The Short and Steep Learning Curve
A couple dozen hours of free learning and one deal beats a $20,000 course, every time.
- Difficulty
- Starter
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 89%
Meyer's stance is blunt: real estate is not rocket science, and the industry's spammy, scammy fringe depends on you believing otherwise. Ninety percent of US rental properties are owned by people with one to ten properties — normal mom-and-pop investors. The curve he describes is 'short and steep': you need to learn a lot, but a couple dozen hours gets you to the point where you can buy something and be fine the vast majority of the time. Real estate is forgiving in a way tech isn't — you don't need a unique go-to-market strategy, you're just renting out a property people want. The first deal is where you actually learn; the second takes about 20% of the effort, and it keeps diminishing. His prescribed path is entirely free: books, beginner podcasts, and in-person local REIA meetups at a bar or coffee shop.
Origin
Meyer graduated in 2009 into a terrible job market, moved to Denver, and waited tables. A friend who was 'not super sophisticated' bought a single-family home and was killing it — Meyer concluded that if his friend could do it, he could. He used the one resource he had, time: biking and driving around Denver looking at properties, teaching himself financial modelling, and buying at 23. He's since watched an education industry grow up selling $5k-$20k courses for information he learned for free.
Core principles
- 01The learning curve is short and steep: a lot to learn, but it doesn't take long.
- 02Real estate is not that complicated — people who profit off new investors make it seem complicated so they can sell you a system.
- 0390% of US rental properties are owned by people with one to ten properties. These are normal people.
- 04The second deal takes about 20% of the effort of the first; it diminishes from there.
- 05Everything you need is available free — books, podcasts, and local investor meetups.
How to run it
- 1
Accept the premise
Internalize that this is a business millions of ordinary people have done before you, and that 90% of US rentals are held by owners with one to ten properties.
Pro tip Meyer: 'I'm not special. If I could do this, anyone can do it.'
- 2
Spend a couple dozen hours on free education
Read a couple of books, listen to a beginner-oriented real estate podcast, and learn the basics of financial modelling for a deal.
Pro tip Learn where you fit in the ecosystem first — short-term rentals, multi-family, self-storage — then narrow to a couple of options.
- 3
Go to a local REIA meetup
Nearly every big US city has real estate investing groups meeting once or twice a month at a bar or coffee shop. Go and talk to local investors. It's free.
Pro tip You will find the answers you need for free, from people actually doing it in your market.
- 4
Buy the first deal
Put yourself in a position to go out and buy something. Expect hard parts. The first deal is the actual curriculum.
Pro tip The second deal is roughly 20% of the effort of the first, and it keeps getting easier from there.
Watch out Real estate is capital intensive, which is intimidating — but it's a forgiving business. In most markets, people want to rent the property.
- 5
Run from the paid courses
Refuse the get-rich-quick conferences and courses. A cheap course is $5k; some run $20k.
Watch out Meyer has never really met someone who said one was worth it.
In the wild
In 2009-2010, waiting tables in Denver with lots of free time, Meyer watched a friend buy a single-family home with his girlfriend and do very well. The friend wasn't a sophisticated investor. Meyer figured if his friend could do it, so could he — and spent his spare hours biking around Denver looking at properties and teaching himself financial modelling.
→ He bought a four-unit at 23 while still working 30-40 hours a week, and built a multi-asset-class portfolio from there.
Common mistakes
Paying for manufactured complexity
The people selling $5k-$20k courses have an incentive to make real estate look like rocket science. The information is free at BiggerPockets, in books, and at local meetups.
Learning indefinitely instead of buying
The curve is short and steep — a couple dozen hours gets you ready. Beyond that, further study substitutes for the first deal, which is where the real learning is.
Applying 'just jump in' to commercial real estate
Meyer's forgiveness argument is about residential. For commercial he says the opposite: do not jump in without really educating yourself, find a partner, or start with a six or eight unit.
Is it for you?
Best for
Complete beginners intimidated by real estate despite being comfortable investing elsewhere
Not ideal for
Genuinely complex strategies like commercial real estate, where Meyer says you must educate yourself deeply or partner first
From the transcript
“Real estate is not that complicated, and I think a lot of people who want to profit off new investors try to make it seem…”
“90% of the rental properties in the United States are owned by people with one to 10 properties. So, these are just normal people who…”
“There is a learning curve. I always refer to it as short and steep. You need to learn a lot, but it doesn't take that…”
“Once you get the first one, the second one, I would say is maybe 20% of the effort. And from there, it just keeps diminishing.”
“A cheap course could be five grand some of them are 20 grand and I've never really met someone who said it's worth it.”
From the episode
Dave Meyer: Build Your Real Estate Empire with Smart Investing
Dave Meyer