I have read several investment books this summer. This book had lot of grammatical errors but did reveal a real life view of the author's success. Unfortunately, besides the apartment condo conversion there was not a lot of more specific examples or experiences. I was expecting to hear a little about shopping centers, office space among other things. The "Best" is a bit exaggerated to say the least.

What an easy read, couldn't put the book down. This is no dumb blond. She is honest with what she says, and thorough with the info. best of all as i said an easy read, while being technical. This woman is gifted. I am inspired and excited knowing that commercial real estate takes work, but the returns justify the amount of work involved. This book needs to be read and then read again and work with it... develop an outline for your self with her instructions, and get to work..... and forget luck, need luck resort back to her book.... after all luck is only the end result of good preparation and hard work....

It all became clear to me once I tripped over the twentieth punctuation or grammatical error. What publisher would let this book be sold without a decent proofreader? Ahh, self-published. Grammatical errors bother me more than they should, but what does it communicate about the content? The author has made millions in three short years, and has decided that although she is still learning, this is the best time to write a book for beginners. She also started her own TV show or infomercial (it's not completely clear), seminars, and offers herself as a mentor! Oh, and there's a blog here on Amazon.

I'm sure she is getting very wealthy. The hubris involved in naming this book, as well as the seminars and mentoring, is staggering. I'm new enough to this that I can't evaluate the content. But I know I can't completely count on it. Just look at that punctuation!

I agree with the book's title, and found it to be just right for anyone who, like me, is perched on the brink of jumping from residential to commercial investment properties. One of the most important things I learned from the book is how to avoid wasting money and time during the search phase. Monica has given me the knowledge and courage to make the leap into new geographic markets where the cash flow yield is more favorable, rather than trying to stay close to home where the real estate is pricey and cap rates are relatively low. Monica tells it like it is based upon her own real experiences! (Also, she responded to my email with a very informative reply within a day!)

I enjoyed the book and read it in 1 day. It provides a frank, no-nonsense intro to commercial (apartment) investing. What makes this book stands out is that it simplifies a great deal of the jargon as well as admonishes critical pitfalls in commercial real estate (CRE) investing. A must read for any inspiring CRE investor!

I have never written a review on Amazon yet but I feel pretty strongly about this. This book is a waste of time and money and that is the bottom line. This thing is a disaster from start to finish.

First off, a 3rd grader could write a book with fewer typos than this book has. It was utterly annoying everytime I ran across one........which happened numerous times per chapter and even per paragraph sometimes. How can someone release an informational book that is supposed to teach and guide people on a particular subject when the author comes across as a dummy who doesn't know how to write or even use spell check??

Secondly and most importantly was the quality of the actual content. It's rather poor. This book doesn't talk about commercial real estate. It talks mainly about the seemingly one deal the author has done which is this condo conversion that gets mentioned time and time again. It's more of a low quality biography of the authors 3 years of experience. I was hoping to get new ideas and different approaches to what I'm already practicing in the commercial real estate business myself. This didn't happen at all. I purchased this book based on the title "The Best Damn Commercial Real Estate Investing Book Ever Written" which sounds like it may be good, but turned out to be a big mistake on my part because it simply is not even close to being the best. There is just so much more to commercial real estate, being in that field myself, than what is talked about in this book.

I could go on and on about what I didn't like about this book, but I hope this is enough to warn others that there are several other quality books available that will educate you properly on the subject of commercial real estate investing, unfortunately this book is not one of them.

The book was interesting, but had little in depth information. She wrote of how she took an apartment building condo, but focused mostly on how she smoozed the city commission rather than explaining the steps or pitfalls.

You can discern her personal drive, and that can carry a real estate investor a long way. I call it "3 yards and a cloud of dust." Sometimes you just have to push ahead regardless of the problems. Been there, done it, got the T shirt.

I think a little more concering the differences between residential and commercial real estate would have better served the reader. There is so much more to commercial real estate than contained in this book. Add it to your list, but don't buy it first, unless you have extra money to spend.

I've never written an Amazon review before this one. This was such a waste of money that I had to warn others.

As I understand it, the author made money in Las Vegas on her residence, land and some single families, and then decided to get into commercial real estate. She bought a 57 unit property in Ohio and a 24 unit in California that she used for a condo conversion .

One reason I bought this book was for the It's All About The Numbers chapter. The best paragraph in this chapter suggests you read What Every Real Estate Investor Needs To Know About Cash Flow..... by Frank Gallinelli.

With the 57 unit purchase she notes that she didn't carefully read the mortgage documents before signing and so had a a four year lock out on her first mortgage with a second mortgage with a balloon payment due in three years.

Some quotes: "While I don't personally own any retail buildings, I was in contract to purchase one." I don't want to spend too much time discussing land development, as my experience is limited." "...[The property manager she employed] once hired a painting contractor to paint one of the vacant units, at a cost of $2000. I almost passed out! In Ohio, I can get the interior of a comparable sized unit painted for $500."

In the chapter on protecting your assets she talks about buying property in your own name and then deeding the property to a corporate entity after you close. Isn't this going to make the mortgage due in full?

Did I mention this book is self published?

No index.

I'm still in the education process of my real estate career, so obviously I can't give a "seasoned veteran" perspective.

One thing i appreciate about Monica is she makes no qualms concerning the fact that you need to have some residential investing experience at the bare minimum before embarking on a commercial real estate career. I must say, my curiosity got the best of me and I read it anyway. It was a good read. No candy coating here! She lays it all out there, from financing issues to communicating with the city on zoning to dealing with a spouse who may not have the same perspective on investing as you do. As with any worthwhile endeavor you have no idea what you are dealing with until you get your hands dirty, get a splinter or two and mash a fingernail, but this book seems to give and accurate preview of what is in store for anyone who chooses to persue commercial real estate so they can have their ducks in a row. One thing I really appreciated was the fact that she laid out what kind of time frame you should expect when investing in commercial real estate. When dealing with residential you ideally want to deal on a days and weeks time frame, however with commercial go in expecting to deal on months time frame. The days of "get rich quick" in real estate are over. "Get rich smart and stay rich" is the new trend and this book definitely adheres to this philosophy. Something else that I see the more I study the latest real estate philosophies is how important it is to have a good team of professionals working with you. Monica also endorses this philosophy and gives excellent advice on how to make your selections.

I appreciate someone willing to say "yeah, I screwed up!" then laying out what they did and how they fixed it.

I highly recommend this book, but make no mistake that this lady means business.

Save your money on this one and buy David Geltner's Commercial Real Estate Analysis and Investment book, instead. This is a book for the real estate novice who wants a simple introduction to real estate. No substance here, just an elementary primer on real estate investing. I have read hundreds of real estate books in the past 25 years, and this one would appear at the bottom of my list for recommended reading.

GREAT BOOK!

This book has a ton of great ideas and suggestions. It is pretty much required reading for anyone in commercial real estate.

Even if you know these things, its a good checklist of what to do.

I own a midsize commercial real estate firm. I purchased several commercial real estate books to review and share with my employees. There are much better books regarding commercial real estate on the market. They must have needed to put Monica's picture on the cover and give it an outrageous title to sell this book. "The Best Damn Commercial Real Estate Investing Book EVER Written" has a total of 16 pages on the financial analysis. This chapter is titled "It's All About The Numbers" and yet she only gives this chapter 16 pages. She calls the GRM "useless". Yet I have found the GRM a great tool for analyzing an underperforming asset. The rest of the book is too general. I have a feeling as we begin to feel a bit of pressure in the commercial real estate industry she will wish she had stuck to cleaning teeth. Where do I return it for a full refund per her statement on the jacket?

This book is awesome for many reasons. First, Monica Villasenor has the ability to take a fairly complex topic such as commercial real estate and break it down into simplistic, easy to understand chapters that build upon one another. Secondly, other books on commercial real estate I have read can't touch the no holds barred, wealth of information that Mrs. Villasenor provides the reader. My interests lie primarily in residential real estate but one day I decided to surf Amazon to find a good commercial real estate book. Well I happened to find "The Best Damn Commercial Real Estate Book Ever Written". I have to admit, the name intrigued me so much that I bought the book with full intentions of proving this author wrong. I read through it several times and I must agree, this book lives up to its name and then some. I found it very easy to read, informative and entertaining. Mrs. Villasenor has a great sense of humor and a down to earth style of writing.

I didn't want my education to end with this book so I found Monica Villasenors' website. I quickly learned that this book was just the tip of the iceberg. Mrs. Villasenor was involved with so many other projects, her own reality series on satellite television, she's raising 2 children but what excited me most was that she was offering mentoring to a select few. It didn't matter what it cost, I was going out to Redding, CA. to see firsthand what was involved in commercial real estate. I had the most incredible time and by the end of the two days of mentoring, my head was swimming with this newfound knowledge. I had set out with a curiosity and a notion that this girl could not be for real but left with a vision of what more I could do with my investing future.

Monica Villasenor is for real and what I found is that she truly cares about each of her students' success!!! That is rare in any industry. I just learned recently that she is going to teach 3 day seminars on commercial real estate starting in April and running through August. If you get the chance to see her live, jump at the chance for a learning experience you'll never forget. I'll be checking her website frequently for news about that. Lastly I would advise anyone interested in commercial real estate to buy this book!!!

It really is "The Best Damn Commerical Real Estate Book Ever Written" as far as I am concerned. It's also the only book I've ever read that is dedicated to commercial real estate. I've read other real estate books that discuss both residential and commercial property deals that are good books, but I will re-read this book again and use it as a guide for future commercial real estate purchases. I have purchased several small commercial properties along with residental so I know something about the "business" and I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the commercial side of real estate.

On a slght downside other reviewers mentioned also, she does spend a little too much time on self promotion and the book could have been a little better edited, but this is only a very small detraction from what is a really good and easy to read book on commercial real estate. If you are contemplating a move into the commercial real estate world, you should read this book. It is a great primer and a great guide for this type of business.

I read this in two days, in short this was a very good read plenty of good information

I was looking to buy this book in the near future but the price jumped from 19.95 to 29.95.
Greed is a powerful thing. I'll purchase and review this book if and when it's at a reasonable price again.

I like this book -- I like it a lot. I like the writing style. I like the practicality of its advice and I like the fact that disguised within the "chit-chatty" style is a great deal of substance.

Among others, topics covered include property analysis, building a team of professionals, and protecting your assets. For anyone interested in making the leap from residential to commercial real estate investing this book will certainly be a valuable addition to your real estate investing library.

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. If you're not ready for the complicated world of commercial real estate, this is the place to start.

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

I like this book -- I like it a lot. I like the writing style. I like the practicality of its advice and I like the fact that disguised within the "chit-chatty" style is a great deal of substance.

Among others, topics covered include property analysis, building a team of professionals, and protecting your assets. For anyone interested in making the leap from residential to commercial real estate investing this book will certainly be a valuable addition to your real estate investing library.

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. If you're not ready for the complicated world of commercial real estate, this is the place to start. You might also want to check out the companion CD -- 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 Ms. Villasenor has written an informative book that's worthy of your time. Buy it if you are serious about making a success of real estate investing.

I like this book -- I like it a lot. I like the writing style. I like the practicality of its advice and I like the fact that disguised within the "chit-chatty" style is a great deal of substance.

Among others, topics covered include property analysis, building a team of professionals, and protecting your assets. For anyone interested in making the leap from residential to commercial real estate investing this book will certainly be a valuable addition to your real estate investing library.

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. If you're not ready for the complicated world of commercial real estate, this is the place to start. 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.

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

I like this book -- I like it a lot. I like the writing style. I like the practicality of its advice and I like the fact that disguised within the "chit-chatty" style is a great deal of substance.

Among others, topics covered include property analysis, building a team of professionals, and protecting your assets. For anyone interested in making the leap from residential to commercial real estate investing this book will certainly be a valuable addition to your real estate investing library.

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. If you're not ready for the complicated world of commercial real estate, this is the place to start. 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.

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

I like this book -- I like it a lot. I like the writing style. I like the practicality of its advice and I like the fact that disguised within the "chit-chatty" style is a great deal of substance.

Among others, topics covered include property analysis, building a team of professionals, and protecting your assets. For anyone interested in making the leap from residential to commercial real estate investing this book will certainly be a valuable addition to your real estate investing library.

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. If you're not ready for the complicated world of commercial real estate, this is the place to start. 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 Ms. Villasenor has written an informative book that's worthy of your time. Buy it if you are serious about making a success of real estate investing.

As Monica states, this isn't a beginner book but geared more toward the investor who has done several real estate transactions. I liked her style, she doesn't hold anything back, and uses examples of her own investments to learn from (both mistakes & successes). She focuses on apartment buildings, not really office or retail, but it is still helpful for financing options and putting deals together.
I have to agree with another reviewer regarding the typos in the book! It's weird that it was published with so many, but I guess it was rushed to press.
Overall a good book...four stars.

Monica Villasenor writes honestly about her experiences as an investor. The good, the bad, and the ugly are included in this book. A great read for someone wanting an HONEST account of the experience of commercial real estate investment. The author also includes some key points for newbees to watch out for. She also goes through some of the critical formulas involved in the due diligence process, and explains some of the pitfalls of investing. This book is an easy read as the author does not allow herself to get bogged down in technical jargon and detail. There are other books that will be more technical in nature than this one and much more difficult to read. This book is a must for anyone interested in commercial real estate.

This book is very helpful for anyone exploring whether to take that giant leap into commercial real estate investing. It was exactly what I needed - the real "nuts & bolts" of understanding, valuing and buying commercial real estate. I was surprised to find so many typos in the book. The typos do tend to be distracting and detract from the valuable information the author is attempting to impart. If you can ignore the typos, however, the content is superb.

She talks a lot about condo conversions, etc that have failed wholesale as we speak. And a lot of her talk and techniques are based upon appreciation.

The books is very well written, but you have to realize she did this in the 3 year boom mania.

Times have ALREADY changed.

Folks, commercial real estate is crashing BIG TIME as we speak. The stupid prices that were paid are now coming back to haunt many novice commercial investors.

Did you realize that if you purchase a property with a cap rate of, say, 7%. You used 75% financing. And cap rates rise to 8%. For every point rise you have lost 1/3 of your equity!

A rise to a 10% cap rate and you are cooked meat. And cap rates are moving up right now.

Commercial investment real estate is about cash flow. Period. Appreciation only comes from escalating lease income.

If you are buying because commercial real estate is "hot" you have already missed that run. And those that bought at the top are going to lose their shirts.

I have been doing this for 22 years. Graduated with a real estate finance degree from the #3 business school in the country. And I hold the most coveted commercial investment real estate designation in the world.

Do yourself a favor. Unless you want to get run over like a Mack truck by professional commercial real estate investors - go back to your day jobs.

The crash is here and it is going to be bad...

I have read every Commercial Real Estate Book I could find. This one gets to the nuts and bolts right from the start.
I am energized to move on now from residential to commercial purchases.
There were a number of typos in the book and I would advise readers to go to her web site for a 5 page correction of pages 115-119 that is downloadable.

This book is a virtual "How To" on investing in commercial real estate. Monica's writing is entertaining and to the point. She lists her own personal experiences in commercial real estate investing in an entertaining and informative way. I really enjoyed the way she described many of the pitfalls of this type of investing and exactly how to avoid them. I'm looking forward to her next book and to my first commercial investment! Monica's information has been invaluable!

Before I started the book, I thought the title was catchy, but the picture of the blonde chick on the cover had me doubting that this would be the "best damn commercial real estate investing book ever written". I know... it's a stereotype. Surprisingly, it turned out to be the best book I've read on commercial. Monica hits on a bunch of topics that would be lessons learned the hard way if you didn't read this book.

I also really enjoyed her writing style. I don't know how to describe it, other than "ballsy". ...again, something I wasn't expecting from a blonde chick. ;-)

I strongly recommend this book!

First off.. I have to say this a a great book in a sense that it is well read. I can tell that the effort that went into it is very professional, being well organized, detailed, and chalk full of tips on commercial real estate. I received the book yesterday and am nearly half-way though it. Yes, I am on mission to learn this stuff and the book is sometimes hard to put down!

The author, Monica, states that she has only has three years experience in investing in commercial real estate, however this book gives me a sense that she is very intelligent, creative, and savvy. Monica also states the importance of constant learning and reading of material related to commercial real estate. Monica is also a follower of the "Rich Dad" philosophy which aligns with mine as well.

As a total novice in this subject, I place great value on the foresight she has chosen to share. Monica's book builds the foundation for commercial real estate transactions and describes in detail terms, pitfalls, references, and more. I am very happy to have found this book. Most beginner books lack the meat that is really required and this one is grade A. Where a topic could go into much more depth she gives references to to other books that do it better instead of sending the reader down a major detour.

For a more experienced investor this book might be too fundamental, however like I said above the tips may be worth it for the more experienced. For example, chapter 8 talks about a number of contract escape clauses and real estate agent deal tactics to look out for and I am certain will save my bacon in the future. She gives examples of her deals reinforcing the subject matter and its importance. I am certain that I will be going back to this book to insure I don't make the same mistakes she did. The really important points she mentions are obvious and light humor is enjoyable reading.

My hat goes off to Monica for making a dam good book out of a very complicated subject :)

I am just starting my journey to begin investing in commercial real estate after years of investing in residual investment properties. This is a very good book for anyone considering doing the same. I'm so glad that the author is straightforward about alot of things. She cuts right to the chase and tells you how things really are rather than give you alot of fluff or get you lost in bunch of senseless numbers that aren't really helpful. Her references to other websites were also helpful. What I also like is that she is speaking from personal experience so the information she provides is reliable.

No fluff here! I've read numerous books on Real Estate Investing but this is by far the best I've read. It's not enough to simply want to invest in Real Estate, you need information that will help you take that first step. I found that in this book. It was so easy to read, I just couldn't put it down. Most books contain either too much fluff or information that most people can't make use of. On the other hand, through Monica's experience explained in the book, I not only became motivated but she gave me some ideas that got me thinking "outside the box". A must read!

I am excited about the opportunties this book has brought to my life. I will now be able to begin investing in commercial real estate with confidence and understanding.