Nouveau Riche University Nouveau Riche is your typical MLM, Direct Marketing, Ponzi/ Pyramid Scheme: BEWARE. Scotsdale Arizona

Dean, 

I am an independent journalist based of New York doing a story on Nouveau Riche University. I was wondering if you would be willing to talk to me about your experience. You also mentioned that you received handouts and materials while as a student I was wondering if you had an of the materials that you'd be willing to share. I'm trying to get a better picture of the institution and it would be a great help. 

Thanks, 

TJ 

Dean is absolutely right. Everything he says is true. And, no, that's not an AWESOME rebuttal.

My best friend's life was totally destroyed by Nouveau Riche. She's a hard worker and a very determined and capable salesman, but she wasn't able to successfully market the products. One problem was that she bought in during the last 6 months of 2006 and the bottom fell out of the economy a year later. No one wanted to buy in at that point. She bought a number of properties (through Investor's Concierge) and they've eaten up her savings and retirement. Now she's underwater on all six of them. Should she have known better? Probably. But that doesn't give NR the right to take advantage of her and others who are vulnerable and/or misinformed.

Dean is doing us all a favor. He's a lone voice crying in the wilderness. And if you read the rebuttal (by someone who hides behind the title of "The Company") closely you'll see that it's nonsensical. I'll just make a few points (because I don't have the time to go over it in detail--but, trust me, it's all bogus).

1. Dean points out that the founders of NR have NO background in real estate, only in marketing. This is true, and, yes, it is possible to check and see what someone's background in real estate is. Just for starters, here in California there's a website where you can check someone's real estate license. And there are other public records available to anyone who wants to know more.

"The Company" asks what does it matter what Bob and Jim's background is? It DOES matter, TC. Wouldn't you expect the president of a college to have a college degree? Wouldn't you expect the president of a bank to know something about finance? This is no different. Believe me, these guys could care less about giving their "students" an education in real estate. From the moment they sign you up, you're encouraged to market the product.

2. "The Company" denies that Nouveau Riche is an MLM. Then TC asks, "what's wrong with MLMs?" Lots. According to MLM Watch, MLMs almost always make false or deceptive claims in their promotional materials. People who don't join during the first few months of the operation are unlikely to build enough of a sales pyramid to do well. It's similar to a chain letter--have you ever participated in one that's been around for awhile that works?

Fewer than 1% of new distributors of an MLM earn significant income; and people often get stuck with products (or in this case, an education) that cost thousands of dollars. This strategy is referred to as "front-end loading." In July 1999, the National Association of Attorneys General announced that complaints about multilevel marketing and pyramid schemes were tenth on their list of consumer complaints.

Nouveau Riche may not technically be a MLM--it differs in some details. But the idea is the same. People are urged to sell the product to others and they get a kickback for every person they recruit. One of the things this accomplishes is to mantain a constant chorus of praise for Nouveau Riche. Why say something negative, even to your friends? Your best friend might be a potential recruit, someone who can help you get your money back--if she'll join.

6. TC chooses to attack Dean's description of the NR seminars, while of course missing the main point. The point is that information of real value is not transmitted in a seminar. A seminar is usually given in association with a lecture, readings in a textbook, or work in a lab. A seminar is used to identify problems and questions a student might have. It isn't the primary means of transmitting the course content.

9. Again, TC doesn't rebut Dean's point. Dean's is describing what happens in a real class, but TC unconsciously reveals what NR is REALLY about. He says, "Third, name one company that when first introducing you to its product (especially if it's a product you've never used before and/or are unfamiliar with) goes into all the things that could go wrong with it."

Yep, that's true of COMPANIES, but it isn't true in UNIVERSITIES. we're talking about an education here--where students are presumably learning the ins and outs of real estate. It's true that SALESMEN don't bring up risks, but college teachers do.

Doctors learn right from the get-go what might go wrong on an operating table. Psychologists and lawyers take classes in professional ethics so they know what will happen if they cross the line. And, yes, computer programmers learn not to crash the system--right up front.

I could go on and on--but I instead I encourage to you to read the entire so-called rebuttal yourself. And run, run from Nouveau Riche. Don't end up another sorry victim.

please note that Dale from Oakland Hills wrote his comment on the Thursday of Nouveau Riche's largest convention this year, in Arizona. I have no idea if this has any significance, and I am making no accusation. It is just interesting.

If you applied as much effort to the college and its techniques in investing as you did in laying out all the things that are wrong with NR,You too could be something.Your comments in "item" # 10,about NR not stating the risks involved with residential investments etc,etc, my wife and I learned in the Apr. college! Also you forgot to mention that you can have a partner attend all the same class for free.I never went to a "University" or Junior college but I know they don't offer that,and I suspect if you went to a "College" you may not have gotten any more from the University education either!

that was an AWESOME rebuttal, and I love it. I went to the college in AZ in dec 07, and now, I am so busy with Real Estate deals and closings, that I can't get away to take more classes! That's how good the education is, and NRU is more than just education, it is very motivational, will keep you driven and focused to reach your goals.

How many companies out there in Corp america encourage you to reach your lifes goals and dreams for yourself and your family, your church, etc? Or do they just encourage you to stab your coworkers in the back to get ahead, lie cheat and/or steal. They encourage you to be there by 830 am or be written up for being late, they encourage you to be back within the hour at lunch or be docked pay, the encourage you to submit reports on your production, which you end up making up and fudging because you know they won't really even check, so what's the point.

I came across this posting because I was actually looking up an individual I was planning on doing some RE deals with, and my "sha-dar" went off.


anyway..I always get a kick out of people who fail at their endevours and then blame others for it. I really get a kick out of it!!!!!! I wouldn't jump into say the field of aeronautics or air traffic controllers, take their training and courses, and then fail out of it because it's not really for me, I have NO BUISINESS being in the air traffic controller business! NONE! I have no passion for air traffic controlling, I have horrible vision, I have no patience or attention to detail, and I certainly suck at taking tests. SO, just because you can make a lot of money as one, would I invest money in schooling to become one? NO! I Wouldnt,

this guy had NO BUSINESS getting involved in Real Estate investing or direct marketing, he is embarrased for failing, and to cover the fact he truly FAILED at his endevour, while those around him succeed, he blames the company and writes this crap like you read in the first post.

I'm sure by now he had moved on to Ambit Energy, or energy drinks, or carbon copy pro!!! LOL!!!!

The Company

1. Piccolo and Bob 'the General' Snyder, the founders of NRU, have MARKETING backgrounds. Look it up. They have no prior experience with real estate investing before NRU.

--Even if this IS true, a) I don't know how anyone could possibly "look up" what sort of personal experience any individual has with something as broad as real estate investing Can you tell me where one might find this information? Perhaps it would be more readily available for a more well-known businessman. Exactly what experience does Bill Gates have with RE investing? How about Rupert Murdoch? Where is this information published?

b) Is it possible that that is a reason neither one of them teaches a single class? While Snyder's bio is listed in the "instructors" section on the company website, he is not listed anywhere as an instructor of any specific course in the course catalogue.


2. As a consequence of Number 1, NRU is primarily a MARKETING business. You can call it whatever you want, direct marketing, MLM, a pyramid scheme, a ponzi scheme, there may not be a perfect term, but it contains aspects of all of these concepts.

--Great comment. Spoken like a true lawyer. With that last sentence fragment you get to say almost anything you want before it, and by the end of the statement alleviate yourself from all claims of libel or falsities. You could say the very same thing about almost any business. Depending on how far you're willing to stretch your claims, you could even say nonprofit organizations "contain aspects" of direct marketing, MLM, a pyramid scheme and a Ponzi scheme...The truth is, Nouveau Riche, like MOST other business is not any of those, other than maybe direct-to-consumer marketing.

First of all, there is nothing wrong, immoral or illegal about multi-level marketing businesses. That acronym "MLM" is thrown around as if it were a terrible thing. Multi-level marketing is a perfectly legitimate business model. But even still, Nouveau Riche is not a multi-level marketing business. Multi-level marketing businesses DO function by enrolling unsalaried salespeople (also called distributors, Independent Business Owners, Franchise Owners, Sales Consultants, Consultants, Independent Agents, etc...) to sell products and earn commissions on those sales. This is the only similarity.

In an MLM, distributors earn a commission based on the sales efforts of their entire organization, which includes one's own independent sale efforts as well as the leveraged sales efforts of their down-the-line hires/distributors. This is much like franchise arrangements in which royalties are paid from the sales of individual franchise operations to the franchisor as well as to an area or region manager. In an MLM there can be multiple levels of people receiving royalties from one person's sales.

Examples of well-known MLM companies are weight-loss, nutrition and skin-care giant Herbalife and Mary Kay cosmetics.

In the case of Nouveau Riche, a marketer never gives up a part of their sales commission to multiple people in different levels of the organization. As a trainee, the commissions on the marketer's first few sales go directly to the trainee's Independent Student Adviser (ISA), just as if it were the ISA that made the sale. After these first few "training sales" the trainee becomes "certified" to sell the products and never again does ANY of the sales commission go to anyone else. Once certified as an ISA, the marketer is the sole profit taker in 100% of his sales commissions. An example of this elsewhere might be in the insurance industry in a situation in which an agent's apprentice might first open a certain number of new accounts for new customers before he is allowed to handle clients/accounts of his own. The new accounts that he opens as a trainee go to his direct superior.

A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves income generation through recruiting other people into the scheme, usually without any product or service being delivered. The individual makes one payment, but is promised to somehow receive exponential benefits from other people as a reward. A common example might be an offer that, for a fee, allows the victim to sell the same offer to other people (the offer of course being the ability to sell the offer), or receive bonuses through other people they refer. Each sale includes a fee to the original seller.

Clearly, the flaw is that there is no end benefit; the money simply travels up the chain, and only the originator (or at best a very few) wins in swindling his followers. Of course, the people in the worst situation are the ones at the bottom of the pyramid: those who subscribed to the plan, but were not able to recruit any followers themselves.

Nouveau Riche is a normal product/service-providing company. There are services offered: the mainstay of the college, which is education/instruction in real estate investing strategies, and in addition ancillary credit services, mortgage brokerage services, accounting and legal services, property management services, etc. There are also physical products sold such as educational literature and other materials such as investment software and company branded consumer merchandise (polo shirts, tote bags etc.).

Many people purchase these products directly and do not even attempt to market them to other people. For those that CHOOSE to market the products, and make a sale, a commission on the sale is paid to them for their effort. This is no different than any other direct-to-consumer sales business, aside from the fact that NO ONE is hired as an employee of Nouveau Riche strictly for the purpose of selling the products.

A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation named after the Italian immigrant Charles Ponzi. It involves paying or at least promising abnormally high returns ("profits") to investors out of the money paid in by subsequent investors, rather than from net revenues generated by any real business activities.

The scheme essentially consists of a single individual offering a high return, say 30% in 30 days on an investment. Investors submit their funds, under the impression their money will be invested in a lucrative venture, arbitrage of some kind for instance. The scam is that there is no real investment activity taking place. The money from investor D goes to pay out "profits" to investors A, B, and C. When investors X, Y, and Z put in money, that money is available to pay "profits" to investors A through W.

The scheme initially works well because the early investors get paid their returns as advertised, so they usually reinvest (i.e. keep) their money in the scheme as it generally pays a higher return than most other alternatives. This means that those running the scheme do not actually have to pay out very much (net) they simply send statements to investors that show how much the investors have earned by keeping the money in what appears to be a great place to get a high return.

The scheme eventually collapses because:

a) authorities get wise to the illegal activity and shut it down
b) the originators take the money and leave town
or
c) the promoters have trouble getting new investors and eventually run out of funds to pay out all the promised returns and more and more people start asking for their money, similar to a bank run.

Obviously none of this has any similarity to Nouveau Riche. There is no "investment opportunity" offered by the company and there is certainly no "promised return." A product is marketed, purchased and then provided. Again, if any individual wishes to market the product to someone else, and ends up making a sale from the referral, a commission is paid for the effort.

As for "direct marketing", yes, Nouveau Riche only markets its products and services through individuals, contracted as independents. There are no television ads, billboards, radio spots or any use of any other kind of intervening media paid for by the company itself. Sales of the company's products are generally made by face-to-face contact with the customer.

The author appears to believe this is a negative thing.


3. Real estate investing and education is an ancillary part of NRU. It is the 'product' that they sell, but it might as well be long-distance phone plans, an internet web-based business, vitamins, or make-up.

--This makes little sense. You admit investing tools and education are the products sold, and then say, "it may as well be [any other product]." Yeah. Businesses sell products and/or services. Nouveau Riche is a business. It sells a product just like Time Warner Cable, Amazon.com, GNC and Este Lauder. What's your point?


4. NRU's success is a direct product of the real estate mania this country has experienced over the past 7 years, not anything inherently great about the company's products or services.

--This is a complete statement of opinion from an individual who obviously has a negative bias. There is no evidence or factual information to even support such a claim.


The 'Education'
5. For $16,000, you really don't get very much. You receive a certain number of 'college' credits that expire after two years, but the catch is that you have to fly to Arizona to use them and you can only do that four times a year for a one-week period each time. There is an on-line option, but it is sub-par for a variety of reasons.

--Again, a statement of opinion, a misleading fact coupled with a complete falsity followed by another fact coupled with another opinion. For anyone that really wants to know, it's on the website (collegeinfo.nouveauriche.com). Yes, one tuition package is offered for $16,000. It includes 120 hours of class time. There are three tuition packages offered:

30 NR hours = 5 days - $6,000
60 NR hours = 10 days - $10,000
120 NR hours = 20 days - $16,000

The classes are currently held at the Renaissance Glendale Hotel in Glendale, AZ. According to the feature in the June/July 2008 issue of Success magazine construction on the permanent Nouveau Riche campus in Scottsdale, AZ is expected to be completed by the end of 2010, after which time all classes will be held therein.

Classes are held bi-monthly throughout the year, usually for a period of 6 days per session. Tuition purchasers can attend any combination of days, and under the $16,000 package have 1 full year (6 college sessions) to take courses (and repeat any if they wish) and a 2nd year (6 college sessions) to repeat any courses they wish. Each tuition package is also good for two people. The reason we always hear about the $16,000 tuition is because it is the most popular one, and well over 95% of students enroll with it.

With this package, looking at the Dec 2007 schedule, (http://nouveauricheuniversity.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2007/11/30/3385199.html)

students can take up to 12 hours of class time per day if they desire, for at least 4 days of the week, then another 2 days where they can take up to 8 hours of classes. This calculates to up to 64 hours of class time per week per partner. Each partner has full control over their own schedules and can choose classes they want, and can choose to attend for any combination of days during the sessions. Calculation:

12 weeks of school over a 2 year period. 64 hours per week x 12 weeks = up to 768 hours of potential in-class time x 2 people is 1536 total in-class hours for a Regents Tuition. $16,000 divided by 1536 = $10.42/hr of class time.

Over 20 courses are also offered in online format, with audio and video of the instructor teaching a live class, which tuition purchasers can view an unlimited number of times, not counting against their purchased credits.


6. The courses are amateur hour and taught in seminar-fashion. They may dazzle people who don't have a college degree, but will offer little to those who are generally versed in basic real estate and financial concepts. The educational materials are photocopied, hand-bound booklets, sometimes just an outline of the power point presentation. The instructors appear to be knowledgeable in their field, but they are mainly interested in consulting fees and fees for other services that they offer to NRU members (not altruism as many NRU shills would like you to believe).

--I'm not exactly sure what accredited university the author attended to get his college degree but if by seminar-fashion he means a group of students sitting in chairs facing an instructor standing at the front of the room, then okay: 99.99% of all courses taught in every major university (and high school and middle school for that matter) are taught in seminar-fashion and I suppose Nouveau Riche is no exception. The author also implies that instructors spend class time pushing their own products and services on students something they are contractually bound AGAINST doing by the company.


7. NRU does not 'teach' you anything you can't learn by spending a few dollars on Amazon.com. There are no secret tips to learn that haven't been published in the hundreds of real estate books you can buy on your own.

--While an obvious stretch of a statement to begin with, one could say the same thing about nearly every class at any institution of learning. Can you name one thing you learned in any course, throughout your entire tenure from pre-school through a bachelor's degree that wasn't already published somewhere? Isn't one of the major costs of college matriculation books? What is the purpose of paying the LARGEST cost of college (tuition) when you could just buy the books the professor makes you read? (which, many times, if you go to a decent university, he/she wrote themselves anyway instructor pushing his own products???)


8. The 'education' is primarily a vehicle for the direct marketing aspect of NRU, just as Investor's Concierge is there to give members credibility when they market the course. The Concierge, however, is also another mechanism by which NRU extracts additional money from its students. More on this later.

--Good call there. Essentially, you called out the company on its crazy practice of using the products it sells as a draw to get customers. Wow.


Real Estate as an Investment Class

9. In marketing the tuition, a great deal of emphasis is placed on how real estate can make you rich. There is little or no information on how risky investing in real estate can be. At the 'briefings' (the 2-hour presentation designed to lure new members), the presenter will talk a lot about how great real estate is because of the availability of leverage and certain tax benefits. At several briefings I went to, the presenter would literally make the representation that real estate prices only go up. Finally, the presenter will talk about how terrible it is to work for a corporation and how useless a college education is (ala Robert Kiyosaki). This usually manifests itself in the form of derisive acronyms, such as JOB, which stands for 'Just Over Broke', or how only NRU can give you an MBA that's worth anything, a 'Massive Bank Account' (crowd usually goes wild here).

--First of all, real estate investing CAN make you rich. Just like nearly anything else if done right. This is not wrong or false. In fact, more wealth is generated from real estate investing than nearly any other business venture. Do a Google search of what the wealthy invest in.

Second, no one ever talks about college education being "useless." Nouveau Riche's MAIN PRODUCT is college education.

Third, name one company that when first introducing you to its product (especially if it's a product you've never used before and/or are unfamiliar with) goes into all the things that could go wrong with it. When selling a car does the dealer put up statistics of how many people die annually in car accidents? How about just some simple warnings about how many things can go wrong with the auto and how many different ways you could get hurt because of it and how much it might cost to fix it? How about a new computer systemdo the instructions go into detail on the value and amount of information that could be lost should the system crash, or the possible detriment to your livelihood should your personal information be leaked on the Internet while you are using the machine?

The point is
a) everyone is responsible for learning about what they're getting into before they actually get into it it's called "due diligence" a phrase most often used in real estate.

b) the risks involved in real estate investing are exactly one of the main focuses of some of the courses. This is why there are classes such as Real Estate 101 covering the basics, including the RISKS involved in RE investing as well as others entitled Market Analysis, Legal Strategies, both of which include content related to possible pitfalls. There is even an entire course entitled Buyer Beware.

And in general, real estate value DOES go up over time. The fact is even stated many times that since such figures have been logged (1968) the average appreciation in RE has been 6% annually. In the past 20 years, it's been more than twice that.


10. NRU never mentions the special risks inherent in residential real estate investing, such as problem tenants, financing and interest rate risk, structural and environmental risks associated with housing, the cost of maintenance, the prospect of asset depreciation or declining rents, and the risk of litigation including from eviction and foreclosure. Bottom line, investing in residential real estate is very risky and comes with a host of hazards you would not find in other asset classes. NRU discounts all of this and presents real estate as a perpetual money tree.

--Again, these are ALL risks covered in the actual courses. I would love to see you run a company selling a product by only talking about its negative aspects.


11. We will likely never experience again in our lifetimes the type of appreciation in residential real estate that we have seen these past few years. There are several reasons that this is very likely to be the case: reversion to the mean, unsustainable public/private debt burdens, massive transfer of wealth to developing nations, slowing economic growth, an aging population, greater regulation in the financial sector, etc.

--Once more, a complete opinion statement, and a SPECULATIVE statement at that...one which would require an EXTENSIVE knowledge of residual real estate markets and trends, economics and historical data to makeall of which I seriously doubt the author possesses.


12. Historically, residential real estate prices have appreciated at the rate of inflation.

--This is a completely false statement. Either the author just made it up or heard it somewhere and didn't bother to check it. It is something that is easily verifiable. Since 1968 the average inflation rate in the United States is 4.71% (http://inflationdata.com). Over the 36 year period (when RE appreciation data was first recorded/collected) up to 2004, the average price increase in the U.S. has been 6.4% (http://www.realestateabc.com/graphs/natlmedian.htm).
And that is the AVERAGE appreciation of the MEDIAN home price over the past 36 years imagine if one had a little EDUCATION and foresight enough to be a little smart about which markets, locations and specific properties they chose to invest in

In one particular online forum discussing this very issue, one user stated his own property values:
1978 condo purchase in Diamond Head Hawaii 9%
1986 SFH purchase in SFBay area 10%
1994 SFH purchase in Vegas, baby, 8%
2003 condo purchase in Diamond Head Hawaii 20%
2004 condo purchase in Waikiki Hawaii 15%

And while the average median price has dropped considerably in the last few years, this shift is unique and uncharacteristic of the market trends overall, making it unlikely to occur in the same fashion or in the near future...not to mention, it means that currently many markets of real estate are being offered and sold at extremely discounted prices.


13. Real estate, like any other asset class, carries risks that are commensurate with the returns you are likely to generate. For example, leverage is great in good times, but people are quickly learning how easy it is for your equity to get wiped out a result of relatively small declines in home prices.

--This is for the most part a true statement, which is also covered in classbut again, as stated before, what we are currently seeing is not a relatively small decline in home prices.


14. Investor Concierge deals are generally market-rate deals, but they are advertised to NRU students as amazing deals that generate positive cash flow. There are other sites that break this down, but generally speaking, the appraisals are usually 2-3 pages long and contain nothing more than a broker's opinion of value, the financing is almost always interest only or neg-am, the rents are inflated, and the only way you get 'positive cash flow' is if you include certain seller incentives like pre-paid HOA or guaranteed rent, most of which will expire within 2 years. Additionally, maintenance and vacancy will almost immediately eat away at the $100 of positive cash-flow a month you get. NRU members hate talking about the details of the Investor Concierge deals.

--Most of this is either untrue or a stretch of truth. For a clear general breakdown of Investor Concierge deals see http://newrich.wordpress.com/2008/02/01/are-the-investor-concierge-deals-any-good/

15. Typically, there are only 15-20 available properties on the Concierge at any given time, so the pickins are slim. NRU encourages you to reserve a property you like as soon as you see it online, because it could get snatched up by someone else unless you do. The non-refundable fee for reserving a property is $350.

--Again, see the link above.


16. Investor Concierge deals are mainly located in historically depressed or undeveloped, sub-urban or rural real estate markets, you will generally not find properties on the system in established, urban markets. These properties are likely to experience declines in this market and will not likely appreciate much at all when the economy recovers.

--Again, see the link above.


17. Anyone who has purchased a deal off of Investors Concierge over the last two years has either lost all of their equity or is underwater. This is a terrifying prospect for many people in NRU because at the briefings, many of them go up to the front and brag about how they have bought 5, 10, 15 or even 20 properties over the past few months. Many of these people are going to have to walk away from their homes in the coming years, which will destroy their credit and eat up any ponzi money they made from the marketing.

--Another completely unfounded speculation statement presented as fact from someone without evidence or figures to support such claims.


The Marketing

18. The real estate investing component of NRU is used mainly to support the primary business of the company which is selling tuition packages. There are three options which cost different amounts, but most people are pressured to purchase the 'Regent's' packing together with the 'Encyclopedia', which total almost $20,000. There are certain commission and tuition-related perks you get for buying the most expensive package.

--Gee. The product the company sells is mainly used to support the primary business of the company, which is selling the product it sells. Go figure.

The rest of the information in #18 is mostly true, as there are different commission and tuition-related perks that are included with the different tuition packages. Basically the higher price you pay (i.e. the more you buy), the more you get. Again, go figure.


19. The commission system is what really drives NRU. NRU members can get a 50% commission for each package they sell, so sometimes that amounts to nearly $10,000 a pop, and there is an added wrinkle that causes that number to multiply very quickly if people you sign up also, in turn, sign up additional students. The mathematics make the commission structure extremely lucrative IF YOU ARE GOOD AT SALES. This is hook that gets most people to fork over the money.

--I don't see anything wrong with this statement, other than a possible implication of a pyramid scheme setup. There is no sign up fee. Commissions are made only when a product is sold just like any other business. The author might claim signing up and buying tuition are the same thing, but in the definition of illegal pyramid schemes, this is an important distinction to make. There are tangible products and verifiable services marketed and sold. Once a marketer is certified to sell a certain product or service after giving up the commissions on the first few sales to his Independent Student Advisor, he is the sole profit taker in his sales. Never after those first few training sales does any of the marketer's commission go to anyone else. Even during the training phase, the commission he gives up to his ISA ONLY goes to his ISA. There is no one at any other level that partakes in those commission profits.

The only time the added wrinkle the author refers to occurs is when a marketer, still in training, makes a sale to a person who then also makes a sale of his own before said marketer is certified himself. In this situation, said marketer does not have a right to the sale commission, as it is still his ISA, not himself training the new marketer that just made the newest sale. In other words, even though it was the trainee who referred the person who made the latest sale, it was not the trainee who was responsible for that referred person. The trainee cannot receive commissions for someone else's sale before he can take commissions on his own sales.


20. Most people are unsuccessful at selling tuition packages. It's akin to trying to sell a used car, except you would probably get more value from a junker than the 'education' that NRU offers. It's obvious why the 'education' NRU offers is not worth $20,000, most of that needs to go subsidize the commission system, which is needed to lubricate the entire NRU machinery.

--The first sentence here is by definition a factual statement, yet it is not based in any fact whatsoever. I would be interested to see any sort of evidence suggesting most people are unsuccessful' at selling the tuition packages. To be sure, there are plenty of people that pay for the tuition and attend the college that are not interested in marketing it. They are interested in doing what they attended the college to do in the first place: invest in real estate. I don't believe anyone would NOT pay the $75 startup cost for the ABILITY to market the college and collect any commissions they might be privy to when they refer friends and family, but there are many students of the college that have no interest in making a business out of marketing it.

Interestingly, the author suggests the education is useless, and that the only real product is the commissions to be made from selling it, which he in turn claims most people are unsuccessful at selling in the first place even though the college has grown tenfold in the past two years. What's more, CEO Jim Piccolo has invested nearly 100% of year 2007's revenue from the college into the development of a 30+ acre permanent campus for the college complete with nearly 400 housing units, the plans for which were featured in the June/July 2008 issue of Success magazine.

If the product being sold is so horrible, and the people marketing are so bad at selling it, why the growth? Why the investment of a state-of-the-art campus facility?


21. The commission system places a lot of pressure on NRU members to sell, sell, sell. This is how all the top 'producers' have made most of their money. This also creates a massive conflict of interest. More on this later.

--It is an oxymoron to equate a commission system with pressure on the seller. It is even more ridiculous to claim commissions somehow create a "conflict of interest." The commission is an incentive to refer others to the college. No one HAS to do it. No one is pressured into marketing the college. You have to pay a startup cost to even do it. No one is hired to sell the product. It is never stated to be a sole means of income. Many people state that they have been able to replace their W2 income with the marketing and have therefore decided to quit their former job, but there is no reason for any person to feel pressure to sell. There is no quota to be met in some time frame to lock in a Christmas bonus. There is no number of team sales needed to reach a company goal so that you can get a promotion and finally make ends meet. Where does the pressure come in?

And even if anyone was in such a position that they felt they needed to make a sale, how would it be any different from any other commission-based sales job? And wouldn't it be fair to assume one understands what commission-based sales is before one takes such a job especially when it is explained to him multiple times?


22. The direct marketing aspect of NRU preys on the greed and naivete of all sorts of people, but mainly lower-middle class individuals, young people just starting out, and real estate agents/brokers, many of whom don't have a lot of education and work crappy jobs that they aren't happy with.

--I'm guessing you consider yourself naive and in one of these categories. Interesting, you seem to infer you have little education while at the same time presume to have such extensive knowledge of the inner workings of major universities.


23. NRU is tied in with the likes of Robert Kiyosaki and 'The Secret'. I'm not going to bore you with the analysis, but try Google and you will find plenty of critiques.

--And by tied in with you mean mentions the names of and quotes from...


Conflicts of Interest

24. NRU generates tremendous income directly from its students. They make money not only from the tuition, but also from marketing materials and services, credit services, mortgage brokerage services, accounting and legal services, special seminars, Investor Concierge transactions, all of which cost extra, and theyre not cheap. You also have to pay for lodging and the plane ticket to get to the college. All of the NRU instructors also offer consulting deals and other professional services, which also cost extra. The $16,000 for the Regent's tuition only buys you 'college' credits, you get NOTHING ELSE. You even have to buy the forms and brochures you need to sign up people for NRU. I take that back, you do get a tote bag, but it looks ridiculous.

--The first sentence here essentially translates to: The company generates a lot of its income directly from the people who buy its products. Yet another revelation for the record books.

Let's see if the exact sentences and phraseology can be used to describe anything else perhaps replace Nouveau Riche with, say Harvard It would then read: Harvard University generates tremendous income directly from its students. They make money not only from the tuition, but also from marketing materials and services, credit services [at this point the services become unrelated, but you get the idea.] all of which cost extra, and they're not cheap. You also have to pay for lodging and the plane ticket to get to the college.

Gee. This Harvard University sounds like a really sour deal, doesn't it?

The statement of the $16,000 for the Regent's tuition only buys you 'college' credits, you get NOTHING ELSE is completely false. The author completely contradicts himself here, as he specifically stated in #18: "There are certain commission and tuition-related perks you get for buying the most expensive package." So which is it? Are there "added perks" or do you get "NOTHING ELSE"?

The truth is not only is every tuition package good for TWO people, each one also grants a certain level of access and usage to the Investor Concierge website, with the highest level of access reserved for the Regent's tuition holders. The "tote bag" the author speaks of is actually a black business-type satchel that comes with myriad other marketing materials which are all covered by the $75 marketing startup cost, supposing you even wish to pay for that.

The extra services are just that: extra. They are not required, not inherently necessary, not actively marketed to students in any way. They are barely even mentioned when introducing potential students to the college. They are offered as services to aid in different facets of a student's individual investment and business development strategy. Many students may not need or ever use some or any of the extra services offered. What is so wrong with offering extra services that some might find useful? If you don't want em, don't get em.

It would not be a far stretch to contend that if such services WEREN'T offered, the author would then complain that "students are left to fend for themselves" with "no helpful means with which to help them protect their assets or set up the mortgage deals they learn to construct in their classes" or any of the other things the services provide.

It seems this author wishes to only mention the things he feels will help his complaint sound better and in a way that makes normal and even additional business attributes sound negative.


25. NRU members are supposed to be 'mentors' to the new members who they sign up, but what they really want from you is for you to sell the tuition to others, because they will get a cut of the first few sales you make. There is a huge conflict of interest here because there is a big incentive for NRU members to sell the tuition, irrespective of the quality of the product or the unique situation of people to whom they are marketing.

--I'm not sure what sort of services you expected to get from your ISA, but there are no false claims presented at any stage of the process. If you wished to know what is exactly provided to you for any cost you pay, be it the $75 startup cost to be a marketer or the $16,000 tuition to take 120 hours of classes, I'm sure all you had to do was ask.

And again, if you want to claim that a commission on the sale of a product provides a conflict of interest for the person selling it, then there's not much anyone can say to you. Talk to any business that pays any sort of sales commission and ask them if that's what they call it. Or better yet, start a company of your own and try to sell your product while paying your sales people an hourly wage only.


26. NRU encourages you to sell to friends and family, which destroys relationships when people are dissatisfied or feel cheated, which is often the case.

--Another completely embellished, more than likely fabricated speculative statement made without evidence. No one is encouraged to sell to anyone. No one even has to market the college at all.

And one just has to love the rich verbiage used by the author here: destroys relationships followed by the complete lie of which is often the case. That entire sentence is an obvious and ridiculous attempt at defamation of a company the author obviously has a bias against.


27. The most distasteful defense of NRU to me is that 'it's not for everyone, but it worked for me'. It may be that there are some people who are successful and make lots of money in NRU, but the system cannot support a situation where most of the people in NRU make tons of money. This is the inherent, mathematical limitations of these types of marketing structures. I'm sure someone smarter than me can prove this. Likewise, the real estate market cannot support most people in NRU making money in residential real estate investing. Case in point is the short sale strategy, which NRU shills tout as the way to make money in a down market. Well, there is so much competition in short sales right now, and even more with each 'college' I suppose, that short sale investors are bidding up pre-foreclosures pretty much to market. These fundamental concepts virtually guaranty that only a small minority of 28. NRU members will make any money either from the marketing or the real estate investing, and REQUIRE everyone else to fail in order for the system to sustain itself. This is the biggest conflict of interest of them all and lends to NRU's reputation as a 'scam'.

--First, the statement of it's not for everyone, but it worked for me is not a defense of anything. Direct sales and real estate investing ARE NOT for everyone. I believe that is an empirical fact that no one can rightfully deny. The but it worked for me part is a statement of fact for anyone who truthfully says it. As for lots of people make tons of money there is truth and falsity there. It depends on what you mean by lots of people and tons of money. It also depends on whether you're talking about simply selling Nouveau Riche products or real estate investing.

There is essentially an infinite amount of money to be made in real estate. Not only is the urban development expected in the next 30 years worth trillions of dollars in the U.S. alone, there are deals constantly being made on currently existing properties all the time, and situations are created in which all parties involved win, many times with the fast nickel vs. slow dollar outlook. The problem is the average person is not versed well enough in real estate to understand or even see that such opportunities exist, much less know how the work, how to spot them and most importantly, how to take advantage of them which is why as of 2001 the top 1% of households (the upper class) owned 33.4% of all privately held wealth, and the next 19% (the managerial, professional, and small business stratum) had 51%.

And again, doing a simple search into what the wealthy invest in you'll see most of it is real estate. If it's so bad, why do the rich keep getting richer? Are they just that lucky? Or is it possible they know a few things other people don't? Sure a large bankroll makes certain deals and acquisitions easier to come by and having more money to invest and utilize does open more doors as to the types and number of deals someone can get involved in but not everyone with money knows what to do with it. There are plenty of those who made and are currently making their fortune using their own knowledge and utilizing the funds of others. And just as the more money you have the more the door opens on the number and types deals you can be a part of, the more knowledge and experience you have, the more deals you can create for yourself in any industry.

So can lots of people make tons of money in real estate investing? Well, what is lots of people? 10 million? 50 million? 100 million? And what is tons of money? $300k a year? $750k? $1million? $10 million? There is no question there is that much available. Another problem is people cannot easily grasp such large numbers. How much is 1 billion? One thousand seconds is a little less than 17 minutes. One HUNDRED thousand seconds is a little over a full day: 28 hours. Count off 1 MILLION seconds, and you'll be busy for over a week and a half. And 1 billion seconds? That accounts for almost 32 years of your life. How about 1 trillion seconds? 31,709 years.

Nouveau Riche actually mentions in lecture the November 2005 feature article from Business 2.0 magazine detailing the outward growth and eventual connection of major U.S. metropolitan areas into 10 megapolitansthe resulting estimated development market by the year 2030? $25 trillion. There is plenty of wealth to go around in real estate.
(http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2005/11/01/8362817/index.htm)

As far as making money marketing the college, there are currently over 300 million people in the United States and the number is constantly growing exponentially. Even though nowhere near all of them would be interested in attending Nouveau Riche, there is far too large of a market for RE investment education for it to be completely tapped any time soon. People are constantly looking for ways to learn more and leverage their time and money to get ahead and advance in their lives. There is virtually no realistic scenario that could occur in the next few DECADES in which the market would be so saturated with current NR students that a marketer could no longer sell the product. The numbers are just far too big.


Conclusion

NRU is a marketing business that encourages and monetarily incentivizes its members to use high-pressure sales tactics to sell a highly expensive real estate 'education' package with questionable value to unsophisticated people with the lure of quick money and unlimited riches in real estate. Success in NRU is highly dependent on (1) a booming real estate market and/or (2) a unique talent in sales and marketing. What makes NRU so insidious is that it plays on the fear and greed of ordinary people, often friends and family, most of whom will go bankrupt by following NRU investment strategies during a severe and sustained real estate down turn such as the one we are experiencing now, and most of whom will fail in selling the tuition package because they lack the sales and marketing expertise, which is further exacerbated by a declining real estate market. Taken as whole, NRU may be perfectly legal, but many people will feel like they were cheated out of thousands of dollars by someone they trusted. If after reading this, you are still interested then by all means sign up. But just be prepared to live with it if at some point you find yourself either financially bankrupt, morally bankrupt, or even worse, both.

--Again, no facts to be found, but plenty of personal opinion without supporting evidence: 'education' package with questionable value, friends and family, most of whom will go bankrupt by following NRU investment strategies many people will feel like they were cheated.

And not to mention still so self-deprecating: sell to unsophisticated people, plays on the fear and greed of ordinary people.


Epilogue

Finally, you're not going to see a whole lot of posts like this from people who have joined NRU. Most are very disillusioned at the loss of thousands of dollars and don't even want to give it another thought. The rest are out searching for marks. I can only hope that NRU won't survive this bear market in housing, and if this post can hasten its demise, so much the better. I don't blame the person who signed me up, he incidentally has had to find a full-time job now since NRU is apparently not doing it for him. I walked into this with my eyes wide open, which shows you how greed can overcome any good judgment you may think you have. But I am thankful that I didn't end up dragging anyone else into this apart from a good friend as my partner in this scheme, but with whom, as a result of NRU, am no longer on speaking terms. So for all of you NRU shills out there who still think you are doing God's work, why don't you try calling each and every person you have signed up and ask them exactly what they think about NRU. I think you will find that my experience is not so unique. If you can keep on selling after that, well then, good luck to you.

--Wow. You've got every angle covered don't you? You claim that MOST people are BANKRUPT from implementing strategies they learned from seasoned investors so of course the next question becomes Well how come we aren't hearing from all these people? Which is definitely a fair question, because I haven't read ONE single negative review in which the poster makes any claims of bankruptcy or even loss of revenue or income.

So what's the answer? Well apparently that's easy. The fact that we don't hear from any of these poor, financially and morally bankrupt souls is of course because all those THOUSANDS of cheated individuals are so very disillusioned at the loss of thousands of dollars and don't even want to give it another thought.

Are you kidding me? Thousands of people have attended Nouveau Riche college sessions. The author claims that MOST [of those] people are BANKRUPT from implementing strategies they learned there, and the only reason we haven't heard about it is because they all would just rather not think about it? Give me a break.

The truth is that entire "report" is made up of about 2% semi-truth, 48% opinion and 50% attempts at defamation with no supporting evidence, and in multiple areas statements that are complete lies.

The truth is Nouveau Riche is a legitimate business, it is what it says it is, and it does what it says it does. It offers specialized education and tools in a realm of investment that not many know about or even know how to learn about, and it does so through seasoned investors, all teaching techniques and strategies they personally use in their own businesses.

Is the product sold worth the money charged? That is for the individual to decide. There are many people not at all interested in real estate investment who would probably say $50 is too much, as they have no interest in the product. They would rather spend their money elsewhere. There are many other students of the college who have said the college has changed their life, and that the information they gained from the courses has offered them opportunities they would not have otherwise had.

If you are reading this it is fair to assume you are considering attending the college and are doing your due diligence, which is exactly what you should be doing. Just as with any other major purchase or investment, find out as much as you can about the business and the products it sells. Most importantly, seek out the opinions of those who have been exposed to the services as well as identify your own interests, personal attributes and goals. Attend one of the weekend events. Nouveau Riche calls them "intensives". One can attend such an event for free as the guest of an ISA. The event is basically a day of free instruction from one of the college instructors. There is nothing offered for sale other than the college itself. "Intensives" are essentially a free and almost literal "test drive" of the college and are the best way to see the type of service one would be paying for with a tuition purchase.

The business IS legitimate and is what it claims it is. The only question, as with any other business/product is: do you find it useful for you?