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Are real estate investing courses really worth it? |
If you've been involved in real estate investing for any period of time, you're probably aware that there are a slew of real estate home study courses geared towards helping you become a better real estate investor. But with the hefty price tags that come with most of these courses, the question becomes, "Are they really worth it?" Here are some things to consider before you make your next purchase of a real estate investing course.
Is It Really Relevant to What You Do?
That real estate investing course you're thinking about buying is probably worth it if it covers a topic relevant to what your current business involves. For instance, if you are involved in repairing houses and the course would help to fill some gaps you have in your knowledge of working that business, then it would make sense to spend money on a course that would help you build that expertise. In fact, it might even help you avoid making a potentially disastrous decision on one of your properties down the road. But if the information in the course is completely irrelevant to you (and only going to serve as a "shiny new thing" to take you off track) then you'd be better off holding onto your cash.
Are You Going to Implement What You Learn
Another thing to consider with any sort of purchase like this is whether or not you're really going to use it. Keep in mind that "using it" could mean you actually reading the course and applying what it covers or it could mean delegating the task to someone else on your team. For instance if you have someone that handles your incoming calls and a particular course covers that aspect very well, it might make sense for you to purchase the course and hand it off to your assistant. This can be a quick and easy way to train them how to do their job more effectively. The only other option would be coming up with your own internally developed training manual which might be more time and effort than you're able to put in.
Do the Techniques Being Taught Really Work in Your Area
Of course if the home study course goes over things that don't even work in your area then there's no point in buying. And no matter what the course's creator might say, there are certain techniques that work better in certain areas of the country or in certain types of markets. For example you can't go making "ugly house" offers on "pretty houses" or vice versa.
Are There Already Satisfied Customers
It's also a good idea to talk to other investors who have purchased the course in the past. You can even talk with people at your local real estate investor association or seek out reviews online. However there are two cautions about using the online approach. First, some reviews might be skewed and overly generous because the website owner is making a commission if you purchase the product from their site. The other thing to keep in mind is that with just about any course, there will be somebody who says they didn't like it. So don't be swayed if you read a handful of negative reviews. A non-real estate example of this would be a site like Amazon.com. If you check out any book on their site, even one that has close to a 5-star rating, you'll still find one or two people that didn't like it for one reason or another. But that's no reason to think that the book isn't worth it. The same thinking should apply when considering the real estate home study course, unless ALL the reviews are horrible, and then the decision is easy!
Can You REALLY Afford It
The last thing I'll mention about deciding whether or not you should buy a real estate home study course is probably one of the most important. If you have to beg, borrow or steal to pay for the course then it's much better to keep your money at home and "live to fight another day". Whichever course you're interested in will likely be available for quite a while (yes, even with the same so-called "special offer"). In the mean time you can apply what you already know and allow other investors to be the guinea pigs who purchase the course. Of course if you really can afford the course and it meets the other criteria mentioned above, then there's really no reason not to invest in quality information that will help you grow your business. In fact, it would be foolish not to. The alternative is to try to do everything yourself, starting from scratch, and without relying on those who have gone before you and already figured things out. And that's simply no way to build a sustainable business.
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