Upcoming Real Estate Book Reviews

After reading and admiring much of "Retire Rich from Real Estate" and writing this review, I now have two other books I will be reviewing over the course of the next few weeks: "The House Flipping Answer Book" and "The Real Estate Investing Answer Book" both by Denise L. Evans.

Feel free to browse through and read them before the reviews!

Real Estate Book Review: Retire Rich from Real Estate

Marc W. Andersen's Retire Rich from Real Estate: a Low Risk Approach to Buying Rental Property for the Long-Term Investor is a book that keeps coming to mind when I talk to clients interested in owning rental properties.

This is a book that will appeal to even the most serious and cynical of investors out there. Andersen sidesteps issues of quick profits, piles of money, and other "flashy" images and words and focuses on what's important. He uses statistics and real numbers to show readers how buying real estate and holding it - in the words of Warren Buffett "forever" will eventually lead them to wealth. However, the path is not as easy as it sounds and Andersen has no problems telling you of the various pitfalls you will encounter as a landlord.

There is no dearth of good advice in the book related, but not limited to, the common questions most investors would ask if they were serious about their investments, such as:
- do single family homes make better rentals or is better to buy multiple units, or condos?
- should rental homes be located on main streets or tucked away?
- how long should I wait to hear back from the seller?
- what about problem tenants?
- how do I make the most out of the sale of a rental?

I believe that the first six months to a year of owning rental property will usually be a huge learning experience for most landlords. But knowing what you might be stepping into is also pretty good insurance against the biggest disasters.

Read the book. I guarantee you will learn something. Go ahead and click the widget above to get to amazon.com and buy the book! Happy Investing!

Real Estate Book Reviews Coming Up!

I'm really excited to let you know that I was recently contacted by Sphinx Publishing and asked to review "Retire Rich from Real Estate: A Low Risk Approach to Buying Property for the Long-Term Investor" by Marc W. Andersen. Today, I actually received the book in the mail and am eagerly looking forward to getting to it.

So over the next few weeks, we should have not one but two real estate book reviews, both real estate investment oriented:

Buying for Profit, edited by Vicki Christian; and

Retire Rich from Real Estate by Marc Andersen.

Feel free to get a headstart on them by clicking their links above (you will be sent directly to Amazon.com or just wait for the review.

Real Estate Book Review

"Cottage for Sale Must be Moved" by Kate Whouley is a great book for anyone who has done any home repairs. We're not talking about the usual home repairs we do everyday, and ourselves, but the major overhauls - the kinds that need permits, other people and intrusions on one's privacy.

It's a memoir, great for rainy days like today. Whouley writes beautifully, quietly and the voice is a welcome change from the fix and flip books that now seem to line every real estate bookshelf. If you wish to buy the book, just click the image and you will be sent directly to Amazon.

Next review: "Buying for Profit."

Real Estate Books are Meant to be Devoured

Please note the new Amazon widget I have placed on the blog. You can never know enough about investing and homeownership, so to help you get started, I have added some books there. These are books I have read and believe to be extremely helpful.

Time permitting, I intend to review a book a month and place it there for you to buy, so check back often for what's new!

Related posts: Review of Flipping Confidential which you can buy by clicking on the book right here!

More Real Estate Investing...

I've always maintained that I am a real estate investor first and a Realtor second. This might come as a shock to some people, but I think it's almost impossible to sell something if you don't have a passion for it. And if you have a passion for it, well, you're going to buy it yourself.

I can't tell you how many times I've told my buyers I would buy the house they were previewing. And I would. But I don't compete with my buyers. There's too much of a conflict of interest there. But if I see a good deal, I tell them. If it's a bad one, I tell them that too. I would hate to cut some real estate investor's career short by selling them a bad deal.

So, today I spent my morning at Borders looking for good investment books. I noticed this interesting dichotomy (and perhaps it's just Borders, but I think it is really a commentary on our investing psyche): the real estate section was inundated with "fix and flip" books and the personal money section was inundated with "be careful - save, save, save, skip a latte, etc."

See the deep valley in between that almost no one wants to talk about? What about more sophisticated investment techniques? How about seller financing? What about buying discounted mortgages? Options?

Is fix and flip all we're left with besides reading about million dollar deals? Is this all people buy in book stores- the choice is between Donald Trump and Suze Orman? If that is true, it means that television and print media has a lot more control on what people believe than I previously thought. And that's downright scary.

And, in a way, it explains the anger that just came boiling out of everyone reading a few days ago. Watch the news and tear down bloggers. Why? Because you can't talk back to the news? Or because it comes out of 52 inch screens and you accept it as reality?

If this post bothers you out there, good. Let it be an inspiration to learn more and do your own research the next time.

Flipping Confidential Book Review

I am about halfway through "Flipping Confidential" by TLC's Property Ladder star Kirsten Kemp. At first, I was a little disappointed at how basic all the information provided in the book is, but then - think about this: All businesses profit because they have a good grasp of the basics. If they fail, it's because they've forgotten the basics and profits return when there is a return to them. In that sense, it's a pretty good read and definitely something you want to look into as a first-time flipper.

Kirsten emphasizes the numbers and how you must do your math, do your math, do your math. For me, there could be a little more character to the book like Barbara Corcoran's "Use What You've Got" (GREAT real estate book, but a little low on practical advice) but all in all a worthwhile read.

More later as I finish it! So far, I'd give it 3 stars out of 5.

Flipping? Now?

I took time out to order Kirsten Kemp's new book on flipping homes - "Flipping Confidential" from Amazon and will review it as soon as I can get my hands on it.

By the way, the answer to the million dollar question: 7 and a 1/4 percent appreciation a year. I must admit, I cheated. I asked a very trusted friend - a mortgage broker who has done years of business in Sacramento. Of course, this appreciation is an average, which means that it will of course account for some very bad years and very good years. But now that you know the magic number, do the math and find out for yourself what your net worth will be when you retire!