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The Wall Street Journal. Complete Real-Estate Investing Guidebook |  | Author: David Crook
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $5.89
as of 9/8/2010 22:11 CDT details
You Save: $9.06 (61%)
New (28) Used (28) from $3.13
Seller: Real Estate Book Store
Rating:  23 reviews
Sales Rank: 89260
Media: Paperback
Pages: 256
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 5.2 x 0.9
ISBN: 0307345629
Dewey Decimal Number: 332.6324
EAN: 9780307345622
ASIN: 0307345629
Publication Date: December 26, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
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
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 23
 Great practical resource August 30, 2010
K. Goss (Omaha, NE)
If you are looking for a straight forward, practical handbook to serve as a quick reference, this book is outstanding. All tactical issues such as ratios, contract guidelines, tax considerations are covered. The book is well suited for the newcomer to real estate as well as to the experienced veteran. A quick read with concise details. 5 stars!
Very well grounded book May 12, 2010
M. Frank (WA USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've read quite a few real estate investing books, and this is the most well grounded, and well spelled out one I've found. Rich Dad/Poor Dad style books give you lots of samples of good purchases that were made, and leave you jazzed up to give it a try yourself, but this book skipped the specific examples and instead relied on logic and basic facts to provide you with knowledge (not hype). Yet amazingly, it was still a pretty entertaining read! I very rarely give a book five stars, but this one earned. I would highly recommend it for the library of anyone starting out in real estate investing.
As an added bonus, the author of this real estate investing is named "Crook" - what more could you ask for?
 A REAL Book on Real Estate October 1, 2009
Trevor J. Flannigan
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
It's no secret, to those close to me, that I am a huge fan of real estate investing. The book of the week was The Wall Street Journal Complete Real-Estate Investing Guidebook by David Crook. I liked this book because it was very informative on a very "real" level. It didn't boast unreal expectations like many real estate books. The methods outlined within this book can take someone with somewhat little knowledge in the field and help them really start making money with investment properties.
There was one particularly helpful chart within this book that I would like to tell you about. The chart outlined how to prepare for your starter property. It is broken into 4 categories: 1-3 months, 4-6 months, 7-9 months and 10-12 months. Each time period has tasks to be completed within it... let me show you.
1-3 months- Educate yourself (read up on real estate investing), Network, Clean up personal finances (pay off your debts and correct credit reports)
4-6 months- Get the business going (interview banks, work on getting a corporate entity established), Walk the streets (know the areas where you will be doing your search), Check out properties (get a feel for the market and crunch numbers)
7-9 months- Get liquid (make funds available for when you need them), Go shopping (make some lowball offers and get a feeling for negotiating), Get preapproved from your bank or financial source
10-12 months- Go for it, do your due diligence, get your money
I think laying out a plan is especially helpful for anyone just getting off the ground. I love to make plans. I actually have plans for myself that range from month to month and even 10 years in the future. It really helps a person get things in perspective... "what do I have to do here to get there?"
Crook also does a great job of directing a portion of his book to novice investors. In his 6th chapter, There's No Place Like Home: Smaller Residential Investment Properties, he explains how to get your cashflow generated with smaller properties. I am a big fan of starting off with a nice duplex. It helps you get a feel for the management environment on a smaller level. I feel that if you are going to have expectations of a property management company, you should understand the field. Additionally, with a duplex you can get a cheap rent (a lot of people think you'll live for free if you have the other side rented, however, when you take in to account the taxes, maintenance, utilities, and insurance you will probably just end up with a much cheaper version of rent.) You will most likely start having a positive cashflow on the second property and then from there... the sky is the limit!
Real Estate is a great investment for several reasons, but I want to clear up a misconception that a lot of people have about real estate investing. A lot of people see their personal home as a investment... however it's not. Several of my authors have explained this concept and Crook does and especially great job of making the point clear with an illustration of a the same house on two pages, one being used as a home and one being rented out. The house being used as a home has expenses just like one being rented out, however, when you use the house as your home your expenses (taxes, utilities, interest paid on mortgage, maintenance, upgrades etc.) in the long run outweigh your financial benefits from the sale down the road. People don't include the expenses of running a home into the "investment" of their home. The myth of having a home as an investment has been passed along for years, but when you see the reality you have an opportunity to change that mind set. Put more of your savings into solid investments and riches will be awaiting you.
I think this book is a really great read for anyone thinking about getting into their first few real estate deals. The Wall Street Journal books are always very well written and they come with little side modules with helpful little tidbits, which I think is a nice way to break up the book and make it more interesting. I think this book is a great, easy read for anybody, but would be especially helpful for anyone that is or aspires to manage people. I particularly love talking about real estate, so don't hesitate to ask me questions if you have any! I would be more than happy to help anyone that wants it.
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 Down-to-earth advice for real estate beginners August 9, 2009
Gabriel Duaso Anso (Madrid, Spain)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is a good, solid guide to real estate investing. Focused in cash-flow and rental yields, this book will appeal to real estate beginners, but more experienced investors might not find a lot of insight.
Warning: if you are not a US market real estate investor, many parts of the book will not be applicable to your needs (local laws, taxes,...)
Great book for the newbie or amateur. August 1, 2009
Marshall Warren (Kansas, USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is directed toward the novice real estate investor which is exactly what I am. Great book, even better information contained in it. Must read for every new real estate investors.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 23
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