Why spend your hard earned money on a Investment course? Spend $500 on yourself and start investing today!

"Price is what you pay for something, Value is what you get." Charlie Monger, Berkshire Hathaway/Wesco Financial So you want to get started investing in Real Estate with a wallet full of credit and head full of dreams of being the next Real Estate Millionaire. You've signed up for every website on the internet and and are being bombarded with learn at home courses, daily and nightly webinars, weekly seminars for $499 dollars and bootcamps from $1,000 to $10,000. And the GrandDaddy of them all...your own personal mentor willing to work with you for thousands of dollars. So many opportunities to spend your hard earned and for every legitimate hard working, well-meaning mentor, coach or guru with knowledge to sell, there are hundred's who are aren't worth the paper their business card is printed on. I am going to tell you how to not only begin learning to invest in real estate for under $500 - but also how to actually build your portfolio of real properties at the same time - all for under $500. It's not complicated and it does not involve sending me a check! Everything you need, you already know- now it's time to put it to use. 1. Join your local Real Estate Investors Association. Most will cost less than $150 per year to join and will have multiple meetings per month for you to network and learn. The best REIA groups hold monthly meetings on relevant topics and usually feature a mix of local and national speakers. The audience at these meetings will be a mix of local investors, some of whom are being very successful, and others who are perpetually getting prepared to invest. There may be multiple REIA groups in your area and most will allow you to attend for free before joining. Take your time and join the one that fits you best. Here in Memphis, TN. we have the Mid-South Real Estate Investors Association, which is a non-profit networking group that meets for lunch once a month and features local speakers on relevant topics. There are several small groups which meet in conjunction with the Mid-South REIA during the month at no additional cost. In addition, several sponsors of the REIA hold free seminars on different topics including how to get started investing quickly with no money down. TOTAL COST - $150 2. Begin networking with other local real estate investors. Pay attention to who is speaking at your REIA events as well as who is actively working in the room; i.e. shaking hands, walking around the vendor booths, even who might be responsible for administering the REIA. Most REIA groups have a period for local investors to talk about deals. The people who get in front of the group to present their opportunities are usually having some level of success. These are the people you want to connect and network with. Most investors love to talk about what they are doing and the success they have had. At the same time, most successful investors are more than willing to share with you the pitfalls they have faced and how to avoid them. This is a great way to gain knowledge quickly. So far you've spent $0 on this step, but to really gain knowledge you need to get the successful investors one on one. Invite at least one person to coffee or lunch every week for 10 weeks. By the end of that time you should have made one or two solid investor connections and found another local investor to assist you in growing as a real estate investor. TOTAL COST - $100 ($10 for coffee 10 weeks in a row). 3. Visit your local Bookstore. Ask any investor who is worth his/her salt and they will tell you that they never stop learning. Most are always reading at least one book on real estate at a time. You can never stop reading about real estate investing if you want to be successful. For less than $100 you can get the education of a lifetime and in a medium that you can turn back to time and time again. I would suggest starting with Robert Allen's Creating Wealth and Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad, Poor Dad. These are two great books that will help get you started and are guaranteed to have you excited and believing in yourself.If you need help assembling a list of books to start with don't hesitate to ask. You can email me for a list of books at info@memphisinvest.com with the heading "list of real estate investing books". TOTAL COST - $100 4. Search the web and join in the conversation at real estate investment websites. There are literally hundreds of websites today, some good, some bad, that offer forums for discussion. Many also post free articles on different topics related to getting started in real estate investing along with other free tidbits of information that can assist you in getting started. The best part about most of these websites - they are free to join! I would start with www.creonline.com and www.dealmakerscafe.com. These are two great websites for beginning your real estate investing career. The company I own has a website at www.MemphisInvest.com that specializes in helping investors build wealth producing, cash flow investment portfolios of discounted properties in Memphis, TN. It has a ton of information about getting started and has a weekly newsletter with tips, strategies and articles. You can also search Yahoo and Google groups for different real estate investing groups to assist you in learning and networking. TOTAL COST - $0 5. Attend a one day seminar on how to buy houses. I can't speak for every city or every REIA, but in Memphis we are very lucky to have the Mid-South REIA. There are great sponsors, great members, great directors and staff that run the organization. That being said, there are several groups (Memphis Invest is one) who have begun to assist investors who want to passively invest in real estate by holding weekend buying seminars and bus tours. These weekends often involve learning about the ins and outs of investing as well as offering purchasing opportunities. These opportunities are great ways for beginning investors to purchase their first properties and have the assurance of other seasoned investors help walk them thru the process. It's also a great chance for seasoned investors to pick up additional properties and have others handle all the details of finding the deals and arranging for the services needed to complete the transaction. Bottom line - these types of events - when run correctly should not cost you more than $150 to attend (usually including 1 or 2 meals and the bus tour) and you should walk away with your first property. TOTAL COST - $150. If I did my math correctly, in 90 days you can spend no more than $500 and have assembled a team to assist you in building a portfolio of property, educated yourself on how to get started and be successful, obtained a close personal mentor/partner to continue meeting with and learning thru, found a local group of like minded people to network with at least once a month and...possibly purchased your first investment property. I make it sound easy to get started because it is. I make it sound relatively inexpensive to get started because it is. Save your thousands for your cash on hand to assist you in holding your properties and spend your time on yourself. If I or my company can be of any assistance with your real estate investing, don't hesitate to ask. You can reach me at www.MemphisInvest.com or at 1-877-773-9998 and ask for Chris Clothier.