Building a Financial Fortress: Getting Started in Real Estate Investing

by Nick Reichert

In this book, I will walk you through the process of identifying, purchasing, owning and selling investment real property and many of my “lessons learned” along the way. I will also explain the system that I used to achieve my investment objectives. After reading this book, you should be able to move forward confidently with your own program to invest in real estate and grow your wealth and cash flow!

Genres: Finance

68 pages, Paperback

First published August 25, 2014

Reviews

[Terry Sprouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good, handy book for someone interested in getting started in real estate investing.

I like that the book covers all the bases that a new investor would need to know prior to launching into real estate investing, including:

Various types of real estate investing
The team that the investor needs to back him or her up
Where to find properties
Getting a loan
How to make an offer and conduct due diligence
Insurance considerations
Property management
Refinancing
Selling a property

The author points out, “It’s easy to get a loan unless you need it.” This is especially true in the economic climate our county is in right now. Would be investors should be aware that one needs extremely good credit and a strong down payment to quality for a loan these days. It’s not as easy to get a loan now as it was 10-15 years ago.

However, I agree with the author that real estate is the most accessible path to creating wealth, much better than stock market investing, savings bonds, or other options. With little training and a strong desire to succeed, the aspiring real estate investor can learn everything they need to know as they go along. There is never a perfect time to begin. The key is to find a good property and just get started.

While aimed at the beginner, there are also useful information and pitfalls to avoid, for experienced investors. Someone considering jumping into real estate investing would do well to read this book first.

[Ian Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author says it all in his intro: “Life is too short not to enjoy what you’re doing.” Truer words were never spoken. But getting to that point is no easy feat. Many of us would love to be making a prosperous living doing what we love; few are. Though I suppose even scraping by doing what you love beats the alternatives, the question remains, how to prosper?

And as soon as you ask that, you have motivation enough to pick up this book. First, because he shows you how to have fun investing in real estate for long-term financial gain. Secondly, because, even with modest success playing this game, even with being a genuine underachiever, you may make enough extra money to enjoy doing what you love (if it’s not being a real estate baron), even if what you love doesn’t pay. Or doesn’t pay enough to keep you in the lifestyle you’d like.

As with his other book, the information is well organized with neat graphs and illustrations to communicate salient points. And his writing style is warm and user-friendly as opposed to dry, which is so often the case with business books of any kind.

[Jason Navallo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been wanting to get into real estate for the longest time, but I never found a concise and reliable guide who would walk me through the entire process, until now. Nick does a great job in explaining everything for the newbie real estate investor. I particularly liked how he described the different types of loans I could get. My fiance and I are already searching for our first property to own, thanks to this book!

[Brian Borgford · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you have already made the decision to purchase real estate, this is an excellent "how to" book. However it never quantitatively explains why you should invest in real estate. There are lots of quotes and references to real estate making you financially successful, but it never really provides the evidence. All the quantitative evidence suggests that real estate, especially residential property, is a bad investment. The 30 year track record for house prices shows a 3.7% average annual increase (Fanny Mae), before inflation. That does not even include the cost of ownership, such as insurance, taxes, maintenance and upgrades, transaction fees, etc. You can get a better return than that on dividends from blue chip stocks, without the costs.

It's fine to purchase a house as a place to live, just as you would buy a car as a form of transportation, However to think that either of those purchases is your route to financial freedom is a fallacy.