REAL ESTATE DEAL MAKER

Real estate investor and podcaster Washington shares his own methods and experiences in a guide to locating and financing real estate deals.

What’s the biggest challenge facing most real estate investors when they start out? For the author, the answer to that question is clear: “finding deals and funding them.” To help budding investors, he organizes this how-to with an eye toward each of these goals, dedicating a large section to overcoming roadblocks along the way. Washington, who co-hosts the On the Market investment podcast, writes that he started out in real estate investing with only $1,000 in his savings account, bad credit, and a goal “to earn enough money to truly build the life I wanted for my wife and our future children.” He attributes his success, in large part, to a change of thinking—one based on an active decision to achieve his desires: “With the right mindset, I knew I could make it happen.” Self-help style motivational strategies, such the importance of confidently introducing oneself to others as an active investor, are interwoven with practical, informative approaches to finding off-market deals. The author includes numerous checklists, definitions, and breakdowns of pros and cons for each strategy he presents. The second section, dedicated to specific financials, is even more information-rich, covering tax incentives, conventional mortgages, and less well-known forms of credit one may leverage, such debt service coverage ratio loans, and much more. The level of detail that Washington provides on each subject is impressive; interested entrepreneurs starting from zero will find helpful lists of definitions, deal examples, and even basic scripts for cold-calling potential sellers. Some of the motivational writings can feel a bit clichéd, including the “Three Ps of investing” (persistence, patience, perseverance). However, the book also offers plenty of practical, sound advice, such as a section on how to best communicate with sellers, complete with conversation starters. By breaking everything down into step-by-step processes, Washington does make it feel like anyone could easily follow in his footsteps—and adopt his positive outlook.

A highly detailed investment manual with personal touches and useful examples.