Real Estate Investors Should Invest in Themselves First
When it comes to building wealth, the best way to set yourself up for massive success is to invest first and foremost in yourself.
You’re certainly not the first to grow your wealth through real estate investing, so the best way to get started and continually hone your strategy is to learn from real estate investors who have gone before you.
When I first got started in real estate investing, I couldn’t tell you what a cap rate was, I didn’t know how to find good markets, and I barely even knew what the word underwriting meant.
But with each real estate investing book I read, I found a new mentor. Suddenly I was connected with a real estate investor-turned-author – someone who poured all their real estate investing wisdom into the course of a few hundred pages. Through that, I created my own real estate investing MBA.
In this article, I’ll share with you some of the best real estate investing books that have helped me and countless others to build wealth through real estate.
I’ll start with the broad mindset and principles of real estate investing, then move on to the specifics of how to invest, find a market, and take advantage of tax strategies.
Remember, real estate investing is a business, even if you only have a single property.
Your real estate property business can only grow to the extent that you do.
To set your real estate investing business up for maximum success and create more wealth than you ever could have imagined, start with these top books on real estate.
Start Here – Best Books For Wealth Building Through Real Estate Investing
Most beginner real estate investors assume that, in order to master real estate investing, you need to know all the terminology, be a whiz at spreadsheets, and learn how to fix toilets.
In reality, while having some basic understanding of markets, income, and expenses are key to getting started in real estate investing, the mindset and overarching principles can make a much more substantial impact on the overall trajectory of your property management and investing success.
Real estate investing is easy to get into, but to truly make it a wealth-building vehicle requires patience, strategy, and a strong mindset.
To get you on track to becoming a millionaire real estate investor, here are some of the best books on real estate you should get today.
These books will help you create a solid foundation for your real estate investing game.
The Richest Man In Babylon
By George S. Clason
If you like parables, you’re going to love this classic – The Richest Man in Babylon, which offers common sense personal finance advice, told through ancient and fun-to-read parables. The Richest Man in Babylon goes through the basic principles of saving and investing and helps you get on the right track with your personal finances.
Whether you’re struggling with debt and bills or looking to take your commercial real estate investing to the next level, The Richest Man in Babylon will give you the principles you need to reach success. This is one of those recommendations I can’t say enough. In fact, I wish more seasoned investors started out by reading this book!
Think And Grow Rich
By Napoleon Hill
Many of the most successful real estate investors and entrepreneurs often attribute their success to the principles in Napoleon Hill’s landmark bestseller, Think and Grow Rich.
In the original book (published in the 1930s), Napoleon Hill dives into the success stories of such giants as Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and many other millionaires of the early twentieth century.
In the updated version, stories of contemporary millionaires and billionaires like Bill Gates, Mary Kay Ash, Dave Thomas, and many others are added to the mix. Within these real-world examples, Napoleon Hill draws out the patterns among them and the core principles that led to success.
Whether you’re just starting out in rental property investments or are a savvy real estate investor, Think and Grow Rich will help you build the right mindset and habits to attract success.
Rich Dad Poor Dad
By Robert Kiyosaki
These days, it’s rare to meet a successful real estate investor who doesn’t at least partially attribute their success to Robert Kiyosaki’s little purple book. Rich Dad Poor Dad is a real estate investing classic.
In it, Robert Kiyosaki walks through the lessons he learned from his own dad (“poor dad”) – to work hard, get a good job, and save up for retirement – versus the lessons he learned from his friend’s dad (“rich dad”), which often went against conventional wisdom in personal finance.
If you’re new to real estate investing, pick up this book on real estate today.
Plus, if you have kids, be sure to get a copy of Escape the Rat Race, the graphic novel version of Rich Dad Poor Dad, which my kids loved.
Grab your own copy of Rich Dad Poor Dad ASAP, so you get started on the right foot!
The Millionaire Real Estate Investor
By Gary Keller
In order to reach success in the real estate industry, you must first learn the fundamental truths and models that drive it, which is what The Millionaire Real Estate Investor is all about.
In it, Gary Keller shares the collected wisdom and experience of over 100 millionaire real estate investors who have achieved life-changing wealth and financial freedom.
You’ll find strategies and principles to guide you on your own real estate investing journey, including how to identify criteria for potential investments, how to find the best deals, how to build your dream team, and much more. These fundamentals quite possibly make up the ultimate beginner’s guide to successful real estate investment strategies.
To unlock your financial potential and find the millionaire real estate investor within YOU, be sure to grab a copy of The Millionaire Real Estate Investor.
The Ins And Outs Of Investing – Best Books For Getting Started In Real Estate Investing
Once you’ve built your foundation, discovered your big WHY, and established the right mindset, the next step is to start learning the how-tos.
This is the stage where you start to learn the terminology you need, the process of investing, and the right questions to ask as you analyze properties.
Many books about real estate can help you navigate the real estate market at this stage.
Here are a few of the best ones.
Retire Early With Real Estate
By Chad Carson
Our good friend Chad Carson (aka Coach Carson) is definitely someone you want in your corner, especially if you’re investing in rental properties.
Coach Carson is a giver, and he genuinely cares about the success of his students and fellow real estate investors.
Retire Early with Real Estate is packed with tangible strategies, tips, and techniques that will help you get out of the 9-to-5 grind.
The book could guide even the newest residential real estate investor to financial freedom, allowing them (you?) to retire early and live the life they (again, potentially you) truly want to live.
Once you order the book, be sure to check out Chad’s conversation with us on Investing For Good, where he tells the story of how he got started, how he has scaled his business over the years to include helpful real estate investing content, and strategies to benefit real estate investors.
The Book On Rental Property Investing
By Brandon Turner
If you’ve heard Brandon Turner on the BiggerPockets podcast, you know what a goofball he can be.
Despite his lightheartedness, Brandon is serious about real estate.
He is a huge real estate investing nerd and has achieved massive success in his lane of rental property investing.
He has also inspired and guided thousands of others to become rental property investors in his footsteps.
The Book on Rental Property Investing is a no-fluff book packed with in-depth advice and strategies for building wealth through rental properties.
Brandon Turner will share with you his own strategies, help you build a plan to achieve your goals, and show you how to find incredible deals in the rental property investing world.
One Rental At A Time
By Michael Zuber
Our very first guest on Investing For Good was our good friend Michael Zuber, author of One Rental at a Time. Michael doesn’t just talk the talk – he walks the walk.
After a 15-year journey to financial independence, Michael has devoted his life to helping others achieve financial freedom through rental property investing.
Some real estate investing strategies can seem overwhelming or complicated, but Michael’s entire real estate investment strategy is based on a long-term plan of investing in one rental at a time.
But don’t let the simplicity of Michael’s rental property plan fool you.
In this book, Michael will show you how something as simple as investing in one rental at a time can be an incredibly powerful strategy that can create passive income and exponentially grow your wealth over time, leading to financial freedom.
The ABCs Of Real Estate Investing
By Ken McElroy
Ken McElroy is one of the leading experts on real estate investing and has decades of multifamily property management and commercial real estate investing experience under his belt.
He’s been through multiple recessions and has developed a real estate investing strategy that can help you build wealth in any part of the market cycle.
While The ABCs of Real Estate Investing largely focuses on multifamily properties, the principles it teaches are applicable to all aspects of real estate investing.
This is one of the best real estate books for getting started on the right foot with real estate investing. Whether you’re investing in commercial real estate or single-family properties, definitely add this one to your list.
Investing For Good
By Annie Dickerson & Julie Lam
Two of the most important things to figure out as you get into the business of real estate investing are how much time you have to put toward growing your real estate portfolio and how involved you want to be.
If you want to roll up your sleeves and get in the weeds with single-family homes, the books above on rental property investing will be perfect for getting you started.
If, on the other hand, you realize that you want to take a more passive role – invest your money and reap the benefits of owning real estate and collecting passive cash flow while someone else does the heavy lifting on your behalf – then passive real estate investing through syndications (group investments) might be a better fit.
In that case, we invite you to grab a free copy of our book Investing For Good (just pay S&H).
In it, we’ll walk you through our experience with rental properties, why passive real estate investing is the best fit for us as busy moms, and how you can get started with passive investing.
You want to learn from experienced investors who have created the real estate business and lifestyle you’re dreaming of. So, learn how to invest in long-distance real estate without worrying about property management, rehab costs, or legal forms. We cover all of this, and more so, busy moms like us can successfully invest in commercial property too!
Best Books For Finding Strong Real Estate Markets
Since I first started investing in real estate, I’ve always lived in expensive real estate markets.
First, it was Washington, DC, then Vancouver, BC, and now the San Francisco Bay Area.
I’d always thought I needed to invest in the market I lived in. I figured it was safer somehow.
Besides, I thought I would need to be able to drive over to the property if needed. (Not that I would know the first thing about fixing a toilet or broken appliances!)
However, once I started looking outside my local market, a world of possibilities opened up to me.
I realized I could find investment properties that met my investing goals, rather than try to fit my goals into the market where I lived.
Whether you live in a pricey market or not, it’s well worth exploring other real estate markets beyond your backyard. Real estate investments and rental properties outside your area will expand your opportunities and diversify your real estate portfolio.
Check out these books on real estate markets to identify the best real estate markets for you.
Long Distance Real Estate Investing
By David Greene
If you’ve been wanting to invest in real estate but live in a hot market where cash flow is difficult to come by, Long Distance Real Estate Investing is a great place to start.
In this book, David Greene helps you see how expanding to new markets is not only possible for you, but one of the best real estate investment strategies for building wealth.
David shares his own tips, tricks, and the system he’s put into place for his dozens of rental properties, so you can identify the right teams and right neighborhoods to grow your portfolio across multiple markets.
Emerging Real Estate Markets
By David Lindahl
There are some books in life that you happen to read at the exact right time for where you are and where you want to go, and for me, Emerging Real Estate Markets was one of those books.
Once I realized I wanted to invest out of state, I had absolutely no idea where to start. I didn’t know the first thing about researching different markets or what to look for. That’s where David Lindahl’s Emerging Real Estate Markets book comes in.
This book is a treasure trove of insider information that gets down to the nitty-gritty of exactly what to look for in potential markets, where to find the data, and how to identify these real estate markets before they reach their peak.
Whether you’re looking to invest in emerging markets or more stabilized and established markets, and whether you’re investing in residential or commercial real estate, this book will walk you through the most important attributes to evaluate when considering new markets to invest in.
Best Real Estate Investing Books For Tax Strategy
Someone once told me to think of the business of real estate investment as a three-legged stool. Cash flow and appreciation make up the first two legs. The third leg is something that many people, particularly newer real estate investors, neglect.
That third leg is tax strategy.
Many investors start out focusing on rental income and cash flow returns, but seasoned investors know that a strong tax strategy is what will allow you to keep more of those returns and truly grow your wealth.
I gotta tell you; I am no tax expert. Taxes are usually the last thing on my list, but these two books make tax strategy both approachable and, dare I say it, even a little bit fun.
Whether you’re new to real estate investing or have been investing for a while, these two books will help you further strengthen your existing strategy.
Tax-Free Wealth
By Tom Wheelwright
Even though many people had recommended this book to me over the years, I was dreading reading it because taxes have never excited me.
But let me tell you. I picked this book up one early morning while on a family vacation, and I could not put it down.
Yeah, you read that right. I picked up a tax book and could not put it down. It was that good.
Tax-Free Wealth is the book on tax strategy that everyone needs to read. It’s written in plain language, not accounting jargon, and the strategies contained within these pages are incredibly powerful.
Remember Rich Dad Poor Dad from earlier? Well, the brand has expanded to offer coaching, classes, and even a list of Rich Dad Advisors you can connect with for help in areas of sales, legal, and even taxes. Tom Wheelwright is one of the team.
This book will teach you not only how to make money through real estate but, more importantly, how to KEEP more of that money, rather than paying it back through taxes.
If you are currently investing in real estate or are considering investing, I highly recommend you pick up a copy of this life-changing book.
The Book On Tax Strategies For The Savvy Real Estate Investor
By Amanda Han & Matt MacFarland
The first several years I’d invested in real estate, I had no clue about all the tax advantages available to real estate owners. It wasn’t until I read The Book on Tax Strategies for the Savvy Real Estate Investor that I started to wrap my mind around how to leverage the tax code to help me rather than work against me.
We work with Amanda Han and Matt MacFarland on both our personal and business taxes and they are extremely knowledgeable about tax strategies for real estate investors.
In fact, you can listen in on our conversation with Amanda on Investing For Good, where she drops some golden nuggets about powerful real estate tax strategies you’ll definitely want to know about.
Why Now Is The Best Time To Educate Yourself On Real Estate Investing
As I’m writing this, we’re currently in the midst of a recession, with an economy that’s barely flickering back to life and unemployment numbers at an all-time high.
Stimulus money kept the economy afloat for a bit, but that money gave rise to inflation.
Real estate is a slow-moving vehicle, so the full effects of the recession on the real estate market have yet to be seen.
However, many experts predict that we are about to see the deals of a lifetime in the coming months and years.
Many seasoned investors have money waiting in the wings to snatch up those real estate investments when they hit the market.
That’s why now is the best time to invest money in yourself.
Grab some of these real estate investing books and invest in your own education as a real estate investor.
By the time those great real estate investments come along, you’ll know exactly what you’re looking for and be perfectly positioned to take advantage of those life-changing opportunities.
Every great real estate investor starts with self-investment. It’s time to take charge of your financial wealth and grow your rental property empire through studying practical strategies, real-life stories, and how others successfully pursued financial wealth.
