No comments about Successful Real Estate: Investing for the Single Person.

5 comments about The McGraw-Hill 36 Hour Real Estate Investing Course.

1. Good common sense overview of the issues and mechanisms available for investing in real estate. This book touches on a lot of good topics, but can be confusing in places. It's a good primer for furhter reading. Well worth the money.



2. I do not think this is good book for beginners. This book does not truely teach you how to "Start your Investing".

   Mr. Cummings does go into great detail to explain local government and real estate professionals and how to contact them. I would recommend this book to seasoned investors who want to broaden their investment value rating systems and fine tune their operations. For me, it provided a couple of ideas on how to sharpen my own investments. I have invested in Real Estate Multi-families for four years now and may be able to put some of this book into practice.

   Beginners should look for a book that focuses more on the individual, their comfort level, and finding their first property.




3. This is an informative book and it helps the reader to set up a system to tackle real estate investing and in particular income producing properties. New information is listed and discussed in a clear and concise manner. It teaches the potential investor how to establish connections with local authorities and then how to gain more information via those relationships. It also gives you a lot of in depth information on real estate terms, ways to increase properties value, how to evaluate properties, and so on.

   The book is divided into 4 parts with each part answering to a question: Part I - How to Get Started in Real Estate Investing, Part II - How and Why Property Values Go Up and Down and What you can do about it, Part III - How to Find the Right Property to Buy, and Part IV - How to Buy and Sell Real Estate for a Profit.

   The only problem with this book is that it does not teach the new investor how to form a strategy or a framework to use all the great information in the book. (If you want help on creating a strategy or framework, check out Luigi Salvaneschi's book- "Location, Location, Location: How to select the best site for your business" (Luigi's book is more geared towards the retail industry, but its methodical approach in getting and analyzing data for your chosen location is, I think, still relevant.)

   Otherwise, this is a great reference manual with a lot of objective insights and useful information. Highly recommend.




4. This book is a fantastic addition to any real estate investment library. It eloquently covers the process of economic conversion and the effect of public offices on real estate valuation. This is NOT a book to stand alone, it covers next to nothing about many of the key areas of real estate investing. It focuses almost entirely on how to get a feel for what is happening to the property you own, or what might happen to a property you wish to purchase. It covers this area in great detail, however and I have not seen another book which even touches on this aspect of the business. It clearly stands alone in this field.



5. Should be titled "36-hour How To Become A Real Estate Insider." Covers very little on actual investing, mainly on how to meet the mover and shakers of your local real estate community. The type of thing you need to know to move up to the next level. Not the types of things you need to know if you are going to buy some rental houses. If you want to become a developer you would want to read this.

No comments about Cashless Investing in Real Estate.

1 comments about The Real Estate Investor's Guide to Cash Flow and Equity Management: Choose the Investing Strategy to Maximize Your Goals.

1. I was pretty disappointed with the book. As an investor of multiple residential properties, I was really looking forward to readin this book, but it didn't seem to talk about things I could apply. It starts out in the first chapter with calculations of interest vs. actual cost of the loan, yet doesn't really give any real world applications for its use. Also, everything he talked about had to do with commercial property, apartment buildings and shopping malls. That's what irks me!! Nowhere does the cover say that its geared toward commercial property. Then, after the math, he go on to explain the most basic boring concepts such as how cap rates are calculated, followed by how to cut your operating expenses, and how to "find" deals. I had high hopes for this book and had ordered it months before the release date. Too bad

4 comments about Investing in Real Estate With Other People's Money: Proven Strategies for Turning a Small Investment into a Fortune.

1. I read this book in less then a week and I am already putting together a purchase proposal following this books examples. It has many great ideas and explainations of how to flip properties, using first and second mortgages to benefit you, using home equity, taking a mortgage from the seller when they have 100% equity. I have been a minor in real estate for a few years, but this book has opened my eyes to new ways and techniques that I wish I knew many years back.

   Jack Cummings is a great author, easy to read and follow. Nice short chaperts.




2. Investing in RE with OPM is useful if you just came out from a cave or just landed on Earth. Can't make a deal work? Great suggestions from Cummings include asking your family member (THE FAMILY LOAN), borrowing against life insurance policies (MUST really really make sure that its whole and not term)(THE POLICY LOAN) and how about asking for a co-signer (THE AUTOGRAPH COLLECTOR). Only Cummings can manage to write chapters and pages about how to get a loan from a family member or how to add a co-signer to a loan. Investors, please, you have more important things to do.



3. One reviewer obivously stopped reading. Yes Jack Cummings has a chapter on cosigning and one on borrowing against a life insurance policy, but he also has 38 other chapters on very creative ways to finance real estate. But lets face it, these books are written for novices, so cut him some slack. He's covering all bases. And there are a one or two other just as cheesy ones such as chapter 37, "The Root Beer Float" (And in fact, this type of advice is why I didnt rate the book higher - but if you can gleen a couple of ideas to use then I feel a book is worth it).

   Every type of financing one could think of is covered in this book from syndication to yes, using a family cosigner. Each idea also includes possible pitfalls. I rate this book 3 1/2 stars and feel it is a solid purchase.




4. I've bought many expensive courses and books on real estate investing, from the late-night TV guru to classic books on the subject. They all have some valuable information, BUT I WOULD TRADE HAVING BOUGHT THEM ALL IN FAVOR OF THIS ONE LITTLE BOOK UNDER $20. Whereas many real estate experts turned authors would have you believe that their courses give you tricks and secrets to wealth that you won't find anywhere else, Mr. Cummings explains in detail how all of these methods of finance are used all the time in real estate and are the foundations of amazing fortunes through property. Each technique is explained with examples, benefits, and potential pitfalls, each over the course of four to five pages. You can read this book in short snippets and walk away mentally charged with the possibilities or more likely get engrossed in the reading and not break for 100 pages. This isn't pie-in-the-sky, might work for somebody else stuff. This is how it's done all the time by the people that know how to maximize their return while minimizing their risk. I'm an avid reader and for books on financial success, I would place this book at number 2 on the must-read list, right behind Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad, Poor Dad. That book tells you why you must turn to property. This book tells you how to do it. I can't recommend it highly enough! Great, great book! By the way, any reviewers thinking the use of OPM (other people's money) to buy property is only useful if you just crawled out of a cave or just landed on earth must have paid all cash for their houses, otherwise, they used OPM. Any kind of financing IS the use of OPM!

5 comments about Commercial Real Estate Investing 12 Easy Steps to Getting Started.

1. For those interested in breaking into commercial real estate, following all the steps in this book, though time-consuming, is a must in my opinion. I couldn't agree more with the strategy presented.



2. Its a great 1st timer book, i bought it because i was a 1st timer. but after reading through half of it it seemed like most of it was a lot of repetitive information that i didn't really need. i would recommended it to 1st timers only.



3. This is a great book on the practical side of "What to Do" and "How to Do It" to make money in commercial real estate.
   
   A lot of books give you a lot of technical definitions and rules, but this book shows you the steps to follow to make things happen in your career.
   
   I keep my under-lined and highlighted copy on my desk for constant review.
   
   Great book, Buy it and make money!



4. Good introduction for a novice. Not a must if you have any business background.



5. Cant tell you the amount of times I have referred to this book in my dealings. Invaluable information in there!