Real Estate Investing...Without Owning Real Estate Property! (Udemy.com)
Invest In Real Estate Using, REIT, MLP, Peer Lending, Real Estate Notes, Crowdsourcing, Mutual Funds, ETF, And More!
Created by: Steve Ballinger, MBA
Last updated February 2026
What you will learn
- Investing in real estate without the burdens of actually buying physical property.
- Investing in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT) that provide both regular income and growth potential and similar like MLP.
- Investing in the lending side of the business with peer-to-peer lending and real estate notes where you get to be like a bank but much easier.
How it compares
Against the other 75 rated Udemy courses in Real Estate on CourseDuck:
- Rating4.5 out of 5higher than 26% of them
- Reviews237#58 of 76 by number of reviews
- Length3.5 hoursshorter than 56% of them
- Last updatedFebruary 2026more recently than 56% of them
Course Description
Investing in Real Estate has been around forever and is a great way to get regular income (Rent) and at the same time have your investment in a property rise over time so when you sell you make a profit.
The problem is when you own an actual physical piece of property there is a lot of hassle and downsides that turn off many investors such as:
High costs in terms of down payments, loans, and other expenses.
Difficulty in buying and selling property in terms of the length of time it takes and the risks involved.
The cost of repair and maintenance you are responsible for. Either hiring someone to do it, expensive, or using your valuable time to personally perform repair and maintenance. Either way it eats into your profits and can add up fast.
Many legal issues and costs associated with owning physical property.
Hassle of finding and responding to tenants, for example, when they have an emergency repair in the middle of the night.
THIS COURSE WILL TEACH YOU HOW TO GET ALL THE BENEFITS OF OWNING REAL ESTATE WITHOUT THE EXTRA COST AND ISSUES OF OWNING A PHYSICAL PROPERTY.
The financial industry recognizes the downsides of physical property and there are proven alternative ways to get the benefits of owning Real Estate such as income, growth, and diversification without all the hassle.
In this course you will learn how to invest in:
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT), that trade like stocks on regular stock exchanges and provide a high level of income in the form of dividends. In fact, they are required by law to pay out 90% of their profits to their shareholders (You). With a REIT you have the opportunity to invest in a wide range of Real Estate such as Data Centers, Office Buildings, Residential Property, Hospitals, Hotels, Retail Marketplaces, and a lot more.
Master Limited Partnerships (MLP), which are very similar to REITS and focus on energy infrastructure such as pipelines.
Peer-To-Peer Lending (P2P), where you can invest in a variety of loans where in effect you act as the banker and people pay you. You never actually meet the borrowers and instead leverage online marketplaces that rate the quality of the loans and give you a variety to choose from.
Real Estate Notes, where you are buying the real estate loans from banks and others and you are paid interest directly. You have the opportunity to buy loans at a discount, increasing your potential profit, and are backed by the property itself as collateral. Can easily find options on online marketplaces which you will learn in the course.
Real Estate Sharing Economy where you can earn side income from Airbnb and VRBO.
Real Estate Crowdsourcing, where you invest in property along other investors through a marketplace but you are not involved in the day to day hassle of managing that property. You are an investor and the management company does all the day to day work and takes a portion of the profits to cover their costs. Allows you to invest much smaller amounts with a lot less risk than doing it all by yourself.
Real Estate Focused Stock Mutual Funds and Exchange Traded Funds (ETF), where you can invest in different sectors of Real Estate such as Home Builders, Suppliers, Construction Companies, Hardware Retailers, and more. Get instant diversification across many sectors with mutual funds and ETF.
One great aspect of all these investments is you are able to buy and sell your investments very quickly. For example, REIT and MLP trade on stock exchanges so you can buy and sell these investments in minutes compared to months or even years trying to buy or sell a physical property.
Many investors want to invest in Real Estate but hate the idea of searching for property, coming up with big down payments, taking on loans, exposing themselves to lawsuits, being responsible for repairs, and the headaches of dealing with tenants and these alternatives allow you to avoid all that and do what you really want which is to...invest in Real Estate and make a return on your investment without a lot of hassle.
Can be truly passive income.
Plus, with Udemy's 30 day money back guarantee if you do not love the course you can return it for a full refund. Real easy.
Many thanks and I hope to see you in the course!
-Steve B
Instructor Details
- 4.5 Rating
237 Reviews
Steve Ballinger, MBA
A VIP Udemy Instructor Partner who has helped more than 1 million learners in 220+ countries build practical skills for work.
My focus is helping professionals use ChatGPT and AI with more confidence, clarity, and practical purpose. I’m also in the top 3% of ChatGPT users worldwide (According to OpenAI) which means I spend a lot of hands-on time testing what actually works in real use and not just chasing the latest AI hype.
Many people know AI is important, but they feel overwhelmed by the constant updates, confusing features, and pressure to keep up. They wonder: What should I actually use AI for? Am I prompting it correctly? How do I avoid generic answers? What is safe to put into AI? How do I avoid losing my own judgment?
That is where I can help.
My style is friendly, practical, and engaging. I like to make complex topics feel simple, useful, and even fun. Instead of flooding you with theory or buzzwords, I focus on real workplace problems turning scattered thoughts into useful next steps.
My courses are designed to be clear, practical, and easy to apply. Instead of overwhelming you with theory or technical jargon, I focus on examples, prompts, workflows, and step-by-step demonstrations you can actually use.
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Reviews
By Mel on 5/2/2024
Amazing course! I learned so much and I am very grateful for Steve. Thank you for your professionalism! The course is detailed , organized and you can learn enough to start your investing journey! I am very happy and can't wait to start to invest. Thank you!!!!!!!!
By Don on 12/30/2023
Could’ve learned this on YouTube for free thanks for teaching me about real estate notes never knew that one but I also don’t have 25K+ to invest into something like that. I was hoping I can get more detail on these subjects but it seemed like he giving you a decent amount of info but I have to go else where to really learn more. So idk I wish I would’ve went with a different course for the money but I like the way he teaches.
By Abwe Lovett Ngwese on 10/27/2023
Because the explanations are simple and direct. I can’t say perfect, but it gives me 90% of what I want to know about Real Estate. From the first two chapters, at least I can identify some Real Estate terms .
By Sonja Allgood on 6/2/2023
So glad I took this course. He throws a lot of information at you, but the great thing is if you can't remember a particular topic, you can always go back and listen to a specific section again. I have always wanted to invest more in real estate and this course has really helped a lot!
By Corrado Toxiri on 5/8/2022
As usual, Steve is a great communicator and he guides you through all the aspects of the topic at hand. His style is clear, not redundant or repetitive, yet he goes in deep detail for every topic. A lot of useful information that I'm already putting in practice in my investment strategy.
By Arun Chunduru on 3/24/2021
All the necessary info stringed together. Saves beginners lots of research time, and points to the keystones where to look for further sharpening the skills. Steve put lots of effort to give kick start for the beginners.
By Nathan Monk on 2/8/2021
I really enjoy how he directs you where to find information. With all investing, you need to do your due diligence. He does a good job of giving an overview of options without blindly directing you into one sole investment type.
By Michelle Wolpov on 2/8/2021
Thank you Mr. Ballinger, MBA another great course with actionable information. Please make more courses on anything related to trading and investing! Yours are the BEST!
By Meenakshi on 1/19/2021
Steve is an awesome instructor. He anticipates what the learner would like to understand about the topic and provides a clear explanation. He also provides pro and cons of each style of investment. I have taken many of his courses and have profitably benefitted from them.
By Vic Smith on 1/13/2021
I believe it was a too simple. To me it was a summary of basic information you would find on the internet. I was looking for more in depth trading product tools.
Quality Score
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Overall Score : 90 / 100












