E-Book Overview
Start building your fortune with the ultimate insider's guide to real estate investing The Insider's Guide to Making Money in Real Estate explains why real estate is a consistently profitable moneymaker and how everyday people just like you can build their fortune regardless of their credit score or how much money they have in the bank. It's true--you don't have to be rich to invest in real estate. It's the easiest, most leveraged method for building sustainable wealth over time, and it's open to everyone. In this practical, nuts-and-bolts guide, New York Times bestselling real estate authors Dolf de Roos and Diane Kennedy cover all the basics of investing and offer the kind of insider advice and little-known tips you won't find anywhere else. You'll get a wealth of bright ideas and smart investment moves, as well as examples, case studies, and true investing stories from successful investors just like you. Inside, you'll learn: * The ins and outs of commercial versus residential property * How to spot great bargains in neighborhoods with great potential * How to finance your investments with less-than-perfect credit * Quick tips for increasing the value of your property inexpensively * How to find reliable tenants who'll pay top dollar * Everything you need to know about property taxes and deductions * How to use tax benefits to increase your profits
E-Book Content
ccc_deroos_intro_1-12.qxd 2/7/05 3:33 PM Page 1 Introduction D o you dislike your job, distrust your boss, dread each day, and fear you might lose the job you can’t stand? Well, if you do, then you’re like millions of other Americans today who want the freedom that more money would bring. However, unless you’re willing to take massive action today, in 10 years’ time you will still dislike your job, distrust your boss, dread each day, and fear you might lose the job you can’t stand, with the only difference being that you’ll be 10 years older and still longing to be rich, but with 10 years of living gone forever. Everyone wants to be rich, but few people know exactly what that means. If you cannot create a mental picture of what being rich means for you, how will you ever achieve it? Let’s create that image together. Imagine being awakened by the sun (no ear-splitting alarm clock for you). Your leisurely breakfast is interrupted by a call from a real estate agent asking if you want to sell one of the buildings you bought the previous year for a profit of $150,000. As you gaze out over the ocean, sipping your freshly squeezed orange juice, you weigh the relative merits of selling and decide, in this instance, to keep the building. Your breakfast was interrupted and you still have more decisions to make today, such as whether to go snorkeling or surfing and where to have dinner tonight. But with this one business decision, your working day is over. Are you ready to put in the effort to go from where you are 1 ccc_deroos_intro_1-12.qxd 2/7/05 3:33 PM Page 2 INTRODUCTION now to this idyllic scenario? You can make these dreams come true with real estate. There’s work involved, to be sure—some of it will be physical, but most of it will be mental. As you read through The Insider’s Guide to Making Money in Real Estate, you might find ideas that challenge what you believe about real estate. Those are the types of ideas that can make huge differences in your life. Remember that this is an “insider’s guide.” Unlike the stock market, where insider trading can land you huge fines or even jail time, real estate insider information is not only legal, it’s also a critical part of creating wealth. Insider information also implies that there will be strategies that are different from what you might have heard through others. Rather than opinions or guesses, you’ll learn the actual facts from successful real estate investors