Customer Reviews

Cashing in on Pre-foreclosures and Short Sales: A Real Estate Investor's Guide to Making a Fortune Even in a Down Market

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

With so many foreclosures in the marketplace, I was looking for a true hands-on book that would show me how to get into my first home. This book fits the bill perfectly!

The book has actual letters to sellers, letters to the banks, forms, checklists and even comprehensive inspection checklists that I was able to use in selecting and evaluating properties. I had a hard time copying some of the forms, but there's a link which allowed me to download a printable version which made it a lot easier.

This was the most up-to-date information I could find on foreclosures and short sales, and I look forward to giving it to my brother who is a real estate investor, as parts of our market have started to come back a little.

It's well laid out, easy to follow and filled with real practical stuff - instead of fluff.

This is a very thorough book on real estate investing, with an emphasis on buying, specifically on buying distressed houses at a discount of their actual value. When I began reading I was expecting an outline of the author's "secret" for making money on these homes in these very bad times. I got to page 145 before I realized there was no secret. After your due diligence and calculations you make an offer, and if the seller signs on the dotted line you own the home. It's yours. No arbitrage, no behind-the-scenes bank deals, no magic wand. You can then either rent it or sell it, just as you would any other piece of real estate.

This book is worth the money because the author gives excellent advice on valuing a "near-foreclosure," and in fact any home. All of which is quite useful in any market. The only problem is that to follow all his recommendations you pretty much have to quit your job (if you still have one) and have enough $$ to survive until your resell your first property. And that could be a very long time indeed. People aren't buying, banks supposedly aren't lending, and due to the job situation fewer people are moving.

As the author points out the average home is on the market for 11 months. How many investors, at this juncture, can pay taxes and maintenance on an empty investment property for 11 months? And what does this investor do when, 11 months (or 24 months) down the road, the home's price has fallen by 25, 40, or 50%?

If you think that can't happen, you haven't been watching this economy very closely.

This book would get five stars during a "normal" recession, where you expect things to pick up in six to twelve months. During a meltdown it's sheer madness to commit your time and capital to assets that probably, sadly, still have a long way down to go.

I bought this book after browsing it and realizing it wasn't promising the universe. It's a straightforward, practical guide for buying foreclosures and shorts. It doesn't try to fool you into thinking it's easy, but it gives you all the necessary steps (and helpful supplemental materials) to do it.

I really liked the theme that Mr. Cummings weaves throughout the chapters: that in getting your hands a little dirty, you still need to do it with honesty and "forthrightedness". There's an underlying message that there's a right way and a wrong way to doing business, and he teaches the high-road approach. Even the password you need to enter to access the supplemental material emphasizes this theme.

The most impressive aspect of this book was the author's standing by his word. He offers his email address and encourages the reader to contact him with questions. I took him up on that and was a bit surprised to receive a timely, personalized reply, and not a pitch for more products. In fact, he followed up with me to ensure I got what I needed. For my $20, I'd say he more than delivered.

I think that with the economy in crisis, there are more opportunities to profit than ever before. The number of foreclosures in the market is higher than ever before. The author educates readers on the differences between foreclosures, pre-foreclosures, and short sales, and how to use them to profit from them. I really appreciate that the author tells readers the techniques shown in this book take work because other books or infomercials promise riches with little or no work. It's not going to happen. Get realistic. There are risks involved in real estate investing. The best thing a person can do to minimize them is by getting educated on the subject.

In addition the forms, letters, and worksheets alone are worth more than this book. They can be downloaded from the author's website in Microsoft Word format. Some of them include marketing letters to real estate agents, letters to homeowners, foreclosure tracking worksheets, and borrower authorization forms.

- Mariusz Skonieczny, author of Why Are We So Clueless about the Stock Market? Learn how to invest your money, how to pick stocks, and how to make money in the stock market

I have purchased many properties over the years, but found this book refreshingly new and in-depth on its approach to foreclosures and acquiring distressed properties.

The author uses a direct approach without a lot of extra "theory". His experience comes through clearly, and the actual letters and checklists add greatly to the value of the text.

Easy book to recommend, and great addition to my library.

A bundle of very useful information linked with the proper forms/letters that can be downloaded. I recommend this book to any serious investor interested in this market. It gives you all the necessary insights to succeed.

This one was a good find. Got it on a whim, but impressed with the number of forms, letters and checklists - especially since they can be downloaded. Have bought several properties in the past, and the book gave me some new marketing ideas and ways to find properties. Now if we could just get the government to cooperate!

Originally when I found this book, I expected the "get rich quick" type of stuff. I was pleasantly surprised.

The author has a lot of practical experience in foreclosure and short sale investing, which come through in the examples, forms and checklists that he uses. The approach with sellers and industry players is straight up and impressive from the standpoint that he never tries to take advantage of the situation - but rather looking to assist people and solve problems. Too many other books I have found go the other route, and try to kick people to the curb.

There is quite a bit of practical material included, and I was also impressed that he made them available via a download from his website. The forms I got were in Microsoft Word format, so I was able to easily modify them for my use. A real bonus there.

If you want some good advice when dealing with these types of properties, without the hype and fluff - then this is a good read. Yes, it does take work - but he has laid out the steps quite well.

This was a good book for anyone interested in real estate. It was helpful, and informative. I also appreciate the ability to get access to basic forms and other tools that are usable.

This book was loaded with great and educational information I was very impressed at at ease of how it read, I cant complain about anything in this book, as a new investor it answered many questions that I couldn't find the answers to unless I devoted a lot of time and energy to researching it. I reviewed many books and none of them held my attention like this one. It is a Great Book and Valuable Tool.