Nothing Down for Women: The Smart Woman's Quick-Start Guide to Real Estate Investing [Hardcover]

Robert G. Allen (Author), Karen Nelson Bell (Author), Mark Victor Hansen (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 2007

Have you ever dreamed about changing your life and working for yourself -- finding financial freedom and loving what you do? Real estate investing is a great way for women to work for themselves and achieve life-transforming financial success. But how can you get into it with your busy life? If you worry that you wouldn't possibly have the time to learn the ins and outs -- maybe you're working crazy hours, or a working mother juggling kids and a career -- then Nothing Down for Women is for you.

This remarkably fast and easy read is written especially for busy women on the go. Broken down into short chapters, each of which can be fully digested in just five minutes, Nothing Down for Women gives you incredibly simple steps that will get you started in real estate investing -- whether full-time or on the side -- and on the road to remarkable financial success in just days.

All-time bestselling real estate author Robert G. Allen, who wrote Nothing Down -- the most successful book ever written on real estate investing -- teams up with Karen Nelson Bell, one of Allen's most successful proteges, to show you the way. When Nelson Bell started using Allen's methods, she made her first million in less than six months. Now she teaches seminars herself. Combining her insider's secrets about how women can play to their strengths in the real estate market with Allen's proven strategies for success, they tell you everything you need to know about how to:

• Buy a house without putting any of your own money down
• Buy a house without getting a loan
• Boost your credit savviness for better borrowing
• Identify a great property that will make you a big return
• Negotiate with real estate agents, buyers, and sellers
• Spot a motivated seller and close a deal fast
• Avoid common pitfalls
• Manage your properties without fear

The authors provide scripts for talking to buyers and sellers, templates for writing a great sales ad, methods for doing quick and easy financial calculations, and handy checklists of to-dos. They also reveal the powerful secrets of women's advantages in the real estate world and how busy women -- even working moms -- can fit these quick and easy steps into their hectic schedules.

Nothing Down for Women is the only book a woman needs to get started winning, and winning big, in the real estate game.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Despite several introductory chapters, it remains unclear why Bell found it necessary to "translate" Allen's bestselling real estate book, Nothing Down, in her own words, so women could understand it. That isn't the only aspect of the book that raises questions. Another is a story about how paying an elderly woman $35,000 for a home that was worth $85,000, but assisting her in moving to a new place shows how buying real estate with nothing down is all about helping people. Despite her shrill and repetitive writing style, Bell is clearly giddy about the property she has accumulated with other people's money, often as a result of someone else's financial distress. Because women are busy—in fact, Bell admits she is too busy to write longer chapters—the book is structured into five-minute dollops of Allen's advice on investing in real estate, followed by quizzes and homework. But readers trying to grasp the underlying theory and expectations behind acquiring real estate cheaply and renting it out or flipping are likely to feel shortchanged. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"When I started the Nothing Down for Women course, I would have been thrilled to own my first property by the time I finished the last lesson, but to my pleasant surprise, I had two properties using no money of my own before I was halfway through. Now they are worth $87,000 more than I paid for them. Not bad for a high school teacher." -- Sheree Stewart, real estate investor, high school teacher

"As the first person to ever cross the finish line on the 5-Minute Mentor lessons, I'm happy to tell you that I made $60,000 on my first deal, and that was on the next-to-last lesson, before I ever completed the course. Since then, I've done seven more deals. Thanks, Karen, for changing my future." -- Sharon Horne Ellstrom, real estate investor, Italian foods business owner, wife, and mom

"If it weren't for Bob Allen writing about Karen Nelson Bell in two of his previous books, I would never have met her. I knew his system was the right path for me, but I was afraid to walk down that road without a mentor. I found Karen Nelson Bell, and within eleven months, I became an equity multimillionaire, in most cases with nothing down. Now I'm developing a green-built community of high-end vacation homes, and I can't believe it all started with my first nothing down house: no money out of my pocket, $125,000 in equity, plus $70,000 cash back from the seller." -- Suzan Hudson, real estate multimillionaire, marketing specialist, wife, and grandma

"My sister Lynn and I started studying Karen Nelson Bell's methods, and since we're both Realtors, we came in with the idea that somehow we couldn't be investors too. I'd never even thought of trying to invest myself. We quickly discovered that it could be done. She showed us that if we're going to help people buy homes, we have to buy homes too. Now I finally can say we've discovered that nothing down investing might be the quickest way for ordinary families like us to build a better future." -- Elaina Saperstein, real estate multimillionaire, real estate agent, wife, and mom

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (January 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743297849
• ISBN-13: 978-0743297844
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #857,429 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening: my light bulb switched on!, February 17, 2007

By 

Lori Holstein - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nothing Down for Women: The Smart Woman's Quick-Start Guide to Real Estate Investing (Hardcover)

I have been studying many avenues in my preparation to become a realty investor for over a year now. I attended an extensive training seminar in November of last year, and over the last three months, I have been cramming in as much information as possible to prepare for my launch into the wonderful world of investing.
I have mentors who have helped answer many questions, but nothing ever quite clicked into place until I read "Nothing Down for Women, The Smart Women's Quick-Start Guide to Real Estate Investing", by Robert G. Allen and Karen Nelson Bell.
Finally, a book that glued most of the pieces into a cohesive stream of knowlege!
Reading this book took very little time, I couldn't put it down because I knew I would learn answers to my questions on nearly every page.
Thank you, thank you for working on this wonderful book together Bob and Karen.
It's been so marvelous to read this book and understand how to acutally go out and APPLY what I have learned.
I would recommend this book to any person who is seeking to understand the real estate investor's world.
Lori Holstein

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Karen Nelson Bell has "cracked the code" of making the complex easy to understand and apply..., February 25, 2007

By 

Richard Van Iderstine (Detroit, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nothing Down for Women: The Smart Woman's Quick-Start Guide to Real Estate Investing (Hardcover)

I have read many books and attended numerous seminars on a variety of subjects. There are two main challenges that I've observed with some of these: 1. The information (with facts and figures) is given in very large "chunks", which can be rather intimidating and time consuming, and 2. There seems to be an assumption of a prior base of knowledge, including a whole new vocabulary and vernacular, which many new students simply don't have.

Karen Nelson Bell very eloquently and elegantly addresses these issues. Each 5 minute "helping" of each subject is easily digestible and includes a complete glossary of new terms as well as a "quiz wizard" that makes sure the lesson is fully understood and action steps taken before moving on to the next helping. Karen's personality and humor make creating a potential new source of income uncomplicated and fun.

As a man and a very busy entrepreneur, I've got to say that even though it says "for women", this system is perfect for men on the go. It has given me a new perspective on real estate investing, and has removed any concern about economic climate.

If you've ever wanted to look into the rewards of real estate investing, but had doubts of any sort - you owe it to yourself to buy this wonderful book.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Karen Nelson Bell is My Mentor For Life, February 25, 2007

By 

Sheree L. Stewart - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nothing Down for Women: The Smart Woman's Quick-Start Guide to Real Estate Investing (Hardcover)

I have known Karen since the late 70s. However, I knew her as a successful performing artist and not the "business type." Karen became my mentor in Las Vegas and was instrumental in launching my dancing, as well as my singing career there. Later I moved to Florida, only to find out that she had successfully become a multi-millionaire from real estate investing, of all things. Karen became my mentor yet again and I signed up for her Nothing Down for Women online course two summers ago. I had since become a High School teacher. As a direct result of Karen's course and the principles contained in her book, Nothing Down for Women, I have accumulated 4 properties so far! Combined with my own home, I now have a total worth of over a million dollars!! The first property I closed on when I was less than half way through the course. WOW! It has doubled in value in the last 18 months! Karen's experience and expertise, and step-by-step outline helped me overcome great fear. Not only the fear of entering a field I knew little about, but also the fear a woman has of what to do on a meager teacher's salary, if something were to happen to her husband. I am forever indebted to Karen for all this and more.
Sheree Stewart