Best real estate books according to redditors
We found 254 Reddit comments discussing the best real estate books. We ranked the 100 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
1. The Rent Is Too Damn High: What To Do About It, And Why It Matters More Than You Think
25 mentions
I answered that question in "Do millennials have a future in Seattle? Do millennials have a future in any superstar cities?" Matt Yglesias answers it in The Rent Is too Damn High (And What to Do About It).
The short answer is "We need to build more housing."
The problem is that most existing owners don't want more housing because they view their housing as an investment, rather than a piece of decaying capital. William explains this in chapters 7 – 8 of Zoning Rules!: The Economics of Land Use Regulation.
We had some fun with bowling-ball-head a few years back Amazon Reviews
> Californian's are doing to us what was done to them
No. Colorado is doing to itself what California has done to itself through punitive, parochial, high-cost zoning. See Matt Yglesias's book The Rent Is Too Damn High or Zoning's Steep Price for details.
We have century-old technologies, like steel-framed buildings and elevators, to build as much housing as we could possibly want. We just make deploying them illegal.
> The NAR, however, said the price surge did not suggest another housing market bubble was building, noting that the inflation-adjusted median price was below its peak in 2006.
So it's not a bubble because prices are not more irrational than the all-time bubble. Got it.
[NAR chief economist statements at the peak of the bubble were also that there was no bubble. He even wrote the dumbest book of all time: https://www.amazon.com/Are-Missing-Real-Estate-Boom/dp/0385514344
Such shills.]
In the words of Kim-Mai Cutler: "Let's cut this housing from 28 units to 4 because we want to preserve this auto repair shop with a 1926 facade."
Maybe someday people and especially reporters will read The Rent is Too Damn High, or for that matter a basic economics textbook?
Now where have I heard that before....
> But if the World Bank (and let's throw in the IMF and WTO as well, if you like) never existed, global poverty would be mostly unchanged. I'm open to being wrong about this, but I haven't even seen anyone lay out the argument that these institutions are primarily responsible for the persistence of global poverty.
Well, from a geostrategic point of view, the structural purpose of the World Bank and IMF - and debatably the entire Bretton Woods economic system - was to facilitate the continuation of traditional international power inequities in the post-World War II world. For American planners at the close of World War II, their country had leapfrogged over the declining European powers to become, by far, the most wealthy and powerful country on Earth. Invariably, they wanted to supplant those traditional European powers in their respective colonies and spheres of influence to become the dominant actor themselves, but - as the American political tradition has largely frowned upon overt imperialism - they needed to do it in a way that meshed with the liberal political culture of their society, as well as with their liberal propaganda about democracy and "free" markets. Herein lies the strategic purpose of the World Bank and IMF, at least in terms of their predatory relationship to the former European colonies (what we might today call "the 3rd world"). You can get pretty specific overviews of World Bank/IMF structural adjustment programs, as well as their strategic purpose, by reading Dilemmas of Domination by Walden Bello, Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins, and Hegemony or Survival by Noam Chomsky.
I hope I've helped illuminate this issue a bit, but really, nobody here should be surprised to learn about how this works; this is very basic realpolitik.
EDIT: I should note that in recent decades, the process of globalization has ushered in a remarkably different economic and political order from that of the Bretton Woods system, but that's a rather different discussion.
You can't mandate affordable housing. We tried that in the US in the 60s and 70s. What actually works is loosening of zoning restrictions and barriers to density in order to profitably and rapidly expand the housing stock. Unless you want to fully nationalize real estate and construction, you have to have policies that enable profitable construction and careful shepherding of restrictions so that they protect clean and functional living space, but do not place arbitrary limits that drive up housing costs, as is the case in most "liberal" cities.
Source: http://www.amazon.com/The-Rent-Too-Damn-High-ebook/dp/B0078XGJXO
http://www.amazon.com/Triumph-City-Greatest-Invention-Healthier/dp/0143120549
http://www.amazon.com/The-Gated-City-Kindle-Single-ebook/dp/B005KGATLO
So this is why I have to reread every other sentence in Chomsky's books.
Bantu Biko once wrote the following words:
> Black Consciousness seeks to show the black people the value of their own standards and outlook. It urges black people to judge themselves according to these standards and not to be fooled by white society who [sic] have white-washed themselves and made white standards the yardstick by which even black people judge each other
I know this might seem irrelevant. However, if you look at the article the author seems to compare African countries to the West and some countries in Asia. This, on its own, is not a problem. However, in such endeavours one cannot ignore the culture, history and what goes on in these countries. For instance, on the Zimbabwe issue, I am currently reading Zimbabwe's Land Reform: Myths and Realities and things are not as simple as this guy makes it seem. They are actually becoming more complicated with the current drought that is facing both Zim and South Africa.
I didn't want to judge this man from this one article so I decided to Google his other articles to get a sense of the type of person he is.
I came across the following:
> There are indeed some "clever" blacks who think they are better; but, in reality, they are simply ignorant
> Successful black people don"t buy books. White people know this. When they plan shopping malls for black communities, they do not include book shops.
> if the "clever" blacks are serious about their claim of superiority, why have they accepted Mercedes Benz as a symbol of prestige?
All of the above statements are just from one article.
African countries have issues, one cannot deny that. For instance, Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi wa Thiong'o
paints a beautiful and scary picture about certain leaders in African states. However, this man obviously still needs to learn about himself and about the continent. I see why he appeals to certain people here though. I see where he is coming from, however, his reasoning worries me.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Land-Flipper-Turning-Dollars-ebook/dp/B01CEZLS04/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
There's nothing wrong with preserving genuinely historical buildings, but rigid heights caps and building limitations can have really, really bad consequences over the long run. As the city's population increases, scarcity of living, office, and retail space is going to set in. You end up with astronomical rent, sprawl, and congestion. "Preserving your downtown" ends up being "gentrifying your downtown and driving people out to the suburbs at enormous environmental and economic cost".
I mean, it's almost literally like jamming down a lid on a bot that's boiling over - everything's going to burst out to the sides, and it's going to be messy.
This has already happened in most of the big coastal cities, and it will happen to San Antonio too unless you guys embrace some more density (i.e., taller buildings). I live in DC, and it's already happened here. Go lookup rental ads on DC Craigslist. That's the future of San Antonio if the same policy stays in place.
A useful book on the subject: http://www.amazon.com/The-Rent-Damn-High-ebook/dp/B0078XGJXO
There's really no such thing as a "best state" for homesteading. There's just too many factors involved, some of which work against each other, and there's personal preferences also. What's perfect for one person would suck for another. Personally I think most states east of the Mississippi will work just fine--just avoid places with a whole lot of local laws and codes and regulations that will make your life real hard.
And climate is only one small factor among many that you need to consider. Cost of the land? How much can you afford? How will you make a living? Commute to work? How's the local economy? The local government and regulations and fees?
The viability of homesteading can vary a lot not just within a state but also within a single county, or even between adjacent parcels, due to deed restrictions and local conditions such as one property is on a flood plains and the adjacent one isn't. Stuff like that.
Take your time researching all this. No need to hurry. Laws are going to matter, so will land and living costs, and your ability to generate sufficient income in a given area.
I suggest you start with your library and with amazon, look into books on homesteading and on how to find and buy a place in the country.
Two books I particularly like:
How to Find and Buy Your Place in the Country.
and
Country Property Dirt Cheap
"Place" is extremely thorough and detailed, will help you avoid a lot of pitfalls. I found it an overwhelming and somewhat discouraging read, t hough--but it has important information I found in no other book.
"Dirt Cheap" is my favorite of all the "how to move to the country" books. It's an autobiography of a guy who did it, on not a whole lot of money. Talks a lot about his journey, the things he tried, what worked for him what didn't. Fantastic tips. Lots of adventures and surprises--and it left me feeling very heartened and encouraged. He found his place and loves it. He made me feel I could do it too.
And I did. Finally got out of the city for good just a year ago. I researched it for years before I found and got my little piece of paradise. It feels real good.
It isn't "our culture", it's the regulatory structure.
It doesn't take a decision of "Americans as a people" to keep dense housing from being built in urban commercial centers. Land that is near places where people work has a great deal of value as a place for said people to live. All that is required is that it be legal to build appropriate housing and developers will do the rest. And if they can't, they'll make suburbs instead.
Yglesias writes about this stuff all the time, in fact he wrote a great book about it : The Rent is Too Damn High. He's against rent control of all sorts, but thinks the issue has a lot more to do with zoning / density regulations.
It's funny, this morning I was just reading about this U.S. backed terrorist in Noam Chomsky's book, Hegemony or Survival.
Any of Bill Blum's books are probably a good primer on US imperialism.
https://www.amazon.com/Americas-Deadliest-Export-Democracy-Everything/dp/1780324456
The obligatory Chomsky
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805076883/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i9
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1250131081/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i1
PS - don't buy directly from Amazon :P
Oh, hey, I know something about that:
You're interested? Want to learn more? Here you go:
And last but not least, if you want to get involved and try and change things:
https://bendyimby.com/
Edit if you want a real deep dive into housing issues, I highly recommend these, which have different points of view:
I highly suggest you don't read any Noam Chomsky. E.g., Hegemony or Survival. Nor any Howard Zinn. E.g., Peoples History of the United States. Nor watch any documentaries they are in. Definitely don't do any of that. No sir.
Read this book: https://www.amazon.com/Nolos-Essential-Guide-Buying-Guidel/dp/1413323456/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
It's a pretty straightforward housing shortage, pretty much what you see in bigger cities on the West Coast (SF, Seattle). Vacancy rates are at historic lows (~1%), and with the improving economy more people are moving out of their parents' basements and forming new households.
Meanwhile new construction hasn't kept up, partially just due to the overall lag between deciding there's a market for more housing and actually finishing construction, and partially because various regulations make building new housing in Bellingham expensive (impact fees, parking minimums, caps on density, low income housing fees, etc.).
And econ 101 says raising the minimum wage has exactly the effect you describe: more dollars chasing the same amount of housing just makes prices go up (that's not to say it doesn't help people in other ways, but it doesn't help make housing more affordable).
Background: http://seattletransitblog.com/2015/09/28/better-vocabulary-for-the-housing-debate/, http://www.amazon.com/The-Rent-Too-Damn-High-ebook/dp/B0078XGJXO
As long as you have a plan on long distance investing then this is fine.
​
look into a fha loan 3.5% deposit since you'll be there for at least a year.
​
https://www.amazon.com/Long-Distance-Real-Estate-Investing-State-ebook/dp/B07818K85L/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1555435656&sr=8-3
The key idea is not that tall buildings automatically result in low rents. It's that more buildings (including more tall buildings when all the land has been used up) will lower rents. So New York should also allow more building, for the exact same reason.
The reason rents are so high is that lots of people want to live in London and New York and regulations (and local neighborhood groups) prevent developers from building enough housing for all of them. Some of the regulations are worth it! Historic preservation, maintaining historic views, etc. really are worth something. But they're not free. Residents pay for it in higher rents. And people who want to move there but can't afford it pay for it in being locked out.
The concept is laid out in better writing and with more evidence in two short e-books on the subject (not written by me) here and [here](http://www.amazon.com/Gated-City-Kindle-Single-ebook/dp/B005KGATLO/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1396795981&sr=1-2&keywords=the+rent+is+too+damn+high "this guy now writes for The Economist").
There's a lot of things you should learn and be ready for when the time comes to buy the house.
Learn about the whole buying process, from house hunting, offers, conditions etc. Also you should learn about mortgages and brokers so you get the best one for your situation.
Check out this book on mortgages
Beat the Bank: How to win the mortgage game in Canada
When going in for viewings, always look for problems. Don't get drawn into the good things. Sellers do their best to hide the problems with the house, you should be looking for those problems.
If you're in a hot market, you're likely to lose on your first few offers. Competition is fierce, people will waive inspections and any other shit just to get the house. Do what makes you comfortable. When we bought ours, I waived inspection, but I had an inspector come with me during a walkthrough. It wasn't a detailed inspection, but it was enough for me to feel confident in the house. The issues it had were minor things I can do myself.
Here's a good starter book:
https://www.amazon.com/Crushing-Apartments-Commercial-Real-Estate-ebook/dp/B01N6DKA10/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1499651167&sr=8-1&keywords=crushing+it+in+apartments+and+commercial+real+estate
Commercial real estate is where the big boys/girls play. Houses are nice but take too much time when you have a number of them. Typically you can only do so much to increase their value. In commercial real estate you can dramatically increase the value of properties by reinvesting in them properly.
The author of the NIMBYism quote is Matt Yglesias, who wrote a great e-book on density and urban revival.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0078XGJXO
Political works by Chomsky:
The Responsibility of Intellectuals (1967),
At War With Asia: Essays on Indochina (1969),
Government in the Future (1970),
The Fateful Triangle (1983, 2015),
The Chomsky Reader (1987, 2010),
Manufacturing Consent (1988, 2002),
Year 501: The Conquest Continues (1992, 2015),
Understanding Power: The Indispensible Chomsky (2002),
Hegemony or Survival (2003),
Failed States (2006).
Works on Chomsky:
Noam Chomsky: A personal bibliography, 1951-1986 (1986),
Noam Chomsky: A Life of Dissent (1998),
Chomsky: Ideas and Ideals ( 1999, 2002, 2016),
The Cambridge Companion to Chomsky (2005, 2017),
The Social and Political Thought of Noam Chomsky (2000, 2002, 2004),
The Chomsky Effect: A Radical Works Beyond the Ivory Tower (2007), Noam Chomsky (2015)
Also this, this, this and this.
The first one I read was Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda, which was a great introduction. It's short and very easy to get into. You can read it in an afternoon. It's actually from a speech he gave, so you can probably find the audio online for free and listen to it instead if you prefer.
But his best book, in my opinion, is Understanding Power. It's more of a collection of essays, speeches and interviews, but it really shaped my understanding of the world better than any other book I have read. I can't recommend this book enough.
If you're more interested in libertarian socialism, in addition to Understanding Power, read Chomsky on Anarchism. He presents the theories in very clear language, instead of being overly theoretical.
If you're more interested in his writings on US foreign policy, also read either Failed States or Hegemony or Survival.
Enjoy!
I enjoyed reading Beat the bank as an intro to mortgages and what to look out for: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/099385513X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Haven't read this one but the reviews are pretty good: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01MZCG926/?coliid=IOPLWJZG3Y032&colid=X9MXFRGDM1J9&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
Yes, I have several rental properties. You make money in RE by mortgage pay down, property appreciation and monthly cash flow. If you want to invest in RE in Canada, I would strongly recommend this book.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zimbabwes-Land-Reform-Realities-African/dp/1847010245/
https://theconversation.com/land-reform-is-a-zimbabwe-success-story-it-will-be-the-basis-for-economic-recovery-under-mnangagwa-88205
It is #6 + your budget is holding you back assuming your area is all $235k for 2br+1bath. The #6 ties you to an area. Generally a certain area was built up all at one time and if they were all built as 2br + 1 bathroom, that is what you will find there unless someone has expanded/renovated since. Then if all those 2br + 1bath are listed at $215k-235k trying to find something outside the base (semi-renovated, extra bedroom, extra 0.5 bath, ect), is going to cost more.
My advice, try to find #1, #2, #4 (at least a decent layout, does not need to be updated), #6 and ideally #5.
3 is not important. Actually crappy carpet can be a positive because many people can't see past it and the house sells cheaper. Pulling out carpet and putting in wood/engineered is not a big deal.
4 If you have decent layout and the cabinet boxes are ok, getting your cabinet doors refinished/painted/replaced and a new counter put down is an easy fix to make a BIG improvement.
Trying to add a 3rd bedroom or 0.5 bath can open up a huge can of worms with permits/electrical/plumbing so best to avoid if possible.
Find something with good bones in the area you like and the rest can be slowly improved as budget permits. Be sure to have a good home inspector but it is also not a bad idea to read up yourself and look for red flags as well (https://www.amazon.ca/Holmes-Inspection-Essential-Homeowner-Seller/dp/1603209298)
Good luck.
> https://www.amazon.com/Are-Missing-Real-Estate-Boom/dp/0385514344
he was right for 2 more years!
A house is the largest investment and purchase you will ever make. It's important to actually do research.
I just bought a house last year, and the process took Nine months. I do live in one of the hottest markets in the US, so you likely won't have it that bad.
The first 6 months of the process was studying and getting experience, the last 3 months was actually shopping.
The Very First thing you need to do is read about everything that is required. This is the resource I used. you will also want to take classes. Knowing what you're in for is very important.
The second thing you will do is get in touch with multiple banks, see what kind of 'Pre-offers' they will give you. These are just estimates of what kind of loans you can get from them. They are free, and you want multiple offers. We did not go with our normal bank, and you don't have to either. The "Maximum Loan" is what the bank thinks you can afford without starving to death, do not use the max loan as a gauge of what you can actually afford.
After you have a bank, you will know what kind of loans you are looking at, and what you can afford. It's time to start window shopping. This means going out and viewing houses in your market with no intention of buying. You will likely see houses you really want, but can't have. This will give you experience in walking away from bad deals. Don't buy until you are 100% ready.
When you know what kind of house you want, how much it ought to cost, and how to walk away from a bad deal, get an agent. Now you are ready.
check out biggerpockets.com and specifically this book or audio book:
https://www.amazon.com/Long-Distance-Real-Estate-Investing-State-ebook/dp/B07818K85L
If you care about this issue, make your views known to your local zoning board and elected officials. Insane real estate prices in metro areas are not inevitable, they are a result of deliberate anti-growth, anti-development policies that prioritize car ownership and suburbanization.
I highly recommend this e-book for a more lucid explanation. The writer is a DC resident, and I think you'll find it very relevant.
I grew up in coastal Southern California, so I'm used to the conundrum. But I think I see it a bit differently to you.
The owning a home thing is, frankly, increasingly impossible unless you make big bucks. But the dirty secret is that it's sort of becoming like that everywhere (read: most major metropolitan areas with lots of jobs and industry). You can buck the trend a bit by moving to a "non-hub" area...and real estate is a lot cheaper there but there's a reason for it--if you lose your job you'll likely have to move a large distance away to find a new one, etc. And you know why the federal government thinks you make too much money? Because you're likely getting a salary premium working here and would face a salary cut elsewhere, even in what seems like a more affordable area.
And the thing is, this isn't our fault. It's largely the fault of bad planning choices, NIMBYism, irrational fear of urban sprawl, etc--which leads to underdevelopment/density where the jobs are. Pretty much everywhere in the peninsula, east bay, southern Marin, and especially south bay should be being developed with new higher density housing now given the insane premium on home prices and rents here. But they're not being--mostly because of a regulatory/NIMBY/greed clusterfuck that benefits longtime property owners at the expense of everyone else.
Recommended reading: Matt Yglesias's great "The Rent is Too Damn High"
http://www.amazon.com/The-Rent-Damn-High-ebook/dp/B0078XGJXO
Postcolonial land restitution and redistribution schemes in former settler colonies are a related but somewhat special case to the ones indicated above. In the cases of Zimbabwe and South Africa (the ones I know best) there are two issues at work: first, figuring out what the original title to the land was; second, figuring out whether or not that title was uprooted in a way one might consider "just." John Weaver talks about this in The Great Land Rush and the Making of the Modern World 1650-1900 (2003), a very valuable book if you haven't read it. The case of Zimbabwe arguably went south so quickly because the colonial-era landholders dragged their feet on redistribution to the point that they became the first target for Mugabe when he came under pressure from rural agitation. He could paint them as the problem, and people would agree with him, because they were always the problem, right? The redistribution was handled haphazardly and with very little concern for accuracy or proper claims determination as you know, with a lot of big estates handed over to cronies who might sublease parts or simply do nothing with them. A fair bit of land was however put in the hands of families, but they did not have the inputs or the institutional support to make the land produce, even if they had the knowledge. South Africa's been a better case so far, but everyone eyeballs Zimbabwe for differing reasons. Jocelyn Alexander, The Unsettled Land (2006), is essential reading for the fraught history of land in Zimbabwe since 1893. She's got another study coauthored that's coming out this year, on the Fast Track program itself. You can also see Ian Scoones, ed., Zimbabwe's Land Reform: Myths and Realities (2010) for some more specific discussion. Cherryl Walker and a variety of others are working on the issues surrounding land in South Africa, which I also study (the 1800s alienation end, not the restitution end) but I don't want to belabor that literature here. It's a moving target.
[Edit: Added links.]
I don't have a specific answer but with your financial profile you can definitely do it. I highly recommend you read Crushing It. He goes through lots of scenarios for evaluating and doing deals.
On the triplex question, you mainly want to focus on 20% downpayment and getting a debt service coverage ratio of at least 1.25.
Also, check out BiggerPockets.com. They have tons of articles about how to do these kinds of deals.
Did you know that there is actually a "Homebuying for Dummies" book?
http://www.amazon.com/Home-Buying-Dummies-Eric-Tyson-ebook/dp/B0026LTMHI/
http://www.amazon.com/Home-Buying-For-Dummies-Edition/dp/0470453656/
Amen, brother.
I'll just add that OP should also read RPL 235-f
> 4. Any lease or rental agreement for residential premises entered into
by two or more tenants shall be construed to permit occupancy by tenants, immediate family of tenants, occupants and dependent children of occupants; provided that the total number of tenants and occupants, excluding occupants' dependent children, does not exceed the number of tenants specified in the current lease or rental agreement, and that at least one tenant or a tenants' spouse occupies the premises as his primary residence.
Ah hell, here's some more required reading:
https://www.nycourts.gov/courts/nyc/housing/pdfs/Landlordbooklet.pdf
http://www.amazon.com/New-York-Landlords-Law-Book/dp/0873379276 or http://www.amazon.com/Landlords-Legal-Guide-Survival-Guides/dp/1572485914 (and the Nolo book is good too, but not NY-specific).
Good luck! It's actually a bit of a complicated process, so if you are serious, I recommend grabbing something like this off Amazon. It was super helpful!
"The high cost of land in urban areas is one of the primary reasons that we can’t “build our way out” of the current crisis by slashing regulations and giving huge tax breaks to private developers, like a lot of liberals and conservatives claim. The only way for developers to make good profits in this circumstance is to invest in high-end housing whose sale or rents will make them profits beyond the massive costs of land, materials, and labor for construction. The only way to engineer affordability in this kind of housing market is for governments to heavily subsidize capitalist developers and landlords. Wouldn’t it just make more sense for governments to cut out the middleman and construct or finance that housing themselves, pledging to provide it at affordable rates to anyone who wants it?"
https://jacobinmag.com/2018/11/capitalism-affordable-housing-rent-commodities-profit?fbclid=IwAR1_-S0z2Nufvt44BAs-B4stGBh8IBIcjvzyVjs4amO0kIKnwCZUVeNpSXs
Mortgage Loan Secrets: How to get a Mortgage in Less than 30 days
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QMJLM6T
FREE until April 25th
> Most buyers are unfamiliar with the process of getting a loan or mortgage and what it really takes to get approved.
>This book covers mortgage basics, what is a good credit score, and what are the four c’s of getting a loan. What is the loan process, what is the difference between a preapproval and being prequalified. What documents will my loan officer need and what should I be doing while in process.
>And more.
Pl read. Worth the money
Beat the Bank: How to win the mortgage game in Canada https://www.amazon.ca/dp/099385513X/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_api_i_CU4PDb51J7ZCP
Buy this book (Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home ) and read it cover-to-cover. I read another book by them specific to the state I live in now after buying two homes in another state. It was a good review and a good resource. Worth the money.
https://www.amazon.com/Nolos-Essential-Guide-Buying-Guidel/dp/1413323456/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1521695334&sr=1-1&keywords=how+to+buy+a+house+nolo
https://www.amazon.com/Country-Property-Dirt-Cheap-Inexpensive/dp/0945959524
This book has been recommended to me.
Land Flipper
I am not a lawyer. You are not my client. Even if I were a laywer, you would not be my client.
The general rule is that the guy continues to own his property and you have to provide him with written notice (generally, certified return receipt mail with signature required) that he has 30 days to pick up his stuff and after that you're going to try to dispose of it. If you know he's gotten the message (hence, the certified return receipt) and the time elapses, then you're generally in the clear.
You can't just throw it away without such notice, even if an enormous amount of time has passed; you have a duty to preserve these things that you're in temporary possession of.
But each state has its own peculiar variations of the rule, and NYC has its own rules besides.
It's surprisingly difficult to get the new york specifics on this.
I agree with throwawayi9i9; getting the pamphlet might be useful. You might also like to look at http://www.amazon.com/Landlords-Legal-Guide-Survival-Guides/dp/1572485914.
Alternately, if he was on the lease, you can make it your landlord's problem: hey, your former tenant left this stuff. (This doesn't work if he wasn't on the lease and was just subletting; then the guy he was subletting from is responsible).
http://www.amazon.com/Nolos-Essential-Guide-Buying-First/dp/1413313221/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333918518&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Home-Buying-Dummies-Eric-Tyson/dp/1568843852/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333918518&sr=1-2
I'm glad this was posted and glad to see Krugman drawing attention to this; I think this applies hugely to Vancouver and Toronto. Both cities are astonishingly spread out, with huge swathes dedicated to single family homes. There is no lack of space in our cities, merely numerous restrictions which prevent building. Vancouver in particular has highly motivated NIMBYs who have successfully made any development a bureaucratic minefield and oppose any development which is approved anyways. While foreign money is frequently blamed, low vacancy rates and low inventory suggest that this housing shortage is a problem of not enough supply. Notably Montreal suffers much less from high housing costs and rents. I believe this is partly due to lower population growth, but also to much more willingness to build. High inventories have been pushing condo prices in Montreal down over the last year.
Furthermore, in the modern service economy, housing is arguably the most important form of capital and is currently a major factor in rising wealth inequality.
Further reading:
The Rent is Too Damn High
Overview from the Economist
I'd personally start with a few videos, then work your way into literature. The literature I suggest below is intentionally easy to read.
Literature by Marx and Engels:
I guess somewhere around here you can start reading Marx and Engel's other works, with Capital being your priority. Where you go after that is up to you.
Some interesting literature:
This is all just thinly veiled rambling. I don't know why you are getting so upset. Did I say I was part of the creative class moving into silver lake? No. I have lived in the east San Fernando Valley my whole life and dont intend to spend 600k on a shack in silverlake.
You are going on and on about national debt issues and the prison industrial complex. I am an urban planner by trade and education, so I offer you the theoretical, market historical context for gentrification.
I can also offer you some reading material if you are interested in this subject.
An easy read is "The Rent is Too Damn High" - This book discusses the economics of ever increasing property prices and rent, how our laws against density and building in general have betrayed lower income people.
"Naked City:The Death and Life of Authentic Urban Places" - This book discusses that "authenticity" I was talking about that people are interested in now (btw, I never said I was seeking it). It also discusses gentrification's toll on the poor and its market based reality.
If you are interested in the creative class part, Richard Florida is an author always writing about that. Im not a huge fan of his though, for more general reasons. But when I say the creative class invades cheap neighborhoods is artistic and entrepreneurial skilled workers who bring their homes and maybe even their work to the area. This isn't a new thing, its happened through history, especially the past century. They are the pioneers of the gentrifying neighborhood before the people with the real money start entering.
As a recent first-time buyer myself, I strongly recommend reading this book: Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home. It breaks down the whole home buying process in ELI5 terms, and really helped me out.
Sure:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Gated-City-Kindle-Single-ebook/dp/B005KGATLO
http://www.amazon.com/Rent-Too-Damn-High-Matters-ebook/dp/B0078XGJXO
You want to read this: https://www.amazon.com/Home-Buying-Dummies-Eric-Tyson/dp/0470453656
Also, look for a Mortgage Broker who work with different institutions. They will know whats best to shop your loan to different banks.
We did a 3% downpayment via the VA guaranty program. Very doable.
I'm a libertarian urbanist, and the rank and file libertarians hate the morgage interest deduction, zoning laws, urban renewal, government subsidized highways, and other sprawl creating policies.
Good book on free market urbanism:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Slaughter-Cities-Renewal-Cleansing/dp/1587317753
http://www.amazon.com/Wealth-Cities-Revitalizing-Centers-American/dp/0738201340/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403714503&sr=1-1&keywords=wealth+of+cities
http://www.amazon.com/Zoned-Out-Regulation-Transportation-Metropolitan/dp/1933115157/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403714530&sr=1-1&keywords=zoned+out
http://www.amazon.com/Our-Lot-Real-Estate-Came/dp/B005Q69JJQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403714545&sr=1-1&keywords=our+lot
http://www.amazon.com/Snob-Zones-Fear-Prejudice-Estate/dp/0807001570/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403714560&sr=1-1&keywords=snob+zones
http://www.amazon.com/Financial-Fiasco-Infatuation-Ownership-Afterword/dp/1937184412/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403714575&sr=1-1&keywords=financial+fiasco
http://www.amazon.com/Housing-Bias-Rethinking-Diverse-America/dp/0230110509/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403714629&sr=1-1&keywords=the+housing+bias
http://www.amazon.com/Triumph-City-Greatest-Invention-Healthier/dp/159420277X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403714641&sr=1-1&keywords=triumph+of+the+city
http://www.amazon.com/Reckless-Endangerment-Outsized-Corruption-Armageddon-ebook/dp/B004H1TM1G/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403714658&sr=1-1&keywords=reckless+endangerment+gretchen+morgenson
http://www.amazon.com/The-Rent-Too-Damn-High-ebook/dp/B0078XGJXO
Their are a lot more.
http://www.amazon.com/High-Cost-Free-Parking/dp/1884829988/ref=sr_1_1?s=textbooks-trade-in&ie=UTF8&qid=1405054547&sr=1-1&keywords=the+high+cost+of+free+parking
Eric Tyson is great on financial-related books:
https://www.amazon.com/Home-Buying-Dummies-Eric-Tyson/dp/0470453656
Solid plan. I think this is how a lot of Canadian investors get started.
Whatever province you're in, read the Residential Tenancies Act (or your equivalent) and have a good understanding of it. Even if you're going to eventually hire a property manager, look after the first property yourself so you get a good feel for what you're doing and build some experience.
Always screen all your tenants including getting a credit check. Don't ever, ever, EVER skip the credit check.
If you have clean rental properties in OK areas that are well looked after, you'll have no trouble finding good tenants. Treat them fairly and with respect and you'll minimize (or eliminate) nightmare tenant stories.
When I got started, I read Real Estate Investing in Canada by Don R Campbell. Good little book that's not intimidating. Well worth the $20 investment.
http://www.amazon.ca/Real-Estate-Investing-Canada-Creating/dp/0470158891
okay. i just read this and i recommend that you do too.
https://www.amazon.com/Hegemony-Survival-Americas-Dominance-American/dp/0805076883
but hey maybe you think noam chomsky is an uneducated individual as well so idk
found this book... thinking about ordering it just to understand the essentials:
http://www.amazon.com/Holmes-Inspection-Essential-Homeowner-Seller/dp/1603209298/ref=pd_sim_b_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0KA0C0JH157ZXYERQM3R
> Truth be told if the government didn't mandate the construction of affordable housing there wouldn't be as much as there is.
I'm going to disagree pretty vehemently with you on this one. In fact the opposite is true. When price controls are put in, it is usually in response to the rising prices caused by government restrictions. The price controls seek to remedy the symptoms without addressing the cause and in fact make prices go even higher. How is that possible? Because luxury apartments are exempt from price controls, and since contractors and landlords can't make any money at all on apartments that have price controls on them, they don't build new units at all, even when the regulations wouldn't prohibit them from doing so. Check out this book. It goes into detail as to why there hasn't been a new non-luxury apartment complex built in NYC since the 1970's and it's all because of the rent controls put into place. You can't make money on apartments if you're not allowed to do at least one of the following:
NYC has effectively outlawed all three scenarios. There are height restrictions, room volume minimum requirements, and of course, price controls. They have eliminated any incentive to build new apartments there. But since luxury apartments are exempt (since you don't want only cheap housing for obvious reasons), they are the only ones that get built.
Well, it's good that you're starting young and have cash to invest. I would suggest looking at a variety of investing opportunities to diversify and to study it as much as you can.
Here are some great books that could help you along the way:
- The Book on Rental Property Investing: How to Create Wealth and Passive Income Through Smart Buy & Hold Real Estate Investing
- How to Invest in Real Estate: The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Getting Started
And for concise, step-by-step information on the basics of real estate investing, I would recommend this short but helpful guide.
​
There are a couple big boy words in here, but if you want to actually know what you're talking about you should read Living in the Shadow of the Eagle. Or if you really want to stretch that pea brain of yours, I recommend Hegemony or Survival.
But seeing as you're just a right wing loon desperately trying to justify US Imperialism, I doubt you'll read either and just call me some derivative of "shit" again like a really smart guy.
Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:
amazon.co.uk
amazon.ca
amazon.com.au
amazon.in
amazon.com.mx
amazon.de
amazon.it
amazon.es
amazon.com.br
amazon.nl
amazon.co.jp
amazon.fr
Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008Z44XYW/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9avyLscJTA
Im going to read many more in the coming months
I looked into buying a 2-4 unit multi-plex to (a) live in one unit myself, and (b) rent the rest of to cover defray the costs of the mortgage and expenses. This was about 2-3 years ago.
I found that I couldn't make the numbers work. The rent (at the time) rarely managed to cover (1) mortgage, (2) taxes, (3) insurance, etc. This was including treating the unit I lived in as income that I 'pay myself' (or rather the fictional 'property company').
Of course rents have gone up since I last did the math, but so have prices (and recently mortgage rates).
Run the numbers yourself; a book I found informative:
If you're okay with a monthly loss, hoping to 'flip' at some point in the future via property values (and higher rents), then go ahead. But if you want to at least break-even cashflow-wise, things aren't as rosy AFAICT.
If someone has made the numbers work in the GTA, please PM me, as I'd love to know how.
Here is the deal:
Homes: This is property that you OWN. Or rather, own a part of until you pay off your mortgage. Your mortgage is basically paying the bank bank for THEM buying the home for you. The trick is, YOU are in charge of EVERYTHING. I was told recently by friends you need either one large income or two stable incomes to be able to sustain a household. The stable job/s need to have financial security. To get an idea of the costs, here is a link to my thread with A LOT of useful information:
My thread
I also recommend looking up: [Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home)(http://www.amazon.com/Nolos-Essential-Guide-Buying-First/dp/1413317626)
Regarding renting: You, typically, own NOTHING. However it gives you the freedom to say, "I dont like living here anymore... lets bail." You have the freedom to do whatever you want with NO ties. Owning a coop/condo, different story.
In your case, you need to make some serious financial decisions with your husband. A coop/condo may be your best bet if you cannot stand the thought of renting anymoer and want to own property.
I would say up to about 5-10 years ago, getting a home was a great idea however the costs involved have increased dramatically without the increases in paychecks.
I endorse all of those comments.
​
>In MA, you would need the sherif to personally serve the tenant with the eviction notice.
I first had to purchase the Summons and Complaint form from the district court, fill it out (including a very precise and critical series of dates) and yes, hire a sheriff to serve it. You can't have it served until the tenancy has been properly terminated. That can happen via any of the various Notice-To-Quits, or as in my case, the tenancy automatically terminated because it was a fixed-term lease with a specified end date.
Once the form is served, I collect a copy from the sheriff and bring it back to the court with the Notice-To-Quit (or lease) and pay the fees to enter it into record. The tenant then has a period during which they can file an Answer, request discovery, request a delay or change the venue. After that we go to court.
​
> It sucks, but you can’t cash those checks either.
Are you aware of a law or statute that makes that clear? Do you mean ever? The wording in the Reservation of Rights letter (which comes from Landlord's Legal Guide in Massachusetts) certainly makes it seem like recovering that money is not out of the question, as long as it is done correctly.
​
Thank you
See here.
Grumpy cat does not aprrove.
God damn I love this meme
I would love this book on real estate by a very successful real estate mogul.
Have you read this one? I'm assuming you have since you've recommended it?
investing in Canadian real estate is something I've been seriously looking at lately as well. Would you also recommend Don Campbell's other book?
I bought this when we bought our house because I was similarly clueless. It helped me feel like I had a better handle on things.
Which, coincidentally, is a nice short book by Matthew Iglesias regarding housing issues in America. /off-topic
Might I then recommend Dirt Cheap Property
It's a pretty good resource for figuring all this out, and some of his ideas, like talking to local farmers if they have land they might parcel off, might be up your alley. As noted by another commenter, landwatch.com is also a good resource.
I got these two books, which were extremely helpful, and written for second graders (which, is wonderful when you don't know shit about the industry!).
Mortgage Ripoffs and Money Savers
Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home.
WARNING!!! They were written by Agents and Brokers at the height of the boom. So there is some really fucking bad advise in them, read through the lines, and cherry pick what will work for you given our new market reality.
Overall, I got enough from those books to know what I needed to make better financial decisions, but you can't be completely blind about it - even with the books.
And I heavily supplemented the knowledge that I got from the books with recent blogs and real-estate threads.
So you are in the right place!
The Rent Is Too Damn High: What To Do About It
Tbh, if you think MR is a school website, you probably don't read that much econ generally to begin with. It might be worth moderating the confidence in your opinion.
More here.