Your Own Real Estate Investing Course
By Steve Gillman - 2007
Ever ordered a real estate investing course from a late night
infomercial? Hopefully you got just what you needed, but more
often, there is a lot of information there that just doesn't
help. The information isn't necessarily incorrect, but we all
are different, and not all ways of making money in real estate
suit each of us.
The good news is that there are hundreds of variations based
on dozens of basically different ways to make money in real estate.
Some of these will work better than others - for you. Maybe you
don't want to option commercial property, or lease-option mobile
homes - and you are less likely to succeed doing things you have
no real interest in. Perhaps it is time to design your own real
estate investing course.
Researching Your Real Estate Investing Course
You need to discover what kinds of real estate investing are
best suited to your personality. Spend an afternoon in the local
bookstore for this. A good one will have at least fifty books
on fifteen different ways to make money with real estate. Read,
take notes, and see what types of investing appeal to you. Consider
the three following examples:
1. Fixer upper homes. These can make you a quick profit, and
you can also be very creative in this type of investing. But
are you ready for the risk and uncertainty? I have a friend who
has done very well with fixer uppers, but he always had unexpected
surprises on each project. You'll have a lot of ongoing decision-making
in this kind of investing.
2. Rental properties. A safe way to get started - especially
if you do your homework and buy only when there is immediate
cash flow. Of course, being a landlord isn't much fun, and you
may have to wait a long time for the big pay-off. Do you like
dealing with renters?
3. Flipping contracts. Make an assignable low offer, then
find an investor who actually wants to buy the property, and
sell the contract for say $8,000. You can make money with no
cash to start, and it is also great for those who like in-and-out
projects more than ongoing management. The downside includes
a lot of time making rejected offers and annoying people.
Each type of real estate investing in the above examples is
suited to a investors with different personalities and resources.
You should try to look at twenty more ways to invest in real
estate. This will give you a better idea of which ways are best
for you.
Designing the Course
When you decide on the type or types of investing that suit
you best, start designing your real estate investment course.
On a piece of paper and make three columns, labeled "books,"
"people" and "other resources," and start
filling them in.
For example, seek out books that are most relevant to the
type of investing you'll be doing. You can find these online,
at bookstores, or in the library.
The "people" category is for those can help teach
you. This might be investors with experience in the area you're
interested in - find these at a local real estate club. It could
also include real estate agents - browse advertisements to see
which ones sell a lot of the types of properties you'll be looking
at.
"Other resources" is for seminars, tapes, course,
internet real estate investing forums, and anything else that
can be part of your education. You should also make a list of
everything you need to learn - this will be added to as you learn
what you don't know.
Set goals. Set completion dates for reading the books. Make
appointments to go to real estate club meetings or to meet with
real estate agents. Make it all into a real estate investing
course that takes you from here to your first (or next) investment.
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