5 comments about Secure Your Financial Future Investing in Real Estate.

1. This book is wonderful. I'm a 31-yr-old computer programmer with a good income and lots of equity in a townhouse. I'm a reasonably good saver and make regular contributions to my 401k. Will this put me on the path to retirement riches? Not by a long shot, and this book clearly explains why in simple and plain language. This book makes too much common sense to refute. But fortunately its purpose is *not* to stir up doom and gloom.

   It's real purpose is to illustrate the riches to be made from the low-risk high-return world of long term real estate investing in income properties. The authors emphasize a long term investment plan, not the quick flipping pitched by so many marketing gurus. Through leverage we can turn a modest 5% property appreciation into a whopping 40%++ return on our money. How does that compare to 2% for your savings account, or 10% long term in the stock market? Throw in tax writeoffs, deferred capital gains, loan reduction and positive cashflow at the same time and I am hooked.

   This is a great eye-opening book for those new to real estate, and for those who their think social security and 401k will provide a secure retirement.




2. There are many positive things about this book that should be noted. First, it is presented in a way that is simple and easy to understand. Second, regardless of where the reader is in his/her life there are facts and suggestions that are thought provoking and appropriate to that stage of life. Finally, it's good to see in print ideas that some of us may have embraced, but never had validated by anyone other than friends.
   One of my childrren graduated from college last March, and the other should graduate this coming March. Because of the easy to read format, clear examples, and un-textbook like style, I plan on giving each of them a copy of this book - it will be "a great place to start" the next phase of their lives. With degrees in hand, it will be worthwhile for them to now get reality based instruction/information.



3. 'Secure your financial future investing in real estate' is a book that I recommend very highly. I have read over 25 books related directly to this topic and I have to tell you, I thought it was so good that I read it twice. I am what some would call an 'intermediate investor.' This book gave information that not only motivated me to do more with my real estate investments but how to aquire better and more properties so that I would have the future that I have always wanted. It is a more direct approach that gives you tools to go out and start the next day with the confidence that one would need in order to be a successful real estate investor. A more realistic approach aside from the other 'how to get rich' mentalities or the 'no money down' approach. It was an honest focus on not only the 'why' but the 'how' to get started and why you should not wait. If your intentions are to supplement your retirement with a few smart investments or develop a career in the real estate investing industry, this is the book for you. It covers the entire scope and lays the foundation for a profitable venture. The authors speak from experience and prove it by giving their personal email address that you can ask specific questions and get answers needed to succeed. It is like having a mentor at you finger tips and there is no way you could fail with support and advice like that. I strongly encourage anyone who is even thinking about the possibility of using real estate investments to achieve their goals and dreams. You + this book + a little desire = success!! Good luck!



4. This book is very helpful in figuring the proper way to look at profit potential in purchasing rental property. I also emailed the author Martin Stone asking some specific questions regarding particular types of properties and he was kind enough to respond with suggestions. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase his other book the unofficial guide to real estate investing.
   Thanks Marty.



5. This book used specific examples as in chapter 4 on how to calculate expenses, taxes, appreciation, and cash flow. Mr. Stone wrote a book with a specific mathmatical formula for each sort of equation that a real estate investor needs to know. This book answered more questions for me than the 4 other books I've read about real estate. I would have liked to have seen the format of the conversation needed with the hard money lender, the real estate agent, the attorney, and the eventual customer at closing. Overall, this book was a good buy for $10 and I would recommend it at that price.

1 comments about Smart Tax Write-offs, Fifth Edition.

1. While the only sure things in life may be death and taxes -- at least now we can extend our live spans through proper lifestyles and decrease our tax burdens with the help of CPA Norm Ray. Now in a fully updated fifth edition, Certified Public Accountant Norm Ray has compiled hundreds of fully lawful tax deduction ideas for use by home-based businesses, independent contractors, freelancers, and entrepreneurs in "Smart Tax Write-Offs". A compact, 'reader friendly' volume of tips, advice, suggestions, ideas, and illustrative examples, "Smart Tax-Write-Offs" will enable even the most novice business owner or self-employed worker to identify useful, money-saving tax deductions based on the kinds of expenditures they make in the course of 'doing business'. Of special note is the money-saving, time-saving checklist of more than one thousand tax deduction ideas that entitle every deduction that can legitimately be made to be made. The result is lower income taxes, reduced tax return preparation fees, and less money having to be paid out to the state or federal government. From IRS ground rules, to computer logs, to trip expense summaries, "Smart Tax Write-Offs" is a complete course in tax management and should be considered 'must reading' for anyone engaged in any kind of commercial enterprise.

No comments about Taxation of the Entertainment Industry (Ninth Edition).

No comments about Best Practices for 401(k) Plan Investment Committees.

5 comments about Fast Cash With Quick-Turn Real Estate: How Anyone Can Quickly Turn Single Family Houses into Cash.

1. This book was well worth the time and money I've spent on it so far. There are more techniques than a beginner as myself can use. This makes some of the chapters seem a little dry. Some of Rons techniques seem somewhat scandalous, if not downright unlawful. I wonder if Ron has created any enemies in Florida? His big push is--get out and make offers. Nothing will happen until I do. Ron has definitely done a great deal of research in the field. I have listened to his spiel in person, and know for a fact that he pulls no punches. This book, along with the tape set of the same name includes so much information that they must be studied over and over again. A Downside? Ron includes absolutely no information concerning tax shelters. In a business like this, especially if you make large profits, Uncle Sam will definitely have his greedy hand out. Capital gains and income tax, to name two. Just don't let delusions of grandeur mask the fact that there are always risks and downsides.... Buy it and read it.



2. This book is great for whetting your real estate appetite! And of course you have to buy other, more in-depth courses if you want to ascend the ladder of higher learning & success in the RE investing world -- that's if you're not too negative and scared to go for it. After high school, don't you have to go to college and maybe even grad school if you really want to make it in your chosen career? Sure you do -- that's a no-brainer. Well, real estate investing is no different. Anyone who thinks they're going to get their entire education out of one book or tape set is extremely naive. This stuff works for those who will work it. RE is a HUGE subject and you need to go slowly and learn well or you WILL screw up. Like anything, you have to gradually get your head around it. I came from a poor background. I was a street-tough who was in and out of jail. Thanks to creative real estate investing I've positioned myself so that money will no longer be an issue in my life. Want the same? Don't buy into the excuses -- your own, or anyone else's. That's called the hypnosis of the culture and it aims to get you down in the hole that it's in. This book is great! It's a great place to start in real estate. If Ron didn't touch on subjects lightly, everyone would be overwhelmed. Eventually there's an ocean of info in the RE investing world. He's letting you wade in about knee deep instead of drowning you all at once. I've been studying this stuff since I got out of the military 12 years ago and I'm still learning. Speaking of the military, Ron's RE boot-camp seminars are also great. That's where you get your real training. This book is here to merely introduce you to some broad concepts. It will help you open your mind to all the possibilities that await you out there in the RE world. Just like in the military, this book is just your "indoc" or indoctrination. That is the purpose. Oh and by the way, everyone loves to say it won't work in their town. Wherever you live it won't work, right? So do the rest of the investors in your town a favor and move. And as soon as you move it'll start working again, right? (a little seminar humor) But, seriously, I can go to anywhere in the US and buy decent houses for 10 cents on the dollar -- I'm living in one right now. So to the reviewer down in NJ - it's called a "short sale" not a "time warp" and it works in any town where there are houses. :-) For real though, a "short sale" is just one of hundreds of techniques to buy houses cheap. Hey guy, maybe you should've bought some of Ron's more in-depth courses and you would have learned the details of how to buy real estate cheap. Ron could charge double for what he teaches and it'd still be a steal. In the long run, going out on your own and doing RE the old "trial and error" way (without proper training) will cost you 50 times as much as just paying up-front and getting trained by someone like Ron who's been out there and made the mistakes for us. And no, I don't work for Ron or get a dime for going on like this. It's just that... unlike some reviewers here, I actually know what I'm talking about because I've put in the hard work and time and money and long hours getting real with real estate -- not just being a spectator. So all I know is that this book made a big change for me. It's a classic! Speaking of classics... I remember a guy telling me Star Wars sucked, before I saw it. I decided to go to the theater and see it for myself. Well, I don't know what that guy was on, but we all know it was a classic. Ron's book speaks for itself guys. Pick up a copy and see if it speaks to you. Peace Out. R. Rogers



3. about books on flipping. But he really shows you the nuts and bolts of this type of investment. Besides teaching you just about everything you need to get started flipping properties, the real gold nugget in this book is the chapter on mortgage lending. I will warn you that utlimately he is trying to sell you one of his courses at the end of the chapter (but arent all these "no-money-down, flipper" type authors trying to upsell you to their high priced programs? Dont read these books if that type of stuff is going to offend you.)

   And to the naysayer reviewers who say it cant be done in my town because of real estate prices, well all I can say is - duh! Get off of your can and drive 45 miles to a smaller town. I live in a high priced area of the country and you can still find these properties. They are nothing you want to move into and live in mind you, but they are there, and there is someone else you can flip them to for a profit.




4. Anytime I see these terms together I look for drug deals or armed robbery scenario. Making "dough" is a disciplined practice, whether you're 'turning tricks' or "kissing-up" to a superior to do so. The discipline in "quick-turn" real estate is that you look for low-priced, discounted properties which have automatic profit. Distressed, foreclosed, estate sales, job transfers, divorces, etc are all eligible candidates. Little, or no money-down, with a credit card purchase are probably not likely, unless you're picking up tax-liens and seizures. But, "Uncle Sam's" IRS selling $500,000 homes for $40,000 are rare events mainly because of a little issue called National Debt which is a mere $7,294,735,218,397.14 as of 7/22/2004.



5. This is an old book. This character has written a new one, same kind of bull. If you're greedy and gullible, buy that one.
   Maybe some day you'll be in bad straits, and some rogue will get in on robbing you of your abode. Not this guy,though. He just writes books and runs "seminars" in chintzy hotel rooms in front of people who want to get something for nothing and have nothing going on in their lives.

1 comments about Accounting for Governmental and Nonprofit Entities w/ City of Smithville - Text Only.

1. Text is poorly organized. Information from later chapters is required for homework of previous chapters. Test bank has extremely detailed questions that requiring combing the chapter for evidence of an answer.

No comments about How to start a lawn care business a whole NEW way!.

1 comments about Presentation Mastery For Realtors.

1. Easy read. Not any really great new ideas, as new ideas are few and rare. Very worthwhile checklists and scripts. I have 20 years in the business, and learned/relearned several things from reading the book.

3 comments about The Angel Investor's Handbook: How to Profit from Early-Stage Investing.

1. Gerald A. Benjamin and Joel Margulis tell the current or prospective angel or early-stage investor how to best judge pre-IPO investments. They emphasize matching investors with the right entrepreneurs to create an effective team in which the investor not only provides the seed or early-stage capital but also contributes good advice and contacts. Besides discussing effective strategies, the book includes an extensive directory of top venture forums, angel organizations, publications and Web sites. In addition, any investor will benefit from the thorough rundown of due-diligence points that the authors recommend. While the book is targeted at prospective investors, we [...] encourage entrepreneurs with start-up companies to use it as a productive guide to making more effective funding pitches, although the companion book for entrepreneurs would probably be more helpful. One caveat: Some ideas are repeated - even with similar wording - from chapter to chapter. But overall this is a solid book, even though the free flows of money it evokes have been arrested somewhat lately.



2. The book contains a lot of very valuable information. It is geared primarily towards the investor who wants to explore angel investing, i.e. private investmentment in early-stage enterprises. The book does a good job in explaining the risks, necessary time commitment and potential benefits of angel investing. Thankfully, it is not of the 'how to get rich easy' kind. On the negative side, the book repeats some of its points ad nauseam and is not a stylistic masterwork.



3. I have been an angel investor for about 7 months and am eager to learn more about angel investing, so that I can do it better. Sadly, I found that this book was severely out of date, and most of what I read in it was the same old stuff I've read elsewhere. I don't yet have an alternative book to recommend.

5 comments about Fast Cash: How I Made a Fortune Buying Notes.

1. That's what Ms. Stevens' book should be named. I bought this book expecting to get a decent tutorial or at the very least a digestible guide on how to purchase property/house notes, perhaps some history on how the business began and how to get started in it. Instead, what I got was the Donald Trump of the property note world sharing her experiences as a property note purchasor; the people she met at her note purchasing workshops; what they said and did; what they went through; and her experience dealing with them. WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY. She even admits that her success is due in most part to her father who got her into the business and shared with her his extensive knowledge of note purchasing, in addition to what she describes as an entire fleet of attorneys who are dedicated to helping her. For those of us who are not independently wealthy, she could have at least explained how one starts a note purchasing business or how to learn about it. Had her father written his own book, I may have learned something and gained some insight into this complex world. I think she's made enough money in her world of upper class financing so to write a book that does nothing but highlight her fabulous career and actually charge people for doing so is in my opinon nothing short of larceny.



2. I read this type of book for the facts, not to be entertained with war stories. This book is all stories that adds up to less than a page of facts. Read the preview, that is what the whole book is like.



3. I found this book to be interesting an easy read, but I learned very little. Like everyone else has stated its nothing more than her personal stories. If you want to learn about brokering notes then your out of luck. It's about being a note buyer and forking out money to attorneys, appraisers, title companies. There's not even much insight on this either.



4. I've learned more from late night gurus than I did from reading this book. Ms. Stevens has conned us all with this one. Thanks for nothing.



5. I am absolutely stunned that this book has been published. Imagine somebody talking endlessly about the mundane details of their career, who they met, what they ordered for lunch when they had lunch with them. How they felt about the people they interacted with etc. I've never been more disappointed in a book. Please don't buy this book or waste your time checking it out of the library. The only reason I can imagine it was published was to give Ms. Stevens the title of published author.