The Successful Landlord Blog

So, recently I was given the opportunity to read a new book which I thought was appropriate for the current real estate market climate. The book, called The Make Money On Foreclosures Answer Book was written by one Denise L Evans, Attorney-at-law.

Ms. Evans goes into quite a lot of necessary detail regarding the purchase of properties at various stages of foreclosure. She is clear and to-the-point about many misconceptions the general public has about buying properties in foreclosure.

One point that bears repeating, is that properties advertised for sale as “foreclosures” are typically listed at or very near market prices. This is due to the fact that the bank holding the mortgage lists the property for the appraised value or a value based on a broker price opinion (BPO).

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The other day I was looking at one of my bookshelves and realized that I have read an inordinate number of books on real estate investing, being a landlord and the legal issues surrounding the same, when I was preparing to invest in real estate.

So I set up a bookstore to feature these books. Most of the books in the bookstore, I have found to be quite helpful and informative. I should note, however, that certain books I’ve read on the subject, namely those written by Robert Kiyosaki of Rich Dad Poor Dad fame, I DO NOT recommend as I have found them to be over simplified and not very true-to-life.

In fact, the only book of his that I recommend is Rich Dad Poor Dad mostly because of the “cashflow quadrant” device he uses to explain why you usually can’t get rich working as an employee for someone else.

If anyone has any suggestions for additions, please let me know and I’ll consider adding them to the list.

Recently, I finished reading a great book entitled Retire Rich from Real Estate by Marc W Andersen, Ph.D.

This is a great book because not only is the subject of investing in residential real estate covered completely but there are lots of interesting tidbits of information that can help you decide which type of rental property is right for your market, location and temperament.

Also, the complete “life cycle” of the investment is covered. There are explanations about how to determine which property to buy, how to finance it the best way, how to manage the property properly(i.e.- deal with tenants effectively) and finally, how to sell the property and cash in.
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