Goldmining in Foreclosure Properties, 3rd Edition [Paperback]

George Achenbach (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 10, 1994

"Using your Goldmining system, there seems to be no end to the deals I’m making. You’re making me a very rich man. Thanks." —H. Marcus, Costa Mesa, California "I followed your advice to the letter and made over $12,000 on my first deal and over $15,000 on my next. Your forms and checklists are worth a fortune to me." —N. Dooley, Los Angeles, California "We bought our first home with only option money (that was refunded by our mortgage) using your ideas." —E. M. Strand, Chicago, Illinois As these telling excerpts from letters to George Achenbach confirm, "there’s gold in them thar" distress properties when you follow the practical advice in his bestselling Goldmining in Foreclosure Properties, now in an updated Third Edition. Drawing on his quarter century of experience in foreclosure transactions, Achenbach offers you the proven strategies and techniques that can help you consistently profit from today’s massive foreclosure market while assisting troubled owners at the same time. With the aid of many new and classic case studies and a treasury of utterly unique forms, worksheets, and checklists, you’ll learn how to act decisively during each stage of the distress property cycle—from the stage before legal action commences, through the filing of legal papers and auction time, to the REO (real estate owned) phase when lenders take over the property. Whether you’re an experienced investor or a first-time buyer, Achenbach’s complete money-making system will help you to:

• Focus on a specific territory and learn every relevant aspect of it
• Set comfortable goals so you don’t overextend yourself
• Pick the right foreclosure opportunities and avoid potential trouble
• Bid more successfully at auctions
• Deal effectively with lenders when property goes REO
• Create rental income and tax savings through the leasing of properties
• Resell property quickly when the time is exactly right
• Cut legal, realty, and bank costs associated with transactions—and more

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Start Building Wealth Today by Investing in Distressed Properties!

Combining proven strategies with nearly thirty years’ experience in real estate, author George Achenbach takes you step by step through the entire foreclosure process–from the first notice of default to the foreclosure sale or auction to the final disposition of the property. Everything you need to know to purchase and profit from distress properties is here, including sample forms, worksheets, checklists, and real-life examples, as well as procedures to follow, evaluation techniques, and negotiating tips. There are even suggestions on leasing homes, creating rental income, saving on taxes, and avoiding pitfalls. Additionally, a new chapter covers the pros and cons of bankruptcy and highlights the latest proposed changes in the law such as the homestead exemptions and needs-based rules.

Goldmining in Foreclosure Properties shows investors and first-time buyers how to take advantage of one of the most profitable investment opportunities in the world with expert guidance on:

• Procedures for locating distressed properties
• Financial analysis techniques for evaluating property and making the right offer
• Bidding successfully at auctions
• Effectively dealing with lenders when the property goes REO
• How you can benefit from reselling property quickly
• Negotiating tips for dealing with new purchasers and profitably transferring titles
• Generating rental income, capital appreciation, and tax savings through property leasing

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

GEORGE ACHENBACH is president of a private venture capital and income property investment company. As a graduate engineer, he started 10 businesses and built more than 7,000 homes and apartments, as well as many commercial and industrial projects. He has spent more than 25 years buying and selling properties using the techniques presented in Goldmining in Foreclosure Properties, which has sold more than 50,000 copies.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 3 edition (June 10, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471034517
• ISBN-13: 978-0471034513
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,997,574 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful, solid, no-hype information. This book is worth it., November 26, 2000

By 

Matthew Story (Studio City, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Goldmining in Foreclosure Properties (Paperback)

No one book is perfect. Read as much as you can before putting your money at risk, but do NOT exclude this book. It is the best of at least 10 that I've read recently.

This is an author who's really done it, over and over. He gives details of his own examples in buying and selling, carrying paper, renting and rehabing. He's creative and honest. This is a hands-on, non-theoretical approach.

There's absolutely no hype and he spends zero time trying to convince you how great he is (or how much you need to buy this or that seminar/tape/etc.) This book is straight forward, good information about finding and buying distressed properties, then rehabing or renting or selling or creative deal-making with them for profit.

Some of the information seems slightly dated and many of his examples were deals probably not so recent. The book has some typos and reversed photos (of the condo where the house discussion is and vica-versa). Nonetheless, I never felt a lack of relevance in the material. Its not perfect, but its very good.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Some good ideas but not enough questions answered, September 29, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Goldmining in Foreclosure Properties, 3rd Edition (Paperback)

While the writer has some good ideas on putting together a process on buying foreclosures, he does not answer many of the crucial questions someone new to the field has. 1) How clean is the title when delivered by a foreclosing bank? 2) How to conduct a reliable appraisal. (he spends 1-2 pages on the in the whole book)

Good ideas but there have got to be better books that answer the important questions.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't expect this book to teach you anything new, November 29, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Goldmining in Foreclosure Properties, 3rd Edition (Paperback)

What you WON'T find in Goldmining in Foreclosure Properties is any untrue hype or other type of "get rich" schemes. You won't learn how to buy properties for $1.00, nor will you find any clever plans for using OPM or anything else like that.

What you WILL get is a book that:

1) Is brutally honest with respect to the fact that it takes money to make money: "...I'd get one certified check for $90,000.00 and four $10,000.00 checks..."

2) Has embarassingly dated information: "...by the middle of the 1990's, we may have an avalanche of foreclosure and defaults..."

3) Is filled with numerous examples of the form "I bought the house, took out a 2nd mortgage, rented it to my grandmother, painted the gutters, gave a buy option to my brother-in-law, installed indoor plumbing, yada, yada, then made $1000.00 net profit a year later". Yawn.

4) Paints the investor as some sort of white knight who saves defaulters and banks. Then, in almost the same breath, says things like "immeditaely evict the tenant".

5) Does not give you any specific information. Want to know how to navigate a deed room? No dice.

The quote on the front of the book, in a very clever way, totally sums up the book: "An excellent overview of the benefits of buying foreclosures". Read that close, especially the "overview" and "benefits". What it DOESN'T say is "An excellent information source for buying foreclosures".

Don't waste your money on the book.