$$$ Courses Vs. Books - Posted by Woz

Real Estate Investing Real Estate Gurus
1

Posted by HR on January 10, 1999 at 11:55:39:

Woz,

I agree with Mike. Great books on rei, in my opinion, are the best way to start, especially in the beginning. The first stage you pass through is the evaluation stage: is this stuff for real? Are all these people lying? Can you really make the kind of money they say is possible? Is this too good to be true? Etc. The only way to answer those questions is to educate yourself.

Sandy wrote a good article in the money making section about benefits of joining your local reia group. My reia group has a vast library members can borrow from for free; membership is only $65/yr. and I get to meet with local pros who know my market. Invaluable.

The single best “text” on rei information imho is McLean and Eldred’s Investing in Real Estate, 2nd edition (John Wiley and sons, NY, 1996, $20). It won’t give you a system for buying re creatively, but it discusses in succinct chapters all the angles of rei.

Once you decide that this stuff is for real (and it is–but you have to discover that for yourself), then you’ll want to buy other people’s “systems”: the activities they do to find properties, do whatever they do with them (rehab, flip, rent, l/o, etc), and make $$$. This site offers a number of good systems.

Why specialize in the courses? Because there are many ways to put a deal together. I’ll pay $150-$500 for a good course; I know if the ideas work it will pay for itself 10X on just the first deal. CS, for instance, talks about l/o in his course. Bill Bronchick has a course on it. BB’s l/o material, compared to CS, is like comparing a Sherman Tank to a candy wrapper. Bill’s course is worth it-- but only if you want to do l/o.

Educate yourself first. Find out if this stuff is for real. Find out if it is for real for you. Find out what angle of rei your life situation is best suited for. Specialize in that. Work hard. Make money.

Good luck!

HR

2

$$$ Courses Vs. Books - Posted by Woz

Posted by Woz on January 03, 1999 at 10:40:39:

I haven’t bought the Carlton Sheets course, or any other, but I have seen many of the shows. Some of these guys want some big bucks for the courses.

Can anyone who has purchased one of these courses tell me why they are worth hundreds (or thousands) of dollars when I can buy a book for 19.95 at the bookstore that claims to tell how to do all of the same things?

3

Re: $$$ Courses Vs. Books - Posted by Ronald Starr

Posted by Ronald Starr on January 28, 1999 at 12:12:10:

Yes, Buy the books and save the money. All of the TV guru stuff I have seen is mediocre or worse. Buy about 20 or 30 books at bookstores and online. Read and study for 6 mo to a year; then get going. I have been investing for 20 years. I have bought properties for less than 10% of market value.
I have a four-page annotated list of my recommended real estate books. It emphasizes California, because that is where I am (S. Fran. bay area) I sell it for $2 cash, check or postage stamps (don’t laugh – I use them) Send To Ronald Starr P. O. Box 27218 Oakland, CA 94602. Never had anybody ask for their money back.

4

Re: $$$ Courses Vs. Books - Posted by Frank

Posted by Frank on January 12, 1999 at 21:53:02:

The only reason the infomercials courses are so expensive is that the infomercials itself is very expensive to run. Someone has to pay for Tv space,marketing Dept.(and all of its’ employees), the camera crew, editors etc. We can’t forget about Carleton’s Sheets profit. The bookstore or library has all the information you need to be successful.

5

Re: $$$ Courses Vs. Books - Posted by Mike (KCMO)

Posted by Mike (KCMO) on January 03, 1999 at 14:12:41:

The worth of a RE course or anything else has to be judged by the individual. Personally, I have several courses as well as a number of books. Some are better than others, but every one has been worth more than it cost. When making your decision of courses vs. books consider the following:

Since you’re new to this business you’ll have a lot of questions both about the material in the books and specific deals that you will be analyzing. Open one of those books up right now and ask it something. What did it say?

If your answer is “Nothing dummy, it’s just a book!” then you will begin to see the value of purchasing courses from this site. Many of the authors of these courses respond directly to the questions you WILL have, and that’s worth a great deal to me. You can buy a variety of courses for much less than your first deal will make you – sounds like a bargain! Your best bang-for-the-buck would probably be to stay away from the big money workshops until you learn the language of investing and get your feet wet for awhile.

If you’re unsure of what area to get started in, there’s always the “buffet” of different techniques presented at the convention in March. . .

Don’t let the people who tell you it can’t be done get in your way while you’re doing it.

Mike