[.ca] How to Get Started in Real Estate Investing (ISBN 0972488944)

generalist:
the title is misleading. I have some experience in real estate and decided to buy professional book to learn something. Big mistake. The author never,yes,never gives you actual real life examples. His experience looks like limited to California. And US is much bigger. Not many web sites mentioned at all if any. Some facts that are most important to beginner are missing. These facts are local taxes and neighborhood.

Some helpful tips, very basic, some problems:
I've purchased two homes so far, just for my primary residence. Irwin's book is really geared for someone who has NEVER owned a home. Kind of an odd place to start for someone getting into real estate investing. Not a lot is said about how to start if you already own a home. Also, some of the parts on "flipping" were just silly. The woman walking down the street and stumbling upon a house for sale $50K below market? Come on. However, there are some good tips, like I said, and the part on apartment building valuation and investing was new to me.

Read the Title:
If you are complaining about the book being too basic, or it did not give you info on what to do if you already own a home, read the title. This is a beginner's book. I have read the book and it was a great investment for beginners. It takes you through the beginning processes of investment and what you need to be wary of. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone thinking about real estate investing. I would not recommend it to someone who is knowledgeable about investing. Overall the book is very basic, yet detailed. It is not about pumping you up, but instead gives you valuable info about.. (get this)HOW TO GET STARTED.

Must Read:
This book is amazing! I own two rental homes, bought with difficulty, and never realized how I could have done it so much easier and with less money down. This book's first chapter actually walked me from example to example showing how to find and acquire rental property. Then it showed how to hold them for long term or flip quickly for cash outs. I never knew what I was missing or how easy it is. And the later chapters deal with all sorts of high-end investing including industrial, commercial and land. This book is a must read. I don't think it matters whether you're getting started or are an old investor. It's a money-maker! Bill Leary

An excellent book on real estate investing!!!:
I bought this book after reading a review by Rober Bruss (the book reviewer for the LA Times) who gave it a 12 on his scale of 1 to 10 and I wasn't disappointed. It showed me how to change my current house to a rental and buy a second one. Now I'm getting rental income and I have a new house to live in! I'm working on buying a small strip mall next. Compared to the other real estate books I've bought in the past, this is the first one that really showed me how it's done. I won't sell this book for anything!