Posted by Tony on November 19, 2000 at 20:27:37:
The book is interesting and does seem somewhat hard to believe. Wading through the self-advertisements is trying at times. Ty Hicks writes with an upbeat, positive, flair. Having only read the first half of the book, I’m tempted to say his recommendations seem much too general. Hopefully the rest of the book will prove me wrong. Basic steps that he provides are not the advice I was hoping to obtain when I bought the book: First find the real estate you want, get the best price you can, study the profit potential, make an offer, obtain the money you need, repeat until millions are made. Yes, but how do you find real estate that is attractive and can be had for a great price? No doubt, lots of looking. He does discuss finding financing at length with names and addresses of lenders. The cynic in me puts up warning flags that money borrowing may be the essence of the books because he’s on the board of directors for a real estate lending organization.
Within the book, “How to Make Millions in Real Estate in Three Years,” Hicks shows you how your net worth (his term is Money in Fist") can reach millions, but I was hoping for more about cash flow. How can I live on and enjoy some of that money? Being a wage slave, I was expecting to learn about replacing regular income. Positive cash flow on rental property of $1,000 is really wonderful, but I can’t live on that amount. I couldn’t even pay my current mortgage. (sorry for the digression)
Back to the book. Hicks does keep down to Earth, telling you to start small. In my part of the country, San Francisco Bay Area, homes just aren’t sold for less than $100,000 (most over $200,000) so his numbers don’t scare me that much. Putting the information to good use is another story. What concerns me is that this area has the reputation for being a seller’s market. Multiple offers in a week, bidding thousands of dollars over the asking price, sellers interviewing potential buyers, etc. It has me concerned about the prospect of buying houses at wholesale prices. Has anyone thoughts about how to find real estate in a seller’s market?
Overall the book is educational. Time will tell as I try to apply his advice as to how valuable the education really is (more cynicism…)
Tony