Real estate is a good vehicle to build wealth, earn immediate cash and increase your net worth.
You may have seen an ad on the internet, on tv or radio that explains the benefits of getting involved in real estate investing.
You may have a friend, family member or acquaintance that is involved in real estate investing.
You see these people making extra money, some making a lot and others a good second income.
So, what is the best way to get into the industry? What is the best way to begin building your net worth & giving a better life for you and your family?
3 Ways To Get Into Real Estate Investing
The 3 most popular ways people get involved in real estate are: Seminars, Guru's and Books. All three of these avenues offer their fair share of pros and cons. The avenue you choose will depend on your financial situation, your age and how much time you have to commit.
What is the best avenue for my situation?
1) Seminar's - A real estate seminar is an event held by a real estate investing professional where they discuss certain topics or systems pertaining a real estate investing niche (flipping, buy & holds, lease options, wraps etc). Most of the time these seminars are connected with the so called "guru" (we will touch on next). You probably heard about this seminar through the internet, a radio ad or a friend.
There are two different types of seminars: free seminars and paid seminars. Free seminars are free to attend but in all reality they are a sales pitch to purchase there "system". These seminars are not very educational but only touch on very broad topics to interest the individual looking to get in the game. They speak of the benefits real estate investing can bring you and intrigue the people in attendance enough to buy what their selling. I honestly do not recommend people even attend these events, there is little to no value from attending.
Paid seminars are usually part of a package that you have already bought or a separate event from a prominent investor. These seminars are usually very expensive but can actually offer a good amount of value to get you in the game of real estate investing. Some popular paid seminars are "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Guy Kawasaki. In my opinion these paid seminars are best for people with a lot of disposable income who are looking to get into real estate. These seminars can cost upwards of 30,000 for 3 day seminars. As they do offer significant value due to the high level of experience these folks have in the industry and the fact they are not trying to sell you on their seminar since you already bought it. So if you are young, do not have much disposable income - this option is not best for you. (tough to learn real estate investing in 3 days)
2) Gurus- A real estate guru offers seminars, boot camps, coaching, mentoring and coaching. There are thousands of these "gurus" out there. Some with true experience in the industry and others who offer no value - so tread wisely when dealing with these people. You have to understand that these folks are trying to make money off of publishing this information and marketing real estate information. Now, I am not saying this is not smart, however if you are going to this route, you have to do your due diligence and ensure this "guru" is going to devote his undivided attention to you and offer you amazing value. Finding a valuable "guru" is possible but is difficult since maybe 1-5% of them will teach you how to make money in this game.
3) Books- The most important tool in any endeavor that you are trying to pursue is educating yourself through books (podcasts, blogs). It is the most cost efficient way to learn about a business and continue to enhance your ability to make money in this game. There are hundreds of valuable books, blogs, podcasts from real investors who offer very valuable free or very low cost information. In my opinion
this is the best way to get a feel if you are just starting out. You should pick 5-10 books to read on the specific niche you are interested in and evaluate your stance after you are complete. In my opinion this is the best way to get involved in real estate, the only downfall is that it can take more time. However you can get a better understanding and continue to develop your real estate knowledge daily. The more you read, the more you will understand, the more comfortable you will be taking action (the only thing that really matters)
Which Real Estate Investing Learning Avenue Should I Choose?
Your best bet is to begin educating yourself through books, podcasts and blogs. You can expose yourself to an unbelievable amount of information in real estate and really build the foundation for your career. It is the least expensive method and you can decide to take action whenever you feel comfortable (earlier than you expect). So build your foundation with books, podcasts and blogs. Begin networking in your local community - contacting other real estate investors, going to your local real estate meetings. Now you can begin to learn about your local market, what other investors are doing, and what niche interests you most. You may be able to connect with a mentor (what guru's claim to be) at no cost (just offer them some value).
Now once you build your foundation you have to take action! You have to start marketing, start evaluating deals, look into developing a team but focus on finding great deals and your life will be much easier. Determine the niche you will focus on, build that foundation, take action and continue to educate yourself.
Let us know which avenues you have found success in, in the comments below. We love to hear about real life investment successes other have had.
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