US foreclosures - Boholt Seminars - NO

I have been investing in US property since '98. I wrote some posts on it years ago on this site so you can check up on it if you wish. It has done me very well and interestingly my portfolio hasn't dropped in value since the peak in '06. Depends what you have, but I digress.

Some years ago (and it took a while) I managed to convince my sister to start buying income property in the US - as a complete coincidence the guy she was with lived there and she had a green card etc. If I could do it (and it WAS hard as a non resident alien) then it HAD to be easier for her... Eventually she did, buying a few multiplexes in the state she was then living in.

Recently she has had a very busy time getting serious and buying foreclosures in LV. She has bought something like 15 in the last 9 months. $40-60k stuff, reno'ing and then generating a net 20++%. I don't know the specifics - but those are the general numbers. I am not involved directly as we don't often speak and I buy in LA, but she has been doing very well which is great.

So when Dymphna Boholt (who insists on frequently sending me seminar information) had a seminar on the US property market I thought it would be an interesting thing for my sister to go to. Its always good to hear what other people have done and you meet like minded people at semnars. My sister isn't often in Australia (too busy rehabbing foreclosures:)) so it seemed a good idea all round.

Long and short of it was that at the first break she got talking to a couple of people who were sitting near her about her experiences and that DB was a) a boring seminar presenter and b) long on teasers and short on detail, but it IS a good thing to do and she had done it, so lets see what is presented next etc etc. Usual first break seminar chit-chat.

What happened next was not normal.

Emma was approached by someone who immediately threatened legal action and accused her of trying to steal customers from Dymphna. She was escorted off the premises and in no uncertain terms told to stay away.

Emma had absolutely zero intention of doing anymore work than she is with her own stuff, but (as I would do) if someone treats me like that when they are trying to milk tens of thousands of dollars out of people I will take it further.

I haven't posted on this site for years, but I will now make it very public everywhere I can that Dymphna Boholt should have treated at least one seminar attendee with a lot more appreciation and respect than she did. If she was smart, she would have used Emma as an example of a real person who had actually gone out there and done it. Threatening legal action (especially to someone like my sister) is neither a friendly move, nor particularly intelligent.

If anyone is at all interested in US property then please respond to this post or PM me and I am happy to pass on what I can, or if you are interested in the amazing foreclosure market, yes it is very good, yes it can be done, and yes it is real and achievable. It is not for everyone and takes real organisation and work, but it can be done. I stress forclosures are not a pond I myself have paddled in, but my sister has lived and breathed it now for 2 years and has all the contacts.

I am confident Emma would be happy to help anyone interested in US foreclosures, and if any money ever changed hands at all, it would be a LOT less than would be spent attending one day with Ms Boholt.

I have attended seminars of most well known 'investment gurus' over the last 15 years or so. I have never seen or heard of this type of thing happening before. And I include Henry Kaye in that collection. As this seminar was my recommendation to a sister I see about once every 2-3 years I take it very personally she was dealt with the way she was.

I have always been amazed that people only value information when they pay for it. I have learnt an incredible amount through people's generosity and it pisses me off no end when one over zealous speaker takes offence at someone actually attending a seminar to see if they can learn something new, rather than falling over themselves to help buy that speaker a new Ferrari.

Methinks Ms Boholt is convinced the entire US property market exists merely for her own exploitation.
:mad:
 
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thanks for posting.

I have long held suspiscions about Dymphna and her strategy, but the action taken there seems a little out of step.

unfortunatley, having someone who has been investing int he US market int he room could have been an immediate threat to her credibility. unfortunately we will never know why, but my BS flag is raised now.

i guess the ultimate revenge comes with the google indexing of this site. anyone can now type in 'Dymphna Boholt' and this thread will pop up.

the good thing for this site is that as a registered ".com" address freedom of speech is guaranteed under the US Constitution. therefore, Dymphna has no right to request this thread be removed if it is not defamatory or derogatory.

maybe she will google herself and one day post up here to explain her actions.
 
Aaron,
Thanks for your response. The sad thing is that everyone gets a bad name. No-one should have a patent on a property market and there is ALWAYS plenty for everyone! I like nothing more than hearing great stories from other investors....
 
If Emma has been in LV for most of the last few years, and does not already commercially market her services to Aussies looking for US property, then how on earth would Dymphna know who she is????

BTW, I am not a DB fan. I don't like what I see in her eyes....or aura :)

On another note, I have a friend in LV with 20 odd rentals, about 1/3 apartments. He says he is losing a lot of his apartment tenants because rents have crashed for houses, and the tenants can get a newer house for not much more than the apartments they have been renting for the last 5 years.
He also agrees LV has been one of the hardest hit cities in the US. This would indicate to me 20% yields in LV are vulnerable.

Your thoughts?
 
Emma has NEVER marketed her services. Though it has now more than crossed my mind that at the very least she could be a VERY big help to anyone interested. And if it annoyed Dymphna Boholt in the process, then from my point of view so much the better!

Dymphna definitely didn't know her. Emma's only link with this was because I sent her Dymphna's 'personal' invitation to me to attend. Emma's private comments to people she was having coffee with were enough to have her evicted from the seminar.. Of course, when she realised these idiots were serious she THEN handed out her contact details to these people just to prove the point...

I will get Emma to join this site and answer your questions directly (much betterer) but in my little patch in LA the problems are that you just cant get finance, so you have to pay cash. There was initially a loss of tenants who had real credit, but the problem is once again finance. If you cant afford to pay cash for a foreclosed property then you are forced to rent them. And which bank will finance on something they lost billions on?

People in Australia (like this lunatic govt) find it difficult to understand you just cant get a loan in the US (or UK) and THAT is killing the economy. Our banks are fine, the difference is unimaginable - until you witness it.

One interesting titbit I heard from a US citizen visiting Lost Wages:) was that the place was full and getting fuller of Katrina victims who couldn't scrape together a rusty old Cadillac, but would possibly one day grow up to make fine tenants:) The place does seem to be expanding. And in least some of the cases the tenants you get seem to be the ones who owned the building originally.
 
People in Australia (like this lunatic govt) find it difficult to understand you just cant get a loan in the US (or UK) and THAT is killing the economy. Our banks are fine, the difference is unimaginable - until you witness it.
Yes, I had a fantastic deal crash because even with a wad of cash thrown in, heaps of cashflow and equity in the deal, there just wasn't anybody willing to finance it, under almost any terms. I believe mortgage brokers are having an even worse time than landlords; at least landlords still have rent coming in. :eek:

lawsjs, I haven't spoken to my US broker for some months. Do you see any signs of credit loosening? Is multi-family any easier to finance than SFR (houses)? Are there any sectors or areas at all that the lenders are regaining any confidence in?
 
Welcome back Jeremy.

I have never been to a Dymphna seminar. I have seen the advertising and, to me, appeared to have way too much hype like some of the Henry Kaye stuff. From that alone I am not surprised to hear the outcome.

I think it is sad the way some of these "gurus" behave. Nothing but greed IMHO!

As Derryn Hinch used to say "Shame! Shame! Shame!"
 
I'm thinking that the presenter could easily have a "spotter" or two in the audience to signal back possible "live ones" and "lost causes" to Boholt.

The information that Emma was experienced would not go down well. Poor form, of course. :(
 
Thanks to my brother

I am the sister in question and was just floored by this experience. I am also a first time poster to this forum. I was on the phone to a friend waiting for coffee on the first break and when I had got off the phone, the woman behind me apologized for overhearing my comments and asked if I didn't mind if she asked some questions. I am completely transparent in my real estate transactions and was, as Jeremy pointed out, delighted to share. Name the conference anywhere you don't.

The issue people seemed to have most was the complete lack of information on where the properties were actually located that were being touted (well in the two hours before being escorted off the premises!) The irony was that I was actually reaffirming that the returns mentioned are possible but beware of pitfalls, why I invest in Vegas and what the pros and cons were and just basic 101... Ie that I buy property walking distance from schools, shops and transport.. Mainly need them to be all three, I only buy SFR for a number of reasons ... The double irony is that one woman said she learnt more in five minutes of a very very general conversation than at her two previous seminars.

I was an executive director for an economic development company in Alaska, I was involved with creating an urban revitalization plan for Fairbanks and feel as though i have studied every market in the US. I looked heavily into a number of markets and saw the best opportunity for me, I took it and I am delighted with my results but unlike this seminar group, when say that I did it for a change of life and to have more time to myself, I did not mean that what I really want is to spend 48 hours a day schlepping my dream lifestyle.... which was why Jeremy had a hard time persuading me to go. If this woman was so happy to not work and live off her amazingly high passive income, why torture yourself to the gruelling convention tour?


Here is my major issue. They have a product, if it is valuable, be specific. If they are selling something... Give people specific property addresses..or at the bare minimum cities etc .. tell people that the service costs x etc. Most people are aware there is a lot of value to not having to reinvent the wheel - sell that. I am always very very honest with people who ask - truth never hurts and you should be aware of reality... I think it this seminar had done that from the outset when someone asked "where are these properties" for which the response was "I won't tell you that", they may be in better attend.


As for specifics. Yes financing is still an issue. I personally no longer use llc's on properties I am trying to refi. Ask anyone to refi an llc property in Vegas if you haven't had a good laugh in a while. I do the highest available insurance instead. As my attorney has said, piercing the corporate veil on an llc is the easiest thing to do. Every other asset is in llc's though. I don't refi, I use home equity line of credits - max 75% LVR to pull cash out.

I buy SFR's because there will be a massive glut in supply in my mind, and I can always head hunt from apartments. I am very aware HOA'S are going bankrupt all overe the place and avoid them like the plague. Gated communities in my niche equals keeping the reprobates in. I have had zero vacancy in the 15 months and 14 properties I have been involved with. I work on net yields, not gross and I do vegas a because of the lack of state income tax, the best pro landlord rules on the planet and the fact that Vegas may slash yield on it's hotels but the casinos are still operating at 85% occupancy so they need the same number of staff to run - although I must say I have now got mostly Section 8 tenants with guaranteed rent. Great caliber tenant and keep the properties spotless for fear of losing the subsidy.

As I said, each to their own. This is what I do, not what anyone else has to and is my niche. The principles translate though.

It was literally an unbelievable experience. As I said, of COURSE people are going to want to do due diligence and ask questions because I do too to anyone with more information than me ..especially if I am throwing 200k or more into an investment! Plus I am proof in person that US property works. What is the big secret?
 
I am the sister in question and was just floored by this experience. I am also a first time poster to this forum. I was on the phone to a friend waiting for coffee on the first break and when I had got off the phone, the woman behind me apologized for overhearing my comments and asked if I didn't mind if she asked some questions. What is the big secret?
Maybe you just stood out from the rest of the hopefulls in lineup as you walked in the door:rolleyes:,but i know from my small experience with those
RE-Equities - OSFast Bucks speakers most of their workers stand down the back watching and doing the numbers for the next part of the sales pitch,i was asked to leave a HK Sales night as he said to me i'm the sort of person that will never be a millionare,maybe it was my clothes,all i said to him was I already am,and walked out,i bet a lot of investors who are still paying for it wished they had also
..
My sister-in law lives just outside San Francisco in San Jose about a 3 mile walk from Cisco Systems Buildings Complex,she rents rooms out to the Indian workers from that company in several large 5-8 room houses,and that i think is the secret about investing in the US,you have to have someone on the ground that knows the markets within markets,no different to Australia or anywhere else in the world..willair..
 
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Long and short of it was that at the first break she got talking to a couple of people who were sitting near her about her experiences and that DB was a) a boring seminar presenter and b) long on teasers and short on detail
Boring is right, watching paint dry is more fun. She still says the same thing & "jokes" last time I went to one of her free seminars years ago, like listening to a tape !
 
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Thanks.. I feel marginally better after that story. Wow. Ha and yes you are right. It is common sense but also a learning curve. I really did go thinking it might teach me something or at least to feel as though I wasn't "the only one out there". Rehabbing properties by yourself can be a pretty isolationist concept...
 
I'm curious re "Why LV?"

I've done a little reading which excludes the cold, mid west. Old rust-belt industries which are too far gone to be revived. If there is no work why live there and pay so much for heating which, if the peak oil story is to be believed, will only get worse.

Naturally, you next look at a Florida condo. Again there does not seem to be much industry so who are the renters? Retirees will be owners, surely? Who pays the body-corporate fees on all the vacant condos? I can see why you prefer single houses.

In hard times can Nevada get the water they need?

Texas never had a boom and hence no bust so there are no bargains but it is one of a few states which isn't bankrupt with low employment.

Southern California would feel like home to Aussies but again, no bargains. Frisco was still priced around half a mil last time I looked.

It certainly is a mixed bag over there.

As an aside, I see too much currency risk to buy there without borrowing there and from what you say that's pretty hard. Would it help with a mortgage if you had more than the amount borrowed invested on the NYSE? They don't seem to write recourse loans, do they.
 
Thanks to Emma for posting up.

This forum has been lightly brewing over OS investments and having someone so open and forthcoming with basic information is all most people need.

I hope you stick around for a long while yet - many thanks for taking the time to post on here.
 
Why Vegas, examples etc

Sorry had just written epic response but I'd didn't post so this will be the retyped abridged version. So long as i dont get sued by crazy seminar people... Here are two random Vegas properties

Property 1
5345 Hammond court, 89110.. Capital growth and younger prop.
3bedroom, 2bath. Built 1999, bought 61k rented within 3 weeks of closing at 64k for $1050 to section 8 tenant. Had to change out carpet in bedrooms, new appliances, paint, a whole heap of cleaning, faucet replacement and one small fiberglass patch.

Walking distance to Rundle elementary, walmart super center and smith's. Love, love ,love, when property does go up, this is an ideal first home for someone. Specifically more expensive as younger. This is a good solid working class zip. Taxes are $849 and insurance $480.

Property 2
1401 wilderness way 89030
NOT a good zip and if anyone was looking, I wouldn't normally advise this at all but the first thing you learn is that in Vegas there are pockets to every zip. I drive the streets myself. This one has kids playing in it, no graffiti and walking distance to schools. The second thing you learn is that any 3bedroom 2 bath house purchased between 40k and 130k will rent for about the same... Between 900 and 1100. This is actually 4 bedroom and 2bath though.

Tenant pays utilities.

Purchase price 39k, rented for 1k. The day of closing a guy in his mid 20's walks in with his mother and says he had waited a year to rent it because his mum lived around the corner and his kids attend the local school. 4 br/ 2 ba. The second bath needed a complete rebuild which I did myself. The entire plumbing needed redoing because 1963 build with cast iron pipes. I normally do all plumbing myself but this guy was and is amazing and did for $1700. Total outlay when dust settled was 46k.

I will leave it at that for this message. Loads more to write but frustrated on double typing.
 
I would said being it on.....if she did that the negative publicity would affect her business.

If this incident is true...it definitely reduces my perception of Dymphna. I too went to her US presentation...and was less than impressed.

She makes it seem a lot easier than it looks!:(

Emma was approached by someone who immediately threatened legal action and accused her of trying to steal customers from Dymphna. She was escorted off the premises and in no uncertain terms told to stay away.

:mad:
 
see them's the deals we need to hear about, especially knowing that there is money to be made inside the "write offs" like vegas and NY etc.

so what structures do you recommend or are you paying cash for all these deals?
 
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