This is one of the best real estate books I've read. It's obvious it's written from the point of view of someone whose "been in the trenches". Most of the books out there give only an overview of real estate investing, and tend to make it sound easier than it is. This book gives all the details, even the unpleasant ones. An interesting read even if you don't intend to invest in low end properties.
The book is much less "slick" than most, ie it doesn't seem to be professionally edited. It's more like the author sitting down to dinner with you and telling you everything he's learned in his years of investing. You may or may not like this style, and it does make more difficult to locate specific topics in the book.
David Sirof
Phoenix, AZ
"Perpetual Income" by Bryan Wittenmyer is an excellent second book written by the Reading, Pa. native. He has done the investing in low end rental houses that he writes about in his book. He shares his experiences, observations, techniques, and secrets in an easy to read 183 page book. His vehicle of choice is low end houses to generate that perpetual income promised in the book's title. But his rich background of nearly 20 years can easily be applied to rental houses in all price ranges, He writes about favoring houses with 3 or 4 bedrooms to attract and keep family tenants. Gas heat is his favorite heat choice, for example, because it is the cheapest. And even when the tenants are paying the utilities, "cheap utilities mean happy tenants, which means less turnover." Conversely electric baseboard heat while being the cheapest to install is the most expensive to operate. Many a tenant has moved from an electrically heated unit because of the high monthly costs. Lack of vacancy is a major contributor to the success of rental houses. Bryan also extols the virtues of exteriors of brick, stone or cement saying "the more the better."
Tenant selection, repairs, revenue collection are other topics discussed in this book. The author writes of the pitfalls as well as the rewards without sugar coating the benefits of real estate. This is not a get rich quick scheme, though there is a chapter on his plan to have a house free and clear in 60 months. There are topics discussed in this book such as water, sewer and property tax traps, that are seldom if ever written about in other real estate investment books. He has obviously learned much about rental houses and shares his experiences with the readers. He discusses in the book buying houses with defective titles, and getting free carpet. I recommend this book as well as the 2 others written by Mr. Wittenmyer. ...I know that he will answer questions about his books through his web site.
David Krulac
Mechanicsburg, PA
|
