Rating: 
Summary: Best Book on Investing in Real Estate!
Review: I have been wanting to venture from investing in single family homes to investing in multi-family for several months. This is the first book that has made the process of buying & selling apartments easy to understand. This book is excellent, easy to read, and very informative. Some books are so complicated, you have to read a sentence over and over again to try and comprehend it. Other books are so basic, you read through the whole chapter and feel you haven't learned anything. Steve Berges makes learning a pleasure, with good examples, and step-by-step processes. Best book I've read in quite a while!
Rating:
Summary: BEST BOOK ON THE SUBJECT THAT I HAVE READ
Review: I have read allot of real estate books, as I am involved in this industry, but there are not many books that go into the apartment building side like Steve Berges has done.This is an excellent book, if you are just getting involved in multi-units, as well as the experienced professional...there is information here that is beneficial to everyone involved in real estate.
Rating:
Summary: The best book on real estate investing I have read so far
Review: I just received Steve's book and let me just say that I was totally blown away by the amount of info in this one book. It is clear that Steve is an expert on real estate investing- he doesn't give you any b.s info on the no money down approach but he offers a very sensible and intelligent approach to purchasing buildings. In no way am I an expert on the subject of real estate investing but i have read at least 10 books so far on this subject. By far, Steve comes across as the most experienced and seasoned real estate investor. If you are looking to invest in buildings, then look no further. Just buy this book...its all you need. Believe me, its that good. I am returning the "Income Stream"- it was a total waste of money compared to this book. You will not regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: Informative, succinct, ideal for both the novice investor and the more intermediate and seasoned investors who wish to reinforce these vital principles. I've read numerous real estate investment books and I must say this is one of the best ones out there!
Rating:
Summary: 5 Stars for Berges' 5 Keys to Success
Review: Out of all of the real estate books I've read over the years, this is by far one of the better ones. The author stays focused on the topic of buying and selling apartments and does it in a way that is easy to understand. Let me emphasize that when I say the book is easy to understand, that is not meant to imply that only the basics are covered. Not only does Berges do a great job of explaining the mechanics of the process, but he also mixes in a lot of personal examples which help the reader to connect the dots between pie-in-the-sky theory and real world applications.
Steve Berges concludes the book with an inspiring and motivational chapter he refers to as the 5 Keys to Success, which he points out are not limited to just real estate, but can be applied to any business or profession, as well as to one's personal life. I thought this section was very well written and gave me cause to reflect on my own course in life.
I've read several of the author's other books as well, all of which were good, but I particularly enjoyed The Complete Guide to Real Estate Finance for Investment Properties. Wow...what a great read! It's about time somebody wrote a book that really deals with the financial aspects of real estate (see my review).
Rating:
Summary: Impressive Information
Review: Steve Berges' book, The Complete Guide to Buying and Selling Apartment Buildings, was very inspiring. It does not promise that this will be a simple process: indeed, it will take quite some time from the process of deciding that one wants to accumulate large sums of wealth and when they actually engange in the process of purchasing an apartment, fixing it, and selling it. Berges holds the view that you should focus on buying and re-selling the apartment as a method of accmulating wealth. This is a good idea. Before I bought the book, I thought that one could make more money by simply collecting the rent. Instead, if you put your energy on buying more and more expensive apartments, you can generate higher and higher rents. Since I am a politically active person, I found Berges' 10th chapter very inspiring. He talks about how many people think you can only become wealthy through stealth tactics--stealing from others, or by inheriting one's wealth. Berges discounts this view by focusing on how heard work and determination can result in anyone becoming quite wealthy. Unfortunately, our "tax the rich" politicians--ahem, the Democrats--still believe it is good public policy to steal from those who work the hardest. It's shameful, and Berges is right to point it out.
Rating:
Summary: Unique Insight into Apartment Market
Review: The author, Berges, provides unique insight into investing in apartment buildings. There isn't much written about this topic, and what is, seems to be very generic. This book, however, provided lots of good examples with specific advice on what to do and what not to do. In addition, Berges sprinkles various tidbits of information throughout the book that while not directly related to real estate, are nevertheless quite relevant to being successful in it. I just finished another book of his, The Complete Guide to Investing in Rental Properties, which I also found to be very enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Unique Insight into Apartment Market
Review: The author, Berges, provides unique insight into investing in apartment buildings. There isn't much written about this topic, and what is, seems to be very generic. This book, however, provided lots of good examples with specific advice on what to do and what not to do. In addition, Berges sprinkles various tidbits of information throughout the book that while not directly related to real estate, are nevertheless quite relevant to being successful in it. I just finished another book of his, The Complete Guide to Investing in Rental Properties, which I also found to be very enjoyable.
Rating: 
Summary: Good beginners read. Beyond NOI and CapRate? Look elsewhere
Review: This book devotes a fair amount of time on valuation from a beginners standpoint. Overall good, easy and quick read. The case studies and examples appear a stretch. The author suggest that the sweet spot is to find a property with 20% vacancy, a few minor cosmetic issues. It then claims that that by leveraging a 80% LTV, the owner, in a short period of time can increase the vale and sell for a healthy premium. Hmmm... I want to see Steve Berges try this in Chicago or New York metro areas.
As a relatively new property investor, I found the book useful and would recommend to others. I purchased and downloaded the software at thevalueplay.com which is adequate to complement the book's instruction bias. However, buyers beware, these are password protected Excel spreadsheets with macros and without the ability to add formulas, change things here and there, they are useless.
Rating:
Summary: Still the Best I've Read So Far - The Real Deal!
Review: This book give one point of view; buy-fix-flip. He has no appreciation for...appreciation. That said, if you want to know the basics of creating additional value and moving on to the next property this is a great start.
|
