It started innocently enough – there was an ad on t.v. at about 11pm one night promising to make me rich through real estate. We’d already bought a couple of properties, but I wasn’t getting rich. I thought that this would be a great way to learn some tricks and maybe even quit my job within a year or two. So, on my lunch hour, I went to the hotel where their free course was being offered.
Would I say it was a complete waste of time? Well, that depends on when you asked me. After the class I didn’t know anything that I didn’t already know, but I thought I was soon going to. There were great speakers and I was so excited about the future they promised that I couldn’t wait to hand over $2,000 for myself and my wife to attend their upcoming weekend course.
I learned a little more at this course, but I left with more questions than answers.
Sure, they gave me tools that I could use, but they were quick to tell me how their other courses would really help me achieve my goals. Before I was done with this program, I spent a further $20,000 on more courses. Through the course I completed one assignment deal (basically a property flip) to make some cash and bought two properties for no money down. Doesn’t sound that bad, until you find out how off track that course sent me! All hyped up and fully believing in what they were teaching, I made some really bad real estate investing decisions and those bad decisions cost me for many years to come.
Despite everything I went through, I still believe that a real estate investing class is the best thing for beginners. However, I have some tips to get the most out of this type of class:
– Know your goals. Make your goals measurable if you can. You also need to know your tolerance for risk, and whether or not you have the ‘right stuff’ to be a landlord. (Being a landlord is more than just collecting rent, you have to fix things too- unless you have a property manager to do everything.) Once you put these goals on paper, you can commit to looking for a course that fits your needs.
– Know what to expect. If you search for real estate investing classes online, you have more choices than you know what to do with. So what you need to do is ask around both online and off-line. Has anyone taken a particular one? Which course do people recommend you take or don’t take? Online forums are great for finding reviews for all types of courses.
– Find out who will be teaching the course. What makes them qualified? Speakers’ bios are usually available by requesting the company’s information. How long has the company been around? Is it a fly-by-night operation, or has it been around for a while? Really big names in real estate like Robert Allen, Donald Trump and Russ Whitney don’t teach courses like this.
– Don’t bring your credit card. Always remember that the free course, whether it’s for an hour or a weekend, is going to be a sales pitch with a little information thrown in. Before you go to the course, it’s important to decide how much you would be willing to spend on additional classes. Courses like this depend on emotion to get you to sign up for new classes. They will tell you that “this low price is only available if you sign up today”. You’ll be convinced that you need this class to get ahead in life. Don’t trust your emotions in a place like this; trust your preset limits and goals. Once you’ve decided on your goals and the amount you are further willing to spend, stick to it.
– Don’t wait any longer! So, you’ve completed a course, had a great time, met some great people, and know some great tricks. Now there’s only one thing stopping you from becoming a great real estate investor: YOU.
I met with a few different people at one of the courses I attended and they said this was their 4th or 5th course and they still hadn’t bought anything! I estimated they had spent about $30,000 on courses and did not have anything to show for it – except a fair amount of theoretical knowledge!
In summary, real estate investing classes are great, but if you aren’t going to apply what you have learned, then you might as well have not taken any at all.