Washington, Washington D.C. · Member since 2008 · 91 posts · 2 votes
I'm looking to start learning about real estate investing. I have a decent amount of basic knowledge on the subject, but I'd like to hear any recommendations on good authors or books that you'd recommend for a beginner. I was thinking about Real Estate investing for Dummies or some of Robert Shemin's books. Any thoughts? What about wholesaling books?
Ray and Dave -- Thanks for the kind words about my book.
FYI, I've just published a sequel, "Mastering Real Estate Investment -- Examples, Metrics and Case Studies," which provides additional examples of the metrics in "What Every..." as well as four detailed case studies: single-family rental, re-hab project, apartment building and strip center. It's on Amazon at
http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Real-Estate-Investment-Examples/dp/0981813801
Also, McGraw-Hill has just released a second edition of "What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know..." which includes new material. http://www.amazon.com/Estate-Investor-Flow-Financial-Measures/dp/0071603271
Have you introduced yourself in the new member forum?
There are many books out there. Some are better for certain market conditions while others are more general.
Weekend Millionaire is good for folks who work full time and want to buy and hold (rentals).
Wealth Protection is a good book for understanding the liability issues and why an LLC might make sense.
John Schaub has a book out (partial title: One House at a Time). He makes the case that you should rent your home until you build up passive income. You can rent a better house than you can buy.
There are many other books that I would recommend depending on what you want to do. I find that if you just browse books at a large bookstore you can pick the ones that get your attention. Assuming chairs or a coffee shop in the store read a few and then buy the ones that really seem to make sense. Fewer duds that way.
If you are interested in learning more about real estate, I would take some time and start reading around the forum. There is a TON of information right here on this site, its free, and you can get real time answers from experienced investors. Not that books aren't a good thing. I am an avid reader, but don't lose sight of the wealth of information you just stumbled upon.
I hope to see you around, and as John shared, you might want to find your way to the new members sections and introduce yourself. Its a great way to start interacting with other investors.
Thanks for your responses. I am a new member and will go to the new members forum and introduce myself. Great tip. Looking forward to future discussions and interactions. Thanks again for the help and the tips.
Are there any other authors that generally write good RE investing books, either on general concepts (i.e. Real Estate Investing for Dummies) or on more specific ones (i.e. Wholesaling, foreclosure/pre-foreclosure, or rental properties)?
Looking to grab a book or two to read on the beach during vacation.
I have yet to read this book and it always catches my eye for some reason. however I have read a few of the other dummies books and am always a little disappointed, that they are usually a little to general. Does anyone who has read this book feel it would apply to commercial investing? thanks.
If your looking to get into rentals the ones I recommend are:
"How I turned 1000 into 1 (3.5, 5) million in my spare time investing in real estate" - By William Nickerson. (there's 2 revisions of the book each ten years apart with the original being published around 1960.) The ideas are still good for today but the numbers are out dated, just add a 0 or two to the end of all the numbers depending on where you want to invest.
"1 Minute to rental property riches" - by our own MikeOH - His book is like shooting a shotgun from the hip, a great no-hype book that gives you the low down on all the facts.
"Landlording" - by Leigh Robison - great for understanding what all is involved with being a landlord, no information on buying properties though
I also have "Property management for dummies" but I only skimmed through it 4 years ago and don't remember much about what is in it. I don't use it much and when I have a property management question I go to the Landlording book or MikeOH's book.
If your going to do rentals you will also want to get some books on running a business. One of my favorites is "The 100 unbreakable laws of business success" - by Brian Tracy
For books that should keep you busy for about 3 months.
Add the wealth of information on this website as well as real estate podcast for free on the web and you are well on your way to doing nothing but educating your self about nothing but real estate investing for 24hours a day for the next 6 months straight.
I like the Dolf de Roos books on RE Investing. He has written several and makes a lot of sense to me. I think the first really popular one was Real Estate Riches.
Thanks for the recommends. I've lurked for a minute, but now it's time to start putting the knowledge gained to some work. Thanks again. You'll be seeing me around. :lol:
I highly recommend pretty much anything by Peter Conti. He provides more "meat" in his books and freebies on his Web site than any other investor I've read (or Googled). Be careful, though, it's very well-packaged marketing to get you to become a mentorhsip student. :wink: He hooked me in and I couldn't be more pleased. It's a great program.
1. Every Landlord's Legal Guide - This discuss a lot of common legal questions landlords run into. It also provides standard landlord forms that are needed to lease units.
2. The Millionaire Real Estate Investor - This book does a good job of not coming across as a get rich quick scheme. It emphasizes taking a disciplined, conservative, steady approach to purchasing rental properties.
A good book to analyze in real estate is: What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow by Frank Galinelli. It also explains the terms & what to use it for.
Ray and Dave -- Thanks for the kind words about my book.
FYI, I've just published a sequel, "Mastering Real Estate Investment -- Examples, Metrics and Case Studies," which provides additional examples of the metrics in "What Every..." as well as four detailed case studies: single-family rental, re-hab project, apartment building and strip center. It's on Amazon at
http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Real-Estate-Investment-Examples/dp/0981813801
Also, McGraw-Hill has just released a second edition of "What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know..." which includes new material. http://www.amazon.com/Estate-Investor-Flow-Financial-Measures/dp/0071603271