A Fortune at Your Feet

Rating:
Summary: #1 of the 10 best books
Review: A Fortune At Your Feet is the best book on real estate investing. In particular, it is the best book on how to buy real estate creatively. A.D. Kessler is uniquely qualified to write on creative real estate investing; he created the term "creative real estate investing", owns the federally registered trademark and copyright and founded the concept with his first win/win deal back in 1946.

A.D. Kessler says that you can make $250,000 per year on one deal a month using none of your own money. What is really exceiting is that his students have done it.

A Fortune At Your Feet is over 300 pages jamm packed with powerful information. It includes 21 chapters and 3 appendices. The millenium edition is updated to include the new tax laws.

I highly recommend A Fortune At Your Feet if your goal is true financial independence.

Rating:
Summary: Worth owning, reding, and re-reading several times,
Review: As opposed to the 50 years of collective experience of 5 or 6 coauthors, this definitive document outlines and analyzes over 50 years of experience of one apparently insightful and highly intelligent individual.

This easy-to-read book goes as quickly as a detective novel, but each chapter contains ideas and concepts which the author has demonstrated to be worthwhile moneymakers in his hands. Moreover, Dr. Kessler tells you HOW he has made money for himself and others using these ideas.

Buy it!! You'll like it!!

Rating:
Summary: "I should have used my time more wisely"
Review: I have read the name A.D. Kessler recommended by many famous creative real estate entreprenuers, thus, I hoped for much more. This book starts out with real estate definitions. These definitions are made much clearer in a standard real estate textbook. The majority of the book is spent giving examples of others creative exploits. Little information is given on actually becoming a creative investor. Perhaps part of the problem was the fact that this book was written twenty-one years ago. I'll bet even if this were the most updated version there would still be much better books out there. Even though there are only 270+ pages, I struggled to finish reading it. There is actually a lot of information within these pages. I've just already read much better. Save your time and money. Avoid this book.

Rating:
Summary: CREATIVE TECHNIQUES FOR SUCCESS
Review: I teach a beginning real estate class at the College of Alameda, in CA. I use this book as a text. Mr. Kessler's presents an excellent introduction to investing because it focuses on the importance of people, not the technical aspects of property analysis. He presents powerful and unique ways for the average investor to create "good deals" when buying real estate.

By focusing on finding sellers who have a problem, and teaching the readers to be problem solvers, this book becomes a valuable resource for the real estate entrepreneur.

If you can solve people problems with creative purchases, you don't need extensive analytical tools. In fact, if you can't analyze a real estate purchase on a napkin, it is probably not a doable deal.

My students like the author's emphasis on what wealth is and how to maintain it. And they love the "real world" examples. We discuss and elaborate on them in class every week.

I highly recommend the book.

Jon Richards
College of Alameda...

Rating:
Summary: I would give it 0 stars if I could
Review: Some people claim that A. D. Kessler is the father of creative real estate. He is the publisher of a magazine by that name, Creative Real Estate. Also Robert G. Allen of "Nothing Down" fame apparently attended creative real estate classes conducted by A. D. Kessler before writing "Nothing Down". With those three credentials before him there are certainly high expectations for this book. The author started investing in real estate following his return as a decorated and wounded soldier from World War II. At 80 years old and still currently active in real estate, Kessler's career in real estate is among the longest. The only other living author/investor that comes to mind is David Schmacher and his book "Buy and Hold."

Kessler gives freely in his book of his sage advice.

"There are no problem properties only problem ownership."
"Buy in the path of progress."
"Find property that is increasing in value."
"Buy on the water side."
"Buy on the hill side."
"A word on Pyramiding Don't"

Much of this is generalities that either is common knowledge or is subjective. I'm sure almost every investor is looking for a property that will increase in value. And most people don't need to read a book to come to that conclusion. But the implementation of that idea is easier said than done. Buying on the hill side and water side are also kind of intuitive. His caution on pyramiding is that you could be overextended if there is a decrease in market value or some other turn in your fortunes. There is merit to that, but on the other hand to grow you have to expand. There is a fine line between overextending yourself and growing your business, but I can't tell you where that fine line is for you. Kessler ascribes to the win-win negotiating theory as does his student Robert G. Allen. There are many techniques that if you read the Allen book will seem familiar. Substitution of Collateral, walking the mortgage, dealing in paper, are just some of these topics. There is a section on exchanging, options and estate planning. There are many personal stories about Kessler, his associates, clients and friends in the book from the author's long tenure in real estate. But despite the experiences of the author and his long career in real estate, this is not an excellent book, only a good book. Most of the stories are general in nature and don't present the details to translate this story to something practical today. The original book was written in 1981 and updated in 1999 for the new millennium. With Kessler's wealth of experiences, his Creative Real Estate Magazine, and the gurus he has taught, I would have expected this book to have the possibilities of either a 4 or 5 star rating. But with the generalities, the platitudes, and profundities and lack of details I can only give it a 3 star rating.

Rating:
Summary: The author has a long real estate career BUT....
Review: Some people claim that A. D. Kessler is the father of creative real estate. He is the publisher of a magazine by that name, Creative Real Estate. Also Robert G. Allen of "Nothing Down" fame apparently attended creative real estate classes conducted by A. D. Kessler before writing "Nothing Down". With those three credentials before him there are certainly high expectations for this book. The author started investing in real estate following his return as a decorated and wounded soldier from World War II. At 80 years old and still currently active in real estate, Kessler's career in real estate is among the longest. The only other living author/investor that comes to mind is David Schmacher and his book "Buy and Hold."

Kessler gives freely in his book of his sage advice.

"There are no problem properties only problem ownership."
"Buy in the path of progress."
"Find property that is increasing in value."
"Buy on the water side."
"Buy on the hill side."
"A word on Pyramiding Don't"

Much of this is generalities that either is common knowledge or is subjective. I'm sure almost every investor is looking for a property that will increase in value. And most people don't need to read a book to come to that conclusion. But the implementation of that idea is easier said than done. Buying on the hill side and water side are also kind of intuitive. His caution on pyramiding is that you could be overextended if there is a decrease in market value or some other turn in your fortunes. There is merit to that, but on the other hand to grow you have to expand. There is a fine line between overextending yourself and growing your business, but I can't tell you where that fine line is for you. Kessler ascribes to the win-win negotiating theory as does his student Robert G. Allen. There are many techniques that if you read the Allen book will seem familiar. Substitution of Collateral, walking the mortgage, dealing in paper, are just some of these topics. There is a section on exchanging, options and estate planning. There are many personal stories about Kessler, his associates, clients and friends in the book from the author's long tenure in real estate. But despite the experiences of the author and his long career in real estate, this is not an excellent book, only a good book. Most of the stories are general in nature and don't present the details to translate this story to something practical today. The original book was written in 1981 and updated in 1999 for the new millennium. With Kessler's wealth of experiences, his Creative Real Estate Magazine, and the gurus he has taught, I would have expected this book to have the possibilities of either a 4 or 5 star rating. But with the generalities, the platitudes, and profundities and lack of details I can only give it a 3 star rating.

Rating:
Summary: My copy just arrived today - couldn't put it down!
Review: The letter that arrives in the mail offers this book, a DVD, and an offer to become part of A.D. Kessler's "Financial Success Dream Team" for only $7. The $7 is the shipping on the book and DVD. To become part of the "Dream Team" you actually have to shell out THOUSANDS of dollars - and you won't get to work with A.D. Kessler ... just some guy or gal on the phone. With who knows what kind of experience.

How is THOUSANDS for advice realistic for someone looking for a "no money down" deal? The answer is that it isn't. A.D. Kessler is just looking to make a buck or two.

I would recommend "Investing in Real Estate" 4th edition by Andrew McLean and Gary W. Eldred instead. (ISBN: 047132339X) It costs only a little more than that $7 you'd waste to get a sales pitch to spend a whole lot more. And, it is much more useful. Tells you exactly how to calculate whether a particular real estate purchase would benefit you or not.

Choose wisely. Happy investing!

Rating:
Summary: My copy just arrived today - couldn't put it down!
Review: While there are many good books out there, this one bu A.D. Kessler stands head and shoulders above them all.

I say a advertisement on the internet for this book and tape offer and jumped on it, because I had heard of A.D. Kessler from a real estate buddy here in Florida. He acknowledged that A.D. Kessler was the grandfather of "nothing down" real estate deals. And he said that A.D. Kessler was more than just a promoter or a "mee-too" writer of books trying to capitalize on the popularity of real estate, he said that A.D. Kessler has done it! He knows this business inside and out and all points in between.

My copy arrived today along with the video. One of the first things that impressed me about Kessler is that he put the importance on people, not real estate. According to Kessler "The real key to real estate is people not property." And throughout the book the emphasis is on people. Makes sense, after all, who owns those properties and/or wants to buy them--people right?

I was also impressed to see the flaring reviews, in fact, raving reviews for Kessler by people like Robert Allen, Albert Lowry, Howard Ruff and Robert Bruss. In fact, Robert Allen wrote the forward to A.D. Kesslers book and attributed his success to what he learned from working with A. D. Kessler and refers to Kessler as "the real estate professionals professional." And isn't Allen supposed to be the King of Nothing Down?

While some of the information is not new, A.D. Kessler covers it in a way that is new and different. He writes in an easy to read style even though his system is quite complex. He makes it appear simple.

Kessler shows how to make money in good times and in bad times.
There is information on lease purchases, exchanges and more. The book is over 300 pages but reading it was such a breeze, that it seemed like 50 pages.

There is an advertisement in the back flap of the book for his seminars, but I didn't notice an arm forcing me to send it in. This one star reviewer (yeah it is really just one guy) makes me laugh. You get this book which is worth $19.95 retail and a video shipped for only $7 and he is complaining? Talk about the glass being half full!

I plan on using A.D. Kesslers advice to buy properties, all with nothing down. I'll let you know how I make out.