The Wall Street Journal Complete Real Estate Investing Guidebook
The conservative, thoughtful, thrifty investor’s guide to building a real-estate empire.
Profitable real-estate investing opportunities exist everywhere as long as you know what to look for and understand how to make prudent deals that transform property into profits. David Crook, of The Wall Street Journal, shows how to make safe and sane investments that ensure a good night’s sleep as your real-estate portfolio grows, your properties appreciate and your income increases. The Wall Street Journal Complete Real-Estate Investing Guidebook offers the most authoritative information on:
• Why real-estate investing is a great wealth-building alternative to stocks and bonds and why it’s crucial that you avoid get-rich schemes
• How to get the financing and make the contacts to get started
• How to start small and local, be hands-on and go step-by-step with a vacation home to rent out, a pure rental property or a small apartment building
• How to find and value great properties, do the numbers and ensure you have that beautiful thing called cash flow
• How the government blesses real-estate investors with tax breaks and loopholes, and how you can be one of the anointed
• How to deal with the nuts-and-bolts of being a landlord and have a strife-free relationship with your tenants
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars A great place to start
First of all, this book is remarkable for being totally devoid of B.S.
How often can you say that about a book on any topic? Seems like a good jumping off point for a potential investor like myself. It’s very broad and very basic. Mr. Crook employs a refreshing blend of encouragement and realism with an emphasis on discipline and preparedness.
While his approach rings true, I have a minor issue with his criticism of people with nice cars, boats, mansions, etc. as I believe there could be a season in life to enjoy those things responsibly if one so chooses. Besides this small bit of moral snobbery this was the perfect read for someone in my position.
5 Stars Patience is a virtue
Yeah, you have heard that before haven’t you? Patience is a virtue… The entire point of this book is about proper investment strategies without going through the quick rich schemes of what has broken Wall Street. Aggressive financing, flipping, no downpayments, over leveraging yourself, etc. have caused few success stories and a lot more heart aches. Let’s face it, a lot of people gambled and they loss.
This is one of the few books that I have read that I’m willing to give 5 stars to, because in all honesty, it looks to the alternative of the quick rich schemes. While it was published in 2006, it even makes more sense to read now.
One of my definite recommendations in my reviews.
4 Stars Good read.. very broad and a little dry
This is a good book with a unique point of view. It covers a very broad range of topics including financing, commercial, and others. The book offers some good advice. I did find it a little dry and drawn out at times. Regardless, a good source of practical information to round out your real estate studies. This book doesn’t focus on this point and time in real estate but more of a timeless strategy.
3 Stars Some good tips but…
I’ve been reading a lot of real estate investment books lately. This one started out really strong, but seemed to fall apart at the end. It felt as if it lacked a concluding statement or overarching idea that drew the entire piece together. Still, for the beginning investor it has some very good ideas.
Biggest plus: outright denouncement of the all-too-common “get-rich-quick” schemes one finds so often in real estate books.
4 Stars Wall Journal
The book is an excellent reference and it’s a good book to follow for planning your financial life style without being a dreamer.
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