complete real-estate investing guidebook

The Wall Street Journal. Complete Real-Estate Investing Guidebook
by David Crook

i’m wary of “complete” and “all you need to know” books,
but the wall street journal has some clout with me
and i decided to read this book after being inspired into action
by “the richest man in babylon”.

this book was excellent
and took you through the process of investing in several realms
from single family homes and 2-4 unit buildings,
to larger multiple units and commercial and industrial properties.
it also reviews the drama of being a landlord.

author david crook
– pay not attention to his name –
pretty much had me from the beginning:

This book is for people who want to make money investing in real estate.

Hucksters and schemers use dubious investment books and middle-of-the-night TV shows to peddle hundreds of real estate schemes to a gullible public. They promise no-work shortcuts to wealth and “financial freedom” as they reveal the moneymaking “secrets” that real-estate professionals keep from you and everyone else. They say they’ll show you how to “flip your way to financial success” or “renovate for riches.” Some claim they’ll show you how to build multimullion-dollar empires with no money, no experience and no skills.

Enough already. These are the fantasies of losers…

If, however you recognize that real-estate investing, like all investing, is more marathon than sprint and that the only person to get rich quickly in a get-rich-quick scheme is the other guy, then by all means buy this book. It’s not the only real-estate investing book you’ll ever need, it’s the first one.

read the book to find our more about this author’s 20 essential rules that every real estate investor needs to know:

1. investing requires capital
2. other people’s money
3. investing is not the same as owning a home
4. providing one of the necessities of life is a good business
5. it’s who you know, what you know and how you know it
6. leverage is good; negatives are bad
7. the government favors real-estate investments
8. losses can be good
9. taxes deferred can become taxes never paid
10. residential properties are best for novice investors
11. buy in areas you know
12. there’s a buyers market in small rental buildings
13. commercial properties are not for newbies
14. pick a niche
15. get your hands dirty
16. leases are assets
17. know your rights, and your tenants’ rights
18. there are opportunities in the markets
19. leave your IRA alone
20. make your own way to financial freedom

ishaq and i have already been through both challenging and rewarding times
as newbie landlords
and wanna-be real-estate moguls,
and i was nodding my head
and reliving memories that made me cringe
throughout the book
as well as taking notes
on how to think and act like a successful, professional real-estate professional, inshaAllah.