Real estate is a very complex field and especially the investment side can become quite overwhelming when just starting out. Whether your plan is to go into residential or commercial properties, having a solid source of valuable information is crucial. This is why we created a list of 11 essential real estate investing books for beginners in 2023, in order to start out your career or own business in the property sector.
Even if you already have experience in this field, these books might provide you with new opinions and ways of handling real estate investments that can potentially improve your current strategies.
The first book of our 11 essential real estate investing books for beginners gives you a great overview of all the necessary knowledge. Not only is it very easy to read but also provides real-world examples.
“How To Invest In Real Estate” is written by Brandon Turner and Joshua Dorkin. Joshua Dorkin is the founder of biggerpockets.com, a website focusing on real estate investing and personal finance. He is also hosting the biggerpockets podcast together with Brandon Turner. Their website has become the largest community for people interested in real estate investing.
The book covers topics such as the different types of real estate, investment strategies for beginners, how to invest while working 9-5, how to set up a company, and how to get partnerships and funding.
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If you want to learn more about commercial real estate (CRE) investing, the next book can be a good starting point for your business. “Mastering the Art of Commercial Real Estate Investing” provides you with a basic foundation and even some more advanced strategies and concepts. It is very straightforward, informative and even includes quizzes, Q&As, and a Glossary.
The author Doug Marshall has worked for decades in commercial real estate and founded his own commercial mortgage brokerage firm. He also received the CCIM designation, which is a certification that proves high knowledge and skills in the sector of commercial real estate.
This essential real estate investing book for beginners has a focus on commercial properties such as multi-family housing, offices, retail and industrial. It gives you basic knowledge about the investing process, how to find a good loan, how to optimize cash flow, how to reduce risk and strategies for the growth of your business.
The ABCs of Real Estate Investing is a great book for anyone who has no prior knowledge at all when it comes to property investing. It is very easy to read and contains all the basic elements of real estate business and finance.
Ken McElroy has written the book for the “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” collection by Robert Kiyosaki. He has been working for more than 20 years as an investor in multi-family housing.
The book covers all the basics of real estate and investing. It provides knowledge about managing cash flow, evaluating properties, and managing them. In addition, you will find tips about skills such as negotiation or personal finance and also common myths that are related to real estate investment.
The fourth book is especially helpful if you have no, or a low, starting budget. It is great for beginners and has a big focus on how to receive funding or find partners that help you buy your first property.
The Book on Investing in Real Estate with No (and Low) Money Down is another book written by Brandon Turner who is vice president of the largest real estate investing community, “biggerpockets”.
First, you will find information on why and how to invest in real estate, then on different types of properties and loans. The other chapters show you different strategies on how to acquire sufficient capital for your first real estate investment. This also includes tips on branding and marketing for your business.
The next essential real estate investing book for beginners is called “Long-Distance Real Estate Investing” and is great when you want to invest in other states or countries. On the other hand, it still provides you with the basics of how investing works and serves as a starting point.
David M Greene is co-host of the BiggerPockets podcast and has worked for many years as a successful real estate agent and multi-family housing investor in the US.
With Long-Distance Real Estate Investing, you will learn how to find a team that operates across borders and allows you to create a successful business. It will teach you the fundamentals of real estate transactions, such as finding the right location in unknown areas and give you strategies to improve your buildings.
“The Millionaire Real Estate Investor” is providing you with knowledge from more than 100 real estate investment millionaires. It shows their path of creating a successful business while also giving detailed information for beginners. In addition, the book includes useful worksheets and exercises.
It is written by David M. Greene, who is the co-founder of Keller Williams Realty, one of the largest real estate companies in the US with more than 100 thousand agents globally. He has received many awards such as the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
This book will showcase what it takes to become a successful real estate investor. Furthermore, you will find out about the truth behind some common personal finance and real estate investing myths. Lastly, “The Millionaire Real Estate Investor” provides you with strategies on creating a million dollar real estate business and how to sustain this in the future.
The next book on our list of real estate investing books for beginners takes a more mathematical approach. It explains all the key concepts for property investments with a focus on real estate investment calculations. You will also find many practical tips and tricks in it.
The author, Robert Heaton, has experience in real estate investment and accounting.
In this book, you will learn everything that is crucial to understand when planning your real estate investment business. Starting with how to receive rental income and cash flow management to the valuation of properties and portfolio analysis. In addition, it will tell you the key concepts of accounting and risk management.
“Confessions of a Real Estate Entrepreneur” is a book that focuses on small businesses or entrepreneurs that are just starting out in the commercial real estate field. Furthermore, it comes with many essential strategies on how to add value to existing properties.
It is written by James A. Randel, who is an entrepreneur himself in fields such as real estate and law. He also teaches investing and has held lectures at institutions such as Harvard and NYU Business School.
The book starts with the basics of real estate and investing. Then it provides an overview of property development and redevelopment. Lastly, you will receive useful tips for real estate specific topics as well as personal skills.
Another book that teaches you essential real estate investing strategies is called “The Complete Guide to Property Investment”. It is a comprehensive, very detailed guide that is aimed at people who want to start in the buy-to-let field of real estate, which means buying a property and renting it out to a tenant.
Rob Dix, who is the author of this book, is an investor and has founded the blog and podcast “Property Hub” which became very successful in the UK.
In the beginning, “The Complete Guide to Property Investment” provides strategies to get into property investing and the benefits it can potentially bring you. Afterwards, it gives detailed information on the whole investment cycle from finding real estate to selling it again. Lastly, you will learn how to expand/scale your business and how to build a portfolio of properties.
The “Real Estate Investing QuickStart Guide” is very easy to read and organised, which makes it a perfect guide for beginners. Another great feature of this book is the number of detailed infographics and free additional content, such as courses.
The author, Symon He, has worked for several big companies in the field of real estate private equity. He also creates content, like courses, for short-term rental properties and investments.
You will learn why real estate investing is the right thing for you to do. The guide explains all different types of properties and investments, how to create a business, and how to find, buy and sell your first property.
The last book in our list of 11 essential real estate investing books for beginners, is “The Property Investment Playbook – Volume 1”. It is a good starting point for beginners as it provides a general overview of the real estate industry. Also, the authors do not only show the benefits from investing in property but also what has to be criticised and might not be so easy when just starting your business.
Robert Heaton and Ye Feng are both property investors and writers. Heaton is a qualified actuary and Feng is a mathematics teacher. Both have the relevant knowledge that it takes to outline the complex field of property investments.
In the beginning, you will find tips on personal finance and the process of creating a real estate business. Afterwards, the book shows how to buy, finance, improve, and sell your first property. At the end, you can also find helpful, free resources that can benefit your new business.
Conclusion
It is good to have a library of essential real estate investing books at home if you want to enter this field with your own business. These 11 guides are a good starting point as they offer broad knowledge about property investments.
They cover residential and commercial real estate, some focus more on the property itself while others are going into more detail from a mathematical point of view. You will find all the necessary knowledge in one or more of these books. It just needs to be emphasized that most of them focus on the US, Canadian, or UK market. As laws can differ significantly in comparison to other countries, you need to make sure that it fits the location of your business.
If you want to learn more about commercial real estate, smart cities, smart buildings and PropTech, feel free to take a look at our other articles.