435 of 464 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Below Mediocre basic advice ..Waste of Time!, October 12, 2007
On a sleepless late night I heard Dean on an infomerical promoting his book . He was impressive with his argument that this book specifically caters to the small window of opportunity that has arisen after the real estate and subprime meltdown. I have no doubt that Dean is a success story , a schooldrop out who became a millionaire by using real estates.
However I purchased ( actually pre-ordered) the book with a hope that he will have 'replicate'able real techniques (not hype and fluff) for real estate success.
Alas, a mega disappointment. The book can be broadly divided into three lifeless sections.
1. Motivational stuff
2. Basics of Real estate
3. Some sprinkling of Professional information
MOTIVATIONAL STUFF: This is the most annoying part of the book. If i want a motivational book, I wil buy one, not this book where I want specific ways to play this real estate market. Not convinced, here is a snippet
Chapter 8: Removing your Mental blocks to success (page 98 -113)
Subtitles: The power of choice
Break from the past
The fear of change
The fear of criticism
The importance of personal integrity
Chapter10 :Finding the time to improve yourlife (pg 124 - 135 )
Subtitles:Twenty-four hour time wrap
Where does your time go?
Plan your time
Manage your time
Tips for guarding your time
Tame the telephone
Delegate and replace yourself
Deal with information overload
Use the internet sparingly
Increase your discipline
Page fillers with some 'real life'story.. Can Dean explain how these motivational rhetoric help me make money?
BASICS OF REAL ESTATE:
Although irritating, I can live with this section since it gives some basics that probably anyone with simple reading habit would have known. These are another set of page fillers sprinkled with motivational stories
Chapter6: Getting started
Subtitles: Finding property to buy
Analyzing the property
Negotiating a price
Getting the money to pay the price
Selling the property
Titles are good,but if you are not aware of this basic level of information(provided), and you are motivated to act based
on this book, your chances of making a millionaire is better in a lotto!
PROFESSIONAL INFORMATION:
Chapters 16 - 18. This covers stuff like tax liens, preforeclosure, REO's etc. again it focuses on academic information and not something on which you can act upon( advices users to go to courthouse and no mention about realtytrac).I can accept this sections having some relevance to the title of the book
[...]My review will be deemed 'unhelpful' by several of those who have interests in seeing this book successful.
Spend some time with your kids , watch a movie or take a nap than wasting your valuable time on this book.
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135 of 141 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A balanced review, December 9, 2007
I'm a real estate investor and as an investor, you want as much information as you can get. You want to read books so you can be on your game. However, instead of information on how to conduct million dollar deals, financing, and other pertinent items on how to be a "real estate millionaire", I got something entirely different from this book.
PROS:
First, there are fundamental pieces of information in this book that is important. For instance, due diligence, that's a necessity.
CONS:
But the book itself doesn't offer anything specific. What I mean is, this is more of a book on how to have the proper attitude and the proper mindset. It isn't a step by step manual on how to conduct real estate deals you want in the high end market. If you are looking for a how to book, this is the wrong book for you. If you want to "feel" good and "think" rich, then this would tickle your curiosity.
ALTERNATIVES:
There are solid books that are less motivational and more actionable. Here are some starting suggestions:
Profit by Investing in Real Estate Tax Liens: Earn Safe, Secured, and Fixed Returns Every Time
Complete Guide to Real Estate Tax Liens and Foreclosure Deeds: Learn in 7 Days-Investing Without Losing Series (Investing Without Losing)
The Pre-Foreclosure Property Investor's Kit: How to Make Money Buying Distressed Real Estate -- Before the Public Auction
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187 of 214 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not a path I would follow, November 9, 2007
As a couple other reviewers said, this is mostly a motivational book. There's certainly nothing wrong with that. But one is reminded of a famous real estate guru who led us down a similar path and got into quite a bit of legal trouble. Little of what he said was true. Yet he sold a multitude of books. So, buyer beware.
Here are a few things you'll see:
"Instead of looking for properties to buy, fix, and quickly sell (flip) for a profit, I look for foreclosures and distressed properties that I can buy for a major discount, rent to pay expenses, and sell when the market goes back up. For example, a few weeks before I wrote this, I purchased a two-family home in foreclosure for less than $60,000. I immediately refinanced the property for $192,000 and walked away with a check for well over $100,000 after all expenses were paid, and I still owned the property! Now I can rent this property to cover the mortgage and when the home market takes off again (and it will eventually), I'll be able to sell it for a profit or hold it through the next up cycle."
OK, so what's wrong with that? Well, on the surface, nothing. But I have a number of clients in this business who did just this. They're now in bankruptcy. And the current market "does" matter, no matter what the author would have us believe.
There's no harm in reading a book like this. But be very careful in taking advice from this author, or any author. You can lose everything you have in real estate --- especially in today's market.
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