online real estate schools

[Keith Harden]

Good afternoon Bigger Pockets world.  I have recently started educating myself on the housing market. I thought it would be a good start for me to acquire my real estate license.e  As a full time employee in construction, I want to pursue my education through online schooling. Does anybody know of a reputable online school? Has anyone gone this route and how was your experience? thanks 

[Alex Capozzolo]

@Keith Harden I dig a TON of digging online, and finally chose Rockwell Institute to complete my online courses. I think it was ~$280 (which is not the cheapest, but definitely not the most expensive). It comes with both hardcover books and online, click-through courses that are really easy to follow along with, and practice exams at the end of each course (some of which the questions were basically identical to ones on the California State exam).

Let me know if you have any more questions about it !

[Keith Harden]

@Alex CapozzoloThanks for the response.  Big help. I'll look into them right after this reply. I have a couple of questions that may seem silly.  Before enrolling in school did you have any prior knowledge of the housing market? and did you feel any more accomplished/educated after completing the coursework?  I only ask because I've been looking into becoming an investor in the market for the past few weeks and am thinking of aiming for my license for the invaluable amount of info that comes with the license.  At least I think there is more information to be gathered on potential properties with a license? 

thanks for your time  

[Alex Capozzolo]

@Keith Harden Never a silly question. I had some prior knowledge but not a ton (read a few books, listened to a ton of podcasts, kept up with articles, things like that). 

It's funny, I actually originally started for educational purposes only, not expecting to work full-time as an agent. 

Purely from an educational standpoint as an investor, I would say it's not 100% necessary. The information you learn from it is practicable as an investor, such information about laws, zoning, forms of ownership, how to transfer ownership of property. Other pro's of being licensed: Access to the MLS. Not as useful nowadays because rockstar deals are not nearly as common as they used to be, but that doesn't mean they don't exist there.

If you're not interested in MLS access, I would recommend against getting your license since it's time consuming, and focus your time on mentoring under a local investor who's doing exactly what you want to do. Help them and add value in any way in exchange for knowledge! You can probably get more 'actionable' information that way, and quicker. Also, befriend an investor-friendly agent who can give you good insight into your local market.

The reason I'm now an agent is because I wanted to get as fully ingrained with the industry as possible. Being an agent is short term for me, simply something to pay the bills and fund my investment career. After passing my test, and now that I am finally in the front lines of things I'm really soaking up a ton of information about how to work deals and the local market. 

Hope this helps !

[Jonathan Minerick]

You can get the required agent courses online through a few different sites for ~$99 (licensesolution.com, realestateexpress.com, others).

[Keith Harden]

@Jonathan MinerickThanks for the info. I was researching r/e express because those ads dominated google!   I appreciate your input and time. 

thanks

[Keith Harden]

@Alex CapozzoloMore than helpful! thanks, That's some great advice. I've been listening to the biggerpockets podcast for a few weeks now, and they had a guest on there by the name of J. Scott and he mentioned the bennies of having your license. Having the access to who the local appraisers, inspectors, investors, r/e agents are. And also the MLS. So at the time it seemed an amazing idea. but I'm still in the stage of "what do I want my first move to be".

The latter part of your advice about seeking out the mentorship of an investor is something that can take me to the next level for sure. We have a family friend that owns multi-family units and I'm trying to think of a way I can get in his world and not seem like some guy that wants to bother him all day with questions! I'm thinking that there is maybe some type of responsibilities I can ask him for with his properties in turn for my relentless onslaught of questions. What is your experience with this? Have you been under mentor before and what might my initial angle be to get in? I was thinking of starting with taking him out for a cup of coffee. 

this all helps. thanks

[Alex Capozzolo]

@Keith Harden Great to hear! You said it right, the underlying factor is what you would truly like to do and what your long-term goals are as an investor. 

The best experience I've had with mentors is when I can offer some form of value. If you have time, and they seem crazy busy because they're cranking out deals left and right, offer your time to them for free for whatever they need help with ! Just like you said above. Pick their brain over coffee, and ask them discovery questions to uncover what their pains are and where someone like you could potentially help out. 

Anyone in the industry would appreciate you bringing a deal to them and you two working it together and splitting it. Not sure how much you've considered with that aspect of things, and doing the whole lead generation thing. That's how I got my foot into the door of this industry. Took a guy out for coffee (who I met on BP actually!), picked his brain, kept in contact and called him whenever I had questions, then agreed if I brought him a deal we would split it and he would walk me through it and teach me everything he knew. So I began doing my own marketing / lead generation and after 2 1/2 months I found a solid lead that we worked together and completed my first deal with him. 

^Both strategies are good ways to get your foot in the door !

[Alex Capozzolo]

@Keith Harden Great to hear! You said it right, the underlying factor is what you would truly like to do and what your long-term goals are as an investor. 

The best experience I've had with mentors is when I can offer some form of value. If you have time, and they seem crazy busy because they're cranking out deals left and right, offer your time to them for free for whatever they need help with ! Just like you said above. Pick their brain over coffee, and ask them discovery questions to uncover what their pains are and where someone like you could potentially help out. 

Anyone in the industry would appreciate you bringing a deal to them and you two working it together and splitting it. Not sure how much you've considered with that aspect of things, and doing the whole lead generation thing. That's how I got my foot into the door of this industry. Took a guy out for coffee (who I met on BP actually!), picked his brain, kept in contact and called him whenever I had questions, then agreed if I brought him a deal we would split it and he would walk me through it and teach me everything he knew. So I began doing my own marketing / lead generation and after 2 1/2 months I found a solid lead that we worked together and completed my first deal with him. 

^Both strategies are good ways to get your foot in the door !

[Shane Daugherty]

Hi Keith, I just completed my online real estate course with Train Agents. They are the cheapest option out there and I was able to complete the course in around three weeks. I highly recommend them.

Link to the course:

http://www.trainagents.com/Home.aspx?pgid=12639b52-3fd3-4115-be4e-ae06d1e15ff2&ag=2

[Mindy Jensen]

@Keith Harden , keep in mind that all 50 states have different requirements. Colorado requires 168 hours of coursework. @Shane Daugherty in Oregon may have had less course time. 

I took my classes online from VanEd.com. They are in the next town over, teach multiple states, and have a test-prep that comes with the course cost. Invaluable.

[Keith Harden]

@Mindy Jensen @Shane Daugherty @Alex Capozzolo  I'm grateful for all the info guys. I haven't pulled the trigger just yet. ILL keep you guys posted on my decision and reasoning here soon

Thanks 

[Alex Capozzolo]

Good Luck ! Looking forward to hearing about your progress