I met Nicole and Jessie, a mother-daughter duo who dreamt of leaving their corporate jobs to start their own business, at a Meetup group for women entrepreneurs. They reminded me of myself when I first started my own professional real estate investment business after spending too many years trying to bust through a glass ceiling. Like me, Nicole and Jessie seemed to be go-getters, ready to pursue their dreams. But, they lacked the necessary know-how to get started and wondered if they should take some real estate investing classes.

Now, education is never a bad thing. But sometimes it teaches you something different than you expected—like that you should have kept your wallet closed instead of signing on for a useless class. Wanting to help my new friends avoid the scams and encourage more women to break into real estate investing, I took them out for coffee after the meeting to talk about how to choose from the many real estate investing classes out there.

Which Real Estate Investment Classes Should You Choose?

There are countless real estate investing courses and seminars out there being offered by so-called experts, legitimate colleges, and regional clubs. It can be hard for someone who’s new to the business to judge a good learning opportunity from a bad one and know which classes to completely avoid. Let’s take a quick look at what each type offers.

Learning From ‘Experts’

First of all, understand that not all real estate investment classes are offered by teachers who have your best interests in mind. You have to be wary of the self-proclaimed ‘gurus’ who spend more time trying to upsell you on their latest gimmick than actually teaching you how to invest. You can spot these bad apples because they usually offer get-rich-quick schemes. They may give you and all the other unsuspecting students a few questionable tips but will fail to offer an actionable education. And, forget about asking these people for advice once the class is over—unless you shell out thousands more for their next class.

The bottom line: If anyone tells you they have a program that will teach you how to get wealthy in the real estate investment business fast, walk away. Real estate investing can be a great business for achieving your financial goals, but it’s going to require a lot of hard work.

Higher Education Courses

Looking for legitimacy, many people want to take college or university classes to learn about real estate investing. So they turn to courses taught by schools like UCLA, the University of Phoenix, or even by Harvard Extension School. But these programs come with their own set of problems. First of all, these programs are often taught by professionals who have experience in the areas of business and finance—not in real estate. These instructors may have general knowledge of real estate investing but often lack detailed insight into the areas your career will focus on.

But that’s not all. You may discover that such programs teach information you don’t actually need to know, like how to formulate a commercial deal, which wastes precious time you could spend on launching your business. Finally, after paying for one of these certificates or degrees you will discover that they are not necessary prerequisites for becoming an investor, and that home sellers and buyers often won’t care one whit that you have them!

Regional Clubs

Depending upon where you live, you may be able to join an investment club. These are organizations where people meet up to discuss how to make investments. They’re a nice option because they often have guest speakers and education that help you improve your business practices. They also offer fellowship, where like-minded club members can keep each other focused, inspired, and always working toward their goals. And, many of them forbid inter-group marketing, meaning you can go to a meeting without receiving solicitations.

But they have their drawbacks, too. Some investment clubs attract members with little helpful expertise to offer, or have so few active members that you won’t be able to expand your professional network. And when you’re in an investment club with mostly other novice investors, few people are likely to be successful. Finally, investment clubs seldom offer enough face-time for you to develop strong relationships with the members who do have helpful experience to share. There’s a better way for you to receive mentorship, education and networking opportunities than at your local investment club.

There are several risks associated with real estate investing, and you do need training that correctly prepares you to deal with each one of them. But, most of the real estate investment classes out there will either just drain your pocketbook or only foot part of the bill. But, luckily, there is one comprehensive real estate investment training that can provide you the support you’ll need to get started achieving your goals.

Where to Find Comprehensive Real Estate Investing Education

When I first started out in this business, I was motivated and full of potential just like Nicole and Jessie, but in need of advice and training. I learned the hard way how to choose the best real estate investing classes—by falling for schemes, trying to complete a useless college course while otherwise employed full-time, and wasting time hobnobbing at various clubs. So, I told them about how I—finally—got off to a strong start as a professional real estate investor by becoming an independently owned and operated HomeVestors® franchisee.

I received a comprehensive initial week-long training that covered all the essentials. Afterward, I was connected to a seasoned mentor to help me to grow my business. It’s been years since I first joined and my Development Agent, Mary, is still around to help me, even though I don’t often need her advice anymore. I couldn’t recommend HomeVestors®’ training and support highly enough to Nicole and Jessie and, thankfully for them, they skipped all the other real estate investment classes and took my advice. They called HomeVestors® and now their dream of running a mother-daughter-owned business has come true.

To learn how you can get a better professional real estate investing education and ongoing support than real estate investing classes alone, give HomeVestors® a call today.

Each franchise office is independently owned and operated.