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How to Find Hidden Real Estate Bargains 2/e
by Robert Irwin
Product Group: Book
Publisher: McGraw-Hill (2002-10-01)
ISBN: 0071388761
EAN: 9780071388764
UPC: 639785380580
Dewy Decimal #: 332.6324
Paperback: 192 pages
Edition: 2
SKU: BA08033029
Condition: Used: Like New
Comments: Exactly as shown, Covers flat and shiny, Spine uncreased, Text clean with NO marks.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
From the bestselling author of Tips and Traps When Buying Your Home Robert Irwin has been one of the nation's top real estate authors for more than 20 years. His 1991 bestseller, How to Find Real Estate Bargains, continues to be one of the most popular guides to finding real estate bargains and buying them at rock-bottom prices. Thoroughly updated and revised, this new edition is for reader in the market for a bargain home for themselves or as an investment for resale profit. Irwin fills readers in on everything they need to know to quickly decide if a property's potential payoff outweighs its risks. With nearly 50 percent all-new material, the second edition features new chapters on: - All types of repos, including HUD, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, FDIC, GSA, and SBA
- Property tax, ATF and IRS, p robate, bare land, and Recreational property sales
- Finding bargain properties in strong markets by working directly with sellers
- Using the Web to find the hottest bargains
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Customer Reviews
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Not for me.
Rating  (2)
Date: 2006-01-15
6 out of 8 customers found this reveiw helpful
From this book, I learned the Famous Price-to-Rent Ratio and it comes to my mind everytime I preview a property. It will teach you the seven things to look for in a bargain. One of these items was new to me. Buying REO requires two things to succeed: expertise and money. This book can help you with the expertise part but if you don't have some investment cash...you probably should seek another income stream. Lucky for you (and me), real estate has several income streams to pursue.
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Excellent Book
Rating  (5)
Date: 2005-05-16
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
I came across many books that sell you the "theory of real estate investing" or "why its so great to get involved in the real estate market". Thats nice. People who are looking into buying a real estate book already know that. But this book is different. The steps to take are clearly detailed, and Robert Irwin directs readers to the appropriate resources; such as internet websites.
I would highly recommend this book.
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not a lot of hype
Rating (5)
Date: 2004-01-02
13 out of 13 customers found this reveiw helpful
Robert Irwin seems to generate a wellspring of books filled with good advice about buying and investing in residential real estate. He has an urbane way of cutting out the hype that can fascinate but obscure realities for buyers and sellers. Like a good uncle, he doesn't tell you not to do it - he points out some strategies for protecting yourself from the abyss. He paints a picture of the effort you'll need, and lets you make the right choice. For example, he points out that some sheriffs' foreclosures allow the defaulters 60 days to pay up and reclaim the property even after you win the auction, and that you shouldn't begin your repairs until then. He reveals that For Sale by Owner properties are most often overpriced, so you may need to make too many inquiries before you succeed. Irwin's investment practice is in California. Therefore, some of his advice doesn't hold up in other areas. Trust deeds, in which the seller holds the deed until the buyer's payments are complete, are not allowed in Pennsylvania, for example. Sellers would sometimes disappear after the buyer had invested many payments, leaving the buyer difficult recourse to the deed. His updated chapter on government foreclosures is informative, although he states there is no chance for inspection. This is not quite accurate. You may not have a chance before you bid, especially in a hot market, but the contracts of HUD and Freddie Mac provide for an inspection contingency. Although you can't bargain on the "as-is" sales, you can withdraw entirely if the fixups are overwhelming. It's not much different from our private residential experiences in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C. and Florida, with the exception that in ordinary practice in these areas you may be able to renegotiate the price when the inspection reveals unfavorable conditions. I especially enjoyed his explosion of the old saw that location is most important. As he pointed out, it may be true if you are buying a house to live in, but if you're investing, price and market would come first. A poor or unsuitable location can sometimes have its advantages. A unique aspect is the coverage of ethics, done gently, in the form of honesty is the best policy. Taking all the short-term advantages while hurting others will lead to lack of trust and a bad name, which will diminish your opportunities in the long run. We will soon be reading his new book, "Tips and Traps When Renovating Your Home." We think we can learn something useful about reducing our remodeling costs. Nancy & Arnold Lapidus
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Excellent Overview of the Process...
Rating  (4)
Date: 2003-02-23
10 out of 11 customers found this reveiw helpful
I found this book very informative and to the point. Unlike many "how to get rich" authors, Irwin stays more on the task than on the "rah-rah" stuff. His tips and traps make good references for the uninitiated investor or purchaser. Best of all, his style is smooth and easy to read. If you're looking for a good "getting started" book, this is it.
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From San Francisco Chronicle
Rating (5)
Date: 2002-12-11
16 out of 16 customers found this reveiw helpful
#10 of year's 10 top real estate books. This survey book explains how to profit from virtually all bargain properties, such as foreclosures, probates, government property sales, REO (real estate owned by lenders) and other distressed-property situations. Emphasis is on low-cash purchase methods, along with methods for discovering these often-obscure realty bargains. by Robert J. Bruss
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