Getting Started in Real Estate Investing, Gurus, Books & Tapes
From CaseyPedia
July 20th 2007: in this post on IAFF, Casey shares some advice: don't do what I did.
Casey shares a "thoughtful email" he wrote in response to a question. People actually ask Casey for investment advice?
He opens by noting:
- I’m the one to blame for some if not most of the mistakes. However, I feel I was mislead on some stuff too. But that’s for another post.
His advice is:
- Start with "bird-dogging or wholesaling".
- Find a mentor, "a REAL mentor, somebody LOCAL and with years of experience and one who is still active", and be wary of paying for mentoring: "very few PAID mentors are worth the money".
- Do not "overspend and use credit cards" on "books, tapes and seminars": "It puts too much pressure on you to perform and pay back those credit cards and its too easy to make stupid mistakes and rush into it too fast, like I did."
- Be selective. Casey is cagy about recommendations ("not today") but says "I have spend over 30-40K (I think) on Real Estate Investing education and I’ve seen The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. The[re] ARE some good honest gurus out there that REALLY teach you what you need without adding FLUFF. But those are few. It all sounds good."
- Borrow or buy used seminar materials. ("Hey maybe I will even auction off my Real Estate Investing education collection.")
- Investigate free forums online.
- Network at local real estate investment clubs -- "but again, they ALL want to sell you something."
[edit] Comments
dm points out that Casey's 40K could have bought him a solid college education:
- Anyone who buys into ANY of these gurus is a moron, including you. You see, for that same 30-40 large you could have gone to a REAL university. [...] And at that REAL university, you could have gotten a degree in Business with a focus on Real Estate Management or some other highly valuable focus. Something that would translate to real “value”.[1]
Sprezzatura offers another useful alternative:
- One of the best ways to really learn the business is to get a real estate license, which you can do at local schools for very little amounts of money, and then actually work at a real estate company. Doing so allows you to develop the local knowledge and business experience that will let you identify what is or is not a sweet deal, and how to move forward on it if it is.[2]
newt calls Casey on his "I was misled" line:
- Casey, in real life you’re to blame for the bits where you were mislead too. You say you’re an investor; You say you’re a business man; You say you want to be successful running with the big guys. Well, if you’re doing those things, then you need to be cluey enough to work out when you’re being mislead, and adjust your approach accordingly.
- If you can’t do that, and carry on pretending to be a business man anyway, then the inevitable failures are your fault. You can’t blame someone for taking advantage of you when you’re wearing a big “Please come and take advantage of me!” sign on the front of your T-Shirt.[3]
Walter Sobchak echoes : "You are not responsible for some of the mistakes. You are not responsible for most of the mistakes. You are responsible for all of the mistakes."[4] And Soem Dood adds: "You did not ‘make mistakes investing’; you intentionally defrauded.".[5]
newt follows up to attack Casey's assertion that "there are good honest gurus out there":
- How do you know? You clearly didn’t find any of them. What makes you think they aren’t a figment of your imagination? Given that your investing career has been characterized by complete, unmitigated, disastrous failure, what makes you think you’re qualified to offer advice on how to get started?[6]
Rob Dawg comments:
- And you think the $40k you “invested” in your real estate courses would make a bit of difference to your current situation? Get a clue. Everyone is losing money in RE now if it requires actually owning property.
and challenges Casey to start telling the real story:
- What you do have is very valuable information. Unfortunately until now you’ve not even considered sharing. Tell people about all the “techniques” you were taught that you now know to be illegal. Name names and I guarantee monster blog traffic and media links that will make IAFF worth six digits.[7]
[edit] Reactions
Tim at I Am A Real Estate Investor has a thoughtful take on Casey's advice and concludes:
- Casey and people like him are always chasing the latest shiny object. They aren’t interested in investing to secure their financial independence, they are interested in magically being transformed into a rich, successful real estate tycoon who no longer needs to work.[8]
[edit] Links
- Getting Started in Real Estate Investing, Gurus, Books & Tapes, IAFF, July 20th 2007
[edit] References
- ↑ You could have gone to a REAL university., comment by dm on IAFF, July 21st 2007 at 12:22 am
- ↑ Get a real estate license..., comment by Sprezzatura on IAFF, July 21st 2007 at 8:33 am
- ↑ You’re to blame for the bits where you were mislead too., comment by newt on IAFF, July 21st 2007 at 12:42 am
- ↑ You are responsible for all of the mistakes., comment by Walter Sobchak on IAFF, July 21st, 2007 at 2:27 am
- ↑ You intentionally defrauded., comment by soem.dood on IAFF, July 21st 2007 at 6:20 am
- ↑ Complete, unmitigated, disastrous failure... comment by newt on IAFF, July 21st 2007 at 12:45 am
- ↑ Get a clue., comment by Rob Dawg on IAFF, July 21st 2007 at 8:00 am
- ↑ Now Casey Is Giving Advice? Seriously?, I Am A Real Estate Investor, July 21st 2007
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