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About Tony Martinez Real Estate & Tax Lien “Guru”
Tony Martinez calls himself a real estate and tax lien investing educator.
He started the US Tax Lien Association (USTLA) to teach others about this investing niche.
But is he really an expert with a great track record or just a smooth-talking salesman?
Let’s take a closer look.
Image Credit: https://www.ustaxlienassociation.com/tony-martinez/
Tony Martinez’s Background In Real Estate
Tony loves to talk about his “rags to riches” story.
He says in his mid-20s, he was broke, jobless, drowning in debt, and had to move back in with his parents.
Supposedly, his first job was working at Blockbuster Video for minimum wage.
Not exactly an inspiring start.
He claims he then got into real estate and tax lien investing in 1991 when some mentor told him to research it.
Tony says he spent 9 whole months learning everything about tax liens before investing a whopping $260.
What a legend.
Tony Martinez’s Track Record & Expertise With Tax Lien Investing
Fast forward to today, and Tony claims he’s now the leading expert on tax lien investing.
He says he’s trained tons of people to get rich with tax liens.
Of course, he provides zero hard proof of his investing track record.
But he sure does make a lot of vague, unverifiable claims about all the success his students have had.
I guess we’ll just have to take his word for it.
Image Credit: https://ustaxlienassociation.com/
Articles Written About Tony Martinez’s Reputation
If you Google Tony Martinez, you’ll find some articles and interviews where he’s praised as a tax lien investing guru.
But these fluff pieces seem more focused on hyping up his courses than providing an objective look at his background and results.
Image Credit: https://pathwaystoprosperityshow.com/podcast/the-insiders-guide-to-real-estate-riches-with-expert-tony-martinez/
There are also some concerning articles about lawsuits against Tony and his company.
In one case, he was sued by a student for allegedly running a bait-and-switch scheme.
The student claimed Tony lured her in with a $1,500 course but then used high-pressure sales tactics to get her to pay tens of thousands more for additional training.
Yikes.
Archived Tony Martinez Podcast Interviews
I listened to a few interviews with Tony on various podcasts over the years.
He definitely knows how to sell the dream of easy, low-risk profits from tax liens.
But I noticed he always stays very high level and never gets into the nitty gritty details of how to actually do this business.
He makes a lot of bold claims but his “strategies” are vague and simplistic.
It seems more about hyping people up to buy his courses than giving actual real value.
Is The Tony Martinez USTLA Course Worth The Money?
Speaking of his courses, they are costly.
His flagship program costs nearly $2,000 and it’s really just a basic intro to tax liens.
Students say the info is nothing you can’t find for free online.
If you want the real goods, his “mentors” will pressure you to pay tens of thousands more for coaching and seminars.
There are reports of hard-selling bordering on harassment. So much for Tony just wanting to benevolently share his wisdom.
Image Credit: https://united-states-tax-lien-association.pissedconsumer.com/reviews/RT-P.html#google_vignette
Tony Martinez Better Business Bureau Reviews
I checked the BBB website and the USTLA does have an A+ rating.
However, there are several alarming complaints from dissatisfied customers.
The most common complaint is people saying the expensive courses didn’t live up to the hype.
They thought they were getting a complete system but it was just general info and a sales pitch to spend even more money on coaching.
When people asked for refunds, many were given the runaround or just straight-up ignored.
Doesn’t really line up with the customer-focused image Tony likes to portray.
Reviews From Past Students Of Tony
You can find both positive and negative reviews from Tony’s students online.
Some credit him with motivating them to get into tax lien investing.
But many others call him a scammer and say his training is overpriced and overhyped.
The most alarming reviews talk about how relentlessly his sales team tries to squeeze more money out of you.
Some even mention predatory tactics like trying to convince older people to drain their retirement accounts to pay for coaching.
If his methods are so great, why all the secrecy and aggressive sales?
Legitimate experts let their results speak for themselves.
Image Credit: https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/roseville/profile/training-program/us-tax-lien-association-llc-1156-47029212/customer-reviews
Results From Past Tony Martinez Tax Lien Events
I couldn’t find any independently verified results or case studies from Tony’s live events and seminars. He loves to brag that his attendees are getting amazing deals but he never shows actual proof.
It looks like he uses these events more as a sales funnel for his high-ticket coaching programs. Instead of sharing real strategies, he focuses on hyping people up with exaggerated claims of easy riches. Classic guru tactics.
Final Thoughts On Tony Martinez The Tax Lien Educator
After digging into Tony Martinez’s background, I have some serious doubts about his credibility as a tax lien expert. His rags-to-riches story seems embellished and I wasn’t able to find solid evidence of his investing success.
The concerns about his high-priced training programs and aggressive sales tactics are troubling. He seems more focused on enriching himself than delivering real value to students.
While tax liens can be a great investment, I am cautious about learning from Tony Martinez or anyone at the USTLA. There are plenty of legitimate experts who provide quality education without resorting to hype, secrecy, and hard selling.
As with any investing decision, do your own due diligence and don’t let smooth-talking gurus pressure you into parting with your hard-earned money. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Finally, in my opinion, the best way I’ve found to learn is by doing and “failing forward” as they say. I bought my 1st investment property in 2020 during the middle of (you know what..cough..cough), and I had no clue what I was doing despite spending months researching how to invest in real estate.
But guess what? I did it.
And I learned a ton of valuable lessons along the way!
So, If you’re truly interested in tax lien investing, consider subscribing to my newsletter and following along my journey from landlord to “leinlord” as a new tax lien investor.
As Leinlord grows, my goal is to provide a “behind the scenes” inside look at the tax lien auctions I participate in and thoroughly profile any properties that I win.
You’ll get to ride along with me as I walk through my risk analysis, deal structures, ROI calculations, bidding tactics, and exit strategies all documented for the world to see (even my L’s).
So please show your support and sign up for my newsletter OR if you are a Google Chrome user hit that “follow” button!
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Additionally, if you’re interested in booking a consultation to talk tax lien strategy feel free to schedule a one-on-one here.
P.S. I am still fairly new to tax lien investing but willing to share what I’ve learned so far, so please keep that in mind before you book!
I’m not an expert… (yet)
Look forward to having you in the Leinlord community!
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