Review of Real Estate Development: Principles and Process 3rd Edition (Hardcover)

This book was recommended as a textbook for a 4th year course in real estate development and it reads like one. It is well organized and covers this broad subject with detailed, practical information in a systematic way.

Most of all I enjoyed the two real life case study storys (of the development of an office building and a high-rise apartment) that weave through the chapters. These were very candidly told by the developers themselves and give the real picture of the trials and tribulations of large project real estate development.

Numerous listings of information sources, web sites, and bibliographies at the end of each section makes this book a 'keeper' reference text.



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Review of Everybody Wins: The Story and Lessons Behind RE/MAX (Hardcover)

This is one of the most outstanding books I have read .It tells a story and gives an in depth explanation of the reasons for the successes.The ability and single-mindedness of the leaders of the founders, Gail and Dave Liniger have provided cohesion and impetus to RE/MAX growth and efforts. The book is an outstanding case study which I am sure will become a standard text in colleges and universities.

I was also impressed with the care taken to recruit leaders and other employees into RE/MAX.As stated,"Recruit dream sharers for skills and knowledge but select finalists for values and attitudes."It seems to me that this credo has helped to assure RE/MAX's outstanding, continued success.Also, the unceasing emphasis on "stay focused," " brand dominance" and "pace line leadership" to assure growth helps to explain why RE/MAX is the world leader.

EVERYBODY WINS masterfully explains the RE/MAX concept and operation in my view.Harkins and Hollihan's outstanding case study helps to assure that RE/MAX is a "beacon" for firms and persons seeking success.I have no doubt universitybusiness schools will seize it to make their studies current, meaningful and reflect what is possible in American business both nationally and internationally.




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Review of J K Lasser Pro Real Estate Investment Trusts (Hardcover)

This book is an excellent survey of the world of equity REITS. And it does sum up the value of buying each type of equity REIT. But if you're looking for a book which shows you how to invest in REITS and how to analyze the figures of a REIT, this isn't the book.

I also was hoping to find information on Mortgage REITS. There was only a paragraph or two on the subject --- certainly not enough information on this topic.

This book is geared more toward the analyst or someone with a tremendous amount of experience in REITS. It assumes you have a good background in REIT investing. And it certainly does not cover the entire field of REITS.

So it depends upon your needs as to whether or not this book would be a good addition to your investing library. I personally got three bits of information out of it that were worth the cost of the book. But I could have probably gotten the information elsewhere free.

Susanna K. Hutcheson
Executive Copy Director and Owner
Powerwriting.com LLC



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Review of Real Estate Accounting and Reporting (Hardcover)

This book is filled with useful information, presented in a nice concise manner.Every page has value.



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Review of Nothing Down for the 2000s: Dynamic New Wealth Strategies in Real Estate (Hardcover)

Buying a property for no or little money down is possible, and this book shows the principals and strategy for making alot of money from the property market using this strategy.It's money well spent in comparison to the Sunday morning info-mercials on this topic.

There is NOT good coverage of the RISKS.Allen is suggesting the most highly leveraged transactions you clould ever enter (short of buying futures on margin).Win, win big.Loose - you are Bankrupt (if your starting with minimum assets).

This is a good way to make money, there are risks and you must understand them.As well as knowing your market.

If you buy with no money down AND the market is going up you can't really loose.The things that spoil this, are:
* Macro economics - interest rates go out of control.
* Local markets.E.g. what is going to happen to the property market in Florida after the sting of hurricans?

The author brings home the power of leverage (this is pivotal to growing your net worth, whatever your strategy).He doesn't cover off the risks so well.Must have for prospective real estate investor; but underplays the downside.

Post Script: Clearly the people who wrote the next couple of reviews really don't like any critique of Allen's work.I wrote this book "UNDERPLAYS" the downside, I didn't argue the book ignores it.For example, the medium and long term impact on Florida's real estate values can't be determined yet - insurance increases and coverage issues wont surface for at least a few months, when they do, it will impact premiums.The damage and loss will also act as a detterant to potential buyers considering a move.

The exit strategies outlined in the book are superficial.Also, in the simplest of terms, getting rid of don't want property in a down market is very hard work (it isn't always possible).

This book addresses the risks of the last property crash quite well, and is not a get rich quick book.It does not, however,(IMHO)address SYSTEMIC or MARKET risk adequately. As pointed out, it was on the NY times best seller list for weeks (btw you can now pick it up really cheaply new or secondhand on Amazon, $8 off list price, cheaper than Barnes & Noble - mine will be listed shortly; this is a great service Amazon provides).

Timing the market is great in theory, but buy high sell higher is very hard work in a crash!!!!!Of course, we aren't heading for one .... there is no need to worry.Buy high sell higher can be fools gold - in particular if the market is a BUBBLE (for a good account of every market bubble since the Sixteenth Century read 'Devil take the hindmost: A history of financial speculation, Edward Chancellor.

I still think this is a good book, but want a better one? My suggestions would be Managing Rental Properties for Maximum Profit, or Investing in Real Estate 4th edition (very good coverage of leverage).I'm looking to buy my second US investment property (my previous realestate experience has been overseas) and I am researching my next steps.

Although this is an interesting and good book, the advice in these alternatives appears much more realistic and sound.



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Review of Real Estate Backed Securities (Hardcover)

Fabozzi's books are the best if you want to grasp a broad range of basic knowledge on securitization.

I keep this book on my desk for reference.



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Review of Click & Close (Hardcover)

Sherry and Tucillo not only understand the real estate industry's problems, they offer a cogent plan to fix it. This book should be required reading for every Realtor(r)Association Executive and every Sales or BrokerAssociate. What a "novel" idea: The consumer's wants and needsare what really matter.



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Review of Encyclopedia of Real Estate Terms, Third Edition (Hardcover)

Complete and comprehensive - never have those words rung truer than when one looks at "Encyclopedia of Real Estate Terms". With well over 1,500 pages of information on the real estate game, "Encyclopedia of Real Estate Terms" is composed and compiled by Damien Abbot, a man who has been involved in three billion dollars worth of real estate transactions during his globe-spanning, over forty year career. Now in its third edition, "Encyclopedia of Real Estate Terms" is a must for anyone getting into the world of real estate, and an invaluable reference for any seasoned agent who wants to stay on top of the game. "Encyclopedia of Real Estate Terms" is highly recommended for community library Real-Estate and reference collections.



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Review of How to Build a Real Estate Empire (Hardcover)

How to Build a Real Estate Empire,
by the gang at Marcus and Millichap

What a great strategy, for a real estate investment brokerage firm to write a book that encourages people to learn about how to build wealth through investing in, you got it, real estate. What's even more brilliant is to highlight 4 of their (most likely) best clients and tell their success stories. Hats off the gang at Marcus and Millichap, they are definitely an aggressive firm that is going places!

Although the book claims to be for the more seasoned investor, there is much to be learned even for a beginner as long as they are interested enough to stay with it. The first four chapters tell about four investors and their successes. I would like it to have been more in-depth but you can get more than a few sound strategies from the short chapters (one per investor) that cover each investor.For example:

Ben Leeds says, "I am primarily an apartment investor. The multifamily segment is more definable, more predictable-a necessary commodity and more responsive to affective management. It is also easiest to finance...."

He also says he regrets everything he ever sold.

Leeds has 75 separate apartment projects totaling over 1,600 units with a value over $160,000,000.

I would have liked more than 25 pages about his story.

Next up is John Hamilton who built his real estate portfolio up from $0 to $200 million with some major hiccups along the way. I also would have liked more than 11 ½ pages on him.

A good tip from Gerald Marcil who has a portfolio of $150 million is to constantly monitor your holdings to see if the equity could be better utilized, with less risk someplace else. Something else he mentions that I am a big believer in partnerships. If someone wants to be a part time real estate investor, they should partner with someone who is full time. His chapter ends with, "If it was profitable and easy, everyone would do it."

The story of these investors absolutely shows that it is possible to build a huge real estate portfolio starting from practically nothing but determination and hard work.

The book then moves on to a bunch of interesting statistics and annotations which read a bit like a textbook, but are well worth glancing at and remembering them to use as a reference in the future. Some of the topics included are: a growing population and how it will affect real estate, lots of different market indicators and some great reference web sites. There is also a great section on real estate partnerships and how they can be structured.


Having written a book myself, A 20,000% Gain in Real Estate, by Kevin Kingston and having built a real estate portfolio of $25,000,000 starting from less than zero just 5 years ago, I will say that the concepts in this book are 100% worth knowing and the inspiration you can get from people that have built $100-$200 million portfolios are worth listening to.

By Kevin Kingston, author of: A 20,000% Gain in Real Estate


My Blog:
http://www.bloglines.com/blog/KevinKingston





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Review of Value Investing in Real Estate (Hardcover)

As an investor with 11 years left to retirement(I hope), I greatly appreciated the detailed and thoughtful waythis author compared and and contrasted various investments. I like to think of myself as a smart investor who is extremely concerned about asset allocation and thisbook truly fills that need. Also, the book doesn't "trash" stocks. It shows that based on yield and risk, stocks will subperform well-selected income properties. It does not allege that stocks always rank poorly, nor does it claim real estate is always a great investment. Instead, it gave me the knowledge to make more profitable investments--regardless of whether I buy stocks or property. The book is extraordinarily well researched and referenced (hundreds of notes at the end of the book) for serious investors. Personally, I enjoyed reading these notes as much as the book, itself. Lots of insight into how we got to where we are and where we're going. If you decide to only browse through the real estate-stock analysis, the latter 6 or 7 chapters that focus primarily on property will give you more than your money's worth.



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Review of 1,200 Great Sales Tips for Real Estate Professionals (Hardcover)

As a Realtor with 2 yrs. part-time experience, I received a lot of helpful information by reading this book. Keep a notepad handy when you read it because it has great tips and leads to other resources. I'm looking forward to the "sequel".



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Review of 1,200 Great Sales Tips for Real Estate Professionals (Hardcover)

As a Realtor with 2 yrs. part-time experience, I received a lot of helpful information by reading this book. Keep a notepad handy when you read it because it has great tips and leads to other resources. I'm looking forward to the "sequel".



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Review of How to Make Money in Commercial Real Estate: For The Small Investor (Hardcover)

While Mr. Masters does make several good points, most of the information in this book could apply to any real estate investment: whether it be residential or commercial even though the title of this book clearly makes it appear that this book will focus on commercial properties, which it does not.

Mr. Masters starts thebook by making a quick comparison between real estate and other investments, such as holding your money in cash, saving accounts, securities, collectibles, and precious metals.He gives the advantages and disadvantages of each: namely, liquidity versus returns.Now, we get into the meat of the subject matter.First, Mr. Masters argues that an investor should own their own primary residence and have 12 months of expenses in the bank before venturing to invest in commercial real estate: conversative, but good enough advice. He gives comparisons between different commercial properties you can invest into, with garden apartment complexes and anchored shopping centers getting his nod as the best investment choices for a real estate novice.He argues that novice investors should form investment clubs to invest in real estate together; however, he gives very little advice as how to hold title and what form of ownership the group should take.I understand that people must consult with tax and legal professionals to see what best matches their situation, but it would have been nice to have Mr. Masters elaborate on this since its a key argument of his book.

To find property, Mr. Masters tells the aspiring investor to work with a knowlegable broker andnot purchase a property with a cash-on-cash return or a cap-rate under 8-10%. While I agree its very important to buy properties with positive cash-flow, this is one of my biggest issues with this book: while in theory it'd be great to skip every property that offers lower returns, in today's market its virtually impossible in most top markets to find properties with those types of returns. If you follow the advice of the author, it will now be impossible to purcahse most investment opportunities as he does not leave room for exceptions in his rule. He also ignores other calculations and never shows how to construct an APOD, which really dates this book.There is no mention of an IRR or projected cash-flows.He also never says to independently confirm the income and expense figures given by the seller even though 9 times out 10 the cap-rate the seller gives on a property is calculated off of proforma numbers that are not aligned with market realities.I can sum up his financing section in a single sentence: find a good mortgage broker to find you a good rate on a fixed, 15-30 year mortgage.And to manage your property? Use a professional management company and watch them for a year to see how they do it, then you can consider doing it on your own.He gives very little helpful advice on what to look for in a management company, mortgage broker, or real estate broker as well.

Tax information is included relegated to an appendix, yet it doesn't even touch on a 1031 tax-deferred exchange and tax implications of real estate investments are hardly touched upon, and when they are, they're no longer applicable as tax laws have changed. I don't remember reading anything about what will effect the basis of your property, how to calculate cash-flow after taxes, or even more than a few quick words about depreciation!

For someone who has purchased their own home or has even a little bit of real estate knowledge, this book has little pratical use -- the only difference between this book and better, cheaper booksthat I've read is the author's limited information on investment clubs. He even gives poor advice on finding information online: he tells the reader to go online and type in a few keywords on a search engine, not realizing that the reader will find plenty of advertisers and unscrupulous companies in the results.

For anyone who's interested in investing in real estate, I recommend the first thing they learn is how to evaluate properties so they know what to look for in an investment opportunity.To that extent, I highly recommend Frank Gallinelli's "What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow and 36 Other Key Financial Measures", a far-superior, more-practical, and less expensive book.



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Review of The Real Estate Recipe: Make Millions by Buying Small Apartment Properties in Your Spare Time (Nuts & Bolts Series) (Hardcover)

Its a very comprehensive book detailing why and how to buy income producing property in a step by step process. Definitely is different from the rest of the "no money down, get rich overnight" stuff that is out there.

The book uses a mythical 10 unit apartment building purchase as the basis of the book, going from creative ways to write an offer, how to increase the intrinsic value of that 10 unit property (beyond the basic "raise the rent, lower the expenses" mantra), how to calculate cap rates, debt service coverage ratios, etc to knowing when to re-fi, sell, and other good stuff.I can say that I learned 3-4 new things that I hadn't realized before that I intend to immediately implement in my current apartment buildings and in order to pursue other deals.

I'd recommend this book to the "advancing" investor- ie Joe Investor who owns at least 1 rental property and is looking to get into investments bigger than the dup/triplexes but not the humongous 55 unit buildings.





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Review of This Land: The Battle over Sprawl and the Future of America (Hardcover)

'This Land' by Anthony Flint is written by a journalist in a journalistic style. The core of this book is devoted to the battle of ideologies over land use in America: the smart growth movement advocating for control on suburban growth, the new urbanists insisting on the need to rethink our zoning laws currently favoring inefficient sprawl, and property right advocates and lobbyists fighting to gain full control over what can be developed on their property. This story spanning over essentially half a century is told using a myriad of anecdotes and examples from all across America. One such story relates how land owners request compensations for lost revenues (equated to governmental takings) resulting from the restrictions on development outside urban growth boundaries. Flint remains critical and objective, avoiding an overt endorsement of anyone in particular. Many of the themes discussed in books such as `Suburban Nation' or `The Geography of Nowhere' are covered, but with a journalistic tone and restraint.

Beyond merely covering the familiar arguments, he suggests, somewhat surprisingly, that smart growth is itself a `conservative idea'. Our current growth practices are not truly a reflection of the free market; they are highly subsidized by way of highway investments and the costly expansion of public services by local governments (e.g. roads, sewers, schools, fire and police departments). Instead of building on brown sites and urban infills, cities expand on greenfields further and further away stretching tax dollars up to a point of imminent bankruptcy.

This book's strength is in providing a non-partisan account of the political and economical battles over land use in America. Its weakness may be an overabundance of short anecdotal stories found in the middle part of the book. Some suggestions are made in the very last chapter as to what can be done to improve our public space and reduce the wastefulness of our current growth practices. Those seeking a severe and incisive criticism of modern urbanism may be better served by reading `Suburban Nation'. However, this book presents the multitude of conflicting positions that other authors are essentially arguing for or against.



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Review of Investing in REITs: Real Estate Investment Trusts: Third Edition (Hardcover)

I am the author of "Investing in REITs," and would like to contribute a few comments regarding the new 3rd edition released in January 2006, and how it differs from prior editions.The new edition improves upon and updates the prior editions in two principal ways:

First, it provides current information concerning the major events that have occurred and continue to evolve in the REIT industry.These include the REITs' bear market of 1998-1999, their subsequent amazing 6-year bull market, widespread acceptance of REITs as proxies for commercial real estate, and merger and acquisition activity.Further, all graphs and charts have been updated, and a new appendix on managing an all-REIT investment portfolio has been included.

Second, the new 3rd edition provides commentary on recent REIT industry trends that will affect all REIT investors, including the apparent "disconnect" between the 2001-2005 softness inthe commercial real estate "space" markets and booming commercial real estate capital markets, the much-discussed "bubble" in residential real estate, changes in REITs' business strategies as they seek to create value in a very competitive marketplace, and the increasing pace of asset sales and joint venture activity.

If you liked the prior editions, you will love this new 3rd edition; if you didn't, well, don't buy this one.If you haven't bought "Investing in REITs" yet, well, decide whether you should own some REIT investments and act accordingly.The case for REIT investing has been proven convincingly, and it is my firm belief that every investor should own REIT stocks (or a REIT mutual fund) as part of a diversified investment portfolio.And, as each of us is responsible for our own investment strategies and success, there is no substitute for understanding both risk and reward.

Footnote and disclosure: Abe Lincoln refused to vote for himself in the 1860 presidential election, but I cannot figure out how to avoid assigning stars to this review of my own book.Accordingly, I hope you will forgive me if I immodestly give it 5 stars.

Ralph Block



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Review of Burst This!: Frank McKinney's Bubble Proof Real Estate Strategies (Hardcover)

What a great book. Frank has taken a worthy approach in writing this book. Why should you buy this book over other RE Investing books? The answer is simple...Burst This puts substance, strategy and real scenarios into play and makes it easy to read and understand. Frank goes a step beyond authors like Kiyosaki who get you hyped up about something without giving you an actual education. If you have never done a RE deal or have done many you will get your monies worth from reading this. This book is a good one to have on the shelf and should be re-visited occasionally. Thanks for investing your time, knowledge and wisdom into this book Frank. Blessings.

Joshua Rowland



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Review of The Real Estate Game: The Intelligent Guide To Decisionmaking And Investment (Hardcover)

The Real Estate Game is well written, using simple easy to understand terms. It's a must read for the professional, the amateur, the investor and anyone else thinking of buying and selling either commercial or residentialproperty. Most enjoyable is the view of the real estateprocess from allangles.You get to see how all those involved, the buyer, seller,contractor, manager, attorney and lender fit intothe picture. The reallife examples and case studies help explain what can be very complicatedsituations. As primarily a residential realtor I gained new insight intothe commercial end of the field. It always amazes me how the entrepreneursin real estate often took great chances on a hunch that what were bargainbasement deals would eventually turn into gems. The stories about these menand women are particularly fascinating. The authors, Poorvu and Cruikshank,offer a world of advice and first-hand knowledge to anyone involved in anyway in Real estate. This should be required reading for all brokers,realtors and advisors to anyone getting into the real estate game.



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Review of Investing in Income Properties: The Big Six Formula for Achieving Wealth in Real Estate (Hardcover)

I am a 30-year old experienced real estate professional that was thoroughly disappointed in this book.I'm a commercial real estate analyst for a national firm in a large U.S. city.I also own five rental properties of my own.It is rare that an "entry-level" book such as this will catch my attention anymore.However, as it had a one-page write-up in the National Real Estate Investor magazine, it caught my eye.Looking further at the reviews on Amazon.com, I saw 19 reviews - all were 5 stars.So I purchased the book.

However, it is disappointing.For one thing, the author makes the claim that commercial properties are recession proof.Really?For the un-initiated, commercial properties are typically purchased based on cap rates.You'll take the Income that a property produces and divide it by an appropriate cap rate to determine what you will pay for the property, or what market value for the property is.As a result of the current credit crisis, risk has been re-assessed and cap rates have risen significantly across the board.

There is no doubt that cap rates have risen.Take for example a property that produces an annual income of $100,000.If you use a cap rate of 6.5% (fairly typical about a year ago), the result would be a value of approximately $1.5 million.Cap rates have risen consistently approximately 200 basis points over the past year.That same property would sell today w/ a cap rate of 8.5%.Using this cap rate results in a value of approximately $1.2 million. That is a value loss of $300,000, or approximately 20% of your value.Typically an investor would put 20% down.So if you bought this property a year ago w/ a 20% downpayment, your investment today would be gone and you could potentially be bankrupt.Does this sound like an investment that is "recession proof" to anyone?

I know my comments here sound like I am a nay-sayer.I actually am not.However this authors angles on things are simply not accurate and are clearly written to an audience that can't counter the author's points.It may be a good read for someone looking to learn more about the real estate industry.However, anyone with any existing knowledge and experience in the industry should skip this one.



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Review of Active Private Equity Real Estate Strategy (Frank J. Fabozzi Series) (Hardcover)

As a long time real estate investor in both up and down markets, I was pleased to find such an informative book detailing today's real estate market in a concise and practical way. So many people I have talked to really have no clue what the future holds in real estate, because they have no foundation in the fundamentals.After reading this book thoroughly, many of what I considered instincts about real estate, was clearly outlined in a systematic approach which is clearly useful in this fluctuating and uncertain market.The book is well written, easy to read and most important of all, contains valuable methods and trends to look for in order to capitalize on forthcoming real estate opportunities. Highly recommended for real estate investors looking to create wealth the old fashion way.



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