Top 16 Best Real Estate Books Updated 04 /2024

You can diversify your investment portfolio by investing in real estate. This can also be a good way to protect your money from market changes. Real estate isn't directly linked to the stock market, so when stocks rise and fall, property investments can keep a portfolio stable. From real estate investment trusts to turnkey properties to multifamily rentals, there are a lot of different ways to invest in real estate. Each has its own set of rules that you need to learn about. One way to learn more about real estate investing before you start is to read books about the subject, like this one.

These books can give an overview of how to invest in property, or they can go into more detail about different kinds of investments and how to make them work for you. The question is, which books are worth your time and which are just filler? Real estate investing books are a great way to build your library. Here are the best books to help you through every step of your property investing journey.

Best Overall: The Book on Rental Property Investing

Brandon Turner is a real estate entrepreneur and the vice president of growth for BiggerPockets.com, which is a well-known website for people who want to buy and sell homes. If you want to make money by investing in rental properties, you need to read "The Book on Rental Property Investing." This guide is a good place to start. It also talks about the most common mistakes that people make when they buy rental properties and how to avoid them. To get started investing in rental properties, this book is a good place to start. It can help you get ahead. In this book, you'll learn how to make and keep money through income-producing rental property investments that are easy to follow.

Best on Commercial Real Estate: Mastering the Art of Commercial Real Estate Investing

A lot of people don't think about commercial real estate the same way they think about residential real estate. Single-family homes and vacation rentals aren't the kind of investments that you make. Instead, you make investments in things like office space, warehouses and distribution centers, data centers, public storage, retail units, and multifamily apartment buildings, which can have dozens or even hundreds of tenants each. When it comes to commercial real estate, the return can be very high, but there are also a lot of risks to think about as well.

In "Mastering the Art of Commercial Real Estate Investing," the author talks about the basics of investing in commercial real estate, using six specific laws of real estate investing that are meant to help you make the most money. Doug Marshall, the author of this book, talks about when it makes sense to buy a commercial property and when it doesn't. He also talks about how to position an investment for the best cash flow over time.

Best on General Investing: Rich Dad, Poor Dad

It's called "Rich Dad, Poor Dad." It's about how to build and grow wealth by investing in tangible assets like real estate and small businesses. In general, this book is one of the best general reads on investing and personal finance ever written. But there are some important lessons for real estate investors to learn from this book as well. It's not so much about specific strategies as it is about how to build a wealth mindset that includes real estate as a central part of that mindset. Working smarter, not harder, to build a portfolio that consistently makes money is the main idea. You can use real estate to make money that doesn't require any work from you. To get motivated and inspired as you start investing in real estate, this book has a lot to say about both things.

Best for Flippers: The Book on Flipping Houses

If you're interested in flipping houses instead of owning rental properties, you'll want to read J Scott's "The Book on Flipping Houses," which is about how to do that. As a professional flipper, he's come up with a very good way to find properties to flip, fix them up without hurting his profit margin, and then sell them for the most money.

This book covers everything you need to know about flipping as a real estate investment strategy, from how to find good markets to how to get financing for a rehab project to how to hire contractors and put the home back on the market.

Even if you only want to flip one house at a time or start a full-scale house-flipping business, this book is a good place to start.

Best on Real Estate Taxes: The Book on Tax Strategies

Real estate investing comes with tax consequences, just like any other type of investing. In the world of real estate investing, there are many expenses that you can write off. The key is making sure all of the deductions are being claimed. As a side note, you also need to report the money you make from property investments to avoid getting in trouble with the IRS.

It's called "The Book on Tax Strategies," and Amanda Han and Matthew McFarland are both certified public accountants. They use their knowledge and experience to give real estate investors a detailed tax guide in the book. For example, if you don't understand how depreciation works, or how a self-directed IRA can be used to buy real estate investments, you can get help here. I think it's a must-read if you want to know how to keep Uncle Sam from taking a bite out of your real estate investments.

Learn more about the best personal finance books by reading on next:

Best for Building Wealth: The Millionaire Real Estate Investor

People who have a lot of money would enjoy investing in real estate like a millionaire. Because you don't have a million dollars to invest in real estate, there's only one thing that stands in your way. That's a problem "The Millionaire Real Estate Investor" talks about. Gary Keller, the author of a book about how to make money through real estate, used the advice of more than 100 millionaire real estate investors to write the book.

The book talks about the most common myths about money and investing that keep people from becoming millionaires, as well as how to find the best real estate deals. You don't have to be rich to like the strategies and techniques Keller talks about, but it's possible that you could make a lot of money in real estate by following the principles he says.

Best for REIT Investors: The Intelligent REIT Investor

REITs can be good for real estate investors who don't want to be as involved in their investments as they used to be. A REIT is a company that owns real estate investments. As a REIT investor, you get the dividend income that comes from those investments, but you don't have to be a landlord or deal with tenants on your own.

"The Intelligent REIT Investor" talks about the most important things about investing in REITs as a way to make money. According to your goals, risk tolerance, and time frame for investing, the authors talk about how to choose which REITs to buy. If you want to add REITs to your portfolio but don't know where to start, this book can help you get your feet wet without getting into debt.

Best for Beginners: The ABCs of Real Estate Investing

Choose "The ABCs of Real Estate Investing" by Ken McElroy if you're new to real estate investing and want to learn more. As the title of the book suggests, you'll learn about how to make money through real estate, how to find and evaluate properties, how to negotiate deals, and more. When it comes to managing multifamily assets and properties, McElroy himself has more than 26 years of senior-level experience in the field. They also agree that this is a great book for people who are just starting out as investors, because it's both informative and easy to read for people who are just starting out.

Best on Out-of-State Investing: Long-Distance Real Estate Investing

You should not only look into investing in real estate in your own neighborhood, says "Long-Distance Real Estate Investing." This is a great book for people who want to invest in real estate, even if they live in an area that isn't very good for it. Out-of-state investing is thought to be risky, but author David Greene says that rules, technology, and markets have changed enough that you can make money investing anywhere.

When Greene talks about the strategies he used when he bought more than 20 rental properties, he talks about how he made a lot of money. Learn how to find great deals in any state, no matter where you live. You'll learn how to figure out which neighborhoods to buy and which to avoid, how to renovate a project from anywhere, and more.

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