(Part 3) Top products from r/realestateinvesting

No problem. There are a ton of great books out there. As with REI itself, there is no right way to go about educating yourself.


REI, at least in my experience and on the scale I'm operating, isn't as brutally complex from a mathematical/formula perspective as I first imagined. You obviously need to know how to analyze a deal, but you don't need to memorize every last little formula as I originally thought I would. As they say, "keep it simple stupid". Middle school math and excel for the more detailed formulas and breakdowns cover most of it.


The most important skills to have IMO and based on my experiences thus far are:


1.) Healthy dose of common sense


2.) "HOW not IF" mentality to problem solving


3.) Emotional intelligence (ability to read ppl & situations and react accordingly). Or basically ppl skills.


You can thus see why some say real estate investors are the "blue-collar" millionaires. And why, at least IMO, the mindset books like RICH DAD POOR DAD and THINK AND GROW RICH are just as important as the REI specific books.


I would also recommend you try to educate yourself on estimating rehab costs. That is the other area that almost all newbies (except those with construction background) struggle. And it is one of those things where you can't really cheat experience. I read every book under the sun and thought I had it licked, but boy was I wrong. The fact that both labor/material costs differ from market to market makes it difficult to extrapolate costs from one market to another.

One thing I have found extremely helpful though are the Craftsman Estimator books. They aren't designed for investors, but rather contractors to help them better estimate jobs. But that is exactly what you want in REI, always to be seeing things from the other person's shoes. If I want to be accurately predicting what Contractors are going to charge, then what better way than using the same information and system to generate Estimates that they do? It takes actual costs from contractors across the entire country, takes into account different geographical areas, and applies those costs to every line item you could possibly imagine in all avenues of construction. It also extrapolates costs in form of man-hours. So for example, if you have 1000 SF of laminate to install. You can know how long it takes your AVG Flooring Installer in your region to install 100 SF of laminate. Knowing that info and the avg cost (including markup, insurance, etc.) for flooring installer, you have everything you need. If you get a bid, multiply (Manhours required on avg to complete items in SOW) x (Avg. Cost of Individuals Performing Those Costs) = ROUGH IDEA OF WHAT REHAB SHOULD COST. And then if you have a handyman who is working on hourly rate, you have an idea of how long it should take him to perform the tasks you assign him.


I've included a link below as they can probably explain it better on their site than I can. Amazon doesn't have preview for them, but if you Google book titles, you can find free PDF samples pretty easily so you can get an idea for how things are broken down inside.


https://www.amazon.com/National-Repair-Remodeling-Estimator-2017/dp/1572183314/ref=pd_sim_14_5?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1572183314&pd_rd_r=QGKDB03AJHGKRTS6KJH1&pd_rd_w=kYkQp&pd_rd_wg=CfVpC&psc=1&refRID=QGKDB03AJHGKRTS6KJH1

https://www.amazon.com/National-Home-Improvement-Estimator-2017/dp/1572183276/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1572183276&pd_rd_r=R2XCBZ0ET9KYVSASDE6P&pd_rd_w=tBLoF&pd_rd_wg=ZDqUd&psc=1&refRID=R2XCBZ0ET9KYVSASDE6P

These have been a HUGE asset for me in not getting one put over on me by contractors giving me quotes. Even to the point where I got licensed as a GC and I've been able to bring parts of the rehab crew in-house and have my own full-time crew of W-2 guys to rehab my properties. We are actually have our systems set up to the point, where I'm in process of expanding business to rehab properties other than just my own. Have a GC/Project Manager I've groomed who will largely handle that piece, which will provide me an additional income stream that I can live off of and invest in REI. None of that would have been impossible had I not had the cost book as I have no experience or cost history of my own to base estimates on. I have also developed some mutually beneficial relationships with other GCs and contractors who have acted as a "big brother" to me throughout, which has also helped. But that goes back to #2) PROBLEM SOLVING (No experience, how do I offset that weakness) and #3) PEOPLE SKILLS (how do I convince these people to take the time to help and advise me).

If I were you I would get a list of every single property management company in your area and try to get a job with them. At your age if you tell them you want to start a career in real estate I'm sure one of them would love to hire you for grunt labor while teaching you the ropes. It may not be the most glamorous pay or work, but you're there to learn. It's basically like getting paid to go to school and study something you're actually interested in.

Other than that...binge watch a bunch of Graham Stephan on YouTube. He gives a lot of good tips around building your credit and reducing your living expenses so you can save money to invest. The cheapest way to build credit is to use no-fee credit cards. The caveat there is that you need to pay the credit card off in full every single month to avoid paying interest. That is how it is free. All other loans (car, student, vacation, etc) will incur interest charges no matter what. If you do not already have the money to buy something, do not charge it to a credit card. Treat the credit card like cash. Also, a debit card from your bank is not the same thing as a credit card. Make sure you're using a credit card.

Binge watch/listen to the Bigger Pockets podcasts as well. A word of warning though...don't let some of the people motivate you to do crazy and stupid things. Some of their guests have been downright reckless in my opinion. Any of them where you see that they somehow acquired 100 properties in 12 months...yeah don't listen to those people. They're incredibly leveraged and at massive risk of failure in the slightest market downturn. The only reason they've been able to make that house of cards work so far is because the real estate market has been in a bull market run since around 2009-2010 when the market hit rock bottom after the financial crisis.

ADDITION EDIT: Thanks for the gold! Also, check out Buy It, Rent It, Profit (Updated Edition). It's a great read for getting a decent overview of the various steps as far as evaluating which properties to buy, how to buy them, and how to manage them.

There are a few schools of thought. On one side is the BRRRR method, where you leverage your properties to build your portfolio. Its riskier, but allows you to build quickly.

Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat: The BRRRR Rental Property Investment Strategy Made Simple https://www.amazon.com/dp/1947200089/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_JQSHDbXM4BE7R

The other end of the spectrum is Dave Ramsey's method, of paying cash in full for all your properties. It ties up your cash, but, if the market takes a down turn, you can afford to rent it out for the then market rates. Its far less risky, and slow to start, but most of your rental income is profit. And once you get a few paid for properties, the income starts rolling and you can build as big as you want.

The Total Money Makeover Workbook: Classic Edition: The Essential Companion for Applying the Book's Principles https://www.amazon.com/dp/1400206502/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_8SSHDbWCFDPG8


This one was on a list of recommend books

The Book on Rental Property Investing: How to Create Wealth and Passive Income Through Intelligent Buy & Hold Real Estate Investing! https://www.amazon.com/dp/099071179X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_yoSHDbKZR7WT0

If you're doing this get a good CPA who has real estate knowledge.

Morris Invest has an incredible podcast that covers all sorts of topics like this.

Also Tom Wheelwright who is featured on the podcast a lot has a great book on this called Tax Free Wealth.

Hijacking the top comment to say you really should check out Set for Life: Dominate Life, Money, and the American Dream. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0997584718/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_FNjKBb42T04HZ

The strategy u/Gold_Flake is described at length in this book and is described as “House-Hacking.”

You can search “house hacking Bigger Pockets” into Google and get a bunch of great search results that also describe this method.

Good luck!

https://www.amazon.com/Real-Estate-Finance-Investments/dp/0073377333


https://www.amazon.com/Real-Estate-Development-Principles-Process/dp/0874203430


https://www.amazon.com/Real-Estate-Transactions-Finance-Development/dp/1422429865

Happy reading!

There’s a good book about this:

https://www.amazon.com/Great-Expectations-Charles-Dickens/dp/1512308846/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1537766664&sr=8-1-spons&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=great+expectations+charles+dickens&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0997584777/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KO6UHS/

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I have not purchased notes, but these are the two books I've heard recommended.

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I would go with something generic like https://www.amazon.com/Real-Estate-Investing-Dummies-Tyson/dp/1118948211/ref=mp_s_a_1_16?keywords=real+estate+investing&qid=1569616009&sr=8-16

I don't want to dampen your enthusiasm, but this book will probably be taking a lot of the air out of that space: https://www.amazon.com/Retire-Early-Real-Estate-Investing/dp/1947200038

I keep hearing this... so maybe we should revert to a college textbook sort of thing? Then again, it's prob just a DCF model, right?

https://www.amazon.com/Foundations-Real-Estate-Financial-Modelling/dp/113802516X/ref=mt_hardcover?_encoding=UTF8&me=

And if youre looking for reading material, I suggest this book: https://www.amazon.com/Best-Ever-Apartment-Syndication-Book/dp/0997454326

[Asbestos Test Kit 1 PK (5 Bus. Days) $30](
https://www.amazon.com/Asbestos-Test-Bus-Days-Schneider/dp/B008J3ZK8M)

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

If you are based in the UK, I read Samuel Leeds' book 'Buy Low Rent High' which can be purchased here. It is extremely informative and the dude also offers video content through his YouTube channel.

He explains several strategies and gives guidelines on what to look for in property investment.

If you do not reside in the UK, I would still suggest reading it because most of his explanations apply worldwide.

For what subjects please?

For electrical "Wiring a Home" by Rex Cauldwell is pretty good.

For Drywall repair this guy is amazing.

For basic carpentry I can't really recommend much, since I've been doing it most of my life, starting with instruction from my dad.

I don't do much plumbing, but mostly it's looking up code, and running pipes. Replacing a toilet/wax ring is all about draining the water, and removing the seal. Almost everything else is about tightening the nuts. If it leaks tighten until it stops.

For roofs, generally if you keep in mind that water is going to run down, then everything else follows from that basic principal. A shingled roof is a PITA to install, but you can do it without too much help.