Hi. My wife and I live in California and purchased two homes out of state with Marshall Reddick in 2006. One single family home was in Florida and the other in North Carolina.
We are upside down on both homes and are hoping to short sell the Florida home and avoid foreclosure. Whereas we are taking a small hit on the North Carolina home, and currently have a tenant, we would be intrested in selling that one as well.
We feel that in purchasing these two homes, we were given misleading information by the Marshall Reddick organization and were wondering if there has been a class action lawsuit filed against Reddick in 2008.
We have reasearched other lawsuits agaisnt Reddick that involve RICO statutes, but find none in the class action catagory.
Please forward any information you might have to me, or if you are interested in purchasing my single family homes in Sneads Ferry, North Carolina or Lakeland, Florida (near Tampa) let me know. Thanks. James.
If the economy did not turn, or you became an investor when properties values were going up, not down. Or, if you did not lie on your loan application and you really can afford the two houses you bought. Or, if you were a stand up guy, and you accept this terrible world collapse as what it is and not try to blame the person that tried to educate you, and give you a vision of someday having a net worth you could live off of. Maybe there would be an answer for you. It looks like you are spending a lot of time researching what others are doing and getting all worked up. Why don't you do what is best for you. List the two houses you should not have bought, probably with next to nothing out of your pocket, and sell them for current value. Put them in the hands of a good Realtor, and move on with your life. Hundreds of thousands of people are being effected because of the loans they placed on their house. Blame the banks, if you want someone to blame. They cried and got Hundreds of Billions of dollars because speculative and honest home buyers can not pay their mortgage. You probably bought into investing because people around you were making money and you wanted your share. You just happened to start 4 years to late.
If the economy did not turn, or you became an investor when properties values were going up, not down. Or, if you did not lie on your loan application and you really can afford the two houses you bought. Or, if you were a stand up guy, and you accept this terrible world collapse as what it is and not try to blame the person that tried to educate you, and give you a vision of someday having a net worth you could live off of. Maybe there would be an answer for you. It looks like you are spending a lot of time researching what others are doing and getting all worked up. Why don't you do what is best for you. List the two houses you should not have bought, probably with next to nothing out of your pocket, and sell them for current value. Put them in the hands of a good Realtor, and move on with your life. Hundreds of thousands of people are being effected because of the loans they placed on their house. Blame the banks, if you want someone to blame. They cried and got Hundreds of Billions of dollars because speculative and honest home buyers can not pay their mortgage. You probably bought into investing because people around you were making money and you wanted your share. You just happened to start 4 years to late.
I agree with John. A lot of people are complaining about Reddick, but if the market kept going up, rents kept going up, etc. everyone would be making money and everyone would be happy. They are blaming an educator for the current market conditions, and/or their own lack of due diligence.
For those who thinks Marshall is just a big scam artist, he is now bankrupted. He practiced what he preached, and bought houses everywhere he promoted. His line was "to wipe out middle class poverty." My wife worked for him, she ran the woman's investment class in South Orange County. We got to know Marshall very well. When the market started turning he bought houses back from investors to help them out. He is, and was not your every day guru. Everyone with real estate is being effected by this market, to put the blame on a person, any person is pretty shallow. And to wish this on someone, anyone is even worse.
I have had some dealing with the Marshall Reddick group, and know a lot of folks that have been involved with the network.
As I see it, Marshall started out being authentic and helping others for the right reasons. However, his organization became too big to control.
The problem I had was that they only promoted new(er) construction, and in the Indianapolis market it just did not make sense. I offered them some amazing opportunities in my market, but they had a very strict formula, and did not want to change it at all. That was a red flag for me, since investors need to be able to change with the markets.
The markets where people where buying for appreciation is, and always will be, risky. Real estate can be a game of chance, but the good news is that you can put the odds in your favor.
I have had some losers properties myself, but at the end of the day I made the final decision to buy it. Regardless of the information anybody has ever presented me, I did all of my own due-diligence, and while I enjoy my victories, I also accept my defeats.
My advice is this, chalk it up as a tough lesson, dust yourself off, and use this experience to make better decisions in the future.
You never hear people complain when things work out great, but they are always looking to blame others when it fails. Not a fault, just human nature. Real estate is tough, and we need thick skin. The effort usually put in to trying to sue others is usually better served trying to find better ways to succeed for yourself.
I hope that does not come off too harsh, as I honestly feel your pain. 99% of the folks in the investment world are feeling pain, so that makes it difficult to find very many professional investors who are receptive to others crying on their shoulder. We are ALL feeling it, but MUST work hard to create viable solutions in order to move forward!
I wish you the best, and all of us here at BP are here to help you in anyway we can.
I am interested to hear what misleading information was provided. It's sad when newbies jump into real estate without the proper training and end up in a bad deal. With investing there will be risks. Sorry to hear that. I don't think you can blame Marshall. I don't know the guy, but it is up to the investor to do the research. However real estate professionals should provide accurate information.
Yes there are lawsuits.
Also one against his supposedly vetted business partners and while he should have been, he was not sued himself because he is a client of the Attorneys handling the case. (hello- conflict of interest and scam to look like he was a victim too)
I went to a few Reddick network meetings.
You can google Reddick and lawsuit and you'll find lots of information.
Here are a few things I found
http://www.allbusiness.com/services/business-services/4547598-1.html
http://www.independentmail.com/news/2007/aug/13/pendleton-station-buyers-sue-over-failed-project/
http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-6749059/Wyatt-Law-Firm-Files-Lawsuit.html
http://sandscastle.org/legal.html
I went to a few meetings and something just didn't feel right with all of the "preferred agents and lenders and management companies". I smelled kick backs. And kick backs have to come from somewhere as in written into fees.
As a Christian myself, I also felt wary of how much he "used" that impression to his benefit. I would never use God to get people to go into business with me. The problem with some people is they think they can do whatever they want because they later ask for forgiveness and get it, slate clean. I'm not that kind of Christian.
He seemed like a nice guy but also something smarmy sales guy about him too.
I did read somewhere he has his Phd in Marketing.
I think he mislead many people and that makes me very sad. He encouraged people to just close their eyes and jump with faith. You should never invest like that. That is why everyone I met that was buying into it all had not been an investor before, he had to have mostly inexperienced people in order to sell his wares.
Oh and by the way, the real estate market always goes back down eventually, which then also lowers rents for an area. It was a bubble, people. There had to be a correction.
Marshall Reddick is a Scam artist. I attended his seminars. I got introduced by taking a class about Real Estate Investing one saturday at the local comunity college and I paid for this so called class. It was a big giant sales pitch. Started on the basics then it was all his properties and exclusive agents and property managing companies. Then the class ended with everyone going to a nearby condo for sale. He had the right to make his cut off every person his company refered BUT his employees and so called coaches told you to lie to the lenders. I had a coach tell me do 20-30 loans all stated income across the country 100% financing and call them second homes not rental or income properties. I was told this by countless members of his staff and associates. I did buy 4 homes at one time but I called them investment properties and did everything by the book, no lies to the lenders and I only got 4 because thats all I could afford to pay if they sat empty. I also looked at each property and met with the agent and management companies. I bought 2 homes in AZ. that real estate/management company strait up ripped me off. They also owned the warranty company for the homes I bought and when the A/C went out. Which in black and white was covered in the policy the owner strait up played games at first. Would not get a technitian out there. So I had to. Then when it was diagnosed the compressor broke which was covered. The owner went there and said there was weeds near it so no coverage.He was also the property manager and being paid to do the landscaping. My father inlaw lived 20 minutes from the home so he went and there was no weeds, he took pictures. The A/C company said it broke for no reason but weeds did not and could not cause it. He still denied the claim. I had to pay 5,000 to repair it. 1200 in hotel bills to house my tenants because it was 130 degrees and my management/warranty company did nothing. Those bastards made thousands in comission off me, sold me 2 home warranties that were worthless and when I threatened to sue him. He had his lawyers all over me and in Az if I lost I would be liable to pay his legal fees. Worse I would need a lawyer and have to make trips to Az hundreds of miles away while working. It was cheaper to just bend over and pay the A/C bill and other costs and those bastards knew it. I personally went to Marshall Reddicks office and they could care less. They continued to refer everyone to this company who bought in that area. Also rewind I met with his accountant and attended a class about how I needed to Start a LLC right away. He had lawyers from Seattle signing people up for starting price of $5,000 and I think everyone did but me. It smelled fishy to me. I was hounded by one of the lawyers from the class for days to sign me up. I was going to have a corporation in Nevada and told I could write everything off and offset all my income and go on lavish vacations etc... with my money. Strait up fraud he was telling me I could legally do. It was kinda good timing with the A/c and all the fishy things I knew were illegal and fraudulent I was encouraged to do from his employees because I got ill thinking of his network. I sold all my homes but one and I made out with $250,000 before taxes. It sounds like and is a lot but I was also risking a lot. I stupidly kept one home in Florida to long. It is a lot of work selling homes in other states and this last one I still have. Im upside down and the rent barely covers the mortgage but expenses I have to cover. Been lucky with tenants but next month it goes empty again. Hope they find me a tenant soon. I used the money I made to pay down my primary residences mortgage which now I would maybe break even after paying an agent if I sell. My wife and I both got laid off.We burned through our savings paying bills.I just started working again at half my salary I used to make. My wife got her degree and starts work soon. A new career in mid 40's. We are better off then the hundreds of victims of Marshal Reddick.He represents why our economy collapsed. He surounded himself with scam artists and had his employees tell you, no encourage you to lie and go into hock. I feel sorry for them but they too need to take responsability if they lied and took out more then they could afford. I didnt listen. I did not lie. I paid more in fees,interest,taxes but I was legit. I also at the time did not buy more then I could afford to pay if they all sat empty at the same time for 6 months or more. I saw the risk. I did not take out a heloc when my primary residence was worth 900k 400k more then I owed and go buy a new car, vacation, no remodel. I home is just as it was when I bought it in 2004 and Its dated and needs some work. I have a 780 credit score and dont owe anyone but my 2 mortgages and basic bills. I hope Mr. Reddick gets life in prison.
It seems like there are mixed reviews on Marshall Reddick. I am a brand new investor looking to buy my first property this spring. I see he has some free seminars for beginners coming up in the Bay Area over the coming weeks. I was thinking of going strictly to network with other investors, not for any services they are promoting. I am doing my own research and am not interested in relying on any gurus to teach me the ways. Do you think that there would be harm in this? https://www.marshallreddick.com/event/d1861cf1-e924-d86b-4f75-57a4c7a8d1ce
It seems like there are mixed reviews on Marshall Reddick. I am a brand new investor looking to buy my first property this spring. I see he has some free seminars for beginners coming up in the Bay Area over the coming weeks. I was thinking of going strictly to network with other investors, not for any services they are promoting. I am doing my own research and am not interested in relying on any gurus to teach me the ways. Do you think that there would be harm in this? https://www.marshallreddick.com/event/d1861cf1-e924-d86b-4f75-57a4c7a8d1ce
I basically did the same thing. I went to two or three of their free seminars. Learned some stuff. But in the end, I ended up doing it my own way with various people's input. Marshall Reddick is turnkey, which there is nothing wrong with that. The thing is to really get to know who you are dealing with and vet them, make sure they have a good track record and aren't going to take advantage of you being a greenhorn. That goes for most every step in the process from how much they are charging for a particular property, to who they recommend you use as an inspector, to the insurance, the lender, and property management (that's a big one). So, sounds like you are smart in feeling it out. Let us know if you have any specific questions.
Hi @Account Closed, that’s incorrect. We are NOT a turn-key company. We are a licensed CA Broker, Property Manager, and Private Money Lender. You most likely worked with a Realtor when you purchased your properties, I hope. When you work with a Realtor/Broker, their commission is set and paid by the seller, not you. If you work with us to buy or manage property in CA, we act as the fiduciary and generate our revenue from the close of escrow and management fees just like any broker or property manager. Outside of California we have a network of 3rd party Realtors that we have built relationships with for years. When they represent our clients, they receive a commission (once again set by the seller) that gets split with us once the deal closes. You pay the same amount for the home as you would with a Realtor you find on your own. We have two Representatives in Tennessee that provide rehabbed properties, but the rest of our teams are all buyer’s agents that can help you find anything you want in their respective markets. If you take a moment to hop on our website, you will see hundreds of properties in 15 different markets across the US. Some are turn-key, some are not. Some are new, some are old. Some are single family, some are multi-family. The best way to look at our website is like an Amazon marketplace for investors, providing opportunities for investors of all types from A-Z. The properties are hand-selected by our Regional Reps i.e. 3rd party agents in each market, then reviewed by our in-house underwriters before being uploaded to our website.
My advice from one investor to another is to take the time to research each individual or company you talk to, look them up on Yelp (and Zillow if they are a licensed Realtor) and don’t try to do everything on your own. We are talking about the largest investment most of us will ever make in our lives, and one that takes a professional and dedicated team to help you succeed. Who you work with will determine the success of your real estate portfolio more than where and what you purchase. I hope this clears the confusion, and I wish you both the very best.
@James Dean No one can tell you what prices are going to do. All they can do is give you pro forma projections of your income and expenses based on history with similar properties. Is it not producing the rent and cash flow that they projected? Are the expenses higher than they stated? You didn't say anything specific about how you feel they mislead you. Was the property appraised by an independent appraiser?
@Christin Knight I did notice that the posts were 8 years old, but it was the only information I had at the moment and I did not know that the company had gone through so much change in that time frame. Thank you for clearing that up for me. I wanted to go to the event, but I work down on the peninsula and it is often a challenge to make it to downtown SF during rush hour traffic. I will keep an eye on the Meetup where I saw the event posted initially in case there is going to be another one.
@Account Closed, no problem at all and thank you for allowing me to clarify who we are and what we do. There are several other posts on BP about our company that are much more recent. This one just happens to be very old which is why no one from our company responded until now, so thank you for your post which allowed me to clear the air. For several years we were conducting monthly events in San Mateo, and we have been talking about bringing that location back so you may see that in the near future on our Meetup page. We also conduct monthly events in San Jose/Cupertino as well as Fremont/Oakland/Walnut Creek although those locations may not be convenient for you. I’d also take a look at our webinars which we do online every couple weeks in case you can’t make the live events. Hope to see or talk to you again in the near future!
@Katherine Mckean, I just tried looking you up in our CRM software and I don’t see your name anywhere in our system, not even anyone with that last name. We keep track of every single person we’ve ever had any contact with (called in, attended events, created an account on our website, etc.) It doesn’t appear you’ve had any interaction with us, and our CRM goes back to the early 2000’s. Maybe it would be helpful for you to read my detailed comments again above. You would realize that “Reddick” is not the name of our company, and we have been under new ownership since 2014. I think it is best practices to familiarize yourself with a company before making harsh accusations. I’d also like to encourage anyone reading this to give their feedback and honest opinion of any of our live or online events, as they are all free and highly informative with no sales pitches whatsoever. It sounds like Katherine is confusing us with another company or one that no longer exists.
Let me tell you all about Mr. Nice guy, Marshall Reddick and his so called Seminars based in Irvine,CA. I am one of those scammed back in 2004-2007, time of great big scams in US real estate especially down in Florida.
A friend and a business associate told me about the MRRE Seminars, where we should go and check out all these amazing opportunities. Sure, why not, let's make some money ! I mean, my wife and I owned, bought and sold properties before. How wrong can you go at the time of the expansion ? Well, the scam was in the industry and Marshall Reddick & his Seminars were just a part of it. What they were selling to all of people in those seminars was the ease of mind approach, where he and his fellow scammers, have hand picked the "best people and companies" to work with and invest. In fact, I only met 2 people in Florida who were truthful to tell things like it is and advise you to go outside of Marshall Reddick proposed companies and so called realtor. From my experience in Los Angeles and New York area, 99% of professional realtors, especially those in business over decade +, will be your best friend and more. What we found out in Florida ( just like in the movie Big Short) was amazing amount of traps setup for trusting investor ( how can this happen in America?) that realtors, local builders, banks, appraisers and loan processors were all in it together !!!!!
I actually traveled to Florida, met with all involved before investing a penny. First you meet nice people, a lot of great sounding offers, but after seeing actual loan contracts, a sane person had to decline and his/her own way.
We made money on taking advice from one local realtor ( former California realtor at the time being realtor in Florida) but lost on other side where we were trapped by local good 'ole boys & girls club. Yes, not only men scam investors. In both cases, one of residential house contract with local builder, and second, condo building project in Tampa, where we sued in class action lawsuit and bankrupted the company, we dealt with Marshall Reddick's recommended
crowd.
If you were lucky to be there in first year or so, you made money even if you still own the property. After that, almost everyone lost due to one reason - Marshall Reddick was scamming you into the web that could not and would not deliver. In Tampa case, it took them almost 2 years to start the project ( being late at least 14 months), lying all the way on status of the project and finally we all ended up in famous crash. Over 100 people, some with single contract, some with multiple, sued this company and we won, at least half of our money back. We had to hire lawyers outside of Tampa to avoid another scam. When a Tampa lawyer tells you "oh, well lets see who the judge is" inspite several national firms give you report on plaintiff braking at least 2 federal laws and 2 state laws, you know you're in Florida swamp !
Every attempt to deal with MRRE Seminars was a failure. Their capos pretended like they hear it for the first time and never actually did anything to help.
Do your own math, internet has a lot to offer on info, but do investigate every person before you go in on building projects. I mean, really do the background check and stay away from any "recommended" business entities at any seminar.
I bought several houses through the network in 2006. Yes, the market crashed after that and that was a national issue, not a Marshall Reddick triggered event. I did due diligence on each new home that was purchased. I knew what I was getting into and figured the rents against the expenses etc. All was fine at the time of purchase. In a short time before the crash there were extreme weather issues pushing insurance very high and then there were appraisal scammers in certain states pushing the prices up causing higher taxes. These caused a tight situation for any investor who was trying to buy and hold using the rent to pay off the expenses/mortgages. Then the real estate/mortgage crash occurred and along with it the rents decreased due to all the houses on the market. That is what occurred. It was not due to Marshall Reddick. He actually was very learned and helped pass along really great info. There was a great network of realtors/property managers. He basically had great teams set up and was ahead of his time. He also did instruction on how to ensure you made money and kept a safety margin. Anyway I sold 5 of my 9 properties that were effected the worse at that time by all those factors, I didn't take all the money out and bail like I saw others do. I actually paid everything that was due on my part by selling those with equity and paying off the ones with minus plus kept my credit high. I still have the others and they have all since recovered, tenants have been paying my mortgages and I have great equity in all of them. The rents are all much higher and have a great cash flow from them. It was my responsibiltiy to ensure what I was investing in was sound for me. I didn't forsee all those different parts having a perfect storm. I learned a lot from that and now leave a lot better margin and stopped investing in the areas that are prone to the insurances & taxes skyrocketing.
@Nicole W. great insight. The market is the market. No one has a crystal ball. Too many people are quick to blame anyone and everyone for their own situation.
First off I want to say the current Marshall Reddick company is owned and operated by some great new owners who are very careful to only refer quality investments. It has nothing to do with the company pre-2009. Marshall is not an owner of it anymore and doesn't work there. But like any investment do your own due-diligence especially with turn key real estate companies. Because they can make money even if you lose. With that said let me tell you some unspoken details about the old MR network.
Marshall is a very kind person who sought the best for everyone. How do I know? I was like a son to him and I worked for him as a young naive man at 22 years old. He had his pro's and con's like we all do. His main down fall was that he trusted too many agents who abused his trust which sold many bad properties to his investors including Marshall and myself. The managers of those agents got greedy and used the trust the investors had in Marshall to make a ton of money. Marshall did practice what he preached buying property in all the same areas with the same agents. He however didn't keep a tight watch on the agents, property managers, cashflow, etc etc. As the owner of the company that responsibility does fall on him as the founder and leader. Himself and all of us investors created a massive portfolio of properties that were negative cashflowing. Therefore unsustainable when the market flipped. He also is an extreme optimist and ignored the red flag warnings that were given to him by myself and many other staff. We warned him, but he was a PHD economics professor and only chose to see the upside. I left the company at that point because I saw a fatal flaw in the company. Sales just kept increasing and so did the problems. It was brutal, depressing, and extremely stressful once the market flipped. We had a house of cards which we couldn't maintain. Yet, we must take personal accountability on the mistakes we made as well. We didn't do proper due diligence, we were over trusting, naive, and yes i'll say it.. greedy. We are guilty for our wrong doings and being the owner and operator of the company yes Marshall is guilty for his. His intentions were good but as the saying go's... the devil is in the details. AKA due diligence, compliance, holding people accountable. He is a brilliant man with many wonderful gifts that I'm still thankful for. He took care of a lot of people and yes he made many investors extremely rich in the early years. We have a choice as adults to be bitter and blame others for all of our hard times or to take personal responsibility and to grow. Choose growth my friends. Be safe, Be Wise, and always make every decision the best as you can so you cannot blame others for your personal results. We are ultimately responsible for where we are and what we achieve in this life. Owning that is the most empowering thing you will ever do. Best of luck!
