Opportunities to make substantial money will always draw shysters like flies to honey.
Real estate has made millions for millions of people. There are few, if any, of the wealthiest who do not include real estate in their investment portfolios. While real estate is the playground of the rich, it has also served as a vehicle to take many from obscure poverty to financial independence.
The possibility to generate wealth by investing in real estate is tangible. There are proven paths that ethical investors have trod to move from poverty to wealth. However, while the possibility to build wealth through real estate investing is genuine, it rarely, if ever, comes about through blind luck.
Successful real estate investors are educated and informed. Some have learned the craft through trial and error. Through time and expensive mistakes, they honed their skills and learned what works and what does not.
Some successful investors have college degrees in related fields such as economics and finance. Others have degrees in business, and we also find certified public accountants and lawyers in the area of real estate investing.
There are very sophisticated and successful investors who never took a college course about real estate. Instead, they may have dabbled in the trial and error method and realized the actual cost of error. They then took it upon themselves to refine their education through reading, study, and networking.
There is not a single path to successful real estate investing. There are, though, tried and true methods that anyone can learn and apply. Therefore, there is no reason to reinvent the wheel.
Real Estate Investing Courses
There are many real estate courses, real estate investing programs, real estate investing coaching programs, real estate investing educational programs, and real estate investing mentoring programs. Unfortunately, when we first dip our toe into the waters of real estate investing, we are deluged with offers to purchase any and all of these offerings. Some are priced somewhat reasonably, and others are astronomically expensive.
It is commonly said by those making these offerings that the most costly lessons learned are those learned through the failures of trial and error. This is followed up by something like the best investment you can make is an investment in your education. Your success in real estate investing is limited only by the investment you are willing to make in yourself.
These bits of wisdom are then followed up with a special offer. If you purchase our program normally valued at $10,000, we will for today only offer you a special deal for only $1,000. On top of the valuable discount, we will throw in three special value-add bonus packages.
On the surface, the advice they share sounds rational, and the supposed limited time frame makes the deal hard to pass up. Though the time frame limitation of the offer is often not genuine, there is truth in the advice. There is no substitution for a good and solid education. Before taking your pocketbook out, though, it is wise to remember that discretion is the better part of valor.
Real Estate Investing Programs
In real estate investing education, many shiny objects serve as a shield to hide the shyster. There are probably a dozen that are of no personal value for every worthwhile and valuable educational opportunity. Some are developed by the flimflam artist who lucked out on one deal. The next day Mr. or Ms. Flimflam became a guru and opened up a real estate coaching practice worth thousands.
Not all programs are flimflam. Some of the real estate investing programs are legitimate and conducted by knowledgeable and experienced investors. However, even if the course is legitimate and wrapped in a shiny attractive package, that doesn’t mean it is for you. The real estate investing course, coaching, education, or mentoring may be excellent but not the right fit. This could be because it focuses on an area of investing that isn’t something that fits your interest or personality. It may be the right course but the wrong time.
Don’t ask me how I know this, but stock it up to trial and error. There are more ways to learn from trial and error than rolling up your sleeves and taking out the paintbrush and hammer.
My two cents worth for those new to real estate investing and looking for educational opportunities is to initially KEEP YOUR MONEY IN YOUR POCKET.
Begin your education with free to low-cost articles, books, podcasts, courses, and workshops. There are many to choose from. Begin with a broad perspective. There are many avenues to develop wealth through real estate investing. Get the 365-degree aerial view. When a particular area of the real estate investment business attracts, hold on to your wallet even tighter. Investigate the attraction through economic avenues.
Top Real Estate Investing Programs
Real Estate Investing Associations
For general overall real estate investing education, support, and mentoring, the best place to begin is through your local real estate investing association. Most communities of any size will have an association. Search the web for your local real estate investing association.
COVID has made real estate investing associations even more accessible than before the pandemic. Many began offering meetings and workshops online.
For example, you can now join my local association from anywhere in the world. Carolinas Real Estate Investors Association (CREIA) now provides web-centered information, training, and coaching. The membership fee is minimal and worth the vast array of programs offered. Much of the programming is provided at no cost to members, and non-members can join in for a nominal fee.
Not all real estate investor associations are as well developed as CREIA. Nevertheless, no matter the level of development of your local association, it has something to offer the newbie. Even if programming is limited, your local real estate investor association provides a level of networking that will not be available through a national connection. If your local association has limited programming, you can join your local for networking and join CREIA for a more comprehensive educational experience.
Real Estate Investing Meet-ups
Another free source of education, support, networking, and mentoring in real estate investing meet-ups. Most meet-ups are free to attend. The same holds true for meet-ups as it does for real estate investing associations. Because of COVID, many are now conducted on the web and often opened to the general public.
Most meet-ups have a specialty. One such meet-up is Asheville Multifamily Investor Club (AMIC), organized and co-hosted by Bill and Richard, and meets once each month. Each month a different speaker presents on a topic related to multifamily investing. It could be a commercial lender, insurance broker, property manager, or other experts in some aspect of multifamily investing.
Raising Private Money for Real Estate Investment
An excellent free source of information for syndicators who are raising private money is SyndicationAttorneys.com. The website provides many helpful articles about real estate investing in syndications. The ebook version of How To Legally Raise Private Money by Kim Lisa Taylor, ESQ., is available for free download. A print copy can be ordered through your local bookseller for a nominal price for those who prefer.
Real Estate Investing Podcasts
There is a podcast for every type of real estate investing need. Some podcasts are general and cover anything related to real estate investing. Many podcasts have a specific focus. My podcast Real Estate Investing Abundance is for the busy professional fulfilled in their calling who also understands that exchanging time and effort for money will not provide financial independence. The podcast is for those ready to create financial freedom built on solid passive real estate investment.
Real Estate Investing Coaching Programs
Edna Keep is a real estate investing teacher and coach. In a free webinar, Edna shares her 5 step system. In the webinar, Edna illustrates how she built from zero doors to over 450, valued at $60,000 in a short time. Then, when you are ready and prepared to put more skin in the game, Edna offers a Six Month Unlimited Laser Coaching Package.
Ken Van Liew offers a free 45-minute coaching call based on his Modern Wealth Building Formula that took him from poverty to financial freedom. Ken created his wealth through ground-up real estate development, but his wealth-building formula can be applied to any segment of real estate investing.
Real Estate Investing Underwriting Workshop
For those interested in underwriting for multifamily acquisitions, Charles Seaman conducts a free weekly and online underwriting workshop. Each week an actual property is used as a case study, and Charles leads the attendees through the actual process of underwriting the property as a potential for acquisition. To join the underwriting mentoring group, email Charles: charles@3oaksmgmt.com. For active or passive real estate investors, this underwriting workshop offers tremendous value.
Real Estate Investing Mentoring Programs
The best mentoring programs are those that are developed through your networking connections. Mentoring programs also come through the development of partnerships. Do a self-inventory and determine what skills and values you can bring to the relationship. Bring your skills and allow the mentor to bring theirs.
If you are interested in ongoing web-based support, go to my website, SteedTalker.com. Enroll in the Enlightened Investor Circle. There you’ll receive our monthly newsletter and other information to encourage you on your real estate investment journey. If you’d like a one-on-one because you’re overwhelmed and uncertain about where to begin, schedule a 30-minute meeting with me. We’ll talk about whatever you need to help you find a starting point for your financial and time freedom journey through real estate investing.
Real Estate Investing Education Programs
There are many free real estate investing education programs to choose from. We’ll mention a few here just to get you started in your search. There are many more we could endorse and in future articles we’ll introduce you to others.
Self Storage Real Estate Investing
For investors interested in the self-storage sector, get to know Stacy Rossetti. Visit Stacy’s website, and you’ll find online courses and free training. Stacy is passionate about helping others find their financial freedom through self-storage investing.
Ground Up Development Real Estate Investing
Jerome Maldonado has been a business entrepreneur since 1993 and a real estate developer since 1998. Jerome offers a free webcast event to introduce you to the basics of ground-up real estate development. If you decide that real estate development may be for you after going through the webcast event, Jerome offers a complete educational and coaching program.
By the Numbers
Multifamily University, founded by Neal Bawa, is one of the most comprehensive free real estate investing education programs. On the Multifamily University website, you’ll find tons of free data-driven real estate investing information. As Neal says, the site is “Packed with fact-based, eye-popping data to help you make better investment decisions.” Neal bills himself as the Mad Scientist of Real Estate Investing, and he lives by two mantras. First, we can only manage what we can measure. Second, data beats gut feel by a million miles.
Beyond the information freely available on the Multifamily University website, Neal periodically offers free webinars focused on specific topics. Register on the site, and you’ll receive announcements for upcoming events. For an inside look at how the response of the financial markets to climate change is affecting real estate investing, tune into Neal’s appearance on Real Estate Investing Abundance.
Conclusion
You might get the impression from this article that I’m opposed to paying for real estate investment education. That is not the case. There are many good reasons to invest your money in quality real estate investing courses or real estate investing mentor programs.
As Howard Gardner said, “if you think an education is expensive, try estimating the cost of ignorance.”
A good education is always worth the price.
All the recommendations in this article are for free programs. You’ll never exhaust the vast free offerings about real estate investing. Because there is such a profusion of quality free offerings, it just makes good common sense that “FREE” is the place to begin.
The programs that I recommend are conducted by investors whom I know. From personal insights, I am confident that these investors are trustworthy and have a thorough deep, and vast understanding of the material they present.
The programs endorsed in this article are free at the initial level. To go further in the courses will require the payment of a fee. The introductory classes are not just advertisements for the more extensive study. They are also educational.
We all need teachers and mentors. Paying for these services if they are provided by competent investors will save us time and money. It is just that paying out of pocket for these services should not be your first move.
When you are ready to fork out the money for a real estate investing course, do your due diligence and proceed with discernment.
Confused and Uncertain?
With so many investment options, confusion as to where to invest leads to inaction. Schedule a FREE – NO OBLIGATION – NO STRINGS ATTACHED call. Or email me with your questions and thoughts at allen@SteedTalker.com. I’ll help you sort it all out, and you’ll soon be on your way to prosperous investing to live more abundantly in all areas of life.
About the Author - Dr. Allen Lomax
With careers in academia, podcasting, and real estate investing, Dr.
Allen Lomax inspires us to break open our minds’ secrets to discover individual and universal well-being. Through passive real estate investments, he helps enlightened investors create time freedom to live abundantly in all life’s areas.