Income for Life-From Real Estate: How the Tortoise Got Rich [With CDROM] [Paperback]

Al Lee (Author), Holly Roomiani (Illustrator)

Product Details

• Paperback: 174 pages
• Publisher: Al Lee & Associates (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 097117380X
• ISBN-13: 978-0971173804
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,878,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't You Get It?, August 4, 2002

By 

[e-mail] "Al Lee" (Dallas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Income for Life-From Real Estate: How the Tortoise Got Rich [With CDROM] (Paperback)

[Another reviewer] doesn't get it! This book is about INVESTING, not LANDLORDING or MANAGING. The difference is that investing is essentially passive, while the others are really a job which requires you to live near your "investments" and to become expert at their many nuances. True investing uses hired experts to do the work, freeing you to pursue your normal life. Your wealth builds without requiring you to work. If you move, or retire, or become sick or disabled, or just take a long trip, all of your investments continue unaffected. Twenty years ago investing in income property was mostly landlording and managing properties and tenants. The advent of true professional management, with its own professional organizations, certifications, and code of ethics has opened the door for Al Lee's method of investing.

Also, this book includes the most comprehensive evaluation criteria (including computerized tools to help you) of properties available anywhere. The evaluation is based on objective financial criteria (as it should be for an investment), not some subjective feeling that you are "getting a good deal".

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's About Investing--NOT Landlording, August 3, 2002

By 

BeachBoysFan (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Income for Life-From Real Estate: How the Tortoise Got Rich [With CDROM] (Paperback)

This book gives a very realistic method for investing in income property. It teaches you to be an investor, not a landlord! If you've ever tried being a landlord and dealing with the problems, the tenants, bad checks, and so forth, you will definitely appreciate the superiority of Al Lee's method. I have tried both ways now and I KNOW!
Dealing with good professional property managers (PPM's) is definitely the way to go. I could go an a 3-month trip to Australia if I wanted to (I do!) and everything will run just as well as if I were home. When I did not use PPM's I was tied to a "job" dealing with trivial issues and (worst) tenants.
If you buy stock in GM you don't have to become an expert at labor-management relations, or welding, or even selling cars--you are an INVESTOR. Al's method of owning income properties teaches you to be a true investor; literaly anyone ought to be able to do it.
There are plenty of books on how to be a landlord. If you want to learn a new "job", read them. Having been there, I prefer being an investor and this book is the one that taught me how. I've even joined Al's investor club at RentHouses org and own properties a thousand miles from where I live.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Investment Advice I Have Ever Read!, February 3, 2002

By 

Chris Lynes (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Income for Life-From Real Estate: How the Tortoise Got Rich [With CDROM] (Paperback)

I have read the book and the concepts are easily understood by anyone who is truly interested in their financial future. We've all heard how lucrative it is to invest in rental homes, but the idea of late night calls and the hassle of maintaining these types of homes has always been a deterrent to actually doing it--until now. Al's method clearly defines how to make an 8-10% cash-on-cash annual return on money invested, and best of all, it's tax free. Overall, he shows how to get a minimum 25% annual return on your money.

Being able to invest in the relatively safe Real Estate rental market is clearly the best investment there is, especially when other investments either generate miniscule returns or carry a high risk. I'm out of the stock market and I am actively looking for suitable rental properties.

Bottom line-this is the best book I've ever read on the subject and beats Robert Allen's no-down-payment approach and Carlton Sheets hands down. Get this book now!!!