Finding the perfect real estate investing course can make or break your investing experience. Many courses offer big promises and charge even higher prices once you sign up. So how do you find a quality course that will have tangible outcomes on your real estate investment journey?
You're doing the right thing in wanting to increase your real estate investment education, but at the same time, you don't want to fork out cash for a course that's outdated, poorly structured, or worse—a complete scam.
Thankfully, this blog looks at the five critical steps to help you find the perfect course, no matter where you're at in your investment journey, and some additional ways to level up your investment knowledge.
1. Set Your Investment Goals
Before diving into a course or launching into research, set your goals for rental property investing and ask yourself a couple of questions:
- Do you want to be a full-time investor or earn passive income on the side?
- Do you have any experience in the real estate industry, or are you new to investing?
Once you've determined your overriding goal and educational needs, you can start to create a roadmap to real estate investment success.
Consider the following parameters to help:
- Short-term goals should be education-based and help build overall capabilities and skills in real estate investing.
- Long-term goals can be more tangible and should focus on financial outcomes such as the number of properties owned.
- SMART goals help clarify and define your goals in no uncertain terms. Use the SMART strategy by setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals.
Some strategies to help during this process include:
- Creating a checklist to break down your goals
- Holding yourself accountable by celebrating small wins and reassessing areas that require work
- Focusing on measurable goals by using data and finances
- Joining groups of like-minded individuals who can share insights
Once you've set your investment goals using the strategies above, finding an appropriate investment course or plan to level up your knowledge becomes a whole lot easier!
2. Consider Your Weak Spots
Whether it's interpersonal skills or financial calculations, we all have areas we'd like to improve.
Knowing your limitations and blindspots can help create a much smaller pool of investment courses. For example, consider the question, "which factors of real estate investing do I find most challenging?"
From there, a real estate investor can determine the appropriate difficulty level for a particular course.
For example, do you know the difference between cap rate vs. yield? If not, this may signify that you are a beginner or just starting real estate investing. In that case, it may not make sense to dive straight into a high-level investment course; instead, grabbing some of the best books on real estate investing may be a better option. Finally, be sure to develop positive habits and stay educated.
3. Go Heavy On The Research
Once you've set your investment goals and identified your weak spots, it's time to start researching the course options. To start, dive into some real estate investing books in acquiring a base knowledge. Then, we recommend the following steps below to ensure the course is credible and will be beneficial for your investing needs.
- Ensure the source is trustworthy—do they look at and break down real numbers or only deal in hypotheticals?
- Are there publicly accessible reviews by real students? What do they say?
- Are the course creators or instructors open to speaking with potential students (i.e., can you get in touch with someone from the organization?)
- Is the course appropriately priced?
- Does it seem too good to be true, or is it offering a get-rich-quick outcome?
- Is there a money-back guarantee?
- Is it a go-at-your-pace course?
Answering these questions can guide you to the ideal real estate investment courses to boost your career!
4. Ask The Community
One of the easiest ways to determine if a course is appropriate or valuable is to reach out to successful real estate investors who have achieved what you're hoping to achieve and have taken a course.
Use online communities such as Reddit threads, Facebook groups, or real estate investing networking groups to ask investors which course they've taken and how they found it.
5. Research the Specific Program
By this stage, you should know which course or courses you may be interested in taking to get more out of your rental properties.
Look at the following course-specific checklist to help you make the final decision:
- Functional strategies: do the strategies work, and do reviews on the course verify this?
- Experienced instructor: does the program teacher have practical experience in real estate investing? You can prepare some questions for your potential mentor to verify before signing up for a course.
- Contemporary resources: the real estate landscape is constantly shifting. Do the resources reflect the current market, laws, taxes, and state and federal legislation? If they are not up to date with these, then there is a good chance the course will be out of date.
- Online learning: are there mini-courses, quizzes, and summaries that you can access through an online portal?
- Live classes: are there real-time opportunities to engage with mentors and fellow investors?
- Supplemented learning: are there opportunities and a database of information opportunities such as blogs, mini-education, podcasts, and YouTube channels?
High-quality training and education are among the top ways to avoid costly errors when investing in real estate. So when you're ready to start your investment journey, don't be afraid to reach out to experts in property, such as real property management Annapolis group Renters Warehouse BW Metro. Our advisors are happy to answer any questions or help you launch your real estate investment strategy.
The Right Real Estate Investing Course Can Help You Become a Better Investor
Selecting the best real estate investing course can help you become a more informed and confident investor. However, there is no shortage of useless or fraudulent systems out there. Due to this, completing due diligence and understanding your personal needs and educational goals will help you avoid these courses to find the right one.
Don't forget to ask lots of questions and reach out to communities of real estate investors to discover honest advice from experienced investors. If you're considering investing in real estate or have started your educational journey, reach out to the Renters Warehouse BW Metro team for professional insights. Our specialized team is ready to help you make better investment decisions today!
Learn more about real estate investing with our free guide! Download "How To Invest In Real Estate: A Guide."
