Theo from Atlanta called into the show last week…
“I have a question regarding a real estate investing course for newbies. I live a debt-free lifestyle and I own my primary home outright, no mortgage. I’m a maximum retirement saver to my 401k, Roth IRA, and HSA at work. And I wanted to diversify and get into real estate.
I came across an online offering of a real estate investing course that goes for about 12 months. It involves a lot of 1 on 1 mentoring in small groups. But the price tag is $5,500, which is pretty expensive. So I was wondering if you could recommend some other options that I could get my feet wet with learning what I need to know as a first-time real estate investor at a lower price point than $5,500. Thank you!”
Matt & Joel’s response: First off – Congrats Theo for being debt-free and crushing your retirement accounts! Looks like you’re in Money Gear 7, having already covered the low-hanging fruit when it comes to investing and paying off debt. You’re in a perfect position to take on a real estate investing project.
Should You Pay for a Real Estate Investing Course?
This is a tricky one. There is definitely value in paying for education. But, it’s not a prerequisite for success. And the cost of this particular instruction sounds steep.
Just like going to college… It’s expensive to get a degree, but depending on how you use it, you could make bigger bucks in salary throughout your career. We’re potentially talking seven figures more over the course of your career! On the flip side, if you never put that knowledge to work you’ll end up paying for a degree that’s useless.
Paying for real estate investing courses doesn’t guarantee success. In fact, most of the real estate investing legends we know had zero training and gained all their experience from a combo of extensive self-education and trial and error. (And that’s actually how we both became rental property owners ourselves!)
Honestly, $5,500 sounds like a lot for any course! But at least there’s a one-on-one component and it sounds like you’re going through this with a cohort of other trainees. That’s a positive sign because it’s a more custom training experience. Having a heavy human touch (vs just tons of online video content) can make all the difference.
Still, I’d be hesitant to fork over all this money for a course like this, especially when there are such great free and cheap resources already in existence!
Free & Cheap Real Estate Investing Resources:
There are a ton of places that offer free educational resources for real estate investing. I’m thinking about books, podcasts, Facebook groups, etc. It’s not a stretch to say that you can pay zero dollars for a thorough dose of real estate knowledge via these methods.
Chad Carson is, of course, one of our favorite people in the rental real estate game. And yes, he does offer paid coaching, but only for advanced students. All of his beginner stuff is free. Check out his YouTube channel, podcast, etc.
Bigger Pockets is a treasure trove of helpful info too. You can learn a ton from their podcast and they have a forum to ask questions and interact with other RE investors. But be careful, some of the Bigger Pockets content can be geared towards more experienced investors.
You mentioned the paid course runs for 12 months… Well, you’d be amazed how much knowledge you can accumulate all by yourself in a full year, just by tapping into free resources like podcasts and reading books.
So, our recommendation is this: before plopping down big bucks on a course that promises BIG results, try some DIY learning via free and cheap methods first. You can always opt to pursue a more expensive and advanced education route later on.
Local Meet-up Groups
Also, if you want the human touch without the high four-figure price tag, join a local real estate investors group! A lot of these groups are city or region-specific. You’re in ATL which means you’ll easily find a few.
Real estate investing groups typically meet once a month. Attend a few to see how you like it. There are a TON of experienced investors who like giving back, networking with newbies, and even sharing deals. The more people you meet, the more you learn.
Real estate groups are a great place to ask questions based on what you’ve been learning from some of the resources we’ve mentioned. Connect with folks who actually own a few rental properties or have done a handful of deals like the ones you’re interested in. Pick their brain. Learn from their mistakes. Ask about where they are seeing the best opportunities.
Red Flags for Paid Courses 🚩
Again, paying for real estate investing courses isn’t a horrible idea. But here are a few things to watch out for if you are gonna go that route:
Shallow “Influencers”: Our biggest concern with paying for courses is that there are a ton of influencers out there, preying on people’s desire to make “easy money” from real estate. Many of those folks make more money selling courses than they do investing in properties! We’re not saying that’s what’s going on in your situation, but it sure does seem like a familiar pattern with course sellers these days.
Training rabbit holes: Some beginner courses are just sales pitches to make you buy the next course. Spending $5,500 for the first course, then all they do is cover surface-level content and encourage you to buy their “advanced” course for $20,000 next time where they promise the real magic happens. To vet if your course is legit, try interviewing 3-4 previous clients who have taken the course and ask about their experience.
Too much, too fast: A lot of real estate investing courses are aimed at folks who want to build an empire, seemingly overnight. Or quit their jobs and make rental properties their full-time gig. The training can be complex, aggressive, and risky because it involves over-leveraging! Most folks don’t actually want that! They just want a portfolio of 3-10 properties that cash flow and appreciate steadily.
Again, paying for investing courses can potentially be helpful. But please watch out for the obvious red flags and fully vet the courses by chatting with previous clients.
The Bottom Line:
We wish you the best, Theo. Maybe we’re being too cheap here, but we’d rather see you take advantage of a plethora of free resources before you even think about dropping big bucks to learn about real estate investing.
At the end of the day, it matters less about where you accumulated the knowledge and more about how you use it. Networking with folks in person, putting ideas into practice, and a lot of trial and error are what truly make a successful real estate investor.
For the full version of this discussion, check out Podcast Episode #871 (it’s question #1 in the episode)
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