As is probably the case with most new investors, I have spent a significant amount of time attending free seminars where at the very end the speaker wants you to buy their system for large amounts of money. They are all polished speakers, the presentations are convincing and they all pretty much include the same things (CDs, books, mentoring, phone support and money back if you make a deal in X amount of time).
Most seasoned investors will say - as I’ve read many times in these forums- that you don’t need a course as the best learning comes from action and I agree with that. But the reality is that fear keeps most people from taking action and signing up with one of these gurus seems to provide some sort of safety net - regardless of whether or not that is truly the case.
So given that the courses are going to get purchased, and assuming the person already knows what niche they would like to pursue, what questions would you ask a real estate “guru” about their program when trying to decide among courses in that niche?
Do you get their cell number that you can call 24/7?
Do they know YOUR market?
What makes your course different?
oh…and the most important thing: Forget the “todays price only” crap…if its a good system 2 weeks later after some thought & research, then its good enough to pay full price. (hint:…call them and negoticate the price back down)
I’d highly suggest that you attend your local REIA meetings and hopefully find a local mentor. They are a better help.
Most of these courses give you all techniques in existence. But all techniques don’t work in all markets. This causes the student to become unsure as to what step to take first or next. Remember a confused mind always says no. So you want 1 and no more than 2 techniques to follow. What you want to know is if that person is investing successfully where you are (I mean if you are in Houston, don’t let him tell you he is in Dallas, if you are in Los Angeles don’t let him tell you about San Diego) and you want him doing it now not 10 years ago. What you want his course to be is a step by step to get you where you want to go.
An example is I can tell you exactly how to buy houses that make you money in Houston. Step by step. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. I will tell you who to see and what to say. (I guess that is more of a mentor than a course).
I say this because I took many courses for 3 years but I never bought a property until I met a guy that told me what to do as not to waste my time with a strategy that won’t work in my town. If you try a strategy that doesn’t work, you can try a million others that won’t work until you find one that does work. You want to go straight to a strategy that does work. And that is what you want to get from them. You want to know what works here and now.
I agree that fear is one of the biggest things which prevent new investors from taking action…however lack of knowledge is up there too. Although scared, my biggest problem was that I didn’t even have basic knowledge (still don’t in some areas). I felt I needed a decent base…one in which I felt comfortable with until I could just say…“ok,the rest I will pick up as I go”.