Posted by John Behle on February 13, 2000 at 22:11:43:
Actually I think I may have read that one first. A mortgage broker friend invited me (a new real estate agent) to a study group. I said, great. The she said, by the way - you’re giving the presentation. It’s on “wrap-around loans”.
I didn’t even know what it was. I picked up Jack’s manual “The Complete Guide to Real Estate Financing” and read up on wraps. When I learned I could get spectacular yields by putting a little money into a property and selling it on a wrap (and picking up interest on the bank’s money) - I was hooked.
“Best Book” isn’t the question…“BEST SOURCE” is…which is CREONLINE!!! - Posted by Tony James
Posted by Tony James on February 12, 2000 at 11:00:30:
Use the Search engines, and read the post, it’s interactive. And I feel this webpage (creonline.com)…and going to the convention, can help you better then ANY BOOK!
“The 16% Solution” by Moskowitz - Posted by Ben (NJ)
Posted by Ben (NJ) on February 12, 2000 at 09:13:35:
As a full time tax lien investor, this book is what started it all for me. Five years later, I still adhere
to the same basic principles espoused there and it has yet to steer me wrong. You should see my copy, ratty, dog-eared and highlighted but never more than a few feet away from my desk.
Posted by Eduardo (OR) on February 12, 2000 at 01:21:35:
Jim asks, “What is the best real estate book written?” I take this not to mean what is the most popular book ever written or the best book by a self-styled real estate educator, but what is the best book by a real investor for showing me how to make MONEY investing in real estate. My vote, therefore, is for Steven Jay Fogel’s The Yes-I-Can Guide to Mastering Real Estate (out of print). He writes (1987), “Twenty years ago, I made my first investment, a house I bought with a $5,000 down payment–which I didn’t have when I made my offer. Today my company operates over $300 million worth of real estate in seventeen states. And I bought all of it exactly the way I bought that first house, with the same approach I’m going to teach you.” This book is thorough and a good read for any level investor including beginners. I gave my copy to my son who, still in his twenties, owns two triplexs and a SFH as well as his own home and business. Then I got another copy for myself from Amazon.com’s out-of-print search service. Last year Fogel, co-founder and CEO of Westwood Financial Corp., was appointed to the California Fine Arts Council. How much did Nickerson, Allen and Lowry make in real estate? Several million each? These are good authors, but THINK BIG! There have been hundreds of real estate books published over the years and creative real estate goes back long before Allen and Lowry. Many cutting-edge materials are available from this site. “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” --Eduardo
P.S. Books by academics aren’t worth it. How much money have they made?
Re: Best Real estate book written ? - Posted by t jent
Posted by t jent on February 12, 2000 at 20:25:12:
There are numerous books with creative ideas on money-making in real estate…fixers,lease options, buying foreclosures, etc., some very useful. One you’ve read some of those to get ideas and maybe acquired some direct experience as well, I recommend “Real Estate Investments and How to Make Them.” by Mil Tanzer. It is devoid of hype and glibness, and provides comprehensive explanation of the concepts of the business of real estate investment. I found it somewhat more sophisticated than a lot of titles in the “get rich quick” genre, and it goes into more depth about the niceties of finance and numbers that become more important as your property portfolio increases beyond the working from deal-to-deal phase.
Nickerson is the granddaddy of all real estate gurus and authors. Lowry worked with Nickerson, and together they inspired and influenced everybody after them. Nickerson just passed on last fall and I believe he was in his early 90’s. He invented fixers, he invented turning properties and getting bigger, and he invented the idea that an average guy could control his/her own destiny and become a millionaire. RIP
David
Robert Allen’s “Nothing Down, Updated for the 90’s” is terrific and still applicable in a lot of cases today. He has a great section on multiple units that I found very helpful.