Real Estate Investing For Beginners: The True Value Of Your Education

Real estate investing for beginners is not all that different from the approach today’s experts take. Outside of a few semantics and some obvious exceptions, the practices exhibited by experienced investors and new ones are virtually identical. While you can certainly argue efficiency and scale, I see no reason for new investors to diverge from the same path that has made so many of their experienced predecessors successful. In fact, I maintain that there’s nothing a seasoned investor can do that a new investor can’t, so long as they have their most important asset at their disposal: a sound real estate education.

There’s no doubt about it: real estate investing for beginners is made all the easier if the right information is made readily available and abundant. Fortunately, for your sake and for mine, it is. The advent of technology has granted us all access to more information than we could have ever imagined. The internet, alone, has just about everything a new real estate investor could hope to learn. Better yet, there are plenty of experts currently investing in real estate that would be more than happy to share their own knowledge on the subject matter.

Information is all around us; we just need to know where to look and how to listen. It’s worth noting, however, that access to information is a double-edged sword. While there is no doubting the sheer volume of data made available to us, not all of it is reliable. It is, therefore, more important than ever to be able to filter out the bad information and zone in on what you know to be correct. Then, and only then, will you be able to truly understand just how valuable a sound education is when delving into real estate investing for beginners.

The Benefits Of A Real Estate Investing For Beginners

I want to make it abundantly clear: retaining the information you are presented with on a daily basis is not enough to grow and scale a successful real estate company. In addition to learning, you must also diligently seek out new information. If for nothing else, the pursuit of a sound real estate education is just as important as the information itself. Only those with a thirst for education and the idea that there is always something to learn will be able to capitalize on what I believe to be an investor’s greatest asset: knowledge.

Knowledge really is power. There is literally nothing you can’t do as a real estate investor with the right level of proficiency, but I digress. Obtaining the right information to become a successful real estate investor isn’t easy, nor can anyone do it for you. You, and you alone, are responsible for the education you receive and the degree of success in which you experience. And therein lies your first real estate lesson: you must own up to the responsibility that your career in real estate will only go as far as your education will allow. What you know is both the ceiling and the floor for what you can accomplish, so why not set the bar high?

Real estate investing for beginners doesn’t need to be as difficult as many people make it out to be. With the right education in your corner, investing in real estate isn’t a massive obstacle to overcome, but rather an enjoyment that just about anyone can partake in. There is no doubt about it: a sound real estate education can make investing in properties a lot easier. Here’s how:

1. Speed Of Implementation

It’s safe to assume your proficiency in any field will grow in conjunction with your respective knowledge of the subject matter. In fact, there’s no reason you can’t expect to get better and faster at something the more you know about it, and real estate investing is no exception.

The more familiar you are with the process as a whole, the faster you will be able to act. At the very least, you won’t spend all of your time researching the best ways to do something; you’ll eventually just know what to do.

Educating yourself on the ins and outs of real estate will teach you many valuable lessons, not the least of which includes how to get in and out of a deal in a timely and efficient manner. And while it may not sound like much, speed of implementation is absolutely critical to today’s real estate investors. You know what they say: time is money. Only, time isn’t just money; it’s literally everything. For starters, speed of implementation can save you thousands of dollars in costs. Whether it’s paying contractors for their work or avoiding closing costs, it’s almost always cheaper to be faster. Perhaps even more importantly, the proper speed of implementation can land you a deal if you are the first one on the scene. At the very least, being the first buyer to a property gives you a better chance at acquiring a deal.

2. Fewer Mistakes

Not surprisingly, a better education will help you mitigate risk and make fewer mistakes. What is a great investor, if not for someone who can navigate the industry while making the fewest mistakes possible? It should be every new investor’s goal to avoid making mistakes, as to increase their success rate.

I want to make it abundantly clear: investing in real estate comes with an inherent degree of risk. There isn’t a deal out there that will offer a 100 percent success rate. There will always be issues that can arise or areas for something to go wrong. That said, it’s impossible to completely eliminate risk. It is, however, possible to mitigate risk to the point in which success is much more likely than failure. It’s also worth noting that the best way to do so is to increase your knowledge on each possible exit strategy.

While it may sound like a fool’s errand to prepare for the unexpected, I can assure you it is anything but. In fact, the real estate investing industry favors the prepared, as they are the ones most likely to mitigate risk.

3. Networking Opportunities

Real estate is, and always will be, a people business. Who you know is almost as important as what you know, but I digress. The two are more closely related than many realize. If for nothing else, the more you know, the more people will want to work with you in some capacity. You see, exhibiting an inherent degree of knowledge in the world of real estate investing will increase the confidence people have in you. It only makes sense that people will trust you once they have seen what you can do. And once you have their trust, you have their attention, which is invaluable

Once people see what you are capable of (thanks to your education), it stands to reason that they will want to work with you in some capacity. That attention, alone, is one of the greatest benefits to having a sound real estate education. At the very least, the more people that want to work with you, the larger your network will become. It’s worth noting that today’s most prolific investors are where they are because of their network. It’s the people that they know that can land them deals, lend them money, or even help them out of a sticky situation. Remember, knowledge is power, especially when it can expand your current network.

Knowledge Is Power

Not unlike every other industry, real estate investing for beginners is made easier with a sound education. With the proper foundation to build off of, there is no reason your knowledge can’t take you as far as you want; it truly is your greatest asset. It’s worth noting that, as your most valuable asset, your knowledge of the real estate industry comes with some tangible benefits. Namely, those I mentioned above. So if you want to get your investing career started off on the right foot, look no further than your own education.

Key Takeaways

• A real estate education is the most important asset held by today’s most prolific investors.
• The benefits of a proper education can elevate the careers of new and seasoned investors, alike.
• Real estate investing for beginners doesn’t need to be as difficult as many people make it out to be, especially if you are confident in your own knowledge.