Welcome to Orange Frog Productions Scams, Shams & Flim-Flams Section [Banner]

Search this site powered by FreeFind

Page Title:

Carleton Sheets/Carlton Sheets - No Money Down

Page last updated & all links verified Month 00, 2006

Please be sure to read my DISCLAIMER

NOTE: All external links on this page open a new window.

 

NOTE: Carleton's name can also be found as "Carlton Sheets". My own page title and my spelling of his name in this article was originally thus. I have changed the titles to show both names (for searches) and have corrected the spelling where it's mine, below..

The Infomercial

Carleton Sheets

Carleton Sheets

To be honest, it's been so long since I saw the infomercial, I will not even attempt to describe it.

I do seem to recall Carlton in very fancy surroundings, saying that you, too, could afford luxury as shown, if you'd only buy his system and learn it. Other than that... Well, I will wait until I see it again.

Carleton Sheets' No Down Payment System Kit

Carleton Sheets

The Product

As with many of these Biz Opps (Business Opportunities), the owner/author/CEO/whatever has usually be extremely successful in what they are selling. However, Carleton is also very well-known (he's appeared on numerous television and radio shows, the latter of which is where I first heard of him); he's very well-spoken, unlike a few of the other infomercial gurus; many people swear that his system worked for them (remember that he does VERY expensive seminars on the subject, on information not contained in the products he sells you; and I have not seen, nor heard, that any of his products have really been updated, meaning the stuff he sells may be on CD and DVD, but it's 20-year-old stuff.

The package includes: Step-By-Step Quick Start Guide; 3 Hour Course Video; 3 Course Manuals; 12 Course Audio; Creative Options Guide; Real Estate Forms Portfolio. Free Bonuses include: FREE unlimited 30-day access to the No Down Payment Helpline; FREE How To Skyrocket Your Profits DVD; FREE How To Get Cash as Closing DVD; FREE Quick Start DVD; FREE Insider Secrets Audio; FREE Hotline Advisory Service.

Oh, yeah. And be sure to read EVERYTHING on any offer, not just Carleton's. The website says you get this stuff for a "Risk Free 30-Day Trial" for $9.95. What a deal, right? There's got to be SOMETHING in here I could use that's worth $9.95, right? Well, further down on in the page (amazingly, NOT in fine-print), it says:

Use This Program for 30 Days if you’re not 100% satisfied, simply return it and owe nothing more. After your trial period, we will bill you just 4 equal monthly payments of only $59.99, plus shipping & handling ($29.95 US/$34.95 Canada) and sales tax if applicable. It's that easy

[MY highlight - BS]

What that means is the course costs $9.95 + (4 * $59.99) + $29.95 which equals $279.86. I'm sure a lot of people read the big yellow seal that says $9.99, thinking that that's it. BE CAREFUL out there!

From my understanding, most of this information is old (a life-time in Internet-land), and most of the details don't really apply in today's world. The principles, of course, are still valid, and if you've never done anything in real-estate at all, it MIGHT help.

However, as with other Biz Opps, Carleton's "education" (read "mentoring") company, PEI, will call you after you've had a chance to read the material, and offer seminars and "personal mentoring" for boo-koo bucks, in which you will learn about things left out of the kit you purchased.

There are also numerous sites on the internet with free articles and information to help you start a business. Many are real-estate-specific. (See General Information (Real-Estate Investing) links, below for some of these pages/sites.

Customer service is through Professional Education Institute (PEI) (link to Wikipedia)

Privacy Policy notes on Opt-Out, "Please allow up to 90 days for processing". Why? Computer-connected databases can be cleared IMMEDIATELY (or at least within the day). Get the name, match it to a name in the DB, and delete the record. Affiliates would be the ONLY reason I can think of the "allow 90 days", and even then, it should go through within 48 hours at the most. (Send the request to be removed to all affiliates at the time of removal from THEIR DB, and the affiliates do the same matching/deleting. Now, if THEY have affiliates who have affiliates who... it might take a week or so. This is all assuming the affiliates do not SELL your information to a semi-targeting scammer. And, if hardcopies (paper) need removed, drop 'em in the shredder. I mean, I understand that there are times you need to keep info on people, even if they no longer wish to receive new information from you and your affiliates (guarantees and warrantees need to be provided for, etc.), but removal (or flagging to NOT send anything to) should be almost instantaneous. (Remember... I was a programmer for 25 years. It ain't that hard!)

From the Original OFP Infomercial Info page

My father was in real-estate for some time as a salesman, broker and appraiser (now retired), I had my own license (though I never sold any), and my sister is an appraiser now. My Dad had been a businessman in Lafayette, Indiana for around 40 years. He looked at Carleton's stuff a few years ago, and while he said there were ways you could buy real-estate with "no money down", it would probably NOT be through a bank or finance company, and this was YEARS ago!

Carleton has been on radio and TV for years touting this system. It sounds very good. (Of course it does... You can buy property without any of your own money.) He's been the "flip" king (a fairly recent term, I believe) for all of that time. Don't count on not having to WORK, though. You have to sell yourself to the banks, other lenders, and/or everyone else involved, and make them believe this is as good of a deal as you believe it to be. If you have ANY doubts, DON'T DO IT. You could be "stuck" with properties someone else has been trying to dump for years.

One of the articles, below, refutes some of Carleton's information point by point (some of the points), some say that much of this information is old, and others say it's too advanced for beginners, which is who Carleton targets.

Product Websites

Following are links to what appear to be "main" sites for the product.

 

In searching the BBB site for "Carleton Sheets", I got the following:

  • Chicago BBB
    • American Marketing System, Inc. - Unsatisfactory Record
      • Addresses:
        • 7020 High Grove Blvd. / Burr Ridge, IL
        • 1269 North Wood Dale Road / Wood Dale, IL
        • 6951 High Grove Blvd / Hinsdale, IL
        • 605 Crossroads Parkway / Bolingbrook, IL
      • Websites:
      • Other DBAs:
        • Professional Education Institute
        • PEI
        • The Hume Group
        • Carleton Sheets
        • The Professional Education
        • PEI Carleton Sheets
    • Carleton H Sheets Helpline - 1 complaint, UNPURSUABLE - Company can't be located
  • Salt Lake City BBB
    • Legacy Learning, LLC - No rating given, but counts on complaints and resolutions
      • Addresses:
        • 4255 Lake Park Blvd / Salt Lake City, UT
      • Websites:
      • Other DBAs:
        • PEI Real Estate No Money down
        • Professional Education Institute Coaching
        • Carleton Sheets Real-estate Coaching
        • Franklin Covey Coaching, LLC
        • Real Estate Financial Services
        • Rich Dad's Coaching
      • NOTES from the site:
        • Franklin Covey Personal Coaching changed their name to Legacy Learning LLC in July 2002.
        • They were formed by Franklin Covey Company located in Utah and American Marketing Systems located in Illinois. A separate report on Franklin Covey Company is available upon request.
  • Orlando BBB

Reviews and Warnings

This section lists the sites where I found "negative" comments about the people and company, and/or the product. Some of the terms "sham", "scam", "scams", "flim-flam", "complain", "complaints", "rip", "rip-off", "fraud", "warning", similar words, and maybe just "review" were used in searching for negative comments.

WARNING: Be aware that some of the following sites may be attempting to sell their own or lead you into buying another product. If you consider their (or others') offers, at least do as much research on them as you would in looking for a new house, car or doctor before buying anything. Also, be sure to read and understand any company's Privacy Policies and Terms/Conditions, too. A "$$" indicates these sites.

 

News Articles

General Information (Real Estate Investing)

There is a LOT of FREE stuff out there in Internet-land. I included a number of sites online where you can find FREE articles on Real Estate Investing on my Links page. In these links you can find products, reviews, and other articles that may help, whether you have bought the system or not. Be sure to check it out.

Legal Problems

  • I didn't find any in a large batch of Google results for "Carlton Sheets" or "Carleton Sheets". He's been around for a LOT of years, and I'm sure many of the legal problems have been worked out. Even so, be sure to check out the BBB links, above.
 

Be sure to see the  Carlton/Carleton Sheets/No Money Down Page - Responses page

by Bill Sanders © 2007 - email:
 

| Home | Main | Owner | Scams, Shams & More Flim-Flams | Glossary | Sitemap | Contact |

Send email to Bill Sanders ()
with questions or comments about this page or site.

This site, all text and graphics (unless otherwise noted) on it
were designed, developed and published by Bill Sanders of Orange Frog Productions.
It and it's CSS was validated and complies with both the: CSS and HTML 4.01 validators from W3C.
NOTE: All CSS validates except the "New Window Buttons" which include some invalid code (ie: hacks),
added PicoSearch Tables, and warnings for using transparent backgrounds when color foregrounds defined.
Copyright © 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 by Bill Sanders / Full site last modified: October 21, 2006
Any reproduction, printing, or selling of this content is prohibited without express written consent from William D. Sanders.
ctr