When we got into real estate we had basically no experience, and we were constantly reading and researching. Having a mentor is one of the best things you can do as a newcomer in real estate investing, but it's important to study the fundamentals, too. We compiled our top five real estate resources for increasing your investing knowledge.

1. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

We have long advocated the writings of Robert Kiyosaki. Rich Dad Poor Dad has had a foundational impact on our business and on us individually. The book advocates using passive real estate investing and business ownership as means of long-term, sustainable income. Kiyosaki breaks down a practical way of thinking about money and investing that a new investor could spend much longer trying to discover on their own.

2. Dave Lindahl’s Mentorship Program

Early in our real estate career we sought out real estate mentors that would help us avoid costly mistakes ahead of time. Dave Lindahl is a resource for all things real estate, including investing, flipping, single famiily, multi family, and the real estate market. He has several books and products, hosts multiple seminars annually, offers a coaching and mentorship program, and publishes a regular newsletter and blog. Dave Lindahl’s coaching mentorship program was especially helpful for us while we were making the transition from single family to multi family, and the underwriting template is particularly useful to an inexperienced investor.

3. Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett is a huge source of investing knowledge, and we’ve learned a lot from his writings. Buffett has been very vocal about his opinions on real estate investing in the U.S., particularly in value investing philosophies. The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham, Warren Buffett’s mentor, was a life-changing book for Warren, and a complete analysis of value investing. We find Warren Buffett, his books, philosophies and mentors so useful we wrote a whole series on him.

4. Local Real Estate Groups

We’ve stressed before how beneficial it can be to get involved in a local real estate group. Meeting others in your industry gives you the opportunity to build life-long, educational relationships. Most cities of decent size have several real estate clubs and networking events, and many of them host regular presentations on various real estate topics. Mid America Real Estate Investor Network is a large real estate group in Kansas City, but you can view tons of industry-specific events on meetup.

5. Online Real Estate Forums

All kinds of information is available online, and real estate forums like Bigger Pockets and Multi Family Insiders are a great way to learn from other investors at all stages. Open discussions on property management, valuation, real estate investing, business ownership, and everything else you can think of are free to the public. One of the best ways to learn about something is from the people that are already doing it.