Investing in real estate is a proven method of establishing long term financial stability. But how does one go about starting in this business? Is there a certain class I need to take? Is there the one real estate guru that I need to read all of their books? Is there that one, all-inclusive website that will answer all of my questions? Of course, the answer is no. There are good books, classes, and websites that will help you obtain your goals, but the perfect education in real estate is a mix of research and actually doing it. We will take a look at some of the options that you will want to look at to help you get started.

Real Estate Forums

Online forums are a great tool for beginners and experts alike. For the novice investor, the real estate forum is a great place to ask a bunch of questions. Whenever I start to explore something new, I sometimes feel embarrassed to ask even the most basic questions, even though that is what my knowledge base will be built upon. The forum is a great place to ask these questions because you can "hide" behind the computer. You are not required to use your real name (although it is generally a good idea to build trust). You also don't have to post a picture of yourself, or give out any personal information. The real estate forum is also a good place to ask because the experts usually enjoy showing off about how much they know about a subject, so you are likely to get a long, elaborate, detailed answer, especially on the "easy" questions. Most real estate forums also have blogs written about certain subjects, of which you can usually post a question or response to the author, and get an answer in return.

Real Estate Investors Clubs

There are thousands of these clubs spread out across the country. These clubs are always looking to recruit new members for a couple of reasons. The first reason is the main reason these clubs exist. A real estate investors club is a huge, monthly networking meeting. There are people from all different walks of life who work at different jobs that have a different set of skills and contacts. Real estate investing is getting that perfect property at the perfect price at the perfect time. The more people that these clubs have, the more networking the members are able to do. The second reason that real estate investors clubs are always looking to recruit new members is, of course, the money. A lot of real estate investors clubs are non-profit. However, the more money a club has, the more resources they afford to give the members to make their yearly dues worthwhile. At most of the clubs, the monthly meeting usually has a lecture followed by an informal networking. Some of the larger clubs with more members can afford to pay a nationally-known speaker, while the smaller clubs usually have a local speaker. If you are just starting out in investing, and you don't have any properties yet, these clubs will usually let you pay by a monthly fee for attending, to see if their club is a fit for you.

Real Estate Investing Course

There are a few different ways that you can take a real estate investing course. You can go the traditional way and take a course or two, usually offered at your local community college. You can also talk to a local real estate agent, and they can get you hooked up with a course that you receive in the mail. Those two ways are fine, but I prefer the more modern way. Online courses that are downloaded instantly to your computer are the easiest and most convenient way for me. Courses by mail and online are nice because you can do them at your pace, whenever is most convenient for you. The main problem with courses by mail is that they are usually not up to date. When the company who makes these courses gets a change in something, they usually do not take the time to print off a few hundred or a few thousand pieces of paper, find the change in their course, take out the old wording, and put in the new information. If they did this for every change they came upon, they wouldn't be able to make any money. It simply would not be cost effective. With an online course, if the maker of the course gets new information in, they simply change the wording around on the computer, and that's it. Also, for someone who has already purchased the real estate investing course, the maker can send out a simple email informing the consumer of the change without printing costs and shipping costs. I believe that an online real estate investing course is one of the most valued tools that an investor overlooks.

We have looked at three simple, inexpensive ways on how to invest in real estate. Registering in a real estate forum, joining a real estate investors club, and purchasing a real estate investing course are three things that will take hardly any time out of your busy schedule, and none of these will break the bank. Of the money that you will spend on the club and the course, it will benefit you more than the cost of these items.