1.
"Trump-Style Negotiation," by George Ross (John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken, NJ),
$24.95, 259 pages. Written by Donald Trump's
trusted adviser, George Ross. Contains negotiation tactics not found elsewhere and ideal for both the buyer
and sellers alike.
2.
"The Automatic Millionaire Homeowner" by David Bach (Broadway Books,
New York),
$19.95, 244 pages. This book illustrates what most renters dream about, owning a home. This ownership is a start
and could be good start for better home and further investment in property.
3.
"Buy Even Lower,"
by Scott Frank and Andy Heller (Kaplan Publishing Co., Chicago)
$18.95, 238 pages. Aimed at real estate investors and real estate
sales agents,
this book, by two full-time corporate executives and part-time realty investors,
shows how they buy single-family houses
at targeted below-market prices and then
either buy and hold, buy and flip, or (their favorite) buy and lease-purchase.
The authors
favor "ugly and awful" three-bedroom, two-bathroom houses in middle-income
neighborhoods.
4.
"Real Estate Debt Can Make You Rich,"
by Steve Dexter (McGraw-Hill, New York),
$21.95, 156 pages. The two audiences for this book, which explains why real estate
debt is
good, are (a) home buyers and realty agents who want to understand the
inner-workings of the mortgage industry and (b) investors who
need to know
how "good debt" can be created to maximize realty profits. The mortgage-broker
author reveals how avoiding "inexperienced
and inept loan hacks" can obtain the
best mortgages to buy a home or investment property. The book includes the best
compilation of
real estate Web sites available.
5.
"Bubbles, Booms, and Busts; Make Money in Any Real Estate Market," by Blanche
Evans (McGraw-Hill,
New York), $16.95, 167 pages. This extremely well-researched
and up-to-date book explains the signals of local rising, falling or
neutral local
home sales markets, and how to profit in any situation if you take a long-term
perspective on home sales. "Except for
local economic shocks, like the collapse
or exit of a major employer, home prices nationwide have not gone down since the
Great Depression,"
the author reminds readers.
6.
"Success as a Real Estate Agent for Dummies," by Dirk Zeller (Wiley Publishing
Co., Indianapolis,
IN), $21.99, 350 pages. Whether you are a new real estate agent,
a longtime "old pro" agent or an individual thinking about becoming
an agent, this
basic book by a real estate "coach" explains what is involved in selling real
estate for sales commissions, how to
use sales time management profitably, and
how to get started fast by contacting expired listings and "for sale by owners.
" The book
includes an invaluable list of Web sites for realty agents plus the
author's advice how to gain competitive advantages by obtaining
a "slice of
the market."
7. "Everything You Need to Know Before Buying a Co-Op, Condo, or Townhouse,"
by Ken Roth (AMACOM Publishing,
New York), $18.95, 197 pages. The real estate
attorney author shares his many legal and real-life personal experiences so
readers
don't make costly mistakes when buying into the unique lifestyle of
these properties. Heavy emphasis is placed on the pros and cons
of homeowner
associations, including "condo commando" members who seek to take charge of
the "mini-democracy" members.
8. "Who
Says You Can't Buy a Home?" by David Reed (AMACOM Publishing, New York),
$17.95, 182 pages. This mortgage-broker author is on the
side of home buyers and
real estate agents as he explains how mortgage lenders look at borrowers in this
"tell all" book." "Anyone
with steady income, no matter how bad their credit rating,
or even with no credit, can find a mortgage to buy a home," the author
reveals.
9. "Confessions of a Real Estate Entrepreneur," by James A. Randel (McGraw-Hill,
New York), $29.95, 256 pages. This
book's theme is "add value" to real estate,
whether you invest in raw land, houses, run-down factory buildings with rezoning
potential,
or fixer-upper apartments and offices. The self-deprecating author
shares his mistakes and his successes, along with his advice to
invest with as
little of your own cash as possible so profits can be maximized. Negotiation
strategies are heavily emphasized throughout
this unusual book.
10. "The Reverse Mortgage Advantage," by Warren Boroson (McGraw-Hill, New York),
$21.95, 169 pages. Virtually
all the key aspects of senior-citizen reverse mortgages
are thoroughly explained in this detailed but easy-to-read book that emphasizes
the potential pitfalls as well as the major benefits. The author shatters the
reverse-mortgage myths, such as "the bank owns the house,"
the supposed high
costs, and even the scary stories of early reverse mortgages, which are no
longer possible.
HONORABLE MENTION:
11.
"Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received," by Donald J. Trump
(Thomas Nelson Publishers-Rutledge Hill Press, Nashville),
$19.99, 273 pages.
This is the most unusual real estate book of 2006 because it has 100 successful
real estate investing, brokerage
and marketing co-authors (including me)
who contributed 100 chapters revealing the best realty advice ever received.
What do all these
realty entrepreneurs have in common (other than being very
diverse individuals)? "Apprentice" Bill Ransic said it best: "Learn to
recognize value."
12. "Find it, Fix it, Flip it!" by Michael Corbett (Plume Books-Penquin Group,
New York), $15.00, 323 pages.
This author, host of the TV Extra program "Mansions
and Millionaires," created a technique of changing a fix-up home's lifestyle
from
dull routine to upscale, but without high renovation costs. The
before-and-after photos are amazing. The "profit calculator chart"
shows
readers how to spot the potential profit by purchasing problem houses and
correcting drawbacks to add value. This book is unique
because the author
shows how to add market value by improving the lifestyle of the buyer.
13. "Landlording on Auto-Pilot," by
Mike Butler (John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken,
NJ), $19.95, 190 pages. Both "old pro" residential landlords and beginner
novice property
managers will profit from this unusual book about how to
profitably manage the tenants in your properties. "Your tenants are your
employees" is the philosophy of the retired, no-nonsense cop author who shares
his basic belief that most tenants would own their
own homes if they had
adequate income and good credit.
14. "Two Years to a Million in Real Estate," by Matthew A. Martinez
(McGraw-Hill,
New York), $21.95, 182 pages. This is the success story
of an ex-dot-com employee who got tired of working long hours at a great
job
for 10 years and watching his fellow workers lose their jobs. He
accidentally discovered real estate's market-value appreciation,
leverage,
tax savings, cash flow, reliability and freedom from a 9-to-5 workday.
In the process, he became a multimillionaire, and
he shows readers how
they can have the same result.
15. "Home Buying for Dummies, Third Edition," by Eric Tyson and Ray Brown
(Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, IN), $21.99, 328 pages. Because of
its ultra-complete coverage of virtually every home-buying
topic, this
600,000-copy best-seller in prior editions is still the best "how to
buy a home" book. The new edition adds extensive
coverage of Internet
resources for home buyers, where more than 75 percent of today's buyers
begin their quest.
