Congratulations on taking your first—or possibly your next—step in
understanding real estate. With 15 years experience, a couple of real
estate licenses, an appraiser’s certification, 18 properties of my own—
bought, sold, or currently held—as well as a recently published book and
website designed to further support your efforts, I am at least somewhat
qualified to offer you a few suggestions on how you can get started.
Keep in mind that there are no get-rich-quick schemes, plans, or
programs in real estate. Don’t be fooled or allow others to dupe or con
you into believing they have the new, never-before-told program on how
to quickly and easily make your first million in real estate by following
their guaranteed, surefire methods of approach. If you have been fired up
by a certain guru or investment seminar, then at least do yourself a favor
and check them out before being led blindly down the path to the wolves
den. Before you plunk down your hard-earned cash, go to
http://www.johntreed.com/Reedgururating.html and do your research.
Additionally, if you’re just starting out and considering real estate as a
profession or part-time job, then read what John Reed has to say at
http://www.johntreed.com/beginner.html. As John’s links show, it is
wise to begin your journey through using research of those who have
been there before you and have superior knowledge in doing what you
are about to do yourself. John emphasizes that you should read
recommended books on the subject before you go out and spend
hundreds or thousands of dollars buying some guru’s how-to packaged
deal.
Education is your key to wealth in real estate. Here are some tips on
getting started:
• Read and listen to recommended books and tapes.
• Attend a first-time homebuyer’s class or paid local college courses
(i.e., appraisal).
• Attend local investors’ and apartment owners’ association
meetings in your area.
• Participate in online investment forums, chat groups, and bulletin
boards.
• Read local and national news; pay attention to articles, events, and
the classifieds.
• Pay attention to recommendations from people like John, above. Don’t
allow yourself to be misled!
There is a lot of information on the web these days and a lot of misinformation to go along with it. You’re going to find yourself on the web looking for resources on a daily basis, so let me give you a list that has taken me two years to research and compile. Don’t let it overwhelm you. When you do go to the websites, check out their recommended links and their resources links, and view the site map; these are the most useful features of most websites.
Okay, here’s the list. Remember, you’ll be using this for research later; I am giving it to you now so you won’t worry about where you will go when you’re done with this report.
