The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing

Rating:
Summary: Excellent choice for novice real estate investors
Review: This book is excellent, it covers most of the basics for first-time investors (and I expect that it is a great reference for the follow-on transactions). The section on valuation was particlarly useful. I also liked the idea of writing down an investment plan and checking your progress/udating it yearly. This will help keep you on track to achieve your goals.

I accidently left my copy on an airplane last weekend and am replacing it today. With information from this book, I hope to make an offer on my first investment property next week. However, one book is not enough. I suggest readers check out several other titles including "Real Estate Investing From A to Z" by W. H. Pivar and "Rental Houses for the Successful Small Investor" by S.P. Thomas.

Rating:
Summary: Very Realistic, Very Specific, Very Comprehensive
Review: This book is not entertaining. It doesn't have a catchy title. There aren't get rich quick schemes. You won't find a way to buy houses with no money down. You won't find a way to make money without lifting a finger. If you want a book lie that, read "rich dad, poor dad." However, that book will leave you frustrated because of it's endless babble about how some other guy got rich. It's basically a long pep talk.

In contrast, the Unofficial Guide gives you a realistic example of how and why this type of investing works. It goes into a great deal of detail about the benefits and drawbacks. It gives a pretty picture of the real estate business in an understandable manner and shows several different ways that profits can be made. It seems to be slightly geared towards investors who are interested in rental housing - especially buildings with 4+ units - but there is still more than enough information to justify any investor's purchase. Experienced investors would be helped if they aren't seeing very good profits or if they just want to renew their education and get some helpful points.

The only drawbacks to this book would be the way taxes are presented. There are several points that are a spread out over several chapters and I was left a little confused. It would've been a little better to do a full discussion of taxes from a very basic level in one of the first chapters, then reference that chapter throughout the book. Without a doubt, I still gained a better understanding than I had before, but it could've been done a little better...

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book with clearly explained principles
Review: This book provides an excellent overview of real estate investing from the point of view of a small investor. It explains the basics quickly and clearly. The authors do a superb job of treating a wide variety of issues (ranging from tax optimization strategies, to meausuring returns on investment through various metrics, to choosing appropriate appliances) with enough depth to explain what is important without boring readers with too much minutia. If I have any criticism, it is that the authors do not spend any time at all on the financial and/or emotional dangers of becoming over-leveraged.

Rating:
Summary: Frothy and Patronizing
Review: This book takes basic, sometimes sketchy, information on real estate investing and packages it into a thick tome that is as unsubstantial as cotton candy. The margins consume about a quarter of the space on each page for silly little "tips" like, "Keep detailed records of each expense related to your property." Turns out they come in handy at tax time. Duh.

The text is light on brass tacks and long on windy prose. And it talks down to the reader. Here's an actual "Moneysaver" tip: "Negative cash flow exists when you payments are greater than your income." Really. It goes on to suggest avoiding a loss by making sure your rents are "at least at market rate." Golly, that IS a money saving tip! If you just fell off a turnip truck. Question: If you don't know this kind of basic information, will you know what "market rate" means?

No amount of cutesy fluff will change the fact that buying property and renting it to people you barely know is a gritty, scary, no-nonsense business. The would-be investor needs real info and to pretend otherwise is a disservice. At one point, the book warns about IRS penalties for not using "approved methods" for determining the depreciation cost basis of improvements (versus non-depreciable land), a longstanding mystery for me (and the IRS, too, based on the vague guidance they offer). Despite the stern warning, the book moves on without offering a single suggestion as to what might be deemed an acceptable method! The book is filled with this kind of uninformative fluff. If most of this book doesn't insult your intelligence, you should not invest in rental property (or try to dress yourself).

Despite its suggestive title, this book reveals no big secrets. Pssst, here's a real secret: buy a different book on real estate investing.

Rating:
Summary: A great begining
Review: This book takes you step by step through finding and determining value of your real estate purchases. It is full of great information to guide you if you have never bought a piece of property before. It also has information on what you need to do once you get the porperty under contract and beyond.
A great book.

Rating:
Summary: Very Good!
Review: This book was very informative, gives great details on investing in multi-family housing, I highly recommend it! I also recommend, "How to Make Fast Cash in Real Estate with No Money Down Deals," by: Rod L. Griffin

Rating:
Summary: The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing
Review: This was a terrific all encompassing book on Real Estate investing. I have bought ten or fifteen books on the topic in the past year and found this to be the best so far. It is broad and somewhat introductory but there are tid bits for even seasoned investors to digest. It was also uplifting and motivatioal. An excellent start for the budding Real Estate investor!

Rating:
Summary: An Unexpected Book
Review: Typically, I shy away from liking books that speak to the huge landlord and real estate investing businesses. They don't need books like this and the books only tempt small-timers to spend money that won't help them.

This book is different. It does talk about the big-timers but it also shows the small investor real ways to become big and to reduce headaches.

If you own one or two rent houses and perhaps want to add a 4-plex or more homes to your portfolio, slowly but wisely, you would be wise to read this book. Unlike some, I generally like the "Unofficial Guides" and this was no exception.

Although this won't solve your real-world every DAY problems that you face as a landlord or landlady, it does help solve a few larger problems that come up (finances are well covered) and it will encourage you to keep on doing what you do to build your empire.

Many have read (or will read) my "Managing Rental Properties for Maximum Profit" (ISBN: 0761525319) and there they get the nuts and bolts of getting in and overcoming early problems the small-time rental owner sees daily. Then, it's definitely time once you've overcome many of those problems to move up to this Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing. It's more of a reference book than a hands-on book in many places, but when you're ready for this book, you will be ready for that reference material.