Tapping the experience of the crowd to solve real estate challenges
College Courses
You want to learn about real estate investing.
You don't trust the gurus on late night TV.
And you don't have time to go back to school.
What do you do?
Enroll in Chasing Dirt's College Courses
Chasing Dirt currently offers two real estate finance and investment courses through a network of colleges and universities. Each class is offered online over six weeks, and is led by Josh Fuhrer, a real estate developer and investor with over a decade of experience in the real estate industry.
These courses combine the best of college-level real estate curriculum with real world experience and an easy going, approachable teaching style. You'll join other investors in a learning environment that emphasizes discussions, critical thinking, and hands-on exercises in your community.
Our curriculum is never boring and is always chock full of practical information you can apply right away. We offer students the ability to learn sound real estate investing principles from the comfort of home, 24 hours a day.
Courses begin on the third Wednesday of each month through your local college or university. Each course consists of 12 lessons, and two lessons are released each week. Each lesson takes approximately 90 minutes to complete, and all you need to get started is an internet connection and an interest in real estate investing!
Available Courses:
Real Estate Investing
Want to invest in real estate but have no money and no idea where to start? In this course, we'll demystify the technical aspects of acquiring and profiting from property. We'll explore how to find, finance, and negotiate a deal, how to invest in lease options, foreclosures, quick flips, rehabs, and mobile homes. And most important, you'll finish up the course with a specific game plan tailored to your individual investing goals that will put you well on your way to finding your first (or next) deal.
Syllabus:
Lesson 1: Getting Acquainted with Real Estate
Begin to set up shop and define your investing goals.
Lesson 2: Anatomy of a Deal
Learn how to recognize a good deal when you find one.
Lesson 3: Options and Quick Flips
Discover the fastest way to make money in real estate without buying any property.
Lesson 4: Foreclosures
Develop your problem-solving skills by helping sellers in foreclosure.
Lesson 5: Rentals, Lease Options, and Owner Financing
Learn the mechanics of rentals, lease options and how to structure an owner financing deal.
Lesson 6: Rehabs
Explore how to effectively manage your rehab projects to maximize your investment potential on every deal.
Lesson 7: Investing in Condominiums
Discover why condos can be a terrific investment in any market condition. They also make easy and profitable rehabs!
Lesson 8: Negotiation
Develop your skills in the art of getting paid to give the other guy what he wants.
Lesson 9: Funding Your Transactions
What are your options for getting financing on investment properties? Find out in this lesson.
Lesson 10: Marketing Your Properties
Learn creative marketing techniques to sell your properties quickly.
Lesson 11: Alternative Strategies for a Shifting Market
Not every strategy works in every market condition. Find out what to do when the market is up, down or sideways, and you'll profit in any market condition.
Lesson 12: Shifting Your New Business into High Gear
Gain insight into asset protection, how to build your team, tax strategies, and the power of duplicating yourself with systems.
“This was by far the best online class I've taken. I work in the real estate industry and I must say that this class taught me a lot about real estate that I didn't know and will be very helpful as I pursue becoming an investor. Two thumbs up Josh!!! You were the best!”
Real Estate Investing II: Financing Your Property
Discover the tools professional investors use to crunch numbers and analyze potential deals, and learn how to make better decisions by doing your own financial analysis.
”Real Estate Investing II: Financing Your Property” picks up where ”Real Estate Investing” left off. You'll find you can easily perform real estate investment calculations--even if you're allergic to math--using specially designed Microsoft Excel worksheets that calculate investment returns, mortgage amortization, cash flow forecasting, and many other functions! You'll also learn how credit affects your borrowing power and what you can do to improve it, how various loan products can help you reach your investment goals, and how to maximize your profits with potent tax benefits.
Syllabus:
Lesson 1: Real Estate Lending Basics
Find out how mortgages work, and learn the four ways to make money from your investment property.
Lesson 2: Loan Products and Strategies
Learn about various loan products in the market and when you should (or shouldn't) use them, depending on your investment goals.
Lesson 3: All About Credit
Good credit isn't a requirement to be an investor, but it sure helps! Discover why good credit is vital to maximizing your investment returns, and find out how to improve and maintain your credit score.
Lesson 4: The Underwriting Process
Explore how your lender's loan application and underwriting processes work.
Lesson 5: Deal Structuring: Leverage, Debt and Equity
Figure out how the right combination of debt and equity can help you maximize your investment returns and lower your risk.
Lesson 6: Easy Mortgage Math
Understand how to compare the costs and payments of different loan types to one another side by side.
Lesson 7: Valuation and Appraisal
Learn the three approaches to determining the value of a property.
Lesson 8: Commercial Property Primer
Get familiar with techniques for analyzing the financial aspects of commercial property.
Lesson 9: Counting Your Beans: Calculating Cash Flow
Track current cash flow and project future cash flow using documents such as an operating statement and a pro forma.
Lesson 10: The Time Value of Money
Explore the ”time value of money” concept and learn how it can help you measure your investment returns.
Lesson 11: Maximize Your Profits with Tax Deductions
See how to use the U.S. Federal Tax Code to your advantage by claiming all the tax advantages you qualify for.
Lesson 12: Your Decision-Making Process
Look at your decision-making process from a big-picture standpoint.
“I just wanted to thank you for all of your insights and information. I bought my first REO last week. It will be giving me a cash-on-cash return of 12.57%. You have to practice what you learn, otherwise it's just theory!” –Louis
Why Are Chasing Dirt's College Courses
Right for You?
Saves time & money: Our college courses cost less than a traditional classroom course (tuition is usually less than $100 per course), and you can fit the learning experience into your busy schedule. You won't have to take time out of your workday to go to a college campus- you can take the course from the comfort of your home computer whenever you want- 24 hours a day.
No prerequisites: Our integrated curriculum allows you to go through the coursework sequentially. Each lesson and each course builds on the one before it, maximizing your learning time and giving you a more complete understanding of the material.
Experienced instructor: Our courses are not self-directed correspondence courses where you read the material and are on your own to make sense of it. Both courses are taught by a real estate developer and investor who brings a wealth of knowledge and real-world experience to the classroom, and you're free to ask any real estate-related questions you like!
What Do Our Alumni Think?
We believe our courses are top notch. But don't take our word for it- here's what some former students had to say:
Real Estate Investing:
“I am very proud to say that I am now the owner of a fully occupied duplex that will be used as a rental property with unbelievable cash flow. Had I not started your course I believe that I would not have invested in this purchase and let this opportunity slip through my hands. I look forward to continuing my investing career- thank you.”
“While researching the local market, I found a three unit apartment, with two units leased, for sale by a motivated seller. I followed your 'Before you buy flowchart'. I used your pre screening and negotiating techniques and got a price less than the seller owes on his mortgage. Not exactly a short sale, but a similar result. Instant equity and it has positive passive cash flow with just the two leased units. Leasing the third unit will make this a great deal. I have the financing arranged and the closing is set. And I am in the early stages of another deal on a duplex with both units leased. Thanks for opening up a whole new area of opportunity for me with this very practical course.”
“I took this course while being deployed to Iraq. My hours aren't flexible at all, but I still managed to complete all the coursework. I would recommend this course to anyone interested in real estate investing. With the information received from this course, the cost of it is a steal! I would expect to pay much more for the information I received.”
“This is the second real estate investing course that I have taken. This course beat the other course [from another provider] hands down! I learned so much more and actually was able to start making deals while taking the course.”
“Where was this course when I started real estate investing in 2004? It is a godsend! The course was structured and systematic. I loved it. The experience, passion and knowledge of the instructor leaped through the pages lesson by lesson, chapter by chapter. The course is such a vast wealth of information. Much gratitude to the instructor and all involved in getting this course together. Thanks!”
Real Estate Investing II: Financing Your Property:
“In 2006 I took the first Real Estate Investing Course offered by Josh and I loved it! As a result I now have 7 rental units with a monthly cash flow of $2500. I particularly love multi-family units and my goal is to eventually own an apartment complex of 100 units or more...
...I applied everything you taught I just started acquiring properties at a rate of 1 every 3 months. It's funny how once I started they were becoming easier to acquire. Most importantly, I acquired them with no money out of my pocket and I even got back $7,000 back at closing on one of my duplexes and $11,000 back on a single family home. -Rachel
“I took your Real Estate 1 course a few months ago and found it extremely worthwhile. Since the beginning of this year, I've now invested in 4 rental properties, one of which is in a self-directed IRA, and am in the process of acquiring several more. I'm very enthusiastic about this course and learning more valuable information and techniques to build on my skills. My goal is to move into full time real estate investing within the next year and I feel now I'm well on my way.” -Don
“I have invested in properties for many years and wasn't so sure this course would be beneficial. However, I am very pleased with the course and it's content - I learned A LOT! Thank you very much - I look forward to MORE real estate courses.”
“The Debt Coverage Ratio Worksheet really had a lot of great info for me. My husband & I have been debating about buying rental property with an 80% 1st mortgage/ 20% equity from our current property OR whether to use some cash to help lower the payments & debt. With the debt coverage ratio worksheet we can look at the various scenarios and decide which direction to take. It's so quick & easy to use to evaluate a potential deal. I love it!” –Sue
If you're ready to invest in yourself and your future, and want to expand your opportunities, we encourage you to click the links below to register at a college or university near you:
Real Estate Investing
Real Estate Investing II: Financing Your Property
Our courses are built on a foundation of solid, college-level real estate finance and investment curriculum. The material is approved and endorsed by colleges and universities across the country.
However, our curriculum isn't nearly as dry as a college finance textbook! We aim to make the material interesting and easily digestible by telling stories and giving you hands-on exercises and worksheets that make the learning process fun and engaging.
Want to check out a sample of what it's like to take a real estate course from us? Read the sample passage below. This is a section taken from Real Estate Investing II: Financing Your Property:
