Don’t get me wrong - I LOVE the “Rich Dad” series of books. Reading Robert Kiyosaki’s books are what got me looking into REI in the first place (and “adjusted my thinking”)!
I agree with you (don’t know about the “new age” or “metaphysics” stuff though ;-), he makes you think/challenges your “middle-class” thinking/etc.
Also, I don’t want to make you think it tells you how to do REI or Stock Market Investing in any real detail. But it does give you some “action steps” to begin the process of increasing one’s “financial intelligence/literacy” and beginning the journey toward “financial freedom/independence”. It also continues with that thinking process (started in the first book) and made my say “Wow” even more often (and with more “passion”) than even “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” did.
Real Estate BOOK recomendations… - Posted by David Krulac
Posted by David Krulac on November 05, 2002 at 19:40:05:
I’ve read a couple of hundred real estate books including: 3 by Ronald Starr,
4 by Robert Allen,
2 by William Nickerson,
2 by William Bronchick,
2 by David Schumacher,
several by Robert Irwin,
2 by Al Lowry
1 too many by Tyler Hicks
1 by A. D. Kessler
1 by Carleton sheets
1 by Ron LeGrand
1 by Kevin Myers
2 by Wade Cook
3 by Bryan Wittenmyer
My question is can anybody highly recommend a real estate book, that i probably haven’t read. Thanks.
At the risk of being assaulted, I do recommend Jack Reed’s materials, especially the bargain-buying book and the tax avoidance one. The rest of his materials are good, too, but those two are within the top 5 or 10 best books on real estate investing, in my opinion. His weekness, for some people, is he does not like lease-options, is not enthusiastic about no money down from “unsuitable” sellers, and he is aimed mainly at conventional long-term rental holding.
He sells only from his website, which has some interesting observations about real estate investment education and educational materials, and the people who sell and buy them. johntreed.com
Here’s my list sans the works by the authors you mentioned in your post. You might find one or two that hold your interest. As is obvious from the titles, not all of these are specifically about real estate.
If You Want To Be Rich & Happy Don?t Go To School? by Robert T. Kiyosaki (1992)
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki (1997)
The Cashflow Quadrant by Robert T. Kiyosaki (1998)
Rich Dad’s Guide To Investing by Robert T. Kiyosaki (2000)
The E Myth by Michael E. Gerber (1986)
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey (1989)
How to Think Like a Millionaire by Mark Fisher (1997)
You Can’t Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar by David H. Sandler
Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason (1926)
Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill (1937)
The Greatest Salesman In The World by Og Mandino (1968)
Landlording by Leigh Robinson (1975)
How To Wake Up The Financial Genius Inside You by Mark O. Haroldsen (1976)
Goals, Guts And Greatness by Mark O. Haroldsen (1983)
How To Develop The Courage To Be Rich by Mark O. Haroldsen (1985)
The Smart Investor’s Guide to Real Estate by Robert Bruss (1982)
The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D. & William D. Danko, Ph.D.(1996)
5 Magic Paths To Making A Fortune In Real Estate by James Lumley (2000)
Investing In Real Estate (second edition) by Andrew McLean and Gary W. Eldred (1996)
Real Estate Investments and How to Make Them by Milt Tanzer (1997)
The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Real Estate Investment Course by Jack Cummings (1992)
Real Estate Finance and Investment Manual by Jack Cummings (1997)
The Yes-I-Can Guide to Mastering Real Estate by Steven Jay Fogel
The 16% Solution by Joel S. Moskowitz (1994)
Real Estate Tax Sale Manual by Thomas Hendricks
Aggressive Tax Avoidance for the Real Estate Investor by John T. Reed
How to Buy Real Estate for at Least 20% Below Market Value by John T. Reed
Real Estate for Pennies by Ed C. Tomlinson (1993)
Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing by Martin Stone, Spencer Strauss, William Bronchick, Warren Ladenheim, and Ed Stevens (2000)
Invest in Debt by Jimmy Napier (1983)
No Credit Required: How to Buy a House When You Don’t Qualify for a Mortgage by Ray Mungo (1993)
Goldmining in Foreclosure Properties (third edition) by George Achenbach (1994)
All About Escrow (sixth edition) by Sandy Gadow (1999)
No Down! No New Loan! by Bill J. Gatten (1998)
Re: Real Estate BOOK recomendations… - Posted by phil fernandez
Posted by phil fernandez on November 05, 2002 at 21:20:57:
Hi David how’s it going. Sounds like you’ve read the same one’s I have. How bout Peter Conti and david Finkel’s paperback that I picked up in a bookstore this fall. Forget the name, but it’s good.
I like John Behle’s stuff. The Paper Trilogy 3 set books. He’s at papersource.com.
As far as courses, I’d do anything Joe Kaiser has. Got em all. Very impressive and you’ll like his stuff being an experienced investor.
How bout Lonnie Scruggs two books. Don’t overlook them.
The Mr. Landlord monthly news letters.
Dolf DeRos, I think that’s his name has a paper back out that reaffirms why we do what we do. I liked his book. Not sure if I have his name correct.
Re: Real Estate BOOK recomendations… - Posted by michaela-ATL
Posted by michaela-ATL on November 05, 2002 at 20:10:48:
david,
i think it really depends on what your niche is. my favorite rehab book is ‘housewise’ by suzanne brangham.
sunday i read ‘rich dead, poor dad’ which is not so much about real estate, but about how to have a ‘winning attitude’. i’ve seen long discussions of that book here, but i never read them, since i hadn’t read the book until 2 years ago.
i just started reading ‘real wealth’ by frank and andrea cooke.
Re: Real Estate BOOK recomendations… - Posted by ray@lcorn
Posted by ray@lcorn on November 05, 2002 at 20:07:22:
David,
Two of my favorites are by Howard Zuckerman. Howard has two books, “Real Estate Development and Workbook” and “Real Estate Investment and Acquisition Workbook”. They can both be found on Amazon.
> At the risk of being assaulted, I do recommend
> Jack Reed’s materials, especially the
> bargain-buying book and the tax avoidance one.
> The rest of his materials are good, too, but
Do you know the actual title of “the bargain-buying” book? Do you know if his “Special Reports” (collections of his newsletter articles) are coherent in a beginning-to-end sense like a true book might be?
Posted by Jack B Nimble on November 06, 2002 at 19:07:02:
Ron,
Jack Reed oughta be paying you for these commercials. I am sure he has sold more books because of your endorsements on this and other sites than any amount of advertising. You are a fine advocate for Mr Reed. I hope he appreciates it.
Thanks, for your: Real Estate BOOK rec. - Posted by David Krulac
Posted by David Krulac on November 06, 2002 at 21:38:15:
Jim,
I edited the list to delete the books that I already read. Of the remaining ones which 2 or 3 would you say are the best ones to read? Thanks again.
If You Want To Be Rich & Happy Don?t Go To School? by Robert T. Kiyosaki (1992)
The Cashflow Quadrant by Robert T. Kiyosaki (1998)
The E Myth by Michael E. Gerber (1986)
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey (1989)
How to Think Like a Millionaire by Mark Fisher (1997)
You Can’t Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar by David H. Sandler
The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Real Estate Investment Course by Jack Cummings (1992)
Real Estate Finance and Investment Manual by Jack Cummings (1997)
Real Estate for Pennies by Ed C. Tomlinson (1993)
No Credit Required: How to Buy a House When You Don’t Qualify for a Mortgage by Ray Mungo (1993)
No Down! No New Loan! by Bill J. Gatten (1998
I was wondering…since you have read many of the “Rich Dad” books and other books that he (among others) recommends, have you looked into John Burley’s materials? It might have been in the first “Rich Dad” book, but I know he mentions John Burley in the second book, “CASHFLOW Quadrant” (he even includes many of the principles/ideas that John Burley created, such as the 7 Levels of Investor [originally 6]). Robert Kiyosaki said in that book that John Burley was “…considered one of the brightest minds in the world of real estate.”.
I just wonder, as I read posts on this and other REI-related web site message boards, why I see so many “Rich Dad” readers not mentioning John Burley in relation to real estate investing (REI).
It has been said of his primary training material, “…is the most successful Real Estate Training ever produced in the United States. The success rate of students attending this training is four times greater than the industry average. It was this training that led Robin Leach of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous fame to proclaim John Burley as one of the Premier Investors in America.”.
Re: Real Estate BOOK recomendations… - Posted by ray@lcorn
Posted by ray@lcorn on November 06, 2002 at 06:06:01:
Jim,
Thanks for reminding me about Mark Haroldsen’s books. “How To Wake Up The Financial Genius Inside You” was the first investment book I ever read. I was in college at the time, and it did indeed open my eyes to the dual power of leverage and compounding.
Hope all is well with you and the rest of the TX crew!
I would also recommend the second book in the “Rich Dad” series titled, “CASHFLOW Quadrant”. It had much more “meat” in it than did “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” but, of course, built on the same principals - he just went further when then and included much more practical ideas, etc.
Re: Real Estate BOOK recomendations… - Posted by David Krulac
Posted by David Krulac on November 06, 2002 at 21:30:31:
Ray,
Thanks, I have not read either. But I have been doing development for about 10 years and acquisition for about 25 years.
I had read the 3 Haroldsen books. I had been to some of his real estate conferences sort of like the cre-0nline conventions. I also saw Robert Allen a couple of times and a bunch of others including al Lowry and Richard Powellson.
7 Habits- my vote for the best - Posted by ray@lcorn
Posted by ray@lcorn on November 07, 2002 at 06:56:48:
David,
If I could pick only one book from all that have been mentioned here it would be The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.
My copy is dog eared and worn from the countless readings I’ve given it over the years. It is not a real estate book, but it is one of the most powerful texts for personal growth I have ever found.
Boy, that’s a tough call. Each book has its own good points, but if I’ve got to pick only three, I’d go for:
The E Myth by Michael E. Gerber (1986)
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey (1989)
How to Think Like a Millionaire by Mark Fisher (1997)
I had the pleasure of meeting John Burley a few years ago, but I haven’t reviewed his materials yet. Several people whose opinions I value have said nothing but good things about Burley’s stuff.
This web site offers five home study courses authored by Mr. Burley. Check them out at:
Re: Real Estate BOOK recomendations… - Posted by MoniqueUSA
Posted by MoniqueUSA on November 09, 2002 at 23:13:00:
Hi David,
The latest Conti/Finkel book (“Making Big Money Investing in Real Estate: Without Tenants, Banks, or Rehab Projects”) is MUCH, MUCH better than their first book (“Multiple Streams of Income”) … in my opinion.
