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REAL ESTATE BOOK REVIEW EXPERT REVEALS HOW TO GET STARTED AND PROFIT BY INVESTING IN RENTAL HOUSES By Robert J. Bruss BUILDING WEALTH ONE HOUSE AT A TIME, By John W. Schaub (McGraw-Hill, New York), 2005, $18.95, 225 pages The reason Building Wealth One House at a Time by John W. Schaub makes such profitable reading is it is written by an expert who shares his more than 30 years of success experiences so you don't have to make the few mistakes he made. This is such an important new book, it should be read two or three times to fully benefit from Schaub's wise insights. For example, he explains why single family rental houses make the best investments, both from cash flow and market appreciation viewpoints. Another gem Schaub shares is to avoid obtaining bank mortgages when acquiring houses for investment. "I have never borrowed money from a bank to buy a property," he discloses. Then he shows how to get financing from sellers and other sources. This is a "must read" book for every serious real estate investor. Written in easy-to-understand style, it explains how the author has been a full-time investor for 32 years, raised a family from rental house income, and has lived in the home of his dreams for the last 24 years. Schaub shares why he rented where he lived for nine years to save money for rental house investing while getting started. The author explains why investing in houses is safer and more profitable than other investments. "A major advantage of investing in several houses rather than one big apartment or office building is that you can diversify by investing in different price ranges. By owning both less expensive and more expensive houses, you can have the safety of the lower-priced houses and the upside potential of the higher-priced ones." Schaub recommends buying houses close to where you live. He admits to once owning properties in 10 states. But he says that was a mistake because it's too difficult keeping them rented and handling repairs by long distance. Today, he only owns property near his home. With average annual market value appreciation of 5 percent, the author explains how anyone can become very wealthy because it's the tenants who buy the houses for the investor. He spends considerable time showing how to select quality tenants who will stay many years. Next, the author shows how to manage those tenants so they won't bother the owner. "I have had to evict only six tenants in 30 years," the author adds. Schaub reveals how to find and acquire rental houses with nothing down. He explains how he taught these techniques to Robert G. Allen, a former student of Schaub's seminar "Making It Big on Little Deals," who went on to write the best selling book "Nothing Down" based on those methods. "Not all houses are created equal. Some houses will appreciate more; some will produce more cash flow because they will attract better tenants; and others will require more maintenance and have higher expenses," Schaub reports. He recommends staying away from slum and very low income neighborhoods. Then he shows why investing in higher priced homes is usually more profitable than acquiring middle-income homes. As for rising mortgage interest rates, Schaub welcomes them. "As the economy changes, you will borrow at different interest rates. When rates are the highest, you will make your best buys," he explains. The author emphasizes his top nine sources for finding investment houses at bargain prices, often with bargain-rate seller finance terms also. He suggests buying at least one house per year. "In a normal market, 90 percent of the houses for sale are not opportunities. You are trying to identify that one seller in 10 who might have a reason to make you a good deal," he notes. The book includes key questions to ask sellers or their realt, The New York Post IF youe(tm)re a home buyer, contracts can be one of the most difficult things understand. One source to understand. One source of great tips is actually an investment book, John Schaube(tm)s "Building Wealth One House at a Time," coming out this month from McGraw-Hill. Here are five of our favorite tips from the book: 1. Offer to close quickly. You can cut your down payment this way, Schuab notes. While this wone(tm)t work on a New York City co-op, it might on a house. "The only reason to make a large down payment is to convince the seller that you are a serious buyer," Schaub writes. "You can get the sellere(tm)s attention with less money by making an offer that closes in a week." 2. Take whatever time you need to read the contract. If youe(tm)ve spent dozens of hours finding a good deal, why blow it by skipping a potentially important clause in the contract? 3. If an inspection reveals problems, the buyer can make repairs; but it will be faster for the seller to give the buyer a financial credit toward those repairs. 4. Keep the contract the sellers filled out. If you have a choice of copies, you want the one theye(tm)ve written on. Schaub notes "it would be hard for them to claim that they did not understand the contract if they actually filled it out." 5. Never go to court to enforce a contract. If the sellers back out, you can stick it to them, but you shouldne(tm)t, Schaub says. "It is easier and more profitable," he writes "to find another good deal.", REAL ESTATE BOOK REVIEW EXPERT REVEALS HOW TO GET STARTED AND PROFIT BY INVESTING IN RENTAL HOUSES By Robert J. BrussBUILDING WEALTH ONE HOUSE AT A TIME, By John W. Schaub (McGraw-Hill, New York), 2005, $18.95, 225 pagesThe reasonBuilding Wealth One House at a Timeby John W. Schaub makes such profitable reading is it is written by an expert who shares his more than 30 years of success experiences so you don't have to make the few mistakes he made. This is such an important new book, it should be read two or three times to fully benefit from Schaub's wise insights.For example, he explains why single family rental houses make the best investments, both from cash flow and market appreciation viewpoints. Another gem Schaub shares is to avoid obtaining bank mortgages when acquiring houses for investment. "I have never borrowed money from a bank to buy a property," he discloses. Then he shows how to get financing from sellers and other sources.This is a "must read" book for every serious real estate investor. Written in easy-to-understand style, it explains how the author has been a full-time investor for 32 years, raised a family from rental house income, and has lived in the home of his dreams for the last 24 years. Schaub shares why he rented where he lived for nine years to save money for rental house investing while getting started.The author explains why investing in houses is safer and more profitable than other investments. "A major advantage of investing in several houses rather than one big apartment or office building is that you can diversify by investing in different price ranges. By owning both less expensive and more expensive houses, you can have the safety of the lower-priced houses and the upside potential of the higher-priced ones."Schaub recommends buying houses close to where you live. He admits to once owning properties in 10 states. But he says that was a mistake because it's too difficult keeping them rented and handling repairs by long distance. Today, he only owns property near his home.With average annual market value appreciation of 5 percent, the author explains how anyone can become very wealthy because it's the tenants who buy the houses for the investor.He spends considerable time showing how to select quality tenants who will stay many years. Next, the author shows how to manage those tenants so they won't bother the owner. "I have had to evict only six tenants in 30 years," the author adds.Schaub reveals how to find and acquire rental houses with nothing down. He explains how he taught these techniques to Robert G. Allen, a former student of Schaub's seminar "Making It Big on Little Deals," who went on to write the best selling book "Nothing Down" based on those methods."Not all houses are created equal. Some houses will appreciate more; some will produce more cash flow because they will attract better tenants; and others will require more maintenance and have higher expenses," Schaub reports.He recommends staying away from slum and very low income neighborhoods. Then he shows why investing in higher priced homes is usually more profitable than acquiring middle-income homes.As for rising mortgage interest rates, Schaub welcomes them. "As the economy changes, you will borrow at different interest rates. When rates are the highest, you will make your best buys," he explains.The author emphasizes his top nine sources for finding investment houses at bargain prices, often with bargain-rate seller finance terms also. He suggests buying at least one house per year. "In a normal market, 90 percent of the houses for sale are not opportunities. You are trying to identify that one seller in 10 who might have a reason to make you a good deal," he notes.The book includes key questions to ask sellers or their realty agents on the phone before even looking at their house. Additionally, Schaub's "seller's motivation scale" shows how to spot a motivated seller, REAL ESTATE BOOK REVIEW EXPERT REVEALS HOW TO GET STARTED AND PROFIT BY INVESTING IN RENTAL HOUSES By Robert J. Bruss BUILDING WEALTH ONE HOUSE AT A TIME, By John W. Schaub (McGraw-Hill, New York), 2005, $18.95, 225 pages The reason Building Wealth One House at a Time by John W. Schaub makes such profitable reading is it is written by an expert who shares his more than 30 years of success experiences so you don't have to make the few mistakes he made. This is such an important new book, it should be read two or three times to fully benefit from Schaub's wise insights. For example, he explains why single family rental houses make the best investments, both from cash flow and market appreciation viewpoints. Another gem Schaub shares is to avoid obtaining bank mortgages when acquiring houses for investment. "I have never borrowed money from a bank to buy a property," he discloses. Then he shows how to get financing from sellers and other sources. This is a "must read" book for every serious real estate investor. Written in easy-to-understand style, it explains how the author has been a full-time investor for 32 years, raised a family from rental house income, and has lived in the home of his dreams for the last 24 years. Schaub shares why he rented where he lived for nine years to save money for rental house investing while getting started. The author explains why investing in houses is safer and more profitable than other investments. "A major advantage of investing in several houses rather than one big apartment or office building is that you can diversify by investing in different price ranges. By owning both less expensive and more expensive houses, you can have the safety of the lower-priced houses and the upside potential of the higher-priced ones." Schaub recommends buying houses close to where you live. He admits to once owning properties in 10 states. But he says that was a mistake because it's too difficult keeping them rented and handling repairs by long distance. Today, he only owns property near his home. With average annual market value appreciation of 5 percent, the author explains how anyone can become very wealthy because it's the tenants who buy the houses for the investor. He spends considerable time showing how to select quality tenants who will stay many years. Next, the author shows how to manage those tenants so they won't bother the owner. "I have had to evict only six tenants in 30 years," the author adds. Schaub reveals how to find and acquire rental houses with nothing down. He explains how he taught these techniques to Robert G. Allen, a former student of Schaub's seminar "Making It Big on Little Deals," who went on to write the best selling book "Nothing Down" based on those methods. "Not all houses are created equal. Some houses will appreciate more; some will produce more cash flow because they will attract better tenants; and others will require more maintenance and have higher expenses," Schaub reports. He recommends staying away from slum and very low income neighborhoods. Then he shows why investing in higher priced homes is usually more profitable than acquiring middle-income homes. As for rising mortgage interest rates, Schaub welcomes them. "As the economy changes, you will borrow at different interest rates. When rates are the highest, you will make your best buys," he explains. The author emphasizes his top nine sources for finding investment houses at bargain prices, often with bargain-rate seller finance terms also. He suggests buying at least one house per year. "In a normal market, 90 percent of the houses for sale are not opportunities. You are trying to identify that one seller in 10 who might have a reason to make you a good deal,&qu, The New York Post IF you're a home buyer, contracts can be one of the most difficult things understand. One source to understand. One source of great tips is actually an investment book, John Schaub's "Building Wealth One House at a Time," coming out this month from McGraw-Hill. Here are five of our favorite tips from the book: 1. Offer to close quickly. You can cut your down payment this way, Schuab notes. While this won't work on a New York City co-op, it might on a house. "The only reason to make a large down payment is to convince the seller that you are a serious buyer," Schaub writes. "You can get the seller's attention with less money by making an offer that closes in a week." 2. Take whatever time you need to read the contract. If you've spent dozens of hours finding a good deal, why blow it by skipping a potentially important clause in the contract? 3. If an inspection reveals problems, the buyer can make repairs; but it will be faster for the seller to give the buyer a financial credit toward those repairs. 4. Keep the contract the sellers filled out. If you have a choice of copies, you want the one they've written on. Schaub notes "it would be hard for them to claim that they did not understand the contract if they actually filled it out." 5. Never go to court to enforce a contract. If the sellers back out, you can stick it to them, but you shouldn't, Schaub says. "It is easier and more profitable," he writes "to find another good deal.", The New York PostIF you're a home buyer, contracts can be one of the most difficult things understand. One source to understand.One source of great tips is actually an investment book, John Schaub's "Building Wealth One House at a Time," coming out this month from McGraw-Hill.Here are five of our favorite tips from the book:1. Offer to close quickly.You can cut your down payment this way, Schuab notes. While this won't work on a New York City co-op, it might on a house. "The only reason to make a large down payment is to convince the seller that you are a serious buyer," Schaub writes. "You can get the seller's attention with less money by making an offer that closes in a week."2. Take whatever time you need to read the contract.If you've spent dozens of hours finding a good deal, why blow it by skipping a potentially important clause in the contract?3. If an inspection reveals problems, the buyer can make repairs; but it will be faster for the seller to give the buyer a financial credit toward those repairs.4. Keep the contract the sellers filled out.If you have a choice of copies, you want the one they've written on. Schaub notes "it would be hard for them to claim that they did not understand the contract if they actually filled it out."5. Never go to court to enforce a contract.If the sellers back out, you can stick it to them, but you shouldn't, Schaub says. "It is easier and more profitable," he writes "to find another good deal.", The New York PostIF you're a home buyer, contracts can be one of the most difficult things understand. One source to understand.One source of great tips is actually an investment book, John Schaub's "Building Wealth One House at a Time," coming out this month from McGraw-Hill.Here are five of our favorite tips from the book:1. Offer to close quickly. You can cut your down payment this way, Schuab notes. While this won't work on a New York City co-op, it might on a house. "The only reason to make a large down payment is to convince the seller that you are a serious buyer," Schaub writes. "You can get the seller's attention with less money by making an offer that closes in a week."2. Take whatever time you need to read the contract. If you've spent dozens of hours finding a good deal, why blow it by skipping a potentially important clause in the contract?3. If an inspection reveals problems, the buyer can make repairs; but it will be faster for the seller to give the buyer a financial credit toward those repairs.4. Keep the contract the sellers filled out. If you have a choice of copies, you want the one they've written on. Schaub notes "it would be hard for them to claim that they did not understand the contract if they actually filled it out."5. Never go to court to enforce a contract. If the sellers back out, you can stick it to them, but you shouldn't, Schaub says. "It is easier and more profitable," he writes "to find another good deal."