I have recommended to all of my friends to read the following books in order to shortcut the process and learn what they need to know. I told them this is what I would do if I did it over again. (I have my CCIM, Masters of RE from CU, ULI Development Certificate, NAIOP courses) But in all those, this would be most beneficial and starting here would help in short-cutting the process:

1) What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow - Gallinelli

2) Insider Secrets to Financing Your Real Estate Investments: What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Finding and Financing Your Next Deal - Gallinelli

3) Professional Real Estate Development - 2nd Edition - Peiser

4) Principles of Real Estate Syndication - Friedman

5) Confessions of a Real Estate Entrepreneur - Randel

I have read several other real estate books, but they tend to go way off course. This one tells you practical knowledge shoring up the base/foundation in order to understand more complex issues, but at the end of the day, simplisity will win out.

I think I have probably told at least 10 friends to read these books and they should be part of their "Library" as this will get them where they need to go and understand without practical experience.

I wouldn't recommend it if I didn't think it wasn't great.

I have no relation or affiliation to Frank G, just have read so many books, would like to shortcut the process for other people eager to get there and I love to read other people's reviews on Amazon so I know which ones are useful.

Hope this helps

"What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know about Cash Flow" is the definitive guide to understanding critical calculations that will help you to determine if a prospective acquisition target is a great deal to buy immediately or a horrible investment to avoid like the plague!

I've owned this book for years but often find myself referencing this wonderful and well-written manual.

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

This book goes over many methods to make an informed decision. I would reccomend this to a person that really wants to know different ways to analyze your deals. Very informative.

Wow, now this is a great reference book for investment calculations. Not only does he provide formulas, but Frank also explains the use and the Rules of Thumbs are great. There is no magic calculation that will tell you if it's a good deal or not and Frank says that several times. It's a matter of looking at the opportunity from several angles that will give you that indication.

My only warning is that this book is really geared to multi-family or commercial investments. Some of the calculations are not applicable to the residential single family units that some beginner investors start with.

Having a MBA, I'll tell you this, learning this ratios and calculations were much easier to learn from this book than I did in the classroom. Good job Frank, a definite must have for the serious investor.

I was not sure if this book would work for me. I bought several other books on financial analysis, but I always found them either to be too dry or too complex. Gallinelli has the ability to get the scary formulas and maths and break it down to a level that can be understood.
His style of writing is fun too. He puts in the occasional joke at the right moments when things start getting a bit complex. This helped me a lot to understand and follow his line of thinking.
In addition, the book is very well planned as it builds up slowly from very basic material to more advanced material.
Good book to have.

I got this book for a grounding in some of the calculations that a landlord needs to understand. This book is a good and thorough reference that satisfied me. It may be more detailed than most people want, but I found it good that it is so thorough and deep. I also like the access to the spreadsheets, which are very helpful and useful.

I thank the author for sharing his experience and knowledge.

I got this book to learn more about due diligence. I found that most authors keep the math portion( or true investing) dumbed down to a chimp level. This book is some serious stuff. Frank gives a ton of good examples to use yourself. It will keep you from coming off half cocked on your next deal.
I used this book to purchase several quadplexs in Killeen, Tx. I compared and contrasted properties like the author recommended and saved $20,000.00 that I otherwise would have spent needlessly.
Now, truthfully, this is a great book. I feel that most investors will probably not like it's straight up impersonal approach. There's not any fluff in here. If you need someone to hold your hand and spoon feed you...this ain't it. If you're the type of investor who wants that slight edge in their market, then buy, read, and then re-read this book.
"Tip" Read this book, then go onto www.loopnet.com, find a couple of properties, and practice as though you're serious about buying them, using the techniques outlined here.

I have purchased several books in my search for one that will help me instruct my clients on the metrics of a real estate investment. This book is by far the Best of the Bunch!

The author provides information on all of the important financial measurements and explains the purpose of each one in a way that everyone can understand. I now give a copy of this book to all of my clients as a way of saying "Thank You" for doing business with me.

I highly recommend this book if you are interested in measuring your real estate investments.

Every investor needs to know the numbers and their meaning. This book will help you to do that -- I suggest that you buy it.

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. 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.

A related program that's well worth checking out is:

The WealthLoop Series Beginner's Guide to Personal Wealth Creation (Combo Audio/Data CD): Audio Seminar With Downloadable 40-Page Action Manual and Active Link Library.

Every investor needs to know the numbers and their meaning. This book will help you to do that -- I suggest that you buy it.

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.

A related program that's well worth checking out is:

The WealthLoop Series Beginner's Guide to Personal Wealth Creation (Combo Audio/Data CD): Audio Seminar With Downloadable 40-Page Action Manual and Active Link Library.

Every investor needs to know the numbers and their meaning. This book will help you to do that -- I suggest that you buy it.

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.

A related program that's well worth checking out is:

The WealthLoop Series Beginner's Guide to Personal Wealth Creation (Combo Audio/Data CD): Audio Seminar With Downloadable 40-Page Action Manual.

This book fills a void in the field of real estate investing. Short of getting a graduate degree in the subject (okay, or attending a seminar), this packs a dollop of good financial wisdom in assessing your investments.

As some of the reviewers also pointed out, the author augments this book (which I've been using since 2005) with his website.

It's a must-read to learn how to do serious financial analysis.

This book provides all the fomulas needed to estimate the cash flow anaysis for your investment properties. This is not your regular motivational book, since it jumps right into the nuts and bolts of the key financial measures, such as Cap rate, Gross Rent Multiplier, ROI, NOI and much more. A must have book for those interested in cash flow managemnet.

Talk about detailed information! Frank Gallinelli really crunches the numbers in his new book "What Every Investor Needs To Know About Cash Flow". This book is full of examples. It talks about determining what a property will generate in terms of cash flow, as well as determining the cost of keeping a property that doesn't sell right away, etc. All those things you really need to consider in the real estate investing business. Mr. Gallinelli gives example after example on HOW to do it. This book rocks, as does Dean Graziosi's [[ ASIN:1593154461 Be A Real Estate Millionaire: Secret Strategies for Lifetime Wealth Today]].

No Real Estate investor should be without this book. Whether you are in residential, commerical, or industrial real estate, understanding the concepts and calculations in this book is a must. The reading can be a little dry, but the information is vitally important.

If you are serious about making money in real estate you must read this book. Gallinelli explains in plain English and with plenty of examples, how you objectively evaluate any real estate deal. To evaluate objectively means you use math - the numbers - to make informed decisions. Gallinelli explains each math concept, e.g. discounted cash flow, net present value, internal rate of return, etc., and why it's important. This is a quick read book. In a few hours you'll see why those who understand the math greatly increase their probability of being successful in real estate (or anything else). My only criticism is, there is no index.

One last point. I sent the author a question and he personally responded back - in detail - that same day. Now that's customer service.

Very technical read. Although the content was helpful in learning formulas and the technical terms, it was not an easy read for me.

I found Bubble Proof: Real Estate Strategies that Work in any Market by Tonja Demoff more suited for me.

I have just finished reading "What Every Real Estate Investor Needs To Know About Cash Flow" and must say that Frank's ability to explain often complicated financial concepts is quite remarkable. This book teaches real estate finance in a language that other authors seem unable to communicate. Frank has a gift for which I am truely very grateful.

This book is good if you are not familiar with NOI or the time value of money. If you truly understand those concepts you could probably do without. Good resource though and he does pound you with the idea of how to analyze a deal. Some useful info in here but very dry. I believe his other book about how to finance investment properties was better.

I'm accountant by profession and I knew most of these Financial formula. Yet I opted to buy this book since I need an in depth applications to Real Estate.

I learned more of it than the accounting text books about time value of money. The discussion is way deeper and centrally applied to real estate investment.

The discussion is simple & took away those confusing traits. If you have an investment, this is a MUST have book to read. It will validate your numbers, point of view and enhance your decision making.

A must have for anyone planning on getting into Real Estate Investing. It is imperative that you understand the numbers behind your investments and their effect on your return. This is a good guide that will lead you through the key elements.

Great, easy to read and understand, good book on understanding the parts of the business

Great, easy to read and understand, good book on understanding the parts of the business

This is book that has taught me a great deal about evaluating my investments through reading and understanding financial statements. This is one of the only books that I know of that takes such a mathematical approach. Numbers don't lie. Evaluating financial statements is one area that neophyte investors attempt to ignore, and often with dire results. This book will make reading financial statements seem less of a chore and more of a powerful investing tool.

This is an essential component to any real estate investor and I'll tell you why. Frank teaches you the math, so you can setup metrics on how well your investments are doing, otherwise, you're doing this blind. A good buy. Also a good combination for this book: Investing Without Losing (ISBN 0978834607 NOT on amazn, other stores)

As per previous reviews, this book is truly not for the immediate notice. I was expecting a little bit easier and light in terms of investing strategies or at least something with an easier transition from one point to the next. If you're looking for cash flow strategies at a comprehensive but easier-to-read scale, I suggest reading INVESTING WITHOUT LOSING by Don Sausa. I found it delivers the same information at an easier pace.

This book provides an essential foundation for real estate analysis and investing. It is true that this book may challenge those who aren't familiar with reading financial statements. But, don't let that disourage you. Be patient and do your best to understand how financials work. Understanding financial statements is a vital skill for any business owner - and a real estate investor is a business owner.

Many real estate books focus on motivation and "creative" financing techniques. There is a place for that kind of book but this book does not contain that kind of material.

You'll learn that you are not buying a house or building. You are buying an income stream. Understanding the four sources of that income stream and how the stream flows is essential to gaining the most from your investments. Removing the emotion from an investment decision and understanding the numbers will ultimately lead to clearer picture and better real estate deals.

I highly recommend this book as a foundation to your real estate education.

I selected this book based on the awesome reviews. It sounded like everything I needed to know about real estate investing, in a simplistic format. Within a few chapters, I found the book to be very condescending (i.e.; Basically....if you're too stupid to understand this calculation, real estate investing is not for you).

Since I am a beginner and not a math major, I did not expect to whizz right through all of the calculations. But I also did not expect a negative tone with no support that made me not want to read it further. So, I bought REAL ESTATE INVESTING FOR DUMMIES. I found it significantly more helpful. It does point out warnings and says that if you're not comfortable with possible negative cash flow, then maybe real estate investing is not right for you at this time. It also weighed the stability of real estate investing in comparison to stocks. I found the Dummies book much better suited to the beginner while detailing pros and cons, instead of being a pain to read.

Really got me thinking and was filled with very useful, helpful, informative, but easy and simple to understand tricks. One of my favorites. A+

Cuts through the fluff; gives you the "holistic" view of a real estate investment by illustrating every measure. The reality is there's no single "magic bullet" way to measure whether a property is a good deal or not; this book makes this point while teaching all the various measures, at all phases of ownership (including selling or "exit strategy", which most novice investors don't usually consider when they're just getting started).

I used it to help me measure whether some multifamily properties I am purchasing are good investments.

I also used the online reference formulas... they do a good job of supplementing the material.

I would suggest reading a few other books on general RE investing in addition to this to get a well rounded education on the matter.

I purchased this book hoping it would give simple and clear explanations about important real life, real estate calculations which every investor needs to understand.

After receiving and reading/working through some of the calculations, my assessment is that the author does a decent job explaining some basics. However, I also found that he frequently skips critical relevant details when actually it comes to using these calculations in real life.

Another observation is that when push came to shove and I looked to the book to explain important specifics, the book did not deliver. Instead I found that the author refered the reader to his website or other products he sells.

I applaud the author's entrepreneur-ship, but was disappointed by this purchase.

This is a MUST READ book if you are serious about getting into Real Estate Investment. Easy to understand, very basic.

Excellent Book. It does require a little bit of study to master the concepts. I am math challenged, but I could understand the points being made. A little bonus which helped me were the spreadsheets which had thoughtfully been made available. I don't understand Excel very well, either, but I did grasp the concepts. If a real estate investor is really interested in wringing the very last penney of profit out of their investment, they might carefully consider the advantages of the book. I have recommended it to quite a few math challenged people because the book explained the process and provided questions to review the concept being presented.

Ever wonder how our early ancestors (or my mother in law) must have felt when they first discovered the use of fire, or the wheel, or the ginsu knife? I have been involved in real estate development for several years and have never been introduced to a more thorough, straight-forward, simple to understand reference text than this one. I keep it with me and consult it on a regular basis. It is a wonderful resource for the first timer investor or a seasoned professional. Well worth the cost at any price!

"What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cashflow" is a mostly mathematical book dedicated to all of the different ways to analyze real estate investment deals. The book also includes a web site that provides access to web based and Excel based formulas to calculate all of the different formulas discussed.

While the information in this book is very important to the investor, I found this book very hard to read. The book seems like it was written by a mathematician, loaded with facts and examples and with little regard to writing style or holding the readers attention.

The first part of the book seemed to be completely useless, as the material was presented again in the second part of the book. The second part of the book was by far the most useful, but again the writing was very dense and didn't hold my attention at all.

Thus if you are very interested in real estate mathematics, pick this book up. Otherwise you would be better off picking up another book. 2 out of 5 stars.

As a Realtor in the Raleigh North Carolina area, I have found this book to be very useful in not only our own personal real estate investing, but also with helping other real estate investors buy and sell property.

Everything I learned in my first Finance class in my MBA program is covered in this book. It has examples for you try out on your own to test your understanding - IRR, NPV, etc calculations with real estate examples. This book is an invaluable tool for anyone deciding to invest in real estate! I highly recommend it!

This is a good basic approach and has general explanations of many useful functions. However, the author is quite obviously not on top of a number of equations he gives in this book. Mr. Gallinelli's many equation errors cause the serious reader, like me, to undergo much too much grief. Gallinelli has errors in his monthly payment equation and in his debt service coverage ratio equation. To get a handle on the computations side of this book I turned to a book one of our firm's members acquired through amazon before I bought Gallineli. I would be pulling my hair out if I did not have Mr. Tirone's books (Professional Real Estate Problem Solving Using the HP-12C and his HP-17BII/HP-19BII companion book). I would read Gallinelli with either of Mr. Tirone's books. That way you will understand most computations that you would run into in most real estate settings.

This is a very useful book with many good concepts and formulae for various real estate calculations for commercial/ business properties. I gave it a 4 star rating only because it does not have an index, which would have been very useful.

--William Penn, Tucson, Arizona

I saw a lot of good reviews, so I picked up this book and it's not exactly what I expected. The book only has about 89 pages of information and the second part of the book is math formulas. The book covers these formulas and then they post excel sheets and there's a calculator on their web site that does the calculations for you, so most of the reading is a waste of my time. Also the majority of examples are for people who want to own office buildings or apartments and not single family homes.

The one positive thing I can say about this book is that it gets you to think and you can have a more accurate picture about how much something is goign to cost you before you buy it and what you can expect and a lot of good rule of thumbs

I recently asked a potential joint venture partner to send me some profit projections. What I got was an eye opener. My prospective partner was clueless about rates of return, generally accepted accounting terminology, and real estate calculations in general. Her seven year projection spoke of: "Money Partner ROI" (180%), "Average Yearly ROI" (25.8%) and "Average Yearly Compounded ROI" (15.9%). How the first two were computed (or what they meant) were impossible to ascertain. Apparently they were returns without compounding. The third was an unsuccessful attempt to compute the Internal Rate of Return (the correct calculation was 17.3%). IRR, the industry standard and the means professional investors use to compare alternative investments, was unknown to this mathematically-challenged young lady. If, like my prospective partner, you feel your grip on the mathematics of real estate investing is a little shaky, then this is the book for you.
The first half of the book is an unusually clear and up-to-date discussion of the gathering and use of data needed to make investment decisions--plus a running commentary, sometimes humorous, on real estate investing in general. This section alone is worth the price of the book.
But wait, there's more! The second half lays out most of the mathematical tools needed to invest in real estate. Each short chapter covers one topic with definitions and examples offered in clear, jargon-free prose. Topics include: Internal Rates of Return, Net Operating Income, Gross Rent Multiplier, Net Present Value, discounted cash flow, calculating taxable income and much more.
Plus, there's a nice bonus. The book directs you to their free website where calculators for many of the more complicated transactions are available. I recently used the website's IRR calculator to compute the return of seven years worth of annual cash flows plus the sales proceeds from reversion. Elapsed time: under one minute.
Oh yeah, I recently purchased a second copy of the book for my mathematically-challenged woman friend. Hey, she understands real estate--she just can't do the math!

I recently asked a potential joint venture partner to send me some profit projections. What I got was an eye opener. My prospective partner was clueless about rates of return, generally accepted accounting terminology, and real estate calculations in general. Her seven year projection spoke of: "Money Partner ROI" (180%), "Average Yearly ROI" (25.8%) and "Average Yearly Compounded ROI" (15.9%). How the first two were computed (or what they meant) were impossible to ascertain. Apparently they were returns without compounding. The third was an unsuccessful attempt to compute the Internal Rate of Return (the correct calculation was 17.3%). IRR, the industry standard and the means professional investors use to compare alternative investments, was unknown to this mathematically-challenged young lady. If you feel your grip on the mathematics of real estate investing is a little shaky, then this is the book for you.
The first half of the book is an unusually clear and up-to-date discussion of the gathering and use of data needed to make investment decisions--plus a running commentary, sometimes humorous, on real estate investing in general. This section alone is worth the price of the book.
But wait, there's more! The second half lays out most of the mathematical tools needed to invest in real estate. Each short chapter covers one topic with definitions and examples offered in clear, jargon-free prose. Topics include: Internal Rates of Return, Net Operating Income, Gross Rent Multiplier, Net Present Value, discounted cash flow, calculating taxable income and much more.
Plus, there's a nice bonus. The book directs you to their free website where calculators for many of the more complicated transactions are available. I recently used the website's IRR calculator to compute the return of seven years worth of annual cash flows plus the sales proceeds from reversion. Elapsed time: under one minute.
Oh yeah, I recently purchased a second copy of the book for my mathematically-challenged woman friend. Hey, she understands real estate--she just can't do math!

This book re-inforces the "rules of thumb" that we all hear as Real Estate Investors plus gives you some new calculations to support them.

A good book to have on the shelf.

This book has a catchy title but that's the only good thing about it. As i was extremly disapointed with the writing and the auther... EXTREMLY BORING AND NO REAL ADVANTAGE TO INVESTERS

I highly recommend this book for anyone thinking about getting started in Real Estate. It is very easy to read and understand. There are sufficient examples to highlight the ideas, without overwhelming the reader. The style is conversational without getting cute. After reading this book, I was able to figure what was wrong with my rental property and what I needed to do to fix it. Buy it today.

If you are serious about investing in real estate, on any scale, this book is a must read. Frank Gallinelli's approach allows you to crunch the numbers and know if the investment property is going to pay off BEFORE you put out dime one.

Frank explains the reasons behind the formula so you will know why the calculation is necessary. Required Reading.

This book is the best real estate book out there beyond a doubt in my view. Frank doesn't try to convince you that you can buy loads of real estate "with no money down". There is no trickery. It's not that type of book. Instead, it is very pratical and educational.

I've been trying to determine how to evaluate alternative investments for a while. These include investing in the stock market and real estate.

Frank does a great job [builing from the simply to the complex] explaining how one should look at investing in real estate. He even explains complicated financial measurements [like IRR] in a simply and easy to understand way.

He includes real life examples and provides outstanding tools on his web page that one can access and use.

The book is easy to read and can be used a a reference guide as it is full of tables and charts related to settlement sheets, mortgage tables, etc.

From my perspective, this book gave me the confidence to pursue real estate invesments by enabling me to quantitatively determine whether a acquisition was a financially good deal.

This is a one-of-a-kind, very basic, but critically important book on real estate investing - especially commercial real estate investing. I use this little book instead of having to wade through three or four larger real estate books to find important definitions, formulas, and equations. It's worth the money and a lot more!

As a duel licensed real estate agent, appraisal certified 15 year real estate investor and real estate website operator, I can honestly say that I have never seen anyone that gives you the nuts, bolts and tools of mathematical computation and analysis like MR. Gallinelli.

Of the hundreds of real estate books that line my shelves, Franks book here has a place above my desk that is within arms reach, this book doesn't collect any dust!

I can't stand books that leave you with some off the wall idea that only the author has figured out how to use, those are worthless, Frank takes you by the hand and knocks the fear of math right out of your head and gives you a monstrous calculator data base at no charge to actually DO the math while you're reading along.

I'm going to have to give up a little secret here too, Frank is reachable, you can actually get in touch with this man when you have a question. He also teaches in his spare time at Columbia University to keep his skills sharp while giving back to his community in more ways than most.

I'm a stickler for ethical treatment of the consumers in real estate and without going into the details of Franks mathematical formulas, models, presentations, examples, hints and rules of thumb, I will say that for less than $20 your are getting what many boot camp promoters charge thousands for.

This is a full blown investment course that gives you the ability to accurately project forecasts that directly impact the bottom line, I may be a little biased as Frank can be found at my site www.magicbullets.com but I'm not exaggerating when I say Frank Gallinelli is the best in the business and I have never seen anything better than what Frank is offering you here! Dan Auito of www.magicbullets.com

One of the most annoying things I find about real estate investment books is that most of them can be condensed to about 30 pages. The other 170 pages usually try to sell you on the idea of getting into real estate in the first place, and offer plenty of examples that don't have anything to do with anything.

This is 252 pages of pure information. There are examples, of course, but they relate directly to the concepts he's working with and illustrate them clearly.

It's heavy on math, but that's why I bought it. I'm a math person and have been jonesing for something like this book for a long time. It's not difficult - all the calculations are high-school algebra at their most complex- but if you're not a math person, as stated, he gives out free spreadsheets that do them for you.

Also as stated, if you have a finance degree this book isn't for you. If you're like me, and want to know what to do with the numbers, then this book is a must.