The Complete Guide to Real Estate Options: What Smart Investors Need to Know - Explained Simply
You are about to learn the true secret of real estate investing – real estate options. Who really makes money in real estate? Realtors, sellers, appraisers, the bank, brokers, mortgage brokers, closing companies, attorneys, taxing authorities, and lastly perhaps you, the investor who takes all the risks and does all the work, while having to evict tenants and clean up their mess after they have left.
But there is a new, unique, and innovative method of investing in real estate. A real estate option gives you control of a piece of real estate without actually purchasing it. By having an option on a piece of property, you have the exclusive right to buy that property or not. A real estate option is simply a contract between the seller and “buyer,” giving you the legal right – not obligation – to buy the property at a set price for a predetermined time. When you find a buyer for the property, you cash in your option … and deposit a large check.
Most real estate investment methods require you to spend a lot of your money, time, and effort. And it is a slow process – usually one property at a time, often part time. Using an option instead of purchasing means you do not have to deal with rental property, tenants, maintenance and repairs, taxes, mortgage payments, commissions, or closing costs. In this new book you will learn how to control a vast real estate portfolio without ever buying the property. Let the owner keep paying the mortgage, dealing with tenants, and all of the costs. You zero in on the profits.
Here is an example. You locate a duplex worth $400,000. You purchase an option to buy it for $340,000 anytime within the next 120 days. On Day 60, you find a buyer who will pay the full $400,000. You activate the option, pay the seller $340,000, and pocket $60,000. This is a simplified example, but this new book details how to become a highly successful real estate option buyer, and it demonstrates step-by-step how to get started in this highly rewarding investment strategy.
The Complete Guide to Real Estate Options is an excellent resource for real estate investors and for those who generally want to make money with options alike. It really is a complete guide because it covers everything there is to know about investing in real estate options. The ideas are simply presented and explained, yet the extent by which they are tackled is quite in-depth. Readers will truly learn the ins and outs of investing in real estate options.
Steven Fisher is an excellent mentor. He was able to successfully cover the specifics of real estate options. His book will guide the readers in achieving useful insight to learn, among other things, how to: a) gather knowledge of the real estate market; b) make general and specific market analysis; c) evaluate financing sources; d) physically inspect a property; d) evaluate the profitability of a lease option; e) close a deal and maximize the appeal of the property; and f) exercise the lease option.
Overall, this is an excellent guide to real estate options. Readers will surely love the added features of the book like the list of useful references for further reading and the glossary of real estate terminology found at the end. Also indispensable are the valuable tips, key ideas and worksheets found interspersed within each chapter.
Comment by Maria Isabel P. Sumilang — August 30, 2007 @ 6:00 pm
This book is like having a successful real estate friend whispering in your ear: “You might want to think about this first…” or “Have you considered the fact that…” The Complete Guide to Real Estate Options provides the basics before delving into advanced concepts. To those simply looking to start out, the guide gives practical, starter information about investing in real estate, including definitions and action plans, as well as specific links to relevant websites and outside resources.
For those looking for more advanced information, the book covers topics like liens, inspections, negotiations, and issues related to being a landlord. Most importantly, the author thoroughly discusses the legality and financial issues related to the various types of real estate investments, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each. Let’s face it, nobody wants to “risk it all” in a new business venture, and the Complete Guide to Real Estate Options puts you on alert for potential problems and tells you how to avoid them. Break-out boxes and bullet points are used to take complex concepts and formulas and put them into an easy to understand format.
This isn’t a light read, and you’ll definitely want to tackle it in chunks to get the most out of it, and allow some time to absorb, or to “refer back”. Although I’m not an expert in the field, after reading the book, it’s hard to imagine there is anything that hasn’t been covered.
Comment by Deanne Schulz — September 13, 2007 @ 11:30 am
I’ll bet many of you, like me, have looked at making money from real estate. The infomercials are all over the TV channels, and I have books by Carleton Sheets, Kessler, Shemin, Rich Dad Poor Dad, etc., all with their various takes on the best way to buy houses with little or no money down and make a profit. This “Complete Guide To Real Estate Options” is a very welcome addition to the library.
The book looks in detail at the use of “lease options”, which are occasionally touched on in the standard courses, but not treated in anything like this depth. As such, you would think that this book covers only a subset of the market for wealth building with real estate. Not really, I have to say. While it is comprehensive on the use of options, the book has details of all aspects of purchasing, selling and renting property which are equally applicable to the other approaches to real estate. For instance, there are sections about finding tenants, and how to treat both good and bad tenants, right down to eviction procedures.
More than this, this volume has a great deal of information about the successful approach to being an entrepreneur and business person. The advice ranges from adopting the right mental attitude, market and property analysis, the psychology of negotiations, setting up the business, and picking and using professionals for your team
Finally, the book contains comprehensive action steps to set you on the path to success with real estate options. In summary, this book will repay study over the long term, and is recommended for anyone who has an interest in making money with real estate.
Comment by Alan Northcott — October 8, 2007 @ 4:09 pm
An Excellent Guide To Real Estate Success!
“The Complete Guide to Real Estate Options: What Smart Investors need to Know - Explained Simply” by Steven D. Fisher is an astoundingly easy to read book. It provides step by step guidance to becoming a savvy real estate investor and especially in view of the Lease Option Strategy. This book has everything a consumer needs to know. Fisher covers both the advantages and the disadvantages of the Lease Option Strategy. The book also covers every aspect of what it takes to become a successful Real Estate Proprietor ranging from the importance of developing and maintaining the right attitude to becoming a wise and successful landlord.
Fisher teaches you how to effectively get started as a new investor and how to avoid legal drawbacks by following steps to comprehensively set goals as you manage your business and property. You will learn the importance of organization in every area of your life in relation to success; from managing your credit properly to organizing your office. You will even learn how to organize and apply a successful “action plan.”
“The Complete Guide to Real Estate Options” teaches the real estate student how to build a rapport by using exercises that will help you to become a success in the real estate arena.
This book, chapter by chapter will inspire any up and coming investor and even a seasoned investor to acquire his or her goals more quickly and easily. If you’re looking for a good book that will teach you the ins and outs about real estate investing, this is the book for you. I give this book two thumbs up and without doubt a 5-Star rating.
Comment by Claudette M. Pendleton — October 17, 2007 @ 10:38 am
One could well imagine Mr. Stephen Fisher, author of The Complete Guide to Real Estate Options What Smart Investors Need to Know – Explained Simply sitting down to write this book and applying many of the principles he’s about to articulate to the production of the book itself.
Aided by quotes from a variety of well-known personalities (Mark Twain, Warren Buffett, Tiger Woods, et al), Mr. Fisher sets out an exhaustive, step-by-step plan for anyone who is now, or ever has considered real estate investment as the best way to make a living. He does so very meticulously and with a great deal of attention to detail. Chapter headings and indeed, much of the text could be applied to starting any kind of business, or, as noted, to writing a book about starting any kind of business: Attitude is Everything (Chapter 2), Getting Started (Chapter 4), Some Basic Principles (Chapter 5).
It is clear from reading carefully that Mr. Fisher has done his homework in the field of real estate options and in particular, believes that the ‘lease option’ is the best way for investors to go. With over 25 years of experience in the fields of business writing and training and development, it should come as no surprise that he has crafted an excellent instruction book on the ins and outs of buying and selling real estate. He has included interactive options for the practical entrepreneur, like check lists, and blank forms that the reader can use to track his/her own progress, whether it be in evaluating a property, the neighborhood that it’s in or the buyers who want to own it.
He uses clever acronyms to crystallize reader thinking about specific subject matter. In an early section about “setting goals,” he suggests that the reader/entrepreneur utilize the “SMART” method of creating those goals – Specific, Measurable, Action-Oriented, Realistic and Time-Bound. Near the conclusion of his book, he recommends that those seriously interested in pursuing real estate investment “SWOT” themselves; in other words conduct an objective analysis of individual Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
His style is very casual, very confident and well within the grasp of an average reader. Fisher isn’t speaking to experienced professionals here, although even the most seasoned of those could likely find a great deal of food for thought here as they continue their pursuit of real estate deals. He’s talking to the person who’s considering this particular career path and if it’s one that interests you, you could do no better than to start with him and this book.
Take notes. There isn’t a quiz later, but if you head out on the route he’s plotted for you, you’re going to want to look back and remember some of the specifics.
Comment by Skip Maloney — December 19, 2007 @ 11:40 am
Having always wanted to make a fortune in property I’ve just bought my first house. But I wish I’d read this book before hand! It would have given me a tonne of knowledge about my options in property and I may have made a different decision.
What I liked most about the book was that it really did assume no prior knowledge – it even started with a whole bunch of guides on how to get motivated and set goals and prepare yourself, before you even make your first step. Plus including things like real estate market psychology takes it beyond boring old numbers and statistics!
Comment by Jody — January 21, 2008 @ 6:53 pm
If you’ve been tempted to invest in real estate but the jargon, the paperwork and the cost seem a little scary, pick up a copy of Steven D. Fisher’s handy book. This well-written volume offers a clear and concise picture of some of the basic tools you’ll need to gain a foothold in the field. Whether your goal is to purchase just one investment property or create a massive portfolio, Fisher offers an understandable, common-sense approach to buying real estate.
He begins by explaining both the advantages and disadvantages of real estate lease options, a method that allows potential buyers to invest only a fraction of their funds in a property. The examples provided by the author allow beginners to visualize how the process works. One of his most valuable chapters offers readers the opportunity to create their own “action plan,” which outlines all the goals they seek to accomplish. Planning is key, Fisher advises, along with a positive attitude and the willingness to learn more about changes in the real estate market. Don’t overlook basics like knowing your financial limitations and credit rating before you attempt to invest.
But, Fisher does more than walk the reader to the front door of that new property. Once your purchase is complete, he takes you inside by explaining how to work with repairmen, how to find good tenants, and also provides an inside look at relevant matters such as taxes and maintaining your property. So, whether you’re a newcomer to the field or someone who wants to brush up on investment techniques, let this clearly-written practical handbook be your guide.
Comment by Patricia A. Martinelli — February 4, 2008 @ 12:46 pm