A Must-Have Primer for Real Estate Investment
Superb real estate books such as “Secrets of a Millionaire Real Estate Investor” by Robert Shemin come along too infrequently. This basic how-to-do-it realty investment guide cannot be recommended too highly. It shows, step by step, how to get started and earn a fortune investing in real estate, while doing good along the way.
Shemin, now in his 30s, was formerly an investment advisor. But after calling on a “sweet old couple” who owned 120 free-and-clear houses with $70,000-per-month rental income, and after learning they vacationed six months a year, Shemin quit his job to become a full-time real estate investor.
That was nine years ago. Since then, Shemin has acquired more than 200 properties, worth more than $10 million. He has been involved in about 600 realty transactions and manages more than 200 houses and duplexes.
The author explains three basic methods of acquiring real estate wealth: buying and “flipping” (immediate reselling); buying, rehabbing and reselling; and holding for long-term investment. Along the way, Shemin shares examples and personal success stories.
This well-organized book is full of special features, such as “Robert’s Rules” and “Advantages and Disadvantages.” These short sidebars emphasize the success rules and the pros and cons of topics under discussion. For example, in the “Buying and Flipping” sidebar, Shemin explains the quick-money advantages and the possible disadvantages of dealing with buyers who might not complete their purchase contract.
Shemin is a big advocate of lease-options, which he calls lease-purchases. He emphasizes advantages such as tenants treating the residence as if they already owned it.
But Shemin has one handicap: He’s a lawyer, and that means he occasionally lapses into legalese. But as a fellow lawyer, I found his chapter on how to hold title and protect real estate investments especially interesting. The author is a big advocate of holding long-term investment titles in land trusts, just in case somebody decides to sue. He especially recommends land trusts for lease-option and “flipper” properties.
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Since Shemin doesn’t keep all his houses, which he recommends acquiring at up to 40% below market value if they need renovation, he spends considerable attention on selling properties quickly for maximum profits. But for those properties he keeps as long-term investments, the author recommends tough, no-nonsense property management. Although he is a lawyer, Shemin advises hiring eviction lawyers if a tenant won’t pay the rent.
If you want to earn big profits in real estate, carefully study this book. As an investor, I wish I had a guidebook like this when I started out a zillion years ago. It emphasizes the positive and minimizes the negative aspects of realty investing. There isn’t a better or more up-to-date realty investment book than this one. On my scale of one to 10, this outstanding book is off the chart.
