I firmly believe that anyone who isn’t willing to spend both time and money to learn more about commercial property investment doesn’t value themselves or their career – there, I said it.
While there are numerous commercial property investment courses, academies, events, books and audio/video releases that are barely worth the paper or discs they are printed on, the idea that someone is unwilling to invest in their future as a buy to let landlord tells you a lot about their aspirations. How determined to succeed in commercial property can an entrepreneur be if they aren’t willing to put their money where their mouth is?
I always say that YOU are your best investment, so it pays to invest wisely in yourself, your knowledge, and your future. While there is value to be found in plunging into a pursuit and learning the ropes first-hand, this can be an expensive strategy when it comes to commercial property investment. In the long run it usually pays in time, effort and money to learn from someone who is already doing what you want to do – and well.
A successful buy to let property investor can reveal to you the secrets they have picked up over time, and help you to overcome or avoid the problems they themselves have defeated.
So why are some entrepreneurs still hesitant, and what misconceptions – or fallacies – do they have about property investment courses?
1. Fallacy #1 – property investment courses don’t help
My first major investment in property education cost me £4,997, which I laid out on my credit card – and let me tell you, that hurt.
This wasn’t a face-to-face property investment course; it was a “Buy, Refurb, Remortgage” home study pack that included a folder, some DVDs and a single one-to-one session. I studied those DVDs so thoroughly that I could quote them word-for-word before the speaker had even opened their mouth, and while it was exhausting, it was also exhilarating. I was investing in my future, and I was learning a technique which at the time was revolutionary.
Mark and I still use that strategy today, and while it is common in 2017, it has bought and sold over 700 properties in our ongoing portfolio. I can’t put words to how grateful I am to that author and the investment I put into it.
2. Fallacy #2 – I can get it for free
There is a world of commercial property investment information out there online on blogs, free websites, social media and podcasts, and it can seem like you can learn anything you want without any need to pay out at all. While this is true, the sheer range of free advice and tutorials mimicking property investment courses can be overwhelming.
Who do you trust? Who is a genuine successful buy to let property investor offering their knowledge, and who is a fraud? How do you dig through the dredge and find the information worth adhering to?
Unless a property investment company or entrepreneur is trying to gain your trust with the aim of selling you something later down the line, there is little accountability on free education, and no motivation for a content provider to prepare the right information.
3. Fallacy #3 – property investment courses just get me one person’s opinion
…as well as their experience, their strategies, their secrets, their proven systems, their solutions to mistakes which they made first-hand, and the information they have gained from their contacts.
If you attend a commercial property investment course or event in person, you can ask the organisers and teachers to answer your questions. You also have the chance to meet others in the same situation as you for support, and peers who have already progressed further in their commercial property investment careers than you.
Great networking and the crackling, exciting atmosphere at a property event can never be replaced by free online research, and should never be underestimated.
Last thoughts
In the world of property investment courses and education – particularly in 2017, we predict – there is a great deal of fluff, misinformation, and a prevalence of chancers jumping on the band wagon. We live during a time when content is king, and companies have realised that to be noticed online they need to be offering information to those interested in receiving it. However, not all commercial property investment courses and education are equal, and not everyone is putting the time and effort into the information they share to give it the value it should provide.
Before you invest in your property investment education, you need to make sure you have put in all the due diligence you can so that you feel secure that you are investing wisely. When you pay money for a valuable course, event or training pack, you are investing in your future, and that is worth taking your time to consider.
Education taught by knowledgeable, inspiring teachers is a fast-track to a worthwhile goal. Without it, you really do risk being left in the dust.
Have you invested in a property investment course? What have your experiences been, and what advice would you give to an investor considering spending on a course or an event? Comment below, or join the discussion on the Progressive Property community.
