Beginner Real Estate Education Question?

[Peter Whitaker]

Hey everyone, this is my fist post on BP. I'm currently on active duty in the Navy stationed in San Diego with 4 years left before I will be getting out and moving back to New York where I'm going to start my Real Estate investing career. My goal now is to learn as much as i possibly can about RE investing strategies over the next 4 years to avoid the beginner mistakes when i get started. One of the great benefits of the Navy is that they pay for any college classes I take while on active duty so I'm going to start taking classes very soon. What are your opinions on a bachelors in business administration with a focus on real estate as a degree for a future RE investor?

[Bill Gulley]

I'm surprised! Opening this thread I thought it would be saying go with this guru or mentor, I really like seeing others suggesting a formal conventional education.

Real estate is part of the finance industry, a specialty under the finance umbrella. My undergrad carried a double major, finance and accounting and a minor in economics. That was absolutely the key in getting into finance and real estate, my grad level in finance honed skills but it becomes rather unrelated unless I get into a corporate side. Just saying, it can be overkill if you're at the street level of investing.

Most think that accounting is for the bean counters who want to be in taxation and/or a corporate office. While that's true, accounting is the language of business, any business at any level. Finance is the engine that drives business, any business at any level. Economics provides the laws of business, yes, any business at any level.

I started in RE before I got in the Army, I continued picking up properties as I moved around, not to veer off to tell my story but the Army paid for my education. I started in RE getting information from real estate agents, a builder, a couple attorneys and coffee shop talk with wheeler dealers. I found out the wheeler dealers could get me in trouble and get in my pocket. After school I had to relearn the way I had viewed RE early on, I should have started learning the basics of RE instead of jumping into trying to do a deal thinking like a mechanic.

I also suggest you take every business law course, insurance and estate planning course you can take, especially law.

To be on the safe side, build your education so that you can be flexible in any profession. Your first concern is earning a living, not "investing". While I had one foot in RE, had I not had the degree I would never have gotten into FDIC as an examiner. That took me into banking and law on a formal basis. That also meant REOs, mortgages, commercial lending and appraisal of RE, businesses and assets. All relating to RE.

I then found myself in the mortgage business, directly related to RE investing.

Going over this is only to explain that doors open based on your education and experiences in your profession. You're looking for stepping stones through your career that lead you to your interests. Many of those stepping stones will appear later on, unknown to you if you tried to map out a path today. Opportunities will arise and your ability to recognize them will be well grounded in your formal education, not in strategies of any niche of any industry. You lean in the direction you want to go. Develop your experience that leads to expertise in the industry, again not so much in some niche aspect of an industry. Then you'll hopefully land in your area of greatest interest based on your skills, education and expertise.

Don't chase the money, chase knowledge and your interests, the money will come. :)