The Only 3 Books You Need to Invest in Real Estate - (2024)

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Do you want to start investing in real estate? There are thousands of books on the topic. And hundreds of those are pretty good! But you don’t have time to read hundreds. So I’ve narrowed the list down to the Top 3.

If you’re serious about buying your first investment property, these are THE 3 books for you!

The Only 3 Books You Need to Invest in Real Estate - (3)

The Only 3 Books You Need to Invest in Real Estate - (4)1. The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller

The Millionaire Real Estate Investor is hands-down my favorite book on real estate investing. If you’re only going to read 1 book on real estate investing, make it this one!

Here’s what I love so much about The Millionaire Real Estate Investor: it provides immediate, actionable advice PLUS long-term models. So it shows you how to get started now AND what you can build over time. You’ll see the same brilliant structure in many of Keller’s other books (notably The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, and SHIFT: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times, both of which are well worth a read!).

This book presents a 4-stage path to becoming a millionaire real estate investor:

1. Think a Million: Get your mind to understand that it’s do-able.

2. Buy a Million: Buy a portfolio worth over a million in value

3. Own a Million: Build your equity in your portfolio to over a million

4. Receive a Million: Earn over a million in cash flow.

I started following this path in 2012 with my first investment property. Stage 1 and 2 are complete, and I’m working on Stage 3. This plan works!

1 last giant bonus: The Millionaire Real Estate Investor provides useful worksheets to help you budget your capital and evaluate your prospective properties. Invaluable if you’re new to investing.

If you want a clear path to success in real estate investing, The Millionaire Real Estate Investor is the book for you!

The Only 3 Books You Need to Invest in Real Estate - (5)2. The ABC’s of Real Estate Investing: The Secrets of Finding Hidden Profits Most Investors Miss by Ken McElroy

With The Millionaire Real Estate Investor being such a solid, complete guide to building a real estate portfolio, why bother reading anything else, right? Well, The ABCs of Real Estate Investing provides a completely different view of real estate investing. It presents more creative paths to making money in real estate.

Where The Millionaire Real Estate Investor presents a single, clear model for building your real estate fortune, The ABC’s of Real Estate Investing shows that there’s more than 1 way to skin a cat, so to speak. It introduces you to a few outside-the-box methods of manipulating real estate to make money.

One specific example sticks out in my mind. The author wanted to own a summer house for family vacations. But he didn’t necessarily want to foot the debt for a vacation home. So his solution was to buy a property on a few acres, subdivide the land, and sell the individual vacant lots to cover the cost of his purchase. Brilliant!

This book is about finding opportunities other real estate investors miss. It shows you how to pan for real estate gold, then how to make sure it’s real gold, not fool’s gold.

If you want to think a little differently about investing in real estate, The ABCs of Real Estate Investing is a must-read.

The Only 3 Books You Need to Invest in Real Estate - (6)3. What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow…and 36 Other Key Financial Measures by Frank Gallinelli

What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow is the best book I’ve found for investment calculations.

If you’re a numbers nerd like me, this will give you calculations to daydream about.

And if you hate calculations and financials, this book will teach you to understand, if not appreciate, them. Like it or not, financials are a big part of investing. So you need to know how to calculate your numbers and how to interpret them. This book will teach you that!

It covers all the financial vitals including:

  • Discounted Cash Flow
  • Net Present Value
  • Capitalization Rate
  • Cash-on-Cash Return
  • Net Operating Income
  • Internal Rate of Return
  • Profitability Index
  • Return on Equity

What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow is a brilliant resource for any real estate investor. You’ll find yourself referencing it again and again for years to come.

We know there are plenty of other brilliant real estate investing books out there. Do you have a favorite that wasn’t part of our Top 3? Let us know in the comments!

PS: want more info on investing in real estate, check out Top 10 Real Estate Investing Tips for Newbies and Are You Financially Ready for Your First Investment Property?

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The Only 3 Books You Need to Invest in Real Estate - (2024)

FAQs

What are the three most important factors in real estate investments? ›

Home prices and home sales (overall and in your desired market) New construction. Property inventory. Mortgage rates.

What are at least 3 types of real estate investments? ›

Real estate investments can occur in four basic forms: private equity (direct ownership), publicly traded equity (indirect ownership claim), private debt (direct mortgage lending), and publicly traded debt (securitized mortgages). Many motivations exist for investing in real estate income property.

What is the 1 rule in real estate? ›

For a potential investment to pass the 1% rule, its monthly rent must equal at least 1% of the purchase price. If you want to buy an investment property, the 1% rule can be a helpful tool for finding the right property to achieve your investment goals.

What are the 3 A's of investing? ›

Remember the 3 A's for retirement saving: amount, account, and asset mix.

What are the three most important things in real estate? ›

There is an old adage, that the three most important words in real estate are 'Location, Location, Location'.

What is the most profitable form of real estate investment? ›

Commercial properties are considered one of the best types of real estate investments because of their potential for higher cash flow. If you decide to invest in a commercial property, you could enjoy these attractive benefits: Higher-income potential.

What type of real estate has the highest return? ›

Which real estate investments are the most profitable? Commercial real estate investments tend to have higher income potential than other types of investments, with the added benefit of longer leases and lower vacancy rates.

What type of real estate agent makes the most money? ›

High Paying Real Estate Agent Jobs
  • Real Estate Officer. Salary range: $82,500-$137,000 per year. ...
  • Realtor. Salary range: $79,500-$125,000 per year. ...
  • Real Estate Broker. ...
  • Commercial Real Estate Agent. ...
  • Real Estate Rep. ...
  • Licensed Real Estate Agent. ...
  • Commercial Real Estate Assistant. ...
  • Property Consultant.

What are the 4 C's in real estate? ›

Credit, Capacity, Capitol, and Collaterals are the four important Cs in the mortgage world and the most looked-at factors by banks when it comes to loan approval. So, what do each of the 4Cs mean, and why are they so important?

What is the 3% rule in real estate? ›

1%, 2% or 3% rule is a gage of measuring if the investment would be profitable. The comparison is between the gross rent and the purchase price. 50% rule relates to quick reference practice of estimating your operating expenses so you can arrive at your NOI (net operating income). 1. Realty Circle.

What is the 4-3-2-1 rule in real estate? ›

Analyzing the 4-3-2-1 Rule in Real Estate

This rule outlines the ideal financial outcomes for a rental property. It suggests that for every rental property, investors should aim for a minimum of 4 properties to achieve financial stability, 3 of those properties should be debt-free, generating consistent income.

What is the golden rule in real estate? ›

Corcoran's Golden Rule of real estate investing consists of two main parts. The first is being able to purchase property with at least 20% down, ideally in a location that has started seeing an increase in demand. The second is to have tenants living on that property paying the mortgage.

What is the 80% rule in real estate? ›

What is the 80/20 Rule exactly? It's the idea that 80% of outcomes are driven from 20% of the input or effort in any given situation. What does this mean for a real estate professional? Making more money in real estate is directly tied to focusing your personal energy on the most high value areas of your business.

What is the 50% rule in real estate? ›

The 50% rule is a guideline used by real estate investors to estimate the profitability of a given rental unit. As the name suggests, the rule involves subtracting 50 percent of a property's monthly rental income when calculating its potential profits.

What are the 3 criteria to consider when choosing investments? ›

3 Concepts to consider when choosing investment options
  • Investment types. Start by understanding the four most common investment options and comparing their risks as well as their potential for return. ...
  • Investment risk and return. ...
  • Your time horizon.

What are the three important factors to evaluate investments? ›

  • Your Investment Horizon – Think of your investment time horizon. ...
  • Your Risk Appetite – Assess your ability to withstand fluctuations or loss in the value of your investments. ...
  • Investment Knowledge: Start your investment journey by learning basics of investing.

What are the 3 characteristics of real estate? ›

Understanding Real Estate

The physical characteristics of land include its immobility, indestructibility, and uniqueness, where each parcel of land differs geographically. Real estate encompasses the land, plus any permanent man-made additions, such as houses and other buildings.

What are the three basic investment considerations? ›

An investment can be characterized by three factors: safety, income, and capital growth. Every investor has to select an appropriate mix of these three factors. One will be preeminent. The appropriate mix for you will change over time as your life circ*mstances and needs change.

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