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Real estate investing has become popular today due to television real estate investing infomercials and traveling seminar circuits. But real estate investing has not always been so popular.

In the 1960s, William Nickerson wrote: “How I turned $ 1000 into three million in real estate” and “How to make a fortune today from scratch.” It was one of the first real estate investment books to gain national attention. A little later, Al Lowry wrote “How You Can Be Financially Independent By Investing In Real Estate.” Al Lowry could be called “the father of real estate seminars today” because he was the first to hold seminars as a result of the sale of his books.

But it was Mark Haroldsen who took the momentum of the real estate investment seminar / book to the next level. Haroldsen wrote: “How to awaken the financial genius within you.” If you were tuned in to real estate investing at the time, you remember the newspaper and magazine ad that featured an image of Mark soft and bald leaning against the front hood of his Mercedes. The image appeared everywhere in full-page ads from major publications. And when Mark started selling his books, he began conducting real estate investment seminars. I had lunch with Mark and Al Lowry as they exchanged stories about the hype blitz that brought them to national prominence for their prowess in real estate investing. Later, Mark wrote “The Courage to Be Rich” and “Tax Free”.

But it was Robert Allen who capitalized on Lowry and Haroldsen’s previous groundwork. Robert Allen was reportedly paid $ 1 million upfront royalties for his best-selling book, “Nothing Down,” a compilation of 50 techniques for buying property with no money. Robert had learned these techniques from several years of experience in a commercial real estate company. He later wrote “Wealth Creation” and “Introduction to Real Estate Investing.” Robert Allen’s real estate investment seminars turned into a phenomenal marketing bonanza. The conventions were held in major cities in the country, such as Orlando, Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, and Atlanta. Authors of various real estate investment techniques spoke at these seminars, but their spiel focused on selling packages of real estate investment materials that they were offering for sale. Millions of dollars in real estate investment materials were sold at these 3-day conventions. The convention frenzy ushered in what has since been known as “The Nothing Real Estate Movement” of the early to mid-1980s.

I keep all of these books in my personal library, and you can probably still find them in your public library and bookstores. There is a lot of great information in these books that can make you very knowledgeable, even if some of the ideas are out of date.

Now we are presented with a variety of ways to make money in real estate by investing in television infomercials, books, and seminars. Which is the best? Who can say? Real estate investing is learned through trial and error. Real estate investing skills and techniques are acquired with practice. I don’t think anyone can dogmatically recommend a technique that is better for someone else. Each real estate investor has unique needs and is in a unique situation. The objectives of real estate investment are different.

However, if you are limited in investing in real estate educational dollars and need to generate a quick return on investment, I think fixing cheap houses is an ideal starting point. Real estate investing in renovated properties generates fast, profitable dollars with low risk.

It has been almost a year since I had a very bad experience with the rescue of a local puppy mill. That experience led me to begin researching the various aspects of puppy mills and dog rescues. In this research, I have come across far too many activities that are the work of truly sordid people. Even when I start to question WHY someone would do these things, I realize that I know the answer is about money, more money, and even more money.

Until a few years ago, I had no idea what a puppy mill was or that the adorable puppies in the pet store window probably came from there. When I heard or saw a poster of a “lost dog”, I did not even consider the possibility that someone had stolen the dog and then sold it to an unsuspecting dog lover. I recently discovered that puppy mill owners are beginning to falsely identify themselves as animal rescue groups to attract buyers on social media websites.

Just when I think that squalor cannot go any further, a new “squalor scheme” appears. One of the newest is called “dog turning.” The concept of “flipping” was first applied to the housing market. In good economic times, people can buy a home, make some home improvements, or just let a little time go by and then sell the home for more than they paid for. Ready! Money in your pockets for very little effort.

There is nothing illegal about flipping houses. People are betting that house prices will continue to rise. Turning the dog is similar in concept and is not illegal. However, because it relies on lies to unsuspecting people and involves our faithful pets, it is at best sordid.

Dog fins are individuals or small groups of people who check newspapers and sales websites, such as Craigslist, to find dogs that people have listed as “Free to a good home” or “Small relocation fee required.” . The fins then visit the individual or family announcing the pet. Dog fins will come up with a sad story about their family and / or why this particular dog is so important to them. “Fido looks like the dog he had when he was a kid.” They also have a sad story to explain why they have no money. “I just lost my job, but little Johnny has his heart set on a new puppy.”

The unsuspecting family surrenders their dog to the fin, feeling released from responsibility and at the same time feeling that they have done a good deed for others. The family has no idea what is really going to happen to their pet.

The fin takes the dog to a place where other dogs obtained by the same method are housed. These living conditions can in no way be considered a loving home. The flipper then places the ads in the same places they were initially verified; but this time, the same pet is SOLD for $ 60, $ 100, $ 200 or whatever he / she thinks the dog will bring. The pinball can “earn” several hundred dollars for the dog the family thought they were giving to a family in need.

This scheme first came to light when a young woman found a listing on Craigslist for the same dog she had given away the day before. Is the practice of turning dogs illegal? Is not correct”? This is a much more difficult question to answer. There are those who would answer that business is business. Some people find throwing dogs no different than finding a special purchase at a $ 1 thrift sale and then reselling that item for $ 1000.

As you can infer from my use of the term “sleazy”, I do not share the views mentioned above. I do not consider a pet to be a merchandise to give away when it no longer fits or becomes inconvenient. Just as we make adaptations when our children sometimes cause problems, we can and should do the same with our pets. Our pets expect us to take care of all their needs throughout their lives. Owning a pet should be seen as a commitment to do exactly that.

I realize that sometimes bad things happen and cannot be avoided. The Sheltie I just adopted came to me as a result of such a situation. I also know, however, that we can totally eliminate the movement of dogs handing over our pet to a No Kill shelter or rescue instead of advertising our faithful family member as “Free for a good home.”