There are many questions that should be asked before embarking upon a career of real estate investment. The first and foremost question however should be whether or not you are truly committed to making real estate work for you. This is not a business for the faint of heart. In order to truly turn a profit you must be at times ruthless when dealing with buyers and sellers but ethical to a fault when it comes to the work that must often be done in order to get a property in sellable condition.

The reason a serious commitment is needed in order to make real estate work for you is simple. There will be ups and downs along the way. The stock market experiences rises and falls on a regular basis. Just as you cannot dump all of your stock over one bad day the same holds true even more so in the realm of real estate investing. Property values in general rise gradually over time. This means that even if the values in a community falter chances are that they will eventually recover.

Those who bank on the slow and steady growth in the value are referred to as buy and hold investors. These investors are truly committed to their investment. Some of them elect to hold the property as a vacation property while others opt to earn an income on the property by renting it out to other families or vacationers, whatever their choice may be.

This is a great way for many people to enjoy the luxury of a vacation property without absorbing all of the expenses involved in owning a vacation property as the rentals will help compensate some of the costs when the owners (investors) are not in residence. This is a fairly common practice in high demand tourist areas in which people often enjoy vacationing. These types of investors are what some people refer to as serious real estate investors though all real estate investors need to take their purchases seriously.

Those who own rental properties must also be committed to making their investments work for them. Rental properties are not a ‘hands off’ type of investment, as they will need to be maintained in order to remain in demand by tenants. You must also make constant efforts to keep these properties managed and filled along with remaining certain that you are collecting your rent each month and that the properties aren’t falling into a state of disrepair or abuse by tenants.

Many investors retain the services of property management agencies in order to handle the minutia of month-to-month details and collections. This is a great idea whether you have one lone rental property or a vast portfolio of rental properties. Even better however, is the fact that if you keep your rental properties in reasonable repair throughout the years they can become liquid assets in time. In other words, they may actually pay for themselves a few times over if you invest for the long-term rather than focusing on the moment.

No matter what type of real estate investment you intend to have it is important that you are prepared to make the commitment to profit or profitability that is necessary in order for your venture to be deemed a success.

Review

“This is one of the few real estate books that cannot be recommended too highly. Schaub…shares his advice in simple easy-to-understand terms. On my scale of one to 10, this outstanding book rates an off-the-chart 12.” (Boston Globe )

Markets change-smart investors adapt. No matter what the state of the real estate market, there is wealth to be made, and the basics of smart investing still apply. In Building Real Estate Wealth in a Changing Market, John (more…)

Review

“A must-read . . . [about how]. . . real estate products . . . generate tax-free or tax-deferred wealth . . . particularly thought-provoking as an alternative to stock investments.” — Empire Magazine, September 2003″Real estate has become an increasingly important way to diversify retirement-plan holdings; [Rice]. . . offers real estate as an investment option.” — The Wall Street Journal, “Building Value” column, July 23, 2003

For decades, banks and b (more…)

I quit my job at 43 to write my own paychecks and maintain and manage my rental properties. This book describes how I started with almost nothing and reached my goal in 11 years, which was to be financially independent. I did this by investing in older style apartment buildings and stores in Seattle, Washington. You will see many pictures of buildings I bought, how I operated, maintained, improved, and sold some. Many anecdotes and examples are presented. Also pictures of (more…)

From Publishers Weekly

Harvard Business School professor Poorvu writes a very good book for a very specific readership: people who want to invest or build careers in real estate. This well-organized text shows what a typical life in real estate is like so that newcomers can decide whether the field is right for them. It also offers advice on how to grow real estate investments for people who are already in the industry. The book is divided into four stages: starting out looks at (more…)

Real Estate Investing For Dummies, 2nd Edition, is completely revised and updated to help you overcome the challenges and and take advantage of the opportunities in any real estate environment, including a down market. But Eric Tyson and Robert Griswold’s core message remains as relevant today as it did upon the initial publication of Real Estate Investing For Dummies — investing in real estate is time-tested vehicle to build wealth in the long term. Tyson and Griswold don’t te (more…)

Review

“This is the success story of an ex-dot-com employee who got tired of working long hours at a great job for 10 years and watching his fellow workers lose their jobs. He accidentally discovered real estate’s market-value appreciation, leverage, tax savings, cash flow, reliability and freedom from a 9-to-5 workday. In the process, he became a multimillionaire, and he shows readers how they can have the same result.” (Bruss, Robert J. San Francisco Chronicle. )

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From the Manufacturer

Give your children the financial head start necessary to thrive in today’s fast paced and changing world. Schools teach children how to work for money. CASHFLOW for Kids teaches children how to have money work for them. CASHFLOW for Kids is a complete educational package which includes the book “Rich Dad’s Guide to Raising Your Child’s Financial I.Q.” CASHFLOW for Kids is recommended for children ages 6 and older.

Brand new in factory se (more…)

HOW THIS BOOK WILL LEAD TO YOUR INVESTMENT SUCCESS This book takes you step by step through appraisal, finance and the law of apartment property ownership. . You will be able to appraise property using five different methods of setting a value on property and predicting cash flow. . Learn about mortgages and deeds of trust and find out how to get the lowest interst rate. . Learn how to how much to offer and how to draft an offer. . It tells you in easy to understand language wha (more…)

This Windows© based software program performs dozens of financial calculations in a variety of categories. These simple-to-use calculatorscan help you make important financial decisions in areas ranging from home financing (how much house can I afford?) to retirement planning (how much do I need to save for a comfortable retirement?) A great tool to help manage your financial needs!

Partial list of Financial Calculators include:

Loan Calculators
Missing Loan-Term Calculator (more…)