Customer Reviews

2 Years to a Million in Real Estate

5 star:		(82)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

In spite of the inspirational title this is NOT a get rich quick infomercial style real estate scheme. You feel the author's pain as he describes the tenant who doubled his water bill filling up the neighbor's pool. Then he explains the micro-economics of how that increase in expense effects his property value. As a real estate broker with a good grasp of the market, I found that he does both an excellent job describing property investing fundamentals, but then applying them to specific properties. I highly recommend this book.

Like most people considering buying this book, Matt did not start his real estate career with a large sum of money for down payments. He did not receive gift loans from relatives; he was simply the average American with a day job and no huge savings.

His principle is based on leverage and using OPM (other peoples money). To the skeptic and beginners the last sentence might read something like "His principles are based on taking HUGE RISKS" but this is not true. All successful real estate investors use significant leverage. But the key, which he explains is having the knowledge. Risk, is therefore, simply having a lack of knowledge on the subject and Matt is the bridge maker who will close the gap for you.


The great thing about this book is that it is "Fluff Free". Matt does not just give you a basic principle and then follow with zero detail (which is a major criticism of the great Robert Kiyosaki books). Instead, all 182 pages are packed full of "need to know" information. There are even several appendixes after the 182 pages that give you quotes, further suggested readings, and samples of letters/forms you will need in your own real estate business. I took notes the entire time I read this book and ended up with 20 pages in Microsoft Word, this book is the real deal.


One last word. Undoubtedly, like anything in the world there will always be a few skeptics. Scattered throughout all of the positive feedback on Amazon you will see a comment or two of criticism, do not let this scare you. Everyone has heard the old cliché, "misery loves company" so don't fall for into these people's traps. If you take the time to read this book and take action on what you have learned success will be inevitable.

I think Matthew's book is a good read for the beginning/ intermediate real estate investor. I am 33-years-old and pretty well versed in real estate, having my RE license in CA and having done probably 3-4 personal deals, but the book opened my eyes to some new ideas. For example, Matthew elaborates on a plethora of unique ways to fill a vacancy, how to evaluate in detail potential investment properties, different ways to get financing for down payments, etc. He also lists a ton of other real estate investment books to reference.
I think the main thing I have come to realize from reading his book is that cashflow is king. Building a million dollars in equity really is not the point. Receiving a nice monthly cashflow stream from buying the right properties is what it is about. After I read his book I started evaluating certain investment markets which showed me that you can realistically have probably $50k- $200k to put down and be able to cashflow $1k- $4k a month, which I personally would consider a pretty nice start. And if you're worth a million and own the right cashflowing properties? Well, I'll be writing a book like Matthew at that point!

The book follows the author on his path to success through real estate management/investment. When I reached the point in the book where the author made his first real estate investment purchase in the summer of 2002 I paused to consider the housing market he succeeded in. With a copyright of 2006, the author must have generated the bulk of his successes between 2002 and late 2005/early 2006 - heady times for the real estate market. His claim that the book will "... teach you how to duplicate my achievements..." is questionable given the present housing market. If he were starting out today would he have achieved so much so fast?

The book is easy to read and I like the way points are summarized at the end of each chapter. I'm just concerned that someone whose advice is based upon an experience gained during very favorable housing market conditions might not hold up under tougher times.

I stumbled upon this book by reading the author's complementary review of Larry Loftis' book on duplexes, triplexes and quads. I thought it spoke well of the author to write a nice review of a "competitor" so I gave the book a shot.

I was pleasantly surprised. The book is EXTREMELY complete. (In fact, I preferred it to Loftis' excellent book) The first several chapters deal with the author's beginning as a dot com worker who started to dabble in multi-unit investment and chronicles how he quickly increased his net worth and eventually quit his job to devote himself fully to his real estate "empire".

The remainder of the book was very meaty as well. It basically gives all of the ins and outs of buying and managing properties, including a secion on dealing with Section 8 tenants which I'd not come across elsewhere in my reading. There is also a lot of information about landlording and the laws which deal with it. Martinez seems to be quite the careful sort, and I guess experience in real estate must teach you to always be on the lookout for potential troubles. Perhaps his guidance and advice will allow me to skip any "shortcuts" I might otherwise have tried.

In my view, a successful "how to" book must inform and motivate. Martinez does a good job of that, motivating the reader with the success stories included in the first few chapters while also being extremely informative in the remainder of the book. Don't be fooled by the sensationalist title, which kind of makes it seem like a get rich quick book (though I'm sure the title helped to sell a lot of books). What the book IS is a thorough manual of how to proceed in investing and managing your rental properties and growing your wealth along the way.

Five stars.

This book is great. Matthew is not your typical get rich guru (although he got rich quick), he's more like one of us: going to work and paying the bills. He decided that there was more to life than this and took matters and real estate investing into his own hands. His book also differs in that rather than investing in single family homes he focuses on multi-unit buildings. There are few books out there that cover this topic for beginning investors. [...]

Best and easiest book I have read in Real Estate Investing. Honest, well-organized, FULL of useful information. I have truly taken this book and is now running with it. The author includes formulas that allows the investor to determine whether a property is worth investing in or not. I was surprised to find the same formulas being sold as an "Analysis Tool" CD by another popular Real Estate Millionaire author for $250!! This book cost me under $20 with Amazon discount, I think..and it gave me all the same info as in the $250 CD! Happy RE Investing!

I simply can't say enough about this book. I consider it a MUST read for anyone thinking of buying a rental property, or even if you already own a couple of rental properties. I am not going to bore you with long descriptions of this book, because you can already find that on your own. I will say this. I have read nearly 30 real estate books over the last 2 years, this is by far one of my favorites. The spreadsheet analysis example given on page 56 of the book is invaluable to any real estate investor in my opinion. As I write, I am currently looking at a quadraplex. With Matt's spreadsheet analysis I am able to accurately predict if the property makes money!! And as an added bonus, the author is a class act and true professional. He even answered an important real estate question for me. What more could you want!!!!!

Todd Veeck...

In the past few years, I have bought, read, underlined, and then shelved a large number of real estate books geared to those who want to begin buying real estate "part-time ~ if I could go back, this is the only book I would buy.

I am a successful businesswoman who is now staying home to raise my kids, and this field seemed to be the most interesting road to staying in business while not committing all my time. But...having read all the other books, I still didn't feel that I had learned what I needed to do to pull the trigger and make my first investment. I have often wished that I had my own "mentor" to coach me and do the deal with me, as I was still not quite confident enough to go forth and invest. Reading Mr. Martinez' book, I feel like I have that mentor with me, not only telling me exactly what to look for, but how to evaluate it, how to do it, and through his experience, what to look out for. Reading his book, I have now had the confidence to make my first purchase!

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Martinez right before his book was published and found his wealth of experience far belies his age (late 30's). His business acumen far surpasses many people twice his age, and his down-to-earth manner makes him readily accessible and willing to share his experiences and guidance. Early in our discussion I asked him, quite seriously, if I could just give him my investment money and have him put it to work for him/me, and just as a true mentor would, he told me that I could make so much more for myself if I just did it myself! He offered to answer any questions I had, and told me that while the first property may seem like the largest hurdle, once done, I would be on my way to real estate confidence (and income!). His mentoring (via the one-time meeting and much more importantly, this book) has paid off in my first real estate purchase!

Every STRONG real estate investor (those not did not just ride the real estate wave and/or are now going under in the challenging real estate market) will say that they had a mentor, someone who took them under their wings and helped them. Let Mr. Martinez' book, "2 Years to a Million in Real Estate" be that mentor.

There is no 2 year plan that will lead you to a million in real estate laid out in this book. It is an imperfect tale of real estate basics and a few stories worked in for flavor. Its more of a cheerleading book for real estate investment but im thinking when you get to the point where you are buying real estate books on amazon you need some real meat and potatos... buying this book wont be the worst mistake you ever made...but there are many that cover similar material in a much better way. Personally i stay away from the Donald Trump, Carlton Sheets, infomercial real estate types, and go with authors that have a long term, realistic, and workable approach to real estate.