The Connecticut Real Estate Investors Association, or CT REIA, is announcing the start of its 3-evening new investor workshop. This program will begin on Thursday, February 3, 2011. Additional dates for the program are Thursday February 10 and Thursday February 17. This workshop will take place at the Comfort Inn, 900 East Main Street, Meriden, CT from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. Tuition for this 3-evening program is $140 for CT REIA Members, and $180 for not-yet-members.

CT REIA is pleased to present New England’s top real estate investor workshop for new investors. This program is designed to give new investors an opportunity to learn in detail how to get started in the real estate investing process. Experienced investors also participate in this program to find out what is working in today’s market. Students of this workshop will learn the basics of real estate investing and the best paths to take in today’s market. The program will cover the basics of wholesaling properties, rehabbing (also known as flipping), how to sell quickly, and holding for long-term income. Topics that will be discussed include: how to create lead generations, working with realtors as part of buying and selling investment strategies, how and where to find great investment properties, how to inspect properties with confidence before you invest, how to evaluate every deal properly, how to make offers with confidence, how to wholesale properties, how to estimate and manage projects with confidence, how to deal with contractors, how to retail investment property, tools and tips for landlords, and much more.

CT REIA is an organization that provides motivation, networking opportunities, and up-to-date education for people who want to buy their own home or investment property. Each month, a nationally known real estate investment trainer is featured. Real estate professionals, investors, landlords, property managers, realtors, contractors, wholesalers, rehabbers, and the general public are invited to attend our meetings. For more information on this and other real state investor courses from CT REIA, please call (860) 265-4414 or visit www.ctreia.com .

The Connecticut Real Estate Investors Association, or CT REIA, in association with Andy Heller is announcing the February 2010 monthly meeting with Andy Heller. This event will take place on Monday, February 15th, from 5:30pm to 9:00pm, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cromwell, CT. This event is free for CT REIA members, and $30 for non-members.

Andy Heller is known for his “Buy Low, Rent Smart, Sell High” real estate investment strategy. What makes this strategy different from others is that investors involved in this program see gains independent of real estate appreciation. In 2005, Fortune Magazine recognized this program as one of the top five real estate strategies.

Attendees of the meeting will learn; why the current real estate market is a great opportunity for real estate investors, how to utilize bank-owned properties, what types of properties can you buy from the bank, why motivated tenants are a key to becoming a successful landlord, how typical lease options minimize the return from investments, and much more.

CT REIA is an organization that provides motivation, networking opportunities, and up-to-date education for people that want to buy their own home or investment property in today’s real estate economy. Each month, a nationally known real estate investment trainer is featured. Real estate professionals, investors, landlords, realtors, contractors, wholesalers, rehabbers, and the general public are invited to attend our monthly meetings for educational and networking opportunities. For more information, please call (860) 265-4414 or visit http://www.ctreia.com/events.php.

The Connecticut Real Estate Investors Association, or CT REIA, in association with Liping Wang, is announcing a real estate rehab meeting on Saturday, January 30th, 2010. This meeting will take place at 639 Third Ave in West Haven, CT, from 10:00am to 11:30am. This event is $10 for CT REIA Members, and $20 for non-members.

At this meeting, attendees will walk through a fully rehabbed property in West Haven, Connecticut. This project will show how you can make money in real estate on a part-time basis. CTREIA Member Liping Wang works full-time, manages rental properties, is a top-performing Realtor, and yet still had time to renovate this West Haven townhouse. She will share her tips on flipping houses, and answer any questions attendees may have.

A few topics Liping will discuss include: how she found the property, the costs involved with the renovation, before and after pictures of the property, what worked and what did not work, and how she is marketing the property. She will also be sharing her time-management skills that allows her to perform a real estate investing career on a part-time basis.

CT REIA is an organization that provides motivation, networking opportunities, and up-to-date education for people that want to buy their own home or investment property in today’s real estate economy. Each month, a nationally known real estate investment speaker is featured. Real estate professionals, investors, landlords, realtors, contractors, wholesalers, rehabbers, and the general public are invited to attend our monthly meetings for educational and networking opportunities. For more information, please call (860) 265-4414 or visit http://www.ctreia.com/events.php.

Stamford, CT – Fans of the blues will get a chance to hear R&B legend, Frank Bluestein, as he joins the all star music roster of this years, Groovefest. The free non-profit event is putting together a group of live performances for this day event that takes place on August 15, 2009. The sessions will be recorded and distributed on the web where people can see them. The audio recordings are scheduled to be released in  a fundraising CD to help build a youth center in Bridgeport, CT some time in 2010.

Getting the groups together took a considerable amount of time. It was not easy to get cooperation from various management during these busy summer months. Many of the performers were locked up into various commitments.

This years Groovefest has changed considerably. It has moved from its native Chicago. The festival originally began in the Windy City’s notorious Rogers Park.  The collection of artists came from different areas of the city to meet and jam in places like the Home Grown Café, The Green Mill and various rooftop parties. This is the first time that it will appear in Norwalk, CT.

Bluestein and Fritz Machauley organized the independent festival after their inhouse staff members reported money missing. There is an ongoing investigation concerning fraud centering around missing contributions. Now the artists are taking control of the situation and moving the music festival out of Chicago and into a new location.

Frank Bluestein is really excited about the move to Norwalk, “The east coast neighborhoods are really mixed when it comes to music. There is a large Spanish speaking population here that mostly listens to hip hop and rap. Then you have a lot of traditional ethnic music here in the Mexican and Italian tradition. Blues is not something that these folks are largely accustomed to. Then you have a large group of Generation X’ers here that still get together on stage to create their own personal homage to Led Zeppelin. The mix here is very strange. I don’t know what kind of crowd this is going to draw.”

Getting rehearsal space for the music festival has been very easy. Bridgeport has had a long history of having empty warehouses and industrial space.  This years turn out will predict whether or not the festival will take place here in 2010. Frank Bluestein is hopeful that it will and so is the local blues community.

Scams involve attempts at identity theft

Wallingford, CT – May 19, 2009 – As the 2010 Census gets under way, Connecticut Better Business Bureau cautions consumers to be cooperative but careful about providing personal information to would-be census workers who make contact by phone or show up at their front door.

More than 140,000 U.S. Census workers are fanning out across the nation to verify the addresses of households and count and gather information about every person at every address in the U.S., including their age, gender, race and other relevant data.

Connecticut Better Business Bureau President, Paulette Scarpetti, notes many people are cautious about providing personal information to unsolicited phone callers or visitors. While the Census is an exception to the rule, unscrupulous operators are posing as government employees in an effort to get as much sensitive personal information as possible.

“Scammers know citizens are required by law to respond to the U.S. Census Bureau and give out some personal information, but that does not include detailed personal financial information.”

Law enforcement authorities in several states have issued warnings that scammers have begun posing as Census employees and knocking on doors asking for donations and Social Security numbers. Complicating the situation is the fact that Census workers may contact households by mail, telephone and visits.

Connecticut Better Business Bureau offers the following tips on how to tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist:

•Legitimate Census representatives will have a badge, handheld device, canvas bag and confidentiality notice. Always ask to see their identification and never invite anyone you do not know into your home.

•Census workers who show up at your door will only verify address information and never ask for personal financial or Social Security information. Do not give those details to anyone, even if they claim to need it for the U.S. Census.

•While Census workers may eventually contact you in a number of ways, they will not contact you by e-mail. Never click on a link or open any attachments in an e-mail purporting to be from the U.S. Census Bureau.

More information on the Census is available at http://www.census.gov. Consumers also may find more information on avoiding identity theft and fraud at www.bbb.org.

# # #

Trying to help a good cause could get you ripped off by fraudulent magazine salespeople

Wallingford, CT – May 8, 2009 – Better Business Bureau warns that deceptive door-to-door magazine sales crews are hitting the pavement in Connecticut, and looking to earn a quick buck this summer. In the last 12 months alone, BBB’s across the nation received 1,100 complaints from consumers in 46 states against more than 50 companies that are selling magazines door-to-door. A number of these complaints were filed by Connecticut consumers.

Many of these companies employ crews of high school and college-age people who are trying to earn money over their summer break. These crews are sent to communities to knock on doors and sell magazines—sometimes without appropriate licensing. In the sales pitch, the representative might explain they are working to help raise money on behalf of a charity, for a school trip or even selling subscriptions to support troops in Iraq.

A Greater New Haven woman said a pair of students claiming they were from the University of Rhode Island, knocked on her door, said they lived “down the street,” and were selling magazines and books to “go to London.” Later, when she became suspicious, she called police, filed a report with Connecticut Better Business Bureau and put a stop on her check.

Connecticut Better Business Bureau President, Paulette Scarpetti, says victims readily believe the phony sales pitch and often pay hundreds of dollars by check. However, complaints allege the sales reps took the checks and the magazines never arrived.

“We are alerting consumers to this scam to prevent an epidemic of door-to-door magazine fraud. We encourage all Connecticut residents to be vigilant, and to inform their children, parents and grandparents about this type of operation.”

Scarpetti adds that consumers are not the only victims of this scam.

“The young salespeople also are being taken advantage of by their employers, forced to work long hours and having their wages withheld from them.”

BBB offers the following advice to avoid getting scammed by a door-to-door magazine sales scam:

•Always research the company with your Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org before issuing a check for a magazine subscription.

•The Federal Trade Commission’s Three-Day Cooling-Off Rule gives the customer three days to cancel purchases over $25 that are made in their home or at a location that is not the seller’s permanent place of business. Along with a receipt, salespeople should also include a completed cancellation form that customers can send to the company to cancel the agreement. By law, the company must give customers a refund within 10 days of receiving the cancellation notice.

•Victims of fraudulent magazine sales can file a complaint with their Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org, local law enforcement, and the state Attorney General’s office.