Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing Book

	About the Authors	xi
	Introduction	xiii
I	Understanding Real Estate As an Investment	1
1	Planting the Seed	3
	A new world order	4
	Investing versus speculating	7
	Taking a chance	10
	The roots of lending	11
	Great government subsidies	13
	Leveraged compound interest	16
	Just the facts	19
2	The Process and the Plan	21
	Short-term profits	22
	Middle-years payoffs	24
	The retirement years	30
	A systematic approach to investing	31
	Just the facts	40
II	The Secrets of Real Estate Investing	41
3	Elements of Return	43
	333 Richmond Street	44
	Cash flow	45
	Equity growth from loan reduction	49
	Equity growth from appreciation	50
	Tax shelter benefits	56
	Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System	58
	Calculating the return	60
	Just the facts	63
4	Appraising Like an Appraiser	65
	Methods of valuing property	66
	A summary of value	81
	The gross rent multiplier	82
	Finding hidden value	85
	Highest and best use	87
	Just the facts	88
5	Borrowing Big Bucks	91
	Show me the money	92
	Locating a lender	94
	The conventional route	98
	Fixed-rate mortgages	103
	Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs)	104
	Assumable loans	112
	Private-party financing	113
	Hard money loans	118
	And most important	119
	Just the facts	119
III	Mastering the Market	121
6	Real Estate, the Economy, and Your Target Market	123
	The big picture	124
	Regional economic trends	125
	Your target market	130
	Researching local markets	135
	The "comfort zone"	141
	Just the facts	141
7	Subdividing Your Options	143
	Land ho!	144
	Condominiums	148
	Single-family homes	149
	Vacation homes	156
	Two- to four-unit properties	157
	Five units and up	160
	Big apartment buildings	161
	Commercial and industrial properties	163
	Just the facts	166
8	Tricks of the Trade	167
	The fixer-upper	168
	Management fixer-uppers	173
	Bank-owned properties	178
	Short sales	184
	Low- or no-down deals	187
	A word of caution	189
	Just the facts	189
IV	Setting Your Investment Goals	191
9	Building an Investment Plan	193
	Good intentions versus planning	194
	Writing a winning investment plan	195
Section 1	Your long-term investment goals	196
Section 2	Determining your general plan	202
Section 3	Establishing a detailed plan	208
Section 4	Follow-up and goal review	215
	Just the facts	217
10	Planning for the Tax Man	219
	Deductions, deductions, and more deductions	220
	Limitations on deductions	223
	Calculating capital gain	225
	The 1031 exchange	227
	Three categories of exchanges	228
	The installment sale	235
	Refinancing your loan	238
	A tax lesson summary	240
	Just the facts	241
V	Putting Your Money on the Line	243
11	Purchasing Your Investment	245
	Real estate professionals	246
	Paying your agent	250
	Comparing apples to apples	251
	Determining a seller's motivation	252
	Writing an offer	255
	The good-faith deposit	260
	Specific performance	261
	Presenting an offer	262
	Just the facts	265
12	The Due Diligence Period	267
	Due diligence and contingencies	268
	Requesting repairs	270
	The magic word	271
	Inspecting the units	273
	Seller's warranty and maintenance responsibility	278
	Inspecting the books, records, and rental agreements	280
	Verification of terms	281
	Changes during escrow	283
	Financing and appraisal contingencies	284
	Obtaining clear title	286
	Other contingencies	287
	Removing contingencies	288
	Just the facts	289
VI	Property Management Essentials	291
13	Managing the Tenants	293
	Meet and greet	293
	Neighborhood watch	298
	Giving over the reigns of control	299
	Losing tenants	300
	Filling vacancies	301
	"Rent-ready" apartments	306
	Discrimination	307
	Rental agreements	308
	Help from Uncle Sam	310
	We say yes to pets!	311
	Keeping tenants happy	313
	Raising rent	317
	Just the facts	318
14	Managing the Expenses	319
	How the property runs	320
	Keeping the books	322
	Controlling expenses	325
	Fixed expenses	326
	Variable expenses	330
	Master-metered properties	338
	High-cost capital expenses	339
	Handling tenant turnovers	341
	Just the facts	342
15	The Big Picture of Management	343
	Curb appeal	343
	Your management team	352
	Professional property management	356
	Upgrading the interiors	360
	Just the facts	368
VII	Facing Your Fears	369
16	So What's Stopping You?	371
	Fear of negative cash flow	372
	Fear that this isn't the "right time" to invest	377
	Fear of losing your money	379
	Fear of tenant and management hassles	381
	Fear of bad and low-income areas	382
	Fear of rocking the boat	384
	Fearing fear itself	386
	The plan of attack	388
	Adieu, adieu	389
	Just the facts	389
A	Glossary	391
B	National Apartment Association Locales--Listed by State	407
C	Recommended Reading List	441
D	Sample Real Estate Investment Plan	443
E	Inspection Report	457
	Index	477