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SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE 174: HOW TO GET A REAL ESTATE INVESTING EDUCATION FOR FREE
Expanding your knowledge should be a regular goal of every businessperson. If you want your business to grow, be successful and be profitable, it is important to continually educate yourself. In this episode, Bill shares the importance of real estate investing education and where you can find it for free.
If you’ve listened to this show regularly, you know the emphasis I put on getting a good education before jumping into investing. As I discussed in last week’s Fun Fact Friday episode, real estate investing is not a “get rich quick” scheme. Just as any solid home needs a strong foundation, the same is true when it comes to your real estate education — a solid foundation is a key to a long-lasting business.
This podcast, while not exhaustive on every aspect of real estate investing, will help develop that foundation. I’ve put it together to be the first step in your real estate education – and as an introduction to the possibilities that come with real estate investment.
There are many different ways to get educated in real estate investing, and you don’t need to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to learn the business. Below, you’ll find a list of a few sources that will directly help you in getting a solid real estate investing education. Be sure to consider each before making a final decision on how you’re going to move forward — what works for one person may not work for another.
Unfortunately, there is not one main source for a Real Estate Investing Education, such as a college degree program. You will need to look at many different avenues to piece it together
- There really aren’t any universities offering degrees in real estate investing
- Newbie investors have to find what they can
- Unfortunately, you have to beware of the gurus who will reel you into a “free” education, and end up upselling you home-study programs, seminars, and coaching where you could end up paying upwards of $20,000 in some cases. So be wary!
- Of course, those who have spent that amount might beg the question by stating, “Well, when I made a million on my first apartment purchase, isn’t it worth it???”
- I know those who have paid those fees and became very successful but I also know those who haven’t
To be successful in real estate investing, I’ve mentioned in other podcasts, especially on episode #006, that a good foundation is critical for your success. You’ll need to do the following
- Get an Education
- Find a Mentor
- Write a Strategic Plan
- Take Action
- Re-Education
- Revise Plan
- Continue
What do you need to learn? There are lots of things
- First, you need to know your “why.” Why are you even pursuing real estate investing?
- How to select the right strategy to best achieve your why (wholesaling, flipping, deeds/liens, mobile home parks, self, storage, raw land, buy and hold, residential vs. commercial, to name a few)
- What are your goals and how will you achieve them?
- Where to buy. How to understand a market or neighborhood?
- How to analyze a property. Know your number. The key ratios. What’s a good buy? Does it need repairs or upgrades? How much will those things cost?
- The financial issues. How much do I need? How do I fund my purchases? Self-fund? Other people’s money?
- How to negotiate a deal?
- Building a team
- Know the risks
- Multiple exit strategies
Getting ahead is a goal that any businessperson wants to do while completing a venture. If you want to get your business going and make sure your capital will yield results, it is important to educate yourself. This is not just applicable in business, but can also for every part of your life.
Go Get It Yourself
Education is a lifelong process as they say, and it does not stop. When it does, that is when you stop growing as a businessperson, as an individual. Learning in school, learning the ropes of how things work in an office, and knowing how things work before getting yourself into something is important. But when you are already doing it, does the learning stop? No, it should not. As a matter of fact, you should learn as much as you can and learn more than you already have. Getting out of the classroom means the whole world is out there to be explored. If you want to learn something, go get it yourself. It shouldn’t be spoon-fed; you got to find it.
Learn from People
Apart from the actual hands-on training and the information that you get from books and on the internet, you can also learn from the people around you. What are the things that these people do? Analyze why they do things and what results it brings them. Talk to different people every day and learn about their story. There are stories to be heard and lessons to be learned from other experiences. Experience in itself may teach somebody about their mistakes, but that does not mean it has to be committed when the result is already known based on somebody else’s mishap. If you find yourself in the same situation as they have been, the same situation can be avoided.
Watch and Learn
Observe the happenings around you. Being analytical and inquisitive of your environment will push you to learn so many things every single day, even from the most mundane occurrences. Asking why things happen and getting out of your comfort zone to find the answers help increase your knowledge. These are the kind of knowledge that not everybody would spend time finding. If you are really interested in working towards your goal, learn things that would put you ahead of the game. This will add a different perspective to an already monotonous way of looking at things.
Always ask
Why? – That one question that should keep you seeking better and more complete answers. Sometimes there are questions that run through your mind that you want to be answered, but you tend not to ask them because you are afraid because you feel you might look uneducated or plainly ignorant. One philosopher said: “You start to know when you do not know.” This means that once you admit your ignorance that is the only time it can be filled with knowledge. Admitting that something is not too familiar to somebody may push them to further learn about it and familiarize themselves with the unknown. As ironic as it may seem, that is the truth.
If you want to get your business and yourself going, (and the first thing you need to realize is that real estate investing IS a business) is that you’ve got to start educating yourself more often. Leave the ego behind and continue to be fascinated with new and different things that you will learn. You may not know everything, but you should try to know as much as you can.
There are plenty of free resources; you just need to know where to look.
Here are 10 excellent free resources that can seriously reduce your learning curve:
- Books — As the old saying goes, “Those who lead, read.” Books are fundamental in gaining an education in real estate and perhaps the most widespread learning method for investors. Real estate books are produced each year by the thousands, and every major bookstore in the world contains a whole section on real estate investing. Chances are, if there is a way to make money from real estate, there has been a book written about it. If reading books, however, is not within your arsenal of skills, you are in luck. Today, we live in a world where nearly every new book is also made into an audiobook. (Try Audible.com for the web’s largest selection.) Blinkist for free audio book summaries.
- The public library – look at my top 20 real estate investing books on olddawgsreinetwork.com and see if you can check them out at your local library
- Podcasts — One of the newest innovations in the world of real estate investor education is the Podcast. A podcast is simply a recorded audio program, similar to a radio show, that can be produced by anyone with a computer and a microphone. There have been a number of great podcasts that have emerged in the last few years. If you have a smartphone or MP3 player, you can listen to hundreds of hour-long shows covering a wide variety of real estate topics whenever you want – whether in the car, jogging, or lying in bed — for free. Be sure to check out the pitch-free BiggerPockets Podcast or search iTunes for other options.
- YouTube – A great source for tons of real estate investing content. My favorite: Peter Harris’ Commercial Property Advisors
- Mentors — Perhaps the most powerful way to gain a good education in any field of study is through a mentor — and the same holds true in real estate. While there are dozens of professional real estate mentors who charge for their service, there are also millions of mentors all over the world that will cost you as little as a cup of coffee – they are your local investors. People enjoy sharing what they know, and seasoned real estate investors are no different. By introducing yourself to a successful local real estate investor who you would like to become more like, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from someone in the field who knows your market and who can ultimately become a partner as you come to become successful yourself. We’ll talk more about mentors later in this chapter.
- Webinars – There a many real estate investing webinars from 30-90 minutes that can also give you good information. Granted, most are a means to pull you into another program or coaching that isn’t free but you can oftentimes draw some value just by listening.
- Free Boot Camps and Seminars –
- BiggerPockets.com – I put this incredible special blog/podcast/website resource in a category all by itself because it’s all about quality content and FREE STUFF! This is the #1 most valuable website, by far, according to our podcast guests.
- Free eBooks – There are numerous excellent free eBooks (usually in PDF format)
- Blogs and Other Online Resources – There are many excellent real estate investing blogs. Here are a few of our favorites
- Other Free or Near-Free Resources
- Guru “Free Courses”
- REI and other real estate meet-ups
- Real estate investing daily email blasts
- Start your own meet-up
- Kiyosaki’s Cash Flow game
- Invite guest experts
- https://www.udemy.com/real-estate-investment-analysis/
- http://www.creonline.com/
- Mashvisor.com
- https://reiclub.com/real-estate-courses.php
- https://www.freeu.com/real-estate-investing/
And one last point. Sure there is a lot to learn but also be careful not to be caught up in “analysis paralysis” where you actually use your lack of a “complete” education as an excuse for not taking action when it’s time. It’s like a sport – once you have the fundamentals down, try to grow and build upon those fundamental. That’s where a good mentor comes in. Your mentor will help prod you forward to take action when you are ready!
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