How Do I Learn To Invest In Real Estate? (Explained)

You must Learn To Invest In Real Estate properly. There is usually a large amount of money at stake and a lot can go wrong.

One of the biggest mistakes new real estate investors make is thinking they know it all.

Or thinking they know just enough. The reality is that there is so much to learn about real estate investment and you can never know it all.

When you are first starting out you will probably be on a budget. This is understandable. But I would always recommend that you invest in your education and commit to being a continuous learner.

Can you teach yourself real estate? Yes, you can. Investing does not always mean spending money. With the Internet there is a vast amount of information available on real estate investment available for free. It requires an investment in your time.

Learn To Invest In Real Estate – Options

Real Estate Investing Courses

There is a lot of premium training available for real estate investment. Some of these courses cost hundreds while others cost thousands. So how do you decide what real estate investing courses to go for?

My advice here is to look for specific real estate investment training rather than general training. A lot of general training courses that I have seen advertised are more about “selling the dream” than providing you with any real tangible benefits.

Maybe you have seen this type of training product advertised.

The sales page features the training provider next to their fancy house and car with money falling out of their pockets. Then they use the classic line of “this training is worth $5,000 but you can get it today for only $500”.

Avoid Hype and Over Zealous Sales Tactics

Really? A successful real estate investor is going to share their multi-million secrets with you for $500? Would you do that? No of course you wouldn’t. Stay away from this kind of hype.

You can find a lot of general real estate investment training courses online for free that will offer you more. Start with these first.

Udemy also does some great real estate investing courses from around $10 each, I would highly recommend having a look at these.

Real Estate Investment Warning For Beginners

The advantage of seeking out specific training is that you are very likely to find a trainer that actually knows what they are talking about. They have been involved in the area of real estate investment that you are interested in and have all the battle scars to prove it.

What kind of specifics are we talking about here? Well, there are courses that focus on specific investment strategies such as buy and hold and the rental market. Others are around taxation and financing property deals.

If you are able to find valuable training like this then you could reduce your learning curve considerably. Find out who the tutor is and check their credentials.

Read through the course objectives and make sure that they match up with what you are trying to achieve.

Tips for Finding Good Real Estate Investment Courses:

  • Has the tutor actually been there and done it?
    Unfortunately there are people offering real estate investment training that are “theorists” so you want to avoid these courses.

  • Is the tutor still investing in real estate?
    You do not want out of date information. Things change all of the time in real estate investment.

  • Is the course in the format that you want?
    Some people will prefer an online training course to attending a classroom environment.

  • What do others think?
    Don’t just trust testimonials on sales pages. Have a look around online forums and social media and find out what people really think about the course.

  • Are past students succeeding?
    If a tutor claims that all of their previous students have been successful with their methods then avoid this training. There will always be a number of students that don’t take action no matter how good the training is.

  • Call the tutor and previous students. If you are going to spend hundreds on a real estate investment course then contact the tutor and ask to speak with them to see if you are compatible with them. Find some of the previous students and talk to them about the course as well.

Real Estate Investing Books

Is it worth purchasing real estate investing books? I believe that it is. Most books will not cost that much and tend not to be full of hype. If you are unlucky enough to get a bad book then it is not too much of a loss.

I have personally learned a lot from real estate investing books. I like reading but I appreciate that not everyone is the same.

Sometimes you can find a good book on real estate investment is available in audio format so you can listen rather than read.

Real estate investment often involves a lot of traveling so why not educate yourself when you are on the move? You can find some really good books available for less than $20.

There are beginner’s guides and specific books available as well. You can get books in hardback or paperback or in digital format. Use books to keep your knowledge topped up.

There are a huge number of real estate investing books on Amazon.

real estate investor books

Real Estate Investment Seminars

There are usually seminars available about real estate investing and often they get a bad rap. In a lot of cases this is justified as they are just a marketing exercise for the people behind them.

There are some good seminars available as well, and some of these are even free to attend.

One thing that I would definitely not recommend is to totally rely on these seminars for your real estate investing education. If you do this it will take you a very long time to learn everything that you need to know about the industry.

I have attended a lot of real estate investment seminars, mostly paid for, and one thing that I will say about them is that they are usually motivating. This can help as you need to be relentless in real estate investment and maintain a high level of motivation every day.

Most of the seminars provide you with the opportunity to network with other real estate investors. This can really work in your favor. There is no substitute for learning from others that have already done it.

Before you attend any real estate investment seminar, check the schedule and who the speakers are. It doesn’t matter if they are free – your time is very valuable.

If the seminar is on a specific subject such as flipping houses then this is probably going to be a lot more valuable than a general seminar.

Real Estate Investment Groups and Blogs

This is a no brainer. If there is a real estate investment group that you can join then I recommend that you do that. Finding good property investment blogs is something that I also highly recommend.

You are on one right now! Free information can be as valuable as information that costs money.

Check out real estate investing forums such as BiggerPocketsCREOnline, and REI Club. Read. Ask questions. Discuss and Network.

Learn to invest in real estate from experienced investors, willing to share their time, as much as you can. 

People like to give their opinions and will often share their real estate investment secrets with you for nothing. This happens a lot in real estate investment groups and is exactly what I am doing with this blog.

Can you trust real estate investment groups and blogs on the Internet? Well not always. If you hear something in a group or read a blog post that doesn’t seem to ring true then let the person know.

Interactivity is always good.

What you need to bear in mind is that there are many different ways to be successful in real estate investment and there are tons of opinions out there.

Consider the Use of Real Estate Investment Mentors

One of the best things that I ever did for my real estate investment business was to find a good mentor. Learning from someone who has the experience that you don’t have is priceless.

A good mentor will provide you with a number of other benefits too:

  • They have contacts
    a good mentor will have a lot of contacts in the industry. They could put you in touch with a mortgage broker that will save you thousands for example.

  • They have failed as well as been successful
    even the best property investors have made mistakes and experienced failure. A good mentor will have had a number of different experiences that they can share with you to help you avoid costly mistakes.

  • A mentor will encourage and support you
    Real estate investing is tough. There may be times when you are close to giving up. A good mentor will help you to prevent this and will always be there to support you.

  • A mentor will discuss your ideas
    a good mentor will be willing to discuss any ideas that you have and give you valuable feedback on all aspects of your projects to ensure that you achieve the best results.

I am not going to lie to you – hiring good real investment mentors can be expensive. But the value that you will receive in return could be worth a fortune to you.

Some mentors might be willing to discuss a deal with you linked to the profitability of your projects. Not all will go for this but it is worth a try if you are on a budget.

It is not always easy to find a good real estate investment mentor so here are my tips on how to do that:

Start Mentoring Others

You will have certain skills and experience that will be of value to others. This doesn’t have to be in the real estate investment field. Think about the skills and experience that you have that could help other people.

The reason to become a mentor yourself is that you will benefit from giving and not just taking.

When someone you are mentoring achieves their goals based on your advice and guidance you will get an amazing feeling from this. Being a mentor will also educate you on how to interact with your own mentor.

Mentors do not appreciate laziness and will be reluctant to answer questions that a mentee has not thought through for example.

Be Clear on your Goals

If you are not clear on what you want to achieve then no mentor will be able to help you. There are few real estate mentors that will want to take on someone that does not have clear goals or changes their mind often.

Make your Intentions Known

Use your social media profiles and real estate investing communities to make your intentions known. When others know exactly what your intentions are then many doors can open for you.

A number of mentors will pick up on your intentions for real estate investment and will approach you to see if they can help.

Identify possible Mentors

In order to get the most from a mentor relationship you need to find someone that not only has the necessary skills and experience to help you, but is also willing to help you.

You need to find a mentor that fits perfectly with your requirements. They need to be able to align with your real estate investing goals and have a track record in what you want to achieve.

When you find a good Mentor be Grateful

You may have to try to work with a number of different mentors before you find one that is right for you. When you do find this person, you need to act on the advice that they provide and show your gratitude to them.

Always thank them for their guidance and do other things to show your gratitude.

Be Clear on what you want a Mentor for

Learning the fundamentals of real estate investing is not something that you want to use a mentor for. As I have explained in this post there are plenty of other ways that you can do that.

Use a mentor that has the right experience and knowledge that you need to achieve a specific goal.

What kind of Mentor do you want?

There are all kinds of different mentors available. When you are deciding on the type of mentor that you want it will help to take these things into account:

  • Chose a mentor that is geographically close to you – this is better than using a mentor that is far away. You can find a really good local mentor by checking out the REIA (real estate investment association) website.
  • Look for a “real-life” mentor – you want to go for a mentor that is not going to teach you like you are in a classroom. They operate in the real world and are willing to show you what they do as well as how they go about it
  • Accept that your mentor may criticize you – you are not going to find a mentor that will do everything for you. Sometimes they are going to criticize what you are doing so be prepared for that. This will toughen you up
  • Find a mentor you can admire – finding a mentor that possesses the qualities that you desire is always a good thing

Find out who your Mentor really is

You need to look out for red flags when choosing a mentor. Search online for any negative comments about a potential mentor and ensure that they have not been involved in shady deals before. Do your due diligence on potential mentors and check them out on social media to see if they are a good fit for you or not. If they have a blog then check it out.

Engage with your Mentor

You need to know where you stand with a mentor. It should be your aim to build a strong relationship with them and treat them as someone that you trust completely.

Find out if your mentor will require payment or offer their advice and guidance for free. Approach your relationship with your mentor as a win-win for both of you.

Commit to Continual Real Estate Learning

To be the best possible real estate investor it is essential that you make a commitment to continual learning. There are so many options available to you here and you need to dedicate the time to keep learning.

My Final Thoughts On Learning To Invest In Real Estate

Think very carefully before spending thousands of dollars on a real estate investment course or on a mentor. Do you really have the time to dedicate to this? Do you really have the determination to make it work? Are you going to go the extra mile if needed to?

Before spending lots of money, read real estate books and blogs, participate in forums, find local REI clubs and investor meet-ups, learn from their speakers and network with other experienced real estate investors.learn to invest in real estate

Quora, Reddit, Facebook and LinkedIn Groups as well as YouTube are also great sources for anyone starting to learn about real estate investing.

I would love to hear your thoughts now please.

What real estate investing education have you followed that helped you the best? Books you have read? Courses you have studied?

Let me know by leaving a comment below right now. Thank you and have an amazing day.

 

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