Book Description
Whether youre a first-time real estate investor or a seasoned professional, The Complete Guide to Buying and Selling Apartment Buildings helps you map out your future, find apartment buildings at a fair price, finance purchases, and manage your properties. Now revised and expanded, this Second Edition includes tax planning advice, case studies of real acquisitions, and appendixes that add detail to the big picture. Plus, it includes a handy glossary of all the terms investors need to know, helpful sample forms that make paperwork quick and easy, and updated real estate forecasts. With this comprehensive guide at hand youll find profits easy to come by.
Download Description
Whether you¿re a first-time real estate investor or a seasoned professional, The Complete Guide to Buying and Selling Apartment Buildings helps you map out your future, find apartment buildings at a fair price, finance purchases, and manage your properties. Now revised and expanded, this Second Edition includes tax planning advice, case studies of real acquisitions, and appendixes that add detail to the big picture. Plus, it includes a handy glossary of all the terms investors need to know, helpful sample forms that make paperwork quick and easy, and updated real estate forecasts. With this comprehensive guide at hand you¿ll find profits easy to come by.
Customer Reviews:
A Great Introductory Investment Real Estate Overview.......2007-05-16
I've read several realestate investment books and this is the most comprehensive. It covers all aspects of finding, negotiating, financing and managing apartment building investments. Additional reading and investigation will still be required; however this is a great place to begin.
Great Read, Extremely Valuable........2007-04-22
With all the hype out there in the real estate investing space, it's refreshing to read a book that is honest, intellectual, and driven by a solid foundation in financial analysis.
Steve Berges does an outstanding job of walking the reader through general concepts, straight-forward examples, and detailed case studies. The financial analysis might be a little overwhelming to someone who is being introduced to so many financial concepts for the first time. If you don't have an understanding of finance, I'd recommend hitting Google or a Finance textbook to help get through the financial sections.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and thought it was packed full of valuable tips and information. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in adding apartment buildings to their real estate repertoire.
If you don't yet know how you want to invest............2007-04-11
...this is an excellent read. I had never given apartments a thought until reading Steve Berges. Now they are in the mix. The charts in Chapter 8 are a bit tedious, especially to a beginner, but by the time you get to the end of the book, you will know if buying and selling (or keeping) apartments is for you. Pay attention to what Berges says about the value play (Chapter4).
Well written guide.......2006-08-20
This book is a concise well written guide to the core issues of buying, owning and selling multifamily buildings. It was extremely valuable in evaluating our first purchase of a multi-family structure.
4.5 stars for another good book by Steve Berges.......2006-08-17
As a real estate investor and author myself, I read a lot of real estate books. Many, if not most, are written by folks who do not invest in real estate themselves; they only write about it. Berges is not one of them. He knows his stuff and it's clear that he practices what he preaches. I have read three of his books and, I must say, he's one of my favorite real estate authors. You can trust what he says. Experienced investors may want a bit more detail from Steve, but what he does say is accurate and safe. This is a good book on buying apartments. In fact, in my own book, "Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes & Quads," I list the best books I've read on different areas of real estate. This book is the ONLY book I recommend on investing in commercial multifamily (ie, apartments of 5 units and up) properties.
Having given those accolades, here are a few of my constructive criticisms:
1. On pages 37 and 38, Steve gives nice charts illustrating the long-term financial benefits of investing in multifamily properties. On page 39, however, there is an error in referring to the big numbers shown. The reference is made to Investor A's "equity" of $2.1 million and Investor B's (the multifamily property investor) equity of $92 million. I just don't think Steve caught this, but those numbers don't refer to the investor's equity, but to the fair market value of his collective assets (his properties). The investor's equity might be in the range of 20% of that. I do like the charts, however, and I used a similar analysis in my recent book. One other note on the charts - they presume selling and buying exactly at the end of one year - a difficult task as Steve would surely admit. On average, I think 18 months to two years is a better time frame for flipping apartments.
2. Refinancing - Steve didn't give a chart showing the long-range effect of the "buy, hold and refy" strategy (using proceeds to buy again, but retaining the first property). In addition, Steve only mentioned the general banking guideline that you can only pull out cash up to 80% of the new appraised value (i.e., the bank has an LTV of 80%). However, you can get around this. I've done it. It requires a second lender giving a second mortgage, with a CLTV (combined loan to value) of up to 90%. As such, you can pull out much more cash.
3. GRM - gross rent multiplier. In his financial analysis section, Steve doesn't give much detail or provide real life examples on this crucial analysis factor. Granted, the cap rate is the analysis primarily used for commercial real estate, while the GRM is the one used for residential multifamily (2-4 units) real estate. Since many owners and selling brokers will "fudge" on expenses, a cap rate can be very hard to verify. The GRM, however, is fairly simple - just look at the lease agreements.
4. Lack of coverage on residential multifamily apartments. In fact, this is why I wrote my book on this topic. If Steve had covered it here, I would not have written mine. I like Steve's writing style and he knows his stuff. But for investing in small multifamily properties (certainly on residential, but probably up to about 10 units), we really have to cover valuation and selection of properties using the GRM. That and I felt like the "buy, hold, and refy" strategy needed much more coverage.
But for investing in commercial multifamily properties, I recommend this book as the only good one on the market.
Larry Loftis
Author: Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes and Quads: The Fastest and Safest Way to Real Estate Wealth
Book Description
This year 1.2 million consumers will buy a new home, and they need real help in navigating the new-home minefield. The latest edition of Your New House includes charts, tables, black-and-white illustrations throughout, as well as updated prices and new trends in home buying. Also added is information on the dot-com shakeout, including what it means for online mortgages and home listings; more Web addresses for all major product manufacturers; and the best websites for deals on products like carpet and lighting. “The best book available on how to buy and build a new home.” — Chicago Tribune
Customer Reviews:
If you like lists, you'll love this book.......2005-06-24
Seven years ago we decided to build a house. I had never, ever heard one person who thought doing so was a good idea. I know the authors of this book seem hooked on horror stories, but it's all to the good because it's all true. In fact, by using the book's suggestions, we not only built a wonderful house, but our builder brought it in at $17,000 under budget. We've lived in the house for seven years and I've recommended this book to countless people. Don't know if it's been updated since I read it and things do change, but if you're a novice at homebuilding and don't want to be taken, this book should be number one on your reading and USING list.
Great Book!.......2004-09-26
I read three books: Cellers to Ceilings, Build It Right, and Your New House. All were good, but Your New House was by far the best of the three. Your New House was very thorough with information from beginning to end in building (and buying) a new home. Lots of information to protect the consumer and includes websites for additional information and products. Highly recommended reading!
Good Book...All questions were not answered.......2004-03-07
I am a first time buyer and wanted to make sure that I was getting the best deal at every end of the process. I read this book and although many parts of it were good, it did not apply to my situation. This book is excellent for those that are building a custom built home with a builder. If you are looking to buy a production home (centex, KB, pulte) this is not the book you will want. I found some of the examples to be informative, but overall I will need another book to answer my questions. I hope my review helped.
Essential.......2003-10-05
This is the single best homebuying book we've found. The section on binding arbitration clauses alone is worth the price of the book. Concise, sensible, at times overly cautious -- this book is a necessary skeptical foil to overenthusiastic homebuyers who may be getting themselves into a rotten home or rotten purchase agreement. No, it's not perfect. I'm sure some of the technical information is incorrect. All homebuying books suffer this problem. But the 1-star reviews of this book are inconceivable. Perhaps they were written by shady builders or sellers who are upset that this book is scaring away unwary buyers?
Very Helpful.......2003-10-03
I recently purchased a new home with my husband. After having problems with our new house in several areas, I decided that for the collge speech class I was taking that I would choose the topic of "researching before you buy a new home." This book was among the five books that I purchased on this subject. It was by far the most helpful and easiest to understand. I will be using it as a Bible the next time we are looking at new houses.
Keep in mind that there are better books if you need mortgage or real estate document information. However, this book was the best for giving you information how how to choose your house and neighborhood.
Product Description
Trading in the daily grind and living a life of financial independence is simpler to do than you might think. With this new model for real estate investing success, you can transform the way you think about investing and set your course towards financial independence. Finally, you can have the time, money, and peace of mind to leave the rat-race behind and live the life you have always dreamed of living. This could be the last real estate investing book you will ever need. You will discover how to: **Turn inexpensive houses into virtual money-machines that consistently churn out returns of over 400%! **Transform a small nest-egg into several hundred thousand dollars of equity in as little as 24 months part time! **Generate large up-front payments from your tenants that you can use to purchase more properties! **Negotiate leases where your tenants willingly accept the majority of responsibility for upkeep and repairs! **Build competition among prospective tenants and have them clamoring to pay you above market rents! **Sidestep the risks and hassles of landlording and put your investing on autopilot! Apply these simple, proven techniques to create your own virtual money-machine that generates income for you and your family 24/7.
Gary Keller, New York Times Best-Selling Author, "The Millionaire Real Estate Agent" and Co-Founder, Keller Williams Realty International
John . . . You Rock! In reviewing [your book] I think it definitely can be of true help to anyone serious about wealth building!
Customer Reviews:
An absolute "must-read" for any prospective real estate investor.......2007-09-06
Real estate broker, licensing instructor, and investor John A. Michailidis presents Beginner's Guide to Building Wealth Buying Houses: The Foolproof Roadmap to Real Estate Riches Without the Risks and Hassles of Landlording, a straight-talk guide to amassing a personal fortune through real estate assets. Defining wealth as "automatic income streams that are independent of your personal labor, and that are sufficient to maintain your chosen individual lifestyle indefinitely," Beginner's Guide to Building Wealth Buying Houses proves especially valuable to readers who are relatively new to real estate. While buying properties with intent to turn them around and resell them - "flipping" - is covered, Michailidis stresses that this form of real estate investment requires expert-level knowledge of local market conditions, and that and ordinary people can easily get burned. Instead, the primary focus is on how to acquire properties and use them to generate revenue streams through renting, or better yet, rent-to-own arrangements. Houses are recommended for beginners since they tend to attract more stable and reliable tenants than apartments. Chapters cover the economics of single-family houses, the right way to present offers, how to attract quality tenants, proven negotiation tactics, and much more. An absolute "must-read" for any prospective real estate investor, as well as anyone who dreams of becoming financially successful and secure.
Begining Real Estate Investor? Read This Book First.......2007-08-08
This is an excellent book for beginning - and even seasoned - investors.
I've been a real estate broker for 29 years and know a thing or two about real estate investing. I try to keep abreast of all new books that come out on the subject.
Most real estate books are complicated, full of formulas and lots of theory. Some are so dull you can't get through the first couple of chapters. The author of this book writes in a very easy-to-read, conversational style.
I found the investing method in this book to be sound and easy to implement. It's not about making a million bucks in a couple of months like so many other books on the market today. It's a very safe, low- risk system that can slowly but surely lead to wealth. In my opinion it is a great way to invest a portion of one's IRA or pension plan - in real estate instead of just stocks.
If you are new to the world of real estate investing, I would certainly recommend making this your first book on the subject.
Simple explanation of a daunting process.......2007-07-25
I read this book cover to cover in a single day. I could not put it down.
Author takes a difficult process and makes it so incredibly simple. Obviously there is homework involved, but even that is laid out for you in an easy to follow process. I can see real evidence of the author's e-myth style of setting up process and making the system do the work for you.
If you are looking to start investing in real estate, like we are, this is both the push we needed to jump in and the safety net of someone else's experience rolled into one.
Very well written, easy read.......still found some shortcomings.......2007-07-20
Don't let my title fool you, i thoroughly enjoyed this book in fact, i usually never write these reviews but felt i should share this with others as I've read every review before purchasing the book.
This is a very "easy" read, probably the fastest book that i remember completing. I loved how the author got very detailed into how to conduct the transaction from beginning to end. The only issue i found was that I personally do not live in an area where a "nice home in a nice neighborhood" costs under 200K. I didn't see the author provide any direction to this issue if this was the case for the investor. I also had a hard time navigating the website they mentioned at the end of the book and couldn't find how to order the forms from the CD online.
Still a great book and a must read !!!
Great book for beginning investor, without the fluff!.......2007-07-17
This book was so interesting I could not put it down! Everything one needs to lease purchase property. The author speaks in great detail without confusing you and not over your head. Enjoyed it immensely.
Book Description
This uniquely practical guide will help guarantee that the home you build, buy, or renovate will perfectly suit your needs, desires, and lifestyle.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book - Don't Plan Your Home Without It........2005-06-20
This book is an excellent guide to help navigate the hundreds of practical details involved in planning a home.
Every chapter is well-written, and well- organized, with an extremely useful checklist at the end. For example, what about the selection of your vanity in the bathroom? Would you like it to be the age old standard height of 34"? Or would you prefer it to be shorter, or higher? This is a very useful question as the standard height of 34" for the bathroom vanity is not really a comfortable height for most people. My counters, both kitchen and bathrooms, are a height of 37# (I'm 5'5)which is a more comfortable height for me. The depth of my counters are 28" not the standard 24". If you notice your kitchen, once you have the toaster, blender, etc. out, there's little room left for much of anything else. So those extra 4 " in depth really give you a lot more space. Builders want everything to be standard because it's easier for them, but it's your house they are building, and better to get it the way you want it. Another useful question is "do you read in the bathtub"? I do, and that means when designing the bathroom I want a good reading light above the tub at the end where my head lays. Every chapter in this book ends with a great checklist of things you will want to take into account, and prepares you for the highly detailed process of planning a home. It's one of the best on the market, and I think one of most underated ones.
Mostly lists - a workbook.......2004-01-31
Most of the book is literally pages filled with questions about what you want in a home, with blank space to write in your answers. There are a few suggestions that all somehow end up pointing at similar designs. The filled out book would be given to an architect to start a design. Very good for someone who needs a formal structure to decide what is needed. If you've already throught seriously about what you want, this book will waste your time.
Excellent reference for home buyers!.......1999-09-26
We found The Home Design Handbook to be an excellent resource as we searched for our home. The questions and exercises helped us narrow down and prioritize what we wanted (and did not want) in our home. Even the information intended for those who plan to build or renovate a house, covered issues that we found important considerations for anyone buying an existing home. For example, we learned alot about what to watch for to ensure the house was more energy efficient, inside and out. We felt we were better educated buyers with this great book!
thinks of everything - very personalized!.......1999-08-10
This book looks at home design from a wholistic approach as well as up close and personal. It focuses on your hopes and dreams and the soul of your home to give you true satisfaction with your design. It includes such things as site, energy considerations, family's lifestyle, outdoors and indoors, and budget. With the guidance of this book you can plan to build a house from scratch or remodel an existing house to your taste and needs. Each room in the house is taken into consideration in detail, right down to the storage space, with photos and floor plans. Useful addresses and an extensive bibliography are given for your further exploration. This book is fantastic, especially because it gives you the freedom to custom design your dream house. Much of it is in the form of a workbook, with blanks to fill in. After going through all the forms, it will become clear to you what you need to do to achieve your goals.
Book Description
The kit car building industry has increased in size significantly over the past few years, in both the UK and US. A rising number of enthusiasts are attracted by the prospect of driving a tailor-made car that they have built themselves, and the vast range of designs available ensures that there is a vehicle to suit all tastes, from replica classic sports cars to specialist track-day machines. This book, written in a humorous, down-to-earth style, provides all the information required to choose a suitable kit and complete it successfully to produce a safe, roadworthy car.
Book Description
Staircases are an unavoidable design choice for any multilevel home. Because a staircase can set the entire tone for you house, it is imperative to find the style that suits you to a tee. Stairscaping, at once an idea book and a how-to-guide, brings you up close and personal with this indispensable piece of architecture, and shows you how to enhance your existing staircase to fit your style.
This primer covers the worldwide evolution of residential staircases, including both classical and contemporary interior and exterior staircases, thorough well-researched, accessible text and detailed, designer photography. A full resource section provides information for staircase restoration, resource tools, and other helpful industry contacts.
Book Description
Information for the inspector, investor, appraiser, home buyer, home owner and handyman regarding heating and cooling
Customer Reviews:
HVAC for Home Inspectors.......2000-04-27
This book cuts through the chase and directs one on what is required to do a home inspection in regards to the HVAC components. The book goes into depth on such things as condensing furnaces, pulse furnaces, one and two pipe boiler systems, heat pumps, etc as it relates to the home inspection. The flow of the book makes it easy to follow and is a great reference book to use in the field.
A Practical Guide to Inspecting Heating & Cooling.......2000-03-03
Book is very vague and written in a very run around type format and not getting to the point of what is the subject matter with very limited technical information leaving a person confused as to what is this author talking about, this book is totally not recommended for someone trying to find some detailed expert technical techniques and a waste of time and money.It appears author doesn't want to share his technical expertise in his form of writing. Overall rating 0 NOT RECOMMENDED
Average customer rating:
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Healthy Home Kit
Ingrid Ritchie
Manufacturer: DEARBORN TRADE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Real Estate
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Household Hints
| How-to & Home Improvements
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
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Consumer Guides
| Reference
| Subjects
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General
| Reference
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Air
| Pollution
| Environmental
| Civil
| Engineering
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
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General
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
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Look Inside Home & Garden Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
ASIN: 0793108985 |
Customer Reviews:
helpful guide.......2000-10-06
I found this book very helpfull, it tells about evry step of the home buying process. I found the details about closings and the chapter on agents especially enlightening. Knowing the rules behind "seller's agents" and "buyer's agent" is not as simple as it seems, something I would otherwise not have realized. I feel better prepared to begin searching for a house having read it
Average customer rating:
- Decent, but not detailed enough
- handyman in oak creek
- Pretty useless
- This is not what is claims to be.
- the best book of the year
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A Complete Guide to Planning, Building, Buying, Maintaining Inground Swimming Pools
Daniel E. Ricchio
Manufacturer: Pools Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Outdoor & Recreational Areas
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Reference
| How-to & Home Improvements
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Swimming Pools
| How-to & Home Improvements
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Home & Garden Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
ASIN: 0965129314 |
Customer Reviews:
Decent, but not detailed enough.......2006-04-25
As per other reviewers, this book is interesting and has a fair amount of information if you are new to the subject, but does NOT give you the detailed information you need to actually build/install a pool.
handyman in oak creek.......2001-02-23
book was clear and concise. No technical language to get confused. drawings are helpful and well done. swimming pool maintenance and equipment information was extremely helpful.
Pretty useless.......1999-08-02
The content of this book could have been condensed into 20 pages. The information was much too general, even for me (I'm a new pool owner and not technical or mechanical at all).
This is not what is claims to be........1999-07-31
This book contains brief summaries of several topics related to building pools. It does not contain enough information on anything to enable you to build your own pool, or hire subcontractors to do it. It does not address how to hire subcontractors, what type of subs to hire, things to watch out for, etc, nor does it go into any degree of detail on how to build a pool. It is a basic intro to pools -- a waste of time if you need to get information to help you actuually do something. I would return it except postage will cost me about half the price of the book.
the best book of the year.......1999-04-22
I found this book to be the best book of the year is was fascinating and incitfull its everything you need to build a swimming pool. I Loved IT I read it in one day I couldnt put it down. Go for it!!!!!
Books:
- The Dictionary of Real Estate Appraisal, Fourth Edition
- The Fair Tax Book: Saying Goodbye to the Income Tax and the IRS
- The Fair Tax Book: Saying Goodbye to the Income Tax and the IRS
- The First-Time Homeowner's Handbook: A Complete Guide and Workbook for the First-Time Home Buyer (Book & CD-ROM)
- The Girl From Botany Bay
- The Lean Manufacturing Pocket Handbook
- The Mom's Guide to Earning and Saving Thousands on the Internet (Mom's Guide to Earning & Saving Thousands on the Internet)
- The Painted Veil
- The Party's Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies
- The Simple Home: The Luxury of Enough (American Institute Architects)
Books Index
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The Complete Guide to Real Estate Finance for Investment Properties: How to Analyze Any Single-Family, Multifamily, or Commercial Property
Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes, and Quads: The Fastest and Safest Way to Real Estate Wealth
What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know about Cash Flow... And 36 Other Key Financial Measures
The Real Estate Recipe: Make Millions by Buying Small Apartment Properties in Your Spare Time (Nuts & Bolts Series) (Nuts & Bolts series)
Make More Money Investing in Multiunits: A Step-by-Step Guide
