Has anyone used the method used in the Creating Wealth by Robert G. Allen which uses a point system for determining potential deals? Everything seems pretty standard but seeing that this was written back in 1983 when rates were pretty high Im wondering how this method applies to today's market. 

Robert talks about listing a newspaper ad. Do enough people still read newspapers to get a response? Has anyone left ads on craigslist looking for a motivated seller? 

Thanks,

George 

The name is familiar but anything written that long ago will certainly be out of date, perhaps there is an underlying idea, but so much has changed, laws, markets, perceptions of sellers that trying to follow something that old could be dangerous today.

As to a point system I'm guessing it's some method to avoid understanding RE and markets, another short cut that any monkey can follow to make you wealthy so that books can be sold.   I'm familiar with statistics and the issue is that there are never enough in a sample size to pin point a particular property for a valid assumption, every parcel or dirt and every building is unique, something that is difficult to grasp by those who view RE as a widget.

Once in awhile I get requests from programmers trying to develop an app or some program for human intelligence, can't be done, while parts of the analysis can be accomplished much easier with technology we don't have artificial intelligence to make objective and subjective determinations. Until then, evaluate each deal on its own merits. :)  

@Bill Gulley  

  News paper ads are dead and basically worthless in my mind. Craigslist just killed the Newpaper industry advertising revenue.

Yes, I said familiar, didn't read all their stuff, skimmed some of it at the library, never bought it.

Ask yourself why Real Estate Brokerages fill pages of the Sunday paper in most cities, they aren't idiots, nor do they burn advertising dollars. :)

@Bill Gulley  

  they do Sundays for open houses primarily.. I have a close friend that owns 11 newpapers in Oregon.. their revenue for advertising is off by 80 Plus % that's just a fact

I was moreso looking at the method of handling phone calls after placing an ad on craigslist. etc looking for motivated sellers. They walk you through sample conversations discussing motivation, flexibility, financing, location, and condition. It seems pretty straight forward. I was just curious if anyone else tracks motivated sellers in this way and what success theyve had. I guess theres only one way to find out.