As a real estate investor and as a real estate agent, I often get asked how I learned to do what I do. Questions such as, how did you learn to invest? Where did you get the money? Why out of state? Why are you "rehabbing houses"? How are you finding deals? Are you scared of the risk? Why real estate? Where did you learn?
At least a few times a week I get asked these questions. To set some context, as of January 2022, I run 2 separate real estate investment businesses and I also serve as an agent, helping clients buy and sell their homes, and helping hopeful investors get into investing by helping them build the confidence that they need to buy their first investment property.
Almost everything that I've learned has come from books and podcasts. Once absorbed, I eventually had to dive in and begin learning by doing. Today, I will review some of the books that I read early on in my investment journey. These books helped me breakdown barriers so instead of thinking "I can't", I adjusted my mindset to "how can I". Whether you're an investor, or looking to buy your primary residence, these books may help give you the tools that you need to make the best investment of your life time...real estate!
Book #1: "Rich Dad, Poor Dad - What the rich teach their kids about money, that the poor and middle class do not" by Robert Kiyosaki
Link to purchase: Rich Dad Poor Dad
This is by FAR one of the most popular real estate investment books ever published. This book dives deep into the power of real estate and why its such a powerful investment vehicle. It goes on to describe the difference in mindset between those who work for a paycheck and those who generate income off of real estate. This was the book that shifted my mindset and allowed me to understand that my primary residence is a LIABILITY and not an asset. An ASSET generates income. An investment property is an asset. This book perfectly illustrates the road map on how to become financially free through investing in real estate. It's a wonderful read and I highly encourage anyone looking to buy a home to read this book.
Book #2: "How to Invest in Real Estate" by Josh Dorkin and Brandon Turner
Link to purchase: How to Invest in Real Estate
Once I decided that I wanted to learn more about real estate investing, the next logical step was to learn what the different forms of investing in real estate are. Did you know that there are dozens of ways to invest in real estate and some of them require NO money to get started! "How to Invest in Real Estate" provides an orientation to investing in real estate. From buying and managing a short term rental (Airbnb), to turnkey buy and hold, to flipping houses, a combination of them all called BRRRR (buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat), to wholesaling, syndications, multifamily investing, and on and on and on. There truly is a strategy for everyone, regardless of your financial starting point. For anyone looking to learn more about investing in real estate, I HIGHLY suggest you give this book a read once you've read "Rich Dad Poor Dad".
Book #3: "How to Invest in Real Estate with low (and no) Money Down" by Brandon Turner
Link to purchase: How to Invest in Real Estate with low (and no) Money Down
The BIGGEST road block that we as investors and home buyers face in financing. Finding the capital to build and eventually scale a portfolio is HARD. Finding the money is arguably the hardest component of this industry. This book articulates the various methods for which you can buy a property with little (maybe 3%) and/or no (0%) down... Sound sketchy... Well did you know that my last investment property (a duplex) was purchased with $0 out of pocket? I bet you also didn't know that my two properties before that were purchased without touching a single dollar from my savings. The methods and strategies that I use to build my own investment portfolio were all learned from this very book! It's a fascinating read and one that will open your creative brain waves to understand how you can begin acquiring real estate with low (and no) money down!
Book #4: "Short Term Rental Long Term Wealth" by Avery Carl
Link to purchase: Short Term Rental Long Term Wealth
This book gave me ALL the feels. With our first investment property being a vacation rental (Airbnb) on Cape Cod, it was trial by fire as we implemented systems to operate our vacation rental. With each guest we learned more and more. Strong customer service and simple business systems can really take you a long way. Vacation rentals can also be an incredible way to score a free vacation at your own home and/or simply reduce your overall expenses on the home by renting it out as convenient. I'm convienced that vacation rentals are one of the BEST and most EXCITING ways to get into real estate investing. In "Short Term Rental Long Term Wealth", Avery Carl communictes the nuances of running a vacation rental and offers tips and tricks for making it a passive investment! For any of my clients looking to replicate what I've done in Cape Cod with my vacation rental, I HIGHLY suggest reading this book to see if vacation rentals are right for you!....oh and did you know, you can buy a vacation rental property with only a 10% down payment! Which makes it even easier to get in on this investment strategy.
Book #5: "Long-Distance Real Estate Investing" by David Green
Link to purchase: Long-Distance Real Estate Investing
This is a good one! David Green, the host of the Bigger Pockets podcast was not always a real estate investor. He was actually a police officer living in the San Francisco Bay area. He had purchased his primary residence just outside of the city, but after that, he found it nearly impossible to buy another home locally as the prices were too high for his salary. So he thought outside the box (as most investors do) and began researching other markets around the country that better aligned with his investment goals. Fast forward 15 years, and he's no longer a cop....he's a full time investor with millions of dollars worth of real estate and millions of dollars worth of passive cashflow from that real estate... To me, this was an incredibly powerful book as I faced many of the ssame financial challenges here in Massachusetts. I felt that it was too risky to sink all of my money into 1 investment property...So I looked at other markets around the country where for the same start up capital, I could purchase multiple properties. I honed in on markets that had high rent, relative to the home price. I also learned to build a team (the core 4 - agent, contractor, property manager, bank) which operate and manage the properties on my behalf. We've now bought 4 doors (2 single family homes and a duplex) using this strategy. I find it less risky because if one property under performs, I still have 2-3 other properties bringing cashflow in, rather than 1 expensive property locally that could make or break my portfolio (of 1 house). All of these strategies and more are taught in this book. For anyone living in an expensive market, I highly suggest reading this book!!