Customer Reviews

Making Hard Cash in a Soft Real Estate Market: Find the Next High-Growth Emerging Markets, Buy New Construction--at Big Discounts, Uncover Hidden ... Private Funds When Bank Lending is Tight

5 star:		(5)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I think this book is pretty good for some people and lousy for others. It has some really interesting ideas but many of them may be too much for a new investor. Thus I'd go ahead and recommend it for someone who has some experience in real estate investing but not so much for the newer investors.

This book did do one thing that really annoyed me. From the book title you expect this will be about how to operate in a soft market and much of what is in there can be used in any market. Still, the opening Introduction in the book talks about how one of the authors quickly flipped some property for a huge profit. Good for them but the conditions they describe are only found in red hot markets. Its kinda like writing a book titled "The Joys of Christianity" and then describing how much fun it is to be an atheist in the intro.

Reading on in the book you do find lots of stuff that will work in any market but I kept getting the feeling that this book was written during a hot real estate market but then toned down later when the authors realized the market had changed (I mean if the book were titled "How to make money is a Hot Real Estate Market" nobody would buy it today).

I also felt the book was a slow starter and if I had it to do over I'd just skip the first few chapters and go right to where the different investing techniques are discussed (ie I really didn't need 10 pages on overcoming fear but maybe some people do).

Still, it spite of the mentioned problems its a pretty good book with some interesting ideas (heck, just one good idea can make you alot of money) so I'd still recommend it to real estate investors looking to fill in some knowledge.

This was not what I had hoped for. The real estate market is in a "Soft time" and I had expected some good advise for the current investment market. There is really none in this book. There are a couple of chapters on how not to be afraid to invest. One on seller financing and one on the subdivision development process. Nothing new or interesting or relevant for the individual investor.

If you think books on real estate investments are dull and hard to understand, read MAKING HARD CASH IN A SOFT REAL ESTATE MARKET by Wendy Patton and Justin Ryan.

Their "let's sit down together and we'll talk you through it" approach will inspire readers to get involved in real estate investing and will give them the necessary information needed to take that first step.

Jewel P. Arata

Even if you are not a real estate investor you can understand these clear and structured techniques. You will learn strategies to take advantage of a good or "bad" market... and then, become an investor.

I am a real estate investor and have purchased many courses to educate myself on different topics related to investing and raising funds. This book did not contain any new content. It was a rehash of information from other sources.

I totally agree with the authors who argue that the real money is made in down markets. If you don't believe this, take it from the most successful investor ever, Warren Buffett, who follows the philosophy to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy when others are fearful. I think that it is obvious that people are now extremely fearful to invest whether it is in real estate, stocks, or any other products. As a result of this fear, there are fewer people to bid prices up, and if you choose to be courageous, you will have very little competition. In this environment, how can you possibly not make money? I know that the authors wrote this book before the current recession, but because the real estate market is even softer, this book is more relevant.

Another good point that the authors make is that investors tend to invest in properties close to their homes because it allows them to have a comfort zone. This may not be the best strategy because real estate is a local business, and there may be better opportunities in different cities and even states.

- 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

You can always gets bits and pieces of information if you're an experienced investor. This book was middle of the road.

I had heard about this book from a friend of mine, so last week I picked up at Borders. I spent the entire evening reading this very well written book which gives countless information and insight to hone your investment skills.

Both authors give details on how you should be investing and after reading the book, I now know how to spend my time and money, something other books fail to explain.

I was so intrigued by the book, I went on line to learn more about the authors and real estate investing and found a ton of information on the authors, Wendy Patton and Justin Ryan. Both have a lot of experience and offer additional information and details and now I am hooked on their hands-off approach to investing. This is truly a must-read for both professional and fledgling investors.

Well done. And great timing. The only thing missing from this book is what most others lack - a detailed treatment of the evidence and extent of the real estate bubble, and guidance how to read changing market conditions. For this, I strongly recommend "Cashing in on the Real Estate Bubble" as a companion book. Cashing in on the Real Estate Bubble Together, both books should be all you need.