Recommended resources to learn of Rental Property

[Evan Alexakos]

Hello everyone, 

I've recently started my education on rental properties and plan to continue learning for around a year before I delve into it. Any must-have recommendations on books that helped you in your journey?

[Brennen Thompson]

Hey dude! 

In sequential order, I'd go with: 

The Richest Man in Babylon - teaches you some solid money skills

How to Invest in Real Estate With Little to No Money Down - opens your brain to the power of real estate

The House Hacking Strategy - provides a solid game plan for purchasing your first property (it's like buying on training wheels!)

All that being said, you can't beat some solid action! Keep at it and feel free to reach out to me if you ever have any questions! I'm always more than happy to help! 

[Adam S.]

BRRRR by David Greene

Also, I second Brennen Thompson's recommendations.

Spend a few months reading the books and listening to podcasts. But jump in...the water's fine! ;)  Seriously, find something that interests you (i.e., wholesaling, buy-and-hold single-families, etc.), set a goal (i.e., buy a fix-and-hold), and take action. The last part is where the real learning takes place.  The other parts help to mitigate the risk though.  Good luck on your journey!

[Paul De Luca]

@Evan Alexakos

• The Book on Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner
• The Book on Managing Rental Properties by Brandon Turner
• The Book on Investing in Real Estate with Low (and No) Money Down by Brandon Turner
• Set For Life by Scott Trench
• The House Hacking Strategy by Craig Curelop
• The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Jay Papasan and Gary Keller
• Cash Flow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki
• Retire Young Retire Rich by Robert Kiyosaki

[Sebastian Hernandez]

• I read these and they are very good. 
• The Book on Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner
• The Book on Managing Rental Properties by Brandon Turner

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Evan Alexakos:

Hello everyone, 

I've recently started my education on rental properties and plan to continue learning for around a year before I delve into it. Any must-have recommendations on books that helped you in your journey?

1. Start with BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide (free). It will familiarize you with the basic terminology and benefits. Then you can read a more in-depth book like The Book On Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner or The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing by Spencer Strauss.

2. Get your finances in order. Get rid of debt, build a budget, and save. The idea that you can build wealth without putting any money into it is a recipe for disaster and the sales pitch of gurus trying to steal your money. A wise investor will not try to get rich quick with shortcuts. If you can't keep control of your personal finances, you are highly unlikely to succeed in real estate investing. Check out my personal favorite, Set For Life by Scott Trench , or The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.

3. As you read these books, watch the BiggerPockets podcasts. This will clarify and reinforce what you are reading. You can hear real-world examples of how others have built their investment portfolio and (hopefully) learn to avoid their mistakes.

4. Now you need to figure out how to find deals and pay for them. Again, the BiggerPockets store has some books for this or you can learn by watching podcasts, reading blogs, and interacting on the forum. There is a handy search bar in the upper right that makes it easy to find previous discussions, blogs, podcasts, and other resources. BiggerPockets also has a calculator you can use to analyze deals and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy. If you consistently analyze properties, it will be much easier to recognize a good deal when it shows up. Find Brandon's videos on YouTube for the "four square" method of analyzing homes and practice. It doesn't take long to learn how to spot a good deal.

5. Study the market. You can learn to do this on your own or get a rockstar REALTOR to lead the way. I highly recommend a well-qualified REALTOR that works with investors and knows how to best help you.

6. Jump in! Far too many get stuck in the "paralysis by analysis" stage, thinking they just don't know enough to get started. The truth is, you could read 100 books and still not know enough because certain things need to be learned through trial-and-error. You don't need to know everything to get started; you just need a foundation to build on and the rest will come through experience and then refining your education.

You can build a basic understanding of investing in 3-6 months. How long it takes to be financially ready is different for everyone. Once you're ready, create a goal (e.g. "I will buy at least one single-family home, duplex, triplex, or fourplex before the end of 2019") and then do it. Real estate investing is a pretty forgiving world and the average person can still make money even with some pretty big mistakes.

[John Warren]

@Evan Alexakos I am going to throw one or two into the ring that are not from the BP bros.... 

Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes and Quads- Larry Loftis

-This book is a little too focused on appreciation, but I love his overall take on how simple investing really is for the most part. Most people do really well just buying a building and trading up, selling, holding, and this book has some good stuff. 

Whate Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know about Cashflow- Frank Gallinelli

-I like that this book goes through 36 ways to measure returns.

-BP has always been way too focused on cash on cash, which ends up being meaningless in a lot of cases since year one COC is often zero...

[Evan Alexakos]

Quote from @Brennen Thompson:

Hey dude! 

In sequential order, I'd go with: 

The Richest Man in Babylon - teaches you some solid money skills

How to Invest in Real Estate With Little to No Money Down - opens your brain to the power of real estate

The House Hacking Strategy - provides a solid game plan for purchasing your first property (it's like buying on training wheels!)

All that being said, you can't beat some solid action! Keep at it and feel free to reach out to me if you ever have any questions! I'm always more than happy to help! 

 Hey Brennen,

Thanks a lot for the resources and willingness to help; it's really helpful to know what real-estate investors used before getting into it themselves. 

I'll be sure to reach out to you with any questions because I'm happy to ask!

[Evan Alexakos]

Quote from @Adam S.:

BRRRR by David Greene

Also, I second Brennen Thompson's recommendations.

Spend a few months reading the books and listening to podcasts. But jump in...the water's fine! ;)  Seriously, find something that interests you (i.e., wholesaling, buy-and-hold single-families, etc.), set a goal (i.e., buy a fix-and-hold), and take action. The last part is where the real learning takes place.  The other parts help to mitigate the risk though.  Good luck on your journey!

The water may be fine, but I'll take some time to learn to swim first! :) 

Thanks for the encouragement, Adam! I'm interested in real-estate as an additional income source; as a result, I am torn between multifamily properties and single-family properties. 

If I chose multifamily properties the goal would be to upgrade over time to larger complexes, if I chose single-family properties then the goal would be to hold on for a long time. 

[Evan Alexakos]

Quote from @Paul De Luca:

@Evan Alexakos

• The Book on Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner
• The Book on Managing Rental Properties by Brandon Turner
• The Book on Investing in Real Estate with Low (and No) Money Down by Brandon Turner
• Set For Life by Scott Trench
• The House Hacking Strategy by Craig Curelop
• The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Jay Papasan and Gary Keller
• Cash Flow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki
• Retire Young Retire Rich by Robert Kiyosaki

 Paul, thanks for the list!

[Leo R.]

@Evan Alexakos  I'd suggest first figuring out what your goals are, and what type of RE investment strategy matches those goals.  THEN, you'll have a much better idea of what books/resources to focus on.

For instance, if you decide you want to house hack (which, I'm a big proponent of--especially for beginners), then focus on books/podcasts/articles/resources covering house hacking... There's not much point in reading an entire book on flipping if you don't plan to flip a house... etc., etc.

Also--keep in mind that you can read a thousand books on how to swim (and, by all means--you definitely should study up before getting in the pool), but at the end of the day, the only way to learn to swim is to get in the pool!

Good luck out there!

[Evan Alexakos]

Quote from @Sebastian Hernandez:

• I read these and they are very good. 
• The Book on Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner
• The Book on Managing Rental Properties by Brandon Turner

 Thanks Sebastian,

I'm actually reading the first one, The Book on Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner but I'll be sure to read up on management before delving into rental properties. 

[Evan Alexakos]

Quote from @Nathan Gesner:

Quote from @Evan Alexakos:

Hello everyone, 

I've recently started my education on rental properties and plan to continue learning for around a year before I delve into it. Any must-have recommendations on books that helped you in your journey?

1. Start with BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide (free). It will familiarize you with the basic terminology and benefits. Then you can read a more in-depth book like The Book On Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner or The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing by Spencer Strauss.

2. Get your finances in order. Get rid of debt, build a budget, and save. The idea that you can build wealth without putting any money into it is a recipe for disaster and the sales pitch of gurus trying to steal your money. A wise investor will not try to get rich quick with shortcuts. If you can't keep control of your personal finances, you are highly unlikely to succeed in real estate investing. Check out my personal favorite, Set For Life by Scott Trench , or The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.

3. As you read these books, watch the BiggerPockets podcasts. This will clarify and reinforce what you are reading. You can hear real-world examples of how others have built their investment portfolio and (hopefully) learn to avoid their mistakes.

4. Now you need to figure out how to find deals and pay for them. Again, the BiggerPockets store has some books for this or you can learn by watching podcasts, reading blogs, and interacting on the forum. There is a handy search bar in the upper right that makes it easy to find previous discussions, blogs, podcasts, and other resources. BiggerPockets also has a calculator you can use to analyze deals and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy. If you consistently analyze properties, it will be much easier to recognize a good deal when it shows up. Find Brandon's videos on YouTube for the "four square" method of analyzing homes and practice. It doesn't take long to learn how to spot a good deal.

5. Study the market. You can learn to do this on your own or get a rockstar REALTOR to lead the way. I highly recommend a well-qualified REALTOR that works with investors and knows how to best help you.

6. Jump in! Far too many get stuck in the "paralysis by analysis" stage, thinking they just don't know enough to get started. The truth is, you could read 100 books and still not know enough because certain things need to be learned through trial-and-error. You don't need to know everything to get started; you just need a foundation to build on and the rest will come through experience and then refining your education.

You can build a basic understanding of investing in 3-6 months. How long it takes to be financially ready is different for everyone. Once you're ready, create a goal (e.g. "I will buy at least one single-family home, duplex, triplex, or fourplex before the end of 2019") and then do it. Real estate investing is a pretty forgiving world and the average person can still make money even with some pretty big mistakes.

Hey Nathan,

Can't express how happy I am with the in-depth resources you've provided me with and the solid advice for the future. 

I've started already started saving for my first property and gave myself the timeline of till next December for learning; to be honest, I don't know the best time of year for purchasing property or renting out. Online, it says that the best time for rentals is spring so I figured that I would use winter as a goal for purchase to give myself enough time to prepare the property for rental season in spring.

However, what would you say is the best time to buy property? Is there one? And how long should I factor in preparing a property for renting? 

[Evan Alexakos]

Quote from @John Warren:

@Evan Alexakos I am going to throw one or two into the ring that are not from the BP bros.... 

Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes and Quads- Larry Loftis

-This book is a little too focused on appreciation, but I love his overall take on how simple investing really is for the most part. Most people do really well just buying a building and trading up, selling, holding, and this book has some good stuff. 

Whate Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know about Cashflow- Frank Gallinelli

-I like that this book goes through 36 ways to measure returns.

-BP has always been way too focused on cash on cash, which ends up being meaningless in a lot of cases since year one COC is often zero...

John, thanks for giving me an alternative approach.

I'm happy to see a different viewpoint towards real estate and multifamily properties happen to the area that I'm interested in. 

Taking into account that cash on cash is usually zero the first year is not something that I originally considered; so, it will be immensely helpful to know this before going through it myself (and freaking out). 

[Evan Alexakos]

[Evan Alexakos]

Quote from @Leo R.:

@Evan Alexakos  I'd suggest first figuring out what your goals are, and what type of RE investment strategy matches those goals.  THEN, you'll have a much better idea of what books/resources to focus on.

For instance, if you decide you want to house hack (which, I'm a big proponent of--especially for beginners), then focus on books/podcasts/articles/resources covering house hacking... There's not much point in reading an entire book on flipping if you don't plan to flip a house... etc., etc.

Also--keep in mind that you can read a thousand books on how to swim (and, by all means--you definitely should study up before getting in the pool), but at the end of the day, the only way to learn to swim is to get in the pool!

Good luck out there!

Thank you for the insight, Leo

I'm mainly interested in real-estate as an additional source of income with an interest in multifamily property and single-family properties. Torn between the two as the multifamily properties will allow me to trade up without requiring multiple loans but single-family property gives access to longer lasting tenants that could mean less hands-on work. 

As for the timeline that I gave, its more along the lines of 6 months which will be the time it takes to save up enough to begin investing. When the time comes to jump in, I'll be sure to make a big splash!

Stay swimming!

[Curtis Mears]

@Evan Alexakos

Not books, but volunteering at habitat really helped me understand how houses are built. It is definitely made me more confident in doing minor repairs.

[Evan Alexakos]

Quote from @Curtis Mears:

@Evan Alexakos

Not books, but volunteering at habitat really helped me understand how houses are built. It is definitely made me more confident in doing minor repairs.

 Curtis, thanks for the creative solution!

I never considered the idea that volunteering at Habitat for Humanity would teach me about building houses. This summer, I'll definitely take advantage of your innovative method!

[Adam S.]

@Evan Alexakos

No pressure! It took me about 6 months to buy my 1st SFR after starting the BP podcast rabbit hole:) I'm buying SFR and small MFs that will likely be converted to larger buildings or syndications years from now. The great thing is you don't have to stick with one strategy your investing career. I've been trying to not have the shiny object syndrome while I build my portfolio. Bumps and bruises along the way but I get excited to talk real estate. Again, good luck on your adventure!