Investor Article Library - frequently updated - excellent articles

The following are books, courses and other materials that we and other Real Estate Investors have found useful. Please contact us if you know of any other readings or courses that you have found interesting and helpful. We would like to be able to add them to our list.

The 5 Best Mindset of Wealth Books:

Think and Grow Rich                    The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Napoleon Hill                                        Steven Covey

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind        The Power of Positive Thinking
T. Harv Eker                                  Norman Vincent Peale

Do It! Lets Get Off Our Buts 
Peter McWilliams

General or Entry Level Real Estate Investing:

• Buying Systems (Bottom Fishing); Bruce Norris
• How To Buy houses Cheap! (Bottom Fishing); Bruce Norris
• Flipping Properties; William Bronchick
• Building Wealth Through Investment Property; Jan Somers and Dolf de Roos
• Building Wealth; From Rags to Riches Through Real Estate; Russ Whitney
• Real Estate Riches; How to become rich using your banker's money; Dolf De Roos, PhD.
• Soup to Nuts; Everything you need to know to be a successful real estate investor; Lisa Moron
• How To Buy Your First Home or Investment Property with No Down Payment; (Step-By-Step Manual and Cassette Tape or CD Library); Carleton H. Sheets
• Confidential Conversations Audio Cassette Tape or CD Program; Carleton H. Sheets
• The Insiders Guide to Making Money in Real Estate; Dolf de Roos
• Making Big Money Investing in Real Estate Without Banks, Tenants, or Rehab Projects; Peter Conti & David Finkel
• How to Finance Any Real Estate; James Misko
• Flip, How to Find, Fix and Sell Houses for a Profit; Rich Villani, Clay Davis & Gary Keller
• Financing Secrets of a Millionaire Real Estate Investor; William Bronchick
• The 221 Immutable Laws of Marketing;
• How To Be Invisible; JJ Luna
• Mentored By A Millionaire; Steven Scott
• Tips & Traps When Buying a Home; Robert Irwin
• The Millionaire Mind; Thomas Stanley
• The Next Millionaires; Paul Zane Pilzer
• The 9 Steps to Finance Freedom; Suze Orma
• Pay It Down; Jean Chatzky

Land Lording and Property Management:

• Investor's Success Series; Volume 1; The Painless Guide To Profitable Property Management; Carleton H. Sheets
• Property Management- 6th Edition; Kyle, Baird & Spodek
• Streetwise Investing in Rental Housing; H. Roger Neal
• Investing in Rental Housing; Roger Neal
• The Complete Guide to Buying and Selling Apartment Buildings; Steven Berges

Distressed Properties:

• Making Big Money Investing in Foreclosures- without Cash or Credit; Peter Conti & David Finkel
• Making Fortunes In Foreclosures; John R. Burley
• Foreclosures (Bottom Fishing); Bruce Norris
• Investor's Success Series; Volume 2; Cashing In On Foreclosures and Distressed Properties: (a step by step formula); Carleton H. Sheets
• Rehab 101 Complete Package; Pete Youngs
• Buying Real Estate Foreclosures; Peter Conti
• Keys in Buying Foreclosured and Bargain Homes;
• Buying Foreclosure Real Estate; Melissa S. Kollen-Rice
• Pre Foreclosing Investing; Dreama Lee & Justin Lee

Partnerships:

• Investor's Success Series; Volume 3; Creating Quick Wealth with Partners; Carleton H. Sheets

Real Estate Related:

• The 16% Solution; How to get High Interest Rates in a Low Interest World with Tax Lien Certificates; Joel S. Moskowitz, J.D.
• Negotiation (Bottom Fishing); Bruce Norris
• Rich Dad poor Dad; What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money - That The Poor And Middle Class DO Not!; Robert T. Kiyosaki
  
• Cashflow Quadrant; Rich Dad's Guide to Financial Freedom; Robert T. Kiyosaki
• Easy Accounting for Real Estate Investors; Diane Kennedy
• 106 Mortgage Secrets All Homebuyers Must Learn - but Lenders Don't Tell; Gary W. Eldred, PhD.
• Real Estate Loopholes; Diane Kennedy
• Wealth Protection Secrets of a Millionaire Real Estate Investor; William Bronchick
• The Insiders Guide to Making Money in Real Estate; Dolf de Roos & Diane Kennedy
• The Ultimate Real Estate Investor's Guide;
• Complete Book of Real Estate;
• Ultimate Real Estate Investing Course; Thomas Kish
• The Insider's Guide to Making Money in Real Estate;
• A Fortune At Your Feet; Kessler
• Interest Amortization Tables; Dennis Kelley & Jack Estes
• Multiple Streams of Income; Robert Allen
• Real Estate Investments and How to Make Them; Milt Tanzer
• Right Under Your Feet; Robert Davis
• The Road to Wealth; Suze Orman
• Small Business Taxes; JK Lasser
• Selling Real Estate Without Paying Taxes; Richard Williamson
• The Real Estate Investor's Tax Guide; Vernon Hoven
• How to Invest in Real Estate and Pay Little or No Taxes; Hubert Bromma
• Profit by Investing in Real Estate in Tax Liens; Larry Loftis
• Tax Secret Millionaire; Richard Williamson
• SpeedWealth "How to Make A Million In Your Own Business In 3 Years Or Less."

Other Information:

• How To Master Your Time, Brian Tracy
• Bed & Breakfast;
• Legal Guide for Starting and Running a Small Business; Fred Steingold
• Easy Accounting for Real; Diane Kennedy
• Inc and Grow Rich!; Diane Kennedy, Cherie Hill
• Winning the Cash Flow War; Fred Rewey
• Start Your Own Import/Export Business;  Entrepreneur Press
• 101 Great Money Making Tips; Martin Greenberg
• A Crash Course in Marketing; David Bangs
• Nothing Down for the 90's;
• Keys to Success The 17 Principles of Personal Achievment; Napoleon Hill
• The Think and Grow Rich Action Pack; Napoleon Hill
• The Inspirational Classic Think and Grow Rich;  Napolean Hill

REAL ESTATE TERMS

Agency: This framework has developed in the law to allow individuals to act through another person or representative. In real estate, it refers to working with a real estate broker to buy or sell property. Your legal agent may have unlimited or limited powers on your behalf and owes you fiduciary duties such as loyalty, accounting and disclosure. In the purchase or sale of real estate, you have several agency options including Buyer's Agent, Designated Agency, Dual Agency, and Seller's Agency.

Appraiser: The person (holding an appraiser's license) who decides the market value of a home based on its condition and the selling prices of comparable homes recently sold in the area. The appraiser computes a fair estimate of market value to help the lender decide a reasonable loan amount.

Assessor: A public official who appraises property for tax purposes, determining the assessed value, not the tax rate.

Buyer’s Agent: A buyer may ask a real estate brokerage company to act as his or her legal agent in the process of purchasing real estate. This can be done by designating one or more sales associates as the legal agent in a written agreement with the broker or by entering into an agency agreement with the real estate broker that would provide that the broker and all sales associates affiliated with the broker would act as legal agents of the buyer. The authority of the legal agent to act on a buyer’s behalf would be limited to those powers granted in the written agreement. In the purchase of real estate, the buyer’s agent acts in the buyer’s best interest.

Buyer Working With Broker: Traditionally, buyers of residential real estate have worked with a real estate broker or a sales associate on a non-agency basis. In other words, the sales associate acts as the legal agent of the seller and not as the buyer’s legal agent. The sales associate or broker has a responsibility to deal with the buyer in a fair and honest manner, but does not have fiduciary duties to the buyer. The buyer has access to listings available to the sales associate through the multiple listing service and will receive other services from the sales associate such as financing information, determining the range of prices at which a buyer can purchase and assistance in facilitating the closing. The sales associate will try to provide the best quality services to the buyer consistent with his or her duties to the seller.

Closing: Also called settlement. This is the final step of a real estate transaction - the signing. Closing includes delivery of a deed, financial adjustments, signing of notes and disbursement of funds necessary to the sale or loan. In Montana, this is typically performed at a title company.

Contingency: A condition that must be met before a contract is binding. For example, the sale of a home might be contingent on the sale of the buyers' current home.

Conventional Loan: A loan made with real estate as security and not involving government participation in the form of insuring (FHA) or guaranteeing (VA) the loan.

Designated Agency: This arrangement with a real estate brokerage company will result in one or more sales associates being designated as your legal agent. You can enter into this arrangement either as a seller or buyer. Other sales associates in the firm may be the legal agents of other buyers and sellers and may be the legal agent of the party who buys your property or from whom you buy property. The only individuals owing you fiduciary duties are those designated as your legal agent and not the real estate brokerage company itself or all other sales associates with that company. A real estate brokerage company will generally offer this service to provide representation for both buyers and sellers.

Dual Agency: In this situation, both the seller and buyer in a transaction are represented by the same legal agent. Thus, fiduciary duties are owed to both parties. The law states that this is not legally possible without the consent of the buyer and seller. If your consent is secured to allow this type of situation, the role of the sales associate will be somewhat limited, and the buyer and seller will act at times on their own behalf in negotiations for the sale or purchase of the property.

Earnest Money: A deposit given when making an offer on a home to demonstrate good faith. A REALTOR® or attorney usually holds the earnest money, the amount of which varies by community. If the sale goes through, this deposit will become part of the buyer’s down payment.

Fixed-Rate Loan: A loan with the same rate of interest for the life of the loan.

Homeowners Policy: A multiple peril insurance policy commonly called a package policy. Available to owners of private homes, it covers the dwelling and contents in case of fire or wind damage, theft, liability for property damage and personal liability.

Interest Rate Cap: The maximum interest rate allowed on an adjustable-rate loan for any one adjustment period during the life of the loan.

Point: A dollar amount paid to a lender for making a loan. A point is one percent of the loan amount. Also called a discount point.

Prepayment Penalty: A mortgage that, when repaid in full for a specified period, includes a penalty for that payoff. Prepayment penalties can be for the life of the loan but are most often for the first 3-5 years.

REALTOR®: A member of the National Association of REALTORS® who subscribes to a strict code of ethics.

Seller’s Agent: When you sign a listing agreement with a real estate broker, you are typically signing an agency agreement that makes that broker and all sales associates affiliated with the broker your legal agent. In a designated agency, the broker would name one or more sales associates as your legal agent. The seller’s agent is a limited as opposed to general agent. In other words, the listing or other agreement with the broker gives the selling agent certain authority to act on your behalf in the marketing and sale of the property. However, the selling agent does not have general powers to act on your behalf such as the power to enter into a binding contract for the sale of your real estate. In marketing your real estate, the seller’s agent will act in the seller’s best interest.

Title: Documentary evidence of the right to or ownership in property, which in real estate is the deed. Title may be acquired through purchase, inheritance, gift or exchange, as well as through foreclosure of a mortgage.

HOUSING TERMS

Condominiums: In this multiple-ownership property, a purchaser holds title to a specific unit in a high-rise, building complex or townhome community. Condominiums come in various design styles such as contemporary, vintage or loft. The buyer also has a percentage of ownership in the underlying land and common elements such as elevators, stairways, hallways and parking. Each owner pays taxes on his or her unit, as well monthly assessments the condominium association uses to maintain, repair and improve the property. Owners elect a condominium board, which governs the association and in most instances must approve new buyers. Condo owners must abide by the association’s rules and regulations.

Duplex: In Montana real estate language the term means simply a two-story unit. It can be side-by-side or up-down.

Investment property: Owners typically purchase these properties with the expectation of gaining a return on their investment through a combination of rents or leases and appreciation over time. For as long as the owner holds the property, ROI is calculated by deducting related debt and expenses from rents and leases.

Lofts: The term implies apartments, condominiums or even offices that have been carved out of existing, older commercial buildings such as warehouses, factories, hospitals, schools or office buildings. These living spaces usually offer high ceilings (12’ to 14´), minimum room partitioning to maintain an open bright appearance, exposed ductwork, brick or timber beams and oversized windows. The term “soft lofts” implies a more finished look, often white walls, industrial carpeting and more definition in room divisions. A benefit of such conversions is that they preserve the architectural character and heritage of the city’s aging industrial and commercial districts.

Renovated or rehabbed: Terms that suggest an older building has had features restored or new mechanics—plumbing, electrical system, etc.—installed.

Rowhouses: Originally built in the 1890s, rowhouses are the forerunners of today’s townhomes. The facades form a continuous row, but the structures are divided vertically internally so there are common walls between buildings.

Single-family: In Montana, these freestanding, one-residence properties most commonly are constructed of brick, wood or stucco. Architectural styles run the gamut— bungalow to Beaux Arts; Victorian, Tudor, ranch and Prairie; Craftsman, Cape Cod, Colonial and contemporary. Homes vary in size, but typically are found on city lots.

Townhomes: Generally smaller than a single-family home, this dwelling is part of a row or complex containing multiple homes of the same or similar design. Units consist of two or more floors, often with a street-level garage. Each townhome shares at least one wall with neighbors, but has its own entrance and outdoor area. Owners have title to--and pay property taxes on--their individual unit and lot, as well as joint ownership of common areas and building exteriors. Townhomes can be part of a homeowners association in which all residents equally share financial responsibility for services and common elements such as doors, roofs and gates.

Vintage buildings: These are older structures, usually pre-World War II. They typically have hardwood floors, high ceilings, fine woodwork, sun parlors and plaster moldings.