Customer Reviews

Confessions of a Real Estate Entrepreneur: What It Takes to Win in High-Stakes Commercial Real Estate

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have over 100 RE books in my library and I would rank this in the top 5. It's very different from most books you will read - how many authors admit to, and document their mistakes? I have a Master's in RE, done some development projects and I still learned alot from this book.

Note: It's not a book for a pure beginner. For them I recommend one of the non-no money down books to learn the basics of LTV, cap rates, etc. Then study this book over and over.

Doing that will save you years in your real estate education. It's cost me over $100,000 in life "lessons" to learn what you will learn in this book.

Thanks Mr Randel.

It would appear as though I am in the minority as the previous reviews all seem to tout this book as the go-to guide for for anyone with an interest in real estate investing. I have my doubts that Randel's sophisticated guide to making money in the real estate business will leave any serious Investor scratching his head asking "Why didn't I think of that?" For someone who is so internationally acclaimed I found it odd that in my 34+ years in the real estate business I have never once heard of him, but then I have never lectured at Harvard either.
While I have no doubt there are a select few that may be able to glean some useful information from Randel's book, I'm afraid the "Priceless Lessons" that the book description provides are little more than common sense. Spend the extra 2 cents and pick up a copy of Real Estate Investing for Dummies.

James Randel shares great concepts that were acquired over 25 years of deal making that are well worth anyone's time who has any interest in real estate. I've been on Wall St. for 11 years and doing real estate deals for 6 and must say I agree with 100% of what is in this book. He gives you the play by play on a few multi million dollar deals that have worked out well and surprisingly enough on some that have not. A few great lines:

"Never believe your own press clippings"
"Never take anything for granted"

He lists 13 "Success Skills" and says, "I do not believe success is an accident" The 1st skill is PASSION, where he says, "A small difference in energy can sometimes be the difference between success and failure."

Next is "Work Ethic" I love this one, "If you're not willing to work hard at the real estate game, do not come out of the dugout."

Also key for people to understand is how NOI (Net Operating Income) affects the price of a property, and how improvements in the net can boost the price of a property even if nothing else has changed.

Interestingly he talks about South Florida where my partner and I have also had tremendous success. He's hot on "North Beach" which is just north of South Beach in Miami. We are a bit further North in Hollywood Beach, but none the less our premise is the same as his; the wave of growth is heading north.

By Kevin Kingston author of, A 20,000% Gain in Real Estate

My Blog bloglines.com/blog/KevinKingston

I just received this book today and am only about 40 pages into it, but it is so great that I had to stop and post my praise.

I own about a half-dozen various books on real estate and have looked at dozens. I've owned a couple investment properties and am going to get back into the game very soon.

This is certainly the best book on real estate that I have seen or read.

The author is a real investor who wants to share the ins and outs of the biz with other people, and he does a fantastic job.

The author doesn't just say something empty like, "real estate is a great investment with many tax benefits. You can do it if you put your mind to it, so get out there and get it done!" nor does he give other inspiring but utterly meaningless "advice" or information like so many books on the shelf.

Instead, this author talks about how the real estate game actually works in real life, gives you examples which are drawn from real deals he's done, and then (are you ready for this?) he actually explains everything in layman's terms that anyone who graduated high school can understand!

He is certainly not condescending, he just explains things thoroughly and clearly. While many authors make an attempt at doing this, they either can't drop their jargon long enough to explain something or they only give a cursory explanation that still leaves you in the fog.

I'm educated and intelligent, but the reason I'm reading books like these is to learn about things I don't already know (obviously). With many (if not most) other real estate books, you are forced to look up many of the terms or ideas or read other real estate books in order to clarify what was said in the first one.

That's not necessary here, as the author explains everything to you just like a friend or mentor would.

If you are looking for a book that will truly give you a solid foundation in the language of real estate and also give you real-world examples of how actual deals work, look no further than this book.

If nothing else, this book is worth the price for the first chapter alone, where he gives excellent explanations of the basics of real estate such as the components of a contract, partnerships, corporations, etc.

Good luck!

I have bought and sold a number of residential properties and a few commercial in the past few years. I have a pretty good understanding but always wanted a better understanding of financing commercial properties traditionally, the development and renting of commercial space. This book is perfect with the exception that it is too short. The author gives brief accounts of his actual deals, I wish he would write 50 pages on each deal, show contracts, HUD1's, tell how he made and evaluated the various contacts in the industry. I saw other reviews complain that the book contains a lot of the basic information - but some of it is stuff you do not read in most REI courses. If you are going to take the risks of commercial - I want the confidence that I have a strong grasp of the basics(so I did not mind it). The information is very well organized so you can skip certain sections that you feel you already have a good grasp of.
Great book - a very fun read. I am online to buy the author's prior book. I wish this book was 10X the length it is, I would read every page.

If you are looking for a step by step buy a house, rehab it, and get rich, please find another book. If you are looking for a dull textbook type presentation you should also pass.

If you are looking for clear explanations of concepts and illustrated with some small case studies to kick start your brain, then this might be just the thing to get you from dreaming to doing.

Although I knew almost all the concepts presented, this book made them much more concrete. I have already begun the process of actually doing instead of sitting on my butt thinking about doing!

Thank You!!

Here is a commercial real estate investment book that doesn't require a degree in finance to keep up with. At the same time it is not too simplistic for experienced investors. I found this a little surprising, considering Randel is a real estate attorney. It doesn't take long to understand what he means by real estate entrepreneur vs. investor. The entrepreneur gets creative and is willing to try things in his market that haven't been tried before. Having no money doesn't stop him, it just encourages more creativity. He isn't satisfied with institutional type returns, but looks to hit the ball out of the park, while still managing his risk.

Each major technique is illustrated with a story that describes a transaction in detail. In the more complex examples, Randel slows down and defines his terms to help us "get it." His deals range from half a million dollars on up to near 50 million. These stories make the book entertaining. I could hardly put it down. Now I have a idea (Randel's) for a commercial office building that could double its value within two to three years, even if the market is flat.

The principles stay the same, it is the applications that change. Learn these principles to apply this year in your market to create returns worthy of a real estate entrepreneur.

Informative and entertaining read. Author recounts stories of previous real estate transactions he completed personally or on behalf of clients. Best advice is to purchase under one pricing model and sell under a different and more valuable pricing model (i.e., purchase multifamily buildings valued as apartment rentals and then sell individual units as condominiums). Author admits that condo-conversion opportunities have all but eliminated the ability to purchase convertable multifamily buildings at apartment value, so he advises to "look around the next corner versus in the rear view mirror." Therein lies the problem with the book-- such advice is easier said than done.

As a practicing commercial real estate professional who has read many books on the subject, I found Mr. Randel's book to be one of the better books on the subject. The real life examples used in the book (he gives both the good deals and the not so good deals that he's done) made the book very enjoyable if only because he corroborated some of the practices that I use in managing my commercial properties. There was also enough insight to ensure I make the next deal better or don't make the same mistake twice. The book is not too technical in that it doesn't go through long drawn-out calculations on valuing property/deals however it does give you the important figures to watch out for so that you don't overpay or undersell. The most valuable thing about the book were the countless examples of how to improve the properties "value" to the next buyer. Mr. Randel seems very honest to say that most Real Estate deals are not get rich quick schemes and most take a lot of hard work and possibly time to work through. He is also humble enough to admit that a little luck doesn't hurt either. Several different types of Real Estate investment are covered in the book including land development.

I'll hope to see another book by Mr. Randel in the future.

This is an excellent book for first-timers and probably anyone else interested in commercial real estate. The book is easy to read with enough variety to hold your attention for hours. I found the step-by-step examples and analysis to be very helpful. The author takes the facts a step further by showing the reader how the theory can be applied to real world situations by providing actual examples of his own.