Real Estate Books: The Easy Way To Learn What Not To Do
Economic cycles come and go, but one type of investment has always been around. That's real estate. Investing in real estate will never go out of style, because people always need a place to live. Of course, there will be real estate booms and real estate busts, and everything in between, but when it comes right down to it, the old saying 'buy land because they ain't making any more of it' can probably be applied to all forms of real estate. Yes, they always are building more buildings, but these building are 'real', as opposed to most other investments which are just pieces of paper, and they do sit on that land, of which there is a finite supply. While learning how to invest in real estate by trial and error is certainly one way to go about it, and there are many successful people who have done it like that, most investors would prefer to obtain some basic knowledge before striking out on their own. One way to get that knowledge is through real estate books.
On this site we focus on what's come to be commonly known as 'house flipping', which entails buying an undervalued property, renovating it to add value, and then reselling it for a profit. In a number of places on this site we've mentioned a couple of books we think can be valuable for prospective house flippers. Those books are Flipping Confidential by Kirsten Kemp, who hosts the TV show Property Ladder, and Flipping Houses For Dummies by Ralph R. Roberts, who has over thirty years experience as a house flipper and real estate investor. While there are many other books about house flipping now available, and I'm sure most of them are useful, we've checked these two out and can recommend them.
Some other currently available well-reviewed real estate books include The Wall Street Journal Complete Real-Estate Investing Guidebook by David Crook, Real Estate Investing For Dummies (from the same Wiley Publishing series as Flipping Houses For Dummies) by Eric Tyson and Robert S. Griswold, Rich Dad's Advisors®: The ABC's of Real Estate Investing: The Secrets of Finding Hidden Profits Most Investors Miss by Ken McElroy, and Defensive Real Estate Investing: 10 Principles for Succeeding Whether Your Market is Up or Down (Paperback) by William Bronchick and Gary Licata. We haven't read any of these books and therefore aren't personally recommending them, but they have all received above average online reviews, and can be purchased at online book sellers and probably also at your local book store.
Remember that real estate books aren't the only way to garner information about real estate. You can also pick up a lot of good tips by browsing websites similar to this one, and there are also numerous real estate TV shows. While it's true that the TV shows are primarily entertainment, you can still pick up some pearls of wisdom along with the drama.
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