else to purchase the house?
You said:
I have said before. “DONT HATE THE PLAYER..HATE THE GAME.”
That should read, “IT”S PLAYERS LIKE ARMANDO THAT GIVE THE GAME A BAD NAME.”
And being in Armando’s shoe, sorry but I have two feet, Armando is a cockroach with six legs.
Let me ask you this Alex. Would you do business with a documented liar, thief, defaulted on 20+ loans, owes thousands in back taxes, 2 summary judgments for thousands of dollars, 2 pending lawsuits for breach of contract, AND can’t get a hard money loan on a house (and Armando says credit doesn’t matter)?
not to mention millionaires make hard money loans, not take them!
Armando is such a loser that he had to get a girl 9 years younger than him because anyone his own age would know what a looser he is.
To All But ALEX/FLOPPER —
“love you guys and here is a big
DITTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
from me too.
To Alex/Flopper —
Oh, boo hoo—-are you getting a lot of flack over the multitude of phone calls asking questions and telling your phone service about you instead of signing up? Making any money there or is this just another company that will have to take you to court to get paid?
Todd Ebenhoeh wrote:
“Armando is such a loser that he had to get a girl 9 years younger than him because anyone his own age would know what a looser he is.”
What does this half to do with anything? My wife is nine years younger! What a stupid comment it belittles the whole thread.
There’s one post here for every house Armondo has flipped.Wait,there’s currently 1145 posts.Lokks like Armondo has some flipping to do.
P.S. Great work to Mike Voss.
Thanks.
Armando is not stupid when it comes to real-estate, but RICHARD DAVIS out buys and out sells the Texas Tycoon everyday and makes around twice as much.
You know what god honestly blesses those that help others and that are good people. Not that I know Richard Davis but from what I see his morals and business practices seem to be awesome. So when you do good and give back to the community your already a success the financial success that he has is just the icing on the cake.
Armando has shown time and time again that his morals, ethics and business practices are in the damn toilet so there is now way that there will be rewards in this lifetime for anyone like that.
I am a true beliver in Karma and the saying that what goes around comes around.
I agree Beth.
While Richard might not be a saint, he would NEVER try to sugarcoat a house with mushrooms growing out of the toilet.
Thanks to everyone who has posted! I found this blog on Google when I searched for the Montelongo website. I will NEVER watch Armando and Co. again. A&E should be ashamed to help this con artist find victims. Mike, you are doing a great service by overseeing this site. I LOVE how you caught the fake posts through the IP address. Keep up the good work!!
RayMass I am not Armando fist of all, i can call you to confirm that. second everyone here complains and writes things that leterally take so much time out of your life. This is called “intrest” So if you all are so “intrested” in Armando and Veronica finance and lifestyle, he has done his job. His job is to sale himself. remember there are still people out there that will worship the ground he walks, so taking into consideration that there are 40million people in america. Only 1% will follow him, thats 400,000 people and he will make roughly 1000 form each==thats 4 million. and with a sucker born every minute thats at least 40million in the next 10-20 years. so again he is making money, thats his goal to make money, you have politicions,congress,even the president lieing and cheating the american people AND YOU VOTED FOR THEM. i wont be suprise if Armando got into politics, i bet he will win beacuse YOU WILL VOTE FOR HIM. bottom line he’s feeding his family on your dime, so thank you on his behalf…..DONT HATE THE PLAYER HATE THE GAME……even sports has legal problems,(ie steriods, illegal gambling,dog fights) but hell you will still watch the game… SO WATCH A&E..you have no choice.
boyson to answer your quesiton Yes I would do business with Armando. If your a smart person you will take care of yourself first, then others
“alex wrote:
boyson to answer your quesiton Yes I would do business with Armando. If your a smart person you will take care of yourself first, then others ”
Doing business with Armando, and his business practices would amount to cutting your nose off inspite of your face. A good business man takes care of his business, and lets his business take care of his family.
Alex: The only interest I have in Armando is watching him go to jail. And, you’re wrong. I don’t watch him, not anymore. Like everyone else, I was tricked into watching him when A&E screwed up and put him on instead of the Trademark team. Even then, I couldn’t stomach the entire show.
We are not “interested” in Armando. We are interested in protecting people from him. But you can’t seem to understand that, can you? Here, I’ll dumb it down for you.
Firefighters fight fires, wouldn’t you agree? Do fire fighters want to be like fire, Alex? No, they don’t Alex. Firefighter want to put fires out. They are certainly not jealous of fire. Sometimes, they even warn people about the dangers of fire. Do you remember when the firefighters came to your school Alex? Did they warn you about the dangers of fire? Do you remember “stop drop, and roll,” Alex?
Well Alex, we’re just like those firefighters at your school. I’d like to give you the same advice that those firefighters gave you, Alex: Stop, Drop and Roll! It sounds like your already well on you way to becoming a little arsonist though. Are you burning people like your hero Armando Alex?
Alex…
Are you high???
You wrote some nice facts and figures. Too bad they are WAY off… First off, not 1% of people in America religiously tune into Armando’s Flip This House! lol He WISHES that would be the case, but its not… He’s a tool… Second of all, having a ton of forecelosures and junk (e.g. lawsuits) to pay for is expensive! hahaha And its only going to get worse…
You also wrote “YOU WILL VOTE FOR HIM” I write – No friggin way you tool!
You also wrote “SO WATCH A&E. you have no choice.” I write – hmmm, in my house my cable box and my remote come with a button or two that let me change the channel… I have a choice… Sucks to be you!
In post #1143, Todd Ebenhoeh said:
“Armando is such a loser that he had to get a girl 9 years younger than him because anyone his own age would know what a looser he is.”
Actually, Todd, the truth is that oppressed peoples get really good at learning the behavior of the oppressors. In Armando’s case, that means that he learned how to abuse and exploit Veronica from men like you who insist on calling adult women “girls.”
Armando is a dishonest person who is doing his best to take advantage of people. He wasn’t born knowing how to do that. He learned it from the dominant culture in which he was socialized. In other words, he is a loser because he learned from losers who happen to hold power and privilege in that dominant culture.
wyldwmn
RayMass wrote: “I don’t watch him, not anymore. Like everyone else, I was tricked into watching him when A&E screwed up and put him on instead of the Trademark team.”
What I find laughable, well, one thing among many is that A&E continued to use the word ‘TEAM’ after Trademark left to describe the various ‘flippers’. San Antonio TEAM, Atlanta TEAM and so on. It completely butchers the word, and, what Trademark is all about and how they do what they do that sets them apart from the rest
Just wanted to add my $0.02 in for Alex
1. Armando is NOT a businessman, he is a dishonest sack of F**K. Sorry to be crude about it, but sometimes the truth hurts.
2. REAL ESTATE IS NOT A F**KING GAME!!!!
In post #1152, Alex wrote:
“boyson to answer your quesiton Yes I would do business with Armando. If your a smart person you will take care of yourself first, then others”
Not quite. It is a *wise* person who has their own mental and emotional house in order who is then in a position to provide positive education and support to the community around her or him.
To use an analogy, the airlines ask you to please put on your own oxygen mask in an emergency before assisting others. This is not because it is “smart” to take care of yourself first. This is becaue the best way to help the greatest amount of people is to make sure that you have the strength and resources in place to do so *wisely*.
There are a lot of people who would do business with Armando, which is exactly what Armando is “banking” on. In other words, he knows that he has the power to exploit people who don’t undertsand the difference between exploitation/greed and acquiring knowledge and wisdom.
wyldwmn
all your responses are exactly what i anticipated. Your protecting people, how you going to protect peopl when all you do is b****h and complain on this blog where everyone is against someone who the “american way ” is innocent until proven guilty. your all racist. racist against people in the public eye. what about all the thiefs and drug dealers in your area . tell me WTF are you doing to protect them. i’ll tel you NOTHING! because you all are a bunch of whiners. What protest have you made beside talking smack here NOTHING. what schools have you gone to ans told children “stop drop and roll” NONE. so until you make good on protecting people and we all see it , you have nothing to say, Richard Davis does the same thing”””’ENTERTAIN YOU””” and he has done things in his life he propblerly doesnt want you to know….just like George Lopez said, “people will only remember the bad things you do,never the good.” thats life ‘GET OVER IT! GET A LIFE,,GO FLIP A HOUSE. BETTER YET GO ROB SOMEONE, YOU DESERVE It, YOUR JOB HERE IS DONE………………
if working with armando will make me money then why not, we al want money. the problem with you all is that your life envolves college degrees and rich parents. we grew up on the hustle and that all we know, do you thing we really care what you all say, NO! we dont. do you think people will read this, NO! only people who watch the show or have watched know. so keep making a scene, the ratings are great.
“God bless america and no where else”,,,,a politician said that
jip a businessman can make a controversy happen and get paid on it… how much do you make a year?
Okay, I posted a couple of lines stating that Alex/FlopperWannaBe could stay off the site here if he didn’t like what he read, to keep on knocking himself out, and what he could do in some language that I see on here all the time.
It didn’t post…….
Anyway, the only thing that Flopper will go down in history in San Antonio for is the number of lawsuits, claims, tax notices, etc. that he keeps piling up and if that is how you want to live Alex then maybe I will put some money into paper products.
(annoyed for not getting my 2 cents in earlier)
alex,
Just a suggestion the next time you shake hands with your ‘good friend’ Armando. Count your fingers afterwards and check your wallet to see if it’s still there ; )
Alex the only person who will make money doing business with Armando, is Armando. I drive a truck, I can teach you to drive a truck to for $2000, and for another $15,000 I will mentor you. I am sure my dr will teach me to be a dr for a sum of money, and would be willing to mentor me as well. People who want to help you do what they do, will do it for free. Armando wants you to pay him to learn, because what he is doing is not working, so he needs another source of revenue. So before you blow your life savings with Armando, do yourself a favour. Write a check to a charity like Habitat for Humanity. At least you would get the tax deduction on your lost money.
well Greg you will be happy to know that 10% of our gross income goes to carious cahrities throughout the US. our company gross last year was around 1.4-1.6 million. so do the math..Listen im not Armando but i know his way. I started with nothing myself 10 years ago and now own myown company, we stop flipping home 4 years ago because there was no way to turn a profit once the properties took off. WE’ve been there, done that. It works! the first year was a training year but we stil flip a porfit, we have private investors that we deal with and it took years to delvelop a good relationship with them. They have the cash and we have the experience. and thats what people pay for “the experience” Knowledge is only potential power, get your hands dirty. learn to fall on your ass and get back up. We’re blessed to have a great life and we give back to our communities, churches, schools, charities. that what we do but without the hustle we could not have done it. so when you sell your own home take a 25-30% hit and donate that money,,,,bet you wont…..we dont walk a mile….we walk for breast cancer, aids research,lukemia, etc. Do your share donate 10% of what you make…
if you teach me how to drive a truck and i have the potential to make 100k plus a year. I would pay 17k.
if you had to spend 30k to make 100k you will……you dont know a person by what you read..its by knowing the person. have you ever met armando and confronted him or just asked him questions…you might get the answer your looking for..
bottom line “THE BIGGER THE RISK THE BIGGER THE REWARD” Richard Davis said that ,,,,so stop being lazy waiting for you wealth, go out and get it……..
Alex
I am a teacher. I believe that if my fourth graders had wrote as atrociously as you I would quit teaching. Shame on you….. Your spelling is horrible, your grammar just as bad. You can blame it on the fact that you were so mad you typed crazily or you were about to pee your pants. This sites information is as plain as day. People are trying to help other people NOT to get taken by a con artist as proved right here.
I feel sorry for you. Helping someone not to be taken by someone else is human kindness. I’d hate to put my trust and hard earned money into something without being able to find information as posted here to steer me into the right direction.
People, people who need people
Are the luckiest people in the world.
Barbra Streisand sang that!
Alex:
Now I get it. First, I should blame the victims. If they are stupid enough to be a victim, they deserve it. And, if I’m clever enough to scam them out of their money, I deserve it. Second, I should give to charity to prove to that I am still a good person.
I recognize this second rationalization as being common among mobster types. They go to church on Sunday to give God his vig. God is actually running a supernatural protection racket. As long as God gets his 10 percent, we can do anything we please on the other six days. That seems to work out for them pretty well, so why not?
Thanks, you’re a great teacher and role-model!
No Alex, I do not own a business, but I know friends who do. Here is what I kearned from them:
1. Controversy DOES NOT drum up business. Doing quality work does
2. Treat those who work for you with restect and dignity! If your idol tried to pull that type of crap with the business owners I know, he can kiss his reputation and business goodbye..
Alex you can earn $100 k a year driving a truck. So you built a business by flipping, then you should be ashamed by what Armando represents. Not wanting to do business with him.
Alex,
feel free to mix in some Mozilla Firefox, has an automatic spell checker.
I forgot to add one more thing; A true businessman takes pride in his/her work and has no qualms about fixing any problems that arise (within reason).
Posted on 16-Oct-07 at 1:50 pm
“have you ever met armando and confronted him or just asked him questions…you might get the answer your looking for..”
Have you? It sounds as if you are very biased in favor of Armando and his band of thieves. I don’t think any of the posters on this board have to meet him to know that he is a swindler, plain and simple. His radio ads claim that he flips up to 30 houses a month, yet legal documents obtained from several unbiased sources show otherwise. Wake up, will you? It’s illegal to make those claims without proof and while, yes, he may have fooled hundreds, and possibly even thousands, of people with this scheme (or what you call “the hustle”), he is also being targeted by those same people in the form of a lawsuit. He could conceivably also be targeted by legal agencies for fraud (it has been known to happen).
Posted on 17-Oct-07 at 4:33 pm
“We’re blessed to have a great life and we give back to our communities, churches, schools, charities. that what we do but without the hustle we could not have done it.”
Incidentally, I think most of the posters on this board will agree that hustling people is NOT something you should be proud of, it should be something that shames you, depending on the strength of your moral and ethical fibre. Buying morality for ten percent of your gross revenue when you’ve “hustled” people to earn that revenue doesn’t count for anything. I’m sure the pastor at the church and other various charities to whom you’ve donated these monies would agree.
Posted on 16-Oct-07 at 1:50 pm
“what schools have you gone to ans told children “stop drop and roll” NONE.”
I have to admit I thought for a moment about calling and asking for the package (he’s hawking teasers on the radio for a “small” $99.00 shipping and handling charge), therefore being tempted to “play with fire” (using the analogy above), but thank goodness for the hoards of “firefighters” on this website. Perhaps someday you’ll understand the reason for this board.
Posted on 16-Oct-07 at 1:50 pm
“the problem with you all is that your life envolves college degrees and rich parents.”
You don’t need a college degree to use the spell check and grammar tool on your word processor. Even my fourteen-year-old knows that. And what exactly do you have against the well-off when you so obviously are trying to become well-off yourself?
Thies iss two Alex
eye a gree Armhondo is the mahn!? Hi iz the beast hussler in the wurld yo.
Two words moron, Spell Check !!!
Sharisse Im not questioning Armando and his way of making money. Second thing you people worry about the dumbest thimgs(spell check) who cares I got my point across. its obvious that most everyone heres that post had a great childhood and maybe parents with good jobs, well my parents worked many hours and had to hustle their way thru life to get what they have now, no one gave it to them. they took it and that is what i mean when i say hustle. were not cons i never been arrested and i provide a good life for my 4 children and my wife. So dont be judge and jury all you know is what you read. i can file a suit on you just for being you that the problem with this country its FREE and people can do pretty much what the want to a limit. making money and providing for your family is what important in your life as well as mine. as 2nd gereration hispanic we are the lucky ones with the opportunities our parents didnt have. look back at your family tree so you can see how poor you really were…..America provides the tools, we just use them..you cant hustle a hustler especially when their better than you and you do it everyday taht you go to work. you have to do something to get paid. its no different than what we do.
and Armando if you see this send me an email, i would love to have a sit down with you…’VIVA LA RAZA’
I’ve been making some money online and I’m keen to learn about new stuffs about “making money”.
Armando Montelongo just came to my attention. But seems like there are many haters here.
Just a thought about Armondo charging for the course when he said he was “helping” people.
When you give away something for free, people don’t appreciate it.
AND, why should he give his knowledge away for free? Even school and textbooks costs you $$$. And he’s getting even more competitors showing this.
He’s charging for the VALUE of the product.
If his stuff really helps you to make money, then consider that as an investment.
IF his stuff is good that is. If you don’t think it’ll help you, just leave it.
Now now, take this with a grain of salt because I wrote this in like 5 minutes while not knowing sh*t about “house flipping” nor anything about Armondo.
alex wrote: “Don’t be judge and jury all you know is what you read”
You wrote that, angry at what you think people are assuming about you, yet you assume that the rest of us here are wealthy, college-educated haters with nothing to do but read this blog and spout hatred for Armando. You can’t have it both ways. Your insecurity is startling. You need to knock the huge chip off your shoulder and re-read #1167 and #1172. I hope you find happiness–sounds as if it has eluded you thus far.
Alex,
I am first generation Filipino. My parents had wood for shoes, and my mother wore rice sacks for clothes, her family was so poor. They made it the honest, hard way — they worked, they saved, and they didn’t have to “hustle” honest people to make a buck. Haven’t you gotten that ARMANDO is using the TELEVISION that reaches MILLIONS of people TO SELL KNOWLEDGE that HE DOESN’T EVEN HAVE? Haven’t you read the posts? One woman almost paid $9K to have that HUSTLER tell her what he couldn’t even do for himself! As recently as August, that guy was having to save his properties from foreclosure (which is a horrible way to ruin your credit, and is probably the reason he can’t get funding, even from a hard money lender).
That’s why people are “hating” on Mandoman, for no other reason than that. You’ve mentioned race TWICE now. Have you ever thought that this has NOTHING to do with race? That you are supporting that CON ARTIST for no other reason than that he is a Latino brother? Dude, wake up! What if it was your mama sita that he swindled…betcha you wouldn’t feel so kindly towards him then…
The point is, Mando doesn’t care about anyone, Latino or otherwise, as long as he makes a buck. If that’s who YOU respect…well, the old adage goes, “Birds of a feather flock together.” It doesn’t matter what color you are.
It makes me ANGRY that he almost took my hundred bucks. And it makes me ANGRY that people like YOU don’t even get the point and look up to that sack of feces like he’s a hero. All I know is what I read? Yeah, it is! And I’ve read many a COURT DOCUMENT to know that this guy is nowhere near legit. Follow him if you want. But I BET my hundred bucks that YOU haven’t purchased his thousand dollars or twenty grand’s worth of “knowledge.” So how can you stick up for him then?
-S
Alex 1174,
Hustling is working 2-3 jobs and making an honest buck, it’s not telling someone you can teach them to fix their car then charge them for something you learned reading Chilton’s. Not only is Armando doing this, he’s telling people how to fix a Honda with a GM book. Viva my butt, this has nothing to do with race.
Sharisse (and others),
You ‘guys’ ROCK! I haven’t had much further to add lately myself but love your comments!!! ; )
luza wrote:
“When you give away something for free, people don’t appreciate it. ”
I couldn’t disagree more.
To keep the focus within this context, just look at what Mike Holmes does on his TV show ‘Holmes On Homes”.
He gets THOUSANDS of letters from people who have been ripped off by contractors. Many have lost their lives’ savings and now cannot live in their own home and face foreclosure and loss of everything they have. On some episodes, the homeowners had disabled children and were ripped off by contractors who were supposed to make their house handicapped-accessible for their child. Mike Holmes goes out and most of the time does all the work for little or no cost and gets suppliers and subs to donate materials and time – sometimes *hundreds of thousands* of dollars worth. And the whole time he shows the world exactly what happened and how, exposing a longstanding tradition of bad contractors being able to rip people off with total impunity and disappear into the nightso as to put an end to it.
He is almost single handedly putting every bad contractor (like Armando) out of business and educating anyone willing to pay attention on the right ways to completely protect themselves.
And it costs us not one dime.
I’ve spent almost 30 years learning to build houses, and I can assure you, Mike is giving something of incalculable value away for free and a hell of a lot of people, myself among them, appreciate it IMMENSELY.
The best things in life are, in fact, often free. That’s not to say, however, that you don’t have to look pretty damned hard to find them.
Mike Voss
Couldn’t agree more. Mike Holmes is a fly by nights contractor’s worst nightmare. Not only does he attempt to educate on what you need as far as permits go, but trys to show you what to avoid. He shows you whats wrong, and goes the extra mile to ensure the cause is repaired as well. The stuff Armando does to his home, well lets just say “it all has to come down”
for Alex,
Your post(1174) still doesn’t make sense. Armando is a low life thief. I get his e-mails trying to hawk his crap every other day.
Thankfully I found this site before I was suckered into buying his master course for $997. Good news genious Armondo is hawking a slightly damaged version for only $500.
My wife spent $99 on his piece of crap flip and grow rich e-book. Armando has a n assload of bad karma coming his way. When he dies beware of that cockroach that you smash it just might be Armando.
I purchased the master course (the $997 one) back in June and since then I’ve flipped two wholesale deals, one for $5000 and another for just under $7000. I’m currently rehabbing a property that I bought for $65K, will have about $7K into and will sell between $100K and $110K once completed, based on comps (I am real estate licensed for those wondering where I get my comps). I just put another property under contract today for $43K that will sell after $4K – $6K of rehab for around $80K. If you’ve done the math and done it conservatively, I’ve accrued well over $50K in cash and equities in the last four months and within the next 3 months, the equities will be converted into cash and more projects will be underway. If you’re serious about being successful in this business, you’ve got to be serious about your education. Understand that while I learned a lot from Armando, I’ve also studied other real estate investors for the last year and I’m dead serious about being successful. There’s no room in this game for laziness. Now if you ARE serious and you’re willing to go the distance, don’t let a single nay-sayer drag you down! People simply don’t like the fact that others have surpassed them in their success due to their own lack of drive and downright stupidity. I’ve personally spoken with Armando, David, Melina, and Veronica and I can say that (some more than others) have been incredibly helpful and encouraging. For that alone, I would stand to defend them against anyone. I regularly blog about my progress so if you care to keep up, let me know and I’ll give you my MySpace addy. My e-mail address is airman8403@gmail.com. Thanks for reading my post.
Bryan wrote: “I purchased the master course (the $997 one) back in June and since then I’ve…”
Well, Bryan. That’s ‘sounds’ interesting.
However, you went immediately from ‘purchased’ to ‘since then’ which is why I’ve quoted that particular line of your ‘story’. Umm, where’s the context? What ‘tools’ from the course did you learn and how did you apply them in each situation you’ve described? I’ll start with that but I have more questions coming for you! ; )
Bryan,
Not that anyone doesn’t believe you… But we love proof here in this forum… Can you please list the full addresses of the houses that you talked about (the ones you wholesaled and the one you have now)??? We would appreciate it! 🙂
P.S… How did you get to talk to David, Melina, Veronica and Armondo??? Just curious…
I sooo love Mike Holmes! I really admire and appreciate his work ethic. If I ever hire a contractor, I can only hope he is half the man Mike H. is.
There is a part of me that would love to see Mike and Armando left alone in one of those crappy “flips” on FTH; no cameras, no gloves, no witnesses. Just the two of them left to ‘discuss’ the finer aspects of the home remodeling biz.
“Holmes on Armando” hehe *evil grin*
Lifted from the A&E board…
“Come and meet Armando & Veronica Montelongo in person!
Saturday, October 20th, Noon – 2pm
At The State Fair of Texas®
Time Warner Home to the Future Exhibit
FREE Flip This House tape measures for the first 200 people!!”
Well, shoot! I wish I had of known about this. I would have gone!
I can see it now…”Hi, Armando! I’m “Steve in Texas”. Sorry Mike Voss couldn’t be here today also”
hehehehe
that’s why it will never wor. Mica Kingsley.
hope the free FTH tape measures work better than Armando’s sales. But ya know, seeing as they are FTH tape measures, they are rehab rejects from the dollar store, and measure up a inch short, kinda like Armando’s mortagages payments.
I just finished checking out this website. I came to it thur Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. On Wikipedia there is no information on Armando or his company. But there is information on Mike Holmes and Richard Davis. I knew I didnt like Armando when I watch the show. Only watched it was never plan to watch him again.
“FREE Flip This House tape measures for the first 200 people!!”
I wouldn’t trust a single damned thing measured with that! If Armando had anything to do with making them, you can bet the markings will rub off the first time you use them…or every foot probably only has 9 inches to save a few bucks…you get the idea.
Steve – it’s just a question of time before I pay Armando a surprise visit at a public engagement and ask lots of questions. I’ll be sure to videotape it when I do and put it on YouTube.
I’m sure there’s plenty of people in TX who’d love to go to the fair with you and videotape, provide security, etc. 🙂
MV
MV
Mike,
Oh man, You Tube! Killer idea!
It’s just a matter of time. Tic toc..
hehehehe
Mike Voss,
THAT WOULD BE SWEET!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please do let us know here after you do go to one of his things and video and ask all the questions! That would rock! I would say to tell us before hand, but we both know Armando monitors this forum and we dont need to give him a heads up… If you need a hand though, let me know! hahahaha evil grin
Wouldn’t it be great to rip people off using 100 different names! HA! If you want to find yourself in five years operating business’s with so many different names, and the list goes on and on and on, why can’t you read the Bexar County entries and find the long line of Montelongo family law suits? Since it has been brought up about our “roots” maybe Alex would like to research Flopper’s and see how he comes so easily to his profession. Gracious, I’d almost guarantee you wouldn’t find all their aliases! It’s like robbing Peter to pay Paul while having your parents, cousins, children and spouses doing the same thing. Pretty soon cousin Jill has stiffed your second brother-in-law once removed but it was done the same way 30 years ago by grandpa Jose who was taught by Great-Great Grandma’s uncle Jacko. With someone like A.M. where did it start and how will it end? And to anyone else that wants to live paranoid and insane like that, giving a percentage to a lawyer that is probably a member of your family keeping your head just above the water go ahead and defend people like this.
You people still dont understand,there is always someone who will take the risk to better their lives and this is one of them. People pay for college yet they spend most their lives paying it back..would you agree? this is the same thing. We pay for knowledge and its up to us to make it work. I spend money and time to get my real estate brokers license and what I do with it will either make me or break me . so I worked 2 jobs and my wife had 2 jobs as well i saw my kids for 30min in the morning just in time to take them to school. Now i can volunteer all day if i wish to and at times i do. this is the rewards for all my hard work(hustle) we dont hurt anyone we counsel people into making their own destiny and wealth. but your bigest critic should be yourself, i can sleep at night without hesitation. Armando has taken the bulls by the horm and is riding it all the way to the bank. good credit ,bad credit there will always be an investor that is willing to take the risk..if you really want to know who the crooks are just look under politician. those are true crooks.
One more thing – this was copied from Floppers site:
armandomontelongo.com/news
The excerpt is from him talking about illegal flipping —
Written on 24 May 2007 by Armando
How do I get around ‘seasoning issues’? Again, seasoning is the amount
of time a bank wants an owner to control a property before they will loan
a new buyer funds on that property.
You must first understand the banks position before you can create a solution.
Here is the example of what banks are attempting to prevent:
A team of unscrupulous people will create a ‘ring of illegal activity.’ They will get together an appraiser, a flipper, a friend and a mortgage lender. The flipper will purchase the property, then the appraiser will give the property a false value (he/she will say itis worth more than it’s true value). Next, the flipper will sell it to a friend. Finally, the mortgage lender will loan the ‘friend’ of the flipper the false appraised amount. The ‘friend’ will split the false profits with the flipper, appraiser and mortgage broker. Then, the friend will ‘flip’ it again to someone else they know and the profits are split again. After building in several hundred thousand dollars of false value, they will allow it to foreclose.
Coming from Flopper I’d say my previous post about keeping it all in the family is dead on and that Flopper just told us how he is really making money, as illegal as it may be!
I work at a bank and what this Armando talks about “padding invoices” is Bullshit, he says thwe banks dont care.. HA!! any loan we underwite if we thought someone was padding invoices, say bye bye bye
Alex – give it up! Any fool knows you are one of Armando’s desperate boiler room telephone shills. Go look for another job – yours has limited longevity. Even you don’t believe the crap you’re posting – that much is obvious.
A college education and real estate licese are proven good investments in one’s future. Armando Montelongo is a proven fraud. End of story.
Damn I wish a news crew would bury this clown already.
I came accross this blog today, and spent about an hour reading as much as I could digest.
Can we all just admit that we are watching a TELEVISION SHOW? This is for entertainment purposes. I know, I know, you guys are yearning for real information but this is TV.
As much as Armondo may seem like a douche bag on the show and as pretty as his wife is, you have to admit that what he is doing is working for him. I don’t care if he’s in a 13. I don’t care if contractors took his cabinets. Shoot, my contractors mistakenly took a whole bathroom!
If a business man treats his workers like crap, karma will get him/her. I gaurantee that every person he has working with him greatly values their relationship or you wouldn’t see the same faces over and over.
REMEMBER: IT’S TV. IT ISN’T REAL. IT ISN’T REAL. IT ISN’T REAL. IT ISN’T REAL.
Amen
Armando, since you read this…why dont you explain why your “intern” was a paid actor? do you think anyone was actually beliving he didnt know how to paint? dripping it all over the hard wood floor? come on now!!! then you get a free playhouse for your son and its a girls house…do you really have no shame!
mike, you dont know jack, i am a broker and have my own firm. i make good money and i dont rob people. a service is a service and people will pay for that. if you going to piont fingers start with yourself. Armando sells himself and there are people that buy into that. i learned from experience that flipping is not an easy career to build. but within time you meet people that help and push you in the right direction. Armando is just a marketing tool and people will or will not use his ways of working. but out of everyone who knows him only a few have issues with him. we are consultants, that’s what we do consult, you have the last decision, your a grown man or woman and follow your gut. if you dont like what you see or read, then do something about it . go on tv and expose him for what you think he is. spend your money to save others. as for timmy not all underwirters think like you, especially in this market , if anything its gotten easier to get loans approved because if banks dont lend money, then they lose money and banks dont want lose money and guess what Timmy “BANKS USE OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!WOW WHAT A SHOCKER I WONDER WHO DIDNT KNOW THAT.”
and what happens when a bank loses money, they lose investors, and beleive me they dont want that. i dont know what bank you work for but look around someone is doing it, you cant protect everybody..
life is a risks and what you do with it should be for yourself first then your family then your friends.
Hope yo make manager some day Mike, I heard McDonalds stock is doing good. Dont worry your job is safe.
alex wrote: “Armando sells himself and there are people that buy into that.”
Which is entirely the point. He misrepresents the ‘product’ (himself). Have you even READ this thread?? ALL OF IT???
Joshua (Armando) wrote: “came accross this blog today, and spent about an hour reading as much as I could digest.”
Let’s see, you googeld ‘FISHING TACKLE’ and not ‘Armando Montelongo’ and just accidentally stumbled on this site???
“Joshua wrote — If a business man treats his workers like crap, karma will get him/her. I gaurantee that every person he has working with him greatly values their relationship or you wouldn’t see the same faces over and over.”
Have you watched the “Montelongo” shows? He has lost everyone that has worked with him the past two seasons except his wife. Her self esteem must be extremely low. When he can’t pay them and they walk off the job, he starts saying crap about them/their work, work hours, anything to look like he is a big stud in control on the show so that we don’t see they have filed law suits to get their money from him and he makes them look like the idiots that he really is!
Then the last contractor he had was dumb enough to let Flopper use him as a bank to purchase the house. For all the Keno’s and Sergio’s out there who have been belittled unduly – I salute you.
And for you Armando, just tell us it is you, put up or shut up!
For those about to Rock,
My “AMEN” was for Post 1198!
Ok so what you are saying is…Find an underwriter who allows padding of invoices???dont underwrite for risk and what happens??? you get foreclosed on 27 properties in one month…right Armando? I mean Alex
By the way if you follow this thread Alex goes from alex wrote:
boyson to answer your quesiton Yes I would do business with Armando. If your a smart person you will take care of yourself first, then others
Now he actually knows him???sounds kinda funny to mee,,, way to cover your tracks
Bullsh_t, Alex. Put up – tell us exactly who you are, your broker’s license nmber, etc. and then I’ll maybe retract what I said. You won’t, and we both know why.
Only a few people have problems with Armando? Are you f-ing kidding? Can you not read or are you just in total denial about your boss? You cannot produce 10 people anywhere in the US who bought his materials and have demonstrable benefit and are happy with them. I challenge you – do it. We’ll wait. Make it his “Master’s Course” since we all know that’s where his really valuable stuff is. Get on that right away – we’ll all wait. The ball is now in your court to demonstrate what you have claimed.
Maybe you’re stupid enough to endorse a proven liar and criminal, but you’re the only one.
I’m sure you worshipped Tom Vu in the 90s too when you were manning his phones…right before he went to prison.
Give us all a break, we’re not buying – from either Armando nor you.
alex,
Armondo and his people (like you )
are still all talk and which by the way is STILL not persuasive.
We are still waiting for the prove that Armondo is running his business with integrity and not scaming preople.
One of the colossal differences between you amd Mike Voss is that he makes an effort to back up his claim showing us prove that Armondo is an fraud (on the home page of this web site )
Come on alex give us some “humble pie” all we want is to be proven wrong about Armondo . All the giberish just makes you look like one of Armond’s suckers .
FYI I have been reading this site since Aug and have kept a tally of how many times
“Armondo pretends he is not Armondo” 93 times !!
You people still dont understand,there is always someone who will take the risk to better their lives and this is one of them. People pay for college yet they spend most their lives paying it back..would you agree?
Alex,
The end does not justify the means.
In your world it would be OK to sell drugs. If I get caught, there is always someone to take my place…right? It’s OK because I’m supporting my family and I’ll give some of my profits to charity. AND people already know the danger of taking illegal drugs, so who cares, they should have known.
So Alex, if you need a pick-me-up, let’s do business!
seriously though, how has 60 minutes, Dateline or 20/20 not done a piece on this guy…the last few shows are so staged it is unreal. Brent throwing the phone in disgust…getting faked kicked off the site, chasing a pig? on and on
Timmy,
I would guess the reason why the national media hasnt done a story is because of dumbasses like Alex who buy into it head over foot…
Mike,
Can you believe this tool? To criticize YOU hahaha. You put all your contact info on here… He wont… Hmmmm, we all wonder who is more credible! lol hahahaha
Attention intelligent people on this website (except Armando & his shills), it is official, the lunatics are now in charge of the asylum, so turn your brains off.
This is for the Nov 17-18 “Wealth Building Expo” being advertised on 770AM WABC Radio in New York sponsored by the Learning Annex. ARMANDO is appearing as an ‘expert’ where the forum keynote speakers are the likes of Donald Trump and ALAN GREENSPAN… He’s gonna milk this FOREVER…AARRGGHHH!!!
Armando Montelongo, star of A&E’s Flip This House
Flip & Grow Rich!
You’ve probably heard of flipping real estate. It’s when you purchase an undervalued property, make the right improvements and sell it for an excellent profit. Sounds easy right? The thing is, flipping real estate IS easy. You simply need to take a little time and learn the ins-and-outs of this potent wealth-building method. This is the perfect money-making method for both beginners and more experienced investors… and the country’s #1 property flipper is teaching it. You might already know him… Armando Montelongo is the #1 property flipper in America — a man who flips between 25 and 30 houses EVERY MONTH. You may have seen him as the host of A&E’s hit series, Flip this House.
In less than 5 years, Armando became America’s largest residential real estate investor. That’s right: he’s the LARGEST investor of residential real estate. He’s a multi-multi-millionaire. Now he’s going to show you what made him so rich. Armando isn’t an expert…he’s THE expert! There is simply no better teacher to get you started on flipping residential real estate.
FYI…ive hear the “keynote speakers” such as Trump and Greenspanthey appear on a big screen TV and are recorded, they arent there in person, its a scam
Its almost worth it to attend just to ask Mike’s questions and you tube them. Ladies and gentlemen DEMAND that he prove his claims.
I am so glad I found “flipthislawsuit”. I was recently invited to the “Big Money Expo” in San Diego and have to admit it sounded great. My first red flag was that I got confirmation yesterday morning (Thursday) the seminar would still take place in SAN DIEGO after the week of firestorms we have had. Late last night I got a message that they decided to cancel. Good thing. It gave me time to do my research and follow that nagging hunch I got. Thanks for all of the input and saving me the $$$ and time.
Rob M,
And on the seventh day, Armando rested. LOL
Unfreaking believable
After hearing the commercial and a variant inviting me to meet Armando at this ‘event,’ I yelled at my Jeep dashboard for a long time at the gullibility of people in general.
I bet “Armando Montelongo…the #1 property flipper in America” will try to ‘flip’ the Brooklyn Bridge while he’s here too… To paraphrase Ray Romano’s character in Everyone Loves Raymond, “right is wrong, up is down and wood is now a drink…”
ROLFMAO
So, where do we go to send the funds to get Steve and Mike to this convention?
“Have Gun, Will Travel”!!!!!!
Just a dity I found…
10/27-10/28: Trump Wealth Building Expo Booths
——————————————————————————–
Reply to: trumpwealthbuildingexpoisa@yahoo.com
Date: 2007-09-11, 2:14PM PDT
About the Expo:
The The Real Estate Wealth Expo is a Two-day Real Estate Seminar, With 3 components: 1-Keynote speakers, 2 -Seminars, And 3 -Exhibit Booths http://www.trumpexpo.com This Expo is open to the Public. Focuses on Real Estate Investing, And Building Wealth. Feautures Donald Trump, Anthony Robbins, Robert Kiyosaki, And Suze Orman, The Expo takes place on Sat/Sun, Oct 27/28 2007., At The Washington State Convention And Trade Center. It has attracted over 45,000 Experienced and Novice Real Estate Investors at each of the Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, 2006 Expos Expos. There are Multiple Seminars on Real Estate Investing, Becoming A Real Estate Entrepreneur, Techniques on Purchasing Real Estate Investments, Purchasing Real Estate With No Credit, Purchasing Real Estate For Pennies On The Dollar, Purchasing Tax Lien Certificates, And Starting A Business. Call Roger For Booth Prices Tel 786-277-0258
HOW ABOUT CALLING ROGER FOR THE HELL OF IT AND SENDING LOADS OF EMAIL DIRECTING THEM TO THIS WEB SITE!
Can someone tell me out of all the real estate courses out there, which one actually works? I dont think any of them do.
Has anyone found out any info on Sergio and Keno now that theyre not working for Armando?
Hmmmmmmm….I got an email from Armando on 10/27 saying that while he and Veronica send their condolences to the California fire victims, “the good news is” that he and his followers are going to make huge profits off the desperate circumstances of those fire victims.
“The good news”?????????? I nearly fell off my chair when I read that statement, but then I reminded myself that this is Armando speaking, and wy would I expect anything else from his lips?
I bet those affected by the fires would be *really* *really* *really* happy to know that their misfortunate has such a good end result–making Armando and his gang of followers very wealthy.
Alex…this is WHY the people who post here have issues with Armando. Armando is not about making the world a better place…Armando is about building an “empire” by taking advantage of the less fortunate.
When have you heard Armando say that he is going to help Latinos affected by the fires to rebuild and re-establish themselves? He doesn’t give a crap about them. He is about amassing wealth any way he can, even if that means standing by and watching his own raza lose everything they’ve worked so hard for.
You claim to take the posters in this forum to task because you believe, without having any actual information, that the people here don’t care about the misfortunes of others. Well, how, exactly, do you explain Armando’s 10/27 email claiming that the “good news” about the fire victims is that he and his followers are going to be able to make tons and tons of money???????
wyldwmn
wyldwmn wrote —
“The good news”?????????? I nearly fell off my chair when I read that statement, but then I reminded myself that this is Armando speaking, and why would I expect anything else from his lips?
I say Flopper needs to go on out to California and get those lips burnt off, of course Veronica would donate vaginal tissue to get his lips rebuilt. (not original idea, took from Nip/Tuck)
I also got the same email only I sent one back. I sent this to him a few minutes ago to wordpress@armandomontelongo.com
Can I get arrested for this or isn’t this Freedom of Speech?
Montelongo’s
I don’t know what to think and now that I have actually read the court records on your many, many businesses, I feel depressed that I was so gullible to almost spend my hard earned money on you and your products. I can’t even watch your flips anymore now that I have read this blog site. I was hungry to be just like you, had hopes and dreams to do flips like you. Now I am sickened I was almost conned. This is an unchristian life you are teaching your child and may the Lord help him when he finds out.
One more thing, this email was a clean address with no spam until I signed up at your site. Now, as explained to me by my email carrier, you have exploited my email address to those who wish to spam it to death, for money no less! I am learning, new to the computer life since my accident where I spent four months in a hospital four hours from my home town. I loved to watch Flip This House, looked forward to Saturdays, started getting out of my depression and saw an opportunity to do what you do once I could heal and get around again. Then our lawyer told us our first offer to settle out of court was for $200,000. Not enough to live on for the rest of our lives but something to invest into a new business.
I read this site, but of course it says on there and I have read it and believe it, that you are actually defending yourself by using other names. You need to check your morals and values. Are your parents proud of you? Why do you treat your hired help and your wife with disrespect? Pray!
Jennifer S_____(ashamed that I talked you up to anyone that would listen while in the hospital and since!)
http://www.flipthislawsuit.com/2007/04/16/anyone-purchased-armando-montelongos-real-estate-package/
My proof to you all my made up address just for correspondence with Flopper is
FlipFlopAM@__________ (wouldn’t mind yakking with some of you but there must be a way to do it without everyone (shillers) to see the carrier although Flopper now has it!
This is my response I received.
In a message dated 10/28/2007 1:35:19 PM US Mountain Standard Time, armando_montelongo@faqsupportsite.com writes:
Hi there,
We have received your request and have
issued the following tracking code: ZDK-44466-217
The subject on file is: YOUR GENERAL ENQUIRY
We are working diligently to get a reply
off to you so please, be patient and someone
will get in touch shortly.
also theres a banner on his site now and the wording says “I HAVE flipped up to 30 houses in a month”… this just keeps getting better and better
Timmy wrote: “also theres a banner on his site now and the wording says “I HAVE flipped up to 30 houses in a month”
I had a girlfriend once that flipped WELL OVER 30 HOUSES one month and probably 10 or so HOTELS! Four of us were playing Monopoly, she was getting her a$$ kicked and flipped the board over! LOL
‘Flip’, ‘Flipped’ or ‘Flipping’ as it relates to real estate is a completely subjective non word and means absolutely nothing ; )
Wonder when he says he has flipped 30 houses in a month if he is indeed referring to the game of monopoly that he plays with mondoman and veronica…that is probably how he arrived at that figure seeing as his ass is so not doing that in real life.
the key words are now HAVE and UP TO
AF wrote: “Can someone tell me out of all the real estate courses out there, which one actually works?”
“Take every piece of advice you get from any investment adviser with a barrel of salt. Most are trying to sell you things that you probably don’t need or want. Think for yourself.”
http://biz.yahoo.com/brn/071024/23269.html?.v=1&.pf=banking-budgeting
The Real Estate Wealth Expo The Learning Annex,,,,,perfect example. who attended? who many people were there? and what did every speaker including the video of trump say to the crowd? I have a pretty good idea of what was said, and I have never attended one. So the big question here is that give it that armando is a shark..he’s only one of many.but in a way we are all sharks, because we look for the best intrest of ourselves.
So why not start a blog about Donald Trump, Anthony Robbins, Robert Kiyosaki, And Suze Orman…you dont think any of them have screwed someone to get where they are,of course they have, this is like a mob here. you have to take out the big cheese to takes his place and you must have the back up of the followers,(gang). I think all of you against armando are tring but you havent even scratched the surface..Again these people can tell you how to grow rich and you will beleive them, and you think the tactics armando uses are different, well its not…thiers just has more frosting on it and is backed up with millionare lawyers, how do you think these lawyers became millionares, by listening to them and then protecting them. Its the Amerinca Way, Insurance companies BK all the time (well when it was easier to do) just so they dont payout, they screww people for millions, these california fires we have here, there will be many insurance companies filiing BK rather then paying up. and the one that do will raise our premium to get their LOSS back, so we pay the price, start a blog about that. They screw us twice and no one does anything about it…just a note there are worst people in this world that really hurt the people. Stop bulliing one person go after the pack…you cant save everyone. people still buy into the The Real Estate Wealth Expo and The learning annex and they will spend the money. so dont hate,.go make yourself some money and i hope everyone here finds their dream and follows it…….
all your bitching and complaining will not change the fact that people will follow. there are leaders in this world and dumbasses that follow them , just get over it and continue your life, theres nothing here.
P.s. mike where is you info posted, I will contact you directly so you will know who I am
Alex,
HOGWASH!
Regards,
Steve
PS. Sometimes less is more in a post ; )
Alex Montelongoid wrote:
well, something forgettable again!
I don’t have a real estate license, nor am I a flipper. What I do possess though, is intelligence and common sense. What I have witnessed here are numerous people attacking a man and his family for business practices that they don’t agree with. I think that a lot of this hatred towards Armando stems from jealousy (I can see the “I’m not jealous of Armando” emails already)….But I do think that many people on this site are simply jealous of his success and are bitter that they aren’t the ones with the television show, driving a Mercedes, wearing designer clothes or living in a home, mortgage free.
You can generally find those, who aren’t happy with their own lives, jumping to the front of the line to be the first to put others down or to say negative things about them. I would suggest working on your internal issues instead of bashing others…..hopefully then, you’ll find inner-peace and won’t need to attack others so that you can feel better about yourself.
Long story short……Stop hating on the man because he’s hugely more successful than you.
By the way….I’m not Armando, not one of his relatives…..not a friend of his…not even his vet’s, barber’s, sister’s, cousin’s, aunt’s, mechanic that once fixed her Toyota…..I’m just a guy from Denver that admires ANYONE for making their dreams come true…INCLUDING ARMANDO!!
Robbiej
Hey Steve in Tx, thanks for that website link, very good info on there.
I drove by the Quill house yesterday and one of the garage doors was partially open and it appears to be vacant.
In post #1232 Alex said:
“Stop bulliing one person go after the pack…you cant save everyone. people still buy into the The Real Estate Wealth Expo and The learning annex and they will spend the money. so dont hate,.go make yourself some money and i hope everyone here finds their dream and follows it…….
all your bitching and complaining will not change the fact that people will follow. there are leaders in this world and dumbasses that follow them , just get over it and continue your life, theres nothing here.”
So, Alex. I am just a little bit confused about what you are saying here and am hoping that you can help me with some clarification.
As I understand what you are saying, it is *NOT* ok for anybody here to be critical of Armando Montelongo, they should just “get over” their issues where he is concerned, and get on with their lives.
On the other hand you are saying that it *IS* ok for YOU to be here criticizing the people who are providing factual information to support their concerns, and that unlike the people who post here, you should NOT be getting over what they say and you should NOT be getting over your life.
Is that what you are saying? I am just asking because I just really want to understand if what you are saying is that if people here find factual support to address issues with the way Armando does business, that that is an entirely different thing from your posting personal attacks on people about whom you have no information whatsoever.
I’m sure that there is a very important difference between the facts that are posted here and your personal attacks. And I just really want to make sure that I am understanding that distinction as well as I can, so that I can learn about what is NOT OK and what is OK.
wyldwmn
Robbiej wrote:”Armando stems from jealousy (I can see the “I’m not jealous of Armando” emails already)….But I do think that many people on this site are simply jealous of his success and are bitter that they aren’t the ones with the television show, driving a Mercedes, wearing designer clothes or living in a home, mortgage free.
You can generally find those, who aren’t happy with their own lives, jumping to the front of the line to be the first to put others down or to say negative things about them. I would suggest working on your internal issues instead of bashing others…..hopefully then, you’ll find inner-peace and won’t need to attack others so that you can feel better about yourself.
Long story short……Stop hating on the man because he’s hugely more successful than you.”
Go read the main page on this site. Your boy, your idol had to fight off 7 forclosures in August, wes that is right 7. He needs to take out hard money morgages to finance his flips, he has to get these loans in his wifes name, and his contractors name, because his credit is shot to the point where his name is MUD to the lenders. Yea there is something to be jealous of. Me I am happy I drive a truck and drive a 03 Windstar. BTW the mercedes and the hummer, window dressing they don’t ownem its already been proven that they rent them! Before you reply do yourself the favour of reading all the posts on all the threads, get a education. You’ll see Armandos not the man!.
SteveinTexas ,,, DITTO 🙂
Alex/Armondo was that a confession ??
Robbiej: Intelligence and common sense eh?
Armando living mortgage free? Have you even attempted to count the number of defaults pending against him on mortgages? And jealous of his Hummer and Mercedes – you mean his LEASED hummer and Mercedes owned by GMAC?
Those aren’t even mortgaged – they’re rented.
Intelligence and common sense would dictate that you do more research before commenting because you’ve been had.
As to whether or not people commenting here are happy with their own lives, that is irrelevant. They post here because Armando is a proven thief and con artist and they want to limit his ability to enrich himself by victimizing others.
BTW: See my post on Armando Shill Notation and save yourself some typing next time.
MV
So he leases his vehicles……So what? 20% of all buyers choose to lease their vehicles……So put Armando in that 20%.
As far as his poor credit….Again, who cares? An estimated 15% of Americans (45 million people) have credit scores of 599 or less. Approx. 27% (81 million people) have credit scores of 649 or less……..So put Armando in the first group with the other 45 million people that have a credit score of 599 or less…..Who cares? Why don’t you write about the other 45 million people having crappy credit too?
Regarding the foreclosures…..Nearly 1.5 million homes out of the 80 million will be foreclosed on……So you can put Armando in that category too…..
It looks like to me that Armando is doing what millions of other Americans are doing as well……..Leasing vehicles, getting behind on their bills and exaggerating their accomplishments…….Welcome to the unfortunate, current U.S. trend!!! Now don’t get me wrong……I’m not suggesting that getting behind in your bills or not paying your debts is OK…It’s not…..But this guy is no different than millions…..MILLIONS of Americans…….Again….don’t misinterpret what I am saying…..I am in NO WAY condoning not paying your debts…I am also not justifying not paying by saying that it’s ok since millions of others aren’t paying their bills…….It’s NOT…..I just find it incredibly funny that so many people are exerting so much effort to bash this guy……Especially when he is doing a lot of the same things that I would speculate many of you, your friends, family, neighbors, and millions of other Americans have done as well……
It sure is interesting how so many people jump in line to throw stones…..
Robbiej
So your telling me that The Real Estate Wealth Expo The Learning Annex is Okay. Even if they claim to show you how to become rich,wealthy,independant.HMMM souns like what Armando is teaching, So its okay for the Big dogs to claim riches and wealth but the Little dog gets attacked.
Bottom line is you can say all you want and bitch all you want and you will not change a damn thing. from the thousands that have watched the show only a few that havent even tried the course are complaining , dont knock it til you try it, buy the product between all of you and try it, if it doesnt work then blame yourself. not everyones outcome is the same, its all about you, if you want it bad enough,, go get it. no one is going to hand you success you have to go and get it.
dont satisfy yourself with you lame ass life the sky is the limit, push yourself to grow dont get settle for what you have. buy the course and judge for yourself stop following others.
and mike where is your information posted?
and by the way most get rich books teach to lease or items and materials that depreciate in value HMMM cars fall into that catagory, never pay full price and never pay cash………you will lose money in the end.
Robbiej wrote: “An estimated 15% of Americans (45 million people).
After I saw that the rest of your post went in my visual ’round file’
Let’s just say your math skills are SORELY lacking.
Thanks for wasting my valuable 5 seconds
And Robbiej,
Just for laughs, what’s the credit score for those AMERICANS 12 years old and younger? ; )
Hmmmmmm……15% of 300 million is 45 million…….How are my math skills “lacking” Steve???…..
The difference Robbiej??? The millions of AMERICANS you talk about are NOT trying to sell me a book on how they became the way they are. They aren’t scamming thousands of people using a television network as a springboard. They aren’t billing themselves as “America’s largest residential real estate investor.” or “a multi-multi-millionaire.” and they aren’t “going to show you what made him so rich.”
They don’t as Judge Judy says “pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining!”
Robbiej I agree with you. Armando is no diffenent than millions of Americans, he’s broke to. Only difference is he’s to arrogant to admit it. Here’s your fiancial lesson for the day, courtesay of a card carrying Teamster truck driver. Ready here it is:
MULTI MILLIONAIRES DO NOT TAKE HARD MONEY LOANS, AT HIGH INTEREST RATES, THEY DO NOT LEASE OR RENT VEHICLES, THEY DO NOT FIGHT OF FORECLOSURES, THEY DO NOT HAVE POOR CREDIT OR CREDIT SCORES.
Why you ask? BECAUSE DUMB A$$ THEY ARE MULTI-MILLIONAIRES.
Robbiej,
Got any room in all those figures to show where I Q numbers fit in here? That’s one major statistic con artists use/abuse against those people to follow him. {notice, i didn’t put A.M.’s name here, just his profession} ;{}
Alex wrote: “So why not start a blog about Donald Trump, Anthony Robbins, Robert Kiyosaki, And Suze Orman”
I’ll blog about them. What evidence do you have that they scammed people? If it is only half as incriminating as the facts posted here about Armondo, please let us know. Maybe we could start a new thread.
How long before The Mando Mans name starts goin on loans…side note I have researched these Multi Level marketing scams…Russ Dalby Liberty League etc. They pray on the hopes and dreams of people who have no education, who want to :work from home” They DO NOT SELL PRODUCT, they Sell literature and “mentoring” and thousands of dollars later you have learned nothing…It is painfully obvious the same people behind these scams have gotten hooked up with the Montelongos, and theres a “new pretty face” to scam the public…Unfortunately people can dig up the houses Armando never sold and got foreclosed, very easily whereas these other “businesses” are so evily devised you Can never even figure out what they are selling…Side note its informercial 101…Look how happy we are we can go on vaction whenever we want!!! we barely work!!! look at our Hummer!!!
Robbiej wrote: “Hmmmmmm……15% of 300 million is 45 million…….How are my math skills “lacking” Steve???…..”
Well, dipstick! How many of those 300 million are legally old enough to sign an enforceable contract????
SHEESH!….
Another 5 seconds wasted for me
No competent bood nor advisor on wealth would teach anyone to lease a depreciating asset. LEasing vehicles makes sense only in very limited circumstances, and the use of a luxury vehicle by an individual is never one of those circumstances. Leasing vehicles is nearly always used by individuals when they cannot afford to buy the particular vehicle, and that is the case with Armando.
Lots of other people may indeed do the same things, but they aren’t publicly pretending to be rich and selling fraudulent advice claiming they can make others rich too.
You’re pushing a losing position. Give up.
RobbieJ,
Mike is dead on… It’s obvious that you have never had a business class (or maybe you did and just didnt pay close enough attention). In my FIRST entry level business class in college the professor addressed leasing versus buying. The scenario he gave was two twin brothers, both at age 21. One of them leases cars until retirement, the other BUYS a new car every 10 years.
Guess which one had more money spent more money at retirement? NOT the one who leased… The one who BOUGHT every 10 years… Even figuring in repair costs, etc, the brother who BOUGHT will have saved over $250,000 over the one who leased!
Hmmmm….
leasing a vechicle is tax deductable, if you purcahse the vechicle then its not. so if im paying 600 a month for a lease then i have a tax write off. a vechilce loses value as soon as it is driven off the lot. leasing give you the option to a tax write off and you get a new car every 2 years……
Corporation love tax write off’s and Im one of them.
yeah chris only an idiot like your professor and his followers(students ) will beleive that . no one in their right mind would lease a car until retirement that’s the stupids thing i ever heard. im sure the car dealers see his ass coming a mile away. tell you teacher to think of another example cause this is going to make you dumber.
Chris,
I’d hate to see his credit card debt total, and probably around 24% interest too.
He he he
Big corporations lease cars because it is cheaper to lease your fleet. Small business do not lease no real savings. I don’t know where you are, but any payment that is business related is tax deductable. Huge downside to lease is the milage cap. Think about it. Again DUMB A$$ I will spell it out for you M U L T I M I L L I O N A I R S D O N O T L E A S E C A R S T H E Y B U Y T H E M O U T R I G H T!!!!!! Why because they can afford to! Same as they don’t take hard money loans, they make em. Think about it. If flopper had all the money he says he has, did all the reno’s he claims he would be at a point in his business, where he would be able to pay cash for a house and the reno. YES DUMB A$$ PAY CASH.
Alex wrote:
“Corporation love tax write off’s and Im one of them”
Are you a corporation, or a tax write off for your parents STILL. You stick your foot in your mouth every time you post.
Remember Flopper lives in Texas and Flipper was a dolphin
leasing a vechicle is tax deductable, if you purcahse the vechicle then its not. so if im paying 600 a month for a lease then i have a tax write off. a vechilce loses value as soon as it is driven off the lot. leasing give you the option to a tax write off.
Oh Alex:
You can write off depreciation and interest (car note) on a car used for business :-).
I don’t think Armando did it for tax purposes. In fact, Bexar County file another delinquent tax suit against him on 10-25-2007 (file number 2007TA104885). AND he also owes 27,000+ (10,000 is past due) on his home.
And you still think he took the bull by the horns while laughing all the way to the bank?
sure did, in the end, hes stil making money and your all still bithcing and complaining, and jennifer i am a corporation, move out my parents home when I was 19 and made my first million at 24. now im 33 and i own a few properties and have fliped homes in san bernardino county , I have helped many of my clients buy and sell real estate and have helped them build a great investment portfolio. we also sell commericial property and if you ask me thats where the money is…..so jennifer stop watching oparh and go cook dinner your husband is on his way from work.
Greg you know nothing. tell us what you do for a living, besides flipping burger’s
Alex,
I didnt say lease the same car till retirement… DUH!!!!!!
Okay Alex,
I do not believe a freaking word you type or is that mistype. You have no clue. Prove how you made the million, heck just show us some little something. Again, as you have been asked, PUT UP OR SHUT UP!
“I do not have to read your nonsense anymore you montelongoid puppet.”
ALEX ,,, HELLOOO WE ALWAYS PROVE OURSELVES TO YOU !!! WHEN YOU NEVER PROVE YOURSELF TO US !!!!! DUH
ALSO ,,, GRAIG SAID HE DRIVES A TRUCK FOR TRADEMARK ,,, LEARN TO READ .
ARMONDO HAS BEEN PROVEN HE IS A SCAMMER WHICH YOU HAVE NEVER PROVEN OTHERWISE .
Apparently you dont have to know how to spell to flip houses
Alex learn to read english I already told you what I do for a living. As for flipping burgers I’d be surprised if you could do that.
Alex – you have no proof that Armando is making one single dollar, so stick to what you can prove. The FACT is that all evidence indicates that he is seriously insolvent and sinking like a rock.
And BTW, any assett owned by a corporation, including a car, can be used for tax writeoffs – look up what a depreciation schedule for business equipment is.
alex wrote: “made my first million at 24”
Yeah, sure you did.
Alex, I’ll be coming to your ‘window’ in about 10 minutes. I’ll have #3 Quarter Pounder with cheese and a Coke, and don’t forget to Super Size it
Alex, he is NOT making money. I just found a 2nd mortgage taken out by Armando on a house he and David own. The lender is one of his “testimonial students” Meredith Keller:
Doc# 20070255484
Loan Amount 11,000
Loan Date 8-29-2007
Filed: 10-30-2007
Question? Why would the Largest residential flipper in the nation, flips nearly 30 houses each and every month, master guru/investor, and a multi, multi,multi millionaire have to take such a “mickey mouse” loan – let alone have to use one of his houses as collateral?
The answer is simple. HE IS DESPERATE FOR CASH AND/OR BROKE!
PS. In his latest videos, he now driving the Mercedes, did the lease on the Hummer expire or was it repoed?
Boyson,
Thats good detective work! Bravo!
No no no no I do not drive for Trademark. I am a card carrying Teamster.
Well done, Boyson. Not only does that loan demonstrate how desperate Armando is for cash, it also illustrates that he can’t even borrow an amount ($11,000) that most people can get on a credit card, HELOC, etc. More than likely he has terrible credit in addition to being a fraud.
Alex wrote:
“so jennifer stop watching oparh and go cook dinner your husband is on his way from work.”
Just one more thing you looney, my husband fell to his death November 8, 2006 in a work related accident, and hell yes I would love to be able to watch Oprah. I would give anything accept money to that phoney Flopper to get my husband back.
One of them leases cars until retirement, the other BUYS a new car every 10 years.
THESE ARE YOUR WORDS CHRIS….PENDEJO
Jennifer, I am sorry for your loss. I aplolgize to you for that comment.
As far as my first million, I am a real estate broker and have agents and loan officers under my brokerage, Thats how me and my company made my first million. As you know the market in California has always been good until the recent decline in March.
Any other quesitons?
Just Mad,,,,you dont know anything……just stay mad and out of the way, cheerleader
I have come to defend myself. I am the man. You all suck
STUP THE HATING (sorry my fat fingers cant type) I made 93 flips last month, I don’t beleive in paying taxes or bills!
Alex is my best friend!
just kidding. I’m not Armando. Just one of his many (total of 4-including Alx) followers
what are you all crying about. are you jealous or what?
It is truly amazing to me how many people on here have come to waste their time disputing Armando’s principles and strategies for being successful in real estate, yet not one of them so far have posted any real data supporting their opposition. His personal philosophy is to simply help people who are under duress from financial destruction regarding the possession of their property, and yeah, he teaches you how to capitalize on that – why would you not want to anyways?? Duh, it doesn’t take a rocket-scientist to figure out that if you didn’t buy the property for a cheap price and sell it for a higher value, you wouldn’t make a profit. I have his Master Home study course, both of his DVD’s, his audio book, and his CD that has ALL of the forms necessary to buy, sell, and make money in real estate. Additionally, I have personally talked to Armando several times over the course of the last few months. He is committed to helping people, and helping them succeed. Statistics will prove true, he simply CANNOT flip every single house he comes in contact with, either in the San Antonio are or anywhere else – the number of pre- and forclosure, burnt or flooded homes, and people looking to avoid a situation about to turn worse simply means that their are plenty more homes around than investors can gobble up!
Armando does flip 25-30 homes a month. That doesnt mean that he rehabs them in one or two days and then sells them – how foolish and narrow minded is that assumption! It is a system….buy a house this month, spend 3-4 weeks rehabbing it, sell it next month. Multiply this formula times 25-30, plus a good deal of “leveraging your money” and it can be done!
I sincerely believe that if most of the people on here had invested HALF of the time it took to post all of the derogatory comments on here, and had used that time to properly research Armando Montelongo, his system of rehabbing, they would be successful like the rest of us, and certainly would be doing other things than entertaining skepticism!
WOW Now Armando, I mena *cough* Alex speaks Spanish..Pendejo!!! What scam Armando has keep re-fing to put cash in your pocket and let houses forcelose, eventually I see loan fraud and and prison in your future, Nice Benz now!!!
Alex,
here is a learning lesson for you ,, I am going to admit that I am wrong ,,,,
here is it ,, Post 1274 Greg I am sorry for giving the wrong informatino aabout you , TY for correcting me 🙂
See, Alex thats not hard
Of course alex / Armondo you rather insult me than show prove ,, so typical .
my god but you people need to give it a rest…..you come across as a group of sniveling old women.if hes guilty of any crime other than bad taste,he will go to jail.otherwise…..leave him alone.you really dont have anything better to do than this?seriously…get a real life.
Wow. I’ve had to come back to this thread over a couple of days to read it all, follow the hyperlinks, etc. Don’t even remember how I surfed in here, and now y’all feel like old friends.
As an avid DVR-er of all the flipping and DIY shows, I would primarily watch them for tips, to see what others are paying for improvements, and to view other’s mistakes so I could learn at other’s expense. I myself am what one would call a rehabber, but I rehab very slowly and while living in the property so I can take full tax advantage. Also, living my life and working my day job, which pays over six figures, kind of gets in the way of flipping property fast. So real estate investing is a way for me to build wealth on the side, although it has long been my fantasy to quit the day job and just buy, fix up, and then sell houses for a living.
There is no way to get rich fast other than being one in 37 million who bought the right lottery ticket that week. It is possible to make money over the long term though. By way of example, I bought my first property at the age of 21 back in 1988. It was a studio condo in the Chicago area that cost $40K and I put $8K down and my mortgage payments were $276mo. Before I moved in, I gutted the bathroom, stripped 8 layers of paint off trim and hardware and repainted everything. Lived in it one year, then moved out and began renting it for $500/mo. The $500/mo covered my mortgage, condo fees, taxes, and I was able to pocket a few extra bucks as a cushion for repairs, carpet and paint between tenants. Slowly over the years, the rent climbed to $800/mo as the market dictated. I also filed a schedule E with my personal taxes and although I was making money on the property, due to depreciation of the property, I was able to take a tax write-off every year. In 1992 I became a long distance landlord and moved to Houston. In 1999 I did a cash-out equity refinance and pulled $20K out to invest in another business. In 2005 I finally sold it for $107K to the current tenant (no realtor fees so I discounted it to him) who was renting it after spending $2K on improvements to the kitchen for him as part of the deal. In 17 years, it was paid for pretty much by the tenants, it had triple appreciated from it’s original purchase price, I had the side bonus of it being a tax write-off for years, and I walked away with a chunk of change to go invest in something else, plus I’d already pulled $20K out of it 7 years earlier to make money elsewhere. In 16 years I never had a bad tenant, just one temperamental slob who in retrospect wasn’t that bad. The only reason I sold it was I didn’t want to manage it long distance anymore and wanted to put that money into the Houston real estate market.
My aunt has purchased one rent house every year for the past 20 years and in my family we call her the real estate queen. Pretty much the same formula, but she has 9 kids she puts to work every time she gets another house – one cousin is a roofer, another a carpenter, everyone can paint, and so on. I wouldn’t even want to venture a guess at her net worth.
I’m just a regular divorced single mom, high school education, living comfortably. I’ve gone to my local REI club meetings a couple of times when they’ve had an interesting speaker, but the most I’ve paid is $50 for an afternoon of advice on how to be my own general contractor, and it was worth every penny. I’ve spent a bunch on reasonably priced DIY books and the like over the years. I wouldn’t buy a course from someone like Armando who couldn’t swing a hammer to build a playhouse for his son. I think he admitted in that episode he had no construction skills. It would be sort of like going for medical advice to someone who watched ER and diagnosed you after searching WebMD.
I can tell you that I have lots of people who think I’m successful and want my advice to shortcut the process for themselves, but in reality, it’s a lot of time spent actually working on a project a little at a time. The only daydreaming is about paint colors or imagining how it will look when it’s finished. It’s a journey, not a destination.
Mike Voss – are YOU single? I actually snorted at your ASN idea. How about we go get some margaritas together?
Warren wrote: “I have his Master Home study course, both of his DVD’s, his audio book, and his CD that has ALL of the forms necessary to buy, sell, and make money in real estate.”
Well you certainly sound like you’re ready then. Ready to take the NEXT step and cough up $14,500 for his mentoring program
John to found this site by searching for Fishing Tackle
Warren: Bullsh_t. Post proof of one single transaction where you made a profit using Armando’s methods and tell us exactly how you applied them.
You’re nothing but another shill spewing the same unsupportable BS we’ve heard 100 times now.
Warren (Armando) wrote: “I sincerely believe that if most of the people on here had invested HALF of the time it took to post all of the derogatory comments on here, and had used that time to properly research Armando Montelongo”
We’ve done exactly that, “properly searched” the publicly available property records of his (your) transactions. If the results of that are “derogatory” I don’t know what to tell you
Seems to me like “Steve in Texas” and “Mike Voss” are both in the same narrow canoe drifting out to sea. I have been in real estate for a few years now, and have not found anything that Armando has said in his Master Course to be disputed by other sources. He has short-cutted the time it takes to find forms, and has put together a good strategy that is a baseline for rehabbing properties subject to my own moderation for my specific use. Properly researched??? You havent shown one credible iota of detail. Montelongo is a popular name, and being someone who is a native of San Antonio and now living up north, it could be anyone whose information you claim to be against Armando himself. I don’t need his mentoring program for both of two reasons 1.)I am educated enough, persistent enough, and diligent enough to govern my own investments, and 2.)I talk to Armando directly about any issues I might have, if and WHEN I might not be able to find the answer on my own accord and due to my own research. I certainly don’t feel the need to “prove” myself to anyone in here, and last time I checked, the only persons that I need to account to was the IRS. Good luck on your searches for negative information, and rest assured while you are looking up stupid petty details, which no one really cares about, I will be chasing my next deal!
Warren,
Please put me in that canoe as well… If Mike Voss and Steve in Texas are both in it, I know its headed in the right direction!!!! Thanks!
Alex,
Gee, thanks for telling me what I wrote… I am very familiar… However, I NEVER said leasing the SAME car until retirement… Rather a series of cars until retirement…. Who’s the PANDEJO now you tool?! lol
… Your pathetic…
Oh and by the way, we are still waiting for your proofs… Oh yeah, you dont have any!
Montelongo Foreclosure and Court Activity
Friday, October 12, 2007
It appears that Armando Montelongo experienced difficulty with some recent financing from VCH Funding Corporation. Montelongo’s company, Mandoman Management, Inc., fought off August 7, 2007, foreclosures on four separate properties by obtaining a temporary restraining order, allowing Montelongo the time necessary to line up alternate financing. The restraining orders ended on August 21, 2007. The cases now indicate that they have been terminated. Neither Montelongo’s Attorney nor VCH Funding have returned calls requesting comment.
You can view the court documents to learn more.
Stopping the foreclosures, if alternate funding can be obtained, is an very smart move. Same allows the lender to receive cash instead of properties, and allows the owner to continue forward with efforts to sell the properties for a profit. An important lesson to be learned in the current real estate market is that owners should communicate with their lenders when business is not going as planned. Often, lenders are willing to work with a borrower, or will at least delay action if the borrower presents a solid plan that benefits all parties.
Additionally, public records searches have uncovered additional foreclosures and civil cases, all of which may be of interest to our readers. Due to the high cost of copying, some of the civil cases only include dockets, and some foreclosures do not include deeds or trust and acquisition deeds.
Properties:
1139 Lombrano Trustee Sale
114 Repose Deed of Trust
114 Repose Trustee Sale
114 Repose Warranty Deed
131 Bristol Deed of Trust
131 Bristol Trustee Sale
131 Bristol Warranty Deed
1410 Thorain Trustee Sale
1419 Woodlawn Trustee Sale
158 Ballard Deed of Trust
158 Ballard Trustee Sale
158 Ballard Warranty Deed
238 Basswood Deed of Trust
238 Basswood Trustee Sale
238 Basswood Warranty Deed
254 St Francis Deed of Trust
254 St Francis Trustee Sale
254 St Francis Warranty Deed
3123 Hicks Trustee Sale
Camada Trustee Sale
Colina Moderena Trustee Sale
Devoto Trustee Sale
F Street Trustee Sale
Gardina Trustee Sale
Gibbs Sprawl Trustee Sale
Jefferson Trustee Sale
Kashmuir Trustee Sale
Lennon Trustee Sale
Pleasure Park Trustee Sale
Rivas Trustee Sale
Rose Trustee Sale
Rosewood Trustee Sale
San Carlos Trustee Sale
San Eduardo Trustee Sale
Topeka Trustee Sale
Weidner Trustee Sale
Winnepeg Trustee Sale
Civil Cases:
Allison, et al v Armando Montelongo LTD, et al
Bexar County, et al v Montelongo Acquisitions Inc, et al
Escalante, et al v Montelongo Developments LLC, et al
Montelongo v Waring Investments, Inc.
Olsen, et al v Montelongo Inc, et al
Summers v Armando Montelongo, et al
Thus far, the producers of Flip This House have been unwilling to show viewers less than successful results. As the market declines, property flippers across the country are suddenly finding that they’ve overbuilt, overpaid, or overestimated demand in their areas. Now is a perfect opportunity for A&E to show the bad, as well as the good.
Failure can often be more educational than success.
Hmmmmmm this is not the same Armando? Please post proof of your claims.
I came here to see if anyone knows if Armondo Montelongo’s book was self-published or went through a legitimate publishing house. Some of the tales of hawking ebooks through his website make me think all his materials were self-published.
Anyone know for certain?
What I find sad, is A&E will keep Flopper on, even though he is so full of sh!t his eyes are brown, but they suspend Dog, because he used the ‘n’word.
Well then “Warren”, you should have NO PROBLEM POSTING PROOF OF SOME PROFITABLE TRANSACTIONS HERE. LET’S SEE THEM.
You won’t, and we all know why: you have none. Just like Armando. (if not EXACTLY like, which is more likely)
To everyone reading this blog: note one consistent thing since day one: NO PURPORTED SUPPORTER OF ARMANDO HAS *EVER* POSTED PROOF OF EVEN A SINGLE SUCCESSFUL REAL ESTATE TRANSACTION HERE. You cannot hide them -they are public record. They cannot be faked – the records don’t lie.
CONVERSELY, VERIFIABLE PROOF OF DOZENS OF FAILED TRANSACTIONS, SUCH AS ALL THE FTH PROJECTS, HAVE BEEN WELL DOCUMENTED.
Shill post after shill post, a new name every few days saying the same old stuff or some new twist on it, and yet the same thing has never been posted: PROOF OF EVEN ONE SINGLE SUCCESSFUL TRANSACTION.
The point of Armando’s crap is that it supposedly enables you to buy real estate and sell it for a profit, right? So tell me Warren, Alex, etc., etc. why the hell is it not one of you can post proof of a SINGLE profitable transaction???
I’ll tell you why: because there ARE NONE. 1300 posts over 6 months is enough. If anyone is still considering buying Armando’s garbage, ask yourself one simple question: if it works, why is there no proof of it and and tons of proof to the contrary???
END OF STORY. It has been proven beyond any doub t that Armando is a fraud and his materials are worthless.
CAVEAT EMPTOR
I was going to buy it on ebay, but then I remembered you can’t burn a ebook, so it has no value as a combustible either.
Cadge™,
Nice post! ; )
well said Warren, a busines like ours is not for everyone, if you a chicken like most here then they wont jump in head first. i have and have made a few good investments and bad ones, were no different than our stock broker telling us where we should invest, in this business you have to trust who you work with and these people here have no knowledge of what they can do if they take the risk. enjoy your 400 a month social security check. when you retire.
i wil not need it because i am doing something about it now and not waiting on the goverment to take care of me. i rather learn the tricks of the trade now then wait til im 65 and not have a chance to live like i want live. everyone with a problem cannot make it in this world, they want proof, well tell us who your are and where you are. i just dont give information to anyone,search public records do your homework…..live and learn you old farts!!!!!!!!!!1
im glad a and e renewed montelongo.hes entertaining as hell.btw,i think the point of business is to make the largest roi.if armando can make profit on houses by taking a million shortcuts ,more power to him.this isnt habitat for humanity.its about the money.
Alex,
Nice try! 🙂 You wrote “they want proof, well tell us who your are and where you are. i just dont give information to anyone,search public records do your homework…..”
Christopher Sullins
Lincoln Park, MI 48146
(313) 999-5275
Know you know who I am… And you know who Mike is as he has posted his contact info on here as well… Now man up and put where your transactions were… We’ll see…
But I am betting you will still play the coward role and not do it… As there ARE NONE in your case… Your a wanna be… A sad, sad, wanna be…
alex wrote: were no different than our stock broker telling us where we should invest.
Well there you go. You’re too lazy to figure out where to invest on your own??
You need a BROKER to THINK for you????
Shepple…bahhh bahhh
alex the brain dead illiterate loser follower wrote: “well tell us who your are and where you are.”
I’m Steve in Texas but this coming Tuesday through Thursday I’ll be at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas. Next question.
Alex wrote that he didn’t give out information to anyone, search public records do your homework. That is just a stupid statement.
You typed in Post 1278 that your were a real estate broker in California.
Well, I did some searching in California and found that is where Armando bought his tank of gas to get to Texas. My search shows that he and Veronica have been involved with some sketchy real estate transactions in Santa Ana (Orange County) 3 addresses, Upland and Chino (San Bernadino County)another 6 addresses, and Riverside Riverside County) with 7 addresses, in California. And that is searching only by name and today I am searching by all his aliases. I am still researching, not because I am an old fart, age 32, but to show proof that Flopper ran from California on his last tank of gas because he was in deep $hit for the same stuff he is doing in Texas. I also am looking for YOU! If you are truly an Alex I am having problems locating you doing what you say in California. Care to be a little more in general? I am sick of the mis-information and $hit stirring coming from shillers. What does it take to get accross that this site was meant to help people NOT TO GET CONNED? My friend got mail from Floppers site offering to sell her one of his products for 1/2 off. If you look on Ebay his crap is selling/not selling for less than $3. I also have never got a reply from the email I sent him about this web site. How can he reply to the truth?
Armando, come out and face the concrete!
Alex,
Everything you need to know about me is on my highlighted handle, click on it! ; )
Alex, Good posting. I dont care if you others are stupid enough to post your personal information and additionally request “supporting documents”. I don’t have anything to prove to anyone, but to myself and my family and in that arena I am kicking ass! Additionally, hired counsel keeps me in compliance with state and federal law, and the IRS is happy and not hounding down my doorstep, and those are the only things that matter most. Seems to me that “Steve in Texas” and “Mike Voss” are typical hypochondriacs that are against people who prefer to rehab a house and make money on the WHOLE deal versus a commission. Kudos to you for your hard earned commission…..I would rather sign my own checks that live off of someone else’s crumbs! Even if people DID fax credible documentation showing that a profitable deal was made, you would then doubt how I handled the flip and want more proof…. Then you would question other avenues of my management and so on and so on. The crap would never quit because you are so bored with you abundant free time in between commissions that you have nothing better to do those of us like Alex and myself that are trying to earn a better dollar in a faster more efficient way. I will give you some FREE advice now – Learn to work SMARTER, not HARDER. John hit it on the head for those of you who didnt do “Hooked on Phonics for RE guru’s”…..its all about the money. If you make yours your way, and I make mine MY way – who cares what method YOU used???
Blah blah blah is all alex (Armondo) says no substance what-so-ever .
Why are you ignoring Mike Voss’s post 1298 ?? Cause you know he is right about you . CHICKEN 🙂
john wrote:
“im glad a and e renewed montelongo.hes entertaining as hell”
Don’t count your chickens til your eggs hatch buddy. This site is getting around, and around and around………..
Thank you Steve in Texas 😉
AlexArmandoinsert_shill_name_of_choice, I’m not an old fart. This is who I am —> http://www.myspace.com/karenjensenclark I live in Houston, Texas 77071, soon to be Bellaire, Texas 77401 (chasing my next deal and a better place for my next flip). If you email me through myspace I’ll give you my phone number. I’m not afraid to share details about myself. I want proof about yours. And I’m making it just fine, have a great life, few problems, and won’t be needing social security OR an Armando course to achieve my financial goals, thanks for your concern. I’m just here because this amuses me in between trips to Home Depot.
I thought I’d share the way I financed my last car as another way to keep your own money in your pocket and still get what you want. (Armando, listen up, you might want to put thes legitimate ideas in your ‘courses’, feel free to steal this material as you’ve borrowed from other sources) First of all, I’m lucky enough to have enough cash on hand to go buy a new car outright. But then, after handing all that money over to a car dealer, I would no longer have that cash, and would have purchased a depreciating asset that immediately lost value once I drove it off the lot and would continue to depreciate. Cars are not an investment. They are, however, a necessary way of life in Texas due to our lack of good public transportation and long distances to get anywhere. So, no matter what, I must have a car. I already have an 11 year old Saturn with 235K miles on it that was paid for a long time ago that I use for beating around town. I kept it because it’s reliable and cheap to maintain. But I recently wanted a second brand new car (my other second car, a Buick Regal of the same age was donated to charity at the time) to flaunt my status a little without being too ostentatious or flashy.
Here’s the math: I purchased a new Beetle convertible and “financed” $20K. I took $20K of my own money and purchased a 5 year CD at my credit union that was paying 4.5% return, with the option if the interest rates went up I could bump it upwards (‘step-up’) twice with no penalty. I then pledged that $20K CD as security on a secured loan to myself for 5 years at 6% (locked in). I have the added benefit that the car was then completely paid for when I drove it off the lot and if I really was ever strapped for cash in an emergency, I could always borrow against the car. I also didn’t have to worry about getting approved for a loan, and my credit union reports my payments to the credit agencies, improving my credit. Because my payments are automatically debited, I have a perfect loan payment record.
Now, you might say, hey, if the CD is earning less interest than the interest of the loan, how is that a good idea? You can check this out at any loan calculator and/or investment calculator site (Bankrate.com has good ones), but here is the math in short: $20K CD for 60 months at 4.5% intersest compounding daily earns $25,046 after 5 years. (Remember I have two options to ‘step-up’ the CD if interest rates go up so I might make more, which I did when it hit 5%, but I’m keeping the math here simple.) My payments on a $20K loan for 60 months come to $386.66mo and the total amount of payments over the life of the loan is $23,200. Basically, it’s a forced savings plan where over 5 years I actually make $1,846 (subtract loan payments made to CD maturity value). While not the greatest ROI, the car is still paid for and worth something, my credit union actually lost money on the deal (if you hate banks like I do, it’s kind of fun to do this – sticking it to them and beating them at their own game), and I have $25K after five years to go do it again. Because, let’s face it, no matter what, yes, I have to have a car and I’m going to have to buy one somehow no matter what. Just better that I get to keep my money and profit off myself instead of letting a finance company get it. Worst case scenario, if I had a huge real life emergency and could no longer make the payments, I liquidate the CD and pay off the loan and keep the remainder, but that’s not going to happen and it’s a nice secure feeling to have.
While I know most people don’t have enough cash on hand to do this themselves, it’s a worthwhile goal to work towards getting one’s current car paid off, keep driving it, and then take what you were making in payments and sucking it up and saving that money so you can finance your next purchase yourself. Not a shortcut to success, just a long term plan towards financial security. It takes years to build wealth, not months. Just like you can’t lose 20 pounds in a week unless you cut off your arm, one has to work at it and then keep working at it once you get to goal marker and then make a new goal. There is no instant gratification.
This financing idea would work for more than just cars, like financing a boat, an education, or a way to finance your own flip, or then only borrow against a property’s value with a regular or hard money lender for a construction loan and securing it with the property if necessary. I’d rather go to an investor I might line up and say hey, I’d like to borrow $100K, but let’s hedge your security interest by buying a CD(s), borrowing against the CD(s) (show them the math), I’ll go buy the property whose ARV is $150K but selling for $70K (you make your money when you buy right, right?), put $30K of estimated improvements into it, and after realtor fees and carrying costs, we’ll net maybe $25-30K to split. And your money is secure in a bankcredit union. And then we can go do it again. Because the rates you can get with a bank doing it that way are way less than the 17%+ charged by the hard money lenders, and the math still works out in your favor after you figure in the amount paid in principalinterest earned, etc. That, my friends, is “Creative Financing 102”. And I don’t have to defraud any lender or friends to do it.
I’d also like to add that there is a new Texas state law on the books as of September 1st that says “…home builders slightly more accountable if they build a defective home, and also have broadened the definition of who qualifies as a builder… House flippers and other individuals who rehabilitate homes don’t have to register as “builders,” but need to be aware that they must guarantee their fixer-upper work.”…”…Starting Sept. 1, remodelers who do more than $10,000 of work to a home will have to register with the Texas Residential Construction Commission.”…”Pretty much anyone — other than decorators and interior designers — who makes more than $10,000 in “material improvements” to a home and doesn’t occupy it for a full year, also will have to give the same warranty on the improvements that a builder would”…”It includes, for example, people who build their own home and sell it quickly, or who quickly rehab an existing property and put it back on the market. “If the owner sold within a year, the homeowner has to warrant the home,” said Patrick Fortner, spokesman with the TRCC.” Previously, the amount was $20K. The TRCC also now can issue cease-and-desist orders to try to stop people from building homes or doing remodeling work if they repeatedly have refused to register or have let their registrations lapse. FYI – I didn’t find the Montelongos listed when I searched the TRCC website.
WarrenArmandoinsert_shill_name_of_choice:
Where there is smoke, there’s fire.
I’m not stupid for posting personal info; unlike you, I have nothing to hide and can conduct my life as an open book. Unlike you, I don’t have an attorney on retainer to make sure I’m in compliance with the law because I’m not doing anything shady. Let us know when you have something constructive, informative and useful to share with the masses. Oh, and legal. Please give us some detail or wisdom dripping you learned from Armando that assisted you in making a profit since you bought his courses? Share. Or does my math confuse you?
FYI, a hypochondriac suffers from extreme depression of mind or spirits often centered on imaginary physical ailments. I don’t see what relation that has to general concern about rip-off artists? Contrary to your position, I believe Mike Voss and Steve in Texas, among other regular contributors, are PRO-flipping and making money, as long is it is done honestly.
P.S. You seem overly concerned with the IRS.
All I can do is just shake my head at some of you. You guys are insane. Your hatred or fascination of Armando Montelongo to this level is incomprehensible and a waste of time. There are tons of people out there like this guy but do we need to create a website or lawsuit for every single person with an infomercial on late night television?
I guess what really makes me sick is another stupid lawsuit like this one.
I purchased a home that was a flip house… The sellers however did not mention anything about the mold growing underneath the freshly laid sheet rock or crawl space thought until my family started getting ill. I’m in a real lawsuit fighting that right now. Somehow my lawsuit equals out to about 10k but something as retarded as this could equate out to millions somehow.
I neither love or hate armando montelongo. I occasionally watch the show and find his episodes to be the most entertaining. I saw that he had a book out and decided to have a quick look and stumbled upon this. While I have not purchased and probably will not purchase it, this web site has had no effect on my decision and is WAY overkill. Thank you for once again reminding me how I hate our justice system.
I hope that no one makes a dime from this and it seems to me that the creator is either out of his mind or is making a get rich quick scheme of his own. On that note I’d like to leave everyone with this question. What has this guy ever done personally to ANYONE on these boards?
Nate,
I’m a little confused by your defense of a ‘flipper’ like Armando whom, if you’ve followed what happened with the Cat House, would sell to you a defective house like the one you are now suing your sellers about. I sense greater personal frustration over the legal process and the justice system. I witness it firsthand every day; one rarely gets the kind of justice they deserve. There has been plenty posted here substantiating Armando’s shoddy workmanship performed in his projects under his supervision. Have you read every post?
I don’t either love or hate Armando Montelongo, as much as I’m appalled by his business practices, which is what draws me here, because of what I do for a living. As such, I have the ability to dig a little further than most and make certain inquiries of governing bodies here in the State of Texas because my curiousity is piqued. I’m in the process of doing so, but it’s too soon for me to respond with any findings in detail.
While Armando has not done anything to me personally, I think some posters have stated he nearly took their hard earned money (or did shake a few bucks out of them) and they are grateful they stumbled in here. If this thread has saved one person, it’s been well worth it. Heck, you yourself didn’t buy his books or his courses.
This whole website is really just meant to keep us informed about the lawsuit over how A&E stole Richard Davis’ idea. This thread within said website is specific to Armando Montelongo. There are other about the other FTH participants. I don’t think anyone is making any money except A&E.
Good luck in your lawsuit.
Cadge™
your fiancing on your beelte is genius. I recently had to purchase a newer vehicle, as my older and paid for one was totaled in a accident, that was not my fault. I told my wife we would do something similar. Make the payments on the van because it builds and reinforces good credit. If our settlement from the insurance company was greater or equal to the borrowed amount on the new car, we would take that and drop it in to secured CD’s at a decent interest return rate. The premise is the same, we would come out ahead if not equal in the end.
If you want to learn how to cut courners watch Holmes on Homes.
Armando says in his free vid clip on his site, “over estimate your construction costs by $20,000.00 take that and put it in your pocket. You get paid at the start and at then end when the house sells. Now borrowing an extra $20 grand is not getting paid, it is a loan, and that $20 grand is money you have to pay interest on and you have to pay it back….so in a nut shell all you did was put yourself farther in debt, and takes away from your bottom line, if the market drops, or if you have hidden costs.
To everyone here against people like Armando. Instead of writting about it, do something about it. You want to help people not get scammed. Your all well financed, produce a commercial and have all the networks play it 24 hours a day. If you really care. I doubt you will, because your all so perfect. Look back at your life, youll see your not perfect. So stop tring to be Mother Teresa and the Pope. Life is Life, I do what I do for myself and my family,and i can sleep at night with no hesitation. You want to stop the con’s and scammers? If you succedd then who will run the country, all the con’s are ,the president, (convinced all you red blood amerincas about weapons of mass destruction) that’s your president)politicians, congress,councilmen, corupt police,county employees looking for a kick backs(and belive me we have been hit quite a few times by city inspectors).Predators,theres a whole website on them, pick one and go protest in front of his home..Those are your criminals,Steve and Mike you know where Armando is why dont you go and confront him.
Nate your issue is hard I can agree, but if your were represented by a Realtor then that realtor should have suggested a physical inspection of the propety at the beginning of the transaction, second that realtor should have given you a past history of the property thru “public records”. at that point you either do the inspection or sign a waiver, if your realtor did not do any of these then you have a right to confront him/her. If you werent represented by a realtor, then Good Luck on getting the seller to pay you to fix the problem. Its tuff, that is why people should always use or at least consult a REALTOR.
Good Luck Nate.
Hey Steve I will see you in Vegas, I will be there also. Look for me @ the Poker table, take Mike with you.
And Chris your an idiot…….Cadge get a job CEO of you couch is not profitable ( you can always sell your beetle)……..AND WARREN !!!SEE YOU AT THE TOP!!!!
Warren: (rhymes with “moron” kinda)
Your tirades don’t even make sense. I’m a builder – I get paid by selling at a profit, not any kind of commission. You sound *exactly* like Armando, including talking about nonsense and things you don’t comprehend.
Nate: That’s brilliant. You got screwed on a house you bought that was sold to you with mold – a significant defect bad enough to kill you or cause the house to possibly need to be torn down – and yet you cannot understand why people spend time here preventing Armando from doing the same thing to anyone buying a house from him and, of more concern, people buying a worthless course from him? Had you done proper research in advance you would have hired a certified, competent inspector who should have found signs of that mold and referred you to a specialist for more testing.( or offered to do it themself if they are mold certified which most inspectors are NOT, btw)
As you;re probably not an expert, you should have done research to see what you needed to get inspected and how before making the purchase – there are many sites to tell you this information.
Just like people who might buy Armando’s crap should do their research first…and find everything unearthed and exposed here. THAT is why people spend their time here for free. Then, if they make the mistake of giving away their money, we did what we could.
That you don’t see the point of why we’re here other than to think we’re expressing “hatred or fascination” leads me to believe you missed the point entirely just like you missed following the proper steps to not get stuck with a house full of mold.
Probably this site hasn’t much to offer you. Best of luck with your remediation.
Mike Voss
I have to admit that “Steve in Texas” and “Mike Voss” are the real idiots here. Have you bought Armando’s Master home study course? I am wondering on how you judge his real estate strategies and call him a scammer when you havent reviewed or studied what he has to offer. You both are hypochondriacs because you have nothing else better to do but belly-ache about something you don’t understand…..blah blah blah and more blah….like a bunch of old geese that cant make up their mind if they need to eat or crap. I challenge you to publish a book or make a informative website, or produce a video that can educate people on a better way to do flip’s….until then spare the rest of us the rose garden of crap. Its not like your crap doesn’t stink either or you’ve never made a few mistakes. We all have and while I learned from mine, I hope you were paying attention enough to do the same.
Me concerned about the IRS??? Not reall, I sleep VERY well at night, and I use every loop hole I can to avoid wasting money to a fiscally irresponsible government, and keep the profits in my pocket where they belong. Funny how every real estate transaction is similiar in one way or another, and Armando has put together a package that better helps other understand the process, additional strategies, and other concepts in a way that has never been discussed before. Sounds to me as though you are a bit jealous and insecure that you didnt capitalize on this opportunity but you know – the early bird gets the worm!
Greg is on the list of complete morons all by himself. If you watch the video again, Armando said he used a PRIVATE LENDER which allowed him to surpass the 70% ARV. Then he said he only NEEDED 40k for repairs out of an allowance for 60k, thus having the 20k to put in his pocket up front, and later use for overages if needed. Watch the video again, and maybe you will learn something. The concept isnt really that hard, so the rest of the class will help you out if you need extra help…..
If Cadge is so worried about A&E stealing Richard Davis’ idea, why are they still showing his show? I haven’t read a blog anywhere where Richard has complained about a single thing…..
Hey Alex, dont worry…..why these idiots are wasting time complaining about every single thing in life – we will be stealing the deals before they get to them!
I will make this short. If you do not like what is on this site then stop reading, posting and aggrevating. If you can’t Put Up then Grow The He!! Up.
Freedom of Speech is what we are all entitled to but I believe it was written and passed for sites like this to get the Right information to the public. I would love to call a few of you Schmucks but then I would drop to your level. I am finding unbelievable amounts of information on Flopper and having a blast doing it.
adios for todays post but more to follow,
Jen
Armando I mean Warren, if I put the $20 grand in my pocket cause I got paid at the start, and I spend that money on oh I dunno things like tools and gas, food for my family, and I run short then I screwed myself, right? Is this where you come in and save my flip, by buying me out at a discount?
oh ya I am the dumbass right. My money is in my pocket not yours I mean Armando’s. Makes me a hell uve alot smarter than you!
Sorry Also found this site, now Armando claims to find this Joel Therien Character and they made $1300 in ONE minute with his sytem haha they are unreal
http://gvolive.com/
Side note his “trick” is using his name in a URL to get you money in an affiliate program…So you become an “affiliate” of Armando and you create a web address such as http://www.imanidiot.armandomontelengo.com
You get paid a certian affiliate amount for every cd collection ebook you sell that someone buys through your URL
Alex,
Nice of you to address my post to you… UNfortunately you forgot the most important part – WHERES YOUR PROOF OF YOUR CLAIMS???? I understand your slow… So I will ask a third time, WHERE IS THE PROOF OF YOUR CLAIMS? Oh yeah, there is none…
Warren,
Boy! You really put your foot in your mouth and showed everyone what a tool you are here… You said about Mike Voss “I am wondering on how you judge his real estate strategies and call him a scammer when you havent reviewed or studied what he has to offer. ”
Uh, have you read the main page of this site? How about the rest of the messages on this thread? IF so, you will see that Mike Voss HAS read Armandos crap, and even written a whole review of it! hahahahahahahahahaha
You obviously were blind to all that, and made yourself look totally retarded and incredible here…
Just to make sure you dont miss it again, here is the link… Enjoy… I bet Armando has! lol hahaha
http://www.flipthislawsuit.com/2007/08/28/mike-voss-reviews-armando-montelongos-e-book/
Aw, Alex/Armando, sweetie, you took the time to peruse my webpage and twisted my humorous description of my job as CEO of my sofa completely out of context, just like you twist things here. I’m so flattered, yet concerned by your lack of a sense of humor. I thought the real Armando would be funnier.
Actually, I did a little research today in my firm’s law library looking at the form language used in structuring a land trust and depending on how Armando is structuring his deals, ie., playing with the numbers, and who gets named as beneficiaries of the trusts, he could be committing loan fraud in some instances, but not in others. I haven’t had time to look at all the filings in Bexar County yet. I’ve been a little busy picking out paint colors because I’m not Veronica. I will admit, she’s better than me at that.
There are some legal ways to pay yourself if you are the contractor on a deal (known as contractor profit), but you have to be a licensed contractor for it to be legal. Either way, it’s still stupid to pay yourself with borrowed money. The math doesn’t work out in one’s favor in the long run for too many variables to go into here. In short, you’re building a financial house of cards that will fall down eventually when you can’t sustain it anymore if one does it like Armando is suggesting. Besides, contractors get paid at the end of the job, not up front. Has anyone determined and done the research if Armando has a valid GC license?
Warren, you failed to go look up ‘hypochondriac’ in the dictionary before using it in a sentence again. I give you an “F” tonight. Richard Davis didn’t post a blog to complain about A&E, he filed a lawsuit. Have you not noticed what this website is about? I’m beginning to worry about your reading comprehension skills. And you said IRS again! *snort* Also, Armando may be using a private money lender for that deal, but he’s advising his students in his other videos and in his course to start out with HARD money lenders. So he’s not practicing what he’s preaching. The only people who make any real money fast for doing nothing going that route ARE the hard money lenders. I’m also curious as to why you were posting here instead of attending Armando’s live webinar tonight? You seem to now be pushing his courses as if you were his shill *cough* student?
“What Jennifer Said”
I have seen a few of these Mando FTH episodes and consider them Very Entertaining. Primarily due to the Fact these people are Supposedly “Experts” in the field and are Totally Clueless in the area of “Home Inspection” with regard to Pre-Flip qualities in these houses. Only to Rely on “The Eye” of Mando !! What a JOKE.
“In this World, Evil Will Prevail for As Long as Good People Stand By and DO NOTHING !!!”
Warren
Look on the home page of this web site and you will find the link “Mike Voss Reviews Armondos Montelong’s E-book” so yes we have read (your) Armondo’s E-book
Armondo calling people idiots does not motivate us to buy your product oops !
Oh, by the way there is SITLL no prove just blah blah blah
Timmy wrote: “Side note his “trick” is using his name in a URL to get you money in an affiliate program”
He also had on his site that he’d be paying out UP TO $10,000, in other words it’s capped! I’m sure that’s long gone so once again the SUCKERS are left holding the Armando bag and his URL is all over the Internet
Timmy wrote:
Side note his “trick” is using his name in a URL to get you money in an affiliate program…So you become an “affiliate” of Armando and you create a web address such as http://www.imanidiot.armandomontelengo.com
You get paid a certian affiliate amount for every cd collection ebook you sell that someone buys through your URL
sounds like a MLM scam.
Armando or whatever you want to call yourself. I thought I should inform you, that I am no idiot. I drive a truck cause it pays well, and it’s not to stressful! My background is simple. When from 18 to 23 I was a Electrical Mechanical Engineer, in the Cdn Armed Forces. When I got out after doing my part, I got my first job in construction I worked general residential construction, progressing to renovation rehab market place. My last job before I went back to trucking, was a reno on a $800,000.00 home. Total invested was in the $100,000.00 range. When the home was done it was valued at over 1.5 million. I worked directly under the GC, handled subs, the owner, the designer, and dealt with building inspectors. I watch flopper and see the short cuts, and his errors. I have been offered opportunities to work on my own on smaller jobs, but really would rather work some where else, and do my own home.
First of all, Cadge, I think I love you. I assumed that Warren meant “hypocrite,” but I doubt he knows the difference between a hypocrite and someone who suffers inexplicable physical maladies.
Second, I am a lawyer. Cadge, please don’t beat me up. I wish I were licensed in TX, but I am not. I have experience in Fraudulent Transfer law (UFTA). I have tried (and won) many cases to “pierce the corporate veil,” for common law fraud and consumer protection law violations.
I am concerned enough about what I have read here to suggest that anyone who has been defrauded by Mr. Montelengo should not hesitate to contact the Texas Attorney General’s office. My advice for Alex/Warren/Armando is run and hide.
I’d like to offer free legal assistance to anyone who has been defrauded by these clowns, but as you can imagine, I’m cautious as to how that might work in this format. Perhaps someone might offer a suggestion as to how I might be able to help out and still preserve the necessary anonymity. In any case, keep fighting the good fight. Reason will prevail and justice will be done.
RayMass, you could create either a generic myspace of Facebook account. Posting either would allow people to contact you, and for you to vette them so to speak. Or a generic website linked to this one maybe a answer as well. At anyrate thanks for your offer, I am sure there will be many (class action?) that will require some assistance.
First off just because Armando took a $11,000 loan out against ONE of his properties doesn’t mean he is a bad flipper. He could have easily spent the majority of his funds buying dozens of properties. I know investors that have done the same thing. You people obviously have no idea about real estate. A deal is never done until the dotted line is signed and the buyer is handed the keys. A good flipper has moved onto the next project by then. That is how you are able to keep money coming in. Now if your last project has not sold and you need money for the new project taking a loan against the property isn’t that bad. You just hope to make it up on the next deal. For all you doubters and nay sayers know Armando could own 20-30 properties right now and not have millions in the bank. I also watch the show and seen him talk about bankruptcy and welfare. He doesn’t hide his past. He has to know something. So what if he might stretch the truth. That is what keeps you idiots watching his show and coming back to this site to nit pick. I think you are all broke. There is not one successful person on here that has any idea on how to flip. In flipping sometimes you are up and sometimes you are down. It is all part of the game.
Aw, RayMass, lawyer love (are you single?)! If your state doesn’t have reciprocity, you can always apply to our state bar for permission to try cases here. You’re right, anyone who feels they feel they have a valid consumer complaint about Armando Montelongo should visit the Texas OAG’s website at: http://www.oag.state.tx.us/consumer/consumer.shtml#file A case here would more likely fall under DTPA (Deceptive Trade Practices Act) statutes.
Yesterday, I put myself in other people’s shoes who might be starting out and have limited resources to get an education about real estate investing. I made a trip to the public library here in Houston for the first time in years and got a library card. Turns out, the Houston public library actually has FREE online ebooks that one can check out electronically and download to a computer! Just have to have the library card. I checked out four on foreclosures alone last night at home to compare. All for FREE. The library had over 300 books on the shelf about real estate investing, and that didn’t include what I could get via interlibrary loan. I would say everything available at the library compared better than all the various real estate gurus selling their courses at highly inflated prices.
I hope this info saves someone $97 or $997, or more.
After some research Ive found this Armando’s other brother
http://www.powersurgesummit.com/
Spear! I see you and I are on the same team. I agree with you completely that the rest of these idiots, with the exception of yourself, myself, and Alex, dont have a clue about what we do.
To “Whatever” and “Cadge”…..I now know whose can’t read and decipher written materials. I never asked if you read Armando’s Ebook’s……I asked if you have reviewed / studied / or have his Master Home Study Course kit, which is apparent that you don’t……Obviously if you had previewed it or owned a copy, you would then know that the froms included with it are the same as ones used by RE agents and other sources. And Cadge while you are busy snorting and smelling your own pretentious filth, you failed to give yourself an “F” also. You are a hypochondriac and probably a hypocrite too…….all you people do is belly ache in your wanna be perfect cartoon world and judge others based on their desire to follow someone esle who is stepping up to the plate and giving an example of a better way to do things. I don’t see you publishing a book, or building an informative website educating others, and quite Frankly I think Armando beat you to it!
Raymass, I dont need to hide, I have not done anything wrong. one thing is to be sued, you sould know that , another thing is to be guilty of what you being sued for. In my years of business of course I’ve been sued. Was I Liable NO!. anyone can sue for any reason . The problem with people is that they cheated or taken advantage of. We as a corporation cannot ignore a lawsuit we have to respond. So we spend more time putting money in your pocket and at the end always prevail. We educate our clients, not ripe them off. We work in an enviroment of referal’s, and that only comes from good service and educated clients who understand their own transaction enough that they can explain it to ther friends and family. We deal with each an every issue, we dont hide from our clients. We want our name mentioned as a reputable company at the weekend BBQ.
So in the end, I have a good repuable company. no one here has been affected by Armando perosnally and no one is benefiting from these post. Like it was said before Freedom of speach is the greatest thing in the world. so enjoy it and talked all you want. No one here pays my bills or puts food on my table and a roof overmy head….I do and how I make my money is the amerincan way. theres far worst people in this world and tring to stop one person is not going to change the world. so
WHATEVER I enjoy posting on my little breaks that I have throuhout my day.
Warren…keep doing what your doing..no one here can judge you they are not God…Slavery is a thing of the past “MASTER”..We own our own life and protect, feed our children..”See you at the top”
HAHAHA
http://www.armandoinfo.com/
Watch until 21.10 in…The guy says Armando flips 30 houses a month…Armando makes him sztop and corrects him and says wait wait lets clarify “I flipped up to 30 houses a month about 7 or 8 years ago” he doesnt have time now with the tv show etc now… HAHAHAHAHAA p3wnd
Just to give some of you shillers the benefit of the doubt that you are not Armando, I invited him to join us. I sent him some material, public of course, that he probably will want to respond to. It’s just a matter of time before A&E gets sick of the email generating from here and many other places on the net. Also I clicked on armandomontelongo.com today and he has an updated e-mercial only I believe that it is fraudulent because it is him stating that he wants to employee, at no salary, a new intern for FTH. That is called “False Advertising”. He asks for you to fill out the form if you would like to be considered. However, that form is for interest in buying his product and says nowhere on there about the job opportunity he is talking about in the video. It might have asked for your credit score though…..ha! BTW, he looks very shaggy, unshaven, stressed and has gained more weight. He sure doesn’t dress like Trump. I wonder if he is still running around in his old jap flaps? Maybe he will come out of the closet and explain the method to his madness. I sent this invite to him Tuesday at 7 p.m. cst and I just posted this comment on Wednesday at 5 p.m. cst. Looks like we have a new guest, SPEAR, who just might be another shill/Armando still not stepping up to the plate!
As for Alex, Warren, Spear — ever hear of Jim Jones? Betcha Armando has! Dresses like him too and all he needs is to wear the sun glasses.
Alex wrote: Theres far worst people in this world and trying to stop one person is not going to change the world.
You’re an idiot. Aside from your inability to write properly, your whole philosophy is sick. One person can make a difference, and if able to do so, he or she is morally obligated to look out for the next guy. You live in a very sad world. If you and Warren so strongly disagree with the comments on this thread, go read something else. You’re not needed here.
I find it so interesting that Alex’s post are always followed by Warrens, or Warrens posts are followed by Alex’s. I wonder if the mod has tracked the ip’s he should look into spear’s as well.
DUH! why would any of us supposed idiot’s waste our hard earned money on Armando’s pile of crap. It has already been proven that his methods are just short of illegal activity, and that you can learn more by going to the libary. Please post some prove of your claims.
To Armando’s obvious boiler room shills Warren, Alex and Spear:
You are all obvious shills and liars. Everyone here knows you are nothing more than Armando’s boiler room telemarketers who have been directed to post here and try to spin and deflect criticism.
None of you has any bona fides in construction nor remodeling as evidenced by your inability to post proof of even a single succesful transaction.
To everyone readig this blog, these are not even real people. They don’t exist, and the proof is that they will not identify themselves nor anything to prove they have any holdings or business transactions.
The fact remains unchanged: not ONE single person has EVER posted even ONE single real transaction on which they made a profit utilizing anything from Armando.
Case closed.
Alex,
Blah blah blah… More of the same huh? No proof still huh? Whats the name of this corporation you mentioned? lol Bet you wont give us proof… You havent yet… Yoru a coward… A fraud… A geek…
Armondo you and your imaginary friends are getting really boring .
Same-o same-o shills . YAWN
Get a clue already !!!!
WarrenArmandoShill(s):
Why the hell would I pay to see Armando’s “Master Home Study Course” – the one that he is hawking for $997? I don’t need it. I’ve been investing in real estate since 1988. There is not ONE THING Armando could teach me, nor form he could offer me, that is worth that kind of money. I’d rather put that money towards my renovations, where I get real return upon my investment. Besides, if I really dug hard enough, someone has probably already posted it somewhere out on the internet for FREE. It’s called piracy and someone out there is already sticking it to Armando in return. It wasn’t too hard to find the $97 ebooks in pdf form (several pdfs – each chapter) along with it’s accompanying password to unlock the pdfs all for the taking for FREE. From reading Mike Voss’s review, it wasn’t worth my time to bother.
The one thing that bothers me most about the ‘gurus’ out there who sell their ‘forms’, is that they are grossly overpriced and one could buy such forms, at say: http://www.legalhomeforms.com/ or http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/103-0562724-7287851?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=real+estate+forms Or, one could go to their local stationery store and pick up forms specific to their state for their individual needs. Whenever I needed a new lease contract for the next tenant when I was renting investment property out, I would go get the state specific lease I needed for a couple of bucks at the stationery store. Duh. So, provide ONE SPECIFIC EXAMPLE of ONE FORM that Armando is offering that is so special it’s not offered or obtainable elsewhere?
And Warren, SWEETIE, I give you a D- today. I’m glad you probably finally looked up the meaning of hypochondriac, but your average is being pulled down by your attitude. Nor have you offered one iota of helpful advice, enlightened us with one shred of knowledge gained from Armando’s courses that has profited you, or provided us with the specifics of one deal and how it worked. I have no intent of publishing a book on real estate or putting up a website to become an ‘internet marketer’ and grossly overpricing my product. If someone wants to ask me a question or needs my advice, they can email me through my myspace page (click on hyperlink of my name) and I’d be HAPPY to help. There are thousands of people already out there shilling, and Armando is just one of the latest in the sheep herd, not a pioneer. Nor have I seen where Armando’s advice is better, or informative. It’s just overpriced and from what I have seen, it recommends illegal practices, that if followed, could land a person in a lot of trouble. I don’t suspect you’ll be working for Armando for very long once the first subpeona hits you. Don’t look now, but there ARE governmental authorities building their cases. Is there internet access behind bars?
BTW – Today I checked out from the libarary for FREE: “Find it, Fix it, Flip it!” by Michael Corbett who has flipped more than 35 houses, made millions, and had multiple tv appearances and his own real estate tv shows. The other one I picked out was called “52 Homes in 52 Weeks” by Dolf De Roos, tracing his strategies and techniques for acquiring all that property in 10 months in real life. Amazingly, TWO example of people who are sharing their experience and advice with the world for under $15. (Of course, it was FREE to check out from the library.) I bet they make more and are worth more than Armando and not in any legal trouble either.
While there’s a sucker born every minute, I suggest A&E change the title of FTH for next season to “Flip this Property that I’ve Leveraged Illegally” so it’s more authentic.
chris and barbera can suck a big one. I dont need to prove jack to anyone but myself. You are all full of it. Help one person BS. NO one here needs your help. its always the same people for weeks, No one saved. give it up. You wont win.
I BOUGHT ARMANDO MONTELONGO’S LEVEL 2 PACKAGE AND I NEVER RECIVED IT OR A REFUND. I HAVE TRIED SO MANY WAYS TO GET HOLD OF THEM, BUT THEY WILL NOT RETURN EMAILS AT ALL. SINCE I DID NOT RECIVE MY PACKAGE I WANT A REFUND BUT THEY WILL NOT ANSWER AT ALL.
Alex,
by your reaction in post 1349 people in here have already won in proving your a fraud .
It still amazes me that alex, Warren and Armondo don’t disbute the facts on the home page of this web site .
Cadge you rock 🙂
Webmaster please track the IP ads of Alex, Warren, and the others. They will be in Utah, where Armando has his coaching office. They are marketers for coaching services Armando is offering to people who have purchased his program. (These services cost SEVERAL thousand dollars.) I can only assume the reason they are using their real names is because Armando checks this website (think brownie points?) I think this kind of rebuttal is misleading and could definately backfire on the credability of the company (of what may well be a useful service.) They should also refrain from mentioning Mike Voss and this website while making their aggressive marketing pitch, it *MAY* spark curiousity in would-be suckers to go check out what they find so threatening. After reading these comments for an hour, I think it is obvious that Mike Voss doesn’t work for a competetor, and is not paid to make these statements. Why would you lie if you offer a legitimate service? Or be so silly as to use your real name when posting your success story about Armando’s system?
Alex/Armando/shill: Bwahahahahahah.
Bill Turner: http://www.oag.state.tx.us/consumer/consumer.shtml#file
Whatever: :*
Webmaster: PLEASE enlighten us about the shill posts and their origins.
If anyone out there has a copy of Armando’s $997 “master” course and would be willing to lend it to me so I can review it here, please contact me by clicking on my name above and going to my website to ue the contact email link. I have a feeling there are people out there who are very unhappy with their purchase – let’s help others to not make the same mistake. I promise to keep your name/involvement totally confidential.
MV
Alex,
Hahaha, THATS your response to us asking for proof of your claims? Hahaha, pathetic… Like Wahtever wrote in 1351, we just won in proving YOU a fraud! 🙂
Mike the real lies start with the multi thousand $$ mentoring program. Everything else should just be bait to get you hooked for more. I wish I had it I would send it in a heart beat. The thought of spending $1000 on a book of lies just sickens me. Cadge mentioned that you can unlock the PDF’s for free. Maybe she would share that info with you.
This is so sad. You people that are buying Armondo’s course, use your heads. This is where he is making his money, selling a binder full of common sense and bull*$@%. The man and his wife are liars and thieves. They are BANKRUPT! I don’t believe anything he says on his shows, but I will admit that I do occasionally watch them for a good laugh. It just makes me sick that he is taking advantage of people who are desperate to own a home. I don’t believe that he has sold many or any at all. If he has sold a house I would love to talk with the new owners to see what they have to say now. Anyway, even if you have money to burn, please don’t purchase anything from this man and his wife. Because you will just be helping fund his shady buisness. People like this need to be taught a lesson.
i benn rehabing houes,for more than 20 years,anyone one who paints over switch covers instead of replacing them are not investors,but hackers.
Looks to me like there are TONS if idiots in this blog listing! Everybody seems to busy griping and carrying on, and not a single sould has proved anything. I have reviewed all of Dolf DeRoos’ materials as well as Armando’s, and if I wanted to be broke I would continue to waste my time listening to Dolf DeRoos who continually plays it safe and doesn’t offer specifics for others to use or review. Sounds like a bunch of old hens in here without the ability to lay eggs…..
“danny wrote:
i benn rehabing houes,for more than 20 years,anyone one who paints over switch covers instead of replacing them are not investors,but hackers.”
I absolutely hate when people do that, it shows how LAZY they are. Switchplate cost as little as $.50 each.
Tim,
What in the world is Dolf DeRoos’ ??
Reading these post would save you money not make you broke DUH
Oh, that was one of Armondo’s clever post
Tim you look like another shill post. Armando the Flopper gerting nervous? Afraid word is getting out. NEXT?
Mike Voss/Steve in Texas/Cadge:
The overwhelming stupidity consistently posted by you never ceases to amaze me. You need to get some Immodium AD to stop the leak of BS you seem to be suffering from. Hey Mike voss, for someone who seems to constantly call Armando a fraud, you sure seem to want to get your hands on his Master Course. Either one of two things is happening, probably both: you are too stupid to get Armando’s kit on your own, or YOU are too broke to get it on your own accord. Either way, I don’t think you would know what to do with it if you had it! I certainly didn’t pay $997 for mine, and any smart person would also get theirs at the discounted rate!
I appreciate the compliments by calling me “Armando”, since I am not him and certainly do not live in Utah. Nor do I work for Armando or his affiliates, but I will offer something else to think about….. You constanly call him a “fraud”, but since you have offered no specific proof of that, how does someone so broke have at least 12 websites, spend as much per month on gasoline as a mortgage payment, and fly all over the country doing seminars and events while you sit on your duff and just gripe and point the finger all day?? Let me spell it out for you since it is apparent that you failed math in grade school – he isn’t too broke, or broke at all since he seems to spend more than your income level! Secondly, you have produced no real evidence of anything that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is a fraud at all. You certainly don’t have his SSN, DOB or any other specific information that would link him to your “Montelongo” in question. To let you in on a secret, San Antonio is a city that is 85% hispanic and other races are the minority. Having said that, Montelongo is a popular name, and I am sure through a quick search of public records, that he isn’t the only “Armando” with that last name! My advice would be for you to do your proper homework before you open the trash-smelling suck hole under your nose and spew out vague details and try to pawn them off as hardcore facts!
Funny how everyone in here constantly gripes about Armando’s coaching program, and no one has said a word about Robert Kiyosaki’s mentoring program which is very similiar in cost and in structure. Robert Kiyosaki doesn’t offer any “how to” advice in any of his books, only strategies and concepts that cause one to think about other possibilities, and at least Armando is offering “how to” advice! I certainly do not need Armando’s coaching course as I can manage my own financials and govern my own real estate projects on my own, nor do I market for others to use his coaching. People with half a brain are able to make their own decisions – oh wait, I forgot you guys left yours at home in the backyard!
Ok, so you don’t need or want Armando’s course, and you don’t think the forms he has provided will work since you have your own…..good for you, however I learned some good strategies and a few new places to look for deals in areas that people who don’t have his course will overlook. Its as simple as I will find deals before you will by looking in places that you will walk right by and not even take time to notice.
The whole purpose of this blog was to respond to the inquiry if anyone had ever purchased or reviewed Armando’s Master Home Course. I have and I liked it – Did I learn everything I know from it, obviously not, that is what licensing was for, but I did learn a few new things that I didn’t think about before. Everyone rants and raves about Dolf DeRoos’ materials, but while he himself is a very successful real estate investor, he has provided very little specifics on how to do things in a similiar structured fashion. If your pissed off that Armando has put out a product, and people are buying it and using it to gain additional knowledge, whether you agree with it or not, then you can simply make one of two choices. You can deal with it that he beat you to the punch and produced a product that you didn’t think about first, or you can ignore his success and produce an additional product that will educate people to your success and failures. Either way, no one wants to hear your complaining, belly-aching, and moaning about how you think he is such a fraud and how you think his system stinks, and yet you yourself have produced nothing substantial that can prove otherwise. You don’t educate others….you haven’t showed any web links that show what books or programs you have composed which can better assist others.
“Question”, you are the biggest idiot in a league all by yourself! Obviously, the webmaster isn’t going to honor your petty request due to Freedom of Speech, and further, I don’t live in Utah. I don’t need to make a marketing pitch since I don’t work for Armando, and if you think that my typed words appear as such, you are sorely mistaken about the true concept of marketing. You paw at people using their real name in this blog, but you yourself have been too timid to step up to the plate and do so yourself, showing the true nature of one who has something to hide.
If you want to know what is in Armando’s Master Study kit, I suggest you buy it yourself and see for yourself what is in it, as I am not going to leak or provide and details about it in here to persons I am not familiar with and could very easily be my competition. I don’t care about what deals you may or may not have done, and additionally realize how unprofessional and crude it would be for me to ask for proof of such as your matters do not concern me in any fashion. I don’t report to you, I don’t or ever will ask your permission for anything, and quite frankly don’t care about what you think about anything! And while I think the majority of you are suffering from a very limited vocabulary, “shill” seems to be the word of the day, but it sure sounds stupid and shows your ignorance.
Mike… When are we doing our surprise on the spot interview with our good old friend? 🙂
Nice tirade, “Warren” (Armando).
No substance in it whatsoever.
For you to try to pretend that some other Montelongo is the subject of multiple NODs, defaults, lawsuits, bad credit, etc., etc. is comical and pathetic. I know for a FACT it is the one and only Armando Montelongo from the tv show and in fact I DO know his DOB, SSN, etc. as those details are easily verified by anyone with the slimmest knowledge of investigative technique. Who the fuck do you think you are dealing with here? This site is run by a LAWYER. I have had LAWYERS who detest you send me reams of verified data of exactly who is behind all those Armando Montelongo defaults, car leases, bad credit records, lawsuits, etc., etc. Be glad I don’t post them and further embarrass you, and be REALLY glad we don’t pull the IP traces and show where your posts come from. It is THE Armando Montelongo on the TV show we all know who now uses his wife and anyone else’s credit he can because his FICO score is probably about 400 by now if he’s lucky.
All the crap you are so impressed by means nothing as far as wealth goes.
12 websites can be had for $12/month. Flying around the country costs a few hundred dollars. Armando Montelongo’s liabilities are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars minimum. His meager and rapidly diminishing speaking engagement schedule and the rapidly shrinking number of people he can con now that he has no tv show are drying up fast. I think I have handily proven that he is a fraud here along with many other people and that is obvious to even the most casual observer. You’re his only defender, and that’s because you’re him.
Face it Armando, you’re a fat, misogynistic, incompetent, self-aggrandizing, bullying, uneducated asshole who lied his way onto a tv show that didn’t do it’s proper due diligence and now you’re just a step ahead of another bankruptcy from which you’ll never recover and that’s if you don’t end up in prison first for stealing from decent people who were unfortunate enough to trust you.
You’ve been exposed for what you are. Run as fast as you can and try to do damage control, you;re re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Your time is almost over…tick tock.
I hear some MAJOR investigative news shows are also hot on your story. Can’t wait until that airs. You and Sam Leccima can maybe be cell mates when they foreclose on ‘rancho montelongo’.
Well, “Warren”. The fact of the matter is your BOY Armando is a complete PILE of smoke and mirrors. ‘The biggest single family residential flipper’ in the entire U S of A? What do YOU call that? I call it FRAUD! All hat and NO cattle. Over 20 foreclosures in San Antonio in a single day! LOL Hard money loans out the wazoo. So, I need to pay $997 to learn how to be a failure? Yeah, he’s a slick ‘talker’, BFD. The fact of the matter is as a FLIPPER he’s loser. And, that IS what he’s SELLING, right?
And another thing. Has he paid off that small claims court judgment in California yet for $605 from the late 90’s? Hehe
Warren wrote: “Montelongo is a popular name, and I am sure through a quick search of public records, that he isn’t the only “Armando” with that last name!”
Ive got TWO WORDS for you!
LEXIS NEXIS
Put in another quarter and try again! And by the way, it’s “Armando Montelongo Jr.”
Warren,
Instead of insulting people in here why dont you prove them wrong ??
Also, you have never disputed the claims on the home page of this site .
Usually when someone has success they dont hesitate to show it off instead your just defensive , wounder why 🙂
Of course you will not answere my post cause you know I am right about you .
Warren
YOU said you dont have to prove anything to anyone so,,,, why do you keep coming back to this site ???
Warren, speaking engagements are usually paid deals. So flopper is being paid to appear. At least air, room, and meals. Bill Clinton nets well into the half million range to appear and speak.
Armando spends more on gas then we make in a month? Please explain how you can be certian of this, beyond the known fact that Hummers have horrible gas milage.
Mike said dit best. Websites are a dime a dozen, very cheap to set up and run, income is earned by sponsors or other advertizing.
Steve said it best. Smoke and mirrors. Armando has a house of cards.
Warren,
Your a tool… A poor, obviously uneducated on Armando Montelongo tool…
You need to open your eyes! Your supporting a position that cannot be adequately or smartly supported! But hey, some people like being on the losing end of things…
You need to go back and re-read post# 1366… Mike Voss is right on…
Mike Voss you are so full of crap it smells in here. You need to go to the Gastro resident, and get your guts pumped! You say you have his SSN, and DOB, but have never posted any of that information to support your supposed facts. I find it funny how you’re supposedly sent informtaion by lawyers to someone who doesn’t have squat to do with their case….I think that would violate the clients right just a little!
Greg, are you really that freakin stupid?? You just proved my point by admitting that Hummers get bad fuel mileage….
And I guess “What Was That” I keep coming back to this site for the same reason you do – I enjoy a good debate and have a few free moments! Seems awful funny that your post comes right after Mike Voss’, and I think you are probably him in disguise, too chickenshit to have any really fuel to support your point of view!
Warren wrote: “I find it funny how you’re supposedly sent informtaion by lawyers to someone who doesn’t have squat to do with their case….I think that would violate the clients right just a little!”
First of all, what client? What case? What part of attorney/client privilege is “violated” if there is NONE, dipstick!
Warren the idiot also wrote: “You say you have his SSN, and DOB, but have never posted any of that information to support your supposed facts.”
SSN 449-87-XXXX
DOB 10/1970
Warren you said:
“You constanly call him a “fraud”, but since you have offered no specific proof of that, how does someone so broke have at least 12 websites, spend as much per month on gasoline as a mortgage payment, and fly all over the country doing seminars and events ”
I stated a well known fact that Hummers have the worst fuel milage….and asked how you would know this out side of that fact. Maybe if he wasn’t tool’n around in his RENTED hummer, he could afford to pay one of his MORTGAGE payments, and would not have to fend off foreclosures in court. Warren you have a few minutes in your day and enjoy a good debate? I think you are directed to come here and attempt to spin some damage control. Nice job on those deck chairs, can you reset the shuffle board, hey whats that its a iceberg!
Well I do have a crush on Mike Voss 😉
“chickenshit” ?? oh please Warren grow up
Warren,
I can say all I need in in a few lines…We all know you are Armando’s Bitch!
Warren you’re not even smart enough to know how stupid you are – that is the true definition of ignorance.
Posting someone’s personal data maliciously is criminal – hence Steve’s masking it in his post. Unlike Armando, we’re not criminals here. Further, the lawyers I refer to are not involved on any of his cases, they are people like state’s attorneys who are investigating him for criminal complaints, you moron.
Give up, you’ve been soundly beaten and shown publicly to be a fool and confederate of Armando. All you’re providing now is entertainment for everyone reading this.
Armondo ,
Go to Jail. Move Directly to Jail .
Do Nnt Pass “Go”
Do Not Collect $200.
WarrenArmandoShill,
You seem to know an awful lot about where poop comes from. Today you get an “F” for your flatulence.
Using my background checking skills, it wasn’t too hard to confirm everything being posted here about Armando Montelongo… the same one from tv who is also hawking his courses and coaching. He’s a fraud and in deep financial trouble and under investigation by multiple sources… not any of the “other” Armando Montelongos living in the State of Texas, including the other Jr. who lives in El Paso. Hint: It was very recently Veronica’s birthday too. I’ve got David and Melina’s personal info as well. Trying to unravel the shell game Armando plays is like peeling layers off an onion. You didn’t do your due diligence at all about what you bought before you bought it. Not very professional and a rookie mistake.
For you to be my competition, you’d first have to be playing in my league (the majors) and be bringing your “A” game. When you graduate from the little league and quit hitting off the t-ball stand, let us know.
Anyone else notice when you google “Armando Montelongo Scam” (or Fraud) he has paid to toplist the search result to redirect to his website? Too funny.
Warren,
Just in case your too dumb to have caught it, Steve in Texas wrote exactly what we claim to have… He wrote (in post 1374), “SSN 449-87-XXXX
DOB 10/1970 ”
Of course, this is also exactly what you doubted that people had! Hahahahahahahahaha The jokes on you Warren… Keep sticking that foot in that mouth…
Turn in tomorrow to read that Warren and Alex have taken their foots out of their mouths and stuck them up each others butts!
Nobody says it better than Mike!
You guys are idiots, and haven’t proved anything other than you have too much free time. If you wasted half as much time finger-pointing, griping, and moaning about all of the so called BS you believe to be true as you did in other things in life, you would probably be a multi-millionaire by now! I guess we agree to disagree since you don’t believe my stance no more than I believe yours!
Hey Cadge,
Anybody can make more money than you since, you’re supposedly a comedian, and not very funny!
Warren the moron wrote: “I guess we agree to disagree since you don’t believe my stance no more than I believe yours!”
Exit, stage left. Another one bites the dust
Warren, you told us you like a debate. So support your position. Please provide one shred of proof that will give you one ounce of credibilty. Problem isn’t that you won’t, its that you can’t. You can;t because you don’t have any. There are well over 1000 posts in this thread alone that support our position, and all we ask of you is 1 post with some documented proof. So you and Tim and all the other shill posters go meet around the water cooler, and fiqure out who’s gonna call and break the bad news to flopper.
“Tim wrote:
Hey Cadge,
Anybody can make more money than you since, you’re supposedly a comedian, and not very funny! ”
Tim I am sure that Mike and Steve find her just as funny as I do. This girls a down right riot.
Warren
Excuse me, you ARE talking to multi -millionaires who KNOW what they are talking about and KNOW Armondo is a fruad.
THE HARD FACTS:
Number of posts in this thread: 1390
Number of posts supporting Amando where poster provides any verifiable proof of their identity: 0
(btw – funny ow only MEN support Armando, eh?)
Number of posts supporting Armando where poster demonstrates/describes useful information from course applied to real life real estate transaction: 0
Number of posters supporting Armando who appear for more than 2 weeks: 0
Number of verifiable profitable real estate transactions attributable to Armado’s materials: 0
Number of Foreclosures, lawsuits, and other legal matters currently pending against Armando: 30+
I could go on, but there’s really no point.
Final score:
Legitimate people: 1390
Armando and shills: 0
TimArmandoShill: Humor is subjective. As long as more are laughing with me, I win. If you’re going to continue to heckle, let it be known that you’re a load your mother should have swallowed.
Besides my part-time comedy career, I work for a top law firm – and the attorneys work for me. I’m pretty high up in the firm. My assistant just passed the bar exam. I don’t work on any case worth less than a couple hundred million. Most of the time it’s in the billions, the kind you read about in the paper. I’m quite sure I earn a lot more in my day job than most two-income families. My hourly bill rate is more than most attorneys.
I’ve also been the primary shareholder in a couple of corporations I’ve formed and had a few dbas. I’ve provided start up capital to other successful businesses and been a silent partner. I also have a healthy stock portfolio. Oh, and I am a real estate investorflipper. The current house I’m working on I expect to clear a minimum net profit of $75K, but maybe more. I have a handful of people who would like to go into real estate with me and they would back me with all the cash I need, but I like being my own boss on projects and not having to answer to other people about how I use their money on something and have to split my profits. I also have the dubious glory of being a trust fund baby (like Paris Hilton), but I like to live off what I can make on my own and don’t touch it generally. I’m definitely a millionaire on paper. The way I stay that way is I am extremely frugal.
Worst case scenario, I can always fall back on my skills with power tools as I’m not a bad carpenter. My grandpa taught me because he was a contractor.
So, if you think you can do better, tell us a joke. Otherwise, quit trying to pick up chicks here and go spend your hooker money or find a pro bono dominatrix with a fair amount of cheap wine so you’re too fucked up to get wood when you’re about to make your next bad decision.
Cadge™,
LOL Bravo, take a bow!
I found this site where it shows there was a divorce filing for the two unique San Antonio lovebirds in 2003 and here is the proof!
http://www.co.bexar.tx.us/webapps/html/DKLITDSP02.asp?txtLitIsn=0003424461
Another place for people to turn to if they want resolution on the product that they purchased from Montelongo,etc., is:
http://www.flippingfrenzy.com/report_fraud/index.html
(this may be a bogus site but thought I would throw it up here just in case)
PS: I still have not got replies back from Flopper on all the daily emails I am sending him. I just keep getting a case # and same old statement that they are going to respond as soon as possible. The oldest one is four weeks old but Flopper still has time to send out his “after taking a dump thoughts”.
Rob wrote:
Sure Jeremy. I could e-mail you.Give me your e-mail address and I will contact you.
Posted on 03-May-07 at 10:26 am | Permalink
Can you send me your email address to rob I wanna learn more about this ebook
Richard wrote:
Rob wrote:
Sure Jeremy. I could e-mail you.Give me your e-mail address and I will contact you.
Posted on 03-May-07 at 10:26 am | Permalink
Can you send me your email address to rob I wanna learn more about this ebook
Go read the review on the main page of this site, and save your $$$$
Hello all,
I have just started watching Armando Montelongo show (flip this house). It seems that Armando is not a good mentor at all. The episode with chris his intern, who then became his project manager. Armando did not offer this guy a finders fee and just threw him out to wolves. Chris could have made a hefty profit if he knew what to do. Chris is the one who found the property.
Guys, I have found a good mentor for anyone whom is interested. True hand holding mentorship. I can Also help anyone looking to make 12%- 18% return on there investment. Please email me @ Prosperityinvestmentgroup@gmail.com
I have been a contractor for 24 years. I specialize in interior renovations, and have an exclusive client base whose testimonies can back the quality and professionalins of my small company.
Walee wrote:
Hello all,
I have just started watching Armando Montelongo show (flip this house). It seems that Armando is not a good mentor at all. The episode with chris his intern, who then became his project manager.
Well first off Chris=Intern which=free hello call any radio station and tell them you want to intern there is no pay
Richard/Armando
I do not regret to inform you that your services (nor anything else you wish to get off your chest)are not wanted much less needed here anymore.
Go back to your site and give your worthless opinions to some one who gives a $hit at armandomontelongo.com (and the other aliasis you use)! you monkey’s ass.
Jennifer
Jennifer, Post 393. I am not an Armando apologist (look up my posts). I said this on another thread, I dont see any point in bringing up the divorce filing back in 2003, which obviously never went through. Other than some people who just love to see other’s in misery that filing has nothing to do with his business dealings. All of us on here already know how he is as a person. There’s nothing good about a couple getting a divorce, especially when there are children involved. Unless that’s your cup of tea.
I must admit that I have found FTH with the Montelongo’s something I look forward to seeing everytime it’s on the air. Why? To see Armando make an ass of himself. Seriously,it’s like watching a train wreck. Even though you’re watching it…you just can’t believe it. He literally makes my skin crawl.
I have worked with professionals my entire work life and granted I’m not in the real estate game but honestly, who acts like this? Mr. Montelongo pushes the envelope on caveman behavior. He is clearly uncouth and his people skills are woefully lacking polish.
When I watched the very first episode with the Montelongo’s, it was very clear from the start that Armando, had a bit of the sleaze in him. I’ve known people like him and when you look closely enough…they are very transparent. You can see all the flaws.
The fact that he seems to have a sweet wife in Veronica is what bothers me a great deal. I live in San Antonio and have seen her at several stores in town and she does appear to be very kind and almost shy at times. It puzzles me as to why she has allowed herself to follow Armando, down a road paved with lies. I’m sure it wasn’t her idea. I’m not defending her. I’m just saying that at some point, if my husband was doing what Armando is doing….I would have left him. Being honest and forthright is mightly important in life. So the puzzle remains unsolved for me. When you lie down with dogs….
To all the folks that are so desperate to make money and buy Armando’s CD’s and books with their hard earned money; If you can replace that money immediately then spend away. If you can’t put that money back forget it. You are not ready to purchase anything that would make you suffer monetarily in the long run.
You want to make money? Or rather save it. Don’t listen to Armando. Listen to Dave Ramsey. You can read his books for free at Barnes & Noble. Even better, he can be found online.
(Not a plug for Dave. Just a very serious person who very disgusted with Mr. Montelongo.)
Deanna,
BRAVO! I agree with the Dave Ramsey plug completely! I have not missed one of his programs on TV since he started on FOX Business…
His advice is sound, and I would recommend his methods to anyone here…
Hello everyone, I’m back, had a great vacation…was in Vegas a couple weeks. Stayed at Hard Rock,(Great Hotel) Hey steve I had you paged 1,000 times and you never showed up. Anyway maybe next time well have a sit down and talk. I see nothing has changed. Love and Hate, gotta love it. It makes for good television..I see we have new people. Great! Look forward to all the new crap to read in the next few days, Hey Chris, so what day were you born?
Alex,
What day was I born? April 19th… You?
I’ve spent a great deal of time reading these posts and reflecting on the general concencus. While it’s good to know that there are people in this field that can be objective in determining the legitimacy of integrity related to general business and information products; the overlooked underlying factor is evident. Whether you like him or not, Armondo is making his moves in life. There is boundless potential to make money in real estate. However, not everyone does business like the local small town Hardware owner. Would it be nice if Armondo could be a perfect real estate role model for tons of future investors to learn from? Of course, but all we can do as real estate researchers and potential investors, is take away the positive from other peoples experiences. Study your own basic princibles of “flipping”, learn from other peoples mistakes, and realize that your “subs” are not pieces of trash. There was something said in an old post about “networking”, and if a person had the time and resources to “network” there is some money to be made. I want to comment on this subject. Yeah, you can’t just say click your heels together three times and wish to be a “flipper”. If your going to get into this business, and be profitable, it’s going to be HARD WORK. It’s going to take a ton of leg work, communicating/networking, research, and general management. This is the great thing about living in a capitalistic society people, you are your own biggest hurdle. Taking advantage of this can lead to a finacially secure future. Not everyone will be successful, not everyone will make money, but the ones who push through failures and strive for success, will eventually figure out their niche and have the opportunity to have a profitable business. Stop wasting your time worrying about how others do business, and do business for yourself.
In Post 1404 ChrisInDetroit writes:
“Alex,
What day was I born? April 19th… You? ”
I’m guessing April 1. ;-}
wyldwmn
In post #1406, JOsef writes:
“Stop wasting your time worrying about how others do business, and do business for yourself.”
Armando isn’t “doing business.” Armando is scamming people who don’t know any better. “Businessman” does not eequal “scam artist.”
wyldwmn
Well put! Josef.
I agree with you,that is how I learn by trial and error.
now Josef is an Armanso Shill…you can’t take te bad speller out of them, I think its a charachter trait they all posess
Replys:
1409. Thank you Mr. Spellcheck.
Advice^^^ If your going to make a post, focus on the content of the article rather than the spelling and grammar. As I quickly make my posts, in this BLOG, I do not care if it is term paper quality. Also, you know nothing of me or my character. To say that you do is to depreciate your own character. Nevertheless, thank you for taking the time to proofread my article. Maybe you can be my “ALLTIME” spellchecker. Appreciate it. Oh, one more thing, if you actually take time to read and comprehend, instead of looking for errors,(Attention Deficit Disorder) you’ll realize that I am nothing close to a “Shill”. In fact, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND TO NOT PURCHASE Armando’s information products. GO TO THE LIBRARY and read yourself silly. A
1408. I’d like to see the movie 1408. (I think thats the number, I’m sure I’ll be corrected if it is not).
“I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succed”. Michael Jordan.
1407. I wrote, “Stop wasting your time worrying about how others do business, and do business for yourself”. Armando is doing business. Is it fishy and mostly a scam? Yup. Let’s be real, what this man has to say is not worth a grand. It’s not worth much at all. Also, actually the word “businessman” which I did not use, is a general term which can be coined as “good” or “bad”. “Apples” do not equal “oranges”. Anyways, I like where your head is at, but your premises that Armando is not doing business, faulters your entire argument.
I am a realtor for REMAX 100 and have been one for 10 years in the Baltimore/Washington area. I can’t beleive people are watching “Flip your house” let alone entertaining the idea of buying Armandos program. It’s hype and mostly crap. I have “fliped” numerous properties in my life and have helped 20 or 30 investors do the same & trust me it isn’t easy. What Armando doesn’t show is the behind the scenes. Buying a foreclosure, HUD home, bank sale & the difficult waters you have to navigate through. i.e., financing, appraisals, if it has clear title, what kind of incumbrances does the thing have on it. Not to mention going to closing and title transfers to you. Look, he’s basically a Slum salesmen, he finds distressed properties/ owners that need to sell and rapes them. His contractors want his work, so they drop there pants and do it for next to nothing, so not to get cut off from being busy. He puts the bare minimum into his properties and basically screws the buyer after there discovery. The couldn’t be more of a snke oil salesmen then Armando. I’ve watched 4 or 5 of his flips and trust me you don’t want to be around when the law suits start falling. As a licensed broker we have to adhere to a strict code of ethics and I’m amazed the Real Estate Commission hasn’t hung him yet.
If you want to be a real estate investor
first off make sure you have #1 enough money in the bank to do a flip. Most flips can be done for between50k-100k to do them right. Whatever property you select, I can’t stress this enough GET A HOME INSPECTOR IN THERE BEFORE YOU BUY THE PROPERTY!!!! Know what your dealing with and don’t trust anyone, even family, people won’t see what a good home inspector can!!!Get a good lawyer & accountant and pay them to help you do it right. Have a good “LICENSED” contractor that is trust worthy and has good references & do a bankground check. However, I would suggest first getting “three” estimates first before hiring anyone and then do you “due dilligence” Also very important if you’ve decided on the budget and everything is moving forward “allocate a Slush fund” because every flip ALWAYS goes over. The last thing you want to do is run out of money at the end of doing a kick ass job and not be able to paint the exterior of the house, plant sod in the front yard, clean up the debris in the backyard etc… You get the picture. Invariably, things will come up like the wiring of the house, the plumbing, the foundation the roof. You can almost guarantee yourself that it will go over so prepare. As a realtor, what buyers deem important are as folows:
Updated kitchen, stainless, corian counter maple or cherry cabinets title or wood floors.
Super bath in Master bedroom, big walkin closet in MB
NEUTRAL PAINT- Don’t scare off potential buyers with a poor choice of color.
Cheap carpet if your running low on money, but beef up the padding (neutral) otherwise wood is always the way to go.
Curb appeal, make sure the front pops, new storm door or front door, new landscaping, prune trees, get sod if lawn looks bad.
Budget for all of this, you want when people drive up to impressed, so put yourself in the position of the buyer and above all don’t do what Armando does and play Mcgyver and jerry rig everything and hopet he buyer doens’t know. Look with this real estate market cooling off buyers can afford to be picky as hell so execute caution. Im giving these hints why, because I’d rather see you do-it-your self with the help of a schister like Armando the crack house flipper. Thanks I feel better now!
In addition, make sure you’ve allocated enough money to paying the mortgage on the property for ~ between 4-8 months and that is if you’ve priced the end result properly and aren’t crazy about what you can truley get. Price it right if the last house sold that is comparable for 400k, sell yours for $395k -the reason, you’ll move it quicker and the odds are your house looks better then the previously sold home and you lessening your carrying costs. It’s all about profitabilty and moving on to the next one. My first flip was a nightmare, that resulted in permit disasters, firing 3 contractors and losing valuable time and ultimately losing tons of money to stupid misteps from being a rookie. Be realistic. Any questions about flipping you can email me at keithcurtissrealtor@yahoo.com
I am back to see if there is anything new here ,,,, HEY Keith is offering FREE ADVICE for flipping !!
Armondo can you beat that ???? 😉
I read all these posts not becsuse I was planning on wasting my hard-earned cash on one of Armando’s books, etc., but because I accidently found this site while searching for something else.
I have to say that there were so many interesting posts — Mike Voss, Steve in TX, Wyldwmn, Cadge, just to name a few. I have watched FTH, but only recently becsme a viewer. I got “hooked” watching Richard Davis’ crew and thought they put out a quality product (or at least it appeared that way). The first time I watched an Armando flip, I couldn’t believe all the ways he tried to “skimp”. Painting a bathtub? UNBELIEVABLE! Another thing I noticed immediately was that there always seemed to be an issue with timelines in Armando’s episodes. Someone who posted previously pointed out the difference in Mondoman’s hair. What I would notice was they would be painting an exterior of a home and then the next time they show the property – supposedly the next day or later that day and the exterior would not be painted.
Thanks again everyone who has posted for s lot of interesting reading, and especially to those who are truly trying to help others to not waste their hard-earned money.
I’ve learned more here by accident than elsewhere by design….and that would include anything that Armando is trying to pedal.
Keith is networking, Good job, he wants you to contact him so he can sell you a home.
Keith word of advise… everyone here likes to sue, be careful.
Where glad to here it, thats why its all posted here.
I just thought you’d all like to know that one of Armando’s many unsatisfied customers has been kind enough to send me his “master course” because he/she was upset about being ripped off. I will be sure to do a full evaluation and post a review here in a few weeks for all to see.
Mike
In post #1415, Alex wrote:
“Keith is networking, Good job, he wants you to contact him so he can sell you a home.
Keith word of advise… everyone here likes to sue, be careful.”
Alex, have you ever heard of a little thing called “cognitive distortion?”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_distortion
Chihuahua contigo. ‘tas loco.
wyldwmn
RE: Post 1417 — Thanks to whoever sent Mike the copy for Mike to evaluate.
And…Thanks Mike for giving us a Christmas present to look forward to this year! I am sure it will be interesting.
RE: wyldwmn — I admire you!
RE: Keith Curtiss — I found your posts very informative and that it what this site is supposed to be about!
RE: ME and the following Post — What I have to say is not acting my age or my IQ nor am I proud of what I feel needs to be said by someone so it will be me since there are newcomers reading all the time. After this next post I will no longer be taking insults nor reading your response. I will be quiet and wait for Mike’s report. My apologies to everyone that has been wonderful on this site but I have had my fill of Alex (and friends) and his comments like the one about paging you guys at the Hard Rock of which I doubt he was there at all.
RE: Post 1408 and 1415 and all other Alex posts — I have learned to overlook all the irksome, monotonous, impracticable, unreasonable, over confident, diffuse, driveling drool of crap that shows his puerility and jobbernowlism. For newcomers to this site you can make up your own minds. There are a few other Posters that are infatuated with Armando’s self-seeking, egotistical, conceited, pretentious, arrogant, flatulent personality and the way he conducts his scam/con games. I will admit that I was once very upset with these couple of Posters but now see them for the right to their pinions and how to spend their monies. Yes, you can call me crotchety if you want.
Jen ; (call my a big mouth too, makes no difference to me)!
I just watched my second Montelogo episode. My first was the Cat house. The one I just finished watching was this brick one story with a foundation problem.
This show is so obviously staged, I really do not feel sorry for any slack jawed dimwits that would buy their $1,000 course. Did anyone really think the supervisor that Armando fired was going to stay fired? If you did, buy the course.
They painted perfectly good brick. SO sad.
I have fixed up four properties with significant foundation problems. I still own two of them. The only way to get market value for a property like that is to rent it for a few years so that prospective buyers feel comfortable that the foundation problem has been fixed. Fixing it up (especially with a contractor that barely speaks English) and immediatelly selling it at anything close to market value is just is not realistic.
I have an idea. If Armando is on the up and up lets put out a challenge to him. Let a Licensed and professional contractor go into one of his flips with a t.v. crew and see if it even meets codes. I had a friend bid a job for him last year and he asked him if he could hide the violations so it would not catch the inspectors eyes. He also asked him to do the job were he would actually loose money with a promise of future work. My friend who is a professional respectfully declined the job. So that’s my challenge to Armando
I was supposed to be in bed five hours ago, darn you all and your 1420 posts!
Was considering buying the ebook set until seeing the website. The website address is advertised on their “For Sale” signs on the show.. but doesn’t show any houses for sale.. makes me sad.
John wrote:
I have an idea. If Armando is on the up and up lets put out a challenge to him. Let a Licensed and professional contractor go into one of his flips with a t.v. crew and see if it even meets codes. I had a friend bid a job for him last year and he asked him if he could hide the violations so it would not catch the inspectors eyes. He also asked him to do the job were he would actually loose money with a promise of future work. My friend who is a professional respectfully declined the job. So that’s my challenge to Armando
John I believe we all agree that Mike Holmes of Holmes on Homes is the man for that job, then after he’s done ripping all down and doing it right, cause thats what Mike does, maybe he’ll beat flopper with a 8X8
I would LOVE to see Mike Holmes turned loose on one of Armando’s disasters. If one of them ever sells, it should be easy enough to get the victim, er, I mean homeowner, to offer up the house.
I can hear Mike Holmes now, “Take it all down.” Ever see on his show when he finds stuff like a tiny bit of insulation hanging out just to fool an inspector? That’s Armando’s stock and trade from what I’ve seen. I’d bet Mike Holmes just hates the guy if he’s seen the show.
Hey wyldwmn (Alex) just so you know I can only sell people property in Md and I only work in my target zones. So if you think I’m networking to sel soemone a house your wrong, I’m just really sick and tired of shisters like Armando getting a reality show and exploiting what I know is not easy and making it seem effortless in no time. I just thought I would shed some clear light on a subject that has been glorified by a guy I wouldn’t buy a snow cone from let a loan his advice. The fact that I am a realtor I know the reality of this stuff and quite frankly have been doing it much, much longer then Armando the great, and it angers me, but if you think my intent is less then admirable that’s on you, but for the people that have questions my advice is free if you want to email me, that’s all.
…Will be interesting to see what happens in the next year…. If Armando will be there or not… Maybe they will take him off… Maybe he will be in prison… lol hahaha
In Post #1425 Keith Curtiss comments:
“Hey wyldwmn (Alex) just so you know I can only sell people property in Md and I only work in my target zones.”
I’m confused. I directed myself to Alex’ lack of adequate brain function. ??
wyldwmn
Chris:
“Flip This Cell Block” staring Armando, Sam Leccima, and Angie and her husband. Now THERE’s a reality show the world would watch…
RE post 1428
Bet that bunch would Flip The Shower’s first!
ha
Re: “Flip This Cell Block” co staring Armando, Sam Leccima, and Angie and her husband.”
Produced and Directed by Richard Davis.
And STARRING Ginger Alexander as the ‘mean, evil jailer’
LOL
Mike,
Haha! I agree… I’m thinking Sam would own Armando haha
This blog hasnt been as active lately… Too bad we cant get someone from that company in Utah that is peddling Armandos crap to come on here… Like someone who worked there and wants to tell the real side of things…
Or people who have dealt with Armando and their stories…
Or Armando himself hahahahaha but we know that wont happen… He is scared you, Steve In Texas and I would be asking for proof… And of course, that would be way too much for us to ask for right? lol hahaha
Got any ideas? P.S. When we doing our surprise Q&A time with the clown? 🙂
Just thought you’d all like to know I am well into Armando’s “Master Course”. I can tell you now that it isn’t going to take long to review and, thus far, all our suspicions about how worthless it is are proving very true. If anyone reading this is even remotely contemplating purchasing this course, don’t do it. The probability that it is entirely worthless is very high – I will let you all know soon enough.
Tick tock…
To bad we are all honest! I’d post that course on every peer-to-peer site and torrent.. at least people could get if for free and cut the grass under Armando’s feet…
It did not take long to figure Amando for a fraud. His wife is one also. The one who gets left with the problems is the son. Having one bad parent sucks but having two means social services will be involved. I feel sorry for him.
i cant believe you pathetic losers are still yip yapping about armando montelongo.my god,get a life
what post # is it where the person talks about using the cd for their car loan? i cant seem to find it
“Bdkew” (opvious shill, loser) post 1435
= ASN 8/7, 1.
Here’s a clue, shill: we’ll keep exposing Armando until the fraud is out of business, so get used to it. We aren’t going anywhere. Loser.
That is post # 1311 by Cadge.
In post #1435, bdkew wrote:
“i cant believe you pathetic losers are still yip yapping about armando montelongo.my god,get a life”
Hmmmm…let me see if I understand what you are saying. As I understand you, what you are saying is that it is a BAD thing to “yip yap” about Armando and the way he is exploiting people, and that it is a GOOD thing to “yip yap” about the people who are posting facts and good advice that help people avoid being taken advantage of by far more con artists than Armando. Is that correct? Is that what you are saying?
Well, if that’s what you are saying, then I’m really glad you posted because I am terrified that people will think I’m a pathetic loser. So I think what you wrote makes perfect sense.
Yip yapping about Armando = bad; makes you a pathetic loser who doesn’t have a life.
Yip yapping about the posters on this blog = good, makes you a real smart and and successful person, who doesn’t have to get a life.
Yep. Makes perfect sense.
wyldwmn
In post #1436, jake wrote:
“what post # is it where the person talks about using the cd for their car loan? i cant seem to find it”
1311
wyldwmn
Jake not so much using a CD to buy the car, but rather taking the cash she has at hand, which would be enough to buy the car outright and buying a CD instead, and then getting a loan to buy the car. At the end of the loan period the CD will earn you more interest, then what you paid in the term of the car loan.
So, since I saw there is a lot of “experts” here, please help me out. How do I find the deals without signing up for any “paid” website, and how do I start doing it when my credit is not good? If you guys are really good as you claim to be, please email me at rbarboza1@comcast.net
Mike Voss:
From what I have gathered from my short time reading on this message board, Armando’s program is a scam? A gentleman at his company has been in contact with me about purchasing their 12 month coaching package for 21,750. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
My wife mentioned the other day that
she was planning to purchase Armandos package as an Xman gift. I watch the show when I have the time.
I told her thanks for the kind gift idea but hold until further notice.
That night I typed in Armandos name and came across this site in the mix of listings. After reading many a negative posting I went to Armandos website for solice and a true understanding of what’s going on. However, it never came.
Ladies and gentlemen, be afraid, be very afraid. I won’t waste time here but does none remember the likes of Brad Richdale? Buy his 10 secrets to real estate success and you’re at the bank!
This play has been given many a time by these frauds and to this day, people still fall for the exact same pitch, over and over and over. Go to Armandos website and do look through a few of the pages. If you are hooked by the pitch then you can’t be saved. I only ask this of you before you pull out your plastic late at night on a Friday evening when the kids are hungry.
His website opens up with a clever drive into an industrial complex via one Mercedes Benz. The vid is only a half minute long but if you think rational then it goes a long way to tell the true tale of what’s going on and you need not look or ask any further questions.
The parking lot is empty. The buildings are all unmarked. Armando exits the car and gives his brief speech about needing an apprentice up to the challenge. Thankfully it was probably 8:25 a.m. and he had to get back in his car and get the hell out of there before the actual owners of the business called the police.
He’s made millions and now want’s to share this with the world. Perhaps a building or unit with his name on it might not be a bad idea next time around? Again, man makes millions and has his brother running a handycam.
If this is in any way unclear then here is what I suggest. Send me $99.95 and I promise to send back to you my latest e-book on how to make millions in flipping houses. It has all the secrets you can handle. For an extra, 20,000.00, I’ll give you so many secrets you won’t know what to do with them.
Best regards,
P.S. Salvation from wasting your hard earned dollars is within these postings. Read and understand them and you will be ahead of the game. Ignore the warnings and Armando will send you his next line of secrets for only $299.95. Get the picture?
EPRICE:
Armando’s program is without question a scam. Do not send him your money.
His materials are little more than a few tired old strategies that anyone could find for free in a library or elsewhere combined with numerous worthless ideas he has put together, many of them illegal. You can see my review of his $97 e-book in another subject thread on this website. His $1000 “Master Course” is little more than him reciting the garbage in his e-book while plugging his mentoring and coaching services at regular intervals. A number of people posted early on in this thread that all his materials were is an endless pitch for something better and more expensive, and after reviewing them I can attest that that is a fact.
Under NO circumstance should you consider sending him a dime, much less $20,000 +. Your money will be 100% wasted and gone forever. That is a certainty.
I will soon be posting a review of the $1000 “Master Course” to help people avoid wasting their money on that just as with the e-book. Having seen both of these materials and the numerous misrepresentations presented as factual in them and how they are used with the intent to take more money from the buyers, I have come to the conclusion that Armando’s business is an ongoing fraud. I am planning to contact Barry Minkow at Fraud Detection Institute and ask him to issue an opinion on the matter.
Please, Eprice, change your phone number and put that money in the bank.
Best regards,
Mike Voss
I have confirmed that Armondo Montelongo was arrested in San Antonio for theft of service. This is a State Jail felony warrant that was issued for his arrest out of Austin Texas(Travis County). I have confirmed this. This is not a joke or a lie, I am trying to get a copy of the affidavit from the DA’s Office in Travis County. The DA Mrs. Hanson @ 1-512-854-9527 X3713 has confirmed this. He is now a felon!!! His BS is catching up to him now. OH and Merry Christmas…. PN
I thought house flipping was dead with the housing crisis and the problems with the economy. Why would anyone need advice on flipping,free or paid for? I buried my cat when it died, apparently I should have sold it.
Here’s a little tidbit from an animal rights person re: Armando’s cruelty to animals:
http://network.bestfriends.org/MessageBoards/TopicPopup.aspx?g=bac60ab15d91416183f9c88c5cc0d459&t=13972
wyldwmn
In Post #1446, N.D. Boy. wrote:
“I thought house flipping was dead with the housing crisis and the problems with the economy. Why would anyone need advice on flipping,free or paid for? I buried my cat when it died, apparently I should have sold it.”
Boy’s comments again point to the issue that Armando Montelongo is NOT about house flipping. Armando Montelongo IS about finding a way to make money fast from people who are not knowledgable about the ways of scam artists.
House flipping is only the carrot that Armando is holding out in front of those that he perceives to be “donkeys” that are easily dominated and exploited. Abuse always follows the path of least resistance, and Armando’s television program is not based on developing professional skills–it is based on perpetrating the myth that you can get what you want through the use of power, control, force, humiliation, and deceit, and that you can become very wealthy doing so.
The television program is nothing more than a set-up for Armando to begin selling his snake-oil products about how to get rich through house flipping, which, again, has nothing whatsoever to do with being an investor in real estate. Armando’s TV shows are all about Armando showing up in flashy clothes and dealing with problems that HE SAYS other people cause him. He portrays himself as the saviour on each one of his deals. He does not portray himself as being a coach–he portrays himself as being an abusive manipulator who humiliates and decevies people to get what he wants. Armando does not teach people how to do their job–he turns them loose with no guidance or advice, and then tries to make it seem like he’s the good guy in the white hat that rides in on his big horse to save everybody from their stupid selves.
Armando is counting on unsuspecting victims who are not knowledgable about certain thinking errors. For example, confirmation bias refers to our tendency to look for whatever makes our dreams come true. Heuristic thinking refers to our tendency to look for the quickest answer. Armando targets poor people, which is why he keeps repeating over and over the story of being on his last tank of gas. He wants to convince poor people that “Hey…I am just like you.” He is using the technique that all cult and mass movement leaders use, which is creating “hope” by leading victims to believe the worst about their circumstances, and then telling them that if they become obedient and do xyz, they will get some prize or happiness (or, in Armando’s case, bags-o-bucks) at some point in the future. What is left out of this scenario as painted by the cult leaders, is the specific information about how to bridge the gap between being a have-nothing and a have-everything. None of Armando’s information is actually specific and the reason is that Armando is not selling house-flipping information–he is selling FALSE HOPE. His objective, no matter what he says, is NOT that of being a teacher. His objective is to get people to give him their money, and he does this by leading them to believe that he is the only source for what they need, that he is the only person who cares, that he is doing them a huge favor, etc., etc., etc. He does provide information that *some* people have not had before, which then leaves them with the *feeling* and *belief* that what they have spent on his crap has been helpful and that it has been a good investment. However, Armando is not marketing his crap to people who are able to see through his manipulations–he is marketing his crap to people that he perceives as being people who are afraid that the ONLY path for them to become more wealthy financially, is to invest money in some scam that they believe will give them “secrets” that nobody else has. In other words, the “dream” that Armando waves in front of his donkeys like a carrot is just a myth. It’s NOT the same story as someone who has taken the time to study and develop skills and who has taken the time to learn how to invest money strategically and honestly. Do you have to have a university education to make money in real estate? Heck no. But you DO have to know how to acquire and organize information. Do you have to go to a university to learn that skill? Heck no. But Armando is not teaching that skill–Armando is selling a myth. Are there people who will buy Armando’s crap and make some money? Heck yes. But that does NOT indicate that it was ARMANDO’S CRAP that was the key factor in that financial success. It means that it was the PERSONAL CHARACTERISTIC of the person buying Armando’s crap–the overall characteristic of doing research–that led to that success. I have YET to see any posts or information anywhere from anybody who has ever been able to show ON PAPER that they have made any profit on anything using only Armando’s methods. I have seen information from people who said that they used Armando’s methods *in addition* to other methods. And this makes my point–Armando is NOT teaching people how to do research and then effect a plan. People who do research and effect a plan will look at Armando’s crap, compare it to other information that they have or find, and then do what is best for them in their unique circumstances. Armando is not interested in those people–he is interested in those who are EASILY CONVINCED TO GIVE HIM THEIR MONEY.
So, what it is that helps people bridge the gap between being a have-nothing and having enough to live comfortably is all about understanding how our social and business systems work, and about understanding how to acquire and organize information. You don’t need a university degree to learn that stuff, and you don’t need to give up tons of money, either. There are plenty of people who write books on this stuff KNOWING that their books will be made avaiable in public libraries FOR FREE. The people that have posted practical information on this website have addressed themselves to the *accessibility of information.* Armando is trying to convince a certain segment of the population that information is SCARCE, that *he is the only resource* for them obtaining the information and then once he has manipulated their brains to believe that he is the only resource for what he has manipulated them to think that they want, he then pressures them for money that they don’t have–the very money that they need to invest with. This is how *all* cult leaders operate–they paint a bleak picture, hold out a carrot, and then ask for money, goods, obedience, etc. The cult members then will defend the leader when the leader is criticized and questioned because they have been so manipulated mentally that any criticism or questioning of the leader puts their belief of future access to resources at risk.
Is there money to be made in a bad housing market? Of course there is. But that depends on each person’s circumstances–not on how skillfully you can lie and manipulate and get away with it. It depends as well on how each person defines “making money.”
I am not a contractor or a real estate professional, but I have a *lot* of knowledge about human psychology and what our mental vulnerabilities are when it comes to creating strategies for living well. Strategies are not independent of existing social systems. Strategies work when the people who design them based on their individual circumstances have quality information. Armando is not interested in teaching people how to improve their life skills–he is only interested in taking advantage of the people that he can successfully convince that as long as they have a “secret” or a “gimmick” or a really powerful maniuplative technique, they can make lots of money.
ARMANDO IS NOT MAKING MONEY HOUSE FLIPPING.
ARMANDO IS MAKING MONEY SELLING FALSE HOPE TO PEOPLE WHO DO NOT KNOW HOW THEIR BRAINS WORK AND WHO DO NOT KNOW HOW PEOPLE LIKE ARMANDO USE KNOWLEDGE OF HUMAN THINKING ERRORS TO CONVINCE PEOPLE TO GIVE HIM THEIR MONEY.
wyldwmn
I bought a Hummer H2 at barrett hummer in san antonio and i asked about Armando montelongo and i was told by the salesman and finance manager that his credit is SHOT and he didnt get the leases in his name. They told me they had to really work to get the deal done. If hes so successful, why is his credit so shot? Also i met a builder who went to like a continuing eduication course for builders and armandos older brother i believe rick was his name told everyone in the class that the family is highly disappointed at armando. Remember the “we drove into town on our last tank of gas” Well he comes from a well to do rich family in san antonio….all BS!
Wyldwmn-Mike Voss. You can’t save the people that want to go down with the ship. You tried to do you’re best! Thank you. This summer I will be building my brother a home that will be worth twice what he pays for it, and he will probably live in it for another twenty years. THAT IS A HOME OWNER! I must be simple minded because I just don’t understand anymore what most americans think having a home is. I’ve been living in England for the last three years. Home ownership for honest hard working people over here is only a dream. God bless HONEST AMERICANS! You will get deserve. Hang in there.
In post #1450, N.D. Boy wrote:
N.D. Boy. wrote:
“You can’t save the people that want to go down with the ship.”
Actually, Boy, while I understand what you are getting at, this statement is a myth and it is also an example of internalized oppression.
In the first place, most people that are victims of people like Armando Montelongo are not aware that they are on a sinking ship because nobody has ever taken the time to teach them how to access resources and support systesms in a way that meets their needs. And of course, this means that nobody has ever taken the time to teach them what their basic human needs are.
Second, as I’ve been stating, people like Armando Montelongo use mind control techniques, and to say that the people on the sinking ship actually *want* to sink is a type of victim blaming that is used by abusers and it is a type of victim blaming that is used by other people who, when they don’t know what to do help the victims, choose to do the easiest and fastest thing, which is to say that “they must want” what is happening to them or else they would do something about it.
Abuse and exploitation are all about one person or institution having way more power over a more vulnerable less-empowered individual or group. Abuse, racism, exploitation, etc., are all embedded in our social systems–and that is precisely why people like Armando Montelongo can get away with what he does. There are people who will make personal attacks on him and there are people who will dig up the facts. But there are not enough people like *me* who are willing to expose the other, less-discussed side of this type of exploitation. And that side is about the specific mechanisms that Armando uses to get away with his scams, *as well as* the specific mechanisms that are embedded in our social systems and therefore in all of our thinkinging processes, that let Armando get away with it.
So…it’s not just about telling the people on the sinking ship that Armando is a slime who only wants to take advantage of them. And it’s not just about telling them that there is a bunch-o-proof that Armando is not as “wealthy” as he claims. It is also about dismantling that fantasy that Armando has encouraged people to hold in that space between living in poverty and the “dream” that he is dangling in front of them, by providing information and explanations about what is happening to them in the moment.
There is a *lot* of research that shows that when victims of any type of abuse receive what is called “psychoeducation,” i.e., education about the specific mechanisms that put them in the situation of being a victim, that they then start to reject the bullying and the exploitation.
So, when you say “you can’t save the peopel that want to go down with the ship” then basically you are agreeing that the ones who go down with the ship are expendable, and that we should not make any efforts to keep them safe.
The thing is, most people will make that type of comment after they’ve exhausted all of the things that they believe can be done to help the victims. However, they are not taking that extra step to learn about how to help people who are being exploited by a cult-leader type individual, and so that behavior of not taking that extra step to learn how to help protect the most vulnerable in our society, sends a clear message to those individuals, which is “you are not worth being saved.”
Armando Montelong exploits this reality. A good book on social psychology explains this type of phenomenon in more detail, i.e., why it is that a bunch of people will stand around watching a person get hurt without doing anything, and also by engaging in the type of victim-blaming that sounds similar to what you said about people on a sinking ship. In other words, saying stuff like “If he didn’t want to get mugged, he shouldn’t have been walking down this street.” Or, “If she didn’t want to get assaulted, she shouldn’t try to look so pretty.”
Um….Boy, are you suggesting that Mikie and I are one in the same person???
wyldwmn
Wyldwmn wrote:
i.e., why it is that a bunch of people will stand around watching a person get hurt without doing anything, and also by engaging in the type of victim-blaming that sounds similar to what you said about people on a sinking ship.
I believe what you are referring to is “bystander effect”, yes? That is indeed a very well established phenomenon that many people have never heard of or observed.
The most classic example I ever saw was when survivors of Air Florida flight 90 were being pulled to shore of the Potomac River by a helicopter and one flight attendant couldn’t make it past about 15 feet from shore. At least 25 people just stood there while one man, Lenny Skutnik, dove in, swam out to her, and got her. (in ICE cold water during a snowstorm) I’m sure that anyone else who also saw that happen never forgot it.
As someone (Thoreau?) once said, “All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men (and women) to do nothing.”
Armando is a classic example of that in action.
http://boards.aetv.com/thread.jspa?threadID=700005231
No I’m not suggesting you and mike are one and the same. The ship I’m talking about is the S.S. Armando and his passengers greed. When the thought of quick cash blinds people to what a con artist Armando really is (and not even a very good one)I don’t feel they are victims. The victims are the people that work hard, to save up a down payment and buy their crappy flipped houses. I don’t disagree with most of what you write wyldwmn, but my posts are not that deep. WOW!! I’m on you’re side. I’m just not as angry as you seem to be. People that want to be just like Armando are victims? You haven’t sold me on that one yet. I’ll get ready for my bashing!
Ok I have been quiet long enough…this is to all the losers (and that’s putting it nicely) You all cry about how can we say these things about your precious Armando since no one talks to him…I am here today to tell you shut the f–k up!! I talk to Armando on the phone all the time, he talks the same way he acts, uneducated. If Armando is so great at what he does why does he need to call me for my advice?? He knows I don’t even flip houses, but he always calls for my advice pretty funny for a man (and I use that term lightly) who claims to be the #1 flipper can’t even make a decision on his own! There is a reason I continue to speak to him and in due time all you idiots who love him will be sticking your foot in your mouth!! I WILL NOT SIT AROUND AND DO NOTHING WHILE INNOCENT PEOPLE ARE BEING TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF!! Any one notice his discussion board has been shut down? I know why the board was closed because as soon as one person posted something negative about Armando he shut it down. A real man would of addressed the issue head on, but when your a liar it’s hard to defend yourself, so Mr. scared shut it down. Can’t defend yourself on a subject you have very little or no experience. So please all you Armando lovers buy his master course and do everything he tells you to do, go flip that house and you will go directly to jail! Until you buy his great (lol) master course shut the f__k up because unless you have it your mking asses of yourselves!
oh,and by the way wildwoman,ya,you are kind of a loser…..and boring.my god but your posts are dull,and mike voss,you are like a broken record.an irritating voice of reason that just wont stop,until all i want to do is take a a dull knife and slide it accross my own jugular vein….desperatly hoping,praying that my life will end and hearing you will stop.id sell my soul to the devil and spend eternity in fire if it meant an end to your perfect pompouse little tirades.and by the way,im from canada,and no friend of armandos,although id love to be his wifes friend…….so try again with the shill thing.
lovemyboxerdog, lets see some proof that you speak to Armando all the time. Give us certain details about Armando. Considering that Armando probably reads this site more than once a day, I would think he would be able to figure out who you are.
bdkew wrote:
oh,and by the way wildwoman,ya,you are kind of a loser…..and boring.my god but your posts are dull,and mike voss,you are like a broken record.an irritating voice of reason that just wont stop,until all i want to do is take a a dull knife and slide it accross my own jugular vein….
*** so what’s stopping you? By all means, go ahead.
….desperatly hoping,praying that my life will end and hearing you will stop.id sell my soul to the devil and spend eternity in fire if it meant an end
*** And yet you come back again and again…ever heard the definition of insanity???
Hello people !! I run into this site by chance, and by reading some of the comments I can tell some of you are right and some wrong. Let me tell you my take on investing in real estate. I live in NC, real estate prices here are still really nice. I moved here from Cali, and you can tell why I say prices here are as good as gold.
I’m a real estate broker who also happens to be a real estate investor. I have been an investor much longer than I have been a broker. the types of properties I buy are pretty much run down, but that i know that once I remodel them , will yield a few bucks. Now at first I used to do it by myself with the help of an in-law. I started by not knowin a thing about remodeling. My thoughts were it was my house , so if I messed something up , nobody would yell at me, and I could always fix the mistake. After I fixed each house I learned something new , a mistake i made in the previous and that i would not make in the next one. so far so good. I have been doing this for 5 years. I’m way far from being wealthy. I have made mistakes along the way, one of them has been using credit crads to finance my deals, buy them and rehabing them, but that is a different subject and I don’t need lectures from anyone on that. trust me I have learned.
The part about completely renovating a house is a serious business. I live things the way I would live in them. I have a reputation to maintain and need to stay lawsuits free from people who buy my houses. Often I show houses to clients from investors that I feel like screaming at them( the investors) some of them patch up things, and paint over them. sometimes they won’t eve bother replacing an old front door with a rusted door knob. My philosophy on renovating houses is to do the very best job you can. If you do this for a living or most of your time , you want people to be impressed when they see your house and they start comparing it to other houses they have seen. Now for something to look good you have to spend money.
When you are ready to buy a distressed house that is when you need to make a realistic budget and know you will make money after is said and done. When you are new to this , you would have no idea how to do it. I usually know how much I will spend in the house, how much will it appraise for and how much money I will end up making. I have been blessed with that gift, which is something I have been lucky with since I started on this. Today I have a crew that works with me, I thaught them what I know about sheet rocking, carpentry, plumbing framing etc. and I have been lucky that they enjoy doing this as well. I do spend some money in them but I can turn any project quickly. Now if you have to hire outside help, your profit margin will shrink, of course, but you can still make money, provided you have a clue of what you are buying and leave some space there for unexpected surprises. There are people who preach they can teach you through a book ow to do these things. I can tell you it is not true. Even watching those flip this house shows makes me laugh so much, i find them entertaining, but not realistic, again because I’m involved in this on a daily basis. I work with my crew, I’m not just a site manager watching what they do or just hiring the contractors, like those guys with trademark, and montelongo. I have told people that if you want to learn, I can give you ideas and advise, granted , markets are different in every city and state. I have had people come to Nc to see what I do and how I do and learn what to look for in a ideal rehab property. I would tell you it would be cheaper to fly to NC for a weekend and watch what and how I do things and show you the kind of property ideal to buy, than buying thoase expensive books. I will not be charging you anything for showing you what i do. I firmly believe in helping each other and the rewards come later. I have helped other people, and I get help from other people, so in a way i come out even. I can tell you there’s a lot of money to be made but one needs to be careful and avoid as many mistakes as possible. I don’t have any problem telling people what mistakes I have made. Again I believe in KARMA. always strive to help others by doing so you build bridges and friendships that sometimes can be very helpful. A last note I see a lot of negative comments about investing or related to the subject person montelongo. Real estate investing is real and doable, in some places more than others. Here in NC in the area where I live , which is 1 hr from charlotte prices are still great for investing. I have some investor friends i’m helping buy houses and showing them how to do it. I have even beel able to help them renovate some of theirs properties. and have money in the process. A brother in law of mine lives in cali, and he has bought 3 houses here which he has rented and making money on them without moving a finger, of course I manage them for him and get a bit of money in the process for property management, again this is real and doable if you are willing to work hard. I repeat, work hard, nothing is as easy as those guys in books or shows are trying to make you believe. If anyone has any questions write to my at propacqpartners@aol.com
I’ll be glad to answer any questions or help with any advise you may need
PS. I just re-read my posting and found some typing errors, sorry , was typing too fast.
i am back again people….i have come back from the otherworld to comment once again.even tho i am no longer among the living,i must stay to maintain one of the only voices of reason in this room.now,as i have stated before,i have to say that i always take the side of the underdog.and armando is certainly that.he of course is rude,obnoxious,not very bright,hes obviously not a carpenter,he is overly loquatious,he is shady,not a very good role model,he treats women like crap,hes obviously not a member of PETA,hes boorish,corny,a used car salesman,his brother obviously got the class in their family,hes a megalomaniac,and last but not least hes fat.and thats a crime against his poor,incredibly gorgeous wife.its an outrage that she has to perform her wifely duties with him.may god have mercy.and regardless of all of the above,i still say hes done nothing wrong.at the end of the day,hes providing a living for his family,and it seems a better one than most of you have.his show is entertaining as hell,real or fake,and thats why we watch right??your invasion of his life has really made me sick,and yes i come back here every once in a while to see if any of you yokels have given it up.glad to see your all here by the way.i still say….if and when hes guilty of anything,dont you think that with him being a minor celeb that the feds are watching???so other than all of your whining,why oh why isnt he in jail?because nobody has anything on him,thats why.hes selling an info course.so what?hes hardly the first.you dont want it?dont buy it.if his course is a scam…..hell get busted for mail fraud.which by the way he hasnt yet.i see wildwomans posts are actually getting longer…if its even possible.as usuall everything about psyc,and nothing about reno.then we have mike voss who with his apparrent reno knowledge should be general manager of HGTV.its easy to critisize others who for better or worse are doing something when youve done nothing.those who can,DO,and those who cant TEACH.so please keep teaching us.whether armando rolled into town on a tank of gas or not,he still managed to put something together god or bad.i would bet the montelongos have had a very interesting few years.compared to the rest of you with such full lives….id say hes doing ok.
First off AF you need to be smart to figure things out! I know Armando reads this site, but he won’t figure out who I am that takes brains point made!! More than likely your Armando fishing for info, sorry not gonna get it here. All I will say is what goes around comes around, KARMA!
Well ghost of BDKEW, you were ok up to a point and then you got into areas where you clearly don’t know any facrs because I for one am FAR beter off than Armando and that’s a demonstrable fact. And, furthermore, Armando is, in fact, in very significant trouble with the law at this very monent and while I have agreed not to say too much I will say that he may not be available for seasons 3-7 of FTH if you catch my drift. SO, dig a bit deeper into the fats and if you doubt me feel free to contact me directly for hard proof.
We aren;t just talking the talk here, and that id a fact. Armando is a criminal and a fraud and I say that in public with total impunity from any repurcussions because I can prove it. If you know one damnd thing about Armando,you know he’d never take that lying down unless he had no choice – and that is exactly what he has – no choice because I speak the truth.
And just for the record, making tv about RENO and doing reno are 2 vey different things. My specialt is the latter, While I’d give the former a try under the right circumstances, I doubt anone would want to do it my way. (ecept maybe Mike Holmes and he’s got plenty to keep busy.)
Peace,
Mike Voss
I think armando is a scam artist charging that much money to help you flip houses, its bull crap. i havent purchased this but inquired for more info and i am getting 2 to 3 bs emails a day form his people asking me to sign up for things and buy their discs. I think he has a crap attitude and he treats his friends and family especially his wife like they are far beneath him, he may be rolling in the money but its not 100% honest effort on his part
I called and ordered the free dvd, but gave them my credit card# for shipping. I returned the package after 1 week. Now after 3 months, I see a charge for $86.55. This is just another rip off scam artist working wire, mail, credit card fraud. They never seem available on the phone. The has never flipped 30 properties a month. He has swindled 30 people a month . maybe more.
dear mr.voss,usually you annoy me,but i must say that your response was well said.if as you say,that he is on the verge of going on a vacation is true,then obviously he is getting what he deserves and you then will have been right all along.i will reserve that judgement for if and when he goes away.i sincerely hope that veronica doesnt wait for him,and gives love with someone else a try.although having armando as my new wifes ex husband would be annoying.anyway,i digress.my main problem on this website hasnt ever been anyone researching anything and coming up with an informed decision…its always been with the legion of fools posting on here about crap they no nothing about.think back on the older posts,we have everything from veronica and melina being whores,comments about his son,actually,a really large amount of hateful personal stuff.even comments on their almost divorce.ive read a novels worth of material from wildwoman in regards to the mindset of armando and how his wife is an abused victim.ridiculous and whats any of that got to do with flip this house.wilwoman would do better on a freud website i think.where she could share her wisdom with the great unwashed.ive seen so many posters come on here,and spurt out some instant personal attack on the montelongos,and the extent of their knowledge is that they watched 2 episodes.seems like a lynchmob to me.my god that veronica dresses like a slut!!lets burn the witch!!!!thats the mentallity.ive never been part of the mob,ive always lead or else make my own decisions,but watching most of you jackals in here fighting over theyre bones is really disgusting.it really is like a group of kids beating the crap out of the fat kid.i defended the fat kid then,and i guess i will now.
Mike Voss speaks the truth. In law, the truth is what is known as a “complete defense” to the claim of defamation. Armando is a liar. Armando is a fraud. If you can prove otherwise, file suit. I think it is important to point out that Mike Voss is one of a few posters here with the balls to post with his real name. I commend him.
And, if anyone is foolish enough to sue, I can gaurantee he will have competent, capable and “free” legal counsel to defend him.
GHOSTOFBDKEW, if you’ve got a response to that, let it fly. Merry, merry.
i believe that walmarts new schtik is that if you purchase in their store,with the money you save,you will be able to have more money for your rent,electric etc.needless to say,i think all of us have seen the stereotypical welfare mother,with the shopping cart loaded to overflowing with useless unnesessary crap dragging around 3 kids in walmarts hallowed halls.by the way,she probabbly went to walmart to buy only milk and eggs.my point is this.sholdnt we be up in arms over a company who has obviously decided to market directly to the lowest income levels in our society?is walmart making a living on the backs of the poor?probably.but they arnt doing anything illegal.the montelongos are doing the same.capitalism isnt always pretty but thats the way it is.you all go on about mike holmes flipping houses.he doesnt do it because he cant.if you were to put the effort and money into a flip likr mike does,you would lose your ass.would you agree mike voss???weve already established that you wouldnt spend 100,000 on a 30000 house.would i buy a montelongo home?no.because i can afford better.but what about the guy who cant afford it.concidering the price level in san antonio,and the obvious income level of a person buying a montelongo home,i didnt think any of them were that bad.you cant buy a porche on a chevy budget.even tho it seems thats what most of you expect.isnt it rather obvious that if montelongo could get 500000 for a house that he might put in more than 30000 fixing it up.lets try some actual business savvy here peeps.
Mike Voss is completely right and I also know the legal trouble Armando is in. I don’t want to say anymore other than the day it happens will be a victorious day for all the people who were scammed by him. I also know Armando and know if we were speaking the truth his arrogance would make him respond! He doesn’t respond because he knows it’s true.
Dennis I feel for ya good luck getting your money back and even if you remove your credit card Armando still keeps it, I do know this for a fact. Send me your email and when everything is in place I will email you so you can be part of it. It won’t be to much longer.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
DENNIS MY EMAIL IS crazy4boxers2@yahoo.com
WYLDWMN where are you? I know you don’t want me defending you! GO GIRL!!! Love N.D. Boy.
Ghostofbdkew, having read this post mostly for the entertainment value, I simply can’t let your last post go without comment. You are now trying to analogize AM and Wal mart? You have got to be kidding me. What is your problem with Walmart? Low prices piss you off? Do you like paying too much for things? Are you just not happy until you’ve overpaid for your purchases? Pardon the bluntness, but, are you an idiot? Would you pay $50,000 for a car that you could get down the street for $30,000? Walmart is making their living “Off of the backs of the poor?” Do you really think that the 127 million people that shop at Walmart weekly are “poor”? If your answer is yes, then you are saying that you believe that over 33% of the population is “poor”. If you enjoy paying more to shop somewhere else, more power to you, but don’t denegrate someone for where they CHOOSE to shop. It is still America. People are free to spend their money wherever they want. At the end of your post you ask “Lets try some business savvy here peeps” after posting the exact opposite. You tell others to show business savvy after dissing the most successful retailer in human history. Why don’t you show some of your “savvy” and come up with a plan to put big ole bad Walmart out of business? Let me guess: you would, but you’re saving all your money to buy carbon credits to help off-set the “Global Warming” plague.
Question for a Contractor/Roofer:
I live in a house that is two years old, and a just found a small water leak (approx. 2″ x 4″) in my attic. What should be done to coorect this? Will I need to have a portion of my roof replaced (along with the decking), or is there a way to “patch” it? I only had a one-year warranty on the house, so I don’t know what direction to take. Any advice is appreciated!
Ghost -a couple things:
First, a “welfare mother” could not buy anything other than food at a Wal Mart on the overnment dime because most every state now restricts what you can use their funds for to a large degree. For example, CA food stamps cannot be used for items not considered food from a store (ie; cigarettes, etc.)
Secondly, Mike Holmes is not a house flipper. He’s a general contractor and that’s how he makes his living, not by turning real estate. On his show, he goes to the homes of unfortunate people (also NOT flippers) who were flat out ripped off by bad contractors and fixes the work for them at reduced cost. Usually they still have to pay something, but in extreme cases he has gotten a LOT of stuff donated by sponsors and then featured their products on the show. That’s a good desl for all involved. Mike’s about as far from a ‘flipper’ as you can get. In our business, that word is, eessentially, a profanity used with disdain.
Mike Voss
At my first glance I to thought Armando was a little off. However I began to try some of the thing he talked about and they worked. I then purchased his Master package and was more than please. I had only previously purchased one other course that didn’t compare to Armando’s. I have a small Real Estate biz in San Antonio.
abby peurifoy: Please be specific as to what exactly was helpful to you in Armando’s course and post proof of your profitable transaction(s). I posit that you are lying and.or do not exist, and your attempted humorous name doesn’t help our lack of credibility.
PapuManiac: what needs to be done depends entirely on what is the source of the water. If the water leaks constantly, it is likely a leak in a supply line that needs to be corrected. If it is intermittent and coincides with rain or snow melt, it is more likely a roof leak. It could also be a DWV (drain) leak, but in the attic area, this is les likely. Less likely still is a condensate drain leak from an air conditioner, but I doubt you;re using AC this time of year depending on where you live…
Question: did you hire a home inspector to evaluate the house before buying it? Frequently, people buying new houses do not know that this is necessary. If you didn’t, I woiuld advise you to spend a few hundred dollars and hire a certified inspector to check out the entire house. A plumbing supply or roofing leak in a newly constructed house is something to be worried about – best to have an inspector look at that and everything else while he’s at it.
My bet is a bad supply connetion or improper/missing flashing somewhere, both of which are easily fixed and will NOT require all new roofing or sheathing. Let us know what you find. If you;re in the Los Angeles area, drop me a line and I’ll inspect it for you.
Mike Voss
lovemyboxerdog, quit already with the “armando in drag” posts of anyone who happens to either disagree/not walk to party line on here. Are you here in San Antonio also? If you are post your phone number so I can give you a call and we can meet up for lunch and since YOU are the one who claims to be Armando, you can bring him with you.
Whoops, lovemyboxers, I didnt mean to say YOU were Armando, I meant since you are the one who claims to know Armando you can bring him with you to Palapas.
I wish you could edit your posts.
and the rockets red glare……firstly,mike voss,sorry if you misunderstood my last post.read it again please.i never said holmes was a flipper.i said he could afford to flip the way he does renovations.it would cost too much and he wouldnt make a profit.secondly,to GEOFF K,i dont expect you to understand my take on WALMART,i mean,as an obvious WALMART employee,you should be moaning about how much they pay you instead of blowing sunshine.unless you are a middle manager there…….or in charge of marketing….?your stat of 33 per cent of americans being poor might not actually be far off,and as usual you have missed the point.walmart is advertising that if you shop there,you will have more money to live.get it??they on their own accord are advertising directly to low income people.they arnt advertizing to the rich.by getting the low income people in their stores, they are getting them to spend more of their disposable income on items that they dont necessarily need.dont take my word for it,its what they are doing.as for them being the most sucessful retailer in human history…..so,might makes right huh?and yes i voted against the WALMART coming to my town.we lost and the area has become congested and disgusting now.we tend to stay away from that part of town now.keep in mind dude,not everyone on earth wants a walmart in town.i personally dont give a rats ass if bread is 1.00 at walmart and 1.10 at safeway.ill shop at safeway.so you coming on here and spouting off corporate walmart crap does not impress me.also dumbass,why is walmart so large?selling to the rich?no,selling to that poor minority you keep talking about.it will be an interesting day when there arnt any competing retailers around,only walmart and then they can raise prices to whatever they want.also,dont get me started on global warming….theres no such thing.
mike voss…i meant he couldnt afford to flip….my typo
Hey AF I’m definately not Armando. Your not to bright! If you were you would see I don’t like Armando. Maybe you should reread my posts, I said I speak to him on the phone. I don’t live in Texas! My email is crazy4boxers2@yahoo.com send me your phone number and I will call you and prove to you I am not him. Maybe after talking to me you will see I am on Mike Voss side not the idiot. So lets see if you actually send me your number or are you Armando? Put up or shut up.
Ghost,
First: If I were a Walmart “middle manager” then I obviously would be too poor to afford a computer. Second: 33% of Americans being poor “isn’t too far off the mark”? I guess that depends on your definition of poor. Here is a link for you so that you won’t pull a brain muscle finding it on your own. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_the_United_States It even has a pretty little graph you can look at that clearly shows a figure of 12% poverty in the US, and that is even debatable. Poor to me means not having enough money to feed your family. Poor to some people means choosing a carton of cigarettes over a new pair of shoes for their child. 97% of homes in the US have a television set. Would you be worried about buying a TV if your kids were going hungry at night? Some people do. That is a personal choice. Would you consider someone who can afford a TV set “poor”? Today’s definition of poor certainly doesn’t come close to those that were “poor” during the 20’s and 30’s. Third: Walmart is advertising directly to the “poor” not the “rich”? What incredible technology Walmart has to ensure that their ads only go through the cable lines and satelitte dishes of the “poor”. I’m sure the “rich” enjoy only seeing ads on their televisions from Neiman Marcus and Rolex. Fourth: If you have 20 dollars and you spend 12 on food at Walmart you have 8 dollars left. If you have 20 dollars and you spend 18 on the EXACT SAME FOOD
Con’t:
at Safeway (that was the store you picked, right?) then you have 2 dollars left. Thus, you would have more money to “live” as Walmart states. Heck, they might even be able to afford one of those fancy new plasma screen TV’s! Considering that they sell more than any other retailer in America because they are THE LEAST EXPENSIVE. See your third grade teacher if you need clarification. Fifth: “Might does NOT make right” as you incorrectly assume. Knowing how the free market works and using stategies to maximize your profitability do. Do you know of any companies that are in business to lose money? Sixth: I’m glad you voted against Walmart coming to your town. At least you demonstrated (allegedly) that you understand a little bit about Freedom of choice. Seventh: “Walmart got so big selling to the poor, not the rich”? OK, I’ve stopped laughing, I can continue: To borrow your phrase, I’ll just refer to you as “dumbass” from here on out, OK? Dumbass, I believe that Walmart sells to anyone who enters their store. It doesn’t matter if they are rich, poor, middle class, upper middle class, lower middle class, (you did realize that there are more than 2 classes of people (rich & poor) didn’t you dumbass?) really rich, really poor, extremely rich, extremely poor…..Hopefully you grasp the concept. They got so big because they run a successful business. You don’t have to shop there, in fact, you said you like to hang out at Safeway with all the rich People. Just do everyone a favor and go to the library and check out an economics 101 book before you post again.
Hey AF I do talk to him and for good reason. You can really get some good info if you let someone keep talking, if you give him enough rope he will hang himself!
Then people like you who doubt me will look foolish. Stay tuned it’s about to get good. BTW where’s your phone number?
Didn’t figure you’d give it. I know for a fact if you talked to me you would stop saying shit about me. Unfortunately I can not post it on here for good reason. Though I sure wish I could to shut you up. I’m not the bad person here AF or Armando whoever you are.
GEOFF…..is somebody getting angry??lol,i promise i wont insult your precious employer again ok?you spend an awful lot of time talking about tvs.this either means that you spend alot of time watching one.or else that by working for walmart you cant afford one.i am sorry for your predicament.you might concider getting a real job.as for walmart,maybe if your employer would raise you guys pissant salaries,then i wouldnt have to stand in line for 3 hours to get thru the till.then i might brave the dirty,congested store you call home.well….probably not but oh well.you really truly are the biggest dipshit on this site if you think that 20 dollars spent at both walmart and safeway on food gives you savings of 10.00.get a life retard.the savings are pennies.so i will continue to shop at safeway,where only the ultra rich are allowed.no,really its a secret club.they even have a handshake.you on the other hand should get your bosses to pay you a stipend for advertising.your really very good.although i must say i had to read your ramble twice and still dont get it……i still think your saying you want a tv??or was it a computer?it must suck having to post at the internet cafe?im guessing youll be voting democrat?lucky guess huh?so,most poor people choose cigarettes over kids shoes because 97 per cent of americans have tvs???/im not sure i believe that statement.i think your not right in th e head.and also,if you were worried about not feeding your kids because you couldnt afford a tv….why not eat your kids and buy the tv??im sorry but some of your stuff is really weird.and im so thankfull that you explained to me all the different social classes in the states.wow.your so full of crap ,it really boils down to haves, almost haves, and have nots.sugar coat it any way you like.in regards to me checking out economics 101…i will,if you check out english 101.cause that was the most unorganized piece of crap letter ive read.focus son…….youll do better.and seriously,try another job…you might amaze yourself and get it.i know walmart calls you their associate,but really your not…your an employee.peace out brother
WOW!! This is my first venture into a site such as this…damn….very sad. I think you all made your point, so, go get a life and stop judgeing. What am I talking about, judgeing people is your life, and obvious what makes you happy. Take what you can from the flipper Armando and what you dont need you dont use.
Mike Voss:
Thanks for offering to take a look at my roof – unfortunately, I live in Charlotte, NC – so I’m not anywhere near L.A.
I did have my home inspected by a home inspector before I moved-in, but there were no noticeable issues at the time. I called my general contractor, who referred me to the guy who installed my roof. He came over and said that the issue was a nail pop. A couple of guys came over and apparently nailed the popped nail back down. We had a good rainstorm yesterday and it seems that the leak has stopped. I only hope that the fix will last and that this does not become a recurring problem!
PapuManiac – sounds like you did everything right and your builder is a standup guy who took care of the problem immediately. Indeed, a popped nail would not likely be found during inspection. I doubt you’ll have any more water coming in. Good to hear there are still builders and tradespeople out there who take pride in their work.
Mike Voss
Hi folks,
i watched flip this house for the first time tonite on A&E, the one about Armando Montelago (sp?) and the Cat house.
Right away something about Armando didn’t smell right (pun intended).
Now, I have absolutely ZERO construction/housing/renovations knowledge and experience (I do have a hammer and some old screwdrivers in a toolbox though), but it seemed only logical to me that any professional should know what he was buying.
All of those problems that kept cropping up in the cat house? Armando should have known about it ahead of time. I was practically yelling at the screen, every time Armando was complaining about yet another problem, “it’s your own dumbass fault jackass!!! you bought the house sight unseen!!!”
And surprise, surprise, you can get certified building/housing inspections before you buy. I didn’t learn that on the show, but on this board.
Anyways, why am I posting? I don’t really have anything to add. But I would like to say, Armando, you really are a transparent crook.
Actually, I do know why I’m posting this. My g/f watched the show with me and we both want to know…
Armando.. that’s your wife on the show? Is she really your sister and you’re living an incestual relationship?
SERIOUSLY, i know you are taking a lot of flak on this board for your apparent ‘ethics’ and business practices.. but we (g/f and i) seriously think that’s your sister
Ghost,
I typed as slowly as I could, hoping you would understand. Obviously I failed. Two words of advice: spacebar and shift. Give ’em a try. This will be the last post. Can’t waste any more time on an obvious oxygen thief.
WOW! I just saw the episode with the Cat House. I’m in SHOCK! I have seen some shiesty people but Armando Montelongo is a real skidder!!! I HOLD THE SAME AMOUNT OF RESPECT TO A CHILD MOLESTER AS I DO TO ARMANDO MONTELANGO!!! Even the idea, that he’d let such shoddy work be done on that house then let some poor family move in and still be able to sleep at night knowing that disturbs me. These people are the scum of the scum. It doesn’t get much worse than this! I’m glad to see he has all these legal issues. I’m also suprised his smell of failure didn’t overcome the fecal smell in that house that should have been demolished! I saw through that cheap spray on tan, greasy hair, and leased Hummer within the first 5 minutes of the show! Up North, we don’t put up with wicked goons like this!!! OH, and how he pulls up in the CLS for those tapes he’s hawkin’ is a real pisser!!!! well done
While waiting for the latest info in anticipation of Armando’s looming indictments for fraud:
http://www.flippingfrenzy.com/2007/12/26/is-armando-montelongo-a-real-estate-guru/
hi GEOFF.im sorry to hear you couldnt stay and play.walmart must have put you on the nightshift.that sucks.as you well know,they can be demanding.anyway,i hope ive taught you a few things….personally i think ive made you a better person.you can now move forward with your head held high.if i can help you with any other life issues that you may have….feel free to ask for my private email.i can tutor you privately.take care.
Cadge™,
Nice find! LOL ; )
I posted this on the site back back Nov. 13, 2007 POST 1393 and have been in contact with them several times. I does not take a billboard to continue to send Flopper’s scam crap out to everyone that might just pick up the story and go with it. I am glad that some other people on here took advantage of that site also. I feel like I just gave birth again!
jennifer wrote:
I found this site where it shows there was a divorce filing for the two unique San Antonio lovebirds in 2003 and here is the proof!
http://www.co.bexar.tx.us/webapps/html/DKLITDSP02.asp?txtLitIsn=0003424461
Another place for people to turn to if they want resolution on the product that they purchased from Montelongo,etc., is:
http://www.flippingfrenzy.com/report_fraud/index.html
(this may be a bogus site but thought I would throw it up here just in case)
PS: I still have not got replies back from Flopper on all the daily emails I am sending him. I just keep getting a case # and same old statement that they are going to respond as soon as possible. The oldest one is four weeks old but Flopper still has time to send out his “after taking a dump thoughts”.
Posted on 13-Nov-07 at 8:39 pm | Permalink
best regards and a happy, joyous and free 2008
Jen
PS: I have turned my info over to flipping frenzy since I never got any replys back from Armando except for the ones that gave me a case # and promise to respond. I am still getting email from the ass and of course when sending it back it is returned in seconds with the same “I will not get this email….” trying to lure me onto his crappy sites again.
Now I have real hope that other places I have repeatedly email about this site will be also looking into shutting the fatass down.
Finally, it feels like Christmas
Jen (ha)
PSS:
Sorry for the poor grammer and spelling errors as I was about to pee myself when I read the “flipping frenzy article”.
Jen
Hello everyone:
Someone posted back in October asking about any worthwhile real estate courses. A friend of mine had a 1990s version of the old Carlton Sheets course–which he got for free because someone gave it to him–and he swore by it. I looked at it and didn’t think it was all that, but my friend loved it. (You can find cheap copies on eBay.) I personally picked up a lot of good real estate investment tips from my friend, and I assume he learned these from the Sheets course. Someone else on this site asked about finding good deals without using a paid website. I would say the way to find good real estate deals is to look, and look, and look, and be patient. See yourself as a problem solver who will go into win-win situations with sellers. This is my approach and it never fails. The same person asked about getting good loans with bad credit. I would say do whatever it takes to improve your credit. I am a real estate investor with very good (800+ FICO) credit, and I think having good credit is one of the best things you can do for yourself. I don’t really believe in “flipping” per se–not for me, anyway, although I know some people do manage to do it. I do believe in rehabbing, but only when the place is a distressed property in a good neighborhood–not a crack house in a neighborhood of crack houses. I believe that patience is the name of the game–I don’t believe in getting rich quick, but I think people can make big money in real estate over periods of time. I like buying cheaper “starter” homes in a very nice suburb with excellent schools. I find there is almost always a market for these, as upwardly mobile young parents with children see them as a point-of-entry into a fine neighborhood. (Again, I’m thinking win-win, in terms of my relationships with tenants or buyers.) You can usually find tenants or buyers easily and quickly in summer, before school starts, as long as your price is reasonable. I think it’s a good idea to have excellent relationships with a work crew (painter, plumber, handyman, etc.), an inspector/appraiser, a lender, a property manager, etc. (Win-win again, NOT “I’m going to get the best price from this SOB.”) If you don’t already have these relationships, I would say try to create them long before you start shopping for properties. I’m not claiming to be an expert, just telling you what has worked for me, in the hopes that someone will find it to be of value.
Hi again:
I wanted to add, regarding the cat house episode of _Flip this House_, no one on the show (or at this website) mentioned the house’s potential for hantavirus, a potentially lethal virus, spread through rodent droppings, that is contracted by inhaling the air in rodent-infested dwellings and that is found throughout the Southwest, including in Texas. The hantavirus threat should have made immediate hazmat cleanup MANDATORY. Nothing less should have been considered for that property.
I believe Armando is a scam artist. Anyone that has been a victim of his scams should reprt him to the aithoritites. I am sure that there are fraud violations that he could be encacerated for. Anyone that belives in him or his theory is an idiot. Why does he try to speak like a sufer? There are no waves in San Antonio. Armando preys on inocent people. He should be ashamed.
I don’t see what everyone is so upset about? I am a faithful watcher of FTH and have only seen two episodes where Armando makes any reference to his seminars and books. So what..You watch the show to learn about what activities occur while rehabbing a home.
Anything you do in life is a gamble. How many times have all of us purchased something believing strongly in the product only to get it home and discover it’s a lemon(ex..buying cars). It’s hit or miss. Some people will love it, and obviously some will hate it. It doesn’t matter if some of the situations are staged, the work and labor is real. I’ve learned a lot of useful information from these shows. 1) What buyers are looking for in purchasing a home,2) modern amenities,3) always have a contract with contractors 4) signs of a problem to look for when purchasing a house. The list could go on and on. You can read all the books in the world about rehabbing homes, but until “you” get out there for yourselves and experience it, then only you can decide if this is the business for you. For those viewers disgusted with A&E for being “fake”, try “Property Ladder” on TLC. That’s as informative on house flipping as you can get. “Holmes on Homes” is a pretty decent show as well.
I have seen all these shows and thought how cheap the flippers want everything done and on a short time limit.
My mistake was buying a flipped piece of crap from one of the greedy scumbag realtors in my town of Dalton,GA. The place is pretty much worthless. We paid $102.900.00 for what we now see is worth maybe $10,000.00. We had an independant inspection and thought we did everything right,…but when everyone belongs to the same Real Estate Association in this backwater town,…everybody is taking kick-backs from everybody. Buyers beware!!! You’ll end up stuck w/plumbing from hell, rotten sub-flooring, leaky ceilings that were sprayed over sfter a quick clear coat was sprayed on first. The new sheet rock is nothing but patched and painted garbage that is so dirty and dusty that it actually bleeds dust through the old paint. Electrical problems so very bad you won’t be able to sleep @ night for fear of your family being burned alive and so on. Good people,..take your American dreams elsewhwere. These greedy scumbags will take your money and tell you real quick -like that they have nothing to say if you call them about the dump they screwed you over on. They likely make a year’s income off one good flip. Don’t let them take away your livelihood like we did.
Wow. Thanks for the interesting read everyone. Special thanks to Steve in TX, Mike Voss, boyson, wyldwmn, plus all the others I don’t have space to list. Your research, facts, and opinions were all wee-thought out.
For those who say, “get a life”, hush, I will do as I please with my free time in my life.
For those who refused to back up their claims, your thoughts, to me and I am sure others, were dismissed.
Well, Thanks for the fun read. All 1500 posts 🙂 I learned a bit, and had an entertaining time.
Great job to those listed above. Thank goodness for the internet, where people can educate themselves (from shams) very easily these days with a few clicks of their mouse.
I will check back every once in a while to see how everything is going.
Have a great new year everyone (even you Armando -without you my day would have been less entertaining. Almost as entertaining than watching him on A & E.
Fred, going to to have a good day off tomorrow and see my friends :-), Night.
Mike Voss: Have you had a chance to review Armando’s full program yet? I cannot think of a better way to ring-in the New Year than to hear some of the drivel he is spewing!
In post #1501 Eve wrote:
“I don’t see what everyone is so upset about? I am a faithful watcher of FTH and have only seen two episodes where Armando makes any reference to his seminars and books. So what..You watch the show to learn about what activities occur while rehabbing a home.”
Wrong. You watch the show to hear about what Armando Montelongo *wants you to think and believe* occurs while rehabbing a home.
What Armando Montelongo portrays on his show is not only highly inaccurate, it is specifically engineered to get a certain segment of the population “fired up” about making a lot of money real fast. Armando Montelongo doesn’t need to spew a lot of hype for himself in a direcrt manner–he does it indirectly by portraying himself as “everyperson” in a subtle and insidious manner, so that viewers will start thinking that if Armando Montelongo can get rich quick, so can they.
The show is *not* about rehabbing, not about house flipping, not about consstruction, not about real estate, not about investing…the show is about Armando Montelongo recruiting cult members who are willing to part with what little money they have in exchange for some hope.
“Anything you do in life is a gamble.”
This is not not not not not correct, and it is an example of one of many thinking errors that guide people to accept that which is detrimental to them.
http://profmulder.home.att.net/introbenefits.htm
“How many times have all of us purchased something believing strongly in the product only to get it home and discover it’s a lemon(ex..buying cars).”
And this is exactly the point of many of the posters who are sharing information here for free–they are trying to help people who will fall prey to Armando Montelongo’s manipulations, so that they don’t bring home something that cost them lots of money that they don’t really have, and then save up some more money and go invest it in yet another scheme.
“It’s hit or miss. Some people will love it, and obviously some will hate it.”
Liking it or not liking it have absolutely nothing to do with the mechanisms that Armando Montelongo is using to dupe innocent people out of their hard-earned money.
“It doesn’t matter if some of the situations are staged, the work and labor is real.”
How could this statement possibly make sense to you? You stated earlier that Armando Montelongo’s show depicts what occurs during a rehab. How could that be true if he is “staging” the show???? How can you not see how you have contradicted yourself in *exactly* the manner in which Armando Montelongo wants people to contradict themselves. What you have stated here is representative of one of the stages that cult members experience as they start defending the cult leader. You have not made any statements to back up your comments about what occurs during a rehab by citing examples. You have only stated that Armando Montelongo is showing us all what occurs during a rehab, and that demonstrates that you are not using critical thinking skills to analyze what he is saying and doing–it shows that you want something to be true, and you have chosen to believe what Armando is saying because if you do that, then you can feel like you have “proof” that what you want to be true is so.
“I’ve learned a lot of useful information from these shows.”
I would venture to say that you want to *feel like* you have learned a lot from these shows, and so you are abandoning the wise step of investigating rehabbing any further, and instead are using Armando’s statements as proof to yourself that you have “answers” or resources for whatever your questions are.
“1) What buyers are looking for in purchasing a home,2) modern amenities,3) always have a contract with contractors 4) signs of a problem to look for when purchasing a house. ”
First, “buyers,” in case you haven’t noticed, are NOT a homogenous group. Armando Montelongo, however, would have you believe that they are. Furthermore, Armando Montelongo does not make *quality* products for sale–he CLAIMS to be buying houses and fixing them up in record time and then selling them in record time. Unfortunately Armando Montelongo has never backed up any of those claims with documentation–but several people here have backed up exactly the opposite with easily-found public documents.
Second, if you are using Armando Montelongo as your only source for learning about “modern amenities,” you are in for a BIG surprise.
Third, Armando Montelongo does not get an honest contract with his contractors–he pressures them into accepting way less money than is fair right from the start, and then he belittles and threatens them into accomplishing tasks that are unreasonable, unsafe, and immoral. Furthermore, he is a friggin’ cultural hypocrite, gathering mariaci bands to celebrate whatever he’s in the mood to brag about, and then threatening to fire his Mexican laborers when they want to honor the walk-out day. This is a person to whom you want to look for wisdom and advice?
Fourth, Armando Montelongo has very LITTLE idea of what the signs of problems are when he buys a house. I’m not even a contractor but even *I* knew that when you buy a building that has been in a fire you need to go do some research on whether or not it’s been condemned, and find out from a variety of sources what the rehab requirements are as far as getting rid of burned wood, smell, etc. It was no surprise to me at all that well into the project he and his bro’ learned that the place ahd been condemned. And if that little situation was staged, then that proves my point that Armando Montelongo is a dishonest individual who is trying to persuade people to join his little pyramid-scheme cult. And before you complain that it’s not a pyramid scheme, I’ve got email in my inbox from Armando begging me to be his partner and sell his crap to other people on commission.
“The list could go on and on.”
You are correct. The list of ways that you can abandon critical and analytical thinking, not to mention thorough research, and just believe everything Armando says can definitely go on and on, just as you state.
“You can read all the books in the world about rehabbing homes, but until “you” get out there for yourselves and experience it, then only you can decide if this is the business for you.”
Well, this is an interesting statement. Which books have you read? What you have poste here is all about the reasons why you think Armando’s advice is so great. If you have actually read the books for yourself, then how about telling us what they were and whether or not they corrobate what Armando Montelongo is spewing?
“For those viewers disgusted with A&E for being “fake”, try “Property Ladder” on TLC. That’s as informative on house flipping as you can get. “Holmes on Homes” is a pretty decent show as well.”
Hmmmmmm…..so what you are saying is that if people know that something is fake, instead of warning other people *and* backing up that warning with actual facts and information, they should just walk away and go busy themselves with something else, and just let the rest of the flock of sheep go off the cliff as well? Dear, that just isn’t nice.
wyldwmn
One of the great benefits of the internet is ,, INFORMATION !!!
Just think how many more ppl would be scammed by Armondo if there was no internet .
WILDWOMAN…….OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!are you trying to drive me from this website??i have already slit my own throat once.are you trying to get me to do it again??WOMAN, have you ever heard the expression”less is more”?try it,i swear its true.your unprovoked attack on eve was redonculous.btw,great post eve.i wish this site had more posters like you,not the myriad of obvious brainwashed cult members that lurk here.mike voss this,wyldwmn that…….jennifer making once again a reference to the montelongos almost divorce.what is this??access hollywood??i am unfortunately or fortunatly a business man.and yes to all you working stiffs out there….buyers are a homogenous group.you just dont know it.ever wonder how a mattress store has a blow out sale boxing day,where they sell you a regularily priced 1600.00 mattress for 900.00?well they arnt losing money people.yes,they were making that much profit off you prior to boxing day.so….is the mattress store honest?is any profit over 100 percent honest??to all you whiners here,profit is why we get in business in the first place.none of us got in business so we could work really hard,put up with all the crap of running a business,the risk etc….just to save you all a lot of money.keep dreaming.its not up to montelongo to buy a house,rehab it and sell it to you for 2 per cent over his cost because thats what you all thinks is fair.if you dont like the prices or work man ship……find your own flip,rehab it your self and then live in it.makes sense to me.and again,how many times do i have to say it,a guy making 15 to 20 thousand a year living in san antonio isnt going to afford a 500,000 house.hes lucky to get a montelongo special.at least hes on title instead of paying rent,and if hes industrious can work his way out of a montelongo special and into a real home.would you prefer he pays rent for eternity?also,i agree with eve,armando doesnt push his web crap on a and e.so whats the problem??reality tv is at an alltime popularity high……ever watch the sureal life??now thats weird.so lump montelongo into it and have some fun.cause he is one funny mofo.WYLDWOMN may i suggest something fun for you because you seem very droll.go out,get drunk,let off some steam.let your hair down,get a tattoo.do a belly shot,get your tongue pierced,jump naked into a hotel pool.live a little.peace out sister
wyldwmn wrote: Armando Montelongo doesn’t need to spew a lot of hype for himself in a direcrt manner–he does it indirectly by portraying himself as “everyperson”
Yep, he sure does. At one time he had a video on his site that was about 30 seconds long if I remember correctly. Just himself and Veronica. At one point he’s says, “Oh sh*t, I don’t know how to make a video, ha ha!” and he and Veronica look at each other and giggle. 30 seconds long and he couldn’t re shoot that??” Totally staged.
The guy is a genius. He gets the job done and doesn’t take shit from anybody. If you want to run a business like Armando, you need to know how to reward people when necessary, but also how to get a great deal without getting screwed by putting his foot down. He came from nothing and now lives in a near million dollar home. He knows how to work and knows how to deal with people that are out to make a quick buck and screw him. He turns the tables and ends up getting exactly what he sets out for.
GHOSTOFBDKEW wrote:
…….jennifer making once again a reference to the montelongos almost divorce.what is this??access hollywood??
Everyone is allowed a mistake and so I will apologize for reposting my whole post without editing it. Damn, I already apologized for the poor grammer and type o’s but didn’t realize that out of my three posts YOU could only drag me down for something that is as stupid as what you did. Get off my back and while you are at it keep spawning out the $hit you do while licking Flopper’s “getting bigger by the day” butt. He is going down and I wish you well along with him.
jennifer
Jay Baur wrote: “He came from nothing and now lives in a near million dollar home.”
LOL Care for another glass of Kool Ade?
(rolls eyes)
In post #1509, Jay Baur wrote:
“The guy is a genius.”
No. He is not a “genius.” Geniuses don’t have to resort to internet scams to make money. He is so unsuccessful at “flipping” that he has begun to put his time and effort into selling a bunch-o-nothin’ to people like you who don’t know any better.
“He gets the job doneand doesn’t take shit from anybody.”
Armando Montelongo doesn’t “get the job done.” What he does is set up an impossible situation and demand that his family and workers accomplish the impossible (or near-impossible), and instead of showing his *alleged* successess in numbers and in actual documents, he talks big and acts big. He has learned how to get people to believe that he runs with the big dogs, when the truth is that he still pisses like a puppy. If Armando Montelongo was a genius, then other successful people would be endorsing him. The person who is currently enorsing Armando Montelongo is Armando Montelongo.
“If you want to run a business like Armando, you need to know how to reward people when necessary, but also how to get a great deal without getting screwed by putting his foot down.”
Armando is not running a business. He is running a scam. There are plenty of successful business people who have written books about the quality of the relationship between the business owner and the employees, and that advice starts with the business owner being a coach and a leader, not a person who uses verbal abuse to make people work for little wages under unfair and unsafe conditions.
“He came from nothing and now lives in a near million dollar home.”
And exactly how long has Armando lived in that house? Do you have the facts and documentation that show how long he has *allegedly* owned it? There are a *lot* of ways that a person can manipulate living in a “million dollar home.” Plus, exactly who says that he home is worth a million? Armando? I haven’t seen an appraisal of that property, have you?
“He knows how to work and knows how to deal with people that are out to make a quick buck and screw him. He turns the tables and ends up getting exactly what he sets out for.”
No, Armando does *not* know how to deal with people who are out to make a quick buck. Successful business people stay away from people who are out to make a quick buck. Furthermore, Armando’s internet scam is proof that it is *Armando* who is out to make a quick buck, not others who are out to scam *him.*
As for turning the tables and getting exactly what he sets out for, the point is that Armando is “out for” getting people like you to defend him and his manipulative tactics while he goes to the bank with money that he has earned by scamming people. *THAT* is exactly what Armando wants.
wyldwmn
To wyldwmn (In response to post 1505):
I’ve noticed that when you respond to someone’s post and you disagree with their opinion, you make a half a** attempt of dissecting their speech(mine in particular), and twist it to fit your needs. Here’s a useful tip in life, not everyone is going to agree with you. I was neither rude, nor did I crtique anyone’s posts.
I actually found this website interesting and was curious as to what different people have to say. But your amateur attempt of “calling me out”, was uncalled for, and very “un-ladylike”(hence the name wildwoman I suppose). I can tell you have or have had aspirations of being a lawyer with failed attempts. My turn to give you some useful advice. If you want to be heard, dispite whatever you complaint or argument is, when you come to the table for any dispute, be courteous and try to use the manners your family raised you with.
I am never fooled by sales ads or gimmicks or conyving people… until now. Someone help and tell me what to do. I ordered the package of books and dvds, and a few days later I received a call where I was swept away and gave Armando Montelongo $5,000 on a credit card.
Eve wrote: “your amateur attempt of “calling me out”, was uncalled for, and very “un-ladylike”
wyldwmn tells it like it is and your characterization of her as being “un-ladylike” smacks of sexism to me.
Who you are in this life is up to you.
If you don’t mind, would you go to the kitchen and bake me a pie? ; )
get back to the trailer Jennifer….and great post Eve.You sure got wildwoman pegged.although i always saw her as a washed up pshyciatrist wannabe.
Hi Everybody, Just wanted to say that I love Armandos team on FLIP THIS HOUSE.All the people here who seem to hate him,dont you think you are being a little nuts?Anyway,love the posts and I will check back later.See ya
MAN THIS GUY DOESNT REST
***point of note…he doesnt flip 30 houses a month He once FLIPPED 30 “deals”…
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I have been reading these posts for awhile now. I don’t know anything about flipping but I find it interesting. And I think everyone is right on the money about Armondo.
However, I am compelled to respond to GHOSTOFBDKEW. If you hate everyone’s post so much, why do you read them? Who’s forcing you to come to this website? Does Mike Voss or wldwmn go to your house every evening with a gun to your head? I don’t think so. All you have to do is leave and not come back.
That is the great thing about the internet, if you don’t like it, you don’t have to read it. Go to another page. That certainly beats slitting your throat. However, since you are still posting, it occurs to me that you cannot even do that right. To correctly fix up a house takes a lot more knowledge than running a knife across your throat. Maybe when you do it again you will be successful, and if so, from the looks of your post, it is the only thing you have done correctly in your life.
Mike Voss, I have a question for you if you would be kind enough to answer. Would you trust Lowe’s installers to install a new door?
My back door was kicked in a couple of years ago. During some rains (but not all), it leaks. I had the wood replaced on the side of the door knob (where the damage occured). I have caulked everything I can see, and it still leaks. The door is slightly buckled but the water is not coming through at the bottom of the door between the door and threshold. It has to be coming from underneath the threshold. I know I can replace the threshold, but my thinking is the door is no longer square.
I bought my house 4.5 years ago. It is only a starter home so I don’t want to over-improve. And I certainly don’t want to pay $2200 for a big name like Muhler to replace my door. It is a $169 door, so I want to replace it with the same. It will cost me a total of around $500 for the door to be replaced by Lowe’s including delivery, the door, and installation.
Is this a wise decision? I will be here when they install it. Is there anything I should be on the lookout for? After it was kicked in, I found out there was no support in the entire section from the top of the door to the bottom of the door, which is why it only took one kick. (e.g. no shims and connection to the frame). I want to prevent that situation from recurring.
I had the wood piece replaced by a builder. It is solid now. They would have to kick in the house frame in order to kick in the door. It was done by a friend of my cousin’s who is a SeeBee (building unit in the Navy). My cousin is a SeeBee as well. I cannot contact that person to do the job as my cousin was just deployed to Kuwait a month ago and the person will be deployed to Iraq probably in Feb.
I know it seems that he did not do his job well, but he did as far as structural support. And it only happens in certain heavy rains. No matter how much I try, I cannot duplicate the leaking issue with a hose even though I have it on its most powerful spray. So we would not have been able to duplicate it when he did it. He also did it as a favor to my cousin and he is extremely busy, so I cannot ask for that again.
My thinking is that by replacing the door, it would again be square, would no longer be buckled, and should not leak. Lowe’s has a one year guarantee against the leaks, and I should know in the spring if it is fixed.
BTW, I don’t know about flipping but I am actually pretty handy. I replaced a couple of sinks, plumbing for the sink, garbage disposal, and a light by myself. I just don’t do it on a routine basis, and I don’t want to pay $500 if I will have other issues – especially with structural support of the door. I have helped my parents replace doors (they rehabbed their house) so I can do it, but I don’t want to. Plus, I would have wanted my cousin to help, and he is in Kuwait.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Lori:
Good question. The answer is: maybe.
Here’s the reason: big chain stores like Lowe’s, Home Depot, Sears, etc. sometimes use outside contractors to perform these services. Additionally, the regional nature of each store can mean different contractors are working at different locations, so the install at one store might be great and at another 10 miles away not so great. As such, you want to check into their references just as you would any other subcontractor you’d be hiring. At the very least, find out who holds the license, insurance, and bond they’ll be working under and verify all 3 are valid and without complaints on the license. Then, the day they start work, photograph or (preferably) videotape the work areas before, during, and after the work is done. Make this very obvious – someone who knows they are being observed on film or video will be a lot more careful and is less likely to cut a corner or try to do something half-assed. If they ask why you’re taking pictures, tell them it’s so you have a record of how it was done in case anything is an issue later. It’s your house, and you’re paying them – you get to make the rules, period.
There are a lot of things to look for as far as a good door installation, and a great resource you can get to bring you up to speed fast is a book from the Black and Decker series called The Complete Guide to Windows and Doors. It covers all aspects of entry doors from framing to finishing and can be had for under $10 usually on Amazon.
A good exterior door can be had for $200-$300 these days (shop around if necessary) and should come with it’s own threshold included. This is a door you want to buy pre-hung, which means it is shipped in a frame and is already attached to that frame. The hinges will have 5 holes, of which 2 or 3 will have no screws – this is so that you can drive long (3″+) screws all the way into the door jamb framing making the door extremely strong and secure. These long screws should also be used for the strike and deadbold places on the handle side. This ties the door into the framing where the strength is and will not only keep the dore square and plumb over time, but will make it many times more resistant to being forced or kicked in.
Another *important* thing to watch for is how the door is shimmed. The door in it’s frame will be about 1″ total smaller than the framing so that shims (wooden wedges) can be inserted around it between it and the framing to get it square and plumb and allow for some adjustment. Important things: 1) every shim point should have a shim coming from both sided so as to not skew the position of the frame, as using a shim from just 1 side would. 2) the door must be shimmed behind each hinge (shims should be as wide as the hinge or wider 3) shims should be placed spaced apart, not at the center of any span so as to allow expansion and contraction 4) after the door is in place, an expansive foam made for doors and windows (lower expansion so as not to bend the frame/jambs) should be used to seal all the gaps around the door. 5) after the door is installed, measuring from corner to corner diagonally will tell you if it is square – the distance of one diagonal will equal the other if it is square.
There are several other things to watch for, and the book will tell you them all. Educate yourself and then do your homework and keep a close eye on your installers and it should go just fine.
-Mike Voss
Well you are all entitled to your opinions. However, I know Armando personally on a professional level. It’s a show, and he does on the show what it takes to make ratings. Whether you believe it or not ALL big time real estate professionals are the same. They all act the same and they get themselves to the point where they don’t need to do houses anymore. Now they write books and cd’s. From the looks of it ALL of you have read or listened to at least one. So YOU are the fuel feeding this fire. It’s called progress.
heres a thought Lori…….why not just keep your door and rebuild your entire house?wouldnt it be easier?glad i could help.
also Lori,why would a friend of your cousins,who is a seabee, kick in your door?thats just plain mean.
In post #1513, Eve wrote:
“To wyldwmn (In response to post 1505):
I’ve noticed that when you respond to someone’s post and you disagree with their opinion, you make a half a** attempt of dissecting their speech(mine in particular), and twist it to fit your needs. Here’s a useful tip in life, not everyone is going to agree with you. I was neither rude, nor did I crtique anyone’s posts.”
Actually, Eve, if you re-read my post you might begin to see that I addressed myself to *issues,* whereas in your post #1513, you make a personal attack. And that, according to you, is an indication that you have not been well-brought up.
As for your “tip” that not everyone will agree with me, isn’t that sort of the kind of tip that you should be taking *yourself*? ;-} ;-}
As for making “half-assed” and “amateur” attempts…I’ve been backing up what I have to say with links to informational sites, and I base what I say on researching critical thinking skills and how our unawareness of how our brain works makes us vulnerable to those who would study those vulnerabilities in order to exploit us. Can you do the same?
You, on the other hand, have apparently been going off “half-cocked,” as it were (pun intended), reacting emotionally to being challenged about issues that you addressed, and as a result you did a really good job doing exactly what you accused me of doing—another example of thinking errors that occur in the brain, and of course, a really good example of hypocrisy.
“I actually found this website interesting and was curious as to what different people have to say. But your amateur attempt of “calling me out”, was uncalled for, and very “un-ladylike”(hence the name wildwoman I suppose). I can tell you have or have had aspirations of being a lawyer with failed attempts. My turn to give you some useful advice. If you want to be heard, dispite whatever you complaint or argument is, when you come to the table for any dispute, be courteous and try to use the manners your family raised you with. “
Well, dear, I am very grateful to have been “brought up” by both men and women who taught me that the LAST thing I should ever make it a goal to be in life, is a “lady” and that being “ladylike” is a type of social prison. As for the courtesy that you seem to be “demanding” for yourself, I find it interesting that you object so vehemently to what you perceive to be a personal attack, and then make an all-out personal attack yourself. So, maybe I’m just too dense to understand this, but it sure does sound like what you are saying is that *you* are justified in making a personal attack and that it is up to you to decide whether anybody else has justification for making a personal attack??? Is THAT what you are saying??? And remember…I addressed myself to issues–just because you don’t like my opinions doesn’t mean that I was making a personal attack on you. And again, it does sound just a teeny-tiny-tad hypocritical that in complaining of being personally attacked you make a personal attack yourself.
As for “wanting to be heard,” my *work* is about making information available to the people who need it and don’t know where to find it. If *you,* on the other hand, “want to be heard,” I’m sure there are crisis lines in your area that can assist you in establishing resources for getting your emotional needs met.
On a final note, one of the other things I’m grateful for having learned from both male and female teachers in my life, is that looking in the mirror isn’t about being afraid you might have lipstick on your teeth.
wyldwmn
running with the wolves
and apparently, sometimes a skunk or two
Thanks so much, Mike. That is great information. I really appreciate it. I will check into that book.
“GHOSTOFBDKEW,
Lori wrote: If you hate everyone’s post so much, why do you read them? Who is forcing you to come to this website? Does Mike Voss or wldwmn go to your house every evening with a gun to your head? I don’t think so. All you have to do is leave and not come back.”
I believe she and I are not the only posters that have mentioned this to you. When you start throwing out crap it’s usually something you have been involved in like growing up marked as trailer park trash. You come across in your posts as a bully but you are typing, and read this again, poorly at anything you have to say to me. You are probably a zit faced 35 yr. old virgin that still lives at home with your mommy, drinking beer, weigh about a dollar and a quarter and hiding behind your computer. Usually it is people like you that idolize idiots like flopper so please don’t worry, I will not write anymore about you. I am not a wannabe anything. I am a widow, with three small children, living in a house that needs some remodeling before I trade it off with the $4.8 million settlement from my husbands fall to his death and I am a fourth grade teacher. I believe that I have seen enough children, parents and retards like you to call it a spade when I run across one.
Do yourself a favor and get on some antidepressants.
Jennifer
I’ve been watching this site for some time and finally want to add something. For those looking to get into real estate investing and rehab, don’t go to some guru with a one size fits all philosophy such as Montelongo. It doesn’t work. Real Estate is very market specific. What you should do is find a local realtor that has their own investment homes and rehab experience. They’ve already experienced the ins and outs of rehab and investment and can keep you from making the same mistakes they already made. Some realtors also specialize in bank foreclosure and short sales and can find you more homes than you can look at. The realtor I use has over $5 million in foreclosures at any given time. Don’t get just any realtor, only one with the experience you are needing. Second, get an appraiser to counsel you on what your home in your market needs to maximize profit. As a person in this business, I have seen more people over-improve and loose their butts and others under-improve and have tantrums when the banks won’t finance their buyers for the agreed sale price because the lenders appraiser thinks it isn’t up to parr for the market. Bottom line is there is no reason AT ALL to pay someone hundreds or even thousands of dollars for what I know to be extremely bad advice.
http://www.flippingfrenzy.com/category/armando-montelongo/
Now here’s a fun read:
http://www.state.il.us/court/opinions/appellatecourt/2007/1stdistrict/june/1050357.pdf
wyldwmn
Just another black mark on his record…but Montelongo House Buyers has a Notice of State Tax Lien for not paying Texas Unemployment Taxes filed by the State in October 2007. I don’t know about other business people, but as a business owner myself, even if I hit “hard times”, I would still pay my payroll taxes. Let’s see…he doesn’t pay his mortgages (some of those homes are now listed on the MLS “in need of repair” so I guess he didn’t do a very good job); he doesn’t pay his property taxes; and he doesn’t pay payroll taxes.
Sounds like a winner I want to coach me on successful business practices!!! Also, to those who say to ease up on him for the foreclosures because everyone has a “down time”. Have you noticed that his whole sale pitch is that he can show you how to make money EVEN in bad market times?
Jennifer……..what?are we dating now???that was just a little too much information about your life.and i wasnt putting down your trailer.lots of people live in them.im sure yours is very nice.also,if you teach learning impaired children,i dont think the parents would like to hear you call them retards.not very politically correct.but,alas,thats the problem with the U.S. school system,they have to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find 4th grade teachers.and i resent you calling me a zit faced virgin who lives in a basement.I DONT HAVE ZITS!by the way……..(and this has nothing to do with the 4.8 mill)but you are kinda growin on me….you got a boyfriend??if not,what do ya say we…….??you know.also,i dont know why everyone thinks i dont like WILDWOMAN,her being unshaved and obviously wearing no bra doesnt turn my crank,but when shes not boring me,she amuses me somewhat.i dont need prozac because of her,ive learned to change my thinking patterns.love,GHOST
“Mike” wrote:
________________
Mike wrote:
Well you are all entitled to your opinions. However, I know Armando personally on a professional level. It’s a show, and he does on the show what it takes to make ratings. Whether you believe it or not ALL big time real estate professionals are the same. They all act the same and they get themselves to the point where they don’t need to do houses anymore. Now they write books and cd’s. From the looks of it ALL of you have read or listened to at least one. So YOU are the fuel feeding this fire. It’s called progress.
_______
No, I don’t believe it, nor do I believe you exist nor know Armando. Prove it. I say you’re a liar and you don’t exist.
This blog has gone completely off track. I do have a question though for people that are experienced in flipping or renovating houses. Metal roofs. They’ve been proven to be more durable than shingles, but after some years they began to fade. What is the best way to clean it’s surface and what regular maitenance is required?
To GHOSTOFBDKEW: (In response to post 1532)
You crack me up! Such a smart ass….LOL…..
In post #1534, Eve wrote:
“This blog has gone completely off track.’
I, too, have noticed that from time to time, this blog seems to have a mind of its own, and completely goes off track even though each and every poster is clearly contributing well-considered, well-reearched, helpful information about Armando Montelongo and his methods.
Seems like the blog owner would be more careful, you know, since every single person who posts here takes the time to think before they type, and nobody ever posts any emotional reactions, sexist attacks on women, personal rants or suicide threats….
Yep. It’s the blog’s fault, all right.
I wonder how it does that?
wyldwmn
taking a break from the wolves
to make home made pizza for friends
and a pie for dessert
Where’s my apron?
GHOSTOFBDKEW wrote:
“Jennifer……..what?are we dating now???that was just a little too much information about your life.and i wasnt putting down your trailer.”
First of all I do not live in a trailer.
Second of all YOU DID JUST WHAT I figured you would and responded back with a bunch of innuendo’s or should that be “inyourendo’s.”
You have made me laugh instead of get angry. You have also showed off just how little you do know, that you don’t retain what you read, and the bait I put out caught an old ugly log and not a fish. Every time you spew is a little more information than any of us want to read. Also the things you say to us girls also proves my theory on your looks, age and sexuality, etc.
GOTCHA and please don’t respond back. Have you no dignity?
Jennifer
Actually, Eve, the subject of this thread is “Anyone purchased Armando Montelongo’s real estate Package?” which would mean that the majority of posts are on subject but yours is actually off.
The focus is, and should stay, Armando’s courses and whether or not they are of any value, which includes discussions which determine his bona fides or, more appropriately, his lack thereof.
second result when you do a google search for Armando…
what is armando going to do when his show is over and his program money runs out? or is he building up such an empire that the money will never run out?
Mike,
I purchased the book a few weeks ago an dhave not received a thing. I am fairly new in the rehab business but i love doing it. I have bought 2 houses in the last year and have made good profits on both. My question to you is is there anybody in this industry that you can trust. I have been to a number of seminars and they all seem to be the same. They feed you a little bit and at the end they go in for the kill! They will try and sell you a course or coaching for thousands of dollars.I also wanted mention to you that when i signed up for the Armando’s book I started getting numerous emails from
Greg ? trying to sell me something else. do you know this guy is he associated with armando?
hi roomies,so what your suggesting WILDWOMAN is CENSORSHIP???so the blog owner and you should be able to read all posts and eliminate any YOU deem unfit?sounds wonderful.i guess any of us assbackward thinkers better conform.i guess eve and i are gone huh?sexist attacks on women?where and when?and if liking women acting like women is a crime in your world,then im guilty.gloria steinhem never turned my crank and i doubt i woulda turned hers.(me being the wrong sex and all)dont anyone here ever say you know armando or (shudder)like armando.mike voss will immediatly call you a liar and order a polygraph test.and i laughed my ass offwhen WILDWOMAN said that the blog has a mind of its own……no WILDWOMAN,you never go off topic at all.no,never.as ive said before this is about flipping and real estate courses not freud.i watched some old repeats of armando,and boy ,do i miss him.still excellent entertainment value in my book.TAKING A BREAK FROM THE WOLVES,WAITING ON MY WIFE TO FINISH SUPPER,HOPING THAT SHE HAD TIME TO DO THE LAUNDRY,SO I WILL HAVE A CLEAN SHIRT.
a couple things i am curious about – is he still flipping houses, how did he get so fat, did he ever get up to to 3 bills. some of the episodes i have seen of him are pretty scary because he is so obese
I think that Armondo is a great man. There is nothing wrong with wanting to make some money, and providing a better life for your family. My Life long dream is to become a house flipper and he is giving me the ideas and courage to go out and do it. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with that. He is no different then any other buisness man out there. My great aunt bought a house from him and she says that it is the greatest house she has ever lived in. So I think that you guys need to get a hobby and quit spending all of your time trashing on Armondo!!!!!!!!!
o.k. guys, it’s another softball comment from the Armando camp. I’ll take this one….
Ann, (or whoever you are) please, please, please, give us all a freakin’ break. “Armando is a great man?” What heck has caused you to believe that? By what criteria do you judge greatness? I would suggest that only if your idea of greatness is measured by the length of Armando’s future prison sentence, then someday soon, he will indeed be regarded as a great man. Until that special and very great day, could you please tell us more about how your “life long dream is to become a house flipper?” Please provide specifics as to the ideas that Armando provided to you? While you’re at it, kindly provide us the address of your great aunt’s wonderful home. Contrary to your assertion, our hobby is not trashing Armando. Rather, we would like to reflect and marvel upon the wonderful housing opportunities that Armando provides to deserving families, like your great Aunt! Please give us the details of her transaction, consider starting with the street address. Thanks. You’re the best. And by the way, good luck on your flipping career.
OK Ann – I say you’re another bulls_it shill post.
Please post the exact address of the house and your great aunt’s name so that we can verify the transaction and contact your great aunt to get her direct personal opinion on her house.
I say you’re a liar and will never post here again. Your post fits the profile of numerous shill posts here nearly 100% and I will personally put up $100 that you are lying. If you can prove me wrong, I’ll send the money to the webmaster and you can prove your identity to him to claim it.
If anyone new to this site is reading this, this is simply either Armando or one of his boiler room flunkees desperately trying to do damage control.
There hasn’t been a single example to date of EVEN ONE SINGLE PERSON posting here claiming to have had a good experience with Armando and proving it. NOT ONE. ZERO. NEVER.
You can bet that record won’t be broken now as this poster is just as fake as all the others. Either we’ll never hear from “Ann” again or we’ll get one more post telling us how she doesn’t have to prove anything to us and then we’ll never hear from “her” again. Pathetic, ineffective, and laughable – just like Armando.
Mike Voss
What authors do you suggest reading to get started in investment properties? This has soured my will at the moment but I want to get started and have found what I deem to be some great investment potentials but I want to constantly educate myself.
First Ann or Armando whoever you are, You claim Armando is great man what a joke a man who calls a woman a mother fu__in bit__is nothing but an uneducated loser! Hey Ann go to a hard money lender and borrow money but make sure you do what Armando tells you to do. Walk away with 20,000 profit in your pocket, then let the house go into foreclosure and keep the money. Yep Ann that’s a great guy keep following what he tells you and we’ll see ya in JAIL!!
FOR EVERYONE ELSE I JUST FOUND OUT VERONICA’S CELL PHONE HAS BEEN DISCONNECTED, YOU WOULD THINK A MILLIONAIRE COULD PAY HIS CELL PHONE BILL. THIS GUY IS A REAL JERK!
I’m loving this site. I almost fell for some other shills out there trying to improve my game. Just like this website, try http://www.johntreed.com/realestate.html for some excellent insight into the biz and the scammers. I appoligize if that has already been mentioned. Also, I have purchased two of Reeds books and found them realistic, affordable and truthfull. Do so at your own peril – I’m not pushing him, but you should check out any package there before you buy. You can find all that you need on the internet for free or use your $97 to buy reputable publications. My Dad rehabed (sp) when I was a kid and we have just done the same with our own houses and been able to upgrade at a steady pace. No magic, no easy answers, just hard work and persistance.
Keep up the good work, Mike!
2dogs, Kirsten Kemps book is pretty good… You could start there…
Mike,
I’ve been reading these comments off and on for many months and for the first time I don’t completely agree with you. I don’t whole-heartedly believe Ann’s post was a shill (although, I do not reject the hypothesis). Here are my reasons:
1. I don’t believe Armando is clever enough to consistantly misspell his own name.
2. The post lacks the usual verbal abuse and indecent language that charaterize other shills.
3. Armando’s houses look “new” on TV so who’s to say they don’t look “new” in person. I was a first time buyer last year: We see the fresh paint, carpet, fixtures, and closet space. We don’t see the horrors behind the drywall and we don’t smell the sewage gases over the pretty vanilla scented candles in the bath. Some of the frightening things we see on his show might take 5 or 10 years to rear they ugly heads. Somehow I don’t think Armando’s been in the business long enough for the true cost of his actions to be known.
Ann may just be a nice (and a suppose angry) lady whose aunt will be shouldered with a massively expensive problem three years down the road.
But let’s all hope she’s a shiller, for her aunt’s sake.
Tiff
I disagree with Mike Voss and Ray.I have learned a lot from Armando,and incorporate a lot of his ideas into my reno business.And I may as well say it now,I am absolutely not going to give you my phone number,or my house purchase addresses.I guess you will simply have to take my word on it.This world needs more people like Armando with the drive and determination to inspire others around him.Thanks Armando……no matter what these other haters say.
“Tiff”, et al;
If you read more closely, you will find that a number of people who post here have visited Armando houses in person and/or encountered people involved in the projects. The projects do not, by any means, look “new” to anyone other than an amateur. They look like disguised and camouflaged at best to the trained eye. Every one of those situations has been an incompetent build that was uninhabitable most of the time. Several were outright frauds never completed and lied about on tv. You should do your research before forming an opinion on the matter. We have – in depth. I have personally spoken with people who worked for Armando (until he stopped paying them – and he still hasn’t and is in trouble with the law because of it) who inspected and/or appraised his properties. They have told me that his work is absolutely criminal it is so bad. What you see on TV is only the tip of the iceburg -it is FAR worse. I’m a home inspector – I KNOW this. So don’t make the mistake of thinking that I, Steve, Boyson, etc. are just some yahoos who watched a TV show and started spouting off an opinion – we’re not. We have done in depth research, much of which has been passed on to investigators who are looking into this matter. Our opinions are well-founded and based on solid facts. For Christ’s sake, do you not see the thread on this website showing 20+ properties in FORECLOSURE that Armando was involved with?? Does that not raise a red flag with you that he represents himself as a successful developer yet could not even make the payments on these properties, much less develop them? Wake up!
The facts stand. Number of people who have claimed to have used Armando’s courses for any benefit and proven it here:zero. Number of people who have bought an Armando house and had something good to say about it here: Zero. Number of verifiable properties turned for a profit by Armando: Zero.
This is the reality. Armando is a fraud from every imaginable angle.
Here’s a little surprise for all of you. This week, the national news media will be uncovering Armando with both barrels blazing. The clock has finally run out for him and the end is very near. You’ll all soon know that everything you’ve been reading here in the negative about him is the true case.
How do I know? Because they contacted me and I turned information I have uncovered over to them. Armando is in serious, serious trouble and the end of the line is mere days away. The smart money is betting that season 3 of Armando on FTH will never make air.
Mike Voss
Tiff wrote: “3. Armando’s houses look “new” on TV so who’s to say they don’t look “new” in person.”
Actually they don’t. I have a 42″ HD Plasma TV with a DVR. Many of the houses on the ‘show’ are incomplete, i.e missing tile grout in the bathrooms, wires hanging out of the walls, only showing one bedroom because the others are incomplete and on and on
You people need to go flip a house Has anyone here ever fliped a house or are you all a bunch of i wish I could do it to but I dont know how.losers
In response to post 1538 by Mike Voss….
Wow….You totally answered “an off track question” for Lori, so I figured you wouldn’t mind if I, or anyone asked questions since your so damn experienced. And as for the femi-nazi Wildwoman, stop watching “flip this house” and it’s reruns since you hate the show so damn much. Kick your feet up and have a beer! And since I’ve been pegged as being gender biased, I guess I should also tell you to drink your beer out of a glass “like a lady”?!!!! Give me a break….
OMG!!!!!!!!more than one person who doesnt hate armondo??whats the world coming too?you filthy liars.i know your all liars cause mike voss says so.LOVEMYBOXERS….i think your lovin your boxers a lil too much,if you catch my meaning….if you actually know the whereabouts of ronnies cell phone number…..i think maybe your stalking?any one here agree?now i know a few of you ladies out there would find having a very strange person knowing your cell phone creepy.but i digress,isnt this blog still about flipping?i still personally think that a few of montys house flips were good.and as far as armondo goes,he does say hell teach you how to make money,not save your customer money.as i have stated many times,if any of you want to rehab for free i think they call it habitat for humanity.if you want to make a profit,buy low sell high.period.if you cant stomach that,go work at mcdonalds.as far as reading anything by john t. reed goes,hes a very intelligent man but almost as boring as mike voss.not to mention he is one miserable bas_ard.for anyone wanting inspiration to get into real estate,dont give him a read.youll end up in waste management.WILDWOMAN,I MISS YOU!!PLEASE COME BACK.anyway people,glad to see your all here and i look forward to reading some more of your chatter.warmest regards,GHOST
Houseflipper reveals a few other tell-tale signs of shill posts that I’ve noticed:
1. the liberal use of the multiple “……..”;
2. the consistent failure to use a space after a comma or period; and
3. the use of the term “haters” (which I pretty sure has failed to enter the common dialect).
Congradulations on your spelling though! It’s getting much better.
I have a theory on Post 1543 Ann:
So she doesn’t spell Floppers name right, her great aunt bought the house so Ann didn’t have to look at any paper work with his name on them.
If Ann is, I am guessing, around the age of 20, add 20 years for her mothers age and another 20 for her great aunt then her great aunt might just be in her 60’s or older. Maybe those five small houses that were flipped for those tenants to try and purchase back was one of these homes and maybe Armando helped get those tenants high interest rate financing to get back into their house they were used to living in. Maybe she got an offer she couldn’t refuse. Maybe her great aunt couldn’t afford any house but an Armando/Flopper house.
Maybe her great aunt never owned a house or lived in a trailer all her life.
And, along with many other people that are unwilling to do research or as in the song from the movie hit “South Pacific” – Children Will Listen, they are very impressioned by their families beliefs and never make their own moral and values, just continue with those of their parents. This also may give you an idea how old Ann is also.
Finally, how long ago was this house bought? Has it had time to start falling apart from all the patches and quick fixes that is Floppers trademark? What is great auntie gonna say when the flipped house starts to flop and can’t find Armando around to flip it because his deal is done after the house is bought? Just like I have learned from watching him also, you have so many days to stop the deal or something like that. Mike or Steve could give the exact answer here that I remember Armando bragging about on one of his shows – and maybe what he said was not the actual truth.
Shrill or no shrill Ann does have freedom of speech, as do we all, and she has flaws, as do we all. There are a lot of scenarios for Ann’s post.
My question to Ann – is it a house from one of the TV shows or maybe one listed in the archives? I agree with Mike when he asks for some type of proof. I am so tired of the shills on this site and the other that I am hoping that you might be that one in 100 who will have the courage to put up the information. You may want to know this information yourself in case your great aunt has problems in the near future. If you do put it up and Mike or Steve or someone can find out any information on it that might help stop an unwanted problem before it happens, well then you would be so helpful to her. I hope your great aunt has many good years in that house. Out of all the people that keep getting scammed I would love to read about a happy ending and not another person losing money. Ann, this is not a post against you in any way, just a way you could show you are not a shill.
Only love for everyone,
Jennifer
FIRST OFF GHOSTOFBKEW, I DO LOVE MY BOXER DOGS AND THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT. YOUR SECOND CHILDISH REMARK RE:MY DOGS, I WOULD LIKE TO CHALLENGE YOU TO COME OVER AND MEET MY DOGS, IF YOU CAN LAST 10 MINS I WILL SAY ARMANDO IS THE BEST. I KNOW FOR A FACT I WILL NEVER HAVE TO SAY THAT BECASE I WOULD GUESS IN 5 MINS WITH MY BOXERS YOU WILL PEE YOUR PANTS AND CRY AND BEG ME TO MAKE THEM STOP GUARANTEED!! SECONDLY CALLING ME A STALKER ARE YOU A CHILD? SORRY BUT I DON’T NEED TO OR HAVE TIME TO STALK ANYONE I AM TO BUSY RAISING MY DISABLED BABY. SINCE YOU LOVE ARMANDO SO MUCH YOU BETTER HURRY UP AND COMMIT A CRIME SO MAYBE YOU CAN SHARE THE SAME CELL WITH YOUR MAN. GOOD LUCK AND WE’LL BE WAITING TO SEE ARMANDO AND YOUR NEW SHOW FLIPPING OUR JAIL CELL. HAVE A NICE LIFE GHOSTOFBKEW!
I’d suggest anyone still deluded into thinking that Armando has any legitimacy whatsoever have a look at page 28 of today’s National Enquirer.
The full page article is entitled, “Flip This House Star FACING PRISON over real estate deals.”
Included are images of documents including an ARREST WARRANT – yes, your hero Armando was arrested in October for theft of services – a felony in TX – and is looking at 2 years on that alone. Funny how a “multi-millionaire” who “flips 30 houses a month” and “never makes less than $20K per flip” couldn’t pay a mere $4000 to stay out of jail, now isn’t it??
Funnier still is that Armando had NO COMMENT when contacted. You’d think he’d want to set the record straight, now wouldn’t you?
End of story, my friends. He was a fraud from day one, never made a dime, and the music has finally stopped and he has no chair.
I said it before and I’ll say it one more time: There are NO shortcuts!!!
Mike Voss
Oh, Armando???
Be sure and pick up a copy of the National Enquirer Friday!
Yes , I am obviously a shill. Of course I am on Armando’s payroll. I am sitting in his living room as we speak. Give me a break , why don’t you guys get real?? Just as I suspected, if I have a different opinion ,then I am obviously a shill. And I am glad you like my English , RAY, read your own last sentence IDIOT.(Which i pretty sure………Good work buddy.
Well, I paid for the $10 shipping and handling a couple weeks ago and finally got my “free” package… I get 30 days to review it and must send it back or else pay “6 easy payments of $79.95” for a few dvds and a couple work books. I’m pretty pissed off at the fact that Fagmondo pulled a fast one. I even asked the lady on the phone why he’s giving away free shit if he’s a businessman. Her reply “it’s for tax purposes”. HAHAHA… I’m going to send it back and not even look at the shit out of spite. If he wants to be successful and coaching, then he should be ethical and not try to scam people into spending $500 on something he advertises on XM radio as free. Now I guess I just have to blog about this experience and hopefully deter others from making the same mistake. I also have to waste my time going to the post office and paying for shipping to send it back. Maybe I’ll just cancel my CC and keep it so I don’t have to pay for it…. what do you think about them apples?
Scam the scammer…
If anyone has a website on which they’d like to host the Enquirer article, let me know and I’ll send you a scanned copy so everyone can see it. I’ll get permission from the Enquirer for copyright.
I think everyone needs to see this. but I don’t have the bandwidth.
In Post #1561, Mike Voss wrote:
“I’d suggest anyone still deluded into thinking that Armando has any legitimacy whatsoever have a look at page 28 of today’s National Enquirer.
The full page article is entitled, “Flip This House Star FACING PRISON over real estate deals.””
I wonder how soon it will be before Dr. Phil pays Armando a visit? ;-}
wyldwmn
enjoying the snowy, snowy Willamette Valley this Sunday morning
i see so many negative remarks about the montelongos…thats sad.nobody on this earth is perfect sure he may have made not so smart choices in business and/or his life who hasnt?and who cares?money is the root of all evil. its funny cause we all still choose to chase after that dream of having all those 0’s in your bank.there have been pastors of churches who have scammed their own fellow members out of money so nothing shocks me anymore when it comes to how ugly a person can get over it(money).my husband has started flipping homes in san antonio and does not do half a** work.he pays attension to detail and wants to help families get into homes they love.not just for the money , to be able to say “i bought,remodled,and sold this home to a family that loves my work!”thats where some people go wrong in any business is sense of compassion& humanity.the more he wants to be helping others the more money we make.
Has anyone found any better sources for this morons warrant or arrest than the Enquirer??? I would love to see it, but for obvious reasons, am suspicious of that magazine… Seeing this tool arrested will be sweet justice though! Cant wait! 🙂
2blessed should pay attention to spelling and subject verb agreement.
*** Challenge to Armando ***
We flip houses in Dallas for a living. We do 3-5 a month and we make money doing it.
To do that many houses a month we employ a total of 18 people 12 full- time and 6 for trade work like drywall, etc. (Imagine the size of the company to do 30 a month)
It takes us about 18-30 days per a house
We buy the houses on average at 40% below comps.
We make about 10-15% after ALL costs, including escrow, title insurance, etc.
We finance our own deals saving about 5-7% in costs that are never included in the profit figures on TV
Here is the Wager. I’ll put my money where my mouth is.
I will pay Armando 10-thousand dollars cash if he can prove that he has flipped even 500 houses. Further more I will pay an additional ONE THOUSAND dollars for each house he can PROVE the real profit and timelines match the shows advertised figures. However, if he loses I get Veronica for a week 🙂
Flipping houses is a blast, but there is a price to entry. We LOST money on our first 2 houses… Took us time to figure it out. If you try it – do the first one as a partnership to learn the ropes – it’s not like TV.
Currently there are only 3 markets that you can make money flipping in. Seattle, Salt Lake City and Dallas – anywhere else is going to cost you money.
Armando, here is my direct e-mail address BLACKROCK367@AOL.COM I challenge you, in fact I dare you….
Jason
ChrisInDetroit,
The source or sources for the Enquirer are posters here ; ) The article is correct, check it out! Mike Voss and this web site were mentioned in it, among otheres
In reference to post #1567 to Chris:
Post 1 of 3 (I think)
I did a search and found a few other links to what was posted here and one takes you to the A&E forum/blog on FTH and Armando. I am posting them here but due to amount of info, where I got it and where to go to so you can read it I have to post it in three different posts.
This forum blog is stating that Flopper was arrested October 2007 for real estate scam charges in many types and whoever posted also wrote it came from the National Enquirer.
National Enquirer in Flip This House in AETV Community Cente… National Enquirer: There’s an interesting article about Armando on page 28 of … Flip This House Star FACING PRISON over real estate deals’Included are …
boards.aetv.com/thread.jspa?threadID=700012802 – 42k – Similar pages
http://boards.aetv.com/thread.jspa?threadID=700012802
Post 2 of 3: This came from also searching for links and seems to come from A&E Forum about FTH but is not the Forum listed above as you will see when you read it. It also posts this site we use for others to read and gives credit to Mike Voss….
ChicagoCita
View Member Profile
Find Member’s Posts Couch Potato
Jan 26, 2008 @ 2:19 am Post#1269
So tonight I’m sick and curled up on the couch with kleenexes, down comforter and the National Enquirer (shut up, you know you read it sometimes, too!) and what do I see but Armando Montelongo’s toothy grin and this:
Flip This House Star Faciing Prison Time Over Real Estate Deals
Wheeler-Dealer’s home ‘sales’ are really 25 FORECLOSURES
The first paragraph says the Enquirer’s investigation “uncovered at least 25 foreclosures on homes that Armando has claimed to have flipped” and that “he’s facing two years in prison on a felony charge stemming from nonpayment in real estate transactions!”
Say what you will about the Enquirer, but they quote Mike Voss and FlipThisLawsuit.com, so I’m kind of believing them.
All I can say is, after this Montelongo thing, and Sam Leccima, if the Connecticut Frat Boys end up being con artists, I’m going to cry. They are far too pretty for prison.
PS: regarding post 2 of three:
the thread links it to:
forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showt… – 92k – Similar pages
I have a copy of the arrest warrant and am happy to send it to anyone who wants a copy – just email me or post your email here. I personally received it from an attorney friend in Texas through legal channels of public information available to anyone. Still working on a copy of the booking photo – $20 reward to anyone who gets it first!
Jason – I’ll kick in $10,000 as well. That’s the safest bet around. 🙂
Please – all you Armando shills – explain to us how your millionaire boss went to jail for not paying a paltry $4000 bill – I’m just dying to know.
Mike Voss
Steve and Jennifer,
Thanks guys! I appreciate it!! Cant wait to see the tool put under the jail! hahahaha
Chris:
This is page 3 or 3
I and sorry it took me more than 30 minutes to get all these links together but I wanted to double check one more time to see if I could find the early January article page 28 listed anywhere. I could not. I hope this helps you.
Jennifer
http://www.flippingfrenzy.com/2008/01/09/real-estate-fraud-charges-brought-against-founder-of-denver-based-eq-invest/
or
http://www.flippingfrenzy.com/category/flipping/
AND WHAT I TYPED INTO THE SEARCH ENGINE TO FIND THESE SITES IS:
“flip this house star facing prison over real estate deals article from National Enquirer”
Low and behold I found many places to search but some misleading. The flipping frenzy has it’s article but to connect it with Flopper, possibly to make him paranoid, which he should be, their article posted weeks ago runs right on the the page as this Colorado fellow right below his article. I have also listed below info I found at the last minute from trying to search NE. It is a linke to more of Germain’s story and how strung out and self loathing he became, which kind of reminds me of how downhill Flopper has been showing himself in commercials, etc. The there is a linke to the Entire Indictment agaist Germain which I found interesting to read.
As much as Flopper needs to be dealt with I am finding it that more people are comparing him with other scam artists and counting the days that he also joins the legal list of proven risks.
This is the original story from Channel 9 News:
http://www.9news.com/pdfs/Germain_Indictment.pdf
This is the Indictment against Germain which has about 10 pages naming names and charges comparable to what we have read here at this site. All found within the channel 9 news story:
http://www.9news.com/pdfs/Germain_Indictment.pdf
Yes it’s true about the arrest. I am the appraiser that had him arrested and I would like to thank the posters here for giving me the courage to stand up for myself even though you had no idea of your influence. I didn’t think anyone would take me seriously or would believe my story, but once I saw how some of you saw through him, then I figured I must have a chance and decided to call the police. This court stuff is confusing for me, so I don’t know how much I can discuss, so I’ll just stop talking now. Thanks again.
-i purhesed the package and for days was hounded by someone saying armando wanted to work with us personaly but of course we needed to send in 24 to 40 thousand dollars he kept giving me this it like college tuition crap how mwny people with very little money that wwanted to use what they had to try this fell for that scam and sent the money when they call i just dont answer you ripped me of on this package the hell if your getting my life savings
Question, How hard do you think the hammer will drop on Armando? My impression of him from the first time I watched him on HIS show was he didn’t seem smart enough to be a big time crook. Are we giving this idiot to much credit ?
I BOUGHT THE MASTER KIT ON A 30 DAY TRAIL AND IM ABOUT TO RETURN IT, HAS ANY ONE DONE THE SAME?
ARMANDO does make money on every house he flips –
Let me give you a little insight into how this all works.
His wife, Veronica is a Real Estate agent – So, every time they buy a house she gets paid the buyer commission out of closing escrow. Before they even touch the house they have made 3-5% on the purchase(FHA owned after 90 days pays 5% buyer comish). So let’s assume that they did in fact buy 27 homes last year – average price 80k that would lead us to believe that at the lowest commission they made $2400 per a house or $64,800 lat year.
The other part of the equation is a term called ‘HARD MONEY’
Hard money is a term out of old school Texas – whereby, an investor would lend money backed by land to oil companies to drill prospective wells looking for oil – in return they would be secured by the land and machinery and could stand to profit up to 50% of any oil out of that well – – – Skip ahead to modern day and its basically the same. An Investor loans money to an individual to purchase a house and fix it up for about 18-25% If you don’t repay they keep the house and maybe sue you – since they are individual investors they do not report it to the credit bureaus – (See http://www.prosper.com for an example of soft and hard money lending) SO, theoretically, Armando could have had 10-15 different lenders not knowing what one was doing from the other – No credit reporting = no tracking ability.
Armando is not interested in selling property he’s interested in buying it. Hence the foreclosures.
That’s not a FLIPPER that’s a con artist – plain and simple.
PS I have not heard any response to my challenge above – The 10-grand awaits Armando – I’ve also e-mailed Veronica, No response as of yet – keep you posted.
Now that the story broke I can say that I have spoke to Armando directly on several occasions. I am also the person who gave Mike Voss my master course. The story in the Enquirer is the absolute truth, I know because I am the person who called them. I have been trying to figure out what to do ever since I bought the course and realized I just purchased the worlds most expensive frisbees. I called Armando and left a message that I wanted my money back, because if I flipped a house like the course stated I would go to jail. When he called me back he started to scream that I better never question his integrity and he called me a mother f_ _king bi_ _h, I told him I am not intimadated by him and I was going to see my attorney. I barely had time to take a breath and he called me back and tried to apoligize in true Armando style. It was at that moment I knew what I needed to do and that was stop him from ripping off others. Armando called me twice on New Years Eve and told me he would refund my money, I have those tapes and I am going to air them. This guy makes his money off being a con artist not a house flipper. He may haved scammed me but if that article stops him from ripping off other people then my money was well spent. The best part is Armando has no idea how to handle a woman who don’t back down from him, he gets very angry and frustrated, I could picture him pacing the floors, raking his fingers through his hair while talking to me, because every time he tried to tell me his terms to get my money back I would tell him no and I would tell him my terms. For the people on here who still want to defend Armando Montelongo by all means give him your money so he can coach you personally, but it will cost you big because I have heard collect calls from jail are very costly. Lastly a big thank you to Mike Voss for all your help.
Tammy and Linda – Thanks for telling everyone what you experienced and for standing up to Armando not only for yourselves, but on behalf of all the other victims of his fraud. I was happy to help in whatever small ways I could.I certainly hope more of the media continue to dig in to the story, as there is a LOT more.
One thing I am very certain of is that there must be many more people out there who have been ripped off by Armando. I hope that they will all now not be afraid to step up and demand that he pay them whatever he owes them and utilize the available legal means to make him do so.
I especially hope that the people at VCH funding will tell their story at some point as they must be one of his biggest creditors.
I really hope that A&E is paying attention and puts an end to their unwitting complicity in Armando’s scam. Maybe if he goes to prison on Feb 4th they’ll wake up. Hopefully Armando will get the vertical stripes as they’re more slimming.
I also think this thread has gotten too huge and memory-sucking – maybe it should be locked and a new one started?
Mike Voss
I think it is an outrage that after the whole Sam Leccima scam, A&E didn’t go back and do background checks on the other “flippers”. In my opinion, that is corporate negligence and they should be held partially responsible. On their website, they still state he is flipping 200 houses a year. They made him “respectable” through their show, and he used the show to swindle people. I hope everyone who lost money from Armando files a class action lawsuit against A&E for their part in the charade. I guess they have to wait until Armando is found guilty, but based on this site, that seems pretty likely.
Jason,
Jut FYI:
Veronica is not a registered agent in Texas, so they don’t get a commission at closing. I couldn’t find any of the Montelongos registered as agents in Texas.
L.Gass – Check under her madien name – she was an agent b4 meeting Armando.
I bought the 30 day trial… made copies of it all and sent it back and told them it didn’t work. I have the whole program for only shipping and handling charges! good luck and happy flipping
Hey Mike, send me that warrant.
afoprtr@lycos.com
To Mike:
You posted….I also think this thread has gotten too huge and memory-sucking – maybe it should be locked and a new one started?
Will you let us know the new link so we may continue to follow the story please? I enjoy logging on each evening to see what’s going on. Mike, thank you and a few others for keeping this site “grounded.” Admiration all around!!!
To Lori and Tammy and the others who have contributed towards putting Flopper where he belongs:
Many thanks and to let you know that a lot of people now and in the future will be very grateful for your actions. God be with you and be strong.
To those people who keep sending Armando emails only to get them returned I sent a very demanding email with a lot of threats on the 28th and told them I would not settle for a case number never to be heard from again. The threat was very urgent and here is the email address that I received back with more personal information stating that my “threats” were going to be handled directly by Flopper. Maybe someone might have use for this. The senders name was Merlin (ha) armando_montelongo@faqsupportsite.com
Peace,
Jennifer
This is too much just read in the National Enquirer about this con man and the website here….glad to have read this article. We cannot believe this mess. And the show is going to be aired with a new season starting on 2-2-08 on A & E. I wonder what they are going to do now that the story is out in the open for all eyes to see and learn from. This site is going to get a lot more responses from people who has been dupted into his con…
Cannot believe these people are so stupid. Like no one could see thru this mess. The National Enquirer has a article about them with this website. This is how I found out about what happened to Trademark Properties and them A&E.
Losers never win…
FYI
Armando Montelongo will be headlining 4 Get Rich Quick Shows in the Seattle area, February 6-9. The events are being presented by George Wright III, Chairman, American Entrepreneur. They are being promoted by mass direct mail of invitations and free VIP tickets (a $249 value).
The return address on the invitation is 8620 E. Palo Verde Dr., Scottsdale, AZ 85250. According to the MSN White Pages, The names associated with that address are Delworth and Alice Stout.
On December 18, 2007, Delworth Stout passed away. A tribute/obituary has been posted online. Two of the many survivors are his daughter, Sharon and her husband GEORGE WRIGHT. Not sure where George Wright III fits on the family tree, but I would guess he’s the son or grandson of Sharon and George Wright.
Anyway, it appears that the Corporate Headquarters of Chairman George Wright III and The American Entrepreneur are in Granny’s house in Scottsdale. I wonder if any angry refund seekers will stop by. What kind of person would do that to their grandmother?
There is success in blogging ,, help bring down a scammer !!! Just think how long Armondo would be scamming if there was no means for people across the country to band together .
To all the people who used their free time to investigate Armondo ,,, a huge thank you ,,, Mike Voss there needs to be more men in the world like you .
I am still waiting for A&E’s reaction to Armondo’s arrest.
wyldwmn ,,,, my sister and husband grow their grapes in Willamette Vally 🙂
Everyone is just jealous of Armando’s success. The minute someone does well, everyone comes out of the woodwork to bash them.
Go create your piece of the American Dream and stop posting on this site.
In Post #1569, Jason wrote:
“I will pay Armando 10-thousand dollars cash if he can prove that he has flipped even 500 houses. Further more I will pay an additional ONE THOUSAND dollars for each house he can PROVE the real profit and timelines match the shows advertised figures. However, if he loses I get Veronica for a week :)”
So, maybe it has slipped your mind that the person who decides who Victoria spends time with is Victoria, and not Armando and not you?
In light of Victoria’s recent statements on the show to Armando that she won’t put up with his disrespect, my guess is that Victoria, like a lot of other women, find men who make statements like yours about as attractive (or “funny” since you will most likely claim you were “just joking”) about as attractive as a wet toilet seat.
wyldwmn
I have been involved with real estate investing for 12 years and have made alot of money. The likelyhood of someone buying 30 homes a month is not realistic.
Ask yourself this, when you bought your home, how long did it take to close on it? the time averages from start to finish, 30 days and can go to 45. How would he have time to close on thirty homes a month, sell them and still do his show and sell his books? NOT REALITY.
Can you make alot of money in real estate? yes, can you do it as fast as Armondo? no, not really and by the way where has his brother been? obviously far away from Armondo.
I have been involved with real estate investing for 12 years and have made alot of money. The likelyhood of someone buying 30 homes a month is not realistic.
Ask yourself this, when you bought your home, how long did it take to close on it? the time averages from start to finish, 30 days and can go to 45. How would he have time to close on thirty homes a month, sell them and still do his show and sell his books? NOT REALITY.
Can you make alot of money in real estate? yes, can you do it as fast as Armondo? no, not really and by the way where has his brother been? obviously far away from Armondo.
Oops…I just posted:
“In light of Victoria’s recent statements on the show to Armando that she won’t put up with his disrespect, my guess is that Victoria, like a lot of other women, find men who make statements like yours about as attractive (or “funny” since you will most likely claim you were “just joking”) about as attractive as a wet toilet seat.”
I meant Veronica, not Victoria. My sincerest apologies to Veronica.
wyldwmn
in need of chocolate
Has anyone tried calling Armondo’s 1-800 number ?? I threw the number away lol
Just woundering if it’s disconnected !!
I received the copy, thanks Mike. Question though, is there anything against posting that warrant on a forum?
You guys are all way too critical. If you have watched the Montelongo’s episodes enough then you would know that Armando started with nothing. He does NOT treat his wife bad, so they bicker sometimes during the stress of the flip, they are constantly smooching and referring to each other as a team. And yes, Armando is strict with his workers, but they are his workers, working for him, and he is paying them to do a job. If you cannot keep labor in line then you will not get the results you expect, and the reward that Armando and his company rely on to thrive. All of you who criticize him are ignorant. He is running a business, and it is MORE than obvious that he runs it so professionally that his success is evident. God knows that if I came from nothing and accomplished what he has that I would be proud too. Cut the man some slack. I LOVE watching the Montelongo’s more than any other flippers on A&E, and I will continue to watch. They are a great family, and great, family run company. Congrats to the Montelongos and all others trying to make it big with their dreams!
I saw an episode of flip this house tonight. This guy is a real slimy character. I like his wife’s clothes. Veronica sort of reminds me of a stripper. As far as flipping goes, you don’t get something for nothing. This fu*k reminds me of Carlton Sheets. I went to one of those free seminars of his where they try to shove their 1000K course down your throat. He even had midgets there. All of them singing the same tune, ” I was poor and now I am rich and I just want to share it with you.” What a crock of shit. Since that seminar in 2003, I have refused to make any purchase where someone says “such and such percent off today only” “The price will increase if you don’t buy today” or any other similar crap. There was a guy in Florida who ended up in federal prison over just this type of garbage. He had rented a yacht and placed some kind of sticker with his name on it on the boat and rented cheesy looking women in bikini’s for his infommercial. His friends did his testimonials, most of them cracking up during out-takes. Nothing in life is free. This cat no more wants to share his secrets to wealth than the man on the moon. Make a better investment and buy the DVD THE SECRET instead. It’s like 20 bucks and it will remind you that what you want in life you can and will attract to yourself. Doesn’t mean you can sit around on your tail and be given anything, but it does provide encouragement. It also gets you to start planning and putting into practice what you do want. Also reminds you it’s not a real grand idea to rip people off to make a buck. People generally don’t like getting ripped off. I say for shame on A & E for airing this turd. I might have fallen for his crap but for the fact I have flipped a house already, and I am less gullible than years prior. Anyhoo- Don’t waste your time reading the tips to flipping as touted by Monteguido.
Jim, I am not going to defend Armando at all I think he is trash but I will say that if he is using hard money then he can close in 7-10 days. I am an investor and I also am a LO and do a lot of hard money loans for investors in my area.
I think that Armando is just trying to cash in before he has to get out. I like many others that I have read on here was looking for his book, I am an investor but I live in an area where it is not that easy to find good deals and wanted to learn different techniques but that guy just teaches crimes.
For anyone out there that is looking to get into investing, I will tell you that it aint easy and it can be very stressful but there can be rewards to it as long as you don’t think that you are going to make millions in a matter of months.
Also on here some one had asked if “Rich Dad Poor Dad” was a good book to read, it is a very good book, not just for beginner investors but for anyone.
That’s SHOW BIZNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You can sure learn a lot from these FTH show…what NOT to do!!! I believe in karma and when you treat people poorly or cheat them, it will come back to haunt you. I am real estate investor but I’m not a flipper. I buy houses, rehab them, and rent them out for cashflow. There are numerous ways to invest in real estate but I feel that this is one of the safest ways to build wealth. If you guys are serious about investing in real estate, not just flipping (aka speculation), you can find a wealth of information online, libraries, book stores, etc. I read a plethora of books related to real estate for over a year before finally taking the plunge. Rich Dad, Poor Dad was among the list. You can read and read but eventually you will have to put your knowledge to the test. (I don’t always utilize everything I learn from books. You have to exercise your own judgments to assess what you think is good advice and apply them to your business.) I’ve have only been in real estate for about 6 months but I absolutely love everything about it. It makes it that much more rewarding when you are passionate about your job. I have to agree with most everyone on here that although you can make money in RE, there is no quick and easy way. You have to be willing to put in the time, effort, and due diligence to learn this trade.
As for those free aforementioned property appraissal sites, they are very inaccurate since they’re based on old comps. If you want to be a serious REI, you’re going to have to invest in a good program. I use Real Quest. It might seem a bit pricey but to me, it’s priceless because it’s an invaluable tool that is essential to my business. You can pull up not only comps in the area, but you can actually look at the comps in detail, just like an professional appraiser.
To Mary,
Perhaps you missed it… he stole services from me, which is why I’m now going to face him in criminal court. He’s not just a good guy looking to be successful, he walks over the backs of others to try to get there.
Mary wrote: “If you have watched the Montelongo’s episodes enough then you would know that Armando started with nothing.”
He also “rode into town on his last tank of gas”, right? LOL
Get a grip, Mary. He comes from a well to do family in San Antonio
Armando makes his living taking advantage of cheap illegal labor and pockets large amounts of money at the expense of individuals trying to make a living, just so he can boast about how great a businessman “he” is and trys to justify it by pushing a false “How to book”. If he were to pay for legal licensed contractors and labor he could not make the money he does. His cheating and back stabbing habits have caught up to him. Good luck in court Armando.
Everytime somebody gets a chance to express their opinion… they hate.
A bunch of haters lol… that’s all most of these posts are about.
AF – it is publicly available information, so anyone could post it on a server. I would, but don’t have the bandwidth available for it at present.
I am a carpenter/contractor with more than 25 years experience. I do good quality work and I am a man of my word. I worked on one of your homes on Stagecoach. A sub-contractor hired me and has not ben able to pay me for my work. His name is John, he’s 25 years old and he is NOT A CONTRACTOR. You could get in big trouble hiring idiots like this. Nobody will give me your number and I don’t know what to do about this. He still owes me $150. He owes another carpenter $350 and a another guy over $200. Fire him and hire me – I will NOT sub the work out as he has. Michael Pena, 210-849-7779
Mary we are not critical! Just exposing Armando for the con he is. As for you Mary or whoever you are did you ever wonder why Veronica is now going to take over hmmmmm maybe because your idol will be in jail, right where he belongs! I hope you give him your money and accept those collect calls from jail beware though I hear they are very costly. I am just glad that almost all the people now finally see Armando for who he is. Mary what a foolish mistake on your part to be Armandos groupie. On the flip side of that if you live in Texas then maybe you can go visit your idol, but I’m not real sure he will want to talk about real estate since he knows nothing about it. However dish out your money to Armando and flip a house, we’ll hear about you going to jail to. Enjoy your freedom Mary! PS Mary if you want to throw your money away by all means throw it to us! Enjoy your life.
I have read some of the posts wondering about The National Enquirer validity, now I can’t comment on any other stories but my own. They do not listen to your story and run it. This story has been in progress for some time and that is because the man and woman whom I worked with did research to verify everything they were told. They both worked very hard on this and called all sources involved. With that said Thank you so much John and Tracy for all your work…GOD BLESS
Mike Pena, you should find as many contractors as you can that he didn’t pay and report back to us, as well as go to the media. If he owed only 1 contractor a couple hundred bucks, he could say he didn’t know or that the work was inferior. To show a pattern of not paying several contractors/carpenters/workers would get a lot of both media and legal attention because he’s receiving the funds from his lender after the repairs are made, but not passing the money on to you. I hope more people speak up now that the ball has started rolling with the current civil and criminal cases.
Mary wrote: “If you have watched the Montelongo’s episodes enough then you would know that Armando started with nothing.” Steve added the ditty about how Armando rode into town on his last tank of gas…
Truth be known he did start with nothing. I have visited so many sites stating that they ran out of California before getting caught in real estate scams, taxes, etc. I believe that he and Veronica had to get back to his relatives in Texas to get a leg up and someone else posted, “climb over the backs of others” to get where they are now — which is in a worse spot that California. If you would use your computer and look up all the links to Armando Montelongo on different search engines you will find so many other sites and blogs that reveal similar information as here and there are a lot of people, not from this site, who are posting even more intriguing information with backup, who are not doing it because they are jealous. They have been swindled and are putting the proof up for the world to see. One site is on the A&E website. Do you see him advertise in his commercials or his dribble that he writes and sells why he left California or why he left Texas to go to California before he ran back to Texas? You can continue “stay in the dark” and take up for them, send them all your money and your first born child but remember this, how is little Mondoman going to deal in life with his parents actions?
Peace,
Jennifer
In Post #1601, Mary wrote:
“You guys are all way too critical. If you have watched the Montelongo’s episodes enough then you would know that Armando started with nothing. He does NOT treat his wife bad, so they bicker sometimes during the stress of the flip, they are constantly smooching and referring to each other as a team. And yes, Armando is strict with his workers, but they are his workers, working for him, and he is paying them to do a job. If you cannot keep labor in line then you will not get the results you expect, and the reward that Armando and his company rely on to thrive. All of you who criticize him are ignorant. He is running a business, and it is MORE than obvious that he runs it so professionally that his success is evident. God knows that if I came from nothing and accomplished what he has that I would be proud too. Cut the man some slack. I LOVE watching the Montelongo’s more than any other flippers on A&E, and I will continue to watch. They are a great family, and great, family run company. Congrats to the Montelongos and all others trying to make it big with their dreams!”
Mary, have you ever heard of a little thing called “idealization”???
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idealization_and_devaluation
wyldwmn
So what happened in court Monday? Does anyone know as that was supposed to be the date. L.Gass… please tell!
Unfortunately court was pushed back and I haven’t heard if the new date has been decided on. It could be a lot of factors, but probably mostly because the Travis County court system is already backed up, so they keep post-poning.
His site looks like a clickbank site, people are getting rich recycling real estate and how to make money information. He just has the tv show behind him so he will indeed make big bucks from it. $100 per sale isn’t bad, here is a trick, sign up and pay, then request a refund and they have to give it to ya!.
MOntelongo got it delayed again.
Postponing the inevitable…
1. I am too wondering what happened in court?!?!?!
2. Did anyone post the warrant anywhere so we can see it?
3. Did anyone else get sick when this tool sento ut an e-mail today talking about the new season? [puking]
Trish, there is a new date of March 4.
I called to order the free cd they are advertising and you pay shipping and when you call they offer you the real package with the so called secrets. Well they give you a 30 day trial to read over it and if you dont return in 30 days your credit card is charged $97 a month for 7 months. I got it and read it within 8 days and basically it does not really show you anything that these other real estate programs are selling os I sent it back and have never been charged. They have called me to see if I wanted to attend his school to be his intern via online which I declined. iI do watch the show to get building and design examples but the book teaches you nothing the others do and it is more costly.
It looks like there will be a Season 4 of FTH San Antonio. According to the new video on Armando’s website (not the one with the where he drives up to a deserted office complex at dawn in his mercedes), they are filming it right now. He claims not only is now not a bad time to invest in real estate, it’s the best time. The problem is not the real estate market, but the banking industry. And he’s got a photographer that once worked with Sting and Courtney Cox! I just love the way he casually works that little piece of info in there. It amazes me what they think will impress people and make them seem more successful. Here is a piece of information that makes more of an impression, albeit a negative one- he now has three delinquent property tax cases pending in Bexar county. The last one, 2007TA105565, was filed on 12/20/07. Now that’s a man who’s got his priorities straight- pay back taxes or hire celebrity photographer? Why hire the photographer, of course. Unless this one was willing to work for free like the last one (remember the “mafia comes to the Alamo” photo shoot from season one), his services could not have been cheap. Even though they are filming Season 4, will A&E air it now that the full truth about Armando’s business dealings is starting to come out? Frankly, FTH San Antonio has become nothing more than a series of one hour info-mercials for Armando’s internet business. I wouldn’t object to A&E continuing to feature the Montelongos if they were willing to show the downside and the dangers of the flipping business (houses failing to sell quickly, threats of foreclosure, lawsuits, etc.) instead of the always profitable upside. That would be far more educational to the novice real estate investor than the shows that always end with a supposed sale and a potential profit estimate. However, I seriously doubt we will ever see those kind of episodes air because they would undermine Armando’s real estate millionaire guru image. They probably won’t be including any footage of his criminal trial in Season 4 either. By the way, he supposedly had a court date this week- does anyone know what happened?
Hello all,
I received Armondos package for a “$10.00/30 day” trial basis on 2/05/08.
Now I need to clarify that I am a plumber in California and I have been doing custom homes, as well as, commercial buildings for the last 5 years. The average house is 6,000 to 15,000 sq. ft.. With Commercial buildings ranging from 4 Story TIC”s to Home Depot’s…that’s right the “If you can’t do it we can’t help you store”. And I have video to prove I can plumb as well as I profess. I am an “Expert Witness” when it comes to the trades. I walk in metal/wood frame buildings 5-6 days a week and design waste, water and mechanical systems for each building I work.
Point being, I am not trying to intentionally critcize Armondo, I gave him my money, but this yahoo is a Hack and a Theif!!! Buyer beware!!!
Proof of his intention to steal:
In his “Fix” section he states that he has all of his sub-contractors sign a “Lein release” before he does work with them. Now in the real world where fairness and production are the basis of a project performed with due-dilligence you DO NOT sign a Pre-Lein/Lein Release. In non-Armondo world both parties are supposed to sign a Pre-Lein notice. It is part of any Owner(Builder)/ Sub Contractor agreement. BUT HE WON’T TELL YOU THAT BECAUSE HE IS A THEIF.
The Pre-Lein/Lein is your only path of legal recourse if the client does not pay you for work you have performed. But he frames the reasoning for protection against non-performance. That’s what timelines are for…if you miss a deadline you deduct monies from the agreement. But you dont’t refuse to pay someone. If you don’t like them you have to stop the work before he completes the work. But he can not let you complete the work and not pay you. That is an unenforceable action. But he keeps the contract over $5,000 so you can’t take him to small claims court and no lawyer will take the case…too small an amount.
A non-theif does not force someone to sign away their rights to do business.
Trust me when I say that you will run into a world of problems if you follow his advice. Some of the people in the construction business are not the going to court type when they are owed money. And you never know who they are until you try to rip them off.
Proof he is a hack:
In his DVD “Assessing Properties” he walks you through an example property to show his process. He shows a house with major foundation problems that he broke his own 70% rule in order to acquire. No “Real Estate player” in the world would buy a house with a severly listing foundation for more than 30 to 40 cents on the dollar. And he states the ARV of the house 220k but he paid 120k…fuzzy math. The Living room addition has a weak foundation and the house is listing because the foundation was done without digging peirs, usually 14′ to 18′ down in the ground…depending on soil type. Point being this Yahoo states that after he is going to fix the foundation he will leave the tile and carpet over it because “Carpet is more forgiving”.
Direct Quotes from the DVD
“I tile over tile” “I lay carpet over tile because it’s more forgiving”
You can never tile over tile or even carpet over tile. The pro’s place #30 felt paper, a rubber membrane between the surface/floor and then they float the floor, then they lay marble/tile. This is done so the TILE DOES NOT SHIFT OR CRACK! To do it his way is not faster and it is not more efficient. What his tact leads to is a reputation that evokes anger, resentment and a situation where you are looking over your shoulder everytime you enter society.
I could continue to pick the flaws in his approach but its getting tired just like these hacks, i.e. Armondo Motelongo “How I built my real estate flipping machine”.
And I am sending back his package.
‘Montolongo’ is Spanish for ‘Hummer driving, posturing, bankrupt fool’.
In Post #1625, Urundi wrote:
“And I am sending back his package.”
Um……hmmmmm……
;-}
wyldwmn
Update on Armando…As I stated before Armando promised to refund my money for the master course per our conversation on New Years Eve. His terms were I had to send the course to him and he would refund 250.00 on Jan 3rd or 4th then when he got back from out of town he would refund the next 250.00. After listening to him ramble on I told him no because you will never refund my money, but you will have your worthless course back, so I told him I would send one box and I would send it certified so he would have to sign for it, for my records. Today I spoke to the post office in his town and was told the package was still sitting there, so it seems even Armando don’t want his frisbees back. The post office is going to send the box back to me and a letter stateing all the attempts to deliver.
I am done with Armando’s games this time he messed with the wrong woman. I have all my emails re: the refund plus the tapes of him promising me a refund and now a letter from the postmaster. I went to see my attorney today and it looks like Armando Montelongo is going to be sued by me, so back to court for Armando! My attorney informed me that we will be asking for a lot more than just the refund of the course. Also I would like to let you all know that since the story in the Enquirer many people have come forward and are pissed to say the least so it also looks like a class action lawsuit will be filed against Montelongo. I guess you could say Armando will not have much time to flop houses he will be to busy going to court. I would like to say that I feel so sorry for Mandoman, I hope he grows up to be everything Armando isn’t. Have a Great Day Everyone!!
I did buy his tapes-and quickly returned them. I find it interesting that all of these gurus have the same tale-they were desperate, broke, and made a killing over night.Armando is an amazing self promoter-whether he is legit is a different story.He reminds me of James Fray-author of a million little pieces-full of it, but talented none the less.I anxiously await the outcome of the trial
I happen to know Armando’s bro. His brothers name is Rick, and he is the complete opposite of Armando. His saughter Monique is a darling girl. Shes so sweet and funny, and Anthony is just an outgoing young teenager. Laila is so sweet and kind, and a very giving mother. I would just like to say that they have no asosiation with armando, thats how mad they feel towards him being a jerk like the way he is.
Tammy… That is definitely interesting!! Please keep us all informed here! 🙂
Tammy what about writing to Judge Judy and getting this on TV so 10 million people can watch
Just received an invitation! Montelongo is giving me a free $249 ticket to attend his exclusive event in Sacramento and Stockton CA Feb 27-Mar 1. I can
1. create my own high-profit flipping machine in the sacramento market.
2. discover how to become rich from the 2088 foreclosure opportunity.
3. learn strategies to generate 16-34% return approved by the government.
4. how to buy and profit from bank-owned proprterties with little or no money out of pocket.
5. how to put an extra $7K-$12K in my pocket in 30-90 days.
6. How to profiit in and identify real estate markets hitting rock bottom.
1-866-330-1705 immediately and ask for Beverly this event will be sold out…
What a crock, someone should rent a bus and make up the entire attendance of one of his “snake oil salesman shows”…what a hoot that would be.
Needless to say, the little weasel is still making money off of greedy (don’t feel too bad about these snakes) and uninformed people.
Keep up the good work here…hopefully, he can be shut down soon!
Hey Kathy never thought of Judge Judy, it is a real good idea. I will definately look into it…Chris in Detroit, Hey Chris I grew up in Detroit! I will always keep you updated, you all have been an inspiration. Hope everyone has a great week!
This blog is dieing. Armando won! LOSERS!!!!!!!!!!
Loving this whole process. The sad reality is, here in this part of the country, the market has stabilized with prices still high. One can infrequently find a home to rehab, but the market is glutted, and it’s a very transient area. lots of military who are wisely buying, vice renting, but then get reassigned across country, and are willing to take deep cuts to sell quickly, as long as they come out right side up.
If you watch Armando closely, you’ll see he’s not much different than Tom Sr. on American Chopper, or the shop foreman on American Hot Rod. Brash, pushy, over the top personality, the whole dril-sargeant mentality. The difference here being they wey weren’t maketing anything that was non-tangible. So, food for thought, Since anybody who is considering spending a grand for his (can I use the word “product”) is eithe rincredibly naive, mis or uninformed, can he STILL be held liable for selling to them. One of the biggest buzzwords in real estate is ‘due diligence”. All anybody would have to do is Google his name, and thi site will pop up. So, since there is a wealth of “don’t do it!!” info out there…
My .02
Oh, if you were free to move anywhere, and wanted to spend your time rehabbing and renovating SFH, wheere would you go?
Hey, Mike Voss, did you ever serve in the Navy??
Rat- One big difference: Boyd Coddington and Paul Tuttle Sr. (of American Hotrod and American Chopper, respectively) both have decades of experience in their fields and have built up strong reputations. Montelongo has no credentials whatsoever. If Tuttle or Coddington sold books or DVDs, they’d probably actually be pretty good and worth the money. Since they make money at their actual professions, they don’t bother with such crap. Montelongo is just the opposite – since he has no skills nor reputation on with which to make money, he spends nearly all his time hawking useless crap to try to generate income and the rest faking his tv “flips” including ripping off the vendors involved, which I have heard is STILL going on. This is actually a very good illustration of the difference between him and someone who really has something to say/do/sell.
Personally, I think Tuttle is funny and seems like a nice guy, but Coddington is such an a__hole I’m amazed anyone stays in his employ regardless of his (fading) reputation. The guy just has no clue about dealing with other human beings. When he fired Liz Miles, I stopped watching for good.
As for me, never in the Navy, and now that I’m too old to go to BUDS school it’s not likely I ever will be. 🙂
MV
This thread has come a long way, hasn’t it? lol ; )
I think this recently released article paints a pretty accurate picture of this ass.
CRIME
‘Flip This House’ star indicted in Travis County
Armando Montelongo accused of failing to pay real estate appraiser.
By Steven Kreytak
AMERICAN STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Armando Montelongo Jr., 36, faces up to two years in state jail if convicted. The indictment, handed up Wednesday, charges that from January 2006 through February 2007 Montelongo failed to pay home appraisal fees in Travis County.
According to an arrest affidavit, Montelongo hired Reliance Appraisal Services of Austin to perform several appraisals but never paid. The cost of those appraisals was $4,125, the affidavit said.
Montelongo is due in court March 3. He has no lawyer listed in court files and could not be reached for comment.
The show’s Web site says he is one of three real estate developers who attempt to fix up old, run down houses and sell them for a profit on “Flip This House,” which airs on A&E. Montelongo heads Montelongo House Buyers, the Web site said, and “is a hard-driving entrepreneur flipping over 300 houses a year.”
skreytak@statesman.com; 912-2946
Just FYI, I noticed above where someone said they bought the 5 e-books for $97. If you go on ebay, you can them much cheaper. I got them literally for like $1.74, YES ONE DOLLAR AND SEVENTY FOUR CENTS. He’s got some kind of affiliate program that gives reseller rights. I see a set on ebay right now for .05. Just for the record I’m a huge fan of the Montelongos. He was on a telecall the other night and he started out talking about how his wife and his newborn son were both near death at the same time and how his wife had to be transported to another hospital and hour away from where his son was in the hospital because he didn’t have the right kind of insurance. You could hear in his voice that living through that still affects him today and that’s why he has such a drive to make money and stay wealthy..FYI from what i can gather 🙂 Peace!
http://www.woai.com/entertainment/story.aspx?content_id=c7e3851d-b7db-4800-bb06-93e31be3546b
Can anyone give me an unemotional review of HIS COURSE and not about his Character – I don’t give a hoot about his personal life.
Hello, Mainstream Media ; )
‘Flip This House’ Star Defaults On Appraisals
KXAN 36 Austin Thu, 21 Feb 2008 9:11 PM PST
The star of a television home makeover show is in trouble in Travis County. Armando Montelongo, a real estate developer who fixes up homes on A&E’s “Flip This House, has been indicted for theft of services.
______________________________________
Flip This House’ star indicted in Travis County
Austin American-Statesman Thu, 21 Feb 2008 12:57 PM PST
Armando Montelongo accused of failing to pay real estate appraiser. Armando Montelongo Jr., 36, faces up to two years in state jail if convicted. The indictment, handed up Wednesday, charges that from January 2006 through February 2007 Montelongo failed to pay home appraisal fees in Travis County.
_____________________________________
TV Home Flipper Armando Montelongo Facing Jail Time
WOAI San Antonio Fri, 22 Feb 2008 4:45 AM PST
Armando Montelongo Jr., star of A&E’s “Flip This House,” was indicted this week in Austin.
Mia wrote:
“…You could hear in his voice that living through that still affects him today and that’s why he has such a drive to make money and stay wealthy…”
The Montelongos are NOT wealthy. Armando is nothing more than a Johnny come lately who made money in Real Estate by taking out loans on properties with over inflated appraisals, paying high interest rates (hard money loans), and skimming a portion of the money (via padding invoices, not paying contractors, or taxes)to pay for his extravagant lifestyle.
He failed to pay back 23 of these loan (foreclosure).
The irony he claimed to come into town 50,000 dollars in debt. Today, he is over MILLION dollars in debt and I bet he has a NEGATIVE net worth.
Jason:
ARMANDO does make money on every house he flips –
“Let me give you a little insight into how this all works.
His wife, Veronica is a Real Estate agent – So, every time they buy a house she gets paid the buyer commission out of closing escrow….”
The only license that Veronica hold is for Cosmetology. It’s list as MONTELONGO-RODRIGUEZ, VERONICA.
http://www.license.state.tx.us/LicenseSearch/SearchResultDetail.asp?ID_NO=COSMOS01311527&STYPE=OP
The way Armando is getting money off these properties is skimming money off the loans – eg padding invoices, paying himself, not paying contractors or taxes.
Hi all!
I found this article about Flopper being arrested, information about the affidavit regarding Linda Gass, owner of Reliance Appraisal Service against Montelongo’s company Mandoman Management, etc.; It also gives information about the September 2007 Montelongo Acquisitions, Inc. for almost $6000 delinquent taxes situation; then it has a paragraph about the June 2007 lawsuit alleging that his company Montelongo Developments LLC, took $5000 in earnest month and $500 in option money from a California investor and states that David was not a part of this; after discussion on each of these topics it then closes with them selling a series of e-books called “Flip It Now” and home study course on CD. I take it that maybe this is the newspapers way of helping readers put all theses charges, together with what they are in to now and in their way helping people Stop – Read – Reconsider – Research, before getting taken for their hard earned money, including anyone Flopper hires to do business for him. Just my opinion. (Linda, I hope it was okay to use your name/company since it was printed in the paper).
Have Fun Reading,
Jennifer
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/crime/stories/MYSA022208.fliphouse.EN.1a99226d.html
BTW – It is sad about the insurance situation that all of us deal with in life but how will AM be able to afford insurance on his wife and son while he is in JAIL? Did that drive for money have anything to do with all these in coming criminal arrests and reports? You do not have to walk over others, screw them out of money, or take the stupid chances he has taken in USA.
Sorry, I just can’t listen to his whinny stories told that makes him sound like the average “I had nothing but look at me now.”
SHOCKING – WHAT A CROCK!!!!
Mia, I’ve noticed that his story gets more dramatic and tear jerking each time he tells it. Also, I knew him before he was ever on the show and I never heard anything about that heart wrenching time.
Just my 2cents.
In Post #1640, Mia wrote:
“Just for the record I’m a huge fan of the Montelongos.”
Exactly. Armando Montelongo is looking for people to be his FANS, not people who are interested in being educated in an intelligent way on the basis of acquiring actual information. Armando Montelongo is looking for people who will simply beleive what he says, not people who are intelligent enough to have developed mature analytical and abstract thinking skills. when I have learned a lot from another individual, I may comment on the quality of the information they have offered me, but I am not going to identify myself as one of their “fans.”
“He was on a telecall the other night and he started out talking about how his wife and his newborn son were both near death at the same time and how his wife had to be transported to another hospital and hour away from where his son was in the hospital because he didn’t have the right kind of insurance. You could hear in his voice that living through that still affects him today and that’s why he has such a drive to make money and stay wealthy..FYI from what i can gather 🙂 Peace!”
Cleary a man who utilizes his wife’s and infant son’s medical problems to elicit sympathy in order to win “fans” who will make emotionally-based purchases of his products, is not interested in “working hard.” He is interested in exploiting both his wife and son and his customers.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t have much respect for a “man” like Armando who constantly brings up his wife’s and infant son’s medical history as part of his business schemes.
Armando Montelongo is not a “hard worker.” He is lazy, scheeming, and exploitive, and he is only interested in making easy money off those who are too naive or who are as equally lazy, scheeming and exploitive as he is.
wyldwmn
Finally San Antonio is catching on/hearing about all this. First talk radio yesterday kept announcing it in their news items and today the Express News has an article about it. He was indicted by the Grand Jury in Travis County on Wednesday for theft of services. He could face up to 2 years in jail as it is a state felony offense. “Our businesses are not connected,” said Rick Montelongo, Armando’s brother and an SA builder and remodeler…”He’s made his own choices,perhaps digging his own grave. Sometimes you get a black sheep, and that’s what happened.” OUCH! It’s sort of sad when even your family won’t stand behind you, but I guess I wouldn’t stand behind my brother if he were as full of hot air as Armando is. What a stink!
L. Gass,
How do you sleep at night knowing that if/when Armando is vindicated he could go after everything you own.
The quote from one of his brother sums up the situation….
Grand jury indicts ‘Flip This House’ star
Web Posted: 02/22/2008 07:26 PM CST
Creighton A. Welch
Express-News Business Writer
Armando Montelongo Jr., 37, a star of A&E’s “Flip This House,” was indicted Wednesday by a Travis County grand jury in Austin on theft of service charges for failing to pay appraisal fees.
According to the arrest affidavit, Montelongo’s company, Mandoman Management Inc., owes Austin-based Reliance Appraisal Service $4,125 for several home appraisals between December 2005 and September 2006.
“I finally decided he was going purposefully out of his way to avoid payments,” said Linda Gass, owner of Reliance Appraisal Service. “He just seems to think that he doesn’t have to pay for his services.”
The charge is a state felony offense, and Montelongo could face up to two years in state jail if convicted. His hearing is set for March 4 .
“Our businesses are not connected,” said Rick Montelongo, Armando’s brother and an S.A. builder and remodeler who is president and CEO of Montelongo Cos. “He’s made his own choices, perhaps digging his own grave. Sometimes you get a black sheep, and that’s what happened.”
The affidavit states that on Nov. 30, 2006, Gass mailed a letter demanding payment. On Jan. 22, 2007, Gass again attempted to collect payment through a debt collection agency. On Aug. 20, 2007, Armando contacted Gass to say he would send payment through his attorney. But Gass never has been paid, according to the court document.
Armando Montelongo did not return several requests for comment.
In September 2007, Bexar County and the North East Independent School District sued his Montelongo Acquisitions Inc. for $5,913.13 in delinquent taxes on a property in the city of Windcrest. The case status is still pending.
A lawsuit filed in June 2007 accuses Montelongo’s brother David Montelongo of breach of contract and fraud related to a real estate investment in Schertz. The lawsuit alleges that his company, Montelongo Developments LLC, took $5,000 in earnest money and $500 in option money from a California investor for a retail center, but that David Montelongo never signed a partnership agreement on the land. The case is still pending.
David and Armando co-starred with their respective wives — Melina and Veronica — in the second season of “Flip This House.” David and Melina left after that season, but Armando and Veronica appeared in the show’s third season.
Armando and Veronica also sell a series of e-books called “Flip It Now” and a home study course on CD.
cwelch@express-news.net
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/MYSA081007.01C.BuilderBill081007.2b098e5.html
OOPS, sorry wrong link
http://www.woai.com/mostpopular/story.aspx?content_id=c7e3851d-b7db-4800-bb06-93e31be3546b
Mike Voss, I too would most likely go to Coronado for a little bit of getting “wet and sandy” in BUDS if a few years younger… Have you read “Lone Survivor” by Marcus Luttrell?? GREAT book!
StevefromTexas, Yes, this board sure has come a long way! Will be interesting to see where it goes from here…
Mia, with all due respect, I would ask you to PLEASE read all the evidence listed in this blog alone about Mr. Montelongo… I think that it will be eye opening for you… There is a reason that his junk cannot fetch $2.00 on eBay! 🙂
Wow, I have learned so much in 3 hrs on this web site than waching those show’s for more than 2 months.
For the average person like myself i really believed in them.
My husband and i really wanted to look into “flipping” …… Now i know it just doesn’t exsit. It was too good to be true. It is just sad to me.
My best friend was in real estate for 1 year and did very well, but even looking back on that it was all about who she knew/connections and once she exhausted all her connections she no longer able to make that kind of money. So it truely about who you know and really staying on your game.
I myself am a stay at home mother and sell on Ebay Full Time. And let me tell you I make quite a bit now but, agian it’s the same thing it is all about who i know and what i know and has taken me 5 years to get to where i am.
Thanks for all the information, i hink i will stick with what i do….LOL
Don H:
“How do you sleep at night knowing that if/when Armando is vindicated he could go after everything you own.”
Ask Armando the same question concerning his lying, stealing and being a slum lord?
Jim Furr:
“Can anyone give me an unemotional review of HIS COURSE and not about his Character – I don’t give a hoot about his personal life.”
Did you read Mike Voss’s review?
Don H. Wrote:
_____________________
Don H. wrote:
L. Gass,
How do you sleep at night knowing that if/when Armando is vindicated he could go after everything you own.
_________________________
In the first place, the odds of him being “vindicated” are about zero. In the second place, it is a criminal case, not civil, which means he’d have to go after the city/state that has indicted him, not the victim. THEY are the ones that have stated that he is a criminal and a deadbeat, not her.
Beyond that, even if it WERE a civil case and he were cleared, what grounds would he have to go after Linda Gass? That she ruined his reputation? Are you JOKING? Anyone could solidly establish that both his business and personal reputations are sh_t with minimal effort. Get real, Don, it’s open season on Armando for all the people he’s screwed over for years, and he’d better get used to it because he made it all happen. There is a tidal wave of other, similar victims of his out there and he’s going to be swimming for his life soon, count on it.
The wheels of justice turn slowly, but they do indeed turn.
Mike Voss
To Don H. at post 1650.
I sleep very well as this is a criminal investigation. You should learn a little more about the law. Nothing is made up, the grand jury has seen the evidence, There is nothing for me to lose sleep over.
Armando Montelongo financially is in dire straits. Nearly all the homes that were in the renovation/restoration stages during 2007 have been placed in foreclosure due to him being unable to pay monthly mortgage.
Also he was indicted by Travis County Grand Jury for failure to pay appraisal services to a firm that has done many appraisals for Armando.
ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_This_House
I’d love to know whether Armando Montelongo is a registered member of this organization.
http://www.danielgutierrez.com/press-kit/Daniel_Gutierrez_Bio.pdf
wyldwmn
Good Day:
While I understand that purpose of this website is moreso to condemn the activities of the “get-rich-quick” television scam artists, I stumbled upon it while conducting research about “flipping houses.”
I have about two months left in the Marine Corps, and I’ve managed to save a decent amount of money to start with investing. Unfortunately, I really can only afford enough to get one property to start with. I understand I could wait longer and save more, but I think it would be better to start now and gain experience that much quicker. I have spent about a month now grinding through every book and audio CD advice I could get my hands on regarding Real Estate investing. I have learned an immense amount of information on the markets, tax procedures, the importance of an effective and trustworthy team of advisors, and even the benefits of starting a corporation or LLC to protect from liability and deduct further from taxes.
My question is, with effort and care, is it feasible to make a significant profit through flipping homes in the right markets? I have every intent of purchasing and developing properties for positive cash flow through rental and appreciation, but I lack a significant enough amount of starting cash to get a good hold on some decent rental properties. I was originally planning on getting an owner/occupant loan (for the lower rates and less money required down) on a duplex, and living in one unit while renting the other. After I started looking a little further into it, I started the feel that flipping houses might give me enough of a boost to start with a slightly larger property with greater returns.
Assuming I conducted thorough research and planning, would I likely be successfull buying and flipping a succession of houses and then using the profits to start my rentals with a small apartment building? or would I be better off starting with duplex and working my way up over the years to come?
I know there is no such thing as a get-rich-quick-without-having-to-work-at-it plan, but is it possible to be have a get-starting-capital-faster-for-future-investments plan?
Thanks,
Derek
PS. Free advice seems to be more trustworthy than ever in these days when people sell their “expertise” for money. Anyone who has greater knowledge and experience, and wouldn’t mind helping a young aspiring investor get a better understanding of real estate investment, please send me an email to derek_dowell@mail.org. I appreciate your time.
I should note, that above when I say I’ve been through all the books and cd’s I could get my hands on, the $997 Montelongo Package was not one of them.
I do have every real-estate, investing, and personal finance “For Dummies” guide out there, as well the the “Rich Dad’s Advisors” series. None of these seems to make unbelievable promises in regards to investing, and most tend to shy away from in-depth coverage of “flipping.” Any insight into the honesty and more importantly, accuracy, of these advice publications?
Thanks again,
Derek
Here is more local news:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/realestate/stories/MYSA022208.fliphouse.EN.1a99226d.html
and
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/realestate/stories/MYSA022308.01C.Montelongo.1b79700c.html
Flip these CDs
Paid $0.29 per CD
Work ‘in’ few hours of dishing BS
Total ‘in’ $1.50 + few hours of nothing
Sold $997.00
Profit $995.50
Sounds like a pretty good business model
Armando is on 99.5 KISS here in San Antonio this morning. He brought up the appraiser in Austin and that his lawyer tried to contact her on Aug 20th and he has a copy of the cashiers check for $4500 but that she refused to take it. He said that she wants her 15 seconds of fame and cant wait to go to court to get vindicated. Others have called saying they have driven by his homes and they are still for sale. He said that all the houses from the first season and a half have sold. If they are for sale its because the owners now are selling them. It was interesting to hear him and I was surprised that he took calls. He said the new season starts on 15 March and his book comes out on 10 March and of course he plugged it on the show.
United Press International (UPI) has it now too! ; )
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Entertainment/2008/02/22/flip_this_house_star_indicted/8181/
Yeah, I tried to call in this morning to KISS radio but couldn’t get through. I wanted to get his reaction to the foreclosures. I’m surprised that no media has really seemed to have picked up on it. Someone I know had contacted the business section of the local newspaper, The San Antonio Express News, about three months ago and was told that it was ‘entertainment’, not ‘business’ news so the paper wasn’t interested. I wonder if they’d feel differently now?
I was also hoping someone would get through and ask about the foreclosures but I guess not. I think Lisle and Hahn could have been a little bit more in depth with him but maybe they dont know everything going on with him.
But Armando doesnt give the impression that things are going bad for him, he seemed his usual self and even brushed off what his brother said about him.
WOW, KISS FM. The whole thing smells fishy. I mean if he indeed offered payment and she refused, then why did they still indict? I think the prosecuters would have been more than happy to just let him pay the amount and drop the case.
And Linda seeking 15 minutes of fame???? What about North East School District, City of Windcrest, Bexar County, City of San Antonio, and The State of Texas, who are also looking to get some money out of you. Armando do you have copies of cashiers checks for them?
Or where you too busy on the cruise from last month:
http://www.simonleung.com/blog/i5-gold-bon-voyage-cruise-2008/
AF,
I would like to see how Armando would answer questions from Mike Voss, Gage, Patrick, or myself. 🙂
However, next time he has a call in segment why not ask some of these questions:
1) You claim in 2001 you rolled into San Antonio on you last tank of gas, a credit score of 501, and 50,000 dollars in debt. What is your credit score today and how much are you in debt now?
And if you are debt free, why did you take out a loan from one of your students for 11,000?
2)You claim all the houses were sold from the last two seasons of FTH, what about the “Cat House” and how much money did you make?
3) Can you tell us from what period of time you were flipping 25-30 houses a month?
4) In the episode “Jungle House”, why did you have Brandon Holt purchase the property for you?
5) In the episode where Chris (eager intern) found a house in Alamo Heights, how much did the house sell for?
Since you personal coached Chris, is he now a millionaire?
6) How much did you sell “Flip 101” house for – you know, the one that you filed a TRO to stop the foreclosure sale?
7) You claim you should buy properties at 40% (or less) and most hard money lenders will finance up to 70% of the value after repairs. Your latest purchase (the one he and Veronica are posing in front of on his website). How were you able to convince a hard money lender to give you 130,000 dollars on a house that is tax appraised at 133,000 and the comps in the area have sold for 120-135K?
Thus at 130K, you would have somehow convinced the lender the house is worth about 180K… Am I missing something here?
BTW, the address is 5629 Galewind, Windcrest if you guys want to look it up.
The backyard faces the back end of a huge strip mall and has burglar bars (get used to them Armando) – not what I call a desirable location.
If you are sentenced to house arrest Armando. This would be a perfect place to live.
In Post #1666, AF wrote:
“He said that all the houses from the first season and a half have sold. If they are for sale its because the owners now are selling them.”
I would find it very interesting to know why those homeowners were selling, and whether or not it was *all* of the owners who purchased the homes from the first season-and-a-half. If I lived closer to Texas, I just might take that project on and post the results right here on this website.
wyldwmn
Re # 1666 …. Remember this is a criminal action … I’m sure the appraiser will follow up with a civil action.
Dan
What is A&E’s respnse ?
Where are the shill postings ?
Warren, Alex where are you ??
hmm their silence speaks volume.
For those of you who want to know, there has been another delay so that A.M. can get a new attorney. Court has now been set for March 31st. I think this should be the last delay.
For those of you wondering about the check he claims to be running around with as proof he offered me payment. I would love to clarify more, but I will say that I’m probably the only person who has not seen this piece of paper by now. Anyway, I can’t wait for details to come out in court and I don’t want to accidentally mess anything up for the prosecutors office by saying something they wouldn’t want me to say just yet. I really would LOVE to tell all.
L.Gass,
Since Armando is a self proclaimed
“expert witness” I’m sure he’ll have not problem testifying in his own defense! ; ) LOL
L.Gass,
You are an asset to this site and many of us will be anxiously awaiting the outcome. Be very brave, as you have been so far, and remember there are a lot of people behind you. Here is hoping March will blow through very quickly, so quickly that AM still can’t figure a way out of the hole he has dug.
As for the new advertisement for David and Melina’s new company stating they are not involved in any of Armando’s businesses — the first thing that turns you off at this site is the picture of them standing slightly tilted, just like the picture of Flopper and Veronica. They are off to a bad start!
http://www.montelongohousebuyers.com/David_26_Melina_20_Statement.html
God Bless,
Jennifer
Guys, go to this website and you can listen to both of his interviews. He was on Wednesday and I think Thursday or Friday. I only listened to part of Wed but missed the other interview.
http://kissrocks.com/listen/archives.html
Wide Open Wednesday (02/27/2008)
He did mention the cat house, he says he still owns it and is renting it out. Check out the website and you can listen to both interviews.
The house he fixed up on Quill this past season is still vacant, I drive by there at least once a week since its a block from my brothers house.
Boyson,
How were you able to find those pictures of Armando on that cruise?? He doesnt seem like someone who’s in financial trouble or about to go to court. Could all be part of an act though.
Whew! What a load of comments on this show. I just wanted to say that I can’t stand the show with Richard and Ginger. Why are they ALWAYS together, and why does she dress like a hooch all the time? She comes across as an idiot. As for Veronica Montelongo, does she dance on tables to supplement their income? Put some clothes on, already!
Ok…I ordered the Flip and grow rich at the $9.00 intro for 30 days…Then I get hounded by a group wanting me to pay $25,000 to be trained unde Armando’s leadership… Big scam or what here… They spent 4 hours on the phone trying to get me to pay 25 grand. Comment please on if any of this material is worth the $500 or so???
Dan
“A fool and his money are soon parted.” Armondo is a master at exploiting the ignorant. You want to spend $ 1000 ? Go to Vegas, at least you have a chance of comming out ahead. But, in the name of all that is holy, do not waste your money by giving it to a guy who has nothing to sell.
Hmmmmmmmmm………….
http://www.armandomontelongo.com/book.php
wyldwmn
I’ve read each and every entry above and have to say I wholeheartedly agree. However, after searching the internet for any indication AM will be getting his just desserts, didn’t find much. And, after going to a link included in one entry, found pictures of he and his wife on a cruise looking like they didn’t have a care in the world. How real is the probability he’ll get his comeuppance?
Very interesting thread everyone. I am posting from the San Francisco Bay Area and thought you might be interested that A.M. is advertising VERY heavily on local radio about a personal appearance he will apparently will be making locally to ‘benefit’ the local flippers to be. The S.F. Bay Area has been overpriced for years and is, quite predictably, being hammered with large inventories of REO (bank owned) properties that, while being offered at lower than their all-time high ‘values’ are STILL overpriced. I hope that potential buyers of A.M.’s program check out this website first.
Oooops! I just realized my first comment above is misleading – ie., I DON’T agree with those comments that support AM and company. Sorry…I’m a newbie to posting comments on a web site.
Linda, Thanks for your effort. Good luck and keep us updated.
A Thank You to Mike Voss. I am a real estate attorney in New York City (a jurisdiction that actually requires transactional attorneys). The whole subject of Armando Montelongo is nauseating to me. Everthing he suggests amounts to nothing more than fraud and illegal activity- as well as immoral and unethical behavior both socially and professionally. I’m glad the farce of this “show” and this disgraceful individual have been exposed. A “flipper” that has no construction experience and know how. What a joke. I would be remiss if I did not point out that the most glaring misrepresentation is in the area of “lending”…. at least around here, the days of 106% and even for the most part 100% financing are a thing of the past. 10% to 20% equity is needed to purchase… as for HARD MONEY!!! that’s the biggest joke of af all. Around here hard money will get you approximately a 55% LTV- 60% if you’re either proven or lucky…between 14 & 16% interest only. Anyone suggesting hard money is either a moron or a liar. In this guy’s case, I’d say a little bit of both. This con man should be right at home in prison. Thanks again Mike. Good luck to all.
I stumbled upon this website yesterday & have been reading the blogs since. Mike, Steve, Boyson, Jennifer & wyldwmn, you are all an inspiration. Kudos to this “Internet Band of Brothers & Sisters” who went to so much trouble researching, etc. to help bring that “snake oil salesman” Armando CONdelongo down. Kudos also to Tammy & Linda for same.
Keep up the good work, y’all!!
Post 1684: Dan Knoth wrote: “Ok…I ordered the Flip and grow rich at the $9.00 intro for 30 days”….”Comment please on if any of this material is worth the $500 or so???”
If you would just read through all the posts here you will find over 1600 reasons to cut your $9 loss and all your wasted time on the phone. It is pretty evident that to do business with the Montelongo’s is INSANE!
If the dictionary is ever updated with updated descriptions of words then “Insane” would say “to do business with any member of the Armando Montelongo Companies from San Antonio, Texas.”
To be straight with you, if you are truly interested in flipping, read through here and find all the REAL flippers are and get the help you seek without giving away your money. If you have money to blow then you would get better results to donate to charity or animal refuges.
Peace,
Jen
AF:
Thanks for that link. Now Armando is on record concerning those house flips.
He is lying about the time frame. Most were never done in the record time he claims.
I have nothing against KISS-FM or it’s radio personalities, but they are just that, personalities not journalist.
It was evident in the first minutes of the interview. Armando basically told them the same old sob story “…I was told by two different doctors that I might lose my wife and son in the same day…”, the deejays took the bait and said they weren’t going to ask him some of the questions they had prepared.
As I said, if Armando was interviewed by people who have researched him, he would have bolted and run.
He was more than happy to call KISS-FM, why not try the Express and News?
As for the cruise pics. Anytime a new name pops up on Armando’s radar, I do quick research. Simon Leung claims to have been an employee of Google and knows how to manipulate rank placings via Google adwords.
You would think Armando would have his priorities straight… pay people and taxes first… right ?
What happened to the posts since March 8? This is now March 13. Are the rest of the posts somewhere else?
In Post #1694, boyson wrote:
“It was evident in the first minutes of the interview. Armando basically told them the same old sob story “…I was told by two different doctors that I might lose my wife and son in the same day…”, the deejays took the bait and said they weren’t going to ask him some of the questions they had prepared.”
How do you know that Armando Montelongo did not *pay* them to say what he wanted them to say? You mentioned that they are not journalists. So what’s to stop them from selling him some airtime so that he can use their show to make his feeble attempts to seem legitimate?
I didn’t hear the radio show you mentioned, but I suspect that the “sympathy” they gave him around his family emergency was paid for. After all, Armando Montelongo has been using that line over and over and over and over to try to get peoples’ attention. It just seems a *tad* unrealistic that these two radio “personalities” would think that talking about that emergency would be a subject that was much too tender for the poor, hurtin’ guy.
My guess is that their sympathy and questions were scripted and/or dictated by Montelongo money.
wyldwmn
Given the numerous entries from the legal field and individual research done by legitimate resources, why hasn’t the entertainment industry (including A&E), taken a legal stand against him yet, like they did Sam?
Usually purchases are made under different Joint Venture mames. Thats why records under Armando name can’t be found
I was flipping, no pun intended, through the TV listings this evening and found the new season for FTH is on at 11 PM EST tonight. Did anyone know it was starting again and that it was going to run late at night instead of it old time?
I also found a game for all you flippers to play at the A&E site — It’s a trivia quiz on the past few years of FTH and believe it or not it asks a question about who flips 340 houses a year? A&E still has their heads up their patuties.
later,
Jen
Sorry, I forgot the link to the game —
http://www.aetv.com/games/games-flipthishouse-quiz.jsp
Jen
Another game for FTH
http://www.aetv.com/games/flip-this-house-match-game/index.jsp
Also, this show just started and I looked up the next two Saturdays. Looks like they are focusing on getting out Montelongo’s crap and he has already stuck his foot in his mouth a dozen times in five minutes besides the food he is stuffing in it while talking.
Jen
As a contractor, I would never allow a anyone to speak to me in the manner armando speaks to his contractors, nor would I ever accept a job from him with his lowball offers.
Armando Montelongo is nothing more than common street trash, he is not a shrwed business man, he is at best a con artist. His books are trash, anyone with 15 minutes could learn everyhthing has has to tell from searching Google.
TO THE PERSON THAT POSTED THE LINK TO THE SITE ABOUT SAM LECCIMA, WHEN I CLICKED ON THAT LINK, ALL I GET IS A BLANK PAGE.
THIS WAS THE FIRST I’VE HEARD ABOUT ANY LAWSUITS CONCERNING THIS SHOW, AND ABOUT AN ARREST.I CAN’T FIND ANYTHING ABOUT IT ANYWHERE, SO IF ANYONE ON HERE KNOWS WHERE I CAN GO TO READ ABOUT SAM LECCIMA BEING ARRESTED, COULD YOU PLEASE POST IT? THANK YOU IN ADVANCE
Didn’t and wouldn’t buy anything from him about flipping houses. I did however try to by a property from him once. It was a rehab and it failed finial inspection 4 times before I walked away. And the whole time his people kept trying to bully me into just buying it and getting it fixed later.
He is well known and not in a good way.
I watched tonight’s show. At first I thought that he was making an A$$ out of himself in every area. Then I got to thinking that perhaps by making every contractor mad, firing most of them and then putting together a poorly done house, still showing that he didn’t really show true remorse towards the end for the way he treated the help – maybe this is A&E’s way of helping Flopper make such mistakes this week and probably next week also so that it will look like Armando shows he is making money on his book scam and they will then discontinue Floppers version of FTH.
Just an idea. And, where is everyone at?
All the other blogs are running 100 miles an hour and I do have the e-book address which also shows nobody posting. Is there a new site yet and if so, how do we find it?
Regards,
Jen
PS did anyone catch the address? At the end I couldn’t tell when Mandoman Jr. put the for sale sign up, what the company name was. And, it looked like it wasn’t even an open house, they didn’t show people looking at the house and they put up figures for expenditures less what they want to sell the house at. Totally different from other years.
wyldwmn,
I seriously doubt he paid them to be nice to him. I listen to KISS all the time and they probably just dont really know who he is or even watch the show. And once he started with the sympathy bit they probably keep the interview lighthearted. They do other interviews all the time with other personalities so its highly unlikely he paid them off. That sounds too conspiracy theory for me.
I think the address is 226 Aztec, it looked like the property was near downtown.
This is the first time I’ve ever stayed on one page on the www the entire day, and I’ve spent the last 6 hours reading most every single post (except for those by “alex”)… Mike Voss you are an inspiration, Steve you should be a PI, wyldwmn I WANT YOUR BOOK!. I am impressed by the depth of all your research, tenacity, and courage in getting the word out on this guy.
I googled “montelongos bad” and found this thread. I used to love that program with Trademark properties, and agree that there is little comparison between Richard who seems to have a genuinely kind spirit and concern for his fellow man and this Armondo creep. I myself am a drywall taper by trade (20 yrs exp.) and know a lot about construction, and watching Armondo and his crew operate made me sick. Wyldwmn has him pegged to a T! I just started this search on a whim because I too saw him hawking his BS CD’s/seminars and there were just so many things about him that made my skin crawl from the first time I saw him on FTH.
The realestate market is taking a big dive, my family has a property inspection business where we work for mortgage companies and banks who send us to check on properties when people miss mortgage payments. There are many “negative equity” situations now where people are simply walking away from the property because they will never get ahead of the debt owed because they are on a fixed income, yet their mortgages are skyrocketing. These are the same people who are DESPERATE for a way out. Some of these are the same “believers” who refuse to accept the fact that they have made a mistake and spend their last dime looking for that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Very sad, but so many are too proud to seek help and admit defeat and instead they run and hide, thinking that will help the situation. It won’t. And if sounds too good to be true, yes, it most definitely is.
Mike Voss you do a great service here by providing this forum and taking on this schmuck/scammer/toad for what he really is. You’ve got big ones!!!!
I agree too with wyldwmn that Armondo should be treated by Dr. Phil. I would PAY to see yourself (Mike), Dr. Phil, and wyldwmn all on the same stage.
I do feel very sorry for his wife who seems brainwashed and scared of him, and also little Mondoman who will have to live with his daddy’s shameful reputation and break the cycle of abuse (Veronica is most definitely abused) and also re-learn what is truly good business practice and ethics. Kids can be cruel, and you can bet they too have found this website. I also have a bit of a legal background and have studied domestic violence and wyldwmn has it absolutely correct.
One thing I’d like to mention is that I’ve seen people get divorced before as part of bankruptcy scams, on paper they claim divorce but in real life nothing has changed. That information doesn’t matter one way or another. But the foreclosures, liens, tax sales, that kind of stuff is hard to hide because it is all public information.
Yes, all it takes for evil to flourish is for good people to say nothing. Better the devil you know, and knowledge is power.
Thank you for a very interesting read this snowy and cold Sunday. Keep up the good fight!
Last night’s show was absolutely hysterical. Could it have been any more obvious that Armando is broke? At least A&E hads cut the pretense of pretending to show/sell the house. And Armando at 260 and 26% BF was a highlight. Did anyone else notice when he came out of the house with sunglasses on the striking resemblence to the mid 70s, bloated, near-death Elvis? I almost fell out of my chair laughing. I especially LOVED the excuse of having to stay under $10K to avoid the new remodeling law in TX. You have always needed permits to modify plumbing, electrical, and structure in every state in the union. Just confess, dude, you’re broke and on your last gasp. Every minute of the show just struck me as pathetic and desperate as Armando scrambled to re-arrange deck chairs on his Titanic scam.
I’m sure prison food and the heavy pumping iron in the prison yard will get him in hreat shape very soon.
Regards to all.
Mike Voss
PS: I see that FTH has added another slime bag team here in Los Angeles. I can’t wait for that fun to begin. Fair warning….
I swear to God man I think Armando should through a couple grand at some acting lessons instead of a personal trainer. Wow, high roller saved a whopping $150 bucks by crawling under the house himself. I wish my father in-law would gut a house for $150 bucks. 🙂 I can’t believe A&E continues to air his crappy show.
LOL as I go about the day I always think to myslef that about 70% of people are idiots. All thse posts show I’m right. Do you people not get it that this is a TV show? All the stupid antics are the reason the majority of people watch the show. This is why the vast majority of Americans can name the last 5 American Idol winners but could not locate Iraq on a map.
The show is entertaining.
I take it with a grain of salt. The wife is a real sweetheart.
I am an Engineer and design buildings for a living and have built a few for myself. Treat people the way you want to be treated.
What ever goes around comes around.
Mike
The Alamo Heights house never sold either. It sat vacant all winter and was just listed for 340k. Address is 123 E. Edgewood, SA TX 78209. MLS#707478.
A&E paid for the Hummer and Davids old Mercedes. Once David left Armando because he’s shady, Veronica got the Mercedes.
Address 226 AZTEC ST CAN 069030000151
City SAN ANTONIO TX 78207-4706 Type RESIDENTIAL
Class SINGLE-STRUCTURE PROP W/O AGR School District SAN ANTONIO ISD
Map 615F5 Owner MONTELONGO ARMANDO JR
Owner Display ARMANDO MONTELONGO JR Mail Address 8026 VANTAGE DR STE 215
Owner2 Mail City St Zip SAN ANTONIO, TX 78230-4728
Latitude 29.423 Census Tract 1703
Longitude 98.529 Census Block 8
Sale Date Acres 0.06
Year Built 1945 Owner Occupied N
Living Area SqFt 1145
above info is from the Tax rolls. MLS shows it sold for:
Sold @ 20k 9/05 (to Armando)
Expired @ 55k 11/06 (Armandos attempt to sell after filming)
Its still in his name as of today as you see above.
By the way VCH Funding is a local hard money lemder here in San Antonio. He lends to alot of flippers and then takes the property back on the courthouse steps when they dont sell as in Armandos multiple cases. VCH Funding is owned by a guy here in SA whos family owns about 15 Brake Check franchises and has tons of cash to lend.
this show is unreal..where did they pick this skumbag family at? use people who treat people like humans. armondo got his ass beat up a lot in school thats why he is a little prick to everybody he meets. his wife had to havebeen a street walker to put up with such a low life
Armando on FTH: “Heather handles about a hundred of my rental properties”
LMAO! What a joke! FTH is circling the drain…
It is Saturday the 22nd of March and Flopper is on right now. Could someone tell me if this house they are working on (on the FTH new season) is one of the five houses that Flopper flipped several seasons ago? If it is and it he is saying he purchased, flipped and kept it for a rental @ $400 per month then it fell totally apart in two years. I would like to know, but one way or another, it surely shows how the house was rotting away in a very little time. Anybody else out there watching season 4? From what I have found it shows on Wiki that the first two (last week and this) are Floppers and next week is the only other listing for this season. It also mentions controversy about AM and his upcoming charges. Maybe A & E are going to do something.
I don’t understand why they put it on at 10 PM CST here either cuz it used to show at 8 PM. I didn’t even see any advertising at all for this season. Another thing, where is everyone? I put something up on this site and it didn’t register for several days? I would like to be included in discussion this season even if you tell me to just read and keep my comments to myself.
Peace and love,
Jennifer
I like his froogle attitude. You know he’s pulling down a nice chunk of change and as long as idiots keep tuning in he’ll keep pulling it down. I’m surprised he can get all the permits. I usually don’t see him do much more than yell though. Interesting show to say the least. I only watch to see him bitch. I think someone should get him and his buddy some of those sumo suits.
My wife and I watched one of the episodes of this man the other day and I immediatly saw through all the BS. I told my wife “I hear this guy on the radio pushing some videos, this has to be a scam” and sure enough per this blog it certainly is.
My backround is extensive in construction. We have owned a kitchen cabinet company for the last 14 years that completes 1000s of new construction kitchens but also does a fair share of complete remodel projects, some of which are well over 100k. Being a numbers guy I understand how much it costs to remodel and what it takes to do so properly. That said I have to say I have yet to actually see a project portayed properly as far as budgets are concearned, time frames, and especially the actual profits from a project if any. The budgets they relate are just so low its absurd. You can not remodel an entire house for 11k and put a new kitchen in for 4k. Not and do it correctly.
I know of people that make money in the “flip” business. Mike Voss is correct, they have an inside track on the purchase of properties and have baught them WAY before you or I would know they are even for sale. But they also do things right, have their own crews of workers, and dont try and turn houses in 2 weeks. Its absurd.
I was approached by a company interested in doing a show on kitchen remodels. My first comments were that I would not sensationalize the process and create problems that were not there. If they wanted a real nuts and bolts show that really showed what happens when you properly remodeled a kitchen over a 8 week period fine. If you want drama and arguments and unrealistic schedules and budgets, I cant do it. Thats what they wanted so we did not go any further.
These shows used to just make me laugh. But now people actually expect projects to be completed in those time frames. Its become a joke around the office to get a kitchen remodeled for 4k and do it in 5 days. It just doesnt happen like that.
Hopefully A & E, which used to be a respectable channel, will get this changed over to someone who is realistic.
For anyone who hasn’t seen the story of Armando’s arrest, etc., here it is:
http://www.hyperion1.com/Enquirer.pdf
I’m interested in speaking to people that have LOST money flipping houses after watching A&E and the montelongo and truly believing that if you follow the steps the outcome in the show might be the same – I’m interested in probing the courts with a case to see how receptive they are to the concept of ‘justifiable reliance’ in this case.
Please share your stories and be sure that you can back up your statements.
Armondo may not have any money but A&E certainly does as does their insurance company – Can you say Class Action
I am a remodeling contractor in the Kansas City area, and I find it hilarious that he can get someone to do the demo on a house for $150. I won’t even pick up my hammer for a day for less than $500, but I suppose if they are taking advantage of the surplus in illegal labor in Texas, getting it done for $150 might happen. I frequently remodel kitchens and bathrooms, and they typically start around $40,000 and $15,000 respectively, so I am remodeling a single bathroom or kitchen for the reported budget they remodel an entire home. Quite amusing…..
Was anybody else outraged by saturdays show? I couldn’t believe Armando went on camera and showed how much of a slum landlord he is! He claimed that the renters who were evicted trashed his house and ” how can anyone do this to someone elses property”. My question for Armando is how could any decent property manager rent a house in such horrible condition? I couldn’t believe he let someone live in that place! All that rot and problems with the place didn’t happen just recently, what kind of property maintenance does he do on his rentals!! From someone who has rehab experience on homes and has had rental property this was a disgrace to watch! I remember when I 1st heard about Armando and how he was doing all this business I found it unbelievable to do so many houses. Well with what I have seen of his unrealistic cost cutting rehabs and what he lets people rent, I can see how he might turn out some numbers, but most respectable people with a concious would not do the practices he does. I’m disgusted at how a guy like this who sucks people into his rags to riches story, abuses the platform that he was given. After reading all of the things this guy is facing, just another example of smoke and mirrors by a “big time real estate investor”. The number of would be real estate investors a guy like this will exploit while preying on their real estate dreams is no wonder why many more people will lose their shirt and homes.
I also was a mortgage broker for a while until I seen 1st hand all the fraud and illegal activity that goes on to”push deals through”. That industry is one of the most unethical industries I have ever seen! I was not surprised by the foreclosure problem this country is seeing because an appraiser friend of mine and myself predicted this 3yrs ago. We saw all the risky mortgages that were being pushed through and knew it was only a matter of time before foreclosures started happening. When I hear that Armando has something like 25 foreclosures, its just another example of shady business practices eventually catching up with you.
I saw the episode on sat night and I have to say the man really disgusts me. First off every damn conversation seems scripted.
Anyhow I have to say that his ethics are so disgusting or rather non-existent. I am amazed even more how many short cuts he takes. This weekend his forman essentially just tiled a bathroom floor that was rotting. Veronica had stepped on it and her heels just went right through it.
They are still just slapping lipstick on a pig and calling it a prize winning hog. That place was in horrible conditon and needed stripping down to the studs. It’s horrible that for the most part as a first time buyer your sort of house poor when you first purchase. I would hate to be the person that gets one of his red light specials and literally is f@!*ed.
I really feel so bad for any family that wants to own a piece of the american dream and buys his house. Within weeks I am sure that their children, pets and most likely themselves will be sick.
This is a quick note to Mike V and those from the legal community. As I’ve said in previous entries, I’ve read and agree with the majority – ie., AM should be stricken from A&E’s roster permanently. However, I’ve also asked the question, but rec’d no answers(s) as of this posting, “why is he allowed to continue spewing his brand of so-called expertise”? Especially if he is supposedly to be as illegitimate as Sam – a character whom A&E wasted no time banishing from their network so totally and completely. Why would an entertainment network continue to put itself in any kind of jeopardy legally to support one character and not another? Why won’t the powers that be do something once and for all, do you think? Or, is it that what he’s doing is just below the legal line enough to avoid staying on everyone’s radar? I would really like to see those taken advantage of get justice.
The last episode “Brent’s big Break” – what a crock!
The houses in that area are barely worth 50K ($75,000 my ass). Armando further insults our intelligence once again:
1) The previous tenants out of the goodness of their heart put in paneling, moved a door, removed a bedroom, added three layers of roofing, replaced the flooring with rotted wood, and added a porch extension. NO this is a clear example of the craftsmanship you get from a Montelongo house. He owned the house for less than two years. Can you imagine what the condition of his other houses?
2. This episode was filmed months ago. The house was never up for sale. It is a rental with current tenants.
3. House address is 214 Aztec and located deep in the heart of “Hood Central”! Go check out the crime stats :-).
4. He only owns THREE houses on that block, 214, 218, and 226 Aztec. It’s so damn funny the way he acts like some real estate mogul in Monopoly – you know owning Boardwalk, Park Place, all four railroads, etc., etc…. Ad nauseam. If you owned Aztec in Monopoly, Baltic and Mediterranean Ave, would be Boardwalk and Park Place… times two! Can we say slumlord?
5. He owes back property taxes on 214 Aztec.
6. Why do they keep doing these phony open houses?
7. They ran out of businesses who are willing to do product placements. They really had to scrap the bottom of the barrel to come up with a Spanish language school. Si?
8. Notice the lack of home improvement/repair or home related commercials during the break?
9. I should take clips of the show to the Bexar County Tax Appraisers Office inform them that Armando thinks his properties are worth far more than what the county has them appraised.
10. And finally, giving the time slot, downturn in ratings, same boring scripted stories with bad acting, and the lack of sponsors, leads me to believe that there will not be a season 5 and perhaps a abrupt end to season 4.
I have watched the new season of flip this house with armando being the first two episodes, I have found it very entertaining, it’s good television people..!!
Man, i guess when you make it to the top people really do get jealous. Armando has inspired me to start my own business flipping houses, and maybe one day people like you all will be saying such vicious things about me; i only hope i am so lucky. There is always two sides to every story! Brandon in Charlotte NC.
When I saw that he was writing a book about flipping, I knew he was a conman. Who writes a book to give away his secrets if they are legitimate? The flipping baloon has burst! Why did he have to hide his pets in a motel room? He couldn’t afford to pay for a motel room for a week or two. Hotwire will give you a room for about $50 a night, not $180 a night as Armondo claimed. Didn’t he have a property that they could stay in? His brother’s family wouldn’t even put him up for a few nights.
I found this whole thread very interesting reading.
I’ve renovated several houses. I feel good about the flipping I did but it took several years to do it.
I had no idea who this guy was. But I was TDY in San Antonio and met his wife and a few of her friends downtown. We talked about real estate for a bit and ended up spending some very quality time together. I felt bad for her husband because that was the first time that I know of that I slept with a married women. After reading this I suppose it was all Karma.
I’ll tell you what though. If they divorce I might head down to San Antonio to see more of her. Oh and apparently from her drunken conversation her husband is a huge douche to her. I’ll have to check the show.
I agree that Armando is full of himself but for those of you who are truly interested in reading his book, it can be purchased on Ebay for $2!!!
Don’t waste $97 on his book! It really is NOT worth it!!! No valuable info at all…
updated article on the indicted felon:
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/MYSA032808.01C.montelongotheft_032808.2f0a465.html
Matt,
The Armando show is the home repair equivalent of Professional Wrestling. No doubt, in its own way, Professional Wrestling is ‘good television’ to some people. People don’t harp on professional wrestlers because they are not abusing their performer status to sell worthless $1,000 courses to slack jawed dimwits. Armando is selling $1000 worthless courses to slack jawed dimwits. If Armando was only doing the show and not trying to sell $1000 to slack jawed dimwits, no one on this blog would care.
I know AM is full of pomp and crapt and it is certainly all for show but I think they are so funny to watch I look specifically for their episodes. It is entertainment television and last I looked people are educated at Universities not cable tv. I’m not quite sure why people are basing their livelihoods on what they see on tv?
Did you see the new disclaimer when the shows start. It says that these people are flippin with their own money and assume risks..you follow at your own risk…yada yada. Wonder if that is because every is hollering about flopper and his bull about making tons of money.
The only way AM is good TV is if you are in the mental ward, high on drugs and think your mother would make a nice Girlfriend. THEN AM makes good TV.
(In no way am I insulting Matt)
Armando “MIGHT” make it to millionaire, if he’s not there already. But his cheap, insensitive ways are going to be his downfall. Let him try to recover. ARMANDO!!!…..take care of your people and your people will take care of you!! You keep it up, you’ll be out of business in a month
where is everyone?
The more I read, see and hear, I’m beginning to agree with Matt in entry 1726!
Any updates??
I’m interested in speaking to people that have LOST money flipping houses after watching A&E and the montelongo and truly believing that if you follow the steps the outcome in the show might be the same – I’m interested in probing the courts with a case to see how receptive they are to the concept of ‘justifiable reliance’ in this case.
Please share your stories and be sure that you can back up your statements
That is probabaly why now A&E has a disclaimer regarding people using “real money and taking real chances” and not to invest, etc,etc, etc, etc, unless you can afford the risk.
Corporate wording for CYA!!!!
I called to return this product with in the 30 day period,spoke to Marie, she was rude and spoke to me like a was a child, I am 52 years old, she asked why I was returning when I told her, she asked why would I order if I had seen this web site, I said I don’t want to discuss this just let me return, she said “I’ll put you on hold while you think of an answer, she hung up on me! and I could reach them back on the phone even with “0) calls waiting on hold and my wait time was “0” These people are Crooks!
ok I did finally get through spoke to Ruth she said her computer stated: I had spoke with Marie and Marie had given me all the information, but she Ruth did give me a return auth. Thank god for this info on this site!!!
Hey!! …. We are on pins and needles out here!!!
What happened at the hearing / trial? … wasn’t it set for 3/31????
Please don’t tell me that he pulled out of this without a scratch! …
RE: Post 1713 VCH Funding
I know people who have used VCH. The owner is a legitimate businessman who I find well-respected by those he lends to. When you sign the papers at closing, you know the rules that you will be playing by. If the house has not sold by the end of the term, then yes, VCH funding may take it back at the courthouse. It’s their legal right. I also know that he is flexible and works with people to give them every opportunity to be successful.
Also, the statement that he owns Brake Checks is incorrect. He does own a chain of auto repair shops, but not those.
Looks like Armando is headed to trial. Don’t know what transpired in court on 3/31, but they are now scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on 4/29.
Please, someone at Court TV get this covered!
Great work Boyson (post 1725)… Very informative! I will stayn “tuned in” to this site to see what happens to this tool…
Does anyone know if Armando’s houses are still being forclosed on like crazy? Hahaha clown
Why was my previous posting rejected? I’m TRULY not impressed and will no longer be supporting your web site. So much for freedom of speach. Grow up, moderator.
Hi All,
Anyone heard if L.Gass won her case against “I’m All That” idiot Montelongo?
Jen
These people are a$$holes. I called to return the flip and grow rich cd’s…..quite frankly I was not impressed. I spoke to a moron after waiting for nearly 20 mins (there were no calls before me). I have never been soo disrespected by a person in my life. I mean this guy was something else. He insisted I give him a good reason why I didn’t want to stay with the program. He said that I should not have requested the program if I intended to return it and that I was basically an idiot for not wanting to make 20,000 per deal. He had the nerve to tell me to be quite after he had pissed me off…I was interrupting him from giving me my return number. I mean this guy was really pissing me off. He then asked me why I was pissed off and that I should not be acting like a 5 year old boy. After giving me my return number he didnt say a word and then transferred me to a automated person for the return address. I cannot believe they allow this kind of action to go on. I am really glad I decided to return their “good for nothing CD’s” It’s all a bunch of garbage. They’re all fake people……..I feel a little better now!!!!!!!
I wish I looked here a few months ago. I thought if it was on A&E it was somewhat safe. Armando. I ordered his book on 3/5/08 and never received it. On top of that he took the funds again on 4/2/08. I’m a vet. and disabled and out of work.I’d love to run in to him some day and let him know how I feel about him and his book.If anyone get their money back from him I’d love to know how.
How is AM not being assraped in prison right now as we speak? And speaking of asses…that wife of his? I’d hit it.
Great…. Just frickin GREAT! … AM is now advertising on KTRH am740 in Houston! … He is spreading like a wet spot! …
I sent an email to the program director / and marketing manager giving them a link to this web site…
Got to keep this guy in check
Dan
Bought a 197 dollar item from Armando’s Organization in November and never received a thing. They promised a refund 6 times and now I had to make a formal request to the CC Company for a refund. What a sham!
Ooops…so much for projecting credibility as I noticed I misspelled ‘speach’!
Hey Armando! How did the conference call work out for ya on 4/16? lol
Well everyone, it appears that Armando is making another push to steal the public’s money with the release of yet another worthless book, Flip and Grow Rich (poor Veronica looks like she is at gunpoint on the video promoting it on his website) and trying to sell more of the incredibly worthless and criminally irresponsible MAster Course.
As such, I will be posting my review of the master Course in a few days just in case anyone might be thinking about wasting their money on it. If anyone has bought the new book and is pissed about being ripped off, please let me borrow it to review here – I’m sure there’s nothing new in it and it won’t take me long.
Did anyone else hear the conference call tonight? Armando was apparently surprised by a well-informed caller he couldn’t mute who confronted him about his 20+ foreclosures with VCH (he said, “That wasn’t me!” Hah !) His criminal case. (no defense) and why he stole from Reliance Appraisals, among other things. Armando had NO answers, other than to spout vulgarities and say someone”just wanted to crush people’s dreams.” while trying DESPERATELY to cut off the guy and finally giving up and cancelling the call This from a guy who’s stealing from a disabled, unemployed vet a few posts above.
Who do YOU think steals people’s dreams? Scum.
I think the world got to see just what Armando really is made of tonight, and I think the TX state prison system will get to soon as well.
Mike Voss
Steve in TX said:
Hey Armando! How did the conference call work out for ya on 4/16? lol
OK, so was there a glitch?
In post #1756 Mikie Voss made a HUGE spelling error when he said:
“…criminally irresponsible MAster Course.”
Mikie, Mikie, Mikie…how many times have I corrected your spelling on this? It’s NOT “Master” Course when it comes to Armando Montelongo. It’s “M-ASS-ter” course. I keep telling you that it’s named after Montelongo the Ass…
Geez…you never listen. I’m not baking you any more pies.
wyldwmn
Mike, I wonder who that person on the call was… lol I would bet it is definitely someone who monitors this board! 🙂
My mistake, Wyldwoman.
Since I know everyone is anxious to hear my review of the M-ASS-ter course, here is a sneak preview of my one sentence executive summary:
“Don’t take the master-bait.”
[…] April 19, 2008 at 12:08 am · Filed under Personal Finance, Real Estate, frugality ·Tagged Real Estate I can’t speak for any other area of the country but here in Southern California we are being bombarded with Real Estate buying seminars. Trump, Kiyosaki, and Armando Montelongo, whoever that is, are ready and willing to (for just two hours of our time and anywhere from $1000 to $1999 if we sign up for the training) teach us all of their tricks. Guaranteed! We will learn how to become rich from the foreclosure market. Guaranteed! We will learn how to buy bank owned properties with little or no money down. Gaurunteed! We will learn how to get cash back when we buy a property, how to incorporate to avoid taxes, and more. Guaranteed! Money back if you don’t triple your investment. […]
Boyson – Armando’s conference call was HYSTERICAL. The caller destroyed him and he could NOT defend himself. Armando literally sounded as if he was about to cry. He had to take his ball and run home by ending the call! At first, he tried to stand up to the caller, but the guy stood up to him and Armando folded like a classic bully when someone tougher kicks their ass. Armando actually screamed that the guy was, “Sitting there with his pecker in his hand.” Now there’s an intelligent response. I’m sure everyone listening was very impressed and ordered immediately.
The sad thing about the whole call was that several people were blindly defending Armando – true believers. Hopefully, since the caller mentioned this website about 20 times, they will see this site and get enlightened. If not, maybe Armando going to prison on the 29th will do it.
Please, someone who recorded that conference call, email me so I can put it online for everyone to hear.
Armando is rude, condescending and obviously thinks he is superior. The way he treats his wife is disgusting. Unfortunately this con man has a show on tv…
Wow I was looking for the Montelongo Website because I watch the show, and decided to google it and found this hit, I have read some of the comments on this site and it appears some of you have way too much time on your hands , and are so judgemental and negative , but I’m sure some of you all can do it better right? It’s crazy how mainly in America there is so much greed, envy, and jealousy, if someones making money or succesfull {DON’T HATE , CONGRATULATE} and if you dont agree with it, great don’t support their business but seriously it looks kind of pathetic to be an adult who continuously revisits a website over and over to bash on them and if you don’t like the show, change the chanell no one is forced to watch it and if don’t want to buy the product then don’t and I personally think Armando and Veronica should be extremely proud that they are filling the minds of many people even if they are pathetic and who have too much time on their hands , whether you love them or hate them they are still on your minds and their names in your mouth LMAO Let me make a prediction some of you with way to much time on your hands will try to post comments talking very nice about me and my thoughts and lack of punctuation, but seriously I won’t loose any sleep over it,and here goes another prediction I can guarantee I will not revisit this sight again to read your replies to my comment , it’s just not that important and if any of you are bored you can always volunteer your spare time at a shelter or @ your local YMCA or I don’t know if you see a piece of trash on the floor instead of starting a website about it and posting comments just bend over pick it up ,put it in the trash , and feel like a hero lol its a wonder why so many Americans die from the number one killer every year : Cardiac failure, and the main cause ; High Blood Pressure , there are things way more important in your life to get all up about, just thought I would enlighten all you nice folks on my views , but seriously sometimes we have to take a time out sit back and look @ a situation and think is it really worth all this effort ? do I feel great about myself after I said what I said or did what I did ,How will this improve me as a person or improve my life or the life of others, Internet bullying AND shit talking is seriously out of hand ,ok guys I just spent 5 minutes way too much on this subject well to everyone who reads this good luck with everything in life and to Armando and Veronica good luck, love your show ,and Shake them haters off!!!
Crystal Martin sounds just like the true believers on the conference call. There must be 50+ incriminating documents on this site alone showing that Armando is a fraud, not to mention that he’s in court in 9 days facing 2 years for theft, but this Crystal Martin fool just thinks everyone here are “haters” with too much time.
Sometimes I honestly think that such people who are too stupid to even protect themselves from the likes of Armando actually deserve to be ripped off by him.
Go buy the Master Course, Crystal, and show all of us “haters”.
MV
I was a fan of all the “flip” shows and was watching reruns on A&E on Saturday and decided to look up Armando and this was like the third link in yahoo when I Typed in his last name. I spent the whole weekend trying to read everything (not easy to do with four kids) It’s like a great drama book. I could hardly stop. Sadly I had too skip a good portion of it due to it’s getting late Sunday night and tomorrow is school for the kids and back to work for me! That’s right a single Mexican mother with 2 jobs trying her best not to live off welfare, and make her money honestly. I only say that because everything posted on here is new to me and there were a few racial comments close to the beginning. Not every Mexican is like that tho saying to learn English is a bit harsh (my belief) seeing how I’m also half Indian and to an extent think the primary language of this country should be that of the natives and yes even Spanish because Mexicans where in Texas long before “Whites”. Hell Texas was considered to be part of Mexico until March 2, 1836 When it claimed it’s independence. It really only irks me when people say their in our country and should know our language. I know English. It isn’t perfect proper English but I know it. Want to know something funny? I don’t know Spanish. None of my sisters or my brother does. I was born in Michigan. My mom was from Texas as well as a lot of my extended family. She was also a really bad alcoholic and amongst other reasons lost custody of us and we were raised in foster homes until my dad got custody of us. Sorry to go on about that but I don’t think race should be an issue here. The reason I’m writing is to ask has anyone posted a bulletin on Myspace about him? I’ve never seen one. I would have definitely passed it on. Even if you couldn’t get everything in one post it could’ve been at least titled anyone who watches flip shows or A&E….then a link to this website. There’s no better way to catch a crook then networking and making his exploits known. Just an idea. p.s. I love this site and will be back whenever I get the chance tho my kids hour reading time a night comes first. The way I see it is if I’m doing the opposite of what my parents Or lack of did, I’m doing pretty good. Also for all the people going on about spell check there’s 2 free program you could download that checks your spelling as your typing no matter what website you are typing in. It’s iespell, and ie7pro. Has anyone forwarded this website link to people like Anderson Cooper and Nancy Grace? She won’t play if she investigates.
I just have a quick comment based on the IP address that was given near the top of this post. The webmaster claims that the IP address 70.114.19.218 belongs to a router in San Antonio, TX. But, when you run a reverse NSlookup of the address, it provides the following info:
OrgName: Road Runner HoldCo LLC
OrgID: RRSW
Address: 13241 Woodland Park Road
City: Herndon
StateProv: VA
PostalCode: 20171
Country: US
WHAT?!? Virginia?! I thought it was TX?! Don’t get me wrong, I agree that Armondo is a sack of shit, but there has to be room for honesty across the board.
Shut up Chrystal. You are probably a friend of AM and you are posting your comment out of state so it cannot be traced to AM’s IP address. Webmaster..please post Chrystal’s IP address. Thanks.
I was wondering if anyone has bought the Master Course, copied it, and return it back? If anyone has copied the Master Course, I was wondering if I could get a copy of the entire thing. It seems like he is a bastard and crappy business man and treats his workers like garbage but I want to see for myself if what he has to say on the CD works or not. I have read how people have been ripped of by buying the CD and I, like many people cannot afford to be ripped off. If anyone is willing to give me a copy of the Master Course I would greatly appreciate it. Feel free to email me @ cramirez10.23@hotmail.com
Crystal Martin,
1) So then using your own reasoning, would you have congratulated, and not said anything bad (and therefore wasted time) about Adolph Hitler?
2) If this site is sooo unimportant and boring, why did you take the time to read and write a post that is probably almost 30 lines?
lol geez You Armondo lovers are becoming more and more irresponsible…
Wow, Hitler? That’s a pretty far stretch for comparison, just because he’s a scammer doesn’t quite throw him in the same category as a pychotic mass murderer. I think some people here have some psychological anger issues to deal with themselves. Good luck and I agree with Crystal life is too short to spend time and energy bringing someone else down.
Tre Eyden wrote:
“I just have a quick comment based on the IP address that was given near the top of this post. The webmaster claims that the IP address 70.114.19.218 belongs to a router in San Antonio, TX. But, when you run a reverse NSlookup of the address, it provides the following info:…”
Info in reverse lookups only shows the company/person and the contact address. It does not show the geolocation of the IP.
Try using a geolocation tool:
http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/whois.ch?ip=70.114.19.218
ChrisinDetroit wrote:
“lol geez You Armondo lovers are becoming more and more irresponsible…”
I like using the term Mondo Worshipers.
Not only they are irresponsible, but have been working overtime spreading the “Mondo” gospel on other boards.
Armando is SO desperate for cash that he cut the price on his MASSter course in half and with 6 easy payments.
He’s done this three times this month claiming on two occasions “the limited” offer sold out in minutes. I think it was a bunch of bullshirt just to create a sense of urgency.
His latest (and real sale) has been going on for almost a week and I wouldn’t doubt he is using the proceeds to fund his legal woes.
I think the majority of people on his conference calls are those looking for refunds, money he owes, disgruntled customers, etc.. And his mail is full of past due bills, tax notices, fines from the City of San Antonio.
The only people that like Junior besides his flock of Mondo Worshipers are Process Servers and Bexar County Constables.
FYI:
To those who have posted on this board that there is a racist overtone to this blog against hispanics.
You need to get your facts straight as to the origin of the Montelongo name. Surprise, it is Italian in it’s origin and comes from the Campobasso section of Italy.
That would explain why you only see/hear Veronica speaking fluent Spanish as her maiden name was Rodriguez, if I am not mistaken.
Due some research people. It has nothing to do with racism but exposing a person who is a best incompetent and at worst a hustler. Hustling the money from your wallet to his pocket.
RE: POST 1767:
Tre: you did not look up the proper information. Herndon VA is the location of the company (AOL)in the WhoIs record for that CIDR block, not a reverse DNS mapping.
Reverse DNS will show this:
host 70.114.19.218
218.19.114.70.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer cpe-70-114-19-218.satx.res.rr.com.
The last part of the reverse-arpa name, satx.res.rr.com, is Time warner’s code for San Antonio, TX, residential location through RoadRunner.com
The original webmaster’s post from a year ago was, and is, correct.
Mike Voss
In post #1768, Mark wrote:
“Shut up Chrystal. You are probably a friend of AM and you are posting your comment out of state so it cannot be traced to AM’s IP address. Webmaster..please post Chrystal’s IP address. Thanks.”
I heard she was scheduled to appear on Dr. Phil’s upcoming special: “Lobotomies Gone Bad.”
wyldwmn
70.114.19.318 is San Antonio Tx ….
http://www.geobytes.com/IpLocator.htm?GetLocation
Mexmama82 … You go lady! … thanks for the online spell check site …
Hang on to your money … get books from the library … use good judgement … it is hard work … nothing is “easy” …. Well , except maybe selling a worthless “Get rich … use MY system” course!…
Crystal Martin … “The check is in the mail … This check won’t bounce … etc..etc… Want to buy a bridge???
Dan
i am currently previewing his course and it is very informative. Sounds like most of the comments here are based on personality. You don’t have to like him to give him some credit. He even tells in the course some of the things that are done on camera that he does not normally do.
don’t all Roadrunner ip addresses resolve back to roadrunner headquarters in Virginia?
I must say, I have my impressions of Armando but I must congratulate him on marrying Veronica. I saw her at Lowes yesterday morning, I was getting ready to check out and she walked in with a younger hispanic girl (late teens/early 20s) and they were looking at ceiling fans. They were alone, no cameras. She’s much prettier in person. I called my wife up and told her, “one of the mongoloids is here”, our pet name for them.
Also the local SA magazine did a story on them this month, its all a fluff piece, no mention of the foreclosures or problems. Not a good read.
I am pissed! I went ahead like a dumb ass and bought the 29.90 book. i read the whole thing in one day was very dissapointed in the info. It was just a ploy to get you to buy another freakin’ program that just might have the same info leading to another loser program! Nothing helped me at all. If anything it fucked up my whole damn deal. i followed the get the deal first then the money?? YEAH RIGHT> After the deal i was in a contract with the seller and the lending was all screwed up!! Great credit score but no lenders here in Chicago, illinois willing to have reasonable terms. ARGH!!! scum bag asshole!!
*L* WOW!!!! I’m very glad I looked into this. Thanks everyone, i almost made a big mistake!
Chuck in Texas wrote:
I am currently previewing his course and it is very informative.
Well then, Chuck, I’m sure you’ll have no problem telling us *exactly* what you have found informative/useful.
I smell a shill.
This guy is an ammoral egomaniac. I feel remorse for the people who buy his slum houses. i’d be surprised if some of them even passes inspection.
Mike V, thank you for informing people of the woes of trying to make a quick dollar from flipping homes. I graduated from the University of California, Davis, and during my coursework, I enrolled in a real-estate course in which the adjunct professor briefly described, with pictures, what can go wrong with blindly buying a home, etc., for a “quick flip” profit. During the lecture, he showed slides of his “quick flip,” which turned out to be a complete nightmare. The condo was filled with trash from the previous tenant, and the costs associated with the cleanup completely blew his budget. People need to be wary of buying homes without a proper walkthrough or house inspection, and my professor proved this point with pictures of trash up to six-feet high. Although other reality shows such as Property Ladder show that a loss is possible, they still falsely install in viewers that flipping homes is a “golden opportunity.” The true way for the inexperienced person to flip a home is live in the house for two years, or the required time by state law, and gradually “flip” or do repairs that will increase the value of home and allow for a tax reduction once said time has expired. It’s a shame that people don’t realize that “reality shows” are not examples which should be followed, however it’s a greater shame that individuals such as the Montelongo’s use their “reality time” to exploit money from people who are looking to live the “American Dream.” Real-estate can be a great investment, however individuals such as Mike V. show that time and EXPERIECE are required before one can make a career of flipping homes. Again, thank you Mike for all your efforts in educating us on the “reality” of flipping a home.
MB
Just watched the last Armando show and I am amazed at the poor quality of work that went into that house. The french drain was completely wrong ( holes should point down, trench should have been excavated to the footing, there should have been landscape fabric placed around the pipe, etc.) That drain is worthless and useless much like Armando’s knowlege of home construction. Also, why didn’t the mold inspector/professional give his assessment as to the cause of the mold? Anyone with any common sense would have walked outside and addressed the grading issues. Look back at every home that these idiots do, there are countless details that are missed and are blatantly obvious. The funny thing is that Armando has such a huge ego and is so used to conning people that he doesn’t realize how stupid he looks when he pretends to be an expert at anything.
OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!! he has only 20 square feet of “contiguous” mold because of a VERY small break in what’s visible????? Whoever buys that house had better have good insurance coverage! This man is terrifying and A&E should be more than ashamed to show that kind of garbage. Mold is deadly to many people and Armando doesn’t have a clue.
Chuck…
Please read Mike Voss’s complete review of Armaando’s E-book… I think that this will be very enlightening to you… Voss’s review will show you where that are factual, empirical, legal, etc errors… You can access it from the main page here or the link below…
As to our comments being based on personality… You are correct, partly… Your are right in the part that we despise the part of his personality that robs, schemes, hurts, and damages others…
http://www.flipthislawsuit.com/2007/08/28/mike-voss-reviews-armando-montelongos-e-book/
My fellow detectives on this board,
Does anyone have anything on the house featured on last nights show?
Does anyone with a Tivo (or who recorded it) notice – if when Armando first opened the house – if there was a lockbox on the door (there was possibly something there, couldnt see – too fast)?
OMG the man yet again slapped some lipstick on it and called it a beauty queen. The poor unsuspecting buyer is going to die from mold but he will have made his money. At least they are no longer pretendin that they sold the house at the end of the show.
I don’t know how they can sleep at night knowing what shitty and shoddy work they do.
Donnie J – good eye, couldn’t have said it better myself. That drain tile was a joke – upside down pipe, no fabric covering the pipe (will be clogged with silt and dirt in no time) etc. Not to mention that gutters and downspouts were not in evidence. Not to mention that professionals run such drains to the street through a hole cut in the curb.
But what REALLY got me out of my chair was that insane, half assed mold assesment by Armando. I especially liked how he was trying to count up the contiguous square footage of mold WITHOUT REMOVING THE SHEETROCK. WHat you see on the SURFACE is just the TIP OF THE ICEBURG!! He had/has no idea how much was there and I guarantee he left plenty sealed up in those walls. This is why clowns like him should be hiring a professional – now whoever buys that house is at risk for all kinds of health issues. What’s more, that water damage at the TOP of the walls wasn’t from the water infiltration at the bottom of the walls outside. More likely it was from not having gutters on the roof (they had to replace a large section of roof edge from water infiltration, yet did no inspection of the upper wall areas under that roof area) and will continue at the next rain re-activating all the mold sealed up inside those walls. BUYER BEWARE. That house is a disaster and Armando is a thief.
It DISGUSTS me that people think Armando Montelongo is someone trustworthy to send money to for information. I sincerely hope he is imprisoned on Tuesday.
Mike Voss
Yes. I saw the lock box as well. I find it convenient that he only had 20 square feet of mold. He didnt measure the mold which had moved up the wall. AM is sooo scary. All he did was replace the sheetrock. He did not TREAT the framing. What a fucking moron.
if anyone gets the address I can look it up on San Antonio MLS to see the history.
Is anyone in Bexar County area and available to go to the courthouse tomorrow to see what happens (maybe record it?) and report back to us all? My understanding is that Armando is out of possibilities for continuances and the case WILL go forward tomorrow.
Can anyone tell me how to get my money back? I found this website way too late.
’nuff said
Mike:
Sorry, I have plans in the morning.
However, I got this email from the desperate indicted felon. He has yet again extended his half off his total half assed mASSter course – with 6 easy payments:
For those of you who watched last nights episode of
“Flip This House”, no I am NOT still blonde 😀
Even in 48 hours..
I can say blondes do sometimes have more fun!
Actually, from all that bleach in my hair, I may be bald
on the next episode since I continue to lose so much
hair.
Ok now to the more serious stuff, how YOU make
*MONEY* flipping Real estate!
More importantly, one of my staff managers Jose has told
me about MANY people who were upset that our internet
hosting server had gone down for about 7 hours, and there
fore missed out on a great special!
So..
With that said, I called my fulfillment company and asked if
I could PLEASE extend my contract with them.
After all, they did get some good exposure on A&E about
the infomercial side of the book “Flip and Grow Rich”
Fair is fair, and if you could not get to the special because
my web site was down then you really did not get a chance
to pick up my Master Course for 50% off
and..
Over 6 easy payments of $82.33!
I promise you that this will be the LAST TIME we can offer
a special like this.
Just visit:
>>>>>>> http://www.armandoinfo.com
to see a new video about this amazing special!
–Armando Montelongo
President
Armando Montelongo Worldwide Inc.
Mr. Montelongo is now starting to spam his newsletter readers. Nearly every day he is sending out his newsletter email.
You know the best part? You can´t unsubscribe. If you click If you no longer wish to get my emails, you can unsubscribe FOREVER by clicking the link below. http://ksh006.ghshosting.com./remove.php
And if you do, you receive an error msg, which says:
Not Found
The requested URL /remove.php was not found on this server.
THANK YOU FOR SPAMMING!
Did he go to jail? I just cruised by his website and it’s looking awful skinny…..
…Well???? It’s the 30th, what happened on the 29th guys???
Mike: The case is actually pending in Travis County. As I recall, the warrant issued in Bexar. The criminal docket for Travis is available online:
http://www.co.travis.tx.us/district_courts/pdffiles/CrimSettingsbyDefendant.pdf
I am sorry to report that the pretrial appears to have been postponed yet again, this time to 5/28/08.
Finding “Justice” in the Courts is like finding “true love” in a strip club, I’m not saying that it can’t happen. I’m just saying that it is not what goes on in there on a regular basis.
frank wrote:
if anyone gets the address I can look it up on San Antonio MLS to see the history.
——-
7710 Stagecoach.
Veronica was cited TWICE and FINED by the City of San Antonio. PLUS, the city cleaned up the property TWICE and placed a lien on the property (recover the cleanup costs and fines).
The property was transfered from a trust in March 2007 to Veronica. Armando “investor” story was a LIE (anyone surprised).
Property taxes have not been paid since they bought it in January 2006 from HUD (currently owes 5,265.03).
The place is a shithole, not in a good neighborhood (as Randy claims), many of the other homes have front fences and burglar bars. Lackland Terrace – Valley Hi areas have the highest crime rates in San Antonio.
Ironic about the mold. Armando had a company called Montelongo Disaster Management and Montelongo Construction, INC. which did remediation and repair for mold infested properties. He was sued for breach of contract. That lawsuit was scheduled for trial in April.
I have a copy of the case file from the District Clerks office.
BTW, Armando is being sued AGAIN… details coming…
BTW, the 108K price Armando is asking for is bullshirt! AT BEST, he could get 90K.
I love A&E’s creative math. They don’t account for burn costs, insurance, maintenance, taxes (ops not paid), and Brent’s salary as project manager.
Even by some stroke of luck they were able to sell this soon to be re-infested with mold property at 108K, they still will loose money!
I havent heard anything. I did pass by the house on Quill 2 days ago and it looked like work was being done on the plumbing.
Anthony what is your email address? I think I can help you.
I really hate that guy, but I will say his wife is smokin hot!!!!!!!!!
Armando Montelongo is a self important shadow of a man. His over zealous attempts to exercise his “machismo” only goes to show he’s a complete tool who is very insecure at the end of the day. Let’s all hope he’s not molding his sons to forget their immigrant heritage.
Wow! Whata string! I told my gf the other night that I thought this guy was an assjerk and man was I right. I emailed him from one of his book sites and told him exactley that..now I see his website is gone and so is his brothers…damn I sure hate this nutjob is here in Texas… hopefully he will be relocated to Huntsville State Prison! Tear his ass up peeps!
YIKES!!! now the %^#$(* is advertising on st louis radio…..he’s spreading north—-
I LOVE this website! I watch for entertainment only. I know that you can’t rehab an entire house for so little money when it has cost us almost $20k to re-do our very small bathroom (top of the line mostly) but we are doing all the work ourselves, except for new plumbing and electrical. It adds up fast, even when you do most of the work yourself!
Looks like Montelongo House Buyers is temporally down:
http://www.montelongohousebuyers.com
watching Holmes on Homes tonight and he was dealing with mold — found all kinds of mold behind walls that looked perfectly clean. I’d give a month’s pay to have Mike Holmes check out an Armando Fiasco.
“Armando the Tool” is advertising his book Flip and Grow Rich on ESPN Sports radio in CA. Heard it over the weekend.
I received a “free” invite to an event by American Entrepreneur and Armondo Montelongo at three different locations here in the Denver Metro area. My first thought was, “This guy would never do anything for free”. There’s got to be something there that he’s selling. The workshop is all day from 9-5 and lunch is free, so what sell would I have to listen to for hours on end and what attack would I have to fend off at the end of the day? Would it just be to buy his system? It is being given by two if his personal mentors, who are also “self-made millionaires”. I wonder who they might be?
Last year I was attempting to purchase a condo for my mother-in-law- to move into and I found a guy who was on Montelongo’s show and supposedly runs a business here. At first he called me and was very personable, but then follow ups turned out to be dead ends. I’ve watched the show in the past but never could stomach how rude and obnoxious he could be.
I actually do like the folks in S. Carolina a little better. They seem to have better relationships with contractors, etc. At the end of it all thoug, I know it is just TV and everything is produced with an end in mind – nothing is as it appears.
Browsing through this website has been great. I always need to be reminded of how there is no get rich quick reality – just hard work, building your business day by day over time.
What do you all think about “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” Robert Kiyasaki and his wife’s book, “Rich Woman”? I went over their materials again recently, but had a realtor/contractor warn me that they were not all they appeared to be either. Maybe I can open a new can of worms here…?
i think the guy is a loser but i have to say that my husband builds homes in wisconsin and the inspectors don’t let anything pass that is the slightest out of whack. why are the inspectors passing these homes as good? shouldn’t someone be after the inspectors as well as am?
Colleen wrote: I received a “free” invite to an event by American Entrepreneur and Armondo Montelongo at three different locations here in the Denver Metro area…
When is this event? I live about 5 hours from Denver and have loads of family there so I am interested in checking it out.
Thanks
Jennifer
Hello everyone, IM BACK!!! read thru most of the post and I must say for someone who is broke and being sued and so on and so on. He sure is advertising allot. I know that is expensive. Anyway glad to see everyone is still hating and have not done ONE thing to stop this madness. I guess it is better to BItch and Complain rather than getting off the couch and doing something about it.
Crystal I agree with you. like I said before “DONT HATE THE PLAYER…HATE THE GAME” I look forward to all your bashing post seems like thats all you guys here are good at.
To all Mothers out there ” HAPPY MOTHERS DAY’
Alex,
Nice to have you out of prison and back on the boards. Heard you learned 1001 ways to pick up a bar of soap.
;} J
Alex wrote:
Hello everyone, IM BACK!!!
Welcome back Mondo Worshiper. Send whatever money you have to Armando, the guy is on financial life support.
Not bitching – just stating the facts.
So, you want us to get off the couch and blindly follow someone who:
gone into million plus dollars in debt, owes multiple thousands of dollars in unpaid back property taxes, deceive people into fraudulent real estate transactions, keep multiple process servers, constables and lawyers employed, has a FICO score go from 501 to the low 400s, default on 23 plus loans, and scruples that would make J.R. Ewing ashamed.
I miss anything?
BTW, It’s not hard to get net terms for radio ads.
Get off the couch and come on in on your last tank of gas and go into financial life support and destroy other peoples credit and lives!
Here ya go Alex:
This is my mentor!
WOW what a great welcoming, I sure missed you guys…..good one Jen! as expected Jealousy, envy and stalkers.
Facts or Fiction….the show must go on and there i nothing you can do about it. enjoy the show and stop complaining. I have an idea, why dont all you haters here pitch in 10k each and do a pilot where you help all these people that got screwed (allegedly) by AM and sell it to A&E or any network that will listen that why you can show us the little people how its done…..I will even donate $$ for the cause.
lets see who is up for the challenge
check out this guy in San Antonio flipping houses. I don’t think hes connected to the Montelongo’s.
http://www.tomtarrant.com
Anyone stupid enough to give money to a clown like armando is a person who’s unlikely to be successful in any endeavor.
Just watching a few of his ‘shows’ should make anyone with half a brain realize he’s a fool.
I saw an episode where the foundation of a house had to be repaired. Not only should he have avoided purchasing the house (the floors were extremely out of level to the degree that it was obvious to any casual observer), he also made a comedy of errors in the rehab. For instance, he had the walls sheetrocked and taped before leveling the floors.
Save your money and concentrate on buying real estate at bargain basement prices. The rehab part just takes common sense. Armando lacks common sense and so does anyone paying him good money for anything other than cleaning toilets.
I just shared a flight on USAir from Denver with Armando. I fly in 1s Class because of free upgrades all the time. He was sitting in first class. I was curious about his current status and ended up on this web site.
I started flipping houses last year. I never watched an episode before I started. In fact I bitched at my wife for watching all the “reality” shows. I was walking by and stopped to watch as my wife said I should watch this as it related to what I was doing. I have to say I record every single one and watch them religiously. Everyone here is bitching about the $1000 scam learning packages…. Well dumbasses what do you expect?
I have learned a lot from the series and ALL the casts. I have learned that my mistakes have been made by many others and that makes me feel better when I just went 20k over budget…
All of you especially Voss oughtta shut the hell up and go out and do something productive! Mike Voss you spend so much time in here you are a fraud too!!! Theres NO WAY you have the time to write so much here and actually do something productive… You are an idiot for wasting so much of your time on Armando… What the hell did he do to you? Are you a “sucker” that bought the package and thought you’d get rich? Sounds like it the way you bitch… Post your transactions moron… BTW my ip is 71.201.51.122 Comcast Chicago area… This is not Armando…I dont give two shits either way about Armando… I have my own problems…
Stop complaining and do something positive in your lives people!
This is my 1st time on these site..I have been very interested in real estate investing, I have applied to so many programs that just take more money from you with the so call “bootcamps” it scary..Now I do my research so..Thank you allfor this site extermly helpful..I seen the show maybe three times late last year I saw the mistake that were made.. thought it was part of the show and would be fixed.Guess not. Now Armando is giving away free CD on how to flip the house on the radio..never caught the 800# because I was always driving when I heard it and decide to just look him up and found you guys..Thanx again
You sure have got your own problems, Larry. Since, by your own admission, you’re making the same mistakes as Armando, you then must be an incompetent idiot with no knowledge of residential construction trying to make a quick buck and failing too.
I’m sure it comforts you to see someone as stupid as yourself making the same mistakes on tv, but I post here to warn people ehat idiots like Armando (and you) have no business selling their purported knowledge (or rendering an opinion) to anyone – something you readily validated by calling his package a scam. So, by your own admission, you enjoy learning from and relating to someone you identify as a fraud.
You’re about as stupid as they come.
I doubt you read much of what’s here. If you had, you’d know that there are people out there trying to improve their lives who know nothing about this business who get fooled into wasting their money on Armando’s crap and that the only reason I post here is to prevent that.
What the purpose of your post is remains a mystery. I’ll leave that to resident psychotherapist Wyldwoman to decode. Probably something like “even tough Armando’s a conman and an incompetent, I relate to him so leave him alone!” Birds of a feather…
As for my bona fides, could you read you’d know they’re well established, but anytime you want to drop by a jobsite of mine in this area you just let me know. I’ll show you exactly how productive a REAL builder is in a day, without a single mistake being made…and fire off a post or 2 here as well if needed witout missing a beat. You don’t know that’s possible because you don’t know enough to even know what you don’t know – the true measure of ignorance.
MV
Mike,
Ignore the idiots.
How to spot an idiot. Anybody who defends AM without reading this whole post.
It seems to me that you all are jealous that he has done so well for himself. Disclosure: I know him personally and he is great! Veronica is great! They are extremely nice and happy people, and what you see on TV it is exactly that: TV! They hype it up, yell louder and throw things for TV! Anyone who knows them like I do will tell you that they are extremely nice and gracious and not full of BS. So stop your whining, find a way to make money or let him teach you with his course.. and seriously if $997 is too much for you to pay to make hundreds of thousands over a few years then you are so lame…. go back to your 9-5 and enjoy the rush hour traffic!
Like many of you, I was interested in his 1000$ package, good thing I didn’t have the money for it then, I am so glad to have found this site, and would like to thanks all of you who took the time to post your 2 cents on Armando and his scamming ways!
And for Mike Voss, we need more people with a work ethic like you! I’m going to sell my house soon and buy a fixer upper, wish your services were available here! I sure could use a professional consultant…
Thanks all,
Mathieu
RE: Post 1827 – I call bullshit. Note ASN giveaways – like use of term “whiners”, the phrase “go make some money”, etc. How pathetic – never a new thought in that retarded brain.
Yeah, we’re all jealous of a loser who couldn’t pay a lousy $4000 so he’s facing 2 years in federal prison a week from today.
Nice try, Armando/Veronica/Shill. Good luck in CRIMINAL COURT on the 28th, felon.
Don’t worry, I hear stripes are slimming.
Tell you what, Armando: I challenge you to have a national conference call with me open to anyone in America to listen to where you can address the many charges against you. I’ll pay for the conference call. I’ll ask you questions and you can respond. How about it?
Any tips on where to look to find property foreclosures? I’ve been looking around and all I seem to find are people selling info on how to find em, and I don’t feel like they are trust worthy.
Thanks!
http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/rnr/690264549.html
another armando victim.
In post #1824, Larry (the Cable Guy) J wrote:
“I record every single one and watch them religiously…I have learned that my mistakes have been made by many others and that makes me feel better when I just went 20k over budget…”
Lessee…Larry (the Cable Guy) J makes a whole bunch-o-mistakes over and over, including going 20k over budget, and then he makes himself feel better by finding out *after* the fact, instead of doing some research first, that other people have already made these same mistakes over and over themselves.
Well, as I see it, I don’t care who you are–that there is real smart!!
wyldwmn
Mike…
I assume you mean post 1828 (Dana). And I agree, bs.
Ok all. I just found this website after I googled Flip and Grow Rich and review. I bought the book ($40 including shipping) after seeing Armando on an infomercial and having seen him on TV. After reading the entire book I was looking for sites where I could post a review to tell people to save their $40 and I found this thread. I am brand new here and an entry level flipper. We do the flip while we live in it method and have increased our equity by $300,000 in 12 years. Not a lot but we now live in a beautiful 3,500 sq ft home and have a small mortgage. We are interested in taking savings and our good credit and flipping a house we aren’t actually living in!
As for the review, this book was nothing more than a self-promotion for his coaching system. In the infomercial, Armando sold this book as the final word on his perspective on flipping. In no way did he imply that it would only hint at what he had to teach. I was so disgusted I wanted to put the book down shortly after opening it but gave it the benefit of the doubt that eventually I would get to the “meat” of the book. NOPE – no meat there. I picked out ONE useful piece of advice – to pre-research and make a list of appliances, tile, cabinets etc. so that you have basic costs down before you buy. Good idea and one I hadn’t thought of (told you we were new to this – when you flip what you’re living in you tailor your materials to the home so you love it while you’re there). Other than that, this book is a waste of time and money.
It was interesting to find this site and learn that the coaching program is $1,000. I figured as much but would never have even given Armando the time to browse his website or call the number since I felt so taken advantage of just by buying the book.
I hope others Google and find this website and avoid giving this guy any of their money or time.
Mathieu – “riches in foreclosures” is another big scam. By the time the public hears about a foreclosure, it’s generally a worthless one. Good ones get picked of long before anyone ever knows about them. The people selling info on foreclosures are making their money doing just that – not buying foreclosures.
I’m contemplating writing a book on this kind of stuff and, if I do, will go into detail on it.
Mike
The indicted felon’s trial has been rescheduled for June 23, 2008.
Boyson, the “Pretrial” has been rescheduled to June 23. The trial date is still unknown–as it is customarily set at the pretrial conference.
Damn, how do they keep delaying that court date? Ridiculous.
In post #1837, boyson wrote:
“The indicted felon’s trial has been rescheduled for June 23, 2008.”
Do you by any chance know the reason? Judge on vacation, need additional discovery, changing attorneys (again), court trial calendar full, etc.?
wyldwmn
RayMass:
Boyson, the “Pretrial” has been rescheduled to June 23. The trial date is still unknown–as it is customarily set at the pretrial conference.
I thought it was already past the pretrial phase?
Pretrial conference, is this the same as calender call?
BTW, do you live in Travis County? Perhaps you can give us the 411.
Mike Voss, wyldwmn, I have no idea why these court dates keep getting rescheduled .
I’m going to be busy the next couple of weeks, perhaps I’ll look into it when I get back.
I still can’t understand that Armando the self proclaimed “multi-multi millionaire” pay Linda Gass the money is publicly admitted owing her and plea down to a BS misdemeanor and get this behind him.
Well, here’s something rather interesting. It appears that Montelongo’s lawyer (as of when, I am not sure) is now Trey Martinez Fischer. That is to say, Texas State Representative (from District 116), Fischer, Esquire. Google him for more info.
It certainly seems that there could be a major conflict of interests if this guy is representing Montelongo and attempting to bring any pressure to bear on his behalf. I hope that those of you in TX and those of you in the media will apply the proper amount of scrutiny to this that it warrants.
I cut and pasted a copy of one of Mr. Voss’s blog to the media e-mail on Armondos website, I’ll get back to you with a response, Armondos needs to explain himself
Does anyone know how I can get in touch with some hard-money lenders?
Boyson: Unfortunately, I’m a long, long way from Travis County. I’m familiar with criminal procedure in general, but not specifically in that jurisdiction. The purpose of the pretrial conference, in general, is to limit the issues prior to trial. So, for example, if defense counsel intends to bring motions to limit the introduction of certain evidence (motions in limine), the court may schedule them to be heard at a further pretrial conference. That way, the jury doesn’t have to sit and wait while the judge considers them. The pretrial could also be continued for any number of legitimate reasons which may or may not be reflected on the public records, such as scheduling conflicts with the attorney’s other trials, or perhaps the DA needs more time to make mandatory disclosures to the defendant.
It’s impossible to know the reasons for sure unless you happen to be standing there when it happens. So, I suggest we recrut a volunteer. Anyone available on June 23?
In the mean time, check out the criminal docket online (by attorney. here:
http://www.co.travis.tx.us/district_courts/pdffiles/CrimSettingsbyAttorney.pdf
A search for “Montelongo” confirms Trey Martinez Fischer is his lawyer, since 3/26/08.
It also appears Attorney Fischer has no other criminal cases in Travis County.
Mike Voss, thank you for this incredible learning center. Congratulations on your recent sale of your own mega-flip, especially in today’s market! I am hoping to build a retirement home in the near future and want to finance that by doing quality flips such as yours (of course on a smaller scale) Between you and Holmes on Homes plus the “before the architect” website, I feel much stronger about that possibility. If only the housing market would cooperate again. Please post your next project as soon as possible at Hyperion, would love to visit and learn first hand correct procedures. I also recommend readers of this blog go to http://www.ownerbuilderbook.com for great information and inspiration. Carry on!
i agree……with all comments
armando and veronica have a BIG anouncment about a r”elationship ending”. they plan to unveil on their conference call Friday night. This could be A and E dropping them finally.
I got this e-mail from Armando today. Anyone have an idea about what is going on? I can’t be on the call. I’m hoping someone here can and will post what is said.
Somethings in life you
believe will last forever,
but they don’t.
Veronica has her version
and I have mine. However,
neither one of us…
EVER EXPECTED THIS TO HAPPEN!
This is truly the end of an
era and frankly, we are both sad.
We will give you the inside
information on our PERSONAL LIFE…
as well as a few real estate tips
so you continue to get educated
during this transition period.
Both of us will be on an emotional
conference call, two different locations
and two different point of views.
Join us to find out what the heck
is going on BEFORE the press gets
a hold of it.
Here is the conference call phone #.
Phone(605) 475-8800
Access 4522554
It’s Friday, June 6th at 9:0 pm EST.
Talk to you then,
Armando Montelongo, President
Armando Montelongo Worldwide, Inc.
I got this in my email. Does anyone want to get on and report back?
This Friday, June 5th at
9:00 pm EST, I will have…
a teleconference where I will
talk about…
ENDING A VERY SPECIAL ERA OF
OUR LIFE!
Because you are so important
to us, and this is a very
emotional time,
everything on this
teleconference is…FREE!
Veronica and I are making
some MAJOR CHANGES in our
life and we…
want to share this with you.
I will talk about:
BEHIND THE SCENES THINGS YOU
NEVER SEE ON THE SHOW!
and…
*** A MAJOR CHANGE IN OUR PERSONAL LIFE ***
Plus, I will answer some email
questions that you have been
asking for months!
Also, I will touch on a strategy
that is perfect for THIS REAL
ESTATE MARKET!
Check your email for more details
Email Me, Scott at Johnnytightlips75@gmail.com so I can give you the info
i tried to listen to the conference call a few hours ago. There were technical problems so I couldnt make out anything. I guess the news will be out soon, whatever it is. Looking forward to seeing the new LA team tomorrow afternoon on A&E.
So whats the deal with Armoando? Whos know whats up with his relationship? Maybe he’s leaving A&E. Is he really going to jail? Maybe he’s anouncing a showed called “Flip This Cell”:)-
With regard to Armando Montelongo’s all-important conference calls about the “end of an era” and “changes in his and Veronica’s personal lives,” I have received email messages from them lots of times with subject lines just as “Veronica and I Call it Quits” and other such ridiculousness.
The titles of the messages that suggest some big announcement or just efforts to get attention so that he can once-again try to get people to buy his crap.
wyldwmn
I am an experienced remodeler and finish carpenter. Literally 2 blocks away a sign went up on a building stating “owned and operated by Virgil Montelongo” with some real estate company name, and it immediatly lent me to this site. I hope there is no relation but that name alone so close to home made me kringe. I have watched this guy’s shows and you couldn’t count the number of times on all your fingers and toes how often I just shook my head in disbelief. Not only is the premise of each show set up completely, (entertainment value only, anything else and you should be shot or at the very least, move into one of these “flips”) no sub would stick around bieng treated like alone not to mention the lack of money they are paid. It does do one positive thing for me though, it reminds me that I am doing it the right way, I get 100% of my business from word of mouth.
Re. wyldwmn Post 854
I totally agree with your post, Armando is always posting some dramatic event to his blogs to get people to open up his e mails! But I must say, I believe with all the negative events surrounding him, he may be announcing his tenure with A&E may be over.. ( His ratings are way down.)
Any news on the BIG life changing event from Armando? It wouldnt surprise me if the are divorcing..crooks!
In post #1855, Tony wrote:
“I get 100% of my business from word of mouth.”
My impression is that Armando Montelongo wants us all to think that he gets 100% of his business from word of mouth–his OWN mouth, that is. Word has it Armando’s breath smells like poop. Gee, I wonder what might cause THAT? ;-} ;-}
wyldwmn
I told you so…
I just read the latest email from Armando Montelongo…he explains that the big news from his latest teleconference is that he fired his teleconference company and 90% of his support staff.
Yeah, that’s real, real important stuff. The end of an era, if you will, and an exciting life-changing event.
Oh, and I forgot the most important part: He did it all because of *ME*.
I feel so loved and so special. I think I will go down to one of those pay day loan places and borrow a thou to buy some of his crap. I mean, how could I turn my back on somebody who loves me *so* much without even knowing me in person? It’s like he was Jesus.
wyldwmn
I purchased his course at a seminar, after talking to Armando at great length. He was sincere and I had more questions. He told me that all the answers would be in the course and that it included emails and a ton of information from his site.
He told me that it was discounted to $500. I purchased it, the paperwork said to call in for coaching, and in the course he says that he has coaching for you. It all sounds like it is included.
I found out that the coaching is between $5,000, and $20,000.
This seems to be the new thing for these people that sell courses. To sell a course and then mentor you at these high prices. They say that it is an investment and just put it on your credit card.
I believe in paying people for their work services and information, but this is an overpriced rip-off.
Just his booklets are only $100, they have a lot of information, but a lot of it is vague, especially the important questions I had. But if you spend $1000 you can get the read along version. He just reads the books word for word. It doesn’t even have the little bell sound when to turn the page.
I am always purchasing books and information for my education, but the price on this is a total rip-off.
I have found these books online for less than $20
Like he says you always have to buy when it is on sale and negotiate the best deal. Don’t pay too much if you can get it for less.
The announcement was that he is leaving Texas and moving to California to flip houses and taking the show to it as well.
If he got rid of 90% of his staff then that must mean Veronica is working for free and little Mondoman is getting paid his $2 an hour. Hah! I bet that his communications system let him go.
Has anyone alerted California on Flopper’s return? I read somewhere that over a dozen people/companies were after him when he ran to Texas.
Are we now going to see promo’s saying “We came from Texas, after running from California, so we could share the wealth with …” He absolutely makes me sick but I will still pray for him to redeam himself.
Nothing but Love and Happy Fathers Day!
Jen
Hey, A&E just hired a guy in LA for their show. Rudy, who appeared on the Discovery Channel’s version of the Flip show heads up that crew. JMHO, I would rather give Rudy the money than Mondo
Do you think Armando is going to try and take it to the Flipping Out level jike Jeff Lewis or rehab some Watts and Compton cheapo stuff? Some reason I dont think he’s capable of doing a high end remodel. He’ll probably try and flip some inland inpire track homes.
Montelongo has arrived. Irvine, California.
I have seen him up close, and it ain’t pretty. Gangsta style 2008 black Escalade, too new for license plates. He’s looking for foreclosures in Irvine. Too bad nobody’s buying houses here or lending money here anymore. It’s going to be an entertaining summer!
This is going to be good. Can’t say he’s not at ground zero though. When the market starts to come back, the first areas will be the hardest hit (like Irvine and IE). Keep us updated, we’re gunna sorta miss the fella.
Check out the new Thread about Montelongo… Off the main page… About him relocating… Would love to see everyone there…
In post #1865, Veronica wrote;
“Montelongo has arrived. Irvine, California.”
Let me guess…he arrived on his last tank of gas in his fancy rented car.
wyldwmn
After spending my whole Saturday being entertained by this website I found this article on Wikipedia. If it has already been reported on this website sorry for the repeat information.
[edit] Season Three
During 2007, many of the Montelongo properties that were in various stages of renovation and preparation for sale became listed for foreclosure due to mortgage non-payment. Despite claims by Armando Montelongo that these properties were “not mine” and belonged to his brother David, there is no evidence of this whatsoever and the properties were solely in Armando’s name. More than 20 properties in Armando’s name were foreclosed by VCH funding. [8]
On February 21, 2008, Armando Montelongo was indicted by a Travis County grand jury on a “theft of service charge.” It is alleged he failed to pay over $4,000 in fees to an appraisal service.[9]
In April of 2008, A civil suit was filed in Bexar County, TX by Mirko Desabota against Armando Montelongo for fraud in real estate transactions, breach of fiducuary duty, securities fraud, and associated damages stemming from a deal into which Desabota entered with Montelongo to remodel properties. In the complaint, Desabota describes a document which Montelongo wanted him to sign absolving Montelongo of all liability in the matter. Numerous parties involved with Montelongo who subsequently filed complaints against him (including Linda Gass, the appraiser who Montelongo is facing 2 years in state prison for not paying $4000) also describe being pressured to sign such “settlement agreements” by Montelongo.
Wow…I posted on here a while back in favor of the Montelongos, but I wasn’t aware of all the litigation against Armando at the time. As of late I was starting to get the not so warm and fuzzy feelings about AM (I was on his list server somehow and would get emails from him about different deals and special – none of which thank God I took advantage of) and now I guess I know why. I’ve since read all the posts since my first one and it’s crazy..makes you think I guess. I appreciate this website because it’s aim is to inform people before they get scammed, but I do have to say that some of you guys can be brutal…simply because someone may not have come to the same conclusion as you have or have a different opinion you jump all over them. It’s one thing to debate or disagree it’s another to be rude, condescending, and insulting. I don’t think that is really necessary to get your point across about Armando. [I’ll probably be bashed for that statement, but so be it.] Anyway, thanks for the info. Peace!
Just when I thought this show couldn’t be anymore fake and scripted I catch the latest Montelongo episode. That scene were armondo and his “coaches” pull up in separate towncars…and his walk through at his Salt Lake City “Head quaters” please…no one is fooled. And Veronica trying to run a job site what a joke. She is clearly not qualified and has no clue when it comes to construction. And one last thing. The blatant product placement is too much. I like how Veronica puts on a 10 second commercial spot for the house alarm system all the while trying to pull the wool over our eyes making it seem like it was within context. I think the worse is the infomercial of the owens corning roof shingles. Funny how that contractor invited Veronica on the roof and went on a tangent about that particular brand of shingle. Please quit trying to insult the viewers intelligence. We know that you are not trying to educate about the products but rather give a free plug. Please stop.
Okay! I am going to be picky about Saturday’s show. If I watch another FTH with the Montelongo’s I promise not to type a word. First of all, what’s with Veronica going from shorts with sleeveless shirts to winter heavy sweaters, corduroy cap and boots? Who ever is filming this show must have the hots for Veronica or something is not right because they continuously are filming her throwing her hair back or messing with her sunglasses, etc. What’s the deal with new outfits every time the camera changed and the weather seemed to be warm on the days she wore the winter outfits cuz the workers wore summer stuff!
One more thing about Veronica – toooo much makeup — and what’s with her stating she and Flopper are “having marital problems right now and his lack of communication doesn’t help”?
I wonder what San Antonio thinks of their great and mighty Flopper stating “that Salt Lake City is the heart of his operation”? Everyone that tried to get Armando’s emails stopped knows that this company closed him down until he settled his debt. It looked to me like it was staged when he was in the meeting and everyone had their legal pads out but I couldn’t see any writing on them. Oh hell, it all looked staged — the show is just crap. Who would purchase that home?
One thing about it – I got to put the description of “Idiots” on some faces when all he brought in his new set of troops with their Armando Montelongo Books in their hands. Or as posted in a blog before this one, his set of “Masturbator’s with his Master Course.”
The guys working are getting to be more and more like fellows Flopper met in jail when he was arrested and bonded out a few months ago.
I bet they get good bargains for themselves for the free advertising spots on the show such as the hair dresser Veronica uses and what a wonderful pitch for the roofing shingles!
Flopper sure looks rough or should that be “ruff” with his greasy hair and sunglasses, shirt that can’t hide his ever growing belly.
One thing that I am certain is the diving board skit had to be staged. If it had really happened everyone would have hit the ground rolling with laughter. Maybe God has a mischievous was of putting scum where scum should be.
I found it interesting that Armando would call Veronica on the phone just as he was driving up the street and onto the grass of the house they were frauding and although he told her during his meeting that “he was angry and was taking the next red eye out of Salt Lake City” it was two days later. That sounded so fishy, their whole show is quite slimy. Another “fishy” thing was to go out and get an alarm system right away after being burglarized and not to put it into effect until they were finished frauding the house. And, one more comment, even though I still have more on my mind, did you get a look at his office? With her being a professional at interior decorating it sure doesn’t show in their own house.
Everything I just wrote sounds like I am jealous or angry but the truth is I can’t believe this guy. It is NOT good TV. Trash is trash. Hey. Thanks for letting me rag. BTW – what happened to the groupies and the City Official?
Have a great week!
Jen
I have been watching this show for quite some time and I am a huge fan of this site. At first, I was impressed at the number of flips this guy claimed to do a month. I have an uncle that’s a contractor and has started his own “flipping” business and been successful thus far. However, in comparing the business practices that Armondo engages in with those that I have witnessed first hand from my uncle, I couldn’t believe that Armondo could get away with the crap he does. Thus, I googled him and found this site.
After reading just about every post, I agree with all of you and I too find Armondo to be the biggest joke in the business. I am also appalled by the network not pulling him off of the show despite all of his latest legal troubles.
However, I’ll continue to watch because the show is too ridiculous, it’s funny. I agree with Jennifer that the board room scene was staged. Did you noticed the concerned look on some of those people as Armondo threatened to kick the workers’s ass?? too funny.
Even funnier was how supposedly “pissed” he was when he finally got there. He’s lucky Veronica was there, otherwise, he would have gotten his ass kicked. One a final note…does anyone know what happened to his brother?? I saw somewhere were he was supposed to have a conference call of some sort but never heard the results. Oh, I also saw them pop up on a site in Denver??
Anyway, thanks to Mike Voss and the rest of your posts in helping show the real fraud this guy is.
FYI,
The company Armando went to is called Premier Mentoring and he is a CUSTOMER – not a owner.
He is a link from the Better Business Bureau:
http://utah.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=139&bbb=1166&firm=2009446
Anyone Surprised?
I can’t beleive how pathetic all you people are. You actually spend this much time of your life coming to this web site complaining about somebody that is on television. Maybe everyone here is just as pathetic as the man they say they despise….
To Post 1875 – Danny
The only thing pathetic here is the fact that you obviously didn’t read the entire post and you do not wish to help your fellow human beings! You are probably Armando….
Why don’t you read this whole blog, check out the facts and then come back again and back up your statement.
BTW, was that you on Flip This House last week with the other Assmondo Groupies? I heard the rooms at Motel 6 are nice and cheap these days and the food at Nacho Momma was very inexpensive. Did that whole package come with your $20,000 investment to Armando?
Jen
Hi All. I’m a long time lurker and must have got a shot of piss and vinegar because I’ve become brave all of a sudden. I certainly agree with everyone about Armondo. However, I did like watching Richard & Trademark.
However I have a couple questions for Mike Voss. Look out Mike love; you are in danger of getting groupies. Lol. I was wondering what your credentials are Mike. I ask that not in an aggressive, prove yourself kind of way either so please don’t be offended. I took a real estate course 20 years ago and wish that I would have pursued it much further then. I’m thinking about taking a realtor’s course and would like to know what your advice that might be. I also love to putter with houses and have done some rehab work; particularly on my own home. So far the property tax values have doubled but as I’m doing all the work myself it is taking me awhile.
I know a bit about construction, plumbing and wiring and the codes. My friends make fun of me that I read books on the codes for fun. I’m so weird that way.
I guess I would like to know what your thoughts on the process are. How did you get from the dreamer to the doer? This is such a fascinating area to learn about and work in. I get calls quite often (particularly from seniors) to do work for them. They know I’m a fussy perfectionist when it comes to the work I do. I’m certainly not large scale but simply don’t know how not to do things to the very best of my ability. It just is not in me to do crappy work for people.
OMG I wrote a book. Did I mention that I’m wordy? Lol Well if you or anyone responds with some ideas or advice I would love to hear it. I’ve read nearly all of these posts and thought I would like to learn a bit about you and pick your expert brain. Thanks 🙂 Tam
Oh I also wanted to mention. I agree with the general consensus on Mike Holmes. I watch him all the time. He is fabulous.
I’ve always thought two invaluable skills in this field would be to learn courses on real estate appraisal and those on building construction inspector.
I’m in Canada so I’m not sure of the credentials for being a building inspector but I can’t imagine someone going into this buisness without knowing how to inspect a building. You need to know if you got the the golden egg or just a money pit.
I found this blog as I was checking out Armando. I used to watch his show and thought that if that was the way you have to treat people to make money I wasn’t interested. Thought nothing more of it until today in my mailbox I found an invitation to purchase his “system.” A couple things caught my eye, first it was Armando, second the address for the “corp headquarters” is in Draper, UT. Let’s see, he claims to be from Cal, does his flipping in TX, Utah has in the past had the dubious honor of being one of the leading fraud centers in the US. Sounds like I should get my check book out, not! (I’m not picking on Utah, I live here but….) This whole thing smells of Carlton Cheats. And as far as I can tell the secret to a good flip (on TV) is the same as a good “Trading Spaces”, don’t slow the camera down and definitely don’t stop. As a home inspector I’ve seen some pretty amazing stuff that “flippers” have done.
To Post 1876 – Jennifer:
You clearly are in utter denial. My question to the users of this forum is this (restated): why do you spend so much of your personal time wasting away on this forum, complaining about somebody that is on TV?
Is it really that important to you to expose him rather than say….live your own life and get over it?
You people are on here wanting blood, tracking when his courtdates are, following his entire life. You are the ones giving him importance. All you people whine about how A&E should take him off the air, but he’s become more and more famous because, partly because you people have made it such a big deal.
Perhaps if people like Mike Voss and all of you with far too much time on your hands weren’t so busy keeping him famous, A&E would have let you forget about him by now. But you people can blame yourselves as to why he’s so famous. You are the ones keeping the vibe alive.
BTW Jen, I am not Armando nor do I want to be close to him or get a room with him, or whatever you implied.
But certainly some one here has to realize the possibility that all of your complaining, creating web sites about hating him, following his life (ad infinutum once again)is what is keeping him famous. A&E is being spoon fed by all of you geniuses.
The Armando connection to Utah is no mystery. His seminar promoter George Wright III is part of a large established LDS family. I have noticed a connection between real estate gurus and LDS. Any group capable of getting a 20 year-old to put on a tie, hop on a bike and knock on doors for 2 years, can easily use those skills to sell worthless real estate advise and attract a following.
Real Estate Guru Wade Cook was LDS. According to tax returns he donated millions to the cause. Although Wade remembered to account for his large donations on his tax returns, he forgot to send the money. He is serving 8 years in prison right now.
My prediction: within 5 years Armondo will be in jail and Victoria will be in Playboy.
It’s not a waste of time; it’s a public service.
If one person is saved from financial devastation (or even 10 bucks) because they stumbled in here, it’s been worth the ride.
But you’re way mistaken if you think my life is consumed by worrying about Armando. I have more impossible questions to ponder, such as:
“If you take the number of clubs in a deck of cards, and subtract from it the number of pawns on a chessboard, is the result greater or lesser than the atomic weight of magnesium?”
Victoria in PB ! Gotta see this 🙂
RE; post 1880: The time I spend here might amount to 5-10 minutes per month maximum. That’s a long way from “too much time on my hands”, so that argument has no veracity.
As to the purpose of myself or others being here, it is quite obvious to any thinking person: to prevent a criminal from preying on people who may not have the knowledge or research skills to avoid being ripped off.
I’ll gladly donate 10 minutes of my time per month to that cause. Now you and others making these same invalid points know and can stop asking pointless questions. It’s a trivial amount of time and effort to stop a thief from ripping people off.
There, 2 minutes spent for July.
My contractors worked a job for Armondo and they received lots of excuses and were were paid.
If they moved out of San Antonio, great! We don’t need Armondo and Veronica associated with San Antonio – glad they’re gone.
I’m glad I’m not the only one that was repulsed by showoff Montelongo.
I have a degree in finance and real estate and my husband and I have considered turning properties, however, I could not ever consider doing it unless I knew the product I turned out was quality in every way. I just couldn’t ever do something underhanded like that to unsuspecting people. For this reason, we haven’t even tried it yet. The downturn in the real estate market combined with the reality that to do this type of work requires tremendous effort, skill and a lot of money invested to do it RIGHT has kept us from doing it thus far. Maybe in the future we’ll give it a try. For now, we’re both employed elsewhere. I respect those individuals out there who invest in properties and who really take pride in the work they are doing. For some, it is like their art and they care about what they’re doing. Good for them! Shame on those who have no problem with taking advantage of innocent people, selling to them cheap shoddy flips. Karmas a bitch!
Say what you will about Armondo, but I must say I find the show entertaining and even a bit informative. At least he has a flair to him—whether you like it or not is a different story. And am I going to buy his flipping DVDs, CDs or whatever…uh,no…but I do like the show.
If the show has taught me one thing, its to negotiate and explore every option when getting estimates. Growing up, I don’t think my family—or anyone else for that matter—would think twice about questioning construction and repair estimates. I mean one would get some estimates and go with the lowest one you think will work. People expected a certain degree of professionalism—an expectation that the work would be done quickly and competently. Sadly, that wasn’t often the case. In my book, starting at the bottom its lawyers, car salesmen and then the home repair trades…
Now we have the internet, and one can sniff out rats a lot quicker. But there are still a lot of them out there. Here in southern California they even multiplied during the real estate boom—even with people ratting them out.
Basically what it comes down to for me is that there are a lot worse things out there than Armondo…at least by watching him ‘work’ one can get an idea of how to deal with some of the tradespeople (I should say that I know they’re not all bad, just like there are good lawyers, I think 2 at last count, and good car salesmen too).
I for one will be watching when his SoCal shows start airing. I don’t think most people in this country have a clue as to the craziness that is California real estate and construction business.
I have a dumb question. What is an ebook? Is it the same as an audio book on CD or is it .pdf files of the pages of the book that have to be read on a computer, or is it something different?
LMAO…love how this site pops up when looking for Armandos book! I do have to say that he must be CRAZY for the amount he’s selling these items for. My husband has always been interested in flipping houses and wants to take courses to begin getting his dream job started. I figured I could look up a couple of the books that are out there and imagine my surprise…well, not really…at the information about this cartoon you all have posted so nicely for me 🙂 I will definately mark this one off the list. Not that the show is anything other than entertainment. Shoddy rebuilds with drama added. Funny, but like watching cartoons…not to be taken seriously. Unless you think you can live after having an ACME anvil fall on your head. Which is what I would feel like if I had actually purchased any of the veiled, uninformed info sold by people like Armondo. Call me a geek, but I’d rather go to the library and check out books than spend ~~$$$$ on BS. After picking through the posts I believe I have a few books I can pick up for nothing…or next to nothing…that will get the ball rolling for him. BTW-Thanks to all of you that <to quote from Post 1180~~”spend so much of your personal time wasting away on this forum, complaining about somebody that is on TV?” I like to add that I am grateful that I am personally glad that you found it “important to you to expose him rather than say….live your own life and get over it?” Thanks for taking 2 minutes out of your day to inform those of us that aren’t as well informed!! 😉
In post #1878, Tam Turtle wrote:
“Oh I also wanted to mention. I agree with the general consensus on Mike Holmes. I watch him all the time. He is fabulous.”
I see that Holmes is now on The Learning Channel (TLC). I watched a few of his shows–we need more shows like his.
wyldwmn
If Armondo was only on TV, and not trying to sell us his crap, I think the majority of us would not even bother with him. But the fact that he’s charging innocent people $1000 for “secrets” that he does not reveal, is illegal! I’m glad this blog exists.
Among all of you here, does any one have the 5 e-books and share them with us for free. So we can all judge if they are good or bad. If some has the books let us know your e-mail so we can contact you to get them and take a look at them
In post #1891, Niko opined:
“If Armondo was only on TV, and not trying to sell us his crap, I think the majority of us would not even bother with him.”
Actually, I would not agree with that, and here’s why:
I have taped numerous of Armando Montelongo’s shows to use for instructional purposes to teach both critical thinking skills and thinking errors, and to teach about how people like Armando manipulate thinking errors and human psychology to exploit people. I do this in Spanish, and it has been so successful that a local real estate office (which is a national company) has offered me free use of their classroom plus all photocopying and office equipment expenses, to teach these classes for the Spanish-speaking community in the county where I reside.
I pay careful attention to certain programs on TV for the specific purpose of teaching Spanish speakers how to analyze the way in which “information,” as it were, is being presented and also how to research what’s being sold (or purported to be the truth) so as to not fall victim to scammers and worthless proucts.
I know other people who are in the building trades who also are concerned about what some stations are running as “entertainment” (or so they say), but which actually cause people a lot of financial harm. I have translated a lot of these tradespeoples’ information to Spanish as well. In fact, there are a lot of Spanish-speakers where I live who, even though they don’t have Internet access, have benefitted from the wise words of wisdom of the professionals who post here on this site, because I’ve translated those wise words of wisdom into Spanish and shared them.
People like Mikie Voss and others who so generously post helpful information, most likely have no idea how many people they are actually helping because they don’t know that I’m translating and sharing what they post.
In fact, even the posters who seem to have left their brains up their butts have been translated, as they serve very well as examples of different types of thinking erros and cognitive distortions.
Oh, and one more thing: I have faithfully translated that Steve in Texas is single. ;-}
wyldwmn
Interesting to note that posts #23,24, and 25 were posted by different individuals yet have the exact same IP address.
#23,24, and 25 are also from san antonio where armando lives.
however you know armando nets over 14 million dollars a year from flipping alone, stop being so jealous.
[i]el seco wrote:
Among all of you here, does any one have the 5 e-books and share them with us for free. So we can all judge if they are good or bad. If some has the books let us know your e-mail so we can contact you to get them and take a look at them[/i]
Sound like bait to me.
I am sure Armondo’s crap is copyrighted and it would be illegal( and wrong ) to pass around material that is for sale.
Daddy Dave… Your obviously a dillusional tool… Please post your proof that Armando “nets over 14 million dollars a year from flipping alone”
Bet ya you cant! We shall see… 🙂
Post 1126 tells where to download Montelongo’s e-book for free.
Court docket shows AM’s next court date:
D-1-DC-07-302376 09:00 331ST PTR THEFT OF SERVICE >=$1,500<$20K 08/14/08 MONTELONGO ARMANDO JR
So Purple Princess, if that was yesterday (the 14th) does anyone know the disposition?
Chris, it’s been reset to August 14. I will hopefully have someone at the courthouse to report on the hearing.
[…] out of their property. The worst of them was Armando Montelongo, a San Antonio flipper who is half as likeable as Roger Clemens, just a little less weird than that plastic surgeon on Dr 90210, an internet scam […]
I heard an ad on the radio about a free trial of his package, where I would only have to pay for the costs. If I decided to keep it past the 30 day trial, I would have to pay 3 “easy” payments of 300+. It consists of 12 CDs and 1 DVD. Several workbooks come with the package too, which is quite dumb because it is VERBATIM to what is on the CD. The DVD is on assessing homes. Of course, I burned ALL of the material and sent it back. Haha.
A few weeks later I got a call from the biggest prick telling me to call him back to talk about my account. I ignored the call. He called again and was rude, saying “This is the SECOND message. Call me back right away.” I thought my shipment didn’t arrive so I called back. He started giving me a pitch about how Armando could help me. I said that I wanted to be upfront with him so that he wouldn’t waste his time, and that I will not be spending any money with them. He asks rudely “Did I offer you anything?” I said “I know a sales pitch when I hear one.” He says “Are you saying you know everything there is to know about real estate that you would deny advice from people who has done this many times?” I said “Of course I would listen to the advice. So, what are you offering me?” He says “I haven’t offered you anything and I don’t know if I will.” What an asshole to the n-th degree, wasting my time with his snooty tone. So, I basically said “Okay BYE!!” and hung up.
I feel like calling the company and complaining about his rudeness, but from what I read in the postings, seems like being an ass is a necessary trait to work there.
The materials are NOT worth 900+ by the way.
Look, The only thing that I look for in Armando is his business attitude. Anyone in the real world can tell you that you can not be weak at heart to make money. There is truth in that 100%. That being said, If he were to be this rich millionaire and his point in life was to help people once he became rich. Why not give your secrets for free. If he really wants to help people. He is obviously not being weak at heart to sell his ideas either. That is why I always say that all these idiots who say they want to do the right thing to help people but at the same time charge you for it are all a bunch of ass-holes..
Another thing is that these type of systems can only work in areas that are not as populated. Here in Miami, FL I would love to see what this guy can do in a market like ours right now. Houses in less populated areas are always going to be cheaper than populated ones. Let him do a show in L.A. , New York or here. I don’t think so Armando.
Hey guys….why do you losers get a life and do something else other than be ‘internet heroes’
“Get A LIfe wrote:
Hey guys….why do you losers get a life and do something else other than be ‘internet heroes’
Posted on 18-Jul-08 at 6:02 pm | Permalink ”
—————————————-
Well, it sounds like you need to go to school, and learn to speak and write proper English. As the saying goes:
People who live in glass houses shouldn’t cast stones.
This ia a forum being used to warn others about HARM from predators, not a forum to be gleeful about someone’s downfall. So before you criticize us as if we were doing something bad, think about that before you post next time.
In post #1905, Serge wrote:
“The only thing that I look for in Armando is his business attitude. Anyone in the real world can tell you that you can not be weak at heart to make money. There is truth in that 100%.”
Armando doesn’t have a business “attitude.” He has a well-researched plan to bilk money out of poor and uneducated people who fall prey to his lies and pressure. That isn’t “making money in a business-like fashion,” it is *stealing.*
As for weakness of heart, Armando’s heart is not the issue–it’s his other body part…the one some might refer to as his “trouser puppy,” for which he is trying to compensate.
wyldwmn
I have a few things on my mind tonight:
1. Ditto to wyldwmn’s post
2. I think we have Armando Shills again but what wyldwmn said was a good choice of antibiotic!
3. If you are not Shills then go back to post number 1 and read the whole thing, check out the links, and then call Armando and talk to him. Once he finds out you don’t have any money or that you are not calling to purchase some of his bullcrap he will have nothing more to say to you except to continue posting in his favor at this site. Go ahead, find out, get used but I really think you should do your homework first and read everything here.
Have a great time this weekend,
Jen
In response to wyldwymn #1893
That’s just really a wonderful thing to do. AM and his ilk certainly have no qualms about exploiting those who are uninformed, many (especially in his case) being native spanish speakers.
I put my comments on post #201 here:
http://www.flipthislawsuit.com/2007/08/28/mike-voss-reviews-armando-montelongos-e-book/
I posted another response to Mike Loss under his retort to Lee at the link that Lee posted on 913. Lets see what the nerd has to say in response to me. (Probably ‘lets meet up and fight’…pathetic loser).
BTW ThePurplePrincess4u, I missed TWO letters and an apostrophe (the do should have been a don’t) and suddenly I’m uneducated? Perhaps you showed your lack of education with the way you jumped to a conclusion off of one miniscule thing. In the words of my own moniker: Get A Life
Get a life:
Speaking for everyone,
FUCK OFF, LOSER!
Was that your idea of an intelligent response? (oh my god! we’re fighting over the internet! You are sooooooo cooooooool!)
Maybe this might stop your fighting! I watched a 2008 Flip This House this weekend titled “Montelongo vs. Montelongo”. In the last two minutes of the show where Flopper has his new blonde hair talking with that upper class nasaly voice of his he said “I wouldn’t buy from me”!
Bottom line – if he wouldn’t but from himself then I have no doubt in my mind he has finally spoke the truth.
Peace!
Jen
Armando is clearly an idiot. I also watch his show and find that he has no business flipping houses, he has no idea about construction or building a quality house.. I feel bad for those who have purchased his flips. They look as if they could fall apart at any time. I agree that he does treat his wife and staff like crap.
I watch FTH as often as possible. For the last two months,those Montelongo’s have Not Been on At All. What Happened ? Trust me when I tell you, “That is a Good Thing,because They Suck !!”
Look, I apologize for my ignorance in this matter. I just started watching this show about 4 months ago. You guys are right, I should do more research. But in defense, I just started my own business and I do tell you that in my experience in the business world, the accounts I have not gotten have been because I have shown a sign of weakness. In the business world you do have to be cold hearted to make money. Sad but true.
I find AM entertaining as all get out. I find his show hilarious. I think many of the scenes are staged and done for drama/comedy. I think that the houses/flips he does are horrible and i feel sorry for anyone who buys his houses, but dang his shows are funny to watch.
A year from now both Richard Davis and Armando Montelongo will be out of business. The housing market a mess (depression like conditions), the days of flipping are over. Commercial real estate will also see a huge devalution as more businesses close their doors.
I am glad that I am not the only person who believed that Armando is a piece of #hit and would sale his mother a waste dump if he thought he’d make a buck!!!
Paulkenny, its nice to see somebody on this forum that has common sense. Thank you for renewing my faith in the human race. Its all staged people! A&E has you guys by your genitals…
Hello all,
I run a large home improvement business in Maine, I have done some “house flipping” and have never made any money. I watch the shows too, but the amounts that are spent on the repairs seem “Very, Very Low” Each time I see the “Flip that house” or “Flip this house” I laugh and say flip the price in half….”Keep Out The Rain – Call Dave Deschaine”
Montelongo is an example of WHAT NOT TO DO when flipping a home. He’s surely a slumlord as scene in one of the episodes. He has no ‘bed-side’ manners nor business sense when dealing with subcontrators. I agree with the form of not treating everyone with absolute kindness but there has to be a level of professionalism, which he does not demostrate. Maybe he needs a class on how to acomplish these things. Or a divorce…since his wife is the only thing professional. So if you watch just learn how not to do things. At least that’s the only thing worth learning from Montelongo.
I agree, the shows are mostly staged, a TV drama, not unlike soap operas. They are entertaining to watch, but that is about it. But would you spend your hard earned money on serious medical advise from one of the doctors on General Hospital? While they may know some things about medicine, they are certainly not qualified to dispense expert advise. Armando is doing just that with his courses, and this webpage exists to warn others about his “quack” flipping courses/programs. If he just stuck to TV, most of his objectors on here would not care one bit. We could just sit back and enjoy the drama like on “Flipping Out”, the drama show on Bravo, that just happens to be about house flipping. Those guys seem to know a lot more about the subject than Armando!
Glad I came onto this site! Ordered the materials and sent them back before being charged (I hope); just too much to digest at once. Then, started getting calls from Armondo’s sales team? and they pitched training tuition to me at $10K! Which included personal training from AM. Then, after balking at that they dropped it to $5K and dropped the one-on-one training with AM. After reading all the posts on this site (I like to read others opinions / experiences before taking the plunge on $$ things-the Internet is good for that), I’m not taking their calls anymore nor returning their messages so I’m sure (I hope) they’ll leave me alone soon. They spoke about putting it on credit cards and closing deals right away to pay it off, and if that didn’t work out, transfer the balance monthly at 0% until….. Sounds like a path to greater debt to me. I hope others like me heed the advice on this site ’cause my wife & I have excellent credit, no credit card balances, previously growing 401K’s (getting “whacked” by the stock market now!)and our little home with some equity, and I’d hate to lose it all to this kook and his band of “preying thieves”. Thank you!
I just got offer in the mail. Armondo is coming to a hotel near me here in San Francisco.
I get a $250 gas card just for going to the free session.
Anyone else got this offer?
I know there is a ‘got ya’ but I don’t see what it is on the offer. It’s probably ‘free’ with purchase of $10k program or whatever but it does not say that on the flyer…and it’s supposed to list such things….right?
So any of you folks got such offers, attended such seminars. Whats that deal with the $250 gas card?
If the worst that happens is I’m supposed to stay until the end of the day well hell yeah I can do that for $250.
Darn! Wish we’d found this site before buying the Flip and Grow Rich program. Cost us upward of $400. Guess it came down from the $1000 master course as it looks like we got similar materials. Hubby is a home inspector, handyman, does remodeling work, and a design draftsman.
Regardless of this obvious thievery, we know it can be done, but not AM’s way! Only wish we could have found this site within the time we could have returned the materials in the TOS.
What’s done is done and we’ll “eat it”, but what great fun it will be when we talk to that pushy guy trying to get us to up our credit limit or borrow money from a family member for the coaching we will never need. Thank you for this site that tells it like it is!
You guys might find this funny. We have a hardware firewall with webblocking at our company. I tried to visit Armondo’s site and it was blocked for “Criminal Skills”. I think that says it all. lol Here’s the message I got.
Request denied by WatchGuard HTTP proxy. If you believe you should have access to this site or resource, please contact the IT department.
Reason: one or more categories denied helper=’WebBlocker.1′ details=’Criminal Skills’
——————————————————————————–
Method: GET
Host: http://www.armandomontelongo.com
Path: /
OK … I may have missed it … but when is the court date? …
Dan
“BEEN THERE, DONE THAT” I received an invitation in the mail to go to a seminar, that I thought was suppose to be hosted by Armando Montelongo…..”NOT”!!! The invitation read, “AMERICANENTREPRENEUR” and ARMONDO MONTELONGO….Invite you to Learn the secrets of how to “FLIP & GROW RICH”. This is what the add said…Armando Montelongo, star of A&E’s hottest show “Flip this House” would like to personally invite you to be a guest at the American Entrepreneur workshop. In less than 5 years, Armando has become America’s largest residential real estate investor and self-made millionaire. Learn his “Flip & Grow Rich” strategies that will help you create massive wealth in the current real estate market. Also you will be trained by 2 of Armando’s mentors, who are self made millionaires. They will teach you strategies in Real Estate Investing and Wealth Creation. Then it goes on to say…. You will learn several different strategies.
“WARNING” for anyone who has gotten this invitation and is thinking about going to this seminar DON’T!!! I sat through 8 hours of high pressure sales pitches from really smooth talkers trying to get you to buy their garbage. In fact, the real estate company, “American Entrepreneur”, doesn’t have anything to do with Armando Montelongo at all. They’re completely different companies, and they’re just using his name to get you to come the their seminar. I found this out because someone sitting next to me had already purchased Armando’s course. I find it hard to believe that so many people buy into these high pressure sales pitches. What’s even harder to believe is that someone would pay $2,000.00 for 3 days of training. It probably took these, so called “Millionaires” years to learn what they know. What makes these people think that they will learn it in 3 days ? These seminars are a bunch of garbage, they’re only out there for one thing, THAT’S TO GET YOUR MONEY !!! I went to the seminar, because I thought it was some kind of a workshop on how to sell real estate. All it was, was for different companies trying to get you to buy there garbage. I sat through the whole thing because they promised me a free lunch and a $250 dollar gas card. The lunch didn’t arrive until 1:30pm and it turned out to be a nasty box lunch. They don’t break for lunch either, they just keep on talking the whole time your eating your lunch. At the end of the seminar, they gave me my so called free gas card and a free Cd from Armando Montelongo. I guess that’s the only connection they have with Armando, and whatever they’re paying him to use his name. The gas card turned out to be a voucher with a gift code # on it. You have to either mail in the voucher or go to a web site and pay $5.00 to activate your voucher. What they don’t tell you is that your locked into buying your gas at only one gas station that their sponsoring. You have to buy $100 dollars worth of gas and mail in your receipts each month, by the end of the month in order to get a $25 dollar gas card for that month. If you don’t buy $100 worth of gas in that one month, you loose your $25 gas card for that month. In order to get your so called $250 dollars worth of free gas, your locked into buying $1000.00 worth of gas at the gas company you choose. What a Joke!!! That doesn’t sound to free to me. It sounds like a bunch of work and a bunch of bullsh*t to me.
I always Google a company and check out all the negative reviews about that company before I buy anything. It might save yourself some time and money if you do the same.
In post #1931, William wrote:
“I find it hard to believe that so many people buy into these high pressure sales pitches. What’s even harder to believe is that someone would pay $2,000.00 for 3 days of training. It probably took these, so called “Millionaires” years to learn what they know. What makes these people think that they will learn it in 3 days ? These seminars are a bunch of garbage, they’re only out there for one thing, THAT’S TO GET YOUR MONEY !!!”
The point is that these so-called millionaires did NOT learn about house flipping–they learned about high pressure sales. *THAT* is the reason why so many people fall victim to these sales scams. These scammers use brain-washing and cult-like recruiting techniques to prey upon people who know nothing of those techniques. This is why you are correct when you say that these seminars are only for the purpose of getting money–they are not educational seminars, and they are not for the purpose of helping people.
wyldwmn
Boy, many of you have spent quite a bit of time “researching” the Montelongos – Why???
I just recently watched the show for the first time. I’m not saying your statements are true or false – but c’mon…
Uhhh, have you seen whats for sale out in the rest of the world – other real estate, MLM, get-rich programs doing this and that…. Have you researched these as well???? I think some of you could get rich using your energy on something else than researching the Montelongos. And I am not related nor do I live in Texas!
P.S. If you don’t want what he is offering – don’t buy — as with anything else!
Well guys I can only beg for sympathy…I did not come across this website until AFTER my stupid self already paid 1000 dollars for his stupid system!! Here’s something you may not have come across.. I NEVER EVEN RECIEVED IT!!! I have already filed dispute charges with my credit card company, but I never even recieved it. Well if you buy the system he lets you put his stuff on your website and If someone clicks on your link then you get a “commission”.. BS!!! My buddy bought it through my website(which by the way he never recieved it either) and so I go and check my commission and it says 200 dollars; well then I check back in a week and it says ZERO!!! Well I called my crdit card company and got them to give me the merchant’s phone number… the number goes to armondo himself!!! I SWEAR!!! Here is the number: (210)831-4888. I can only think that he can’t even register his merchant numbers correct. So let me know what you think and if any of you have had any experiences like this.
Ricky that is funny! I also had to dispute charges on my credit card and when I called the number on my cc statement, Armando himself answered the phone! He told me something was wrong with his office phones and they were transfering the calls to his cell. I also did not get what I paid for. While I do not like Armando, and I agree with everything said about him on this site, I will say that he was very nice on the phone and he agreed to give me my money back. I did not end up having to fight the charge with my cc company. He did try to sell me something else at a discounted rate first, but I think he quickly realized I wasn’t going to bite and just gave me a full refund.
[…] Comments on Armondo Montelongo’s info product. […]
[i]Melinda wrote:
Boy, many of you have spent quite a bit of time “researching” the Montelongos – Why???
I just recently watched the show for the first time. I’m not saying your statements are true or false – but c’mon…[/i]
Apparently, you are not bright enough to understand why this website and these people are here.
In post #1934, Melinda wrote:
“P.S. If you don’t want what he is offering – don’t buy — as with anything else!”
It’s not that simple, Melinda. The point that many here have been trying to make is that Armando is dishonest and that he uses information and tactics designed to convince people that they *do* want his product.
As for researching other scams, yes, many of us have researched the other scams. THIS website happens to be about Armando Montelongo, which is why, obviously, the posts here are about *him.*
wyldwmn
Wow what comments. I see him advertising his products and saying no money no credit..ok so he knows about a money tree…humm. I like his ideas and he is down to earth but to many red flags. I think I will go to one of his motel meetings and give everyone a copy of the comments here and see how many people stay..”If it sounds to good to be true, then it is” and it did.
William,
Re your comments on the $250 free gas card: Thank you very much for them.
I am registered to attend an American Entrepreneur Conference this Saturday in Portland OR appearantly staring AM. I was only going to attend in order to obtain the “Free gas Card” but after your explanation of how it works I think I’ll go to the beach instead, where it is supposed to be much cooler than in the Portland area 100 deg.+
I called the office of AM several times and none of his “staff” knew anything about the free gas card. One of them suggested that I contact AmericanEntrepreneur. You think I could find any contact information on “them”? Nope!
Thanks again for the information!
Foxtonames
I purchased Armando Montelongo’s product on Real Estate. To my surprise there was nothing “Real” about it. I believed it, paid it using part of my 401-k loan BUT never received anything. I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt and wrote over a ton of e-mails in a period of over 6 months concernig the matter and their only response on every e-mail was for me to update my billing address. The Montelongos did not have a customer service phone number to call for questions or concerns. After several months of trying to get either the product or my money back, I decided to file a police report in my hometown of Tulsa, OK. Unfortuantely, due to the longevity since the time of purchase no one could help me. Montelongo got a over $900 of my hard earned money and I never even got a phone call or letter concerning the matter. I wish I could get my money back somehow and hope to see soemone in this nation big enough to stop him from take advantage of others as he did me.
I have electronic access to the Federal court PACER system. The only bankruptcy on record for an Armando Montelongo took place in El Paso, TX in 1994. Case no. 3-94-bk-31497.
Well, you guys are undoubtedly right about Armando and his M.O. but I have to say I find the show pretty entertaining.
I felt really bad for “Chris” who gets insulted continually, however there is NO WAY he is dumb enough to buy bright yellow and neon green paint after Veronica specifically told him to pick ONLY neutral colors.
This was obviously staged and was too over the top.
I would have no problem with the show if it was just for entertainment, but they are tricking people into thinking it’s easy to do and using the deceit to sell ebooks and cd’s to the people who they have tricked.
Unfortunately, they are no worse than any of the informercial producers who tout money making schemes.
Thanks for the dose of reality Mike Voss. I appreciate all of your comments as well as the rest of you for exposing this slimeball.
Does Armando ever mention House Bill 3630 and how he gets around that, if at all?
i have bought all of the courses and attended 3 seminars from the new haven team. This stuff really worked for me. I’m not saying it was easy, but i followed their methods/systems, and i have done well thus far. I have bought and sold 22 properties and i am currently cash flowing 3 rentals. They were really accessible as well. I have had many discussions with them about specific deals i have done and i even wholesaled a property to them. I would recommend their products…if you are serious and are willing to put the work in.
Here are some links:
the e-book that got me started: http://cthomes.infusionsoft.com/go/fhsug/cm/
and to the main site where you can look at their products and seminars-
http://cthomes.infusionsoft.com/go/fb/cm/
I have heard from a bunch of other people that the armando products are half assed. so take that for what it’s worth.
so if all of these people are scams and you want to do this or any of these real estate things, like notes, tax liens, or anything else…but I did meet someone that made alot of money doing real estate but didn’t want to give any assistance for me to get started…so what does one do.
re: post 1947
BS. “Chris” – post the transaction records of the 22 sales for all to see.
I say you’re a shill post.
The CT team are better than Armando, but still have no knowledge to sell anyone.
Wow, no offense but you all have way too much time on your hands to keep going back and forth. This is the first time I came across this website and I really don’t know what to say..I’m not a blogger. However, I am fasinated with how many people are SO into Armando…so I kept reading. After the hour or so I read, the most inteligent one is Sean who wrote on 26-Apr-07 @ 7:51 am. I mean do your research before you get skrewed and who really frellin cares what Armondo does…do you not have your own personality, nich, personal talent, attitude, etc?? It’s a reality show that us Americans are hook on since Road Rules one MTV and/or Survivor…come on!!
It’s all made for glammor and they are all “banking” off of it!! If you really want to “flip a house” get an education at a real institute…DUH!!
I am home today with nothing to do so I found an apparent Flip This House marathon. At the end of an episode they put the for sale up and at the bottom of it I see a website so I go to that website to see how much this particular house is listed for. Oddly enough this is not a real estate website….it is a site advertising what looks to be a money making scam. How can they expect to sell a house when the information on the FOR SALE sign is of no use?
If I were a potential buyer I would have been annoyed enough to move on and find another home for sale in that area.
I love watching his show, and think that him and his family do a great job with the houses. He always seems to do the right thing as far as fixing real problems, and then dressing up the rest to make it presentable. Isn’t that what it’s about? Is that not what a homeowner would do to sell their home? I wish I was successful like him!
so everyone here basically says armando is a crook, so be it i will not be one to despute anyones opionion because this is the land of the free and home of the brave. the work that was done is said to be not up to par, so were the contractors in on it too? which is a shame i wathc the show and find it entertaining, i mean that randy guy seemed honest, that brent guy seem like he was trying to do the right thing, so are they part of all of this ? and what happend to armandos court case?
Re: John (173) June 07
You made me puke in my mouth with all your bullshit about Armondo the macho man. Get real
Stephanie wrote:
I love watching his show, and think that him and his family do a great job with the houses. He always seems to do the right thing as far as fixing real problems, and then dressing up the rest to make it presentable. Isn’t that what it’s about? Is that not what a homeowner would do to sell their home? I wish I was successful like him!
Armondo’s method is like putting lipstick on a pig. Ripping people off is not what its all about!
Armando is a loser, it doesn not require a great deal of deep thought to label this fool so why waste my time.
It is somewhat amazing that this guy still appears on A&E, he should be serving a nice long jail term for “fraud”.
Actually, I like watching Armando on FLIP THIS HOUSE ufortunately you NEVER borrow money to flip a house. the interest payments eat your profit.. you HAVE to find investors and you HAVE to have cash. Borrowing money to filp a house is a sure fire way to bankruptcy. He is not doing it right on that account. I fip houses with a partner in oklahoma city, i teach classes in my home for 75.00 a couple and its 4 hours on a Sat and 4 hours on a sunday and I answer all emailed questions. Paying someone 2K for books, tapes and no one to guide you personally thryu the process is LUDICROUS. I only charge to keep the class size down and the only people that pay are the ones seriously wanting to get into this. it is a fun hobby that can blossom into a full time thing but you MUST learn budgeting, repair and how to use your resources wisely. Learn from a house flipper/investor.. Not a public speaker.
Other than that your wasting your money!
alexandrascloset@live.com
Just thought I would share my experience with anyone who is wondering about the “Flip and Grow Rich” program.
I first heard about the program from a radio commercial back in July 2008. The commercial said Armando has put his program onto CD and wants everyone to have it for free. (I should have known…but gave it a try). I called the 800 number, and the gentleman who I spoke to was very polite, saying that as an extra special gift they wanted to send me a package of the full program (a $995.00 value) to try for FREE for the first 30 days. If I didn’t like it, I could send it back within 30 days and I would not be charged. The only thing I did have to pay for was the shipping of the package – which was $9.95. So now, already, I’ve gone from free – to $10 blown. (I am a college student, and I really can’t afford extra stuff like this. I have seen the show before, and took an interest in flipping houses, so I figured what the heck – a free CD).
When I called them back within the 30 days, actually sooner b/c I was going to be taking a vacation and didn’t want to miss the deadline and have them charge my debit card, the lady on the phone persisted: “You still have another week and a half of the free trial period. Are you sure you don’t want to wait and send it back then?” ME: “No thank you. I am taking a trip soon and I would like to take care of this before I leave.” HER: “Well, didn’t you know about this trip before you ordered the program?” ME: “No, actually I did not. This just came up…”
I couldn’t believe how rude she was being. They’re probably trained to be that way though. Real nice. What I wanted to say was: “No actually since you all tricked me into ordering this in the first place, by falsely advertising it as a FREE CD, I had no idea this would interfere with any possible vacation plans that might come up!!! Instead, I was nice to her, but firm (I prefer taking the higher road)…
My package was received by their company within the 30 days, now today 9/10/08 there was a charge to my bank account under the company name http://www.findpropdeals.com for $29.95. I can only imagine that it is from these people, and I will be investigating it with my bank tomorrow.
You have been warned…
I was more stupid than most. I was really tired one night and at first thought I was getting a call from the tax liens class that I had signed up for. They said that they were interviewing for one more position. An extremely high presssured salesman said I would be guaranteed to double my investment within 3 months at the outside. He talked me into putting $5760 on a credit card check, and mocked me for not buying an additional $5000 3 day class from Armondo. The books are probably worth $15.00 at the most. I called to get answers to questions the Monday after receiving them, and just got voice mail when I was told they were there to answer the phone. I e-mailed and said if I did not get answers to my questions I wanted to cancel. It took 3 days to get anyone live. Then they said it was past the 3 days to cancel. I said it was not. I actually never signed the agreement, and the electronic signature may or may not have gone into effect before. I got a lot of trouble from Helen Smith about cancelling. She finally noted my e-mail from Monday–which no one answered, and said I could get a refund. I left a message to find out when and how, but no call back. I also said since I marked the books I would pay for them, but they are telling me the books and CD part are hundreds of dollars. How do I join the lawsuit if I don’t get my money back?
Why would ANYONE ANYWHERE give this dude a dime??? I knew he was a slimy con artist the first time I saw him on tv.
Linda, check out post number 1935. It has Armandos cell number in it. Unless he has changed it, that is actually his personal cell number. I called it to get my money back and it worked. You should give it a try. It can’t hurt.
Re: Post #1959 from Linda
It seems that you have more than enough documentation to win a credit card dispute. You’ve given Armondo more than enough time to respond. Your Credit Card company will reverse the charges and put the burden on them. You tried to cancel within the three days… just because they stalled & ignored you, doesn’t let them off the hook.
Don’t delay. If you pay your credit card bill in full, you’ve waived your right to dispute. You cannot pay any of the disputed amount before filing the dispute.
Again, you have enough documentation to win this.
Good Luck
Kelly. Re: your msg #950..
Wow, no offense, but you should take your own advice and “get an education at a real institute” [sic]. (By the way, “sic” means that I restated what you said, even though it is misspelled or grammatically incorrect.) Anyway, please note the correct spelling of following words:
fascinated, not facinated
intelligent, not inteligent
screwed, not skrewed
niche, not nich
we Americans, not us Americans
glamour, not glammor
I left out some of the other grammar problems, but still, as you pointed out: “DUH!” 🙂
Sorry, but like you, I seem to have too much time on my hands today.
Not only is Armando an a**hole, so are his people selling his crap. I responded to his radio ad for the “free” DVD, and subsequently accepted his Flip and Grow Rich package for a 30 day trial. The material is crap, not worth the $400 price tag (5 credit card charges of $79.95) by a long shot, barely worth $10. As an example, you make your money when you buy right, and foreclosures are the best place to buy. This wonderful program contains a whopping 5 paragraphs on foreclosures. Basically, it says foreclosures are great, you should find and buy them. That’s about it. Nothing on how to use the county clerk’s records, or even that the clerk is where you can look. But the real winner is how they cram the program down your throat. If you are even one day over when their tracking program says it was placed in your mailbox, you are stuck with it and they will not allow you to return it. They also fight any disputes on payment, and the person you talk to in the sales office is also the supervisor (no matter who you speak to), and the only person higher to speak with is Armando, and he doesn’t speak to anyone. These are some real pieces of canine excrement, /Caveat Emptor/ doesn’t even begin to cover it. I really hope someday his a**hole practices land on him like a ton of bricks.
someone listen to this stupid webcast and tell me its not armando. exact voice, short sale foreclosure company.
http://www.shortsaleonlyus.com/meetings/companymeeting05142008.mp3
2 cents: why does armando run a business fixing up other peoples houses but owns the ugliest SMALLEST shittiest house on the block and its green. ew, anyone see that episode of his house? dude flip your own house.
ust t answer one question. Someone stated that acording to records Armondo Jr owns three properties. The person then stated “how does a 9 or 10 year old own re?The answer is simple. Trust..
LOL, Rick # 1963, very clever. I enjoyed that quite a bit. Thank you to those who have offered your facts. Maybe so maybe no. Some of you seem to be……how do I put this nicely? Off your rockers??? Others who are so enlightened by this website….check into the “facts.” The rest of you, have a great evening :).
Any update on the lawsuit??
Love this website. Just spent the past 4 or 5 hours reading it all, hehe.
Anyway, I just wanted to defend Dave Ramsey. He is the real deal and it sounds like his ELP was the one that failed the prior poster, not Dave himself.
The guy who wrote message 9 is correct.
I have 9 properties and moving along. Don’t buy this guys BS.
If you have questions, send me an email.
I was researching some of the commercials presented on XM Radio’s Fox News Channel. Among them were commercials from Loral Langemeier (sp?), Armando Montelongo and the “Dinovite” commercial. Seeing as how this website deals specifically with AM, I’ll present this suggestion. Why not flood every television station, radio staion and web hosting site with the information presented on this website? AM is not the only one to blame for pilfering money from hard working, well-intentioned people. Those who promote his programs should be held equally responsible, in my honest opinion. If they’re promoting or advertising a product they know to be harmful in any way, shape or form (without proof otherwise; proof given by many of the people on this forum), they should be considered accessories. After all, they’re getting “kick-backs” through the advertising fees!
I despise AM. We get clients in our clinic every day who act like he does with his contractors and sub-contractors. We send those same people packing.
Hello everyone, I see you guys are still full of it. And some are buying these so called trial base cd,and dvd’s…..Jesus! GET OVER IT!!!!!!!!T
I have to conclude that many of you are full of conjecture and very mislead. Further more…This whole site is about is about bashing a man whom 99.9% have never met. This is more of a reflection of your character then it is of his!
The man has inspired millions, including some of you!
I find it funny how all of these idiots are still at it, like “Steve in Texas” and “Mike Voss”……kinda funny that they are the ones who are really fake and full of rancid crap since their very own hyper-links to their own webpages don’t work…… All the time you bozos have wasted on here typing useless crap, you probably could have put together your own real-estate-how-to-book and actually made some money, oh but I forgot, A&E didn’t issue you a brain….
Or Tim, more likely we got tired of assholes like you harrasing us so we don’t publish that info anymore, dickhead.
Newsflash- Armando is about to be arrested again very soon for a serious crime. Keep running across the country Armando – they started tailing you long ago – there is no escape and they just keep piling up evidence on you. Fool.
Tell it, Mike! LOL
I have remodeled and built homes and from watching this show…I would ask if his crews have licenses…are they insured…do they know the local codes…are they paying taxes…All that I did was take an Owner Builder course on writing contracts and read up on carpentry, electrical, plumbing…just to know what to look for. Last of all, with the market being down…remember..LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. Do not jeapordize your wealth in low income areas like what Armando has done.
Steve, all you can say is “tell it, mike!”??
Mike, once again verbal attacks are a reflection of character… Tim is right however, if you or “me” or anybody else that are anti Armando actually have any evidence to support your claims, it would be of some interest, however i don’t believe that to be the case.
Those who hate winners will always be losers.
It’s all been said, George. 1980 comments on this thread beginning with mine on 4/7/2007. So stuff it.
I actually read every post here. As a fan of FTH I was very disappointed to find out that Armando is not what he appears to be on the show. The facts really are irrefutable…His “fake” website, and I could go on. Having said that, I find the posts from Mike Voss and others to be fueled more by hatred than anything, and while amusing in the beginning they have become sick and twisted. That much hate can only be unhealthy, perhaps I could suggest some serious counseling.
I bought it all a year ago. $5000. Yes I was a sucker. It is a rip off. They knew that was every dime I had and still talked me into it. They told me how I was going to be so successful, they really egged it on and made allot of empty promises. Most expensive lesson I ever learned.. I don’t know how Armondo and his staff live with their self’s.
It has been awhile since I’ve checked in. It’s good to see this thread is still active. For anyone who is interested, Armando’s new court date is 12/5/08 in the Travis County Court on the theft of service charge.
Donna, I hardly think that Mike Voss’comments are hateful. The way I see it, he’s like a cop. Do cops hate the people they arrest? Well, maybe some do, but in this case, I think not. I believe Mike is providing an exceptional service. His analysis of Armando’s “course” has been thoughtful and well presented. If you haven’t already don’t so, you can check out the other threads on this site. Mike Voss has certainly prevented many people from getting scammed. Far too many people have only just realized they were scammed due to Mike’s efforts (and Steve from Texas) and many others.
Wow… I’m really shocked reading all these emails.
First, I think ALL things are like the Bible… each person will interpret things with their own slant and only you can decide what is right for you.
Second, everyone wants something without having to work for it these days. Look at kids wanting $20 to mow a yard that takes an hour. Minimum wage is $6+.. How does a teen rate more than that? I didn’t get $20 an hour working as a nurse. Make them earn their money too.
I love FTH. And whatever you think about Armando’s tactics, you have to admit, he gets it done.
I haven’t seen him cut corners on major items that need to be fixed. They are fixed. Then they rearrange the cosmetic budget. But he maintains the structural integrity of the house.
I don’t think we’d have mortgage “bailouts” if more people ran their business like Armando. From a business standpoint, he may drive a hard bargain, but he’s fair about what he expects from the start and expecting his employees to step up to the challenge.
People these days are LAZY!!! They’d rather collect food stamps and other free money than take pride in their work and accomplishing something with their life.
Look deep inside yourself and see what you’ve accomplished and look hard at your work ethics.
I see alot of jealously directed at someone who’s good at what he does and is successful in his own right.
The ends does not always justify the means, and I’m not saying that I agree with everything that’s ever said or done on the show.
But I will tell you this, I hear alot of anger and anger is like a cancer. It will eat you up and consume you.
If you don’t agree with it, then let it go and move on.
Tell us, Diana, what exactly are your qualifications to make the professional determination that Armando, and I quote, “maintains the structural integrity of the house.” ?? I suspect that you have no basis whatsoever for such a statement,
I, however, have over 25 years experience as both a homebuilder and ASHI inspector. As such, I can tell you with absolute certainty that what Armando Montelongo is clearly shown doing to houses is frequently damaging to the structure, usually illegal, and never performed to a standard that even the lowest level of licensed contractor that I have ever worked with would accept. He’s a criminal.
While watching the tv show for laughs is one thing, Montelongo taking money from unsuspecting people for books, seminars, etc. under the guise of being any kind of expert builder/remodeler/contractor is nothing other than fraud and theft.Period.
You call it anger, I’d call it the facts. And it sounds like you just don’t want to hear them ‘cuz you’re in denial. For shit’s sake, there are 25 foreclosure documents against the guy shown right on this site and you say people should be more like HIM to PREVENT mortgage bailouts?
Man, the audience demographic for FTH must be “severely retarded”.
Re post #1983. Comments have become hateful, throughout this forum those who do not nessesarily believe that Armando Montelongo is the devil incarnate are called a–holes,(Mike Voss uses those very words #1975, Steve in Texas routinely insults anyone whose opinion differs from his.) some are treated like idiots for giving an alternative opinion, others are belittled or called out and out liars… If posters don’t agree with Mike Voss and others they must be Armando, Armando’s friends, his associates, schillers on his behalf… Come on folks, think about it! This site seems to have become a hate fest for people who oddly enough have never met this fellow. I’m not here to decide if Armando is a good guy, bad guy, scam artist or anything else. I just wonder why so many of these posts have become personal attacks on a fellow that nobody personally knows. And I will say again, this much rage is very unhealthy and should be treated by a mental health professional.
Armando is scandalous to be pitching more of this Flipping BS in times like this. I hope folks know better than buy into this crap.Rampant real estate speculation is what got us into this steaming pile of SHIT economy folks.To Armando and all the Armando’s out there. Flip This.
Yes – Flip and Grow Rich is a scam. The CD/DVD may be free but the program isn’t. I think a crack attorney should be able to get him on false advertising and the postal fraud laws. But now it looks like he has more serious criminal things to worry about. Never do business with a felon because that’s what he is.
The permit is #6 out of slc ut btw and the USPS has a case pending I believe to revoke this permit.The address is 12222 S. 1000 E. Draper Utah 84020. It is ironic thet Draper is near a federal prison. How convenient you slimeball because that is where you will end up and then you can try scamming people inside. They will rape your butt and then beat the living sh*t out of you. Welocme to reality fraudster.
Re:”Steve in Texas routinely insults anyone whose opinion differs from his”
Welcome to the Internet, Donna. I can still remember when I first got online too, barely, but I remember it.
How’d I do? ; )
Clearly Armando is in trouble. Once again, as the date of his court appearance draws near, he has increased his spamming for suckers from 1-3 times per week to 2-3 times per day to try to generate money for his legal woes and/or because he knows he’s looking at jail time when he’s convicted.
Looks like Armando may very well be home (in jail) for the holidays. We’ll find out on Friday when his felony case finally goes to trial. My understanding is that the opportunity to plead is now gone, which means a jury decision and likely conviction. He’s already effectively admitted guilt (why would he offer to pay via certified check if he didn’t owe the money, and if he owed the money, why wasn’t it paid in the first place? Pretty open and shut if you ask me)
so I don’t see much chance of acquittal. PLease, someone go and videotape the proceedings and post them !!!
im glad to see mike voss and steve are still at it…………….get a life you two.at the beginning of all this you guys mighta had a point.now it just seems that you are two very sad and lonely men.have you thought about putting all that energy of yours into something productive?join PETA or sea shepard.think of the good you two could do with letter writing campagne for some worthy cause.you could become government lobbyists.good luck
LOL! Thanks “Steve in Teexas” for proving my point. Intelligent people wih valid points and opinions do not have to insult those who dare offer opinions that differ from their own. They let the facts stand on their own merit.
Raymass – what happened in court on Friday? Was Armando convicted?
I have actually been buying and selling a variety of properies for the past three years. The key to anything is being able to obtain fiancing to originally purchase the properties. Does anyone know if these production companies helped arrange financing or was this all done with “hard money.IMHOthis is the very best time to buy property
Any news from the 12/5 court date??
I’ve been searching the San Antonio news websites and can’t find any new info. 🙁
Sidenote: If Wyldwmn still reads this, I’m also in the Willamette Valley. Lane County. 🙂
Does anyone have the address where they ship out their “Flip This House” program…. I need it to prove it sent his program back to him…. i lost the tracking number and UPS says if i had the address they could track it…
Come on already! Any new news?
i was curious if anyone knew what happened in court on 12/5 (per wikipedia) and i also was curious if anyone knew if the flippers got paid for advertising on the show.
My favorite example was the episode where armondos house got broken into and they needed a security system right away to stop more vandals. Anyway you dont hear about it until the last couple minutes of the show. They do this feature showing how good the alarm system is and then they put it in the house.
Only problem is that they put it in 5 days before they sell the house. Seems to me they were shopping for an advertiser to me. Any feedback would be welcome.
Armando is a JERK. I have been in real estate since 1988 and I do like the show FLIP THIS HOUSE but not Armando, I would never treat people the way he does. I don’t care if he doesn’t like them, someday you might NEED them. I am still going “buying & selling”. Here it is December, 2008 the economy stinks but I am still buying, remolding, and selling, wheres Armondo. I don’t need his package, but I have never bought A Package before. I done it my way. HA HA HA HA HA I treat people with a little respect and it does take you a long way.
If I had the time to write on every comment on this web page. You can not blame every flipper on this mess. Like I said previouly I am still here. I have been saying for the last few years you can’t buy a repo house with out some one bidding against you in just a few days of it hitting the market. The market did open up and every tom, dick, and harry was buying houses that came up for repo within days. I am from the old school, let that baby set on the market for a while and you will get a good deal. Like I said in the previous comment “I AM STILL HERE”. The market today is because the secondary market did open up and let every tom, dick, and harry buy anything they wanted if they could sign thier name, let me refraise that “anybody that was breathing”. But this crash did wean out alot of flippers that did not deserve to be in this market. I have been in this market a long time and I will stay, as far as the ARMANDO’S we don’t neede them out here. The market is getting back to where it should be and I will still keep buying.
Interesting. I would certainly not buy this because Armondo’s lack of business sense is his worse enemy. I do confess that back in the 80’s I paid ~200 for a seminar, get rich with no money down. I went into it not expecting the sales pitch to be possible, but merely to gain insigth into what I wanted to best learn about buying property. The best takeaway is that I learned sone things abouy buying real estate. It was worth it, though I never bougth a house with no money down.
I did however buy houses, fix some things in them, do a little remodeling and over the years learned enough that no project in remodeling intimidates me. My current project is a house in Houston, but I am living in it, my wife hates me (not really), and I have had to wait a little bit to pay for my project thus far before moving on with the work. My last completed one was a small triplex that I bought for 35K – remodeled and then refinanced to pay for it. It is about 50 miles north of Houston and took over 2 years (with my real job hours) to complete. I have had 2 units consistantly rented out to pay for it keeping one for us to stay in to do maintenance, cleanup, yardwork etc. There are times when I regret buying the Houston house (for 106.5) but I knew it had potential, and it was close to work.
http://www.zillow.com/homes/map/81-shag_rb/
http://www.zillow.com/homes/map/8003-hazen-st-houston_rb/
Zillow is not an end all for pricing (it lags the market by about 6 months Iwouls say, but Mike you can take ownership and state your own value easily enough so I still like the site. What it does provide is a good comparison value for owners only especially if you know what houses in your neighborhood are currenlt selling for then compare the zillow value and use a baseline with thenumbers provided.
I considered doing remodeling full time, but it is a LOT of work, dirty smelly messy bad days when you realize you did something wrong, etc. It also is rewarding (but not in a 3-4 week flip) – if you take pride and thought in what you do (and live with it). I lived in every place I remodeled (again moving to each unit of the triplex was a pain but) it allows you to make sure everything is done well.
The flip shows (I know them all as does my wife intimately). I like the holmes on homes (canada) and property ladder. Richard does it as a profession. Armondo is doing it for ego, clearly illustrated by his mad romp with the p/u. Of course it is drama – somehow it would be less glorified for many without that. I do like to predict the issues with remodels right at the beginning, and recalculate the budget for people, to compare at the end. Also what a great way to drive the masses when they see how easy it is to flip a house in 2-8 weeks and “make more money than you can make in a year”. Proof positive this site and all the “first-timers”. Advice- there is a phenomenal guarantee you will fail if you don’t understand electricity, plumbing, drywall, load bearing walls, aged houses will definately set you back further than you ever can predict, etc. On that note – DO NOT piss off your contractors, you may think their quote is high, or that you don’t need them, but typically the cheap bids are the most costly in the end.
Don’t you love seeing 1100 square foot homes in everyday california suburbia and think, wow 1.5MM. What pay would I have to have to support THAT loan. Equity in a sold home to pay for it is good, until the market re-adjusts like now. Then what – everything is relative.
Oh- and god has nothing to do with it- it’s hard work, integrity and luck that make flipping work (praying you will do anyways as soon as you hit that big OH SH@t)
Foreclosure information can be gotten from the county, in some Texas counties, they are provided for free on the first Tuesday of every month. (Go to the county courthouse and ask). They won’t provide you anything but a list with some information like price. The websites that promise foreclosure information get this for free, then charge others.
-disclaimer – I am not a contractor, only a personal flipper, and actually work in the computer sciences field with a full time job. The only self motivated piece may be – hey I have a triplex for sale anyone interested? (LOL)
Findpropdeals.com. Does anyone know how to unsubscribe? Not sure how I became of a member of this website and I have never been given access. However, I still get charged $29 and some change every month.
Help.
BOY!! Talk about buying the horse before the cart!! Last nite; after watching the “Flipping” infomercial, I ordered the $9.95 (<shipping cost) but declined the ‘offer’ to purchase his $997 program with a 30-day money back guarantee! THEN I checked online, got to this site, and read many of the comments posted here!! WOW!! I have no desire to even listen to the info when it comes (2-4 weeks from now!)! I wished I’d checked him out first before I ordered the $9.95 shipping information! What a scam !!
Apparently Mr. Montelogo has been advertising heavily in Florida about his new course on real estate. I think it’s hilarious, anyone from the SWFL area got his mass mailer?
Dan
Ha ha… Mike Voss you are a stalker. You must have the an admiration for Armando like no other. You act like an ex girlfriend. Or a chick who never gets the guy. Get a life bro, seriously, GET A LIFE!
I am rich!! Thanks to all that gave to me!!
What’s the news from the clown’s court date? Merry Christmas!!
Get this guy a Bra! Freakin Elvis look alike. Anyone can have a show nowdays. Bonehead flips a few houses and now he and wife (Mrs. VP) are all that.
This guy would die in business! Uneducated used car saleman. Did I mention fat ass! Take your money and get lipo, a gym membership or a bra.
This guy is THE most obnoxious person I have ever watched. Today was the 1st time and the last. I don’t know how any one could order anything of his. He wants his people to spend less so he can make more. He’s an idiot. And this show tonight, why should Brent learn Spanish, why doesn’t Mr. Wonderful hire people who can speak or learn English.
He has made his way to California too. He is suppose to be in the area or his “people” are suppose to be in the Los Angeles Jan 09
Does anyone know the best software to use to analyze my flips, specifically to analyze my possible return scenarios and perform what if functions?
I am also looking for something that can generate a report that I can send to my investors if I come across good opportunity.
Thanks for the help,
Alice
I was charged 29.95 also, and was never given any access either… this really upsets me as I can not afford this each month – I have no idea what it is for…assuming something to do with Armando since this is the hate page that came up….I am going to withddraw all my money from my debit card and call the cc company and tell them I lost my card…
If you’re thinking of buying anything off late night TV, do a google search for “complaints against …” (name it).
Then you’ll find out all of the complaints and lawsuits against this infomercial product, BEFORE you get your credit card out to buy it over the phone. There’s always a TV market who saw the infomercial before your area did.
I’ve rehabbed houses since 1986. I’ve also been a Marketing Director & Vice President of Marketing for the last 10 years. ALL of these books, CDs and DVDs infomercial offers to get rich are FAKE.
They want to sell to the down-and-out as they know these people are desperate and will spend an average of $30 on their credit card – THAT IS THEIR TARGET MARKET.
Now they either want you to pay $30 shipping for the “free” book, or hire an “expert” in his boiler room for $4000, all of whom are broke themselves and are simply telemarketers paid by the hour.
If you sign up to be an Affiliate to also sell the infomercial kit, the small print says if you don’t sell $1,000, it WILL be billed to your credit card.
Keep your money in your pocket and your day job, folks, and rehab part-time when you find a deal that works for you.
It’s not rocket science to know that you bought a foreclosure for $22k, rehabbed it ($10k) and sold it for $79k. You don’t need to spend $4000 to learn this.
Put the $4000 down on a foreclosure (always bid 60% of what’s owed) or tax sale house, instead. Remember, you’re buying them as-is, bad foundation, bad roof, and all.
Yes, you can do cosmetic rehab, but when your buyer’s bank wants it inspected before they’ll approve the buyer’s loan, they’ll back out of the deal if it doesn’t pass. Then you’re stuck. Check out CGM Focus Fund — averages 26% return since 2003.
Armando Montelogo package is a complete and total waste of money. I recieved the package and it was basically a series of pamphlets that had font the size of about 26. Its a basically things that are commone sense and that everyone knows already. I returned the package about a couple week after and they refused to accept it and continue to take it off my credit card. If these crooks are unable to recieve payment on a package that is in their possession as week it will be sent to collections and ruin my credit. So please do yourself a favor and dont fall into this stupid trap cause it really isnt worth your time or money i would pay $1 for this. Thats how much of a waste of time and money it is.
THANKS, THANKS, THANKS !!!!!!!!!!!!! I almost take a LOAN (can u believe it ?) to purchase the $997 package of Montelongos’ ebooks. I am so grateful that I found this website. People in desperate situations can do crazy stuff. I believe that people that take advantage of somebodyelse’s disadvantages should burn in hell.
RE: Jennifer
I have been asking Armando to remove my name from his Testimonials section on his website for one year to no avail.
I have NEVER purchased anything from him! The testimonial was fabricated from an email sent to Veronica (about hair and makeup mostly) and selectively pieced together to form a testimonial.
I refused to comment on this board, wanting to give him a chance to deal with this properly. However, one year later, I am still sending emails to him to comply.
It should be noted that I have NOT purchased his program! It’s very misleading and implies that I have purchased and enjoyed his program.
Simply ignoring requests to remove a name from one’s website is unprofessional, and piecing together personal emails to Veronica to form a testimonial is bad business, in my opinion.
I’m sorry for not replying to direct requests for me to comment on this board, but I did want to give him a chance to deal with this issue. I do think a year is long enough, however.
Feel free to ask questions now and I’ll reply to the best of my ability.
Robin
I find it funny that of all the bitchin on here about Armando, none of the bozos like Steve in Texas (if he even lives there) or Mike Voss (knucklehead extraordinaire) have or are publishing anything showing people who are obviously eager to learn and get started in real estate investing & rehabbing, a way to do things via their own course or books. It’s all a bunch of hot air, and a steamy load of runny cat-s**t from two old ladies that have nothing better to do than stir the pot! If Armando is or was such a evil-challenge-to-your-personal-well-being, why not publish something for everyone to read that will tell us how and what you think is the “right way to rehab”? Your probably too scared and cowardice to do something that bold – especially since you are SO AFRAID to post correct info for your crappy hyperlinks….. For me the really hilarious part, is that one of you turkeys is paying for this website, and too foolish to realize the waste of time, money, and resources it is. All the time you spent digging up phantom details about Armando, you probably could have spent half of that doing due diligence on several deals and found more productive things to do with the end result.
Whatza matter, Tim. Things a little slow at your boiler room in Utah? ; )
Tip: Buy houses and buy them from banks. They have them and don’t want them. Tell them you want 100% financing, they’ll deal. That was Donald Trump yesterday on MSNBC.
Well said Tim (Post 2018). You’ve probably also noticed that the website link that Mike Voss provided to his website is nonexistant. His explanation being that he is sick of a——- like us. But how could he know that everyone is an as—–?! He has never proven his credentials just talked a lot about them and of course mentioned the nonexistant website.And you’re right nothing has ever been published on the “right” way to rehab. As I’ve said before while some of their points are valid for any of us that dare disagree, we are insulted or accused of being Armondo, or his friends. It’s sad really, and again I’ll say it, some of the people are in serious need of counseling for their mental health issues, Their hatred is unhealthy.
You’re a real dumbfuck, Tim. The hilarious part is actually that you are so fucking stupid that you don’t even know what this website is about or who runs it. A guy named Mark Lyon runs this website, idiot. It says that right at the bottom of this very page, shit for brains. And there are numerous posts of info from the people you mention like their emails, etc.
I’m laughing at your ‘tarded ass!!!
Yeah, right Armando, like anyone else on the planet uses the word “knucklehead”, you asswipe. Just like you used it that time a guy called into your conference call and made your bitch ass cry in front of everyone listening! You spew he same old shit time after time. Why don’t you tell everyone how you’re trying to make pilots now that A&E fired you? Or tell them about your recent re-arrest on new charges. How about I post your mugshot?! Or tell them how you’re running from your court date in TX on your arrest last year. I’m sure I’m not the only legal/debt collector pursuing you full time. All you ever do is come on here and spew lies about whose website this is and talk shit about people who don’t even appear to post here anymore while you’re running from the law every day and have so many bad debts, creditors, and foreclosures that you’ll be hunted like Bernard Madoff soon by all your ripoff victims who are hounding your every step. I also love that bullshit Twitter account where you pretend like you’re living large and doing great – keep telling everyone that BS and maybe you’ll believe it soon too! You’re a bitch and a thief, Armando, so just fuck off and die already and quit fake posting here. I hope I see you on the street sometime ‘cuz I’d love to beat your ass down for pure pleasure and the good of the world. Lots of people looking for you, pal, so keep running.
I find it unfortunate that seemingly intelligent people with valid points could totally invalidate anything they have to say by insulting others with an opposing opinion.
Swearing at posters using language such as #2022 has, towards someone who is doing nothing more than giving their opinion serves no purpose other than to lower you to a level that is not only rude but unflattering to you as well. I find it sad that the moderator will even allow such language on this site. And ‘yeahright’ your hatred is palpable, perhaps therapy? Or just some classes
on how better to use the english language. I often find that those with inferior language skills will resort to threats, bullying and swearing.
I cannot believe all of the negativity and hostility in these posts!!!
Amando is a generous and compassionate man who is simply trying to help those less fortunate by sharing his secrets that only he and his multimillionaire friends know!!!!!!
When he was broke, driving to San Antonio with only a few dollars of borrowed money, he promised Veronica that if he ever made it….he would dedicate himself to helping others make it. A very noble pursuit from a very noble man!!!!!!!
I, for one, really believe in Armando.
In fact I’m totally psyched. I just received his ‘free’ (talk about generous)..first five pages of his ebook. If the rest of the material is as educational as these five pages the package is priceless!!!!!
I am sending my 997.00 today…and can’t wait to get started….hopefully with the chance to work personally with Armando and perhaps his multimillionaire friends!!!
I think you are all jealous that what is working for Mr.Montelongo is not working for you! Keep up the good work Montelongo’s From Ontario Canada
An update since no one else seems to be posting here anymore.
I got an email from the man saying the charges were dismissed and that he was now planning on suing the lady who started the whole things.
Yeah funny how he paid the money to her to get the charges dropped if he was “innocent”. Scumbag. He wasn’t innocent, the DA just had more important things to do. Plenty of other legal matters pending against him so I’m sure he’ll find his way into prison soon enough.
armando Montelongo coaching cost me $10,000.00 of Debt and push me into bankruptcy.
I feel sorry for the people that are so pissed off on here. The truth is that you are pissed off about how your own lives have turned out. Change your attitude shitheads!
Oops, I almost forgot. If you respond to this statement or react to my comment personally. You are exactly the person I am talking about.
For those that are using profanity on this site… CLEAN IT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No ONE wants to read YOUR TRASH> Have some Respect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
People.. time to get a life.. you are all going to be losing your jobs soon. Get your resumes ready. You have bigger problems to deal with..
I just found out that he and or his marketing company are apparently using questionable tactics to sell his program. I ordered his book on the free with shipping promotion and was VERY careful not to order the program. There’s no way I would invest that kind of money right off. So I get the book and get charged the appropriate amount on my card for the book, but today, I get an e-mail supposedly from him thanking me for ordering his program and that has already shipped. There’s no charge on my account for it yet. I will return the package unopened, but if he takes liberties with my credit card, I consider that not much short of a scam.
This is a follow-up to my post earlier today. I have received an e-mail from “The Office of Armando Montelongo” saying the order confirmation was a mistake and that I would receive no more shipments. They’re insinuating it’s a late e-mail confirming my previous order.
Armondo is KING and Veronica is HOT!!!
I have tried the avenues reccommended by Armando, but be careful before you start. What used to work doesn’t work anymore. “Skin in the game” is the new battle cry of the lenders. If you don’t have at least 20% of the cash, don’t even try to do a deal. It just doesn’t work.
It’s a great idea, but unfortunately, it doesn’t work.
From Armando’s twitter blog.
“Here is my stimulus plan. 1) Get a frkn education on how money works 2)Stop whining and get off ur butt and take action! 3) Help a fr ”
Gee, does any of this sound familiar? Like “stop whining” ? See Mike Voss’s post about Armando Shill Notation. Man, is Armando stupid – he can’t even hide his tells when they’re pointed out to the world on a website! Wouldn’t want to play poker against Mr. Voss.
Armando is in the San Francisco Bay Area this week. I talked with him last night and his staff is selling a three day seminar for $2995 on how to help people who are going into foreclosure. THIS SEEMS TO BE A NEW PROGRAM HE HAS !! His staff says that it is a program where you arrange a deal with the person in foreclosure and you can make some money on the deal while helping them get out of their foreclosure house. They sware that it is a win-win-win situation for everyone involed. This sounds too good to be true. One local experienced real estate agent said that it was for real. Is this for real or just hipe?????????
There seems to be several people out there doing what Armando is doing. I see 4-5 different guys, each with their own “get rich quick” systems. My question is this: If a person has, indeed, become rich selling real estate (or anything else, for that matter)why are they so interested in ensuring that everybody else becomes rich too? I smell a rat!
RE: Post #255
Hey Mike, I just want to clarify that your quote is actually from Victor Hugo and not Confucius. I just caught this site after watching a FTH episode featuring the Montelongos and was curious about Armando. I appreciate everyone’s input. I can’t believe that with all the controversy that surrounds this guy, A&E continues to air these episodes.
I just spent two days reading the 2026 posts above after watching the “Cat House” episode, curious to see what legal troubles they had with the apparent hazmat situation at the house. Mike, Steve, and boysun I feel like you have done an excellent job with your posting of public information and the fact that the Montelongo missionaries couldn’t refute the first bit of it. I do do truly feel sorry for the people who did not have the common sense to investigate this man, prior to their writing the check. I still watch the show for what it is for entertainment and NOTHING more. I am also going out on a limb that the recent decline in posting here is either due to a class action suit (against AM) or the people who have been compiling the information are now under contract?
I am one of the many “mommentarily stupid” people that went to one of his American Entrepreneur Conferences. It was pure “pie in the sky” drival. We were promised $250 in free gas and it has been a fight all along. Now the phone number is disconnected and there is a big article in my newspaper about all the people being ripped off. We have spennt more on gas using a name recognized gas station, followed all of their rules and now I realize that trusting a character like Armondowas insane…what was I thinking?
wow has everyone finally lost interest?
How do i start fliping houses? just trying to start a new life…For me and my fam…
Bummer, I was hoping he’d go to jail and do a reality show from there.
No one likes it when someone else is doing good, seems to be jelousy at it’s best.
most people would agree when it comes to money and people are sitting around and doing nothing it would make you mad, and if you watch all the other shows whether its Rudy or than or brian when it comes to making decisions you need to be firm or you will see how lazy people can get while they are working,
you guys are just a bunch of hatters and wishhhhhh you had the montelongos’s knowledge..first of all, you’re so pathetic that you need to buy any material on how to make money you need to have skills for this and now you’re all angry? lmfao
haha all you here talking seem to be white? could be wrong but it seems like it, when a hispanic has success its bad ha its funny but we are coming up i’ve followed his methods and now im living it up, life is great so is the MONEY!!!
Armando is a good friend and business associate of mine and his attorney will be filing civil lawsuits shortly against everyone in this and other internet forums that have slandered and libeled his name. Have a nice day.
Troy,
You and the other Mando worshipers really need to pull you head out of the sand.
I am not jealous of his success. I only point out his deceit and lies.
Also, A&E was part of his scams, they failed to do any fact checking on most the homes showcased as successful flip.
NONE that I research were done in the time frame claimed in the show only TWO properties were sold to actual home buyers. The rest were transferred (refinanced) to straw buyers or made into rentals. Some properties were originally bought by other than Armando (straw buyers) because his credit is worst off than when he rolled into San Antonio on his last tank of gas 6 years ago.
He is far more than more in debt than ever in his life.
There is no evidence of he and/or his bother David flipping 25-30 homes a month.
In April 2007, he had over 20 properties foreclosed in Bexar county.
He has a pending lawsuit over the “straw buyer” sale of homes featured on “The Rookie” and “Little House in the Hood”.
Numerous properties with unpaid property taxes including 30,000 dollars on Rancho Montelongo.
His real estate transactions in Bexar county are leveraged to the hilt with sub-prime or hard money loans. Its ironic Armando bitches about tiny construction overruns yet willing to piss away or be accountable for THOUSANDS in “loan shark” interest payments (much as 18%) or pay hundred if not THOUSANDS in penalties and interest on unpaid property taxes. If this guy is a multi multi millionaire as he claims in his radio ads, he wouldn’t be taking out these kinds of loans.
His mentoring/coaching company recieved an “F” grade by the Better Business Bureau in Utah.
I could go on but let me add the recent tax liens I discovered.
Federal tax lien file against Mandoman Management for 78,675.50 on 6/11/2008.
State lien same company for 1330.08 file on 10-24-2007.
And State Tax lien against Montelongo Disaster Management for 1,165.67 file on 10/19/2007.
Both of these companies were operated by Armando. All of these liens were filed in Bexar county.
I’m sure there will be more forthcoming.
If you want to invest in his overpriced and useless seminars, coaching, and books, you been warned.
If you think you can create wealth by taking out double digit interest only loans and hope to find a buyer or find a reliable qualified renter in this economy, GOOD LUCK!
Out of the Flip This House episodes, I by far enjoy the ones with Armando in them the most. He is very entertaining. Just today I did a search on his name and it seems like the guy is a scam artist. Why am I not surprised? Because I am the king of skeptics, and I wouldn’t buy a get-rich-quick program to save my life. People are idiots. Armando is entertaining, and I hope they will keep airing his episodes. I think they are all old reruns. Good luck flipping houses today after the subprime crisis.
I believe in Armondo and have just purchased his package for $350. I’ll let everyone know how it turns out…but i have faith that it’s going to work for me!!!
I can’t believe how much time some of the idiots on this site have wasted just to hate on somebody. Seriously, it’s just a tv show! If you don’t like it don’t watch. As far as his “program” goes, just use common sense and judgement like you should with anything else. I’m gonna leave it at that. Good luck in all that you do!
Mr. Lickor (nice name),
Read my comments (#2050). If it was just that, a show, I would care less, but he uses the show to showcase as successful flips, WHICH IS AN OUT RIGHT LIE!
As for James Rockford,
Junior can saber rattle all he wants, my research is documented (public records) and can be verified. My right to free speech is protected and people have the right to know the facts about this scam artist.
Cindy i ordered the same book and they tried to send me the program to. It better not be a scam cause im returning it, and for Grow Up…. FUCK U
I worked for three years with, no for, but with Armando Montelongo. I finally ended our business relationship because in all my years of doing business i have never come across anyone as deceitful and dishonest as Armando. Many times i tried to talk to him about his ways and his exact comment to me was, and i quote “I as long i am making a profit i dont care about anyone esle”. Now, there are far more instances, documents, and records i can post and make public and i am sure that at some point i will. All i know is that what comes around goes around, and the piper always collects. Just for the record, i have made a lot of money in real estate myself so i know exactly what i am talking about!
This has been some of the most intertaining shit I have ever read. Dave Voss you are the man! Thanks for all the good information
I have been getting into investment properties slowly but surely. Recently I heard about some guy named Bob Diamond who is advertising “buying houses out of bankruptcy and foreclosure” The website for coaching looks the same as Montelongo’s. Anyone have any insight? Is this guy a sham as well?
Looks like the Armando crew figured out how to either mask their ip address or are posting their comments in different states. Concealing an ip is not that difficult Armando and co.
It’s obvious that the posts supporting Armando are either on their payroll or them themselves. I can’t believe that anyone has/would give these people a dime. They’re far from intelligent or skilled they’re just scam artists and hustlers.
Interestingly enough, the phone number posted above is truly his number. It went straight to voicemail and said that he was in Disneyland and would not be answering the phone. You could hear a woman laughing in the background. Safe to say that he may have fled to CA back to his parents garage. I believe there are bankruptcy filings that may relate to them there as well.
I just heard a radio infomercial on this guy today and found this site. Bottom line, stay away. All I had to see is all these hard working folks who took the bait and got taken advantage of. The infomercial sounds great and since I rarely watch TV, I didn’t know who he was. From the post here it seems like he has an entertaining show, but remember: it’s just a show. Long ago I was deceived by a celebrity pushing a product that did not deliver and since then I do not trust TV or radio personalities or I do my research on them. This guy pushes his program using his TV show which was mentioned, but remember this is no different from other celebrities that endorse a flawed product. I am Latino and I know that dishonesty comes in all colors and packages. I will also call the radio station and complain. If we all do this, we may save others some grief. After reading lots of posts, my conclusion is: STAY AWAY and thanks for all the posts, it saved me lots of time, grief and money $$$$$$$$$$. THANK YOU
I don’t understand how A&E can waste tape on this fool who only treats people like garbage…
Armondo’s the man.
I haven’t read too many comments about the poor people that get stuck with the so-called “improved” flipped properties by Armondo’s crew (of the episode-changes every week because he’s stiffed the previous crew). These people have had their dreams of home ownership shattered permanently as they have had to deal with banks refusing to remortgage as properties haven’t passed inspection. At some point, the covering up of severe problems will become evident. Naiive people will often take what appears to be a pretty picture (smooth walls, nice counter tops) as evidence of a job well done. Armando has taken advantage and exploited on this to his advantage. He now has used this for his next career (selling his “how to flip for profit” systems which I have found out if you go for the “mentoring” can cost you in excess of $20k). It is obviously is a SCAM!
F##K These guys!!!
I bought the master course of $397.00 expecting a DVD course and it was a CD audio course!!! They claimed in the advertising that that course would be ALL YOU NEEDED TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN FLIPPING, but since I bought the course, I started getting more offers “complementing his course” OF COURSE, TO SELL YOU MORE AND MORE BOOKS!!! So what they are doing is making people buy book after book, course after course and making them filthy rich every day. May they rot in hell, SCAMMERS!!! Also, they charged me twice in the same month on my credit card!! F/U!!!
to “Mondosux” & “YeahRight” and the other tards, you really need some Hooked On Phonics. It case you didn’t read the VERY FIRST BLOG POSTING (#1) and it title, this whole blog was “supposed” to be about if anyone had purchased Armando’s Home Study Course, and somehow the whole blog derailed like a room of toddlers that ate all the sugar in the world – completely OFF TOPIC. Now all that is posted are the same old boring, non-sense, lack of validity, crap sputtering, dumb whiners and crybabies that have eluded from any real evidence to support the original blog posting, but now rather complain about how Armando farted and they missed the smell they have always dreamed of. Too Bad So Sad whiners and haters! If you purchased his product, leave some feedback. If you didn’t, shut that big gaping hole under your nose cuz there are enough flies in the world. No one wants to hear about how you missed your opportunity to gain any amount of wealth, or how your lack of leverage in the real estate world kept you from prying your head out of your ass. BOO freaking HOO……..
James Rockford, I hope that it comes to fruition, as I would support his endeavors regarding this issue 1000%. All of the bozos in here have cost him some money, and I am sure that if another posing never got admitted to this site, the pond would still have ripples for months to come.
#2046 to #2048: You are right! This website is filled with posts from racists and jealous people who cant stand that a Hispanic family is getting ahead! Armando is rich, famous, good looking, and has a hot wife they’d all like to be like Mondo! But they are so filled with hate jealous and racism they wont admit Mondo is the greatest real estate investor in history!
Everyone should buy Mondo’s course and his mentering then they could all be rich but no instead they hate. I thought when Obama was elected all the hate and racism would stop but no I see it has not.
I don’t know if what they’re pulling is a scam.
I’d rather see the other programme about house flipping which is hosted by a real gentleman in a helicopter. He has personel who helps him etc. I don’t know his name, but in his shows you actually see the finished houses being sold. I’m from Holland and I just watch these shows to get ideas for refurbishing my own house.
Jeremy wrote reply:
Bod Diamond is the real deal when it comes to real estate investments. I have personally attended some of his workshops and he provides enormous content and easy to understand lectures. The only knock I see with Bob, is he uses the same mentoring company out of Utah. Premier mentoring has a horrendous record with BBB. High sales pitch and terrible customer service issues. Now I must also mention, Bob has a small crew that teaches Real estate outside of the Premier co. That crew is legite and offers good packages at more reasonable $$. Good Luck
IF you order the coaching package make sure you want it because they only get 3 days to cancel it. if you do try they talk you out of it so when the tree days are up to late. Beside it would take something like 60 days to go thought the entire corse.
we heard him on a local radio show,
to be short. we called to get the FREE book, where told we had to get the package
and if we kept it would cost 69.00 for 5
payments. we said we only wanted the free
book, she said to keep the book and return
the package in 30 days.
5/18 package came today. the book is almost at the bottom of package. so if i keep the book and return the rest they will say it not complete. sending it all back and again requesting the FREE book
which i paid for. now going to have to pay for return postage on this. SCREWED.
still want my free book, should be my choice if i want to order any thing more
not forced to take it to recev. a book that is surpose to be free.
2066 why when you do not agree with someone you are called a racist.
Wow, I clicked on here for the heck of it, not thinking that it would be updated!
I was on here in spring of ’07 and after 600-700+ posts left, having read enough to know that I wouldn’t watch this guy again….
I was only wondering who the current cast was, as I haven’t watched in in ages and I found this site again!
Nice to see some familiar names and keep up the good work….
I guess he never went to jail?
Aside fro the 3 day right to cancel is there any way to get out of this aggreement? The course cost was $13,760 and 3 days isnt enough to know that the information wont work at this point in time.( OR ANY PROBABLY) All it is is a glorified telemarker training as they want you to call private lenders who could be the waitress in the greasy spoon diner to intrest them in a great investment. I wonder how the people feel who work for his company, do they really think preying on people who are desparate and don’t even know it is the right thing to do?
Everyone wants a success in their lives and want to believe in something to get them there, but this is not it. Dont bother..sounds like Armando is worse off than me, and in that case he probably doesnt have the funds to refund me the money. At worst I will have ruined credit for a few yrs. I’M GLAD IT WASN’T MY OWN HARD CASH.
$13,760 for his 3-day scaminar? WOW! Thsi guy makes John Beck and the infomercial scammers look like pikers.
Just cought the info-mercial and had watched Armando on reruns on A&E. Went to the web to do a little research and found this web site. THANK YOU!!!! You all have saved me alot of money that I don’t have.
–
PS: I have finished two complete gut rehabs by working on them myself, broke even on first, doubled my money on second. Bought used house for 125K, no rehab, lived there 3 years, sold for 168K, that’s the way to go!
Now see if you had bought Mondo’s course you would likely have doubled your money on all of those houses!
OK people you do not need these people or any of their services to flip houses. I have been doing it for 10+ years and make a really nice living. In this day and age with a tremendous amount of foreclosure properties hitting the market, find a good realtor to work with and they will find below market properties that are in need of renovation with a good amount of upside. You will need to find a really good GC and crew to work with. With contractors looking for work these days you can usually find one that would be willing to partner up with you. Keep the selling price below the market and if you do a good job with the renovation the house will sell. It is very simple and you do not this guys books to make money. The only one that makes money from these books are the author and the publisher. I complete 2 to 3 renovations per month. I GC my jobs and hire the subs myself. There is no way anone can buy, renovate and sell 20-30 homes a month, it is virtually impossible. If anyone needs any information or help y0ou can contact me at calvaryassetmanagement@gmail.com I will be more then happy answering anyone’s questions about the business.
I purchased the DVD’s for my husband last Father’s Day & never rec’d them. I called & told the company that we had problems with our mail & things were delivered to other houses that we never received. The kid called me a liar, yelled at me on the phone & then we got collection notices in the mail. Of course I ignored them because they are real morons!
Hey Aztlan, did you buy his whole package yet? You could be rich too and come back on here with proof about being racism
After reading this string of posts, I decided to check out Armandomontelongo.com for myself.
I looked up one of the people in his testimonials, Monet Fogarty, because she has an unusual name, so I figured that she’d be easy to find. Here’s what I found:
http://www.preforeclosurenetwork.net/Details.aspx?ID=2008-0652852
http://www.rehablist.com/fixer_upper_house.aspx?ListingID=72822
I guess a couple of foreclosures will eat up that “$245,000 profit” pretty quickly…
**Note: There seems to be TWO Monet Fogartys, one of whom is a photographer who is certainly not the same woman as in the testimonial. To find the info on the correct Monet (I assume) I googled Monet Fogarty Real Estate
My question is, with effort and care, is it feasible to make a significant profit through flipping homes in the right markets? I have every intent of purchasing and developing properties for positive cash flow through rental and appreciation, but I lack a significant enough amount of starting cash to get a good hold on some decent rental properties. I was originally planning on getting an owner/occupant loan (for the lower rates and less money required down) on a duplex, and living in one unit while renting the other. After I started looking a little further into it, I started the feel that flipping houses might give me enough of a boost to start with a slightly larger property with greater returns.
Assuming I conducted thorough research and planning, would I likely be successfull buying and flipping a succession of houses and then using the profits to start my rentals with a small apartment building? or would I be better off starting with duplex and working my way up over the years to come?
http://www.floridahomeflipping.com/?page_id=5
I know there is no such thing as a get-rich-quick-without-having-to-work-at-it plan, but is it possible to be have a get-starting-capital-faster-for-future-investments plan?
To post 2046, 2048,2066. I agree with 2071! Take a good hard look in the mirror before spouting racist charges. There are racist of all creeds and color, do I like that, no, am I a racist? NO! You have Caucasian, Hispanic, African, Asian racist all over the world, not just the U.S.A. I’ve found through the years the true racist are the selfish and jealous people spouting hate. You have rich, poor, and lazy racist everywhere. I don’t choose that lifestyle, that’s one’s own prerogative not mine. One’s ethnicity does not conclude one to be racist based on opinion or judgement. Racism is based solely on hate and anger. One giving an opinion on a disagreement should not be looked at as such. If so, one could claim AM is a racist by talking bad and down about the other real estate guru’s. I’ve done well for myself, but would like to get into flipping myself, but I also do research not too walk into a mess of “scams!” Either you like his course offer or not, but to slander him and or others by race is childish. I am Christian, so I look at the everyone as a whole being “we are all one race, the human race.” Someones choice to look at specifically one’s ethnic background and say they are better and will be better off with that view is narcissism. I will research more to make my own decision and conclusion, but will not involve my time into race bashing, which is a waste of precious time. GOD Bless you all and well wishes.
I ordered his free materials. I have gotten phone calls off and on for 6 months since. Always from aggressive sales people who ask questions that are both leading and imply that I’m a fool for not wanting to pursue anything with Armando. I just got off the phone with one of them again today. I always tell them never to call again. They always call. Just the nature of the calls is enough to turn me off of his company. Oh, and they always deny that they’ve called so many times….It’s always that their records show they’ve only called once before. AND the opening question is ALWAYS “So why did you order the materials if you weren’t going to do anything with them?” I always tell them that we ordeed them to research the company and then decided to do something different. I just WISH I were quick enough to ask the question along with the guy when he asks it…. Sigh.
Im from outside the US and am only knowledgable on US real estate market via the news etc…Im surprised to see that people are talking flipping in what seems to be the worst real estate market in US history. Am I wrong? Is there profit to be made when banks are giving homes away?
A third-generation builder and general contractor in a traditionally tough market, I was reputed to have been the Honors Graduate of the, “HEY! YOU, you sonofabitch!” School of Construction Management.
In watching Armando roll around San Antonio like a loose cannon, I find it amazing that he has his own natural teeth.
I ride people hard and often put them away wet, but even the most timid weenie of my subs would have bashed his head in long ago…
What’s pathetic is the amount of time you fuckfaces spend “researching” someone elses life instead of living your own. And THEN you waste MORE of your life saying the most stupid catchphrases to prove your point. Y’all even have your own tiny god (um, Mike?) to idolize. Such sad, little people you are. And when you die, guess what, your name becomes inconsequential, erased, gone from history, all because you cared too much about a strangers negativity rather than making your own life infamous.
What’s irritating is that I was LOOKING for sites like this before I got involved with this guy. He reduced his price to about $400, with a 30 day free inspection deal, so I tried it. Wife said not to, so I returned the stuff like he wanted, but then a month later he claims he didn’t get it back. Without a tracking # it looks like I’m stuck for the price, and I don’t even get the package! I’ve NEVER needed that tracking # before! Ever! Grrrrr… well, if he wants that money, it’ll have to come with as much bad press for him as I can generate.
To Everyone sending for the supposed FREE BOOK. It’s not free either. I sent for the book and without my permission they started billing my credit for 6 months and 29.00 per month. I couldn’t believe it that they would do that to me. I mean I don’t even have a job. We weren’t even able to have Christmas here because of that incident. So PLEASE be careful because I’ve lost my faith in Armondo. Thought he was a better person than he is.
I don’t care if its staged or not,he’s a “con” or not, it’s reality tv which we all now it NOT reality, we need to remember this people, besides they were my favorite ones to watch
I went to one of Armondo’s ” semenars” and after three hours you were told that you can buy the package for 5,995.00 but if you ” pull the trigger” and do it now (last night) that the cost will be only 2,995.00. I watch his show, i listened to all the info and paid the 2,995.00. I cancled it this morning after reading all this and some other sites. I know there can be good money to be made but how can the ” little guy” do it?
I am glad to have found this website. The first time I saw Armando on Flip This House was a house that had major mold and a drainage problem around the side of the house. Armando manipulated the measurement of the affected mold area so that he didn’t have to have a professional rehab it. Didn’t seem to care about the health effects that anyone whom bought the house would suffer. I was hoping that someone would turn him into the appropriate authorities, but it looks like this site has done a pretty good job exposing his dirtly laundry. I feel sorry for people that have purchased properties from his substantial loser because they probably have big money problems that they will never be able to afford to fix.
Go to the local library and get any books you need on real estate investing for free. Everything you need is right there. No credit card numbers or ripoffs required, and if it doesn’t work for you, it didn’t cost a cent. Just ask Donald Trump how to make your first $40 million. ANSWER: Your daddy gives you a $100 million to get started. “There’s a sucker born every minute,” says P T Barnum. You don’t want to be a sucker. Do you?
Armando doesn’t know what he is doing. Doesn’t matter if he is Latino, Asian or Caucasian. I like seeing Latinos succeed since I am Latino myself. I have owned my own business and know how most people do not want to see you succeed; funny thing is more then 3/4 of the haters were Latino. I have also known people in the Real Estate business and a few of them have served time for similar actions AM has been reported to have done. All it takes is ONE foreclosure with a straw buyer or unhappy buyer who felt cheated and the guy will have a number at one of the Federal Correctional Institutions in this country. Transgressions from 2006-now are catching up to people and the Law is being heavy handed in sentencing. This guy is an idiot and started selling books because he knew he could no longer flip homes and these “types” of people (seen tons of them) are always out to create the “big hustle”.
PS Feel bad for his family, kids are the ones who end up suffering due to the poor decisions of their parent(s). his wife seems nice enough, looks great, too bad some girls are into douche bags.
I was an idiot to try the product. Then I returned it before the trial period but they said that the product was returned late and charged me $79.99, put a block on my phone number so that I would not be able to call. Anyway, I was smart enough to go to my bank and put a claim and got my money back cause I used my bank card. Anybody can get their money back this was if you claim within 60 days at your bank. That program is a rip off of Russ Whitney. Don’t waste your money.
As I write this, a repeat of the episode where Armando destroys the garage because he wanted to drive the backhoe and begins writing his BS book, is playing on the TV.
What an idiot.
At one time in my life I had thought about flipping houses, but decided that the market was coming to an end (when everybody starts flipping homes, TV shows appear, and everyone is writing a real estate riches books, you should realize the party is almost over) so I decided to build a website empire.
This episode made me curious about whatever become of Armando. I suspected that given the collapse of the housing market his “success” (sarcasm) must have come down on him like one of his crappy homes falling on him during a tornado.
Never liked his arrogance, his attitude, or the way he screwed many of those he used to “renovate” homes.
What goes around, comes around. Maybe he’ll learn a bit of humility. I learned mine in the late 80’s after a bankruptcy. Hopefully, he’ll find another opportunity to act differently, should he get a second chance at wealth.
I “just” started watching the show & did a generic search on the Montelongos & ran into this site. The show is good to watch when nothing is on Sat mornings. Armondo had me sold on house flipping but now that I read this…
I take the show for entertainment value, I really enjoy it. However this weekends show was the first time I show them pushing their book and program. It really looks from the outside as another get rich quick scam. I HOPE that someone made $ off of their purchase. I will continue to enjoy the program but will start asking myself if it seems real.
Did you see this week where he drove into the little carport thing like 5x’s with teh tractor on accident? LOL!
Did you ever consider you may know less than you thought? That the amount that you do not know, in other words, exceeds what you actually know? That would more or less render even the known items irrelevant. Let me explain.
Armando claims to have flipped 1000 houses in 5 years, also 30 per month. Those figures are off by a factor of 2, quick, grab the whistle and blow!! Or, consider, he may be keeping track of gross figures. How many houses bought vs. sold in a given month. Most projects will take a week or longer, meaning you could have 5-10 crews working full-time. That may be why you never saw the ame rew twice. So, perhaps he averaged 15 houses per month over a 5 year period, and peaked at greater than 30 houses per month several times?
Could be… Perhaps, but I am not convinced.
What about all these reports of houses being bought (on the show) for one figure, and the chain of title shows a different amount? Do you think that could be a way of circumventing lending restrictions? If a lender paying the seller greater than the agreed-upon price, and the seller kicking back all or most of the overage to Armando, he does not have to work out of his pocket. This seems to be a good strategy, but no, 5 years of experience could not have possibly taught Armando anything useful like that, just some screaming and feces hurling like you people. Besides, we all know what a no-good, selfish, stupid, arrogant puppy killing, kitten smashing con-artist SOB he is. Clearly, it’s a pack of lies.
Well, we can all fall back on one true fact. Bashing someone that has more than us will make us feel better.
I take comfort in a different fact. Caveat emptor. Buyer’s remorse does NOT give anyone the right to attack the seller. There is a 30-day money back guarantee on the package. If you are STUPID enough to send something that valuable without being able to track it, you get what you deserve.
The program (I have it) works. If you use it, it will work for you. If you bitch about it and do nothing but complain that it does not work for you, then you have not proven a thing, except in your teeny tiny mind. These organs, minds, are like parachutes, they only work when they are open. Get a hobby. Better yet,if you need more money get a part time job. You are clearly above taking advice from anyone else. So go to the zoo and pick on someone your own IQ.
PS I really don’t care if Armando cheats on hs wife, smacks her around, treats contractors like the dirtbags half of them are, or if he drives a stoopid Hummer (I hate them). I care about how he made his money, and if he will show me how to do the same thing. If it’s likeley that it will work, if the instructions are simple enough to fllow and detailed enough to work, and if I can get my money back if I change my mind after examining it, tat’s all I care about. So have fun putting $120 of gasinto yor Hummer Armando. I will continue splurging on plus for my old VW.
don’t bilieve this guy armando montelongo he’s a BIG SCAM..HE GOT WITH $1,297.00
I AM ASKING FOR MY MONEY. THEY PROMISE SOMETHING THAT IS NOT TRUE, I CALL THEM AT THE SECOND DAY THAT I BOUGHT THE TAX LIEN CURSE. I ASKED TO CANCEL THE CURSE THE ONLY THING THAT THEY TOLD ME WAS..SOMEBODY WAS GOING TO RETURN YOU CALL, BUT THEY NEVE DID AND CALL THEM BACK THE NEXT DAY IT WAS THE SAME THING AND THEY SAID, THAT THE TIME FOR ME TO RETURN THE TAX LIEN CURSE IT WAS ALREADY GONE… BUT THEY REFUSE TO GIVE IT BACK…HE’S A BIG SCAM.. DON’T BILIVE ANYTHING
I can’t believe my wife signed up for his Absolutely FREE book and DVD which costs more than $350.00. I think we need to ban together and sue this guy and pile on so many suits that it will be cheaper for him to quit than to defend himself. What a SCAMMER!
I am amazed at all of the posts with incorrect spelling and all of the “victims” I bet you all voted for Obama too.
As an attorney, I can tell you that any misleading or deceptive product advertisements need to be reported to the attorney general of your state. There are consumer protection laws to protect you. I used to watch Armando’s show and was shocked at how he “treated” (mistreated) his interns. They worked for free in order to learn from Armando and he made fun of them and intentionally made them look bad and embarassed them and admitted they had to learn on their own. THEN, he wants us to believe on his infomercials that he made this alleged promise to Veronica that when he made it, he would teach others the secrets of his success. What a bunch of crap! Armando doesn’t want to help anyone but himself. What goes around comes around, and he will one day be broke again and no one will want to help him.
I just read the March, 2009 comment from someone calling himself “James Rockford” and alleging he is a business associate of Armando’s. I doubt that he is really an attorney or he would know that there is no liability for expressing one’s own personal opinion, and second, the truth is a complete defense to a libel suit. It was probably posted by Armando in a lame attempt to scare people into refraining from exercising their freedom of speech rights. That’s my opinion and I respect it!
If 500 people purchase the package,5 will do well out of shear dumb luck. I own many packages from almost all of the current Real Estate Guru’s as of 9-15-2009
and have learned a little from each, what to do as well as what not to do. However I have learned the most from reading a book a week,spending 2 hours a day for talking to Realtors, Mortgage and Finance brokers as well as contractors and other investors like my self,until I found the first “PERFECT DEAL”. All of which agree,there are no two deals alike,money is the hardest thing to find, local people can help as much as hurt and you will learn as you go. If you cant afford to purchase a book a week then chances are you are heading for money and legal trouble fast. I found a couple to help me get started at kimandtimproperties@yahoo.com and now i own 3 properties and am currently working on #4. Anyone can blaze a trail its the followers who get burned.
fist of all what do obama have to do with it, Because of bush that’s why we in this mess, second don’t knock it until you try it armando montelongo i’m very inpressing with him.
Anyone force to pay for the Aramando Montelongo Flip & Grow Rich Program after they sent it back in the mail?
I am filing a lawsuit against
Armando’s organization and need as much information about this business rip-off tactics as possible.
Thanks
I have worked with investors. There is a clear difference between Flipping a propety and actually remodeling a property. Remodeling may cost more, take more time, there may be issues that may be resolved and profits margins are less. But it is the proper way of doing business and establishing a long term trust. Knowing what I know, there is no way you can be forceful, have attitude issues,and real contractors and licensed proffesionals do not work pennies either. Even in these times, there is money being made. Just keep in mind High Profits = High risks. My advise calculate your risks yourself and DONOT get greedy. Take time, learn the business and do not expect to be a millioniare in five years.Above all stay Humble, key to success in Business.Wise Men make mistakes,fools repeat them.
And also, Armando, if you are reading this… Everybody goes through good and bad times. Focus on all the positives you have done and learn from your mistakes. It is a human nature to judge people. Some may appreciate what you do ,others might not. Stay focused, park the nice automobile collection in garage,and start driving that F-150 you had. You are quite famous now anyways.
I bought this book, it is a real blunder. His Customer care representatives are stupids. They are charging me 29.95 everymonth from my credit cards. I never contacted them for their service. I am going through my credit card company to compalint against them and get the money back they charged.
In response to “Amazed at People’s” comment from Sept. 27, 2009: I have to ask if you can even speak proper English. You sound like an idiot and write like one too. You OBVIOUSLY voted for Obama.
I would bet 1000 bucks that you also have no idea about how he is planning to save social security. I bet you don’t even understand his new proposed health care plan, or the reason socialism fails. I bet you have a hard time understanding Dr. Suess’ Cat in the Hat too, though. Uneducated, ignorant, uninformed, and misguided people like you are the exact reason why Obama was elected.
Also, before standing up for a person you must somewhat respect (like B. Hussein Obama), respect them enough to learn and use proper grammar while defending them. It only makes them look bad when you defend them while talking like an idiot. I suggest you learn more about the usage of VERBS and ADJECTIVES because your past statement lacked the usage of verbs, which means some of your statements actually lacked any action (much like Obama’s administration). In one of your “sentences” you use an adjective in place of what should have been a verb.
Your statement is a great example of the kind of stupidity that elected Obama into office.
I came to this site to learn about people’s experience with Armondo Montelongo’s program. I’m sorry this site could not shed any light on its worth. I do enjoy his show though.
I purchased his book and read it cover to cover. Thats when I was not answer the very persistent calls from his company. They are not discouraged by being told to stop calling. The calls keep coming.
As far as the book it can be summed up real quick.
Use millionaire friends money to buy property.
Other than that advise their is zero substance. The rest is a suspect story about his rise from rags to riches.
Yeah, he’s famous, for being a douche bag criminal engaged in numerous methods of defrauding suckers.
For Julia #2107, this is a very interesting site. I wish I had seen it before I got involved with the course. When I read that the materials were elementary and way below my current knowledge, I had already been contacted by a coaching person. I put her off and said I was returning the materials. To make along story short, they are charging me for the priviledge of returning and then restocking the materials which were never used. I will be trying to work with my credit card company now. I was threatened that if I messed with their charges, that THEY would come after ME. You can’t let people like this get away with this action.
armando is now offering a totally free book.only pay shipping.i hope that this is legit
Hello, I have read all of these web pages bashing the armando team. I want to tell anyone who cares that all these people are sooo biter so this is what they do. I whent to the $3000 workshop. I paid the money. I want you ALL to know it was the BEST money I have ever spent. Now I know you all are just filled with FEAR! for those who know the armando books you know what that means!
Went to a Armando seminar in So.Cal. last night. 3 hours in frigid cold room with a speaker named Matt Mattson who kept repeating numerous cliches like “don’t go back there and buy yet…you will all have an equal chance to buy!”, “If you cheat other people, we will kick you out of our program”, and even told us of his life story of having a mother who was married 8 times. After the cheap dinner, still could not get my promised MP3 player. Avoid Armando and his associates!!!
I was really interested in the show and decided to purchase the starter full set. It turned out the 29.95 was an intro price and during the time frame of receiving it my wife died. I decided to send the full set back after I got my bearings staight, but unfortunately I went past the deadline by a week or so to send it back for no further obligation. Long story short they wouldn’t give me the return information so I packaged it up and returned it anyway, they took $97.00 out of my bank account the month my wife died and continued to keep taking out $35.00 a month for almost a year…. I couldn’t get my bank to stop the transactions and they argued I was obligated to pay it even though I no longer had the product…. I finally changed banks to get rid of that mess. Some of the strategies are good, however if you are in mortgage like myself all the purchasing info is just common knowledge. Be careful before purchasing, it might cost you lots more money than you planned on spending….
I think Armando is shady and would never buy his course
However…
2 posters claimed to have looked up the transfer history of armandos flips in Bexar county records to find the sales prices…
That is a lie because Texas is a non-disclosure state and NO sales prices are ever listed in county records.
I’ve just read his book flip and grow rich…the best book that i have ever read on realestate!! If your serious and not a hater,this book could really change your financial future.This book was meant for me to read for such a time as this. Blessings Armando!
I want to believe in Armando, I love his spunky attitude, how he doesn’t take crap, and his team with his wife and brother and sister-in-law. Veronica is goregeous I’m so jealous of her beauty even though I am pretty ..ack that is another issue but anyway, all of his relentless marketing makes me suspicious. the constant e-mails..the fact I have to enter my phone number…if he really cares about people why does he charge so much for his information? I will not buy his tapes or books or seminars. I probably should, but I won’t because I doubt anyone pushing stuff on that scale. Why couldn’t he just flip houses, he seems lame now with all his bullshit ;-(
I guess that having your private life exposed has its ups and downs. Its ups is that you’ll have people who love you and its downs would be people who totally hate you. That goes with anyone. For all of you who criticize, you should have your own reality show see how many people do the same to you (i.e., hate you and love you). No one is perfect so shut up and stop criticizing because you are not perfect yourself.
Cool your passions and think first before entering a deal or situation of any kind. Remember, people get and stay rich using intelligence and reason as their guide; and by wisely controlling and using their passions to advance a rational, logical, and intelligent, and effective agenda. Why are third world nations; and why are poor persons poor; simply because they allow irrational passions and desires to dominate their lives; because they allow their greedy hearts to rule their heads. Remember, sales persons and advertisers operate by igniting powerful desires and passions in order to subdue reason and logic; that is the essence of any con game. So, think first before indulging in anything that looks too good; and too easy and seductive. Remember if you buy this package, you make lazy, lawbreaking, mean spirited, “little man” idiot punksters like Amando richer. Is it fair that he gets richer and you get poorer; no way. Amando may get rich off the money of fools; however, Amando will get no respect; so suck on that Amando; and learn that money can never buy respect. Money cannot buy the most important things in life. You are an ugly, angry, stupid, insecure little man Amando. Amando, you can live like a king in your fake world of people who are using you; however, the real world justifiably will always dis and hate you. Watch out and don’t mess with us, Amando or you will be prosecuted.
To All:
I bought the full course in the early part of 2009 and started rehabbing. I used what he taught in his course to purchase and evaluate properties and it helped me not only on my first purchase but on my third as well. My two biggest hurdles were fear and financing. I received the financing from a community bank rather than one of the large institutions and I made myself get over the fear. My desire to succeed was greater than my fear of failure. I had already lost my job and my wife told me this would be the last real estate course she would let me buy (I was either going to do it this time or try something else and not waste any more of the family money). Truthfully in MY OPINION this was the most complete course I have ever bought (and I have bought several). The only complaint I have is the customer service company or telemarketing company he hired needs to be fired because they will run off many willing paying customers. I will not go into my experience with them but after that experience I refused any of their other offers.
I made 32k on my first deal, 21k on my second and that is after all fees and loan payoffs (still working on the third, I need more permits). I have the Hud 1 documents to back it up and copies of the checks. I took the program as a college course that cost $350. The education you receive only works if you work it. Also in order for any of us to be successful at real estate we must all ways continue to educate ourselves. If Armondo has wronged anyone I hope he changes his ways for the better because we all make mistakes, it is what we do afterwards that makes the difference. From following the advice in his course I was able to live out one of my life dreams, which was to take my parents and in-laws on an all expense paid vacation to Las Vegas. The money I made from my real estate transactions allowed me to do that. I have made back my $350 many times over. Don’t let fear paralyze you. Find a book, program or course that fits you and GO FOR IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SEE YOU AT THE TOP!!!!!!!!!!!
Well….I loved watching A&E’s show about flipping houses and have wanted to get into the business myself. Recently, I have considered buying into Armando’s “program” but was stunned when the coach on the phone said, “You qualify for the $4,680 program, and only need to put $500 down, all I need is your credit card now to get you started”. LOL. Yea right! So…I got on the internet and found this site! Thank Goodness. Although, to be honest, I’m disappointed that it’s a scam. I guess I was hoping to find different results. But you all can’t be wrong with your comments. So thanks for sharing, and thank goodness I do have some common sense left. 🙂
If you have something positive to say, great! If not, remember that jealousy alone doesn’t qualify you to be a resident expert. If you have done what this guy has done, great! You get kudos and the right to voice your professional opinion. If not, shut up and get back to work! You have more to do first before you can run your pie-hole!
I ordered his FREE trial offer and cancelled within the month and am now being billed 67.00 mthly on my credit card. They claim I did not cancel correctly. Which part of NO don’t they understand. They claim I signed up for their on site school of which I have never even seen or want to see. What rude people I’ve had to deal with.
YES I am a stupid iddiot! I purchased the book then got the calls then ought the LOOSER course for $18,500 bucks and have not been alble to cancel or contact anyone (with answers) to get money back. I belive if you have listened to the cd’s and heard his way of coaching then taken any one of his webinars from coaches you would be confused nethier on says the same thing! Armondo says you only need to go buy any flip 3 times to see it to hire a contractor and to sell it! no is that BS or what even the coaches said no way!!!
YES I am a stupid idiot! I purchased the book then got the calls then purchased the LOOSER course for $18,500 bucks and have not been alble to cancel or contact anyone (with answers) to get my money back. I belive if you have listened to the cd’s and heard his way of coaching then taken any one of his webinars from his coaches you would be confused because nethier on says the same thing! Example: Armondo says you only need to go buy any flip 3 times to see it to hire a contractor and to sell it! no is that BS or what even the coaches said no way!!!
i listened to 2 people tell me about the program. it wound up that the program would cost me $12,000. i declined and cancelled everything. since then i keep getting charged $67.00 for nothing and there seems to be nothing i can do about it!
Rob- if u would, please enlightened me about the book that you purchased.
I called up to get this course. I had a job that required I be away from home a lot. This guy kept calling me and trying to walk me through the course. The course was supposed to cost around 400 dollars but the guy kept calling me asking if I had looked through the material and trying to get me to borrow thousands of dollars from friends or family to get personal tutoring. This sent up red flags so I explained I wanted to return the package but could not get back home to pick up the package and send it back. He said, no hurry, just send it back when you can. When I got home and sent it back it was postmarked about 7 days late of the trial period. They received the unopened box and still billed me-eventually putting collections on my credit record. The person on the phone misled me into keeping the package too long; I could have had a friend return it if he had not misled me.
I forgot to add that I had a gut hunch they might try to charge my card at the end of the trial period anyway regardless of what the phone guy said so I canceled it and specifically told them not to allow charges from Armando. Much to my amazement they were trying to charge me for a monthly subscription I never signed up for, never asked for and was not told about. They were mad as heck that their automatic charges were not going through and kept trying to contact me to see why. I NEVER knowingly agree to let anyone automatically charge my credit card on a regular basis as a matter of policy! FRAUD!!!
my sister ordered the book for me when she heard an offer for it on a radio station outside d.c. she told me to get all the stuff i needed online within the month so she could cancel it, i agreed. when she went to cancel it, they basically harassed her asking why she was quitting it. they finally got the hint when she told them it wasnt for her and she gave them my number. thank you past experiences for letting me know how to handle aggressive salesman without getting angry or frusterated, i told the salesman i am “extremely broke”, which i am, so i could not and will not buy anything from him. that got the salesman off the phone and he hasnt contacted me since. i did read the book and after this i realized the way mr. montelongo was doing things sounded shady and decided that when i am financially able to remodel houses i will go through banks and such and not what he was suggesting, with hard loans and 18% interest. although i grudgingly admit he did have a few valid points. mainly about product lists and neutral colors and what not for proper budgeting. thankyou again past experiences for having me not even mention my credit card or the fact that i had one. also when i went and searched for armando montelango, i came up with this website and when i saw the word lawsuit, i had to look, soooo glad i saw this before i decided to buy anything in the future.
sorry about the misspellings of armondo’s name in my last post, it is late at my house and i am horribly exhausted, but still i am very glad i saw this website before i ordered anything
Anyone that would give this guy any money deserves to have it taken by him. There is nothing… I REPEAT, NOTHING in his course that would qualify beyond COMMON SENSE. Don’t you people get it? If he can get a certain percentage of the suckers in the U.S. to even give him any money, he will be a millionaire. Don’t fall into his trap. A$$mondo is a scam artist from the get go. And… why would anyone give this guy permission to draft directly from your checking account? You are just asking for trouble with A$$mondo the scumbag.
I ordered his program and read the books listen to all the CD s and viewed all the webinars and spoke to many coaches. They say that funding the deals is the easiest part which is B S .On his aggreement armando states quiting is not a option and they will continue to coach me as long as I put 25 offers in done that and still cant get funding .Armando says on his CD that two things he wont tolerate is being lied to and some one stealing from him. I feel he has done both lied to me that the funding is the easiest part of a deal and the money he took from me for his program. My mistake
I too came across this website by accident and started reading. Phew You are all amazing. So I read for an hour in the 2007 posts then moved forward trying to find if this Armando guy has ever posted a reply????? there is a FREE seminar in our area that I am going to go to. I am truly broke from having made many mistakes in investing. I have the best coaches available in the world. My in-laws are true flippin pro’s and do haver the bank accounts and assets to prove it. I just have went down the wrong street a few times. I had over a million in assets in 1985 and now am 25 years older and farther in debt than ever. The cc companies made it too easy. I have learned so much!!!! So what about Armando does he reply?????????
MOntelongo had a 3 day seminar in NYC. (he did not attend) The cost $1,575.00. Before the course started you needed to fill out personal information about ones self……Net income, own or rent balance of mortgage, other properties,credit card debt balance on credit cards etc.( I did not reveal any of my assets and my husband was not honest on his. He only revealed 1/4″ of his income and assets.
His speaker “JIM HARRIS is a pompus wealthy invester who gave unbeleivable advise on flipping and the ways and means to become successfully in real estate for 1/2 of the seminar.(except for the comment referrring to making all this money with your bathrobe and slippers on never leaving the house) The other half was all about how you cant do this alone you need a “MENTOR” you need a family we are that family. bla bla bla This went on for the entire second half of the seminar. Then they started to use the information you gave them. Such as none of you in this room can afford not to stay with the family. Most of you r losers in dead end jobs, etc… Bottom line people Get ready for this for $ 45,000.00 you could become a family member and have a mentor for 1 year. we will help you close all of your deals For the people that almost fell off their chair he offered a BOOT CAMP for 24,000.00. All of these offers were done on a one on one bases in private. The Montelongo staff took the personal information for their benefit for the people that felt they could not afford the other packages. The staff offers advise such as you have enough equity in your home to refinance or can take an equity line of credit, You have 20,000.00 dollars on your credit cards that you can take as cash advance etc……I felt sorry for these people , many of them unemployed or house in foreclosure looking for a way out . I never sat down with any of the staff to discuss these packages.
I spent 1575.00 to listen and get knowledge about investing/real estate and flipping not to be suckered into another package. This was my time that I paid for. Actually if I put some time and effort into it I could have got this information for free!! So for some folks that 1575.00 was a mortgage payment or an income tax refund for me…… a lesson learned Shame on you Montelongo.
Scam!!!!! This is one of your everyday scams! All i wanted was the book. The guy who i talked to on the phone was very pushing! Armondo Montelongo trys to tell you that he is tired of these scams, and then makes one of his own. His book is shit! his tools are shit! pretty much the whole scam that he put together is shit!! Its pretty fucked up, he has already made money, and then he thinks to himself “I can scam the poor and make even more money, Im a great business man” thats horse shit! He is a piece of shit just like every other scam artist. I hope karma catches up with him! If Armondo can read this I would tell hi congrats on making a scam just like the other guys, you really know how to fuck america! Go back to mexico!!!!!!
Armando Montelongo is a thief and a crook. To go into detail would only be repeating what people above have said but when the class action suit is brought against him, I want to be a part of it. Shame shame on him.
Armando, there you go again, pissing off everyone. Buddy, the laws going to come knocking on your door and throw you in jail again…This time, your staying in there!!!!!!!
I’m a realtor. I’ve been a realtor for 11 years. I just witnessed (thru her story) a woman going bankrupt through her lack of experience in building her own house. The bank was happy to lend her money for some reason, knowing the house she was building wouldn’t be worth what they were loaning on it. They didn’t bother to point her to economical subs and she went on her way happily paying subs their top prices, till she finally realized the house wasn’t being built as fast as it should be and the construction loan was coming due. She then had a house she was over $300000 in debt on, it was still unfinished and the back that gave her the construction loan was charging her $65.00 per day penalties on that loan.
She called me and asked me to sell the house for her and of course I couldn’t sell it for what she owed on it and now she has lost all her money and the house in a bankruptcy after the bank foreclosed on her. So people, don’t fall for these get rich quick schemes or listen to a banker when it comes to money. Their goal in life is to get your money from your pocket and into theirs. If you want to build your own house, and you have the skills to do so, count the cost prior to going to the bank and “know” your contractors and be familiar with what construction costs are in your area. This womans dream is gone and I suspect most of her dream is in subcontractors pockets. Her banker should never have loaned her money in the first place. You don’t loan money to people who don’t know the first thing about contracting. Who do you guys think has the most culpability here? The Lady who thought she could build her own house?…The contractors she hired?… or the banker who loaned her the money to do it?
Purchased the book a week ago. Was called by the coaches today. Was told programs can run 15-20k. Armando’s program is now at 3,500. But according to the sales rep, Armando is now financing 3000 of it! So since I couldnt afford 1000 upfront, I can put 500 upfront and he will allow me to pay the rest back when I make my first flip.
The main sales trick was the statement that only 1% of people who attempt to be in the coaching program are approved. There are only 5-6 coaches in the nation, not trained but EXPERIENCED real estate gurus whom only coach 50-60 people in the nation at a time, and you must be approved through a rigorous interview process to join this elite team. Hmm..
Loved the show, But let’s face it the fact it’s TV not real life.
There is no way he has flipped 30 homes in a month.
Well, my story isnt really to different. My mother called me and told me that these people were calling the house trying to get my father who is 70 yrs old. has mental illness and cancer to join there flipping school or coaching. Now when my father had heard all the hype and new his children needed the help in these troubled times he thought Armando could help him to help his family, but it would cost him thousands of dollars to sign up and all they needed was his credit card information and so on. My mother had tried to explain to these people that he wasnt in good health and that she would not give out that information, but of course that didnt stop the calls and harrassment to get the money. So i had to finally email Armando’s blood sucker company and let them know i will be practicing my first amendment rights and call up the news and let them know of the tacticks being used on my 70 yr old father who is ill. And then the calls stopped coming. I feel that this story needs to be told, how many elderly people are they going to sucker to make a buck? I have really looked down on the A&E channel for being in bed with this creep. How they could allow this person to represent them. Just goes to show you greed has no heart.
Ahhhh, thats how you stop’em from calling you!
You know guys! It’s plain and simple… DON’T DO ANY BUSINESS WHATSOEVER WITH ARMANDO MONTELONGO AND ESPECIALLY PREMIER MENTORING. I’m wondering why it is taking so long to shut these guys down. Unfortunatly, for Bob Diamond ( this guy I thought was legitimate), now he is having problems as well, and guess who he uses to coach and mentor students,PREMIER MENTORING!!!!!!!!
I ordered the “FREE” book from an info-mercial. Figured that there would be strings attached but that I would just say no to any additional offers. Well I did say no to any offers and they still charged my credit card. When I called to rectify the situation, the ass in customer service threatened that “the entire conversation is recorded.” Great I said…good luck with that. I never had a conversation with anyone at that organization!
Isn’t that some sort of fraud to just charge a credit card that was supposed to be used only for shipping?
Its a system to scam people created by you, Armando. I hope you dont teach your kid those kind of ethics.
Oh and by the way Armando, I don’t let people get away with screwing with me either. You’ll be hearing from me soon.
Mr. Montelongo will forever be flipping houses and have no money. Egotistical people like himself, get that way because they grew up with no “real” self esteem. His problem is that he is so full of himself that he is full of s**t. He and his wife need a good dose of reality and stop living falsely. You can see they are obsessed with the external (material) and its reflection has worn off their child. Poor kid.
Watched infomercial today for Flip & Grow Rich and called to order “free” book and CD for only $9.95 shipping. In same call I was told that after “free 30-day trial” I would be charged $67/mo for website education file info and $29.95/mo for on-line foreclosure info unless I cancelled within 30 days. Told Frank in same conversation “No – I do not want anything – do not want “Free book and CD”, want to cancel everything now – to cancel transaction.” He was very pushy and kept on and I finally had to hang up on him after telling him to cancel transaction. I have called my credit card company to log info that if charged it should be rejected.
I am a realtor and an investor as well. I really learned on what to do and what not to do from Armando’s old shows. I am in California, he is going to speak live at La Joya Ca, Hilton on May 28. Very interesting, we got 5 free tickets just by calling the toll free number!
Nevertheless, I am grateful that I started this very rewarding adventure of flipping houses in San Diego for about a year now!
I am thankful to the Montelongos and other programs as well for teaching me the basics, such as curb appeal.
By the way, just a tip, I started staging my properties and not only do they sell much sooner, but I got 22 grand over the asking price on one of the houses! Staging works!
Back to Montelongo’s seminar,after reading your feedback I am hesitant to go to the “FREE” seminar.
But please don’t be racist. There are good and bad business people from all nations!
Wish you all the best on your business!
Re: Sara
Be very hesitant!
The last post #2153 is very interesting. It is a typical post by someone who is doing damage control on the internet for Armando. The woman claims that she is a real estate agent in California. Well that is very interesting, as a realtor you would generally be good at one thing and that is geography, especially of the area you allegedly work in. There is no such place as La Joya, CA. Can you please point that out to me on the map. No “normal”internet blogger would give such in depth advertising about an event unless they were on the payroll. It’s like a script right out of a commercial. Give me a break. Please leave the blogs to the real readers. STOP HAVING PEOPLE COVER YOUR TRACKS ARMONDO!!!! Is it really worth ripping off hard working individuals? People have a hard enough time trying to make ends meet without having to dodge your Bull**it.
Please do yourself a favor, if you are in the San Diego area and are considering attending the rip off session, STAY CLEAR..DO NOT GO.
Like many others, I put out a lot of money for Armando’s coaching service. When I asked how I find financing, I was told that I have to hit-up my rich friends. Sorry, I don’t have any rich friends. I would be interested in joining any class actions that are being started. shomeir-at-gmail-dot-com.
Read most of this entertaining thread. Mike Voss’ Review is spot on and it’s posts like 2028 that are troubling.
Seems like the Real Estate Investment Industry is more about preying on novice investors than it is about making money in real estate.
Though I disagree with Mike’s assertion that only a homebuilder can be successful and produce a quality product, I’m in total agreement that flipping real estate is much harder that what most people think. A lot of skill and knowledge go into every successful deal.
Stay away from Hardmoney and credit card debt. Study, Study, Study about remodeling and renovation. Get an associates degree in Home Building at the local community college if needed.
Become a Real Estate Agent and let a good company train you.
From what I have seen, most novice investors lose money. There is no free lunch in this business.
If Armando was flipping even 10 houses a month, instead of the 30 houses he claims, he would be making $100,000 per month at only $10,000 profit per deal. That’s a great living that 99.9% of people would not walk away from.
Flipping can be done and you don’t need major connections. You just need to know exactly what you’re facing and what needs to be done to make an honest profit. Don’t be fooled. It takes a lot of hard work.
For more insight you can visit my blog at PeteHero.com .
Sara at posting 2153. It is impossible that you sold a house for $22k more than you listed it. A lender would see that as a red flag and would accuse an appraiser of being crazy for valueing it so high over list. The lender would ask, “if it’s worth $22k higher then why didn’t the realtor list it there?” How do I know? I’m a review appraiser for a major lender.
Hi Rob, I am interested in the books you mentioned and would be great if you can send me your reviews too.
Here is my email address: drwhotheman@yahoo.com
I am a licensed realtor (pronounced reelter NOT reeltOr like in those pathetic commercials by the NAR). First of all, Armando is a complete scumbag. Second of all, why they pretend to give a crap about open houses is maddening. The only thing that sells a home is the MLS – period!! The NAR states that the MLS (meaning your local MLS) is responsible for over 90% of all existing home sales!!! Some years the number is as high as 94%!!! That means all other advertising, including signs, flyers, open houses, newspapers, neighbors, word of mouth, even those stupid red, white & blue hot air balloons and all the other BS the corporate franchise brokers lie to you about so they can charge outrageous commissions for doing an average of 10 hours of work per transaction, are in fact lies!!!
Find a property you wish to purchase, hire an independent realtor to fill out the offer and help you with the procedure, learn it and do it yourself next time around… it’s SIMPLE!!!! Google the term “Discount Commission Broker” in your area. Although discount commission is a misnomer, since commissions can not actually be set by law and are in fact 100% negotiable, the word “discount” is used by the OVER-PRICED brokers in attempt to make the public believe that the more affordable brokers are providing sub-standard services. This of course is complete BS! Most times it’s the coroporate franchise brokers which are the ones providing sub-standard services, with their extensive rosters of part-time housewives and other nut cases that are unqualified to do any other skilled jobs! Talk to any national chain realtor… you’ll instantly see what I mean, and instantly see why the job of realtor is the 3rd most unrespected profession behind attorney and car salesman!!! Liars, thieves, and incompetent maniacs with huge egos!!!
Good luck, and contact a concerned, honest and affordable realtor!
A proven get rich slow technique is to buy an OK house in a good neighborhood, live in it for maybe 5 years while fixing it up and than rent it out.
If you rent the house for three years and than sell it you dont have to pay capital gains taxes. In hindsight this would have been a better option than holding with the decline in real estate values. Now I have to hold maybe a couple of more years but thats OK.
To help with cash flow refinance the house before you leave to keep the lower owner occupied interest rate. Paint all the bedrooms the same color to make it easy to touch up between tenants. Make the landscape easy and low maintenance (rocks, hostas, etc..
I am now on my third house and have great equity. The first two houses have doubled in value and still return great cash flow.
Its a slower economy now and it may take longer to have the houses appreciate. Time marches on though and real estate has historically done well.
Remember that its called Real Estate because it’s real – you can touch it. Im just an average Joe and don’t understand Wall Street but I know that a house with curb side appeal and fresh paint is worth more money.
Many people are trying to take advantage of desperate sellers. Do the right thing and you will be blessed for it. Offer a reasonable price and dont capitalize on anyones misery.
when people like all of you, going to the top starting in 2007. when you are too afraid to money like armondo, you attack him. you attack someone more successful than you out of envy. and point your little finger at the other guy.point it at yourself you are the problem and others like you.matter of fact look in the mirror and do something about it ..we are the x factor people!!!!! get educated having a mentor works for everyone it worked for me..ive made it with the system you all talk about!!! and today im truely blessed thank you armondo! and grant at coment 2126 was right, read 2124 “its possible…” and darlene morgan if you ever decide to do it..take my advice shoot for the stars..its worth every penny. “look for the good reviews,not the bad change how you think…or you will stay negative..look up walmart!”
As a prior student with unsatisfactory results, I filed a complaint against Armando’s coaching group in Utah. Ryan Phillips indicated to the investigator that I stopped calling for assistance — when in fact, they stopped returning my calls. Utah’s Division of Consumer Protection did nothing to help me. I’d love to have Armando and his coaching crooks served with papers. Does anyone have an address for Armando? If so, please let me know at wylderich@cox.net.
Thanks.
#2155. There is a La Jolla, CA. #2153 They probably misspelled.
ROB,
Here’s my e-mail.. Please email me, I’m interested on the deal LOL I want to get some info..
I will be waiting.
Thanks,
Betzy
I am waiting for the day these crooks get what they deserve. I fell for it and I can’t believe I did. These people used such high pressure tactics. They are criminals.
I attended Armondo’s seminar last night in Charlotte, NC. I went for a laugh because I was expecting high pressure sales, but there were none. They explained what they had to offer (in an entertaining manner) and then said you can go back to the table and purchase or walk out the door, but either way we’ll part as friends.
The presentation was 2 parts first was “Robbie” (he said his last name but I don’t remember) VP of Acquisitions for Montelongo Properties, who talked for an hour and a half about “Find, Fund, Flip”, Pocket Deals, land trusts, Due on Sale Clause, Garn Act, the importance of a mentor, recognizing opportunities, getting access to lenders, none of your own money or credit, etc.
They offered to teach all this (hands on, in person) over the course of 3 days for $1500 bucks and this would include your spouse if you decide to bring him/her. Plus a money back guarantee if their system doesn’t work for you within 6 months. So 2 people, $1500, 3 days, become educated in a side of real estate most people don’t know exists.
The second half of the presentation was about Tax Lien and Deed Investing. I don’t remember the speakers name, but he claimed he knew the field and makes money going online researching tax liens on properties. Apparently, he researches and buys them online, and if the property owner pays their back taxes to the County, then he recieves the initial sum he paid plus interest and penalties. If they don’t pay, then he receives the property at the end of the redemption period.
The price was $700, which gives you access to their website that offers online training, links to every County tax department in the U.S., and a guarantee that if you didn’t acquire at least 3 properties “free and clear” from their program, that they will give you one from their inventory (provided you pay the back taxes that they paid to acquire it)
I left without purchasing either and asked the people at the back table if I could have time to think about it and they said yes. They asked when would be a good time and date to call me to confirm my decision. Like I said before there was ZERO pressure to buy, and I liked that.
My question is can any of this even be remotely legitimate? Are people actually able to swoop in and purchase a tax lien and have the property owner become indebted to them, and then be rightfully owed what the county collects from interest and penalties?
Please, I know that everyone here has mixed feelings about the easy money without hard work (I’ve spent hours and hours reading this forum) but is this tax lien situation really an option for a small time investor?
What about entering deeds into land trusts to avoid “due on sale clause”
These are things I would have no idea how to research on my own, so what are you guys & gals thoughts?
Thanks,
Andy
Tax lien certificates are indeed a good place to make money and are as sound/safe as the local government which collects the tax. The thing here however is that every city or county has different procedures and anything you learn in such a course is likely to be highly generic. You’d likely better use your time and resources investigating the specific process in your intended area of operation, otherwise you’ll just get a very expensive generic overview. Places like the Learning Annex have such courses with local focus for under $100 as opposed to a 40,000 foot flyover for $1500 from a known disreputable source.
Why is everyone downing this guy? He is selling a TV SHOW!! Of course he’s going to act more dramatic!! Ratings people! Cant be mad at him for having his own successful tv show!! Beyond that…he’s OBVIOUSLY AN ACCOMPLIHED INVESTOR! And he’s a business man!! Of course he’ll sell information marketed under his own name! He deserves his success…quit hating!!
Armando is having a workshop June 25,26,27 2010 at Embassy Suites Raleigh/Durham Airport/Briar Creek
8001 Arco Corporate Drive
Raleigh, NC 27617
I’m glad I decided not to go! If you have a beef with his system, fly in and let him know!
Thanks for this website! Everyone should post if they hear of any future meetings!
David
Mike,
I too have a problem with Zillo. They keep e mailing me the current value (according to them) of my house and property. They have it listed $20K BELOW what the bank appraised it for. How can I get them to remove my house from their listings? Appreciate your web site blog. Will write again about what I think about the Montelongos. Thanks.
To: D Hall
Selling a TV show? HA. Yes you can get mad at him if only because he is a RICH asshole. Have you NOT watched the show and see how he treats his workers much less his wife? Now he and his brother have parted!! He’s rude, money hungry,greedy and a liar. I think his wife only sticks around for the $. How could she pull in that kind of $ if they parted? That’s prob ably why the divorce never went through.Hey, some women actually LIKE bossy men, maybe she is one of them. Besides, he’s not that bad to look at. When I first started watching the show I thought ‘wow, what a great looking loving couple’. Don’t think that now. Even though I think he is a bastard, I still would hate to see them split because of the little boy. Children NEED BOTH parents. No matter how this shakes out, I hope they stay together and he realizes what a mean jerk he is and gets some COUNSELING. For his marriage that is, doubt he could ever get counseling for his insentient love he has for Armando Montelongo. Sure hope he loves someone besides himself, like maybe his son!!!!!!! I feel sorry for him. He is heading for a HUGE downfall. Sure hope he didn’t piss off everyone. He will need help on the way back up.
I went to a free seminar and was very interested in the program. I know there are no “get rich quick” ideas out there that truely work but I did purchase both programs. I listened to the free CD and watched the free DVD. Still very interesting. I think this is like anything else. If you do your homework and follow the basic principals it will probably get you some decent money. I don’t believe it can be done in as little as 6 – 10 hours a week. I am going to look into the Tax Lien information a little more on my own. My point for the posting is that I had second thoughts after reading the posts on this sight and I have canceled the program. I was told I had to fax a written statement saying why I wanted to cancel and sign it. I was also told it will take 7-10 business days for the process to be completed. Since this is the 4th of July weekend I will be sending my letter of cancellation tomorrow morning. I will let you all know if I receive my refund. The 7-10 business days will be the 16th and I figure there may be an additional 3-5 days for my bank to post the refund. I am hoping to report somewhere around the 26th of July that I have indeed been refunded and I will invest my money in my own gut ideas that have seemed to work for many in the country for years. Just be wise and practical.
Yes you can buy tax lien property in Texas and make money.I do this for a living.It is not easy.It takes a lot of time and knowledge and research. Many properties being sold are worth less than the tax lien amount. That’s why most people stop paying the taxes…the property is not worth the tax amount.In Texas most property is handled by the same atty. http://www.publicans.com Sometimes bargains can be found. But very often I work for months to find one good house to buy.
Also , in Texas where Montelongo is from, you have to prove that you have no taxes due in the county that you are purchasing the tax sale property from.So, if he is not paying taxes as I have seen posted here, he can not buy tax sale properties!
Actually he can buy tax sale properties but the way one gets around this roadblock is to have the properties listed in separate trusts or real estate trusts which is most likely the case here. For example, 123 Flake lane could be listed as the 123 Flake Lane Real Estate Trust even though you might be the trustee and this will NOT prevent you from buying tax sale properties even if the Flake Lane trust is deficient on taxes.
GUYS, LOOK. I PERSONALLY FLIP HOUSES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. I WILL NET 200K OFF OF TWO HOUSES I BOUGHT 3 MONTHS AGO. ITS A GREAT TIME TO FLIP. I KNOW I DON’T KNOW IT ALL, AND I PLAN TO GO TO ARMANDO’S 3-DAY WORKSHOP FOR $1497 BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN IT. I SEE WHY PEOPLE ON RIPOFFREPORT.COM SAY IT’S ALL A SCAM. I’VE PERSONALLY VISITED HIS WEBSITES AND CALLED HIS STAFF ABOUT SEMINARS, WORKSHOPS, AND BUS TOURS, E-MAILED MY QUESTIONS AND IT’S ALL LEGIT.
I’VE READ ARMANDO’S BOOK “FLIP AND GROW RICH” IN 6 HOURS. I’VE BOUGHT AND READ HIS E-BOOK “MAKING MILLIONS IN FORECLOSURE”. BUT WHEN PEOPLE SAY THEY’VE BEEN “RIPPED OFF OF 29.95”, IT’S NOT BECAUSE HIS COACHING IS POOR, ITS BECAUSE HIS CUSTOMER SUPPORT NEEDS IMPROVEMENT. HE HAS WEBSITES I HAD TO FIND OUT THROUGH OTHER LINKS, AND SOMETIMES WHEN YOU LEAVE VOICEMAILS, SOME STAFF MEMBERS DO NOT CALL BACK. SO IT’S NOT THE TEACHINGS, AND IT’S NOT A SCAM, ITS JUST PLAIN AND SIMPLE FAULTY CUSTOMER SERVICE.
YES I KNOW IT SHOULDN’T BE LIKE THAT, AND IT SHOULD BE TAKEN CARE OF, BUT PEOPLE NEED TO LEARN TO SHUT UP AND ACTUALLY PUT IN WORK INSTEAD OF COMPLAIN ABOUT HOW PAYING 30 BUCKS DIDN’T INSTANTLY GIVE THEM THEIR CHILDHOOD WISHES. FLIPPING IS WORK. FLIPPING TAKES TIME. I’VE DONE MY 10-12 HOUR DAYS. BUT AFTER ITS ALL SAID AND DONE, YOU SEPARATE YOURSELVES FROM THOSE RECEPTIONIST, DATA ENTRY, RESTAURANT SERVER, PESSIMISTIC, MAKE-A-QUICK-BUCK TYPE OF PEOPLE.
I PLAN TO FLIP MORE HOUSES BECAUSE I’VE HAD MY SHARE OF SOME SUCCESS. BUT BEFORE I IMPLEMENT MY CURRENT STRATEGY TO THE NEXT HOUSE I BUY, I PLAN TO SEE HOW ARMANDO DOES HIS FLIPPING AND I HOPE TO IMPLEMENT HIS STRATEGIES TO GROW MY BUSINESS FASTER. I’LL POST ANOTHER RESPONSE AFTER I COME BACK FROM THE 3-DAY WORKSHOP.
-OLIVER
I just came back from a 3 day workshop with Armando Montelongo, which I paid $1497.00 for. The only thing they really teach you is how to get your credit card companys to raise your limits on your cards, because your going to need it to pay for your next step in getting more education from them. The next step is going to cost you $19,000-$24,000. The only thing I can say is RUN from anything with this guys name on it.
I have ben reading this for 2 hrs ..lol I have read 2179 posts..and I have come to the conclusion that there are ALOT of ppl that say NO don’t do it and there are a FEW that say they have ben sucessful from it! I think #2142 should COPIE all of what they bought and send it FREE to all of us, WE WANT PROOF! I was gonna go to a free seminar, what could it hurt right? HA I told my husband IF I don’t have to spend a DIME then it’s worth it but if i get there and they want me to BUY book or programs or so on then NO! All we would have lost is GAS MONEY! lol I’m still confussed on the whole subject, some ppl can lie and have nothing better to do then post false shit on blogs…Time for me to do MORE resurch! My husband is the only one working and we have 2 little girls I have ben looking for a WORK at HOME job that is legite for a long time and I thought this was it! BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME!!!!!!!
Oliver I would love to know how you started?? And I understand it’s not easy, nothing that’s worth anything is easy! that’s why I like it! DO share your secrets…please!
I signed up for some info on the radio. Six months later I was still being charged. This Armando guy is a rip & will scam you out of your hard earned money.
Commenters 2178 and 2179 must have attended the same 3 days workshop. From the comments of 2179 (who posted at the end of the workshop) and the fact that Oliver (2178) never did return to post his feedback after attending, I surmise that it was a rip off after all, and Oliver is just too embarrassed to admit how wrong he was in his original comment. Ergo, commenter 2181, I wouldn’t be asking Oliver for any advice.
Armando doesn”t pay anyone…..I have personally looked at his credit report, and know individuals who attempted to collect monies from him. Dicover, Chase etc……the list goes on and on. His own family has dis-associated themselves from Armando and his wife. They run a very well and respected litig business, and Armando’s business ventures and wrong doings have tarnished their reputations.
I know the truth…..DAN….
You guys are stupid have you watch them play good guy bad guy…..They bring the guy down over $5,000 I purposly go to Future Shop so they can bargin. He also MAKES contractors do what they say and in the time fram otherwise they pay a penalty. He had nothing and made something and it just makes you guys look like bums. Bravo Armando and Veronica
Oh and another thing his book like anyother self help, selling something getting rich fast is a TOOL not the whole thing. Stop telling us that your broke and used your last money to buy a book or seminar to get money. THe old saying is “you need money to make money. Is it a scam when Trump talks about his experienc, Or that self help guy trying to teach you confidence, Its called information sharing. Why shouldn’t he profit for giving us hints. Dont bet the farm on flipping its a money game and if you can’t afford to lose it dont play. I personaly pay attention to the important things like building codes and water running. Veroncia is a talented decorater. Get a job not a get rich quick idea.
P.S I dont care about spelling mistakes your not my boss
🙂
I just visited a Robert Kyosaki seminar in Dallas and paid $199 to continue to a 3 day seminar next month. I shouldve researched on google within 3 days because as i found out it seems that the 3 days consists of them pushing 10k-40k classes. I am 22 years old so is my girlfriend and we are wanting to start buying houses, fixing them and flipping them. We already own a home we purchased it 15 months ago and decided to lease it out and that is bringing in $300 a month. Today ive been watching the AE channel and I came accross Montelongos show and i have to admit it was very entertaining but the guy is a complete ass. I am going to get the info on his website just to see what it is about but this show i am watching right now called Flipping Vegas seems much better and the guy seems humble unlike Montelongo who has something up his ass. Good luck to all and wish us luck!!!
email me at david.acuna87@yahoo.com if you can give us any advice about the upcoming seminar kinda nervous. Also add me on facebook i am in fort worth
This guy is obviously a crook….Armando has lost 40-50 properties to foreclosure, in Texas alone, and yet still has the audacity to be out in the open charging people thousands and thousands of dollars to teach them how to get rich flipping houses like he did ! He is blatantly teaching people how to violate many laws…not the least of which is the law governing the sale of securities..and telling lie after lie about his accomplishments and those of the “Mentors”. THESE CON MEN ARE DEFRAUDING PEOPLE OUT OF LARGE SUMS OF MONEY ON A DAILY BASIS. DO NOT BE THE NEXT FOOL TO BE SCAMMED.
Glad I found this message board. I have tickets to attend his free seminar next week. Guess me and my husband will just go out to dinner instead. Thanks for the “heads up”!
Go for the deluxe package. You get to sleep with his wife. Trust me, the $5 extra is worth it.
$25000 to go on a bus tour with this idiot its a scam
Did anyone go on the bus tour. I would LOVE to hear what that was like! I get emails from him and am not sure why because I have never purchased anything. I was curious if he was still in CA and saw this website. I too, watched the poor way he treated people and thought “If I have to be such a s**t then I am not interested”. Chime in if you rode the bus!
Come on ladies and gents, how many of you think that you are going to make something with no investment? If you pay to go to college, there are no assurances that you are going to get a position when you graduate. Armando and many others are selling their knowledge, some may have the knowledge and some won’t. It’s your (our) job to detect the rip-offs.
Do you think that you can make money by Rehabbing houses? Of course you can. It been proven over and over again that it can be done. NOW you need to find the method that will work best for you and your comfort zone, learning ability, and willingness to invest. I attended Armando’s workshop and took from it what I needed to move to the next level. I did not purchase the higher priced course, nor did I elect to go on the Bus tour. I have my own strategy and that’s the way I’m going to move forward.
I hope to take the tour and continue learning, but I’m going at a pace that I dictate and feel comfortable with. It’s not about Armando’s finances, it about what I want to do. You can make money by Rehabbing houses, so where are you going to get the knowledge???? Is there a course that offers the information? SURE there is, but you have to do your homework, and soak up every bit of knowledge that is available — Armando is just another piece of the knowledge that you will need. I’m not saying go spend the money that they are asking for the tour, but find a reputable source for what you need!
IT IS POSSIBLE TO MAKE MONEY REBABING HOUSES!!!
I am glad i found this site. I was supposed to go this seminar in an hour. Now I wont waste the gas money to get there. I wonder why he says you dont have to have money to make money but you have to buy his program for 997.00? how do you come up with that kind of money if you dont have a job? corner job for a week to buy his program? I think i will just stay home and bake cupcakes. Thanks for the heads up.
Armando Montelongo is the real deal. Ive flipped homes in the past and always made money. However, since Ive been using his system Ive structured my projects differently and my profits and increased. I think the world has a lot of stupid people that cant stand the fact that some people succeed in this world. Some of you haters need to grow up and get a life.
I need to get a story about Armando Montelongo Flip Seminars in the news. My self and my buisness partner were scammed for $50,000 dollars. We went to an initial seminar for $1400 dollars which was very informative. At this seminar they used high presure sales tactics to get us to invest another $50,000 dollars with there company. We were supposed to get 5 more seminars and support from the Armando Montelongo family of companies. We did attend what was called ninjanimics seminar in Las Vegas. This seminar was basically a repeat of the seminar we had allready done. Except triple the cost. We then attended what was called the bus tour. Again another seminar that was exactly the same information we recieved on the first seminar. We have yet to complete what they call there boots on the ground seminar or there mastor mentorship program. We have asked for a refund due to there lack of scheduling and also simply finding out that all there seminars go over the same information but cost 10 times as much. We would like to invest in real estate how ever our money is tied up with this seminar company.
We were promised follow up from the seminar comapny and that they would help us through support to help us get started in real estate investing. I dont want to see other people get scammed like we did. We invested our hard earned money into this dream that we were sold. unfortunatly in his bus tpour seminar Armando speaks of how he loves to go to court and that he will tie people up in court for years since he has deep pockets and knows that most will give up eventually. He knows that most peolple can not afford to spend the time or money necessary to recieve a refund. He spends thousands on retainers for attorneys. So what does a person with little resources do, I guess our only avenue is the media. Some one please help us…
Thanks everyone. I actually signed up for a seminar last night. Thank god I was smart enough to do a little investigating before I got too excited over trash.
Thanks again everyone for taking the time.
I only wish I had not given up my name and address to sign up. I’m sure I just got added to a junk senders list.
-unemployed and despite.
I never thought of using the net to research all the infomercial crap til recently. I’m glad I did. This website is first when you search “armando montelongo scam”.
The late night infomercials have been running pretty consistently here past few days in Denver.
I’m with you “USE the internet” and everyone else over the last three years! YIKES. The infomercial has been running here in Richmond,VA and his last “free seminar” is set for tomorrow.
Thank you so much for putting up this website. Thanks to Obama we are pretty desperate for cash and just viewed the Armando infomercial which is sooo convincing. Thank GOD he put it in my head to check this out on the internet before calling the number they list. Thank You & God Bless!
Thanks to all of you for your posts – I think I will pass on the ‘free’ seminar in the mpls area. Real estate is a hard business (rental) and I have had less then glowing results with a renting a duplex in St Paul. Things here are really off, so where is the next sucker to come from (I know there is one born every minute)?
I purchased it and wasn’t too impressed. I called to try and return it but they said I couldn’t anymore!! I now have a ding on my credit report because of this, I refused to pay and offered to return it….not so much luck.
I’m really happy I came across this site. I saw a Montelongo infomercial this morning and almost called the toll-free number to sign up for one of his seminars. Much thanks to everyone on this message board for setting me straight!
(Short and Sweet) I paid the $1500 for the get mega millionaire seminar. I was the only one in the class asking intelligent questions that went against the grain and they had many sleezy ways of getting around my questions. I have been flipping homes and selling them for a long time and when the market changed so did my finance. The main question that I had was are you going to intoduce me to a hard money lender? The answer is no they are not. It took me about 3.5 hours to quit and demand my money back. They said that I would have to wait until Monday and speak to the main office. Now isnt that special? The next day I came back in and created a stir in front of the class demanding them to write full refund on my invoice. This is the biggest piece of crap. Feel free to email me or go to my website BradAboutHomes.com Do not buy or even go to the seminar. I have guys here in Nashville that will not charge anything upfront but only upon the success of the deal.
Don’t trust anything they say. $24,000 to get on the bus w Armondo
I just took his workshop. I wish I had read this thread first! He really did try to scam us. GOOD NEWS THOUGH! After reviewing Massachusetts Consumer Law of Protection, it looks like the way he taught the course violated some major laws. I am going to bring my case to the Boston court system. It seems that the way he is operating actually is illegal. If anyone would like to help or testify or even write a witness report, let me know!
Whatever you do, do not trust Armando.
Christine i was at the seminar in Boston also! I am curious if you are the girl that he berated in front of everyone and casued you to leave?
To those of you that think you were mislead by paying $100 for a book, well after you pay $1,500 to go to the 3 day course you are told that it’ll only be $25,00 to go on the CA bus ride. Is it a scam? Well, the real estate stuff they teach you is true. But it’s nothing you can’t find online for free. Ultimately what did I come away from the course learning? I learnt that I need to pay them $25,000 to go on the Armando bus ride. So those of you that feel screwed out of $100 for the books that you felt were a teaser for the 3 day course, imagine my displeasure when I realized the 3 day course is a teaser for the $25,000 bus ride. If anyone in the course suggested that money was going to be a barrier then they suggested that you ‘didn’t want it bad enough’. They literally told a story of how students went knocking on doors of the hotel the seminar was being held in to ask complete strangers for $25,000 to go on the magic bus tour, and if you weren’t willing to do stuff like that then you didn’t want it bad enough.
Once you leave the seminar and get back in the real world talking to real people, it really hits you that you were just feed a bunch of BS for 3 days. They even went so far as to warn us that our friends and family are poor for a reason and that they were going to talk bad about Armando and the seminar. How nice of them to warn me! Why would i listen to my family and friends over 3 complete strangers with gold chains, bleached white teeth and fake tans.
They play on emotions, and every person greedy nature. They casually talk about this house in this state that they own, the day they bought their porsche’s and ferrari’s, one guy was asked about his boat in the picture on the projector (randomly on display at the start of each session) and he replied “oh thats just my mid range boat for mid range journeys. I have one for tooling around the bay, and i have another one for long range open ocean trips”.
I could go on forever, but whats the point? I’m not calling it a scam, I’m just saying that when I heard about the $25,000 bus ride where they promised you the world, I had the ‘ahh….ok’ moment. I can honestly say I went into it with an open mind. AS a matter of fact my GF was googling in the seminar looking for scam stories about Armando and i made her stop because I wanted to treat it fairly.
Christine, I’d be interested in emailing you just to hear your thoughts and share mine.
well hello friends,
Just got back last night from the 3 day class. Lot of information that I can use. But its not for the poor. And if you have not credit and no money your screwed. After 4pm on Sat night we no longer exisited in that class because we didnt pay 35000.00 to go on the bus trip. They made us feel like poor white trash. The got everyone in the class that paid to stand and tell why this was going to change thier lives but they didnt want to hear from us. Wow you can take the information and research and make it work by yourself. Build your power team and go out there running. Lets show them that we can do it on the 1500.00 dol class . Beware, lets pull together and get this done.
wow who pissed you off. We are so glad that you have not struggled or wanted to better your self. Give these people a break. It your such a fan then stay off the site
I went to one of the free seminars in the DC area about a month ago and ended up investing in the $1497 3 day training which came w/the books & dvds. The next day I thought about some of the things said in the free seminar, did some research on things that didn’t make sense, and felt like I was being scammed, so immediately contacted Montelongo’s office in San Antonio to cancel and get a refund as stated could be done w/in the first 3 days of purchase. I sent everything back in same condition received, all w/in the 3 day time frame, even spoke with one of his representatives who told me she received the cancellation form and other materials in time (got a email to confirm). Well now almost a month later no refund for my $1497. When I contacted the office again to inquire about my money they say it can take up to 30 days and that a check will be Fed-Ex’ed to me. Not sure what is taking so long, but the 30 days is approaching quickly. Never has a refund of anything taken this long especially when all items were returned in the given time frame. I will re-post on the date of the 30th day I was told to inform you all if I ever got my refund or not. I highly doubt my money is coming as Montelongo and his chronies seem to be big time scam artists. If I am wrong I will re-post and retract my statements, but as of now, I recommend anyone who reads this to STAY AWAY and do not waste your time and money. Montelongo is a SCAMMER!!!
Derry
My email is cgalatis@wellesley.edu
I would suggest sending in a business complaint to the General Attorney in MA. The more complaints they get, the more likely they will turn it into a case. That way, they could represent a group of people to get all of our money back.
i am so glad i found this site. i to was suspose to attend a seminar, but afetr reading this post for the last hour, i will not be going. Its to bad that people like him and others are allowed to scam others and not have to pay the price. He might as well be a politician. In todays economy, where people are just looking to get ahead, people like him should be put in prison for stealing peoples money that they work hard for everyday.
It actually doesn’t matter if you end up making money off of Armando. The tactics he uses are still illegal. And I believe the average profit that is made can’t really compete with the money you lose to Armando by paying for all of the products. I am pretty sure Armando makes close to $6,000,000.00 on CALIFORNIA BUS TOURS throughout the year.
In my opinion Armando Montelongo & Armando Montelongo Worldwide, Inc. have broken the following laws:
1) Consumer Law of Protection (bait and switch tactics of advertising)
2) Massachusetts Discrimination Laws (Fair Employment Practices Law)
3) Massachusetts Law on Antitrust
4) Massachusetts Laws on Harassment and Intimidation (Crimes Against the Person Law)
I personally have met and been in a family environment with Armando and Veronica – as well as Melina. Though I am no longer in their family’s lives, I can not say that they were the same as they may appear to be on the show. Remember – you do not KNOW people because you see what a show edits to display on television. As far as they go, Veronica is a VERY good mother. Melina is a phenomenal person with a beautiful, caring soul. A show will depict people in a certain light – get what sells, ESPECIALLY the drama. I think that people need to just realize that things are not always as they seem. As far as their business goes, I was never a part of it…though you should meet ALL of their other siblings and see how they are. That shall give you a large hint. Also, Armando & Veronica may have filed for divorce in the past; but, they were very married for the time that I knew them.
Travel a lot and in Austin, TX and infomercials all over TV. Sounded good and thought I would call for more info. I live in Florida and was told no events there. Thought about using 1 of my free tickets to fly to a seminar, but WILL NOT do that now. Thanks for the postings. I think the people in MA should pursue legal action, as a group.
hi all of you at there i was just seeing armando on tv paid progran.
im a latino hos bing working as a homes remodelationes 4 the last 8 years there’s is no way you can pull a nice or fear fix 4 a house en less them 2 weeks house bin in ferar conditiones to repare. now ones i so his show on tv. i was very sad to see how you can lie to peopple went they dont know a bout construction.
anthen in ono of his open house this family can to hem and tall hem to please they did not one it carpets cos the have a son with asma problems and the family tall hem the they will pay more money for harwood floors and what he did, (armando) went and got to the family the moss anspensive pergo floors on the market and sale then like a harwood floor cost. other thing ARMANDO Y SI LLEGAS A TENER EL PLASER THE LEER STOS COMENTARIOS TRATA MEJOR A TUS EMPLEADOS QUE SIN LA AYUDA DE ELLOS TU NO FUERAS NADIE.
Dear Dateline,
I am attaching this informational link for your perusal….regarding the alleged fraud and theft that Armando Montelongo has been engaging in….
I think it would make a great investigative story…..you might also want to investigate the due diligence that certain networks do or, rather, fail to do with regard to the product they are putting out there….I guess there is no Roger Goodell or Bud Selig of Networks…
http://www.flippingfrenzy.com/2007/12/26/is-armando-montelongo-a-real-estate-guru/
Please check the link and read some of the comments….do some research….and ask yourselfs…do you see what i/we see….a great story…and a good story….a chance to make a difference…and maybe right some wrongs along the way…..
I am attaching your link as well……to give any of the other astonished, bewildered (as to why this man is not in jail) posters a
chance to opine…or provide
additional infolinks regarding
this subject….
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18616878/ns/community-firstperson/
I think that Dateline could do some real good with an investigative piece on this.
Thanks,
Tim
Comment by Tim Engel — October 11, 2010 @ 9:04 pm
It is a whistle blow
Armando Montelongo program is a scam. I went to this seminar; in the seminar he is selling a three day $1500 program.
After the seminar I went and sat with the counselor to find out more by asking few questions.
I went and sat with his counselor and asked the questions below.
1Q) Does this $1500 program gives practical hands on sessions, but not giving an theoretical idea and asking us to do it? I gave a distinguish example procedure in words to prepare a stool or take the tools in hand and prepare it in the workshop.
Answer from the counselor: Yes there will be three days classes with practical hands on sessions with a mentor holding your hand and guiding through it and get yours and mentor hands dirty on the job. The counselor said a mentor will be beside me to make a stool in the workshop.
2Q) Does this $1500 program gives all the information about the real estate market, its strategies, how to find, fix, sell, finance and everything about the real estate?
Answer from the counselor: Even you are new to the market, don’t worry. This program will teach everything about real estate from top to bottom and gives you a mentor to help along the way where ever you are.
3Q) Is there any hidden cost other than $1500, down the road or at any moment for all the above program which the instructor is promising?
Answer from the counselor: No there is no hidden cost other than $1500 dollars you are paying right now. For the amount of money your are paying you will get practical sessions, all strategies, Getting your hands dirty on the job, a mentor to guide you so that u can make a right decision to make a profit ,finding the property ,fixing the property, financing the property, and selling the property in a real estate.
4Q) why is he doing it, explaining his hidden treasure and sharing his wealth to other people?
Answer from the counselor: In his life he stayed in a car parking garage with his wife and children and he has no food to eat. He struggled a lot in his life, he knows how badly if u stay poor, so promised his wife that he is going to help people after he reached happiness in his life.
5Q) How well this program fits a new guy in real-estate?
Answer from the counselor: This program is perfect, with in limited time you will be wealthy.
After hearing all the promises from Armando montelongo team I paid $1500 on my credit card and went to three classes. Not only the questions above I asked few more , which will still length this writing, so I wrote only important One the first day free seminar class where Armando’s team is selling $1500 three day package, his team promised everything whatever I said before and didn’t even gave a simple clue that this is just a partial fee and the total package cost is $30000.If by any chance Armando counselor expressed that, before paying $1500 I would have never got into this at all.
Armando’s team framed this total program in step wise how to get too much money into their pockets, without even giving a small clue that it is a Ponzi pyramid.
I talked to few people in three day class, they expressed it a disaster, and they wouldn’t got into this if they know earlier it is an expensive course. The few people in the class, who I talked, felt the same way.
Hear this /Read this:
In all the classes Armando Montelongo team didn’t even explain clearly one strategy ,but showed pictures of their family members vacationing in beaches, riding motor bikes, pictures of ugly homes buying for small amount of cash and selling for
big profits, how to cheat people by setting different layers of land trust so that nobody can sue him, how many credit cards he has, how to apply for credit cards, how you will be left with lot of debt after taking university approved (like nursing, engineering and other etc) courses which are government backed programs and lots of nonsense stuff.
And on the second day evening after coffee break Armando’s team broke the silence saying the total package cost is $30000 which will give you everything about real estate a mentor to guide you, a first property with hands on session and much more promises promises and promises.
On the second day program, afternoon around 1.00 pm before breaking silence about $30000 they made the classroom fill a financial assessment and consultation sheet. In that sheet they asked lot of questions about how many credit cards you have with limits, your bank balance, your address of stay and so much personal information. I got scared by looking at it but finally filled that sheet (You know why I filled it “a stupidest idea stuck my mind, may be by looking at that sheet Armando team might help me work on hot real estate markets by seeing it”)
Second day after the coffee break (around 4.00 pm) as I heard about $30000 I got shocked, couldn’t take a breath. A guy sitting beside me started cursing and he got sick and left. I could explain how bad my state is. I couldn’t drive my car properly back home after the class, couldn’t eat for few days, debt left on the card, hard to swallow the truth, and couldn’t explain clearly to my wife, lot of stress. I got really upset and to tell you the truth that $1500 I have to spend on my health but I paid for Armando lies.
After lot of people attending one day free seminar class and hearing Armando Montelongo team promises approximately 160 people paid $1500 and attended the three days In those three day classes I have seen lot of senior citizens, disabled, Minor who is 17 years old and people who does not know nothing. Armando team made approximately $1500×160 count =$240,000 on those three days. I don’t know why federal, state
Governments couldn’t stop Armando team. There are just bagging poor people like me by telling lot of false information, lies and misleading.
Please somebody stop him. I am giving you the worst part they have lot of my personal information by that form I filled on the second day. Three counselors from Armando team called me offering different packages at different levels, one Counselor
called from a Texas phone code, second counselor from New York phone code and third counselor from California phone code.
Is Armando Selling my personal information too? I am sorry I don’t want to mess with them.
Few more hints I am giving you: The $30000 package is called a bus tour which he will make lot of promises on that tour too but nothing written and signed legally by him. A comfort bus will have approximately 38 to 42 people on board. So a full bus
is making him $30000×38 people count =$1,140,000 . WOW one million dollars, oh god please lawyers stop him.
This is true, I hate to write .Readers please think about it .If I am only one feeling the pain ignore my writing, if not please god help Armando Montelongo to understand my pain and teach him some good values.
Excuse me Sir Armando Montelongo, if you are reading this letter I don’t think you are feeling my pain, but it’s true SIR. I pray god to give you good mind set. Sorry for this letter. Sir please doesn’t say in your seminars that you are helping people and use a family sentiment drama.
Is it a scam or not?
I have to agree with you Sammy we must have been at the same class (Albany NY) This is one hell of a shell game. smoking mirrors and all. I am ashamed to have fallen for these lies. His presenters gave me the same everything for 1500.00 speach as I was signing my last savings over to them. only to find I had been mislead. When I complained to one of the trainers of the 3 day session about not receiving the promised training and was told. Learning How to do a “sandwich lease” was worth the cost of the training if I used created enough of them. I did not sign up to learn how to scam landlords and sublet their apartments. I have spent my last savings to get to the training and the best they could tell me was call anyone you can to get the 30000 needed to meet the great armando and ride his bus, buy a property, rehab it and sell it within 5-15 days which should net me at least 30-60 thousand dollars. Due to FHA loans being so easily acquired in southern california.
Who can we get to help us address this guy and school of vultures… they laughed all the way to the bank. 260.000 for three days of lies half truths and outright deception..Thanks Armondo Montelongo… Killer Of Dreams!!!
Here’s my background:
General Contractor = 15 years
Realtor = 13 years
House Flipper = 6 years
Made Money with Flipping? = YES
Active = NO
Here’s why. After the bubble burst in 2007 the last flip I did was upside and ended up renting it out. Now the market has hit bottom (I believed) and we are flooded with Investors (the wanna be type). Every good deals that comes out in the market is done with multiple offers. Who are these people? You who purchased this books. What happens? Fixer homes are sold at ridiculous prices.
I’ll pray for you that you don’t lose your shirt because it takes not just will and dedication but EXPERIENCE.
Would you fly an airplane with your family as your passenger because some Desert Storm pilot told you it’s just like driving a car?
What’s the reason why Armando is going into informercial? Because it much easier to pick up some bucks from the miseries of other people. HOUSE FLIPPING IS NOT AS EASY AS WHAT YOU THINK. The best business model out there is to open a church. If the economy is up people contribute to thank the Lord, if the economy is down people give more to seek and hope. Armando is opening a church.
Real Estate is still a huge industry to lean on but please learn the basics.
1. Read Books about Investing
2. Talk to Realtors how things work or better yet become one. There are online courses. By having unlmited access to the MLS you are guaranteed your before and after valuation is bulls eye all the time.
3. Have lunch with your local or friend contractor and he will give you the actual nuts and bolts of home repair.
4. If you don’t have financing, Hard Money Lenders are out there (Watch out: their fees are high but doable if you do your homework).
5. Join Local Real Investors Club. They are wonderful people and are willing to help and share what they have learned.
6. Be Religious. There is nothing like asking the Almighty to watch over you. ‘If you do good things, good things will come to you’.
Your cost for all of the above = $0.00
Beat that Armando!
My husband saw an ad on Tv about a free seminars on Flipping Houses, He has been a fan for years. We went to seminar and was told about a 3 day class for $1497.00. And was told that in that class we would be given a list of all of Armando Montelongo contacts, from money to contractors and so on. We decided that we would do this. We go to the 3 days class and find out that not only will we have to pay $30,000.00 for a bus tour but that only then will we get the contact list.. Armando Montelongo is a scam artist who is also a piece of shit. For him to lie and steal from people who are hard working and looking for ways to better themselves… He left Texas cause he a cheating people out of money and ran. Something I did not know until now. People from every where need to come together and put a stop to this low life…And Armando, lets just hope you didn’t return to SA like your peolple are stating you did cause I will get my money back one way or another… Scum BAG….LIAR….Theft….SORRY EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN……Hope you go to hell for all the people you have hurt…
Thats true.. We are organizing a class action lawsuit for “fraudulent” on Monday in Austin Texas. If any others that attended the class feals the same please let us know.
Don’t buy this garbage. I did the free trial when he offered it and it was all common sense. I sent it back once I was done with it. Then a sales rep called me wanting to use my line of credit to flip houses out of my area. When he first called I told him I was busy until 9pm and he agreed to call me at that time with his boss. The fact that they were calling so late after business hours just showed that they are probably working some scam out of an unprofessional work area. The sales rep was continously kissing ass, telling me how he admires my motivation to try Armando’s package and that’s the type of people they are looking to work with. When I told him I’m not interested he was pretty much begging. These guys are losers, stay away!
I went to his seminar in Scottsdale. I was fortunate to have gone where I could start off with a scotch. I went in and listened for thirty minutes to the most boring speaker I ever heard. This dumb bitch was asking where do you think the price of real estate is heading? Stupid patronizing questions with obvious answers. They said that Armondo personally was going to be at the seminar. He wasnt anywhere to be seen. I left and told them they where liars to sucker people into the seminar and advertise Mr. Beeners presence. Screw these aholes. I was smart enough not to buy anything , the only part that was good was the sandwich they gave me.
Rene I too have been taken by the Armando Team and will be filling a law suit. I am with you on this.
I just saw the TV Adds and decided to find some review online. Thank You all for you time and good luck on your law suits against this guy. Also Thank to MARK LYON for starting this site.
People need to know what is bullshit and what is not. If it sounds to good to be true then delete. Don’t put out money unless they have a contract saying here is the money. Other than that you’ll be filled with a lot of hot air and end up with empty pockets. Move on to the true this in life and always delete quickly when you feel a rat of bullshit in the midst.
I’m sitting in the 1500. Bs three day “class” that promised armandos system, money lender lists and system to succeed.
This is the biggest bs scam for thirty thousand dollar bus tour info mercial.
We have just been ripped off 1500 plus.
I am going to ask for my money back and report this to the attorney general of the state of Arizona. “Scott” spends mire time talking about his deal in las Vegas and berating people for NOT getting on the bus then giving ANY actual information. I’m so beyond pissed and insulted that I will be happy to put this out to every media outlet that we can!
What a rip off!!!
We have been Robbed! We attend Armondo’s Montelongo 3 day workshop this weekend for the price of $1495.00, We were promised the Info, Investor and step by step help to be able to make a $30,000 real estate deal in thirty days with no money. As well as a Land trust worth $2,500 and 24 hour help line with all legal document for closing a real estate deal and a mentor to help us close our deals if we had trobles or questions. We were also told we would get our money back 100% if they couldn’t help us get at least one deal in thirty days for at least $30.000!
We attended the workshop on Friday, We got there early Note pad in hand, sat near the front and listen at the edge our seat waiting to hear that all important info that would help us become finacial set as we were told over and over again. Instead we listen to “Bill Ventco” go on and on about his Wife Bernadet and his kids which turned out to be two brown/black poodles (yes Pictures included) He gave us Homework He said go on craigs list and post an ad saying you buy house for cash, then ad a picture of any house you want the nicer the picture the better he said, and you don’t have to ask permission to use the pictures of anyones house or go to google homes the have tons of pictures there! On saturday some of the other people didn’t feel good about post a house for sale that didn’t belong to them, and were asked to keep those comment’s to their-self’s or they would be asked to leave (We learned this after the fact) after more talking in circle and give us number that made no sence “BOB” told us we would be talking to a mentors to help us with our stratgies, but that wasn’t the case, the Mentor that spoke to us “Ryan” kept pushing us to apply for credit cards, refinace our homes, turn in are 401K or pentions and ask friends and love ones for money to go on a bus tour with Armondo and his team of investors. The price of the bus tour would be $30,000 which quickly turned to $13,999 only after they saw the cash we could get our hands on this new price was made Special for our budget because “He felt bad we had used our mortgage payment to come to the workshop! when I became upset at the in your face, you don’t know! we do! I don’t need your money! I have a $4,000 watch on! Comment Ryan made after we asked him some really valet questions about what we would be getting and not getting with this yet another Discounted package that everyone else wouldn’t be getting. My husband a I were asked to leave because this bus tour wasn’t for us! When I asked for the rest of the things that we were promised at the end of the workshop (the Land Trust and so forth) That we had already paid for in full! I was told to go to an email address which by the way you have to pay a fee to use, and they asked us very Rudely to get our stuff quietly and leave or sercurity would be called (by then it was lunch time and most of the other people had gone to lunch)so it didn’t matter how ugly they became “No one was there to see it” I then asked another man that wouldn’t give me his name what about our money? the workshop isn’t over and we haven’t learned anything from you people we didn’t already know!The man in the Black Button down shirt said! LOOK! on the website! and smiled So to get our money back we now have to fax Armondo’s Company 30 properties we have tried to make deals on and send in the rejection letters from the properties deals that we couldn’t get. The problem is that no one showed us how to make these deals. Please Help! Please! Don’t allow them to do this to anyone again. we talked to and exchanged phone numbers with 12 other people that were at the workshop and have very simular stories and complanits to tell you about if need be. Thank you for your time.
I just got back from the free seminar in Chico, CA.(apparently the best market in the country, that was why they suddenly flew here from Florida, by special request from Armondo .. just for us) I have to agree with Bill the best part, was the sandwich I ate. I thought if I eat this sandwich while this bozo Paul (another VP of Acquisitions, who NEVER does these seminars, but was amazingly brilliant at it) is speaking maybe he will know I am NOT eating up all this “crap” he is trying to feed us. Unfortunately a lot of the folks there may be vulnerable to this. I’m sorry I can’t comment on the actual books or 3 day seminar as I didn’t part with my $$. From the minute he opened his mouth this was a total show, like the carnival man trying to sell us snake oil. I knew going in how this was going to go so I wasn’t shocked but I had know idea about the bus ride. If you are planning to go to FREE seminar, I say go, but leave your $$ at home. I got a few good ideas (but I am experienced at this) for the newbies they probably will be totally confused needing more info. DON’T BUY IT FROM THEM!!!!! Even if you spend the 20K for the bus ride it sounds like you still won’t know how to make this dream come true. Please think hard about all the things they said, don’t second guess that little voice in your head.
A couple of things:
Why would those people in the back of the room (counselors/students) who have made millions doing this be wasting their time at this seminar?
Why would Paul (VP of acquisitions, who was the man behind the camera on the “Flip this House” show and apparently worth millions) fly to little Chico, CA for this lame seminar?
He kept talking about how if you think about helping the “little guy” the money will just fall into your lap. Every example he gave someone is always screwed out of $$ or property in the end.
When you go into something expecting one thing and you just keep getting strung along to get to that one thing … RUN RUN RUN…..
Rene, I attended in wilkesbarre, PA and woulkd like to know about this lawsuite. I decided to cancel the next day because Paul told us we have 3 days to decide if we want to keep it. It also stated that on the contract. Over a month and still fighting for a refund.
WOW! just finished reading all the horror stories! Okay, so I spent (barrowed) the $1500+ (including meals, hotel, etc..)on the 3 day seminar (my partner/friend walked out & I stayed), I am a CA real estate agent thats flat ass broke & in deep debt as of 2008. I did learn something though, that if I had 30-40k available in any form (personal loans or whatever) I would be investing it in a flip, no doubt & using his tools. The DEALS ARE OUT THERE! But thats because I have real estate experience & have worked with investors as an agent (yeah I am hungry!). Now if I were completely green to flipping & realestate & had 30-40k I truely believe that the Platinum (30k pkg) or the Diamond (40k pkg) would be worth it “IF” I had access to an additional 30-50k to invest in the flips.
Look I am just like the rest of you guys, I attended a 3 day workshop that was primarily based on a bait & switch tactic about 30% of the time, & yeah when they found out how broke I really am, they shunned me too & I was no longer of interest to them. However I expected them to “promote” other “opportunities” & that does’nt mean that the info we got at the 3 day workshop wasn’t worth the knowledge. Nor does that make Armando a “bad” guy, he’s a business man. Wouldn’t you take advantage of an opportunity to promote other products or services? Sure you would, you’d be a fool & a stupid business man if you didn’t. It’s a hard thing to swallow, I know, however I truely believe that Armando’s program is not new, it’s been around for many years, he just puts it in a nutshell for the greenies.
One of the problems is getting into that first deal, finding that seller thats “willing” to enter into an assignment of contract agreement or a lease option agreement with no money down. Most lease option agreements have at least 20% down, & hard money lenders want the same, no matter how good the deal appears on paper. Just got to work harder to find that first right deal & not give up so easy when you don’t get what you want when you want it, try try again. Sorry but it will not be handed to you.
Shoot, I’ve ran into my own problems too. Yeah, now I live with my mother again, that we rent for $500 mo, no running water in the bathroom, can’t afford propane for hot water or cooking, single pane windows that SUCK – the cold air in that is, my husband works as a drug counselor for high risk youth from 2nd to 12th graders for 12hr/30hrs wk, manditory vacation withOUT pay, he might be laid off after Christmas, borrowing $ for food, I also have 3 degrees & mutliple certificates and years of business experience, but can’t find a job that pays more than 10hr, the nearest bus stop is 4mi away, I have arthritis & need total knee replacements in both knees so I can’t walk very far for long, we have 2 cars but the transmission went out last Nov on my truck & my veh registration expired last Aug & is in collection by the CA Franchise Tax board, they can seize my car! My mother is 70, needs life threatening surgery, in Sept & Oct I had to borrow $ to go to Wa state to be by only daughters (21 yr old) side while she faught for her life for 4 weeks after a appendectomy that went really really bad, she almost died of abdominal cavity infections, multiple large absesses & strepcauscus bacterial infections. Even the doc said the only thing that saved her was God & her youth! So tell me, can it get worse? YES!
My mother owns her property free & clear however we still can’t get a hard money loan because we have a 1972 2b/1b DW MFG home (that I live in) & a 800sq/ft. 1b/1b cottage (that my mother lives in) on it that is owner occupied. Appearantly the laws have changed as of last year in CA & hardmoney lenders can’t lend on props that are owner occupied. & we need 20% vested in any props that we intend on buying to get the hard $ loan. But that doesn’t mean I stopped looking for other investors/ lenders. That just means yeah, I’ve got to work harder cause it ain’t gonna just fall in my lap!
So am I letting all this crap get me down? HELL NO!!! What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger & fight harder!
Here’s the reality of what can be done, 1 of many opprtunities I witnessed at that and other foreclosure auctions & there are many more in my community that I’m chomping at the bit for. I attended an auction in my community recently, & a 3/2 w 2 car garage, on the golf course in a beautiful gated community, w/annual HOA dues of just 1495yr sold for 47.5k! It needed about 15-20k in improvements, however ARV would be about 150-160k FMV at least. So it sold at auction for less than .32 cents on the $!!! Sounds great! yeah, as I kick myself in the ass for not having the $ for even just the 32-38k (20% vested, closing & escrow & repair costs) needed to get a hard money loan to make the purchase, repars & flip! I just saw a 80k profit opportunity walk away from me & slip out of my hands talk about FRUSTRATING!!!
The hard money lenders I talked to lend on 80% of CURRENT value (purchase price) not ARV! Now if you understood what I just wrote, then you learned something at the workshop!
Actually, I’m not giving up on this program. I am just working that much harder on finding the funding source. So what have I learned? I’ve got to change my tactics and look for individual sellers & not at auctions, I’m just not financially set up for auctions. YET! & if that doesn’t work then I’ll try something else, until it happens.
Personally, I think Armondo needs to step up to the plate and have a few of us on a reality show! That would make for some good drama! I’ll be the first to sign up for the: Armando Mentelongo “Rag’s 2 Riche$” reality show, cause today I am as poor as dirt! My next step down is a “mobile” home on wheels! If my husband gets laid off due to budget cuts & Ma kicks us out or God forbid, she passes on the operating table! yeah that can happen, but I’ve got a brain today, & that means I have to use it, use the materials, & work WORK WORK HARDER!!!
I may be financially poor today, but I am wealthy in my Love of God, love for my fellow brothers & sisters, compassion, drive & optimism, & my desire to improve the quality of my life & that of those even less fortunate than me by establishing a private non profit agency for families of high risk youth.
I may be financially poor today, that is until I get that first deal or get on his reality show! (if he ever does one!) Then I can add Financial wealth to that list!
Kat siging off!
P.S. For all you that expected everything to be handed to you…shame on you! STOP WHINING & COMPLAINING! USE THE TOOLS!!!!
Attitude is everything, if you feel like you got ripped, then your not using the materials you paid for…or your expecting everything to be handed to you and not work for it. Believe in yourself & your abilites & you will succeed! Just don’t give up !
P.S.S. Armando….hey, call me I got a deal for you! $$$$$$$
Wow… couldn’t sleep this morning and started watching TV. Saw that the informercial was on 2 local stations at the same time. Watched the infomercial. Seemed too good to be true. After reading this thread I have a much better idea of what is going to happen at the three hotels in Lexington KY in a week or so. In my opinion, when something is advertised for free, and the next entry point is $1000-1500, with huge jumps up to diamond or platinum and with a bus tour for 25000 dollars, it is a scam. Stories about slow refunds, late-night phone calls, and high-pressure sales techniques means that this is a scam. I got the impression that Armando was attending each one of these three intimate get-togethers. At the same time as the ines in Las Vegas? OK, Armando can’t be everywhere and he has a team… didn’t get this feeling from the infomercial.
I liked the email from a contributor who suggested that someone interested in this business become acquainted with a contractor, do your homework, become religious. Sorry Armando, the internet stopped me from calling your number in about 4 minutes.
I actually signed up for the FREE SEMINAR but, after reading all this and learning it’s $1K I’m going to take a pass. I feel fooled because I kept asking the call center person if it was 100% free and if there were “any costs associated with this program.” She insisted it was legit and 100% free. I didn’t expect anything to be 100% free but, 1K in this day and age is a bit too much to toss out the window.
I went to the Seminar. I am a licensed Realtor & Lender for 18+ years. I represent Buyers at no charge the Seller’s pay my commission. If you are interested in purchasing properties in San Diego County give me a call at my office I will be happy to help you.
Top Producers Real Estate
Ask for Marianne (619) 294-6300
CA 01147157
I, like many others saw the infomercial on the TV. It really had a convincing appeal to it (as it was designed to) so I signed up and went (it was free after all). I arrived 45 minutes early and wondered around the center. First thing I noticed is that all the speakers/former students were in the hall having what appeared to be a sales meeting. I was only able to see it because a waiter was going in and out setting up refreshments so I was peaking in. These guys were really getting psyched up about something then I heard one say “let’s get some blood” and the meeting ended. I have seen this before when I use to sell Timeshare and yep, these guys were all sales pros and I doubt very much that a one knows anything about flipping real estate for profits. The meeting got underway and there was no knowledge passed on about techniques or trade secrets… just a bunch of “fishing tales” as I like to call them. The speaker started out by saying that Armando just went into a bank in LA and bought 680 homes for $12,000 each and the bank was so grateful that they gave him another 120 homes for free. That is a whopper if I do say so myself. When anyone asked a question these clowns (yes I said clowns) would just skirt the answer and belittle the person asking the question right there. This was observed three times during the program. Then they created urgency by saying there are only 9 spots left in the live 3 day training class that was dramatically reduced from the $3000 price for this Special Las Vegas Program because it is going to be used in the new upcoming infomercial and TV series Armando is starting in 2011…(They did make it a point to say that they quit A & E because the producers wanted to make Armando out to be a bad guy…..) what a crock of sh#@. The speaker kept stressing that once they are gone that is it. I watched 22 people go back and buy the program not nine so then I went and asked the guy in back taking the orders how is it that there are more then 9 spots available and his answer was that they keep the class small…seriously…that is what he kept saying even after I pointed out that over 20 units just got sold…. After the program ended I went up to talk to the speaker and he asked me did I sign up and I said the nine spots were already taken. He looked at me and said I will get you in if you really want to go but I must act fast. When I asked him a few questions about real estate he just answered that all that will be made clear at the live 3 day class. In my honest opinion these guys are all conn men and sales tricksters. No valuable information could possibly come from Armando’s $1500 class or his program he is pushing for $997. Stay away and seek shelter from these clowns.
I attended the “free” seminar yesterday in Harrisburg PA. I don’t know much about buying and selling real estate, so I can not give any input into how legit that part of their program. However, everything that they said about tax lien certificates (and the lack thereof in PA) was spot on.
My girlfriend’s uncle has the cd and book package, I am planning on giving it a look over.
okay everyone, here’s the deal. In reading all of these comments, I see a common thread. The people all pissed off at the world are people who had NO BUSINESS being in real estate. period. They were probably mopping floors, cleaning bathroom, or sitting in a corporate cubicle and think they can be in real estate. Now I blame the slick marketing these “gurus” put together becaues it appeals to the lowest common individual, or LCI. do you REALLY think savvy,seasoned,successful entrepreneurs would fall for this crap? NO, they wouldn’t, and the DONT. They are busy making real money in the real world of real estate. but if you take a snapshot of the people who attend these events, its those that are disenfranchised, never really fit in, failed numerous times at starting a business, just lost their jobs, things like that. These “GURUS” prey on the greed of humans and the “dream” that “anyone can do it”. well I am here to tell you that ‘NOT ANYONE CAN DO IT”. Especially real estate, IT CAN be done, of course. but IT AINT EASY, and there is no manual,cd,video,weekend training class that can do it for you. What you can do is get educated on the basics and develop a base. but other than that, you just have to dive in and get started. these people that get upset because they didn’t ‘get their value” are embarrasing. what they REALLY are pissed about is that investing in re is TOO ADVANCED and difficult for them to grasp or to do. See, it takes WORK. I know first hand. People think they can pay for training and all of a sudden 30 days later they are at a closing collecting a check! magic! no doesn’t work that way. How can you demand a refund and say the program is a scam WHEN YOU DIDN’T EVEN DO ANYTHING??!!! did you market to homes in foreclosure? did you put in offers and can you prove it? are you having conversations with sellers and buyers? NO YOUR NOT!!!! that’s like taking a course on how to be a pilot for a weekend, and then a week later, without even ever going to the airport claiming it was a scam and you want your money back! you have to get to the airport, get into the plane or at least simulation and get going. but what happens is, people realize “oh shit! this stuff is really complex and I don’t understand it or I dont want to do this, im afraid of failure” and they give up and then blame others. there are many many many mannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnny people who start in real estate as investors and succeed, why? well because they have a) people skills, b)work ethic c)education d)work ethic and e) work ethic and drive to succeed.
so stop blaming everyone else, and STOP GIVING OTHERS ALL YOUR HARD EARNED LAST BOTTOM DOLLARS and just take the info you have and get startd.
yes, these gurus have a system, they are salesman, thats what they do now, they USED to invest in real estate, NOW they sell people info and people buy it. i wish you all the best, it sucks, but real estate is NOT for the weak, especially in this market of 2011.
read messages 23 through 25 and you will never buy anything from Armando. You see, HE sent those three messages. lol
DO read message 2221. It was written by a pro.
Net, would you go and fly an airplane without training? If you would, I would not fly with you.
I watch the TV show for about an hour. I need to check this out! Thank GOD for the internet.
WOW!! I just watched his infomercial and was thinking that it would be something interesting to get in to. I’ve always wondered about flipping houses, so I figured that I could go and maybe learn a thing or two. However, I have always been sketchy when it comes to infomercials, so I decided to look him up on the internet before calling the number to join the free seminar. Boy, am I glad I did! Reading everyones posts on here has made me realize that I just possibly saved myself lots of money (I’m a sucker for sales pitches – thus, I try to stay away)! So, thank you everyone! If I really wanted to learn about flipping houses, I’ll just look up info on the internet….for free!!
I just watched the info commercial for seminars in Iowa that are planned for Feb. 2011. I actually considered attending since it was advertised as free. I have bought and sold a few houses over the years. I lived in them as we remodeled. I did make a profit but only because my husband and sons had worked in the construction field. It was a lot of work. If I actually assigned an hourly wage to costs incurred it would eat that profit up in a hurry.
I am so glad I decided to check the internet and found this site. I truly wish there was a way to warn the people in Iowa that aren’t internet savvy.
Glad I came across this site before attending the free workshop in Savannah, GA tomorrow.
WOW! I was going to the seminar on Feb, 26th 2011. After researching to find he’s a con I bought ZUMBA instead,lol at least with that I’ll get some positive results. Thank you everyone and God bless you for all your information,I was going to use the last of my saving to progress, I thought:(
O.K. people, He’s a showman, If you watch the episodes with his brother in them. You would wonder why anyone would buy a house from them. His brother want to fix problems the correct way. Armando want just to cover it up. I could never understand why someone in business to sell would make an hour ad of a tv show of how crappy and cheap he wants to fix a house up to sell.
My only piece of advice is that home pricing are still falling in most parts of the country. Wait until your area bottoms out. With falling prices, today’s bargains are no bargains 6 months from now.
armondo is a good buisness man and very successful. Just sometimes tries to look a little too intimidating for the cameras.But then again if thats what it takes to keep show running then maybe its a good strategy.
Thanks for all the info. Armando is a true jerk on TV. I was planning on attending a seminar in Troy, MI tomorrow (2/23/11), instead I’ll keep studying, planning and preparing.
Mike V. Thanks for all your comments.
WOW! I have spent a good portion of my afternoon reading the comments on here. My co-worker was telling me about this REI seminar that her and her husband were going to and about you could get houses for no money. I thought this sounds “too good to be true”. I asked if I could tag along and ended up going with them to the Novi MI seminar. Once I arrived I found out it was Armando….well, not Armando exactly. It was “Paul” his VP of acquisitions. First we were sold a package that should cost you $4500, (including a land trust) but out of the goodness of their hearts (“because Armando is really a truly caring and compassionate man…not the ‘prick’ they portrayed him to be on TV”. yeah, right!) you could partake in the 3 day course for $1500. WHAT A DEAL!! THEN after that we sat through another seminar on “TAX LIENS” taught by one of Armando’s former students. Those that had purchased the 3 day seminar could purchase the tax lien seminar for ANOTHER $800. This seminar was one you could do in the privacy of your own home through a CD or DVD set. Such a deal.
After reading all of the posts, I am so thankful that I did not waste the money for Armando’s crap…er, I mean seminar. I am sorry that my friend’s husband did. I hope and pray that they do get some useful information out of the seminar as I don’t forsee them getting their money back!
PS…You should have seen the stampede of people running to the back of the room to sign up for the 12 open spots at the seminar…Good salesmen I’ll give them that much but shame on them for praying on good hardworking innocent people.
I say if it looks like a skunk and smells like a skunk…
You could buy a house with the money people pay for these seminars. I bought a run down house in south texas for 20k, rented it out for 500 a month. I’ll let you do the math. Stop wasting your money and buy a house already. There are two type of people in this world, there are the “doers” and there are the “wanna doers”. For some reason the “wanna doers” are more than happy to give their money away to the “doers”. A fool and his money are soon parted is what I say. Stop blaming Armando for your ignorance and apathy.
Rascal i too went to one of armandos seminars thank god i found this site before i investied in those horrible people. As i sat their i was thinking to my self “why would a bunch of millionares waste their time talking to us” and why would armando drive a hummer; not what i would drive if i was ballin! Then they told us they only had 6 spots availible seeing that their was very few people at the seminar! then when more than 6 people stood up to go sign up he assured us that not all the people that signed up were gonna make it, just so that more people would sign up! what kind of bs is that…..ridiculos!
In reading this thread, I wonder why everyone has access to my IP address.
I saw comments above about people responding with different names/email addresses etc., but had the same IP address.
Why does anyone but the site admin have access to my IP? That’s scary.
Some snakeoil salesmen just look like snakes. This guy looks and sounds like a genuine criminal.
He has the totally wrong image for what he wants to sell. I am immediately leery of ANYONE taping a production while driving in an ostentatious car wearing sunglasses. People love to do that with online videos.
That look flat out says, “I am a dishonest, disgusting, fast-talking pig.”
Nobody needs what he is selling. It’s available free online. He has NO secrets.
Pat:
Your IP address is logged by every server on the internet that you communicate with. I made special note of it in several posts above, since they all purported to be from different “supporters” but were, in fact, coming from the same location.
Absent a subpoena to your ISP for the identity of the account holder assigned an address at a specific time, or linking actions at the same time from the same IP to a known activity, your IP address is not capable of revealing your identity. Hope that helps.
Mark, I realize my IP address is visible to the site admins. I have several blogs and I see the IP of very visitor.
However, visitors to my blogs do not see other visitors’ IPs. I thought I read a comment above where a visitor here implied he also knew the IP addresses were the same. I know blogs don’t publicize email addresses.
Perhaps I misread the comments above.
That poster also checked his site’s log, and noted visits from the same IP I noted. He doesn’t have access to my logs.
Gotcha. Cool. Thanx
I recently went to one of his free “seminars,” the sole purpose of which was to coerce people into buying his $1500 course–which was supposedly at a “massive” discount. Numerous pressure tactics were employed. The room had about 75 people, and they announced that there were only 7 slots available in the course. (Get your spot while you can!!!) This was all before they told you how much it cost. AM’s lead huckster for this event, L, actually managed to produce real tears when talking about how his kid had been diagnosed with diabetes a decade before, and how he had lost “everything.” (This supposedly occurred despite being trained by a multi-millionaire how to flip houses, and a decade of success.) My guess is that by far the most money AM and his crew make is from conducting seminars. Apparently, about 100 people attend each one, all of whom fork over $1500. (The actual number of paying people may be closer to 50 since each paying person can bring a guest.) So the gross revenues for each event are about $75,000-150,000. Out of this, I estimate expenses are in the neighborhood of $10,000 to 20,000. Not a bad chunk of change for 3-4 days’ work. Plus, the seminar business appears to operate as a franchise, with multiple players conducting them around the country. This seems like a good business model for AM.
If you can line up investors, really have a big network, know your market thoroughly, are extremely dedicated, and live in the right place, there is actual money to be made flipping houses. But if you possess these qualities, my guess is that you don’t need AM’s course.
I love how Armando has peppered the web with sites to puff up his product. It’s all part his apparent plan to siphon wealth from the gullible and desperate. Here are a few of his planted sites and pages:
http://www.armando-montelongo.net
http://www.flipandgrowrichreviews.com
http://www.reviewopedia.com/armando-montelongo.htm
He came to WI with his crap, why is he still able to do this? Why are people still buying his BS? help us Dateline…..
They so prey on the weak minded when it comes to brain washing, the teach you how to build up your credit so they can swipe more $ off your card. Find where his next flip is and show up and collect. His mentors don’t have a clue on how to do real work on finding legit homes, just how to talk you into another 3 day education for $1500, that’s why you’re not flipping houses, you need another bus tour with 50 people looking at the same house, with the same plan and same lenders, how can you borrow money on a flip and make money?
watch out MN, IL and other midwest states, here comes A**hole!
hey JOHN?
why on flipplng frenzy is there a post word for word like yours, but under a name BOB? the tear line is what i caught, and the time and date on post, did you cut and paste that, way to long to write word for word………..ummmmmm
any way AM sucks and needs to be flipped!!
It is a whistle blow
Armando Montelongo program is a scam. I went to this seminar; in the seminar he is selling a three day $1500 program.
After the seminar I went and sat with the counselor to find out more by asking few questions.
I went and sat with his counselor and asked the questions below.
1Q) Does this $1500 program gives practical hands on sessions, but not giving a theoretical idea and asking us to do it? I gave a distinguish example procedure in words to prepare a stool, take the tools in hand and prepare it in the workshop.
Answer from the counselor: Yes there will be three days classes with practical hands on sessions with a mentor holding your hand and guiding through it and get yours and mentor hands dirty on the job. The counselor said a mentor will be beside me to make a stool in the workshop.
2Q) Does this $1500 program gives all the information about the real estate market, its strategies, how to find, fix, sell, finance and everything about the real estate?
Answer from the counselor: Even you are new to the market, don’t worry. This program will teach everything about real estate from top to bottom and gives you a mentor to help along the way where ever you are.
3Q) Is there any hidden cost other than $1500, down the road or at any moment for all the above program which the instructor is promising?
Answer from the counselor: No there is no hidden cost other than $1500 dollars you are paying right now. For the amount of money your are paying you will get practical sessions, all strategies, Getting your hands dirty on the job, a mentor to guide you so that u can make a right decision to make a profit ,finding the property ,fixing the property, financing the property, and selling the property in a real estate.
4Q) why is he doing it, explaining his hidden treasure and sharing his wealth to other people?
Answer from the counselor: In his life he stayed in a car parking garage with his wife and children and he has no food to eat. He struggled a lot in his life, he knows how badly if u stay poor, so promised his wife that he is going to help people after he reached happiness in his life.
5Q) How well this program fits a new guy in real-estate?
Answer from the counselor: This program is perfect, with in limited time you will be wealthy.
After hearing all the promises from Armando montelongo team I paid $1500 on my credit card and went to three classes.
Not only the questions above I asked few more, which will still length this writing, so I wrote only important
One the first day free seminar class where Armando’s team is selling $1500 three day package, his team promised everything whatever I said before and didn’t even gave a simple clue that this is just a partial fee and the total package cost is $30000.If by any chance Armando counselor expressed that, before paying $1500 I would have never got into this at all.
Armando’s team framed this total program in step wise how to get too much money into their pockets, without even giving a small clue that it is a Ponzi pyramid.
I talked to few people in three day class, they expressed it a disaster, and they wouldn’t got into this if they know earlier it is an expensive course. The few people in the class, who I talked, felt the same way.
Hear this /Read this:
In all the classes Armando Montelongo team didn’t even explain clearly one strategy ,but showed pictures of their family members vacationing in beaches, riding motor bikes, pictures of ugly homes buying for small amount of cash and selling for
big profits, how to cheat people by setting different layers of land trust so that nobody can sue him, how many credit cards he has, how to apply for credit cards, how you will be left with lot of debt after taking university approved (like nursing, engineering and other etc) courses which are government backed programs and lots of nonsense stuff.
The worst part is his team is ditching a university courses backed by government.
And on the second day evening after coffee break Armando’s team broke the silence saying the total package cost is $30000 which will give you everything about real estate a mentor to guide you, a first property with hands on session and much more promises promises and promises.
On the second day program, afternoon around 1.00 pm before breaking silence about $30000 they made the classroom fill a financial assessment and consultation sheet. In that sheet they asked lot of questions about how many credit cards you have with limits, your bank balance, your address of stay and so much personal information. I got scared by looking at it but finally filled that sheet (You know why I filled it “a stupidest idea stuck my mind, may be by looking at that sheet Armando team might help me work on hot real estate markets by seeing it”)
Second day after the coffee break (around 4.00 pm) as I heard about $30000 I got shocked, couldn’t take a breath. A guy sitting beside me started cursing and he got sick and left. I couldn’t explain how bad my state is. I couldn’t drive my car properly back home after the class, debt left on the card, hard to swallow the truth, and couldn’t explain clearly to my wife, lot of stress. I got really upset and to tell you the truth that $1500 I have to spend on my other plans but I paid for Armando lies.
After lot of people attending one day free seminar class and hearing Armando Montelongo team promises approximately 160 people paid $1500 and attended the three days In those three day classes I have seen lot of senior citizens, disabled, Minor who is 17 years old and people who does not know nothing. Armando team made approximately $1500×160 count =$240,000 on those three days. I don’t know why federal, state
Governments couldn’t stop Armando team. There are just bagging people like me by telling lot of false information, lies and misleading.
Please somebody stop him. I am giving you the worst part they have lot of my personal information by that form I filled on the second day. Three counselors from Armando team called me offering different packages at different levels, one Counselor
called from a Texas phone code, second counselor from New York phone code and third counselor from California phone code.Second counsellor package cost $13000, third counsellor after a month called and offered a package for $6700.
Different baits to catch a fellow at different levels.Wow amazing right.
Is Armando Selling my personal information too? I am sorry I don’t want to mess with them.
Few more hints I am giving you: The $30000 package is called a bus tour which he will make lot of promises on that tour too but nothing written and signed legally by him. A comfort bus will have approximately 38 to 42 people on board. So a full bus
is making him $30000×38 people count =$1,140,000 . WOW one million dollars, oh god please lawyers stop him.
Your advertisements only on local Tv is good strategy to bait people who doesn’t even have a cable or dish.Those people can’t afford to pay for your horrible gimmicks and Strategies Sir.
This is true.Readers please think about it .If I am only one feeling the pain ignore my writing, if not please god help Armando Montelongo to understand my pain and teach him some good values.
Excuse me Sir Armando Montelongo, if you are reading this letter I don’t think you are feeling my pain, but it’s true SIR. I pray god to give you good mind set. Sorry for this letter. Sir please doesn’t say in your seminars that you are helping people and use a family sentiment drama.
Sir Armando Montelongo I have to ask you a simple question?
If you are so confident about your program, why don’t you tell people who attend your free seminar on first day that your program total cost is $31500 dollars, this $1500 you are paying for three days is just an intro.
Using your sad car garage story as an example, saying i want to help poor people to make them rich, and finally demanding $31500 dollars is a shame Sir.
Is it a scam or not?
Mr. Flipperdo:
Yes. Twas I who posted a substantially similar review on flippingfrenzy. Unsuspecting victims may not read the comments on all sites, and I want to do my part to keep AM at bay. This is something of a mission because it appears the FTC hasn’t taken charge, and the money involved is huge. The scam is so smooth that even my wife was duped. After Lan*e burst into tears, she insisted that we fork over the $1500. That caused something of a quarrel. The next day she was glad that I had resisted: “I’m so gullible,” she said.
((( DON’T BE MonteSCAMO’S NEXT DEAL! )))
I’m a college student w/ an extensive sales background lkg to make extra $ to reduce education expenses/debts. I saw the infomercial & went to their seminar in PHILLY YESTERDAY(wished I found this site before I went). Anyhow, I thought the same things everyone I’ve read on these threads did. It was supposed to be “free” and I expected to get a synopsis of the foreclosure ops in this crazy housing mkt. There’s so much to know about R.E. that I figured just mastering flipping techniques would be all I would need to focus on. Fat chance! I spent 6 hrs of my Saturday listening to nothing but contradictory and bogus claims, all of which used EVERY TRICK IN THE SHARKSKIN SUIT SALESMAN BOOK to get money they know ppl don’t have in this economy! I heard all of this crap for years (sigh). The VP,Acquisitions (who says he’s found all of the homes rehabbed on “Flip This House” for AM)even bragged that their program is affordable to those who are in debt,unemployed or on disability (aka ppl desperate to take a chance on making fast $ to get outta their situations). Plus,they instilled thoughts of failure; greed; images/video of the good life; anyone can do it; “TAKE ACTION” now pressure tactics; dangling the carrot of A.M. giving u a property from HIS portfolio (which one a “cat house” or a crack house that won’t sell) if u couldn’t make a tax lien certificate return of getting a property Deed Free&Clear; insulted ur intelligence if u don’t buy their system;guarantees creating a false sense of security about getting ur money back aft 90days if u can’t flip a property AND they promise to “KICK YOU OUTTA THE PROGRAM” if u can’t flip within 6 months(bc it makes them look bad to fans/Feds as they are RE-BRANDING company aft their A&E debacle); and the WHAMMY, there’s only 11 seats available (I saw approx. 20 ppl sign up) and that they would work w/ those who didn’t have the $1497! I know there’s NO FREE LUNCH but this cost was insane for info. freely available online or at ur local library (SMH). The VP got on my last nerve w/ that ridiculous tear-jerking story about how he lost everything bc both of his kids had major illnesses, almost died & racked up high medical bills bc he had NO INSURANCE. Get outta town O_o. What so-called millionaire doesn’t KNOW to protect their assets w/ a good lawyer/accountant straight away? SO NOT believable. One older lady got so mad that she called him out on “double talking the whole time” and said he was “unprofessional” to talk to ppl like that. So he asked her and her guest to leave since he couldn’t slither around their accusations! It was a charismatic net to engulf every tax refund & 401K cash out that they could reel in & laugh over champagne n caviar later w/ at least $24,000 in their pockets for 6 hrs work. They got even more money bc they cut a deal w/ those same 20 ppl to buy the Tax Lien Certificate Program too! Dunno how much that was. They told everyone that they had 2wks to try to come up w/ $ to be in the classes that were ALREADY FILLED by my count. WTH??? I told them that I was gonna try to get the money w/ my tax return to see what they would do. They were all too eager to get MORE $, no mention of class size or deadlines. I knew all along it was A DANGEROUS GAME. I’m not giving them a cent : THEY NEED TO BE STOPPED BC MOST OF THE PPL THERE LOOKED LIKE SENIORS! Many can recover from this loss but seniors are always getting hit n loose what little they still have. SHAME ON U Armando SCAMO! I’m gonna take this to my local consumer groups n the media bc it could have been ME. Thank God I was too cool to be fooled O/ I pray that those who lost money don’t just post here…use some of what u learned at the seminar to do ur homework in real estate if it appeals to u. Don’t let them kill ur dreams! “TAKE ACTION” to report their asses to MAKE THEM DO THEIR BIGGEST DEAL EVER trying to settle a bunch of class action lawsuits so everyone gets their money back…PLUS LET’S ENJOY A REALITY SHOW ON THEM IN COURT ON HOW THEY WILL SWEAT & PRAY TO AVOID REAL JAIL TIME n not pay their way outta everything…REMEMBER MADOFF – HE’S UNDER A JAIL CELL!!!!!!!!!! *** BLESSINGS TO ALL WHO JUST WANTED HONEST FINANCIAL FREEDOM BUT TRUSTED TOO MUCH. MAY U ALL RECOVER UR $ AND MOVE FWD O/ *** GOD _ SEES _ ALL ***
lol i like how the three people who go crazy happy over the program #23,24,25 are all from the same IP address. lol kind of intersting.
When one chooses to spend their precious time away from their family to attend an event to better the life for your family and yourself, you expect some sort of information that will greater the life you have now. Should you tend this event, make sure you are not at your lowest or be sure you will be on a mandatory 72 hour hold. The information you receive during the course you pay for may be of great value to your life. However, the information you receive if you can’t afford at least $3,000 may lead you to suicidal thoughts or actions due to the abuse you receive if you don’t fork out the money right away. The time to spend at the seminar is not worth the abuse unless you have at least $3000 to spend right away. I would rather have spent the 3 hours with my two little girls than waste my time. I am sorry I didn’t have the money to pull out of my ass. At the same time I didn’t deserve as nobody does to experience the abuse from some piece of you know what that barely got their diploma to tell me how to live my life with my children. He brags about how great his life is, how rich he is, how he only worked 2 months last year, how much his 2 year old girl means to him, yet he still has a nanny. Bravo to him. I may not be rich, but I have the riches of the world to know how important my kids are. Without all the money in the world and without the Nanny!
Yup, went to one of these seminars to see what was up. Thank God for smartphones. I looked up “Armando Montelongo” and the word “scam.” Found this website, read it for about 5 minutes and sat there satisfied. I got the free eats though! I made sure to eat really loud, drink my soda obnoxiously and be a complete ass.
You know when you see someone else yawn, you feel compelled to yawn as well? Trick works like a charm. The lady who was presenting would stare at me because I was eating and drinking so loud, every time we locked eyes, I would act like I was yawning. Never failed, she would yawn as well. Got her to yawn about 4 times mid-sentence.
I like how they pander to the dregs of society making it seem like THEY are smarter than individuals who go through college. As if college students are idiots. I have to hand it to them, they really know how to pressure you into buying a bunch of lies.
After reading input for the last 45 minutes, I am sure you have saved me from spending $1500 on lies. I thank you Mark for coordinating this forum. Bless you.
How interesting. I stumbled across this site while researching a fellow named Nick Vertucci, who promises to sell you cash-flowing rental property in Indianapolis for a wholesale price (well, he charges a $5,000 “consulting” fee). He is claiming to be in partnership with this Armando scumbag. While the concept sounds good, I will run, not walk, away that one 🙂
First of all I want to apologize for some grammar errors, as English is my second language. I wanted to share my experience with 3 days workshop class.
I just returned from 3 days workshop, April 21, 22, 23 in San Jose.
I don’t know what other coaches were teaching you in your classes, but our coach was AMAZING! Lynda gave us so much information that my head is still spinning. Maybe instead of being concentrated and stuck on HOW MUCH I paid for this class, I actually was listening to what information was provided to us at this class. For people who will go for Armando’s classes – I would hardly recommend this approach! 🙂 ONLY this way you could actually learn something.
Just from listening to what coaches were saying, I made a plan how to turn my house into 5-6 houses without using my own money (my house is paid for, but it doesn’t cost that much). Just even this lesson is PRICELESS to me! How much would I pay a lawyer to explain all this to me? A lot more than $1500, that’s for sure.
The positive atmosphere and inspirational speeches. This is Priceless in my book. Every evening leaving classes, I felt on a cloud 9, I felt like sky is a limit and I actually felt myself that I can do anything, whether it is business, real estate or personal self esteem (well they all are kind of connected). Just look at the facts. If I were to go to psychologist, the cheapest one would charge $100 – $200/hour. Here, 3 days – 8 hours a day, I got 72 hours of totally positive and inspirational lessons, which with psychological rate would equal to $7,200 – $14,400. Does my investment of $1500 already paid for itself? Heck, yeah!
You know what got me really confused in all these comments? I HAVENT’ SEEN A SINGLE NEGATIVE COMMENT FROM PEOPLE WHO WENT ON BUS TOUR! I see only bunch on whiners who are upset that they didn’t want to find money for a BUS tour, they were all shaken up that they spent $1500 and now they expect that people will go and do all work for them. Excuse me (I am business owner myself and I know what it is to run a business), if you think that Armando can afford to pay salaries to all coaches, lease of space for 3 days, pay their travel expenses, their hotels, overheads for all the personnel who was teaching you on these 3 days workshop classes, provide you a personal coach for 1 year, his bus tour, his personal time and advertising on tv and web, his travel expenses, lined up all people for you, etc and he all can do all this for your sticky $1500!!! Well, you are dreaming! Yeah, he is not in this business to lose money or nor he is a charity organization, everybody who is in business is to make money. If you are looking for charity – go to church and donate on Sunday and then next day get up again at 6 Am and go back to your work that you hate so much (otherwise you wouldn’t come to this class to begging with if you didn’t want to change a job).
So coming back to people on the BUS tour. Where are their negative comments? There isn’t too many or actually I found one, is simply because these people learned something and these people are now too busy working creating or maybe trying create their wealth. These people are WINNER, or at least fighters for their part of win. Those are DOERS!
Bunch of you who sit and cry here should not even come to 3 days workshop to begin with.
For the ones who thinking about going for this program, go there ONLY if you truly want to change your life. Go there ONLY if you are SICK of what you have happening in it right now and go there to LEARN, but not be stuck on your fear of paying for education, the education that would possibly change your life for better.
I highly recommend to go to Armando’s 3 days work shop. I had an amazing experience and I am sure that people who have big dreams will also enjoy it.
His next step is to show you how to apply all and everything into practice, and YES, it cost extra money simply because a PROFESSIONAL like him will not work for free or $1500 in this case. His team is well trained, his coaches are super supportive and have loads of information to give you, BUT if you want to deal with the owner and super successful person, well, then you HAVE to have a mentality of super successful person and not be afraid to pay for it, or if you are not super successful person, then you have all chances to become one!
CHOICE IS YOURS.
You might say, “sure, she is a business owner, she can afford a house outright, she can afford it to pay for the bus tour”, the trust is: I came to this country few years ago from Russia (I laugh when you call this program a scam – YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT REAL SCAM IS 🙂 I seen it all), I do not have credit history, I do not have successful business, all I have is a small house that worth 80 – 90K and business that I am trying to develop, that’s all. BUT I am going to do everything possible and impossible to find money to go on a BUS tour. I believe in this opportunity (and it is a true opportunity) and when I believe – I know that people who love and care about me, they will too. I am going to ask my friends and clients and I know that I will find what it takes to get into this program.
IF YOU CAN DREAM IT THAN YOU CAN MAKE IT!
Well, after my bus tour I will be glad to share my experience either way.
I do hope that there will be people out there, maybe even the ones from my group in San Jose, who actually would share their positive experience as well. I Know that many people left the last day and ALL of them were very excited about their new start of their new life.
If someone has any questions, I will be happy to answer. And no, I WAS NOT paid to say what I just said. I am truly grateful to all coaches and sponsors. Thank you, Lynda and Michelle, thank you for this chance to make great changes in my life!
oxana, you’re going to be found broke in an alley after that $32,000 bus trip.
Thank you to MIKE VOSS and everyone for sharing your experiences and knowledge of this program. I was close to purchasing the program until I read almost every comment on here. Im a single mother with big dreams and no money. Its amazing to me that Armondo could just take my money for little to no REAL education and skills offered. Im so thankful I did not purchase this scam, instead I will research the info for free at the public library and invest in my REAL-estate liscensing and go the honest way! Thanks again for putting the truth out there for deperate to survive people like me!!!
As Oxana says, the only way you can tell for yourself is to go on the bus tour and see what it does for you. The bus tour is about empowering you to reach your goals and you have to have the mindset that you can succeed before it will actually happen. If you are curious about Armando Montelongo’s real estate packages why not go to one of his free events and hear about them for yourself? He has not only the bus tour but home-study courses and other much less expensive workshops which you can try before you decide if it will work for you.
Armando is a joke, my crazy butt fell for this stupid mess. Taking them to court. Hopefully that works.
I too saw the infomercial on TV late last night and seriously considered dialing the 800 number for tickets… except for the little voice in the back of my head that kept telling me that A&E or not, that Armando dude looks like a street thug, pimp, and/or drug dealer. Needless to say, I will not be attending this circle-jerk in Pueblo on May 23rd!
I didn’t read the whole thread here (I’m already an hour over on my “lunch break” haha) and, as a result, I have no idea if A&E is still associated with AM or not… but if they are, they should be ashamed of themselves!! What’s the deal, A&E? Dog the Bounty Hunter wasn’t enough crap TV for you, you had to get in bed with a man who appears to be the biggest scam artist in recent history?
One more thing… people, you need to get real! $30,000 for a bus ride?!? Even WITH valuable information, it wouldn’t be worth 1% of that… and by my calculations, a thrifty shopper could almost purchase a “bus” for themselves for that kind of money!
Oh, and for those of you being charged for a “subscription”, stop calling the AM people and start calling your credit card companies! That kind of “rebilling” is illegal without FULL disclosure and a simple, easy, and effective way to unsubscribe… this is a Federal law, and there is no way for AM to get around it (thank the porn industry for that little gem). AM cannot provide any documentation where you approved the monthly charges… they’re dead in the water, period.
Mike Voss… you are a really decent person, and a classy guy to boot. Thanks to you for being the voice of reason in all the chaos 🙂
I purchased Armando’s package alomost a year ago after his sales staff arm twisted me.Extremely pushy and slicks. I paid $6800 for one year coachingg. I tell you it is a total joke. I called them within the first 3 days to cancel they would not. I tried so many times as the coaches he has are not experienced as they tell you at first. The way they sell their program is nothing like what the reality is. I am giving a warning to anyone that is thinking of buying his coaching program or any of his materials. I feel like I took the $ and dumped it in the trash.
How can any of you talk bad about Armando.. He runs his biz the way he wants too! Also, are any of you as successful?? He has made these books and spreading the wealth of knowledge to anyone who is interested! Yes, I have bought the books and i have learned a great deal of knowledge! He does not try to sell you on more in this package. This is a great package for anyone!
I attended the free seminar in New Orleans today. I felt that it was a talented presenter who was using great sales techniques to get us to sign up for the $1,500 3 day training class. It was very impressive, but I was cautious. I do not walk up and spend $1,500 after listening to a salesman talk. I am glad I found this website since it gives me great pause. I was seriously thinking about signing up. I had no idea that there is more cost that keep increasing. What is the bus tour that others have mentioned? Will someone explain what happens on this bus tour. Where do you go and what do you see? What do you hear?
I just finished Armando’s seminar and purchased the Bus Tour package, etc. Based on the knowledge that I learned during the initial meetings, the upcoming bus tour, boots on the ground, etc., will be icing on the cake. I cannot believe how a seminar can change someone’s thinking in regard to creating cashflow, our future as a society, and the crisis that our country is facing today. I am a huge skeptic, but I can tell you that you are wrong about Armando’s system. You choose what path you want to travel. Not Armando.
I honestly feel very sorry for everyone that was victimized by the con-men at these seminars. I attended the free one and nearly spent the $1500 for the next level, but lucky for me and my credit cards, I found this site and came to my senses.
The $1500 3-day course is nothing more than a con to extract another $20k from unsuspecting innocent people who are only looking to better their financial well being.
People wake up and realize that the $20k-plus that you’ve spent on these people could have been a downpayment and closing costs on your first flip.
Do you really think Armando’s $7k coaches are going to be able to tell you over the phone how to fix all the problems associated with remodel/repair. Are you going to call them with questions about Drywall, Plumbing, Electrical, Roofing, Carpentry, Foundation repair, Code violations, etc???
Only you and/or your contractor can determine that.
Please, Please, Please come to the realization that Armando is a selfish, terrible man that is preying on the weakest, most vulnerable people who can’t financially afford what he takes from them.
He is STEALING your money, because you’re getting NOTHING in return.
If you want to learn about flipping homes, go to your local public library and get FLIPPING CONFIDENTIAL by KIRSTEN KEMP. Also, I’d recommend THE ART OF THE DEAL by DONALD TRUMP.
Kirsten & Donald talk about what’s realy involved with making money in real estate. These are two people who have actually had success in the business, and share their experiences.
Watch the T.V. show Holmes on Homes, and you’ll see what really happens during renovation, and what awaits you inside the walls of that home.
Doing this will cost you nothing and teach you more than spending $25k with Armando ever could.
I believe that all the liars of the Earth will be judged for their actions in the next life, and everyone associated with the Armando Empire will either be reincarnated as insects (probably dung beetles) or they’ll need to dress light for and eternity of warm temps.
I went to the one day seminar and got some good info. and some bad, but the main idea was to use due diligence. That holds true no matter what you do in life. Flipping property can be extremely intimidating, but with good research and planning you can reduce a good amount of the anxiety. Don’t get discouraged-get busy, but make sure you are willing to put your time in. Good luck!! Oh, by the way, they said at the seminar that land trust are about $2,500 I found a company called Fullcount services that will do it for $350 or, I found a printable version that you can do yourself. I hope it helps.
I am so glad i came to this web site and read all of the reviews about AM. It saved me 3 hours of my life. I was about to leave to the city of Cerritos ca. Thanks for this web site i hope more people read it so they don’t have to loose any money to this scam!!!!
Wishing we’d done more research before buying into this “system”…
My partner and I went to the initial freebie where I signed up for the 3-day $1500 package… There was some good info in that 3-day workshop; and that part was worth it to us. Then, figuring the $30,000 (YES THIRTY THOUSAND!!) “bus tour” package for an entire weekend with Armando should be worth it, we went into debt to pay for the package. We went to CA which cost us an additional $1500 in travel, hotel and meals.
Was it worth the $$$$$$$$$$$$ and the trip? In a word: NO!!! Again, HELL NO!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here’s what we got:
– a near non-stop party atmosphere
– tons and tons of Rah-rah
– a book which is little more than a Lowe’s & Home Depot product catalog
– rehash of his “formula” which was mostly provided at the $1500 event
Other than DESCRIBING his system, he provides very little that likely could resemble what he really uses himself. I seriously wonder if he is currently doing real estate or just coasting on revenues from suckers like me…
Near the end of the third day, Armando got drunk on stage…. He portrays a loving relationship with his wife; but had no guilt about parading around with another woman on his arm. At the end of the program, we saw him get into a stretch limo, then re-emerge for a few moments while it was obvious to all who saw it that Veronica was quite upset — probably over the other woman and his drunken state.
During the bus tour, we were “befriended” by one of Armando’s Business Development (BD) people and “secretly” met with a “Director”… Why? They tried to sell us on a more one-on-one “mentoring” program at a mere $25,000!!! We declined. I was in BD roles in previous jobs, so I provided suggestions as to what Armando could do to seriously grow his business in the way he wants to portray it… Then, we noticed the BD guys doing their same “we noticed you and think you are special” schtick on others.
The other day, we got an email offering one-on-one mentoring, so we responded in a way as to challenge Armando to show us that his system works in other-than-hyper-active-markets… A few moments ago (6/16/2011), I got a call from one of his people “offering” the mentoring… Realizing this was a bait-and-switch, I told her that while the promised “my team and I are going to mentor” really didn’t include the “I (Armando)”, this sounded just like the sales pitch at the bus tour for $25,000… at that very moment, the phone went dead… nothing! Not even a gulp, whisper… NOTHING!!! Total silence.
I have created a spreadsheet which covers Armando’s system and am considering putting it into the public domain — Armando’s already put me into debt based on false hopes and promises, so I have nothing to lose…
How are we doing? I’ve been unemployed for nearly 5 months, 65 years old, trying to find a way to pay off the credit cards I used to pay for Armando’s bus tour.
How’s it working? It’s not. Banks around here think their properties are worth nearly full TAX VALUE. It may be a while before our banks figure out they are not going to sell their non-performing assets which are in need of repair at full price.
Hysterical. Armando doesn’t put anyone into bankruptcy, they do it themselves. No one is holding a shotgun to your head. I cannot believe how stupid people can be.
You people are just jelous! Armando has helped thousands of people make a great living for themselves and their families. Not to mention he’s not to hard on the eyes! He has a great way with his mentoring and his knowledge is immense. The $997 package is WELL worth it. If you follow the guidelines you will succeed. Problem is most people don’t have the staying power or the discipline to stay the course…
I want to know about his guantee? has anybody lost there money . because they said we would get our money back if we didnt make any money.
Thanks Mark for maintaining this website and continuing your crusade.
I recently sat through an AM one-day “carrot” seminar. Quite slick; as the “pressure” tactics aren’t as overt as I’d expected but they are there. Preying on peoples fears, insecurities, and naivete. And while the spiel on education can be argued, just remember that there are NO real short cuts and no free lunches!
It’s nothing more than a modern version of a “big store” long con. They’ve been around since the turn of last century. You’ve got ALL the roles being played; the roper, the mark (that’s YOU if you part with your hard earned cash), the inside man, and the fixer. And you’ve got ALL the elements; the tale, the convincer, the breakdown, the send, taking off the touch, the blow-off, and the fix. It’s all there folks!
I thought the $1,500 was bad… but reading here how it leads to additional outlays of tens of thousands?!!! Wow! It amazes and saddens me continually that these hucksters have no conscience. No doubt some delude themselves into thinking that it’s ok because in doing so they can provide for their own families. It makes them no less despicable.
Sadly long-cons of this type are hard to litigate. And the main reason con-men get away with their crimes is that people who are conned are usually too proud, too embarrassed, and typically not financially able to pursue any recourse or action. It’s what grifters count on. I would hope that those affected continue to fight for recourse.
Do your due diligence and remember; if it was easy everyone would be doing it; including Armando and his crew. Instead they are hawking dvd’s and a litany of false promises. Use your head people, just a slicker version of Don Lapre!
Thanks again Mark, for fighting the good fight.
p.s. if you’re interested, read The Big Con by Maurer. It was written in the 40’s but it’s quite timeless!
How timely… just saw this today:
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/112910/infomercial-get-rich-pitches-street
To bad the FTC isn’t a little quicker on building it’s cases.
If your thinking about to one of his seminar’s, stop thinking that way. You’ll get more information from going to your bathroom and flushing your money. Just Google his name and you’ll read the crap this Fat Boy Has Pulled!
@manuel (2286)
Here’s the “guarantee”…
—–quote—–
Tuition Guarantee Certificate
Armando Montelongo Seminars(tm) offers to purchasers of the Real Estate Education Workshop package this risk free Tuition Guarantee. We promise and affirm to you, the holder of this certificate, that we will refund ONE HUNDRED PERCENT (100%) of your Real Estate Education Workshop tuition if you close a positive cash flow real estate transaction within 90 days of your date of purchase.
This Tuition Guarantee is subject to the following conditions:
* You must provide us with proof of purchase of an Armando Montelongo Seminars(tm) Real Estate Education Workshop package, including a copy of your receipt and a singed copy of this Tuition Guarantee Certificate.
* You must provide us with the following documentation of your real estate transaction: a copy of your closing statement, copies of the checks or wire transfers used in the transaction, at least five photos of the purchased property, a brief description of the terms of the deal and a signed statement that the transaction results in a positive cash flow position.
* You agree that Armando Montelongo Seminars(tm) may use your information and documents as a testimonial promoting the effectiveness of our training and support.
* All of your documentation must be received by Armando Montelongo Seminars(tm) within 90 days of your purchase of the Real Estate Education Workshop package.
* Armando Montelongo Seminars(tm) reviews tuition reimbursement requests on a case by case basis. The review may take up to 60 days.
Acknowledged and agreed to:
Student/Purchaser: ______________ Armando Montelongo Seminars(tm)
Signature Signature
_________________________________ _______________________________
—– end quote —–
The GOTCHA is that this guarantee is only provided for the initial 3-day workshop, so he only risks $1500… Just re-read this part: “will refund ONE HUNDRED PERCENT (100%) of your Real Estate Education Workshop tuition”… while the verbal sales pitch leads one to believe the reimbursement is the bus tour tuition while providing NO such guarantee… the initial workshop guarantee leaves the impression that there’s a larger guarantee… The “pitch” is presented in such a way that the “student” THINKS something else was said…
@Art (2287)
Obviously, I’m not too proud to post the facts as I have them… I second the thanks to Mark!!
@Art (2288)
Thanks for the link!
Here’s another “guarantee”…
—– quote —–
Real Estate Training International, LLC, an authorized licensee of Armando Montelongo Seminars(tm)
Triple your Money Back Limited Guarantee
[main text redacted because of the fine print below it…]
Properties presented by Real Estate Training International, LLC. Associates, Partners, Affiliates, Armando’s hyper markets, bus etc. are not to be included, or are exempt from the guarantee.
—– end quote —–
Translation: amazing triple guarantee; but it’s non-applicable!
I am glad I decided to do a little research before attending the seminar. i signed up this week, but thought this seminar cannot be free. All of your honest postings made me realize he is a scam artist and not because he is asking for money, but because I do have a NC real estate license and I know it takes money to purchase real estate. But he is not being upfront about the cost, which makes me feel like he is deceptive. I just don’t like dealing with people who don’t give me all the facts upfront and waste my time with a bunch of smoke screens. I think I will pass on the seminar.
I am an idiot or a sucker. But, not as much as some people. I spent $1500 on his three day seminar. Then, one of his crony ladies told people that a deal was ‘guaranteed’ on the bus trip in L.A. -‘flipping real estate in L.A. on the bus trip will be like grabbing fish in a barrell’. An outright lie. Because I called and they redacted it after people spent $25,000 on the bus trip!
I want part of this lawsuit because nothing they said was true other than paint your flip ‘white’. When I called to get my refund. The guy gave me a list of hard money lenders (about 25) and none of them responded! I wonder if they even exist! Please call me 480-22-4221.
Sorry 480-225-4221
If you want to be successful in flipping houses, you need 2 things: some cash in the bank and a relationship with a LOCAL real estate professional.
I know several people who tried to do this on their own, and they are now bankrupt. I also know several guys who buy, rehab, and flip and have huge success. Because they have resources, lawyers, corporations, and Realtors working with them.
If you are just starting in the Flip game, remember, Just one lawsuit can wipe you out.
Has anyone had any success with this program??
I have read many interesting comments, most negative. Many who seem to have some expertise in the real estate market.
I just went to a seminar here in California and heard the spill. Sounded exciting. But then I found this site.
Please let me know if anyone has had any success with this company.
Thanks,
Curious George
Another thought… while property prices were APPRECIATING, the financials didn’t matter much because even if it took many months to repair and sell, you would still make [more] money as time went on. When the market turned, it became MUCH more important to buy LOW, repair FAST and sell FASTER — before the dropping prices ate into your now meager, dwindling profits. Armando NEVER discusses this — he’s more interested in SELLING his system which only works in an APPRECIATING economy.
In today’s economy, selling will be your biggest problem since loans are now VERY difficult to get… Unless you invest in what Armando calls a “hyper-market” (is CA still one?), you can count on likely becoming another FORECLOSURE statistic. In any money making real estate scheme, you had better UNDERSTAND the CURRENT market economics.
Simply put, today’s market is FULL of homeowners who can’t sell (underwater, aka, not enough cash to bring to closing), and a majority of potential buyers who CAN’T get a loan… 115M total properties, many seeking buyers, ~83M of whom can’t qualify… THINK about it!!
Bottom line: Armando appeals to our desire to make big $$$; BUT FAILS to tell you the WHOLE truth about the current market. Good Luck if you insist on swallowing his BS like I did… I was finally able to cash in retirement funds to pay down the credit card balance incurred when I naively bought in to his crap. Saving 19.9% is better than not making even 10%… 😛
My bad for not realizing in time that Armando’s scheme is almost exclusively for APPRECIATING markets; BUT he KNOWS better and thus qualifies as a scam artist for failing to disclose this.
To Oxana (2270)
Are you still out there?
You stated “I HAVENT’ SEEN A SINGLE NEGATIVE COMMENT FROM PEOPLE WHO WENT ON BUS TOUR!”
Well… Having GONE to the bus tour, I’ve been trying to raise the awareness that Armando’s scheme ONLY works in an APPRECIATING market (parts of CA may still be).
Did you go? If so, what do you think now?
Was the PARTY atmosphere worth it?
Did you acquire a property? Fix it?
Are you able to find buyers who can qualify?
If you’re still positive AFTER the bus tour, can we please hear about it?
I just got back from NO freeby sandwhiches were good and drinks were cold gota do better than that to get me but got to admit first class acting dont know where AM got these guys.bet they would do great on a used car lot.My advice to anyone has a little money and repair skills buy cheap,min. repairs and rent till the economy gets better
SCAM!!
i have used Carlton Sheets course to buy my first property. you know, nothing fancy just a place to live and not pay rent.
Armondo……. this is going to far IF you charge $1500 for the class. i can say im happy i missed it. i have been to pyramid seminars and had to leave for laughing so hard. well this seems like that ok. (you flip 30 houses in a month on paper) it is very well pitched and i know how they make you feel like you should just give them your money.
notice i didn’t say anything rude.
I can’t believe after basically 4 years of this blog ongoing and warning people, he has an infomercial.
I was going to buy his book and classes. But I ALWAYS google before I buy.
Thanks everyone.
Seriously.
Armando and QVC entrée is full of shit.
Period!
Maybe, once upon a time “Armando Montelongo flipped a house. Once upon a time. It’s like QVC is trying to make the sham-wow meth addict into a real estate flipper with aviators (and other BS)
SO, maybe once upon a NOW, Armando wants your money so ARMONDO can tell you how to do it.
How much does Armando Cost? Just think about it for about oh, a couple of seconds.
Armando Real Estate = Armando full of shit.
No, obviously I didn’t buy this.
But I somehow awkwardly feel for all the morons that might.
Fuck Armando and his QVC gang of Charlatans.
I smell class action.
There is simply no way you can rip this many people off and get away with it? Oh wait, Maybe Armando is Pimped by the Street?
Did anyone attend a New Orleans Show and went on the bus tour and was sucessful or satisfied with the outcome?
The bad advice from this man has financially wiped me out. He has $58,000 of my money and there is no way to get a refund. While they are messing with your mind the deadline is ticking away for a refund. To use Armando’s words, ” I was just mind fucking you”.
well i just signed up for this 3 day training in reno,nv. I’m all ready sick i went for it! I will see for my self if they offer this bus trip for a stupid price! The guy Aromdo sent is a good salesman for sure, I can all ready see that getting my money back is pretty much out , just by the way they set the garrentie up ,, the tranning will be held jan 3rd,4th,5th I will report back after that,, thanks guys
It’s something that all this rhetoric of the Montelongo’s scheme’s and scam’s make it real evident to me there is a real problem and risk to the public from the actions of the Montelongo’s and their false claims of success to wonder why just today I saw this Armando fella in an infomercial hawking a book and video on flipping houses for just $19.95 +s&h!!!! If there is so much resentment and false advertising and fraud going on with this person why is he even still allowed to sell his crap on public television??? I know it’s not a perfect world but where in all the moral fabric that binds us in society does it give anyone the right to purposely mislead potential customers into buying misrepresented and outdated information not to mention down right lying just to make a dollar? Even the legit tactics are borderline so you that are successful and “honest” could use an upgrade yourselves. I mean what happened to love thy brother? We all have flaws to our character but it’s no excuse to not do what is right towards your fellow man. I apologise because I did not come here to preach but in doing my due diligence on the Montelongo’s I ended up here! It’s just that while all of you here who claim to be “professional” on what is righteous about your craft are posting, the Montelongo’s are still out selling fraudulent materials to your neighbors!
WOW! Let me start out by saying that if it was such a scam why is it that this year The Armando Montelongo Company was awarded #1 in education on the Inc 500 list? Awarded in Washington DC for his work in education.
The messages I have read make me sick and so frusterated with the idiots on here. Just a bunch of whiners on here. You people are the type of people that want everything handed to you and if its too much work you blame someone else for it not working.
I am no genius as you may be able to tell from my writing (could be that I am flaming mad). I attended Armando’s workshops and bus tour and it changed my life completely. You seriously have to be an idiot if you can’t take his system and work it for you. I keep in touch with tons of students that are successful in their flipping business and guess what, they aren’t Harvard Scholars either. You have to be willing to put in the work. Armando never pretends that it is easy, you have to be commited to following your dream. If you showed up looking for an easy way to make extra cash you would be dissapointed. If you want to be a millionaire you have to act like one. You have to work hard and never give up.
I had taken classes about Real Estate Investment in the past but Armando’s system surpassed all of them. It was the best money I have ever spent.
I will forever feel gratitude towards Armando and what he has done for me and my new business.
Congrats! My advice is to quit this site. Its extremely depressing to see how many people fail themselves then look to blame the teacher. The teacher can show you how to do something but it is up to you to study and pass the exam! Once again, congrats on your success and happiness!
My Positive comments will probably never be posted because I realized the moderator is anti Armando…why would he post my positive messgae? “While I strive for accuracy, when posting material from outside sources on this website, I reserve the right to include links or commentary that were not in the original, to change the formatting of the content from its source, and/or omit portions of the source material. Comments to this website are moderated and will not appear unless approved. I am not your attorney. This website is not designed to convey legal advice.” REALLY? Never mind.
Thank you for this site. I saw some of the infomercial this morning and was tempted to go. I might go just for the entertainment factor, knowing full well, thanks to 99% of the posts here, that this conman and his crew are just out to fleece whoever they can. Looks like they make their money not from houses, but from the pockets of those they dupe. Or as PT Barnum said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
And congrats on remaining in the 99% while the 1% eats off your back, sweat and tears.
I haven’t seen anyone mention this yet. The more I read and watch the guy on tv, the more I am convinced Armando is a psychopath.
http://www.cassiopaea.com/cassiopaea/psychopath_2.htm
It fits.
I attended the seminar and the information and techniques that were taught were very un-orthodox, but I have verified the information to be accurate. I am almost finished building my buisness team and I still haven’t spent any money.
However…the marketing techniques used to present the seminar and bus tour are definitely mis-leading.
Armando needs to change the marketing techniques so that his company is honestly and accurately disclosing the information regarding both the seminar and the bus tour. While this may drive sales down, Armando needs to ensure that he is conducting business with un-questionable honesty and integrity.
While I have a lot of experience in the business world and I know when people are “toying” with language…not everyone has the ability or the right intelligence to identify when this is happening. Thus, peoples expectations are greatly exaggerated and the result of which are the negative comments found here.
I would have invested the 30,000 dollars if I had 30,000 to risk in a venture. While I did have the 30,000 dollars, it was not money that I could afford to risk so I decided to take the information learned at the seminar and get started.
The sales staff fully disclosed the fact that they could not guarantee my money back either on the deposit or the entire amount for the bus tour (I had to drag that out of them during the conversation).
The bottom line is that YOU MUST ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS before investing in anything, and the analyze and evaluate the information to determine if you can risk the money.
I am happy with the 1500 I spent learning some awesome techniques at the seminar, and when I do enough flips to make 30,000 I will re-invest in the bus tour.
Don’t forget there are other ways of learning to do real estate. I just prefer live instruction so that I can ask questions. 1500 for 24 hours of time from an experienced real estate investor is not bad (I did a background check), especially when he puts up with my annoying “Newbie” questions.
If anyone has any questions feel free to email me at k_alan.williams@hotmail.com.
Thanks for reading!
PS….I have to agree with Jennie G.
The moderator does seem to have some bias against Armando and may be selective with the “good” posts he “allows” to be posted.
The people making money with Armando don’t have the time or interest in telling those of you that didn’t take the opportunity to invest in yourself how they are doing. I am on the team now, so BYE-BYE.
I paid 1495.00 for the package and attended the seminar. I was under the impression that I was going to get a walk through so I would know exactly what to do. Turns out, you actually need money to get that tour.
I spent all of my money checking it out and didn’t get a return on that investment.
Imagine being surrounded by a bunch of rich people who should be able to guide a poor girl with a problem making money. There advise … move to a cheaper house.
Okay, Thanks guys … having to stay with friends now … is that cheap enough … now what?
So much for paid experts!
Hello,
I am shocked at all the posts on this site. I guess you would all call me crazy, but I bought into the program. All of them. I have been intrested in real estate investment for quite some time and decided to take a shot at it. Education is expensive. That is how I decided to look at this program. It has given me Real Estate mentors like many of you, who have been in the business for many years. My purchase took me to 3 seminars which were excellent. I made some great contacts here in my state that I still talk to today. I have also attended his famous “bus” conference. 3 people from my original group also attended. There were about 500 other crazy people-all there to make a life change. Some will, some won’t- its no ones fault but your own if you don’t try.
It (the conference) was definately not professional (I was warned that it would not be). It was incredible, It was insane. Imagine professional speakers, midgets, marching bands, facing fears, late nights, fun, meeting lenders, touring homes- all in 2 1/2 days. Wild. I met some very fine people who are top professionals at this conference. Mothers, fathers, teachers, contractors, etc. We all have dreams. They aren’t all about punching a time clock.
Just like anything in life, you can make it what you want it to be. I choose to keep moving forward. Not to be like Armondo or his wife. Just to give my family a few more choices than I had growing up.
Every system has flaws especially when it grows fast. I see that they recognize them and are working to do the best job they can. My dvd pack with all the teaching materials $1000) was stolen at the hotel. I sent one email explaining what happened and they sent a new one immediately.
The support of the Armondo office is fabulous. The staff at each of the conferences I attended were amazing. Even gave me personal contact numbers if I needed help. I did. They were there. Are there.
Make a choice and get on with your lives. His tv show is crazy. He knows it is and that is what sells time. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it. If you don’t want to hold yourself up to the pressure of high # of sales then don’t set it as a goal.
Armondo does not work alone. You’re right. It is not possible. That is all you have taken time to see.
Let God be the judge of Armondo. No one has enough time to sit around and read garbage- do they? Do you?
I purchased the package and the bus tour. For all the people that did not make money it is because you tried to cut corners. Armando gives you what you need to do it. If you have money or not. The Hard money lenders will take allot of the profit the first time to minimize the risk. They will take less and less the more you do.
We was poor in debt and struggling to make ends meet. Now we are worth over 500k. Not bad for 1 year.
It does work. You just have to follow the game plan.
Debbie, thanks for posting this. People think they can get something for nothing these days, or they can cut corners or not work hard. It’s hard work, but it you can be successful if you’re dedicated and want to follow the system.
I too have inrolled in the 3 day event but have seen so many negitive comments about Armando and the cost for the bus tour, not mention a possible sam. I would like your input about ths if you can and how the bus tour & cost accually work. I am2 days into the 3 day cancellation and have to make a dicision soon. Thank you
MIKE VOSS:
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REAL TRUTH,
I HAVE READ ALL YOUR POSTS & YOU ARE
INDEED A MAN OF TRUE WISDOM.
I RESPECT YOU IMMENSELY.
MAY GOD CONTINUE TO BLESS YOU IN ALL
OF YOUR LIFE ENDEAVORS.
BRIAN J.
All flippers cut corners. Thats how they make money. If they all did everything by the book there would be no money to be made. Cheap is not always the best but if you could get something for less by negotiation who wouldnt do that???
I was just told by Carla and Katie that I am not entitled to get any of my money back. If you can’t afford to lose money, DO NOT BUY THIS PLEASE
We went to a 2 hour seminar yesterday where we were treated to a boxed lunch and a one hour motivational speech before anything of substance was said. The tips about how to find the deals were enticing, and we would have signed up for the 3-day seminar. But the dates they had were not good for us. We were given one option for a class that starts in a week. Otherwise, there “may be” one other option, but they “have to call Armando to see if he can fit you in” and it starts the next day. I figured that if it were legitimate, they would be giving you an opportunity to sign up with enough lead time that you could actually do it even with other commitments (such as a job). It had all the “now or never” flavor of a timeshare sales pitch, except that the price didn’t go down the more you said no. It was always $1500. At least we got free sandwiches!
This seminar/workshop was the most invigorating thing I have done in 30 years excluding my wedding 3 1/2 years ago! What a reality check it was for me. I was constantly bogged down by what I was saying to ‘myself’…and some other naysayers! That’s all changed now…NEW ME!!! Ready to rock-n-roll! I have figured out since I got home, that I will not be getting the back up to help with this system, so I will be relying more and more on my ‘Pink Bus Family’. Keeping my chin up and pushing forward, I have even managed to find a local realtor who very much wants to work with me on flips, even to the point of fronting money, i.e. Joint Venture. She has attempted the flipping herself and admits to making mistakes and losing money. She seems very willing to do this “Armando’s way”! YEAH!!
I attended this introductory seminar yesterday, and even before the visit the infomercial tells you (in the small print at the bottom of the screen) that the results were achieved with additional education that they paid for, so please people read because READING IS FUNDAMENTAL!!!
After reading all of the negative comments and all of the claims of scam, this is how I feel about the matter. Everyone who takes this course will not be successful and become millionaires or even wealthy for that matter. If it were that easy every one would be doing it. But the information is legitimate; any seminar you go to will have this same information with their own twist of comedy, drama, fiction for entertainment purposes added to it, it’s called salesmanship people. It’s what makes you interested in the product, otherwise everyone would walk away and not purchase or learn a thing if as soon as you walked into the room there was a big price tag on the package and nothing else. If they walk you through the process then you paid for those coaching services so it wasn’t a scam because as long as the techniques can produce results and at least one person makes it work then you can’t call it a scam. A scam promises something that they know you will never get and that doesn’t seem to be the case here seeing as they do provide money back guarantees (you just need to get that guarantee in writing).
The information presented is the same information you will hear wherever you go, it’s no magic formula, just a foundation that you need to learn and work. It won’t happen overnight and there will be bumps and bruises as in everything you do; but while I hear a lot of belly aching over $1500, I don’t hear anyone cursing and bad mouthing their college professors for paying for a $100,000 college education and still feeling the need to pay for a $1500 seminar like this to get their financial lives on track because that college education is failing them right now!…..Hmmm.
A $30,000 per person bus tour? What on earth would make anything cost that much? Global trips via airlines going around the world are at most half that cost.
I, as a realtor can asssit you in the best way to invest that $30,000 and truly help you out in real estate vs. that crazy stuff. It’s all very sad how so many here feel he has these secret amazing methods to create wealth and will give him their money that they could be using to invest in the actual way they can see ROI. And, as a buyer rep Realtor, I come totally free to the buyer/investor.
Full time, experienced, ethical, hard working real estate agents who work in creating smart investment situations for their clients every day of the week, year in and out, are the best way to go. I feel badly so much money is being wasted by good people who spent years working hard for their money only to waste it away needlessly on these sort of infomercial businesses. I watch the ads and cringe.
I’m glad I Googled Armando to hear comments from most of you who feel it’s all a marketing hoax…I’m in the financial industry and a former radio talk show host. I was curious what seperates him from the other Infomercial bs. KEEP IN MIND THAT HE, LIKE ANYONE ELSE, CAN BUY TIME ON TV OR RADIO….thye networks or stations always add their disclosures at the end of any infomercial show….all they want is the advertising money to keep their stations in business…
If you believe every negative comment you see on the Internet, you might never do anything again in your life. I went to a seminar. It wasn’t for me, but that doesn’t mean it might not for somebody else. Most of these comments look old, too.
I would not recommend buying this package. In my opinion it is grossly overpriced and provides little useful information. In reading the course, I felt as if I was lead in a direction and left. You will learn more taking a basic real estate course for licensing. As with most of these real estate guru’s, they are full of hype and little information so you will keep buying their next newest product. Buyer Beware!
And you wonder what makes the 1% different from the 99%. True grit. Of course Armando’s sales pitch is to get people to sign up but before you do, take a long hard look at yourself in the mirror. “Can I really flip a house?”. Look at your life. Have you ever been put in charge of a $100k + project? Have you ever been directly in charge of 10+ people? Do you value education? I’m not talking college education, I mean life education. Do you read business magazines? Subscribe to business newsletters. Basically, are you mentally primed for success? The answer is probably not and you are a damn FOOL to think that a $1500 course will give you riches. This is not for you. Its not a scam but for some it feels that way because they got sucked in by the flashing lights, so to speak. Today is not just about hard work anymore, thats our grandparents generation. Today is about smart-hard work. Working your 9-5 is no longer good enough and the sad thing is 99% of people are taught for elementary school to get a job and start a family. The sad thing is, 99% of you will never make it so please, don’t try this course because 99% of you cannot handle it.
And by the way, I do not condone the actions of the 1% but the 99% just makes it too easy to pull the wool over their eyes. Wake up people, the race is on whether you like it or not, and there are always more losers than winners in every race!
So many, many negative comments. And yet, I went anyway, checked it all out. Turned out,it wasn’t something I wnated to do, but that doesn’t make it a “scam” in my eyes. Guess it’s easier for some people to say NO than others.
Armondo is a low-life white-collar thief, a typical con artist, who makes his money praying on the hopes, desperation, and yes sometimes gullibility of people. A true sociopath. He must be in order to come home at night and sleep like a baby with sweet dreams of what new toy he will be buying next week, all while his victims are most likely up with insomnia, panicking while trying to find a way to mitigate the damage that Armondo has done to them.
Seen his new online video ad slots? He has long hair now and wears it in an effort to imitate Antonio Banderas. Talk about being enamored with your own image?! Slight difference though, Banderas doesn’t get his money by robbing his neighbors blind. If there is ANY justice left in this world, then this leech will spend the rest of his life in a Federal prison.
Don’t know what “damage” you’re talking about…Armando doesn’t hold a gun to people’s heads and takes their money, or steal it like the government does. It’s not a crime to work your ass off and help people learn how, too. Quit your whining and get a job.
Too many negative comments. Sounds to me like a lot of people in this country these days .They just hate seeing some of us in this country making a living, and a good living at that, on our own. when did making money become such a bad thing. People are free to spend their own money however they want.
Thanks for the comment, Greg, a little common sense is welcome around here. Sure is a lot of jealousy in this world.
just stumbled on this site i just got a kic for 175.00 of the cd’s i thought i seen and ordered dvd , going back to his ws i see it now says cd’s,what up with that ,can anyone give any web addi for all this legal stuff with this guy, glad i only spent 175,stop right there for me, i know its hard to flip anything , but u can do anything, you put your mind to with hard work.
just need some help and backing for me.
Armando should be in prison.
I punched Armondo Montelongo training program just yesterday 4/26/12. I was impressed with my fist impression if this Chores and was excited about getting stated but sadly to say I got a job offer and must proceed with a sure thing. In order to pay rent and keep food on table for kids. So I called to cancel my contract for this education program. It was that easy faxed in cancellation receipt and monies will be in account in 7/10 days. I wanted to send back books for refund but Ms Jessica stated keep them you may want to take class at latter date. OUTSTANDING Customer Service! . TO THOSE THAT SAY ARMONDO MONTELONGO IS JERK OR BAD BUSINESS MAN that is WRONG ! WRONG ! WRONG!
Thanks for the importunity to make good money and make my dreams come true..
It is 6am the morning of the 3rd day of the 3rd day seminar. and like the last night I could not sleep, because of all the information that I received. I think knowledge comes from education. And what I learn is more knowledge than I have ever had. I had been invited one time before to invest with Donald Trump in the Trump Towers in Las Vegas. But did not feel a connected with him and did not do it, and at that time I had the funds to do it. Since them a lot have happened and I no longer have any funds. I am not able to do the bus tour with Armando at this time because of the fact that I have not had a job since June of last year. But I did encourage my sister Virginia who was able to come up with the funds to go herself to go. The information that one can get from an mentor, would take you on your on years and years to gain. The new software they have out just looking at it seems to be remarkable having at one time been a license real estate agent, I was that and let my sister know. Nothing in life is free and if you think so think again. Even in the bible it says not to feed a man a fish who is hungry, but to teach him how to fish so that he will never be hungry again. This is what Armando and the wonderful speaker I have spoke to and listen to over the last two days have been trying to do. I hope that in 24 month my life will be different and I can do it all. Thank you Adam, Chris and Tiffany and all the other for your knowledge the last two days and the knowledge I will get today. EVERYONE OUT THERE THIS IS REALLY A GREAT PROGRAM
I really think that this is a great program. And even though I could not come up with the funds to go on the bus tour. I will try again in 24 months. Again thank you Adam, Chris and Tiffany
I see the viral marketers are out in full force on the comment section of this website now lol. Anyone with half a brain could see this was a huge scam. There is no such thing a get rich quick scheme……………….other then playing the lottery, and even then you have a better chance of getting bit by a polar bear and a panda bear in the same day lol.
I just finished the 3 day siminar…I LOVED IT. I will somehow come up with the money to continue the program. I went into Real Estate in 1980 when according to all Realtors and Mortgage Broakers if you client could now afford an 18% interest rate they could not buy a house. I sold my first home one month and two days into the business another home a week later and got on a roll…my HIGHEST interest rate my first year was 12 7/8%…every thing was legal and above board…while I left the office to go sell another home I passed agents sitting around talking anout how bad the Real Estate business was…that is what I am hearing here from the negative people. Get out there and work for the profits..this is the most exciting thing I have heard of since I left Real Estate in 2005 after 25 years. My Real Estate business was in the midwest. I now live in California and am ready to go again…thanks to all the crew at the sicinar this past week end. God Bless You
I bought the audio files from the seminar and the $25k bus tour. Yes, someone made an audio recording of the seminar and the tour. I paid $30 for the files. I bought some of the used cd’s and dvd’s on ebay. The informationis worth about $50. I’m so glad I didn’t pay $25k.
I wanted to let you and others know that my wife and I recently attended the three day seminar and master course. The information is absolutely wonderful. He really has a great system. I think it’s funny how there are people out there that are so lazy that they think by purchasing a course they will become rich over night. These are the people who are out there giving bad reports and saying he is a scam. Anything that will make you a lot of money requires a lot work,but after establishing your business it becomes less work and more fun. My father has always told me if you find something you enjoy doing as a job it will never be work, because you would do it even if you didn’t earn money at it. It makes it a whole lot easier to become wealthy at something when you enjoy doing it. People also tend to forget that he is in this business to make money. So props to him for being able to offer an education
Coarse that will make money. By the way isnt that what we all want to do? People are just hypocrites,lazy, and probably just stupid who says his coarse is a scam.
You’re RIGHT!
educating yourself is very important, but what you do with it (action) will determine your success. It’s like going to college or taking a class in massage. You learn the know-how but if you don’g actively pursue bveing a teacher, ora massage therapist, you won’t get a job and therefore won’t succeed. Effort and Action will spell success. Everyone has different experiences. Some will succeed faster than others. We wouldn’t have electricity, cars, etc. if previous people gave up and said it can’t happen. It sometimes takes failure before you achieve success because you will learn the mistakes you’ve made and will correct them. Armando has a system to help guide you to success. Ask, Ask, Ask! There are definitely people who will help you. Some people need mentors to help get them moving forward. He provides them for you at a cost .Yes, there’s no free lunches if you’re serious about making money. Armando is a visionary. He’s creating communities in a depressed market in abandoned areas where single investors would not invest. This creates jobs and value to an area where people will want to live. What other investor does this for America?
I totally agree Edith
I just watched this family on television flipping homes. On television in front of viewers I watched him cover up a decayed foundation before the inspector showed up. The house was sitting for years and homeless people and birds had inhabited the place. Instead of ripping up the foundation he continued building with the smell and bad foundation. The smell didnt go away and he used amonia to cover up the smell. First, let me tell you that he was selling the home for 500,000. The smell did not go away and he had no choice but to rip up the foundation. I would never buy a home that was built by anyone with the last name Montelongo. And what is sad is he is hispanic and he builds his homes in hispanic communities. This man has children. This is a family of thieves who consider their own people so dumb that they put others safety at risk for money. He is the devil. He doesn’t steal from the rich he steals from the poor. He steals from people who want to have the american dream and they trust him and he rips them off. He is a disgrace and the only reason why he hasnt been sued is like i said he steals from people who cant afford to sue.
Sooo very true. He is a THUG, liar and a thief. I can’t believe he has gone this long stealing from these poor people. His seminar is a set up for them to really rip you off. He will get you in on a free seminar only to sell another three day seminar for a thousand dollars. During this period they have their student run their credit reports and to see how much money they can borrow. Really what they want to do is figure out is how much money they can scam you for. This man belongs in jail. He needs to get a real Job.
It worked for me. Maybe seasoned investors won’t benefit from his program but I dind’t know a thing about Real Estate so his program helped me kick start my flipping business. My first deal took me a long time to get but after tweeking some things I learned I was able to make $70k off of my first deal. I teamed up with another student that was out of state who had the cash and we made it work. I feel bad for people on here that will continue on through life blaming someone else for their “non-success”. Got to go make more $$$ Good luck to you all!
Ok……here is the real deal. I went to Armando’s three day event. I lost my job and have always been interested in real estate. I was then called on the phone and told I could get some mentoring, coaching one on one, and the Prop Stream program for $7000. Ok, since I couldn’t do the $25,000 bus tour, I thought, well, this is educational, so, I will do it. I recieved a large packet of CD’s and workbooks. That was interesting and I did learn alot on them……..HOWEVER… I saved my questions for my coaches and mentors. All the answers they gave me were vague. They couldn’t recommend this lender, that lender, etc. They couldn’t say this or that is what you should do. One of my coaches was so disgusted with the program, he quit and emailed me. The other one was nice, but, again, no real definitive answers to my investing questions. Honestly, I could have found out the information and more ways to invest in real estate than his super expensive course that did not help me. Now, I do have two great programs, and, guess what…..they cost me a fraction of the amount and I can get 100% of my money back if I am unhappy with the program and don’t make money! Go figure……..!
DEAR VICKY,
PLEASE SEND ME THE INFORMATION ON THE 2 PROGRAMS YOU HAVE USED TO MAKE MONEY IN REAL ESTATE.
THANK YOU,
RUTH yeru4@aol.com
Vicky which programs do you have that cost a fraction of the money and are 100% money back? I’m unemployed and my ex & I did rehab 2 houses, but he did most of the work. I need to learn this so I can move forward with my life. Thanking you in advance!
You might want to look at http://thementorproject.net/
@Janie Bean:
Please post the address of the property you say you had flipped. If it was sold, it must be in the public record anyway.
Armando is a scam artist. He was called out on his scam this past week on INSIDE EDITION,Oct.31 ,2012. Do not pay this man anything,keep your money.
Very simple.. buy any Armando’s programs, you’ll lose!
I could not afford any of Armando’s Real Estate packages. Instead, I used the few hundred dollars I had left to take a bus to Matamoros, Mexico where they have a special arena where you pay to let different livestock and animals urinate on you. As I write this, I now have personally experienced life at a much lower level.
i attended the free workshop.there i was offered the 3 day $3000 workshop and materials for $1500.my partner and i attended the 3 day workshop.which was somewhat informative.we were then offer the opportunity to fly out to LA, CAL for the “BUS TOUR”.
we attended the bus tour,,had a great time ,,met some great people-who were there for the same reason.
long story short..i was offered the opportunity to join armando’s master mentor program for a meer $50,000 this is not a typeo $50,000.
there was several who put out the money.i was not one of them..i have kept in contact with many of them..needless to say none have received what they were promised….
I think it’s funny that all of the positive comments on this site are obviously added by Armando’s minions. Someone help me understand why there isn’t a class action lawsuit?
I your comments about Armundo, You said discipline and staying power were key. I have the discipline. How much staying powe did you need ? Was your staying pwe due to inexperience of contruction knowledge? Or was it that the inventory was over priced? How long did it take you to do your 1st deal and was it profitable ? I ask because when you say staying power then red flags go up in my head. Houston theres a problem!! Iam thinking of doing the 1495.00 and now Im skeptical. I can buy his program o ebay for alot less.
Hi everyone. I am a semi-retired multimillionaire who has made money in a tech startup and was interested in these infomercials like you were. I’ve learned in having created many businesses that you need to look before you leap. I have also learned that my greed in making quick money is what others have exploited in the past. I have many options, fortunately, to invest my money. In reading this thread, its obvious that this individual is simply using your desperation to make money to his advantage. There is no quick way to make money, unless you use and abuse people, like this Armando is doing. The only way to quick money is to lie and cheat your way there. So I would advise you to turn away and not go to his seminars, not even to just take a look. You will be tempted by his amazing testimonials and incredible proof statements that money is easy to make. And then you will take the next step, and then the next. The path to hell is filled with many good intentions. Now for the people who find themselves in a dark hole at the end of working with Armando, what should you do ? . Well, its like walking down a step of stairs when its dark below. At each step you go deeper and deeper into the darkness. Once you are there, how do you get out ? The same way you got in – step by step back out. The trick is not to go down that poorly lit stairwell. This scam is a poorly lit stairwell. You have some wise people on this post telling you not to do it, but you are tempted to take the first step. Just dont do it. If you do, you will be robbed of the very little you have now. Ask yourself why you want to do it ? It is because it looks so easy ? Because there must be some truth to it ? How can all these testimonials lie ?
A good con man is able to engineer all of these things. If you had the time and you were able to interview all these people presented to you on the TV, would they say the same thing that was recorded at a moment in their lives where everything looked as if it was all working out ?.
In everything, trust your gut feeling. If you feel there is something wrong, then the chances are that its wrong. Ask yourself, can i afford to put up a large amount of money on a promise ? A promise that many folks on this site are telling me its a big mistake ? If the answer is yes, then why did you bother reading all these posts in the first place ? Are you so reckless ? Is it not the time to take a hard look at why you are in this situation, in this position, where you would be even considering such a crazy get rich scheme ? What you really need to do is face the fact that you are probably repeating the same mistake you made last time, in getting involved in things that you really dont understand, and that predators like Armando, take advantage of people like you. So, from a wealthy millionaire who has seen many Armandos in his life – just walk away. Its the best get rich decision you will ever make.
First of all , can someone please tell me why in the world they would pay someone to show them to do anything in these times?
I own rentals, ive been doing this for 5 years now, i “learned” everything from websites, forums and blogs run by others in the business.
Ive been burned , ive been hammered, but now theres a level of stability touch wood. I own 13 properties now, i didnt need Mangolongo’s BS cds to tell me that. Just a sound mind, a sane perception and understanding of real estate and monetizing of risk.
Mangolongo doesnt seem to even grasp the very fundamentals of construction.
Finally this is a business,if Coke doesnt reveal its secrets and neither should you if you become successful, if there is a cock crying on top of its voice saying “hey over here- here’s my method of making millions” – take it from me , they’re full of it. Dont walk – RUN AWAY.
Amazing thread, with around 2500 comments, the gist of which is “don’t do business with Armando Montelongo”. That’s all you need to know.