[.uk] Real Estate Investing From A to Z : The Most ... (ISBN 0071416242)

Do you really want "A to Z" information?:
The problem with a comprehensive "A to Z" book like this one is that it likely contains more information than the reader really needs. If you are interested in all aspects of real estate investing - commercial, residential and land - having to sort through the material for just one of these won't be an issue for you. But my interest is in single-family residential houses for investing and rental. The book is not organized so that I could read appropriate chapters to get the information I wanted. These three subjects are interspersed, often under the same section heading. Admittedly, there are many commonalities between the three types, but often it was difficult to discern which type was being written about or if it applied to all three. If you're mainly interested in residential real estate, check the reviews for "Rental Houses for the Successful Small Investor" by Suzanne P. Thomas. Also, just as I was beginning to get annoyed at the number of success stories about clever tactics for making "a killing" in real estate, Pivar finally wrote about a few failures - with post-mortem analysis - which helped to point out the risks in this type of investing. Perhaps because the book is about four years old now, it doesn't talk about on-line searches and some of the tax information may be not be accurate now.

A shallow survey:
This is a great book if you want to get excited about real estate investments. The first chapters give one the impression that there is minimal risk in real estate compared to a vast upside potential. The rest of the book surveys all the various kinds of real estate investments but does not cover them in depth. If you are looking for a book to help you evaluate a real estate transaction from a numbers standpoint, this book is not for you. I would turn to "The Real Estate Game" by Poorvu as a beginner's guide for evaluating real estate transactions.

Most thorough book I've read on many different real estate investment strategies:
I found this to be a real meat-and-potatoes book. Crammed with lots of information, you should learn something from Pivar regardless of your experience level. Great addition to the library. He focuses on generating wealth through land ownership, commercial properties, single family homes, and property conversions. He also covers how using options and long-term appreciation can sweeten your deals.

Great overview of Numerous types of Real Estate Investments:
Wonderful book for the beginner. While more motivational and thought provoking than purely step-by-step instructional it certainly de-mystifies the process and provides the average reader with enough real life examples that at least one (or more) should appeal to you. I would say this book emboldened me to get out and do something in real estate investing.

Can you say information overload?:
I was searching for a good book that would give me the basics on real estate investment and came across this one at a bookstore. Judging from the title, I thought this HAS to have the most definitive information that I'm looking for in order to get started as an investor. What I found was this book made my head spin. Don't get me wrong, it has a wealth of information and I'll probably refer back to it as the need arises. I guess I was looking for more of a step by step guide or something with a more orderly approach. This is more like a dictionary - so, you'd better know exactly what you're looking for before you open it. I bought this several months ago and still haven't finished reading it. In my opinion, it's not the type of book that you would (or could for that matter) sit down and read from cover to cover, but it does have some useful info nonetheless.