This is an excellent book for those starting out in this business. It has motivated me to acquire my first investment property. However, after presenting some of the facts of this book to experienced investor friends, their comment was that the book may be overly optimistic. In particular, Mr. Berges provides an example of how one can virtually double one's capital every 12 months by buying, rehabbing, selling for a profit one's property and rolling it over to a new property doing a like-kind exchange.

What he misses in his computation are the closing costs and commissions one incurs each time one sells a property (which can go up to 6 or 7%). Moreover, investors are skeptical about being able to sell a property after 12 months in this 2008 market.

Nonetheless, most of the other parts of the program are well written and shows the depth of Mr. Berges' experience. The level of financial analysis appeals to me - an ex-banker as the numbers are the end of the day will determine whether one is buying a good deal or not.

I would recommend this book to investors.

Steve is a prodigious writer of numerous real estate investing books. That said, this one is my favorite. He explains how one can invest in multifamily assets to gain financial independence. He avoids encouraging his readers to speculate in real estate. Instead, he offers sound advice for both the novice and experienced investor alike.

I highly recommend you purchase this book!

Matthew A. Martinez
Author of Investing in Apartment Buildings: Create a Reliable Stream of Income and Build Long-Term Wealth 2 Years to a Million in Real Estate
www.matthewamartinez.com

This book presents a well written and comprehensive guide to buying and selling apartment buildings. As one who has brokered, managed, and owned a large number of multifamily units, I feel I am fully qualified to endorse this as a competent source of information on the subject.

This book avoids the hype often found in many real estate books and completely disassociates itself with the "get rich quick" mannerisms often seen in guru style books. As a result, this book offers much value as it focuses on principals and sound information giving you an honest and genuine taste for what is involved in this industry.

Buying and selling apartment buildings and becoming successful within the industry is certainly not easy. The best start is building a solid foundation of understanding, and this book accomplishes that task. I would certainly not suggest one should cease their study after a single book, or even a solitary resource for the matter; however, this is a very qualified initiation and one I recommend keeping as a resource.

This book presents a well written and comprehensive guide to buying and selling apartment buildings. As one who has brokered, managed, and owned a large number of multifamily units, I feel I am fully qualified to endorse this as a competent source of information on the subject.

This book avoids the hype often found in many real estate books and completely disassociates itself with the "get rich quick" mannerisms often seen in guru style books. As a result, this book offers much value as it focuses on principals and sound information giving you an honest and genuine taste for what is involved in this industry.

Buying and selling apartment buildings and becoming successful within the industry is certainly not easy. The best start is building a solid foundation of understanding, and this book accomplishes that task. I would certainly not suggest one should cease their study after a single book, or even a solitary resource for the matter; however, this is a very qualified initiation and one I recommend keeping as a resource.

All the best.

X

This book presents a well written and comprehensive guide to buying and selling apartment buildings. As one who has brokered, managed, and owned a large number of multifamily units, I feel I am fully qualified to endorse this as a competent source of information on the subject.

This book avoids the hype often found in many real estate books and completely disassociates itself with the "get rich quick" mannerisms often seen in guru style books. As a result, this book offers a much benefit as it focuses on principals and sound information giving you an honest and genuine taste for what is involved in this industry.

Buying and selling apartment buildings and becoming successful within the industry is certainly not easy. The best start is building a solid foundation of understanding, and this book accomplishes that task. I would certainly not suggest one should cease their study after a single book, or even a solitary resource for the matter; however, this is certainly a very qualified initiation and one I recommend keeping as a resource.

All the best.

X

provides a good overall basic understanding of buying smaller multifamily properties (2 to 25 unit properties) that will undoubtedly help prevent real estate newbies from losing their shirts.
anything larger, and you definitely want to make sure that you have a good team around you.

This is the first book I have read that focused solely on buying multi-family real estate. It uncovered some basic information for me, and I consider it a great primer for future learning before I actually get involved with attempting to purchase anything in commercial real estate. It does seem, as others have mentioned, that the author really wants to up sell you on his other products, but if he's selling something that is worth buying then I am not going to fault him for that. If you are brand new to commercial real estate investing that focuses on apartments and other multi family properties then give this book a day in court. Like the "basic" title says, it's a book on how to buy and sell apartment buildings, and I found it to be a great starting point.

This is a great primer on investing in small multifamily properties. It's a no-nonsense discussion on how to make money methodically, not get rich overnight. My only complaint is that his examples include a going-out cap rate that is lower than the going-in cap rate, which should never be estimated when evaluating possible returns on an investment. At best, your going out is the same as going in, but more often your going out is 100 to 200 bps above your going in. Again, a great book overall.

This book (and the software sold by the author) provide an excellent strategy to look at and purchase income producing property. I recommend it often to my clients who come to me for real estate advice as part of financial planning. Most importantly, it shows you which properties not to buy. Of my 20 or so books used as reference material on real estate this is my most used and recommended book.

Steve Berges has put together a well thought out and informative book for the beginning to intermediate level multi-unit apartment investor. He lays it all out: recognizing value, financial analysis, negotiating strategies, and financing alternatives. He also uses real world case studies to help the reader to better understand the principles he teaches. I've personally given this book to new agents in my company as a primer for them to get familiar with apartment investing.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I should say that I am an attorney, real estate broker, investor, trainer, and author of another unique and highly readable book on real estate investing that can also be found here on Amazon -- The WealthLoop Series Beginner's Guide to Building Wealth Buying Houses: The Foolproof Roadmap to Real Estate Riches Without the Risks and Hassles of Landlording. Unlike many real estate investing books, it is written to be a genuine "How To" book that "takes you by the hand" and walks you through a step-by-step process for getting started in real estate investing -- investors across the country are giving it rave reviews. The book also includes sample leases, forms, and checklists, so that you can actually go out and implement the investing strategy it teaches as soon as you're done reading. You might want to check out the companion CD too -- The WealthLoop Series Beginner's Guide to Building Wealth Buying Houses (Combo Audio/Data CD): Author's Audio Commentary Plus Downloadable 32-page Marketing Manual, Checklists, Spreadsheets, and Forms

I believe that Berges has written an informative book that's worthy of your time. Buy it if you are serious about making a success of multi-unit real estate investing.

I've read several realestate investment books and this is the most comprehensive. It covers all aspects of finding, negotiating, financing and managing apartment building investments. Additional reading and investigation will still be required; however this is a great place to begin.

With all the hype out there in the real estate investing space, it's refreshing to read a book that is honest, intellectual, and driven by a solid foundation in financial analysis.

Steve Berges does an outstanding job of walking the reader through general concepts, straight-forward examples, and detailed case studies. The financial analysis might be a little overwhelming to someone who is being introduced to so many financial concepts for the first time. If you don't have an understanding of finance, I'd recommend hitting Google or a Finance textbook to help get through the financial sections.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and thought it was packed full of valuable tips and information. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in adding apartment buildings to their real estate repertoire.

...this is an excellent read. I had never given apartments a thought until reading Steve Berges. Now they are in the mix. The charts in Chapter 8 are a bit tedious, especially to a beginner, but by the time you get to the end of the book, you will know if buying and selling (or keeping) apartments is for you. Pay attention to what Berges says about the value play (Chapter4).

This book is a concise well written guide to the core issues of buying, owning and selling multifamily buildings. It was extremely valuable in evaluating our first purchase of a multi-family structure.

As a real estate investor and author myself, I read a lot of real estate books. Many, if not most, are written by folks who do not invest in real estate themselves; they only write about it. Berges is not one of them. He knows his stuff and it's clear that he practices what he preaches. I have read three of his books and, I must say, he's one of my favorite real estate authors. You can trust what he says. Experienced investors may want a bit more detail from Steve, but what he does say is accurate and safe. This is a good book on buying apartments. In fact, in my own book, "Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes & Quads," I list the best books I've read on different areas of real estate. This book is the ONLY book I recommend on investing in commercial multifamily (ie, apartments of 5 units and up) properties.

Having given those accolades, here are a few of my constructive criticisms:

1. On pages 37 and 38, Steve gives nice charts illustrating the long-term financial benefits of investing in multifamily properties. On page 39, however, there is an error in referring to the big numbers shown. The reference is made to Investor A's "equity" of $2.1 million and Investor B's (the multifamily property investor) equity of $92 million. I just don't think Steve caught this, but those numbers don't refer to the investor's equity, but to the fair market value of his collective assets (his properties). The investor's equity might be in the range of 20% of that. I do like the charts, however, and I used a similar analysis in my recent book. One other note on the charts - they presume selling and buying exactly at the end of one year - a difficult task as Steve would surely admit. On average, I think 18 months to two years is a better time frame for flipping apartments.

2. Refinancing - Steve didn't give a chart showing the long-range effect of the "buy, hold and refy" strategy (using proceeds to buy again, but retaining the first property). In addition, Steve only mentioned the general banking guideline that you can only pull out cash up to 80% of the new appraised value (i.e., the bank has an LTV of 80%). However, you can get around this. I've done it. It requires a second lender giving a second mortgage, with a CLTV (combined loan to value) of up to 90%. As such, you can pull out much more cash.

3. GRM - gross rent multiplier. In his financial analysis section, Steve doesn't give much detail or provide real life examples on this crucial analysis factor. Granted, the cap rate is the analysis primarily used for commercial real estate, while the GRM is the one used for residential multifamily (2-4 units) real estate. Since many owners and selling brokers will "fudge" on expenses, a cap rate can be very hard to verify. The GRM, however, is fairly simple - just look at the lease agreements.

4. Lack of coverage on residential multifamily apartments. In fact, this is why I wrote my book on this topic. If Steve had covered it here, I would not have written mine. I like Steve's writing style and he knows his stuff. But for investing in small multifamily properties (certainly on residential, but probably up to about 10 units), we really have to cover valuation and selection of properties using the GRM. That and I felt like the "buy, hold, and refy" strategy needed much more coverage.

But for investing in commercial multifamily properties, I recommend this book as the only good one on the market.

Larry Loftis
Author: Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes and Quads: The Fastest and Safest Way to Real Estate Wealth

Excellent and reasonably comprehensive introduction to the
business of investing in multifamily properties.

Excellent and reasonably comprehensive introduction to the
business of investing in multifamily properties.

I made the mistake of ordering this book without first reading the reviews. I admit I was regret when I received it and start reading it. The contents cover everything but just too basic. If you have the knowledge of buying and selling SFH, you basically do not need this book. Save your $20.

This is the second Steve Berges book that I've read. I read his book, "The Complete Guide to Real Estate Investing". He focused on obtaining value once you make the purchase. That is very sound advice. With so many people investing in property hoping to make a profit after they fix it, Steve urges you to pursue profitability prior to making any modifications. Do not pursue property that requires capital investment or upgrades prior to a positive cash flow. That's very basic but sage advice.

This was the first book I have purchased on the subject of real estate investing in multi-family properties. I have been and interested in the subject for some time however.

I found the formulas and rules the book includes to be invaluable, and used them to create Excel spreadsheets to quickly analyze the hundreds of multi-family listings available. I found the book to be easy to read and understand.

This book is very informative if you are a beginner to the multi family world. For anyone that has already dealt with multi family, then you do not need this book. However, Berges other book, real estate finance is a good review for the seasoned apartment owner. In that book he goes over some key performance and efficiency ratios that everyone should be aware of when dealing with multi family properties.

The book covers the general ideas behind multi family properties but of course it will differ by region slightly. The cap rates that he speaks of are not available in say california but might be available in indiana. Overall a good book for beginners to intermediate but definitely not seasoned investors.

This book devotes a fair amount of time on valuation from a beginners standpoint. Overall good, easy and quick read. The case studies and examples appear a stretch. The author suggest that the sweet spot is to find a property with 20% vacancy, a few minor cosmetic issues. It then claims that that by leveraging a 80% LTV, the owner, in a short period of time can increase the vale and sell for a healthy premium. Hmmm... I want to see Steve Berges try this in Chicago or New York metro areas.

As a relatively new property investor, I found the book useful and would recommend to others. I purchased and downloaded the software at thevalueplay.com which is adequate to complement the book's instruction bias. However, buyers beware, these are password protected Excel spreadsheets with macros and without the ability to add formulas, change things here and there, they are useless.

Out of all of the real estate books I've read over the years, this is by far one of the better ones. The author stays focused on the topic of buying and selling apartments and does it in a way that is easy to understand. Let me emphasize that when I say the book is easy to understand, that is not meant to imply that only the basics are covered. Not only does Berges do a great job of explaining the mechanics of the process, but he also mixes in a lot of personal examples which help the reader to connect the dots between pie-in-the-sky theory and real world applications.

Steve Berges concludes the book with an inspiring and motivational chapter he refers to as the 5 Keys to Success, which he points out are not limited to just real estate, but can be applied to any business or profession, as well as to one's personal life. I thought this section was very well written and gave me cause to reflect on my own course in life.

I've read several of the author's other books as well, all of which were good, but I particularly enjoyed The Complete Guide to Real Estate Finance for Investment Properties. Wow...what a great read! It's about time somebody wrote a book that really deals with the financial aspects of real estate (see my review).

The author, Berges, provides unique insight into investing in apartment buildings. There isn't much written about this topic, and what is, seems to be very generic. This book, however, provided lots of good examples with specific advice on what to do and what not to do. In addition, Berges sprinkles various tidbits of information throughout the book that while not directly related to real estate, are nevertheless quite relevant to being successful in it. I just finished another book of his, The Complete Guide to Investing in Rental Properties, which I also found to be very enjoyable.

Beyond the beginners books. If you dont want to fool around with rental houses are looking beyond, to getting into more commercial projects, read this one.

Covers the numbers (which is the only way these types of properties are evaluated,) how to create value, locating properties, due diligence and negotiating, financing and when and how to sell.

The market is flooded with marginal tomes on flipping single family houses, buying rental houses, no money down deals, ad nauseum. This is a breath of fresh air.

I had been in investment properties for several years without reading any books on the subject. Most of my experience was with multifamily houses. When I started contemplating expanding into larger properties I decided to read up on the subject and selected this as one of the first books.
I have been impressed with the content and the style of the book and wish that I had read it before getting into the business in the first place. His business practices and theories seem to be very sound and with a little forethought they can be applied to differing property markets. His examples are fairly well explained and displayed.
Overall this is an excellent read on this subject. That said, I do have some comments for improvement. In the financial explanations and examples he gives brief explanations. While I know this book is not meant to cover Finance 101, I would have appreciated a glossary with a bit more depth to the key financial concepts.