Product Description

Pre-foreclosure real estate is one of the hottest investment opportunities on the market. The Pre-Foreclosure Property Investors Kit offers step-by-step instruction and no-nonsense advice on how to find great deals, estimate fair market value, negotiate with sellers, sell your property on your own, and win big in real estate. Youll learn how to get the best deals on foreclosure properties before they go to auction and utilize simple ready-made worksheets, checklists, forms, and agreements that make getting started easy. Even people of modest means can get into pre-foreclosure investing—all it takes is a little hard work, persistence, and the tools youll find in this handy guide.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16568 in Books
• Published on: 2004-12-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780471692799
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
Chosen as one of Robert J. Bruss' 10 best real estate books of 2005! "This ultra-complete book reveals virtually everything necessary to profitably acquire foreclosure distress properties without making costly mistakes."-Robert J. Bruss, nationally syndicated real estate columnist

From the Back Cover
"This is the best of the many how-to-profit-from-foreclosure books. It is well written, ultra-complete, and packed with more details than readers will need. The worksheets are invaluable to simplify what can otherwise be a complicated business. On my scale of 1 to 10, this outstanding new book rates an off-the-chart 12."
—Robert J. Bruss, nationally syndicated columnist

A practical toolkit for making money on pre-foreclosure properties

One of the most lucrative avenues for investors today is pre-foreclosure real estate; investors who are organized, informed, and persistent can make a bundle. But if you start investing without the proper knowledge and tools, you could lose your shirt. With step-by-step instructions and practical, no-nonsense advice, The Pre-Foreclosure Property Investor's Kit shows readers how to make even more money by finding foreclosure properties before they go to auction—beating the competition to the punch. Plus, this comprehensive resource is full of ready-to-use worksheets, letters, checklists, forms, and agreements that make getting started easy.

You'll learn:

• How to make as much as $60,000 per year investing part-time
• Why NOW is a great time to get started in pre-foreclosure investing
• How to use foreclosure notices to find local properties
• How to use direct mail to contact property owners in default
• How to estimate the current market value of properties
• Everything you need to know about your state's foreclosure statutes

Most people think that investing in real estate requires a giant bank account and a perfect credit score. But with pre-foreclosure investing, even people of average means can get into the game—all it takes is a little hard work, persistence, and the helpful tools you'll find in The Pre-Foreclosure Property Investor's Kit.

About the Author
THOMAS J. LUCIER has been a real estate investor since 1980. An active member of both the National Association of Real Estate Editors and the Real Estate Educators Association, he is a widely published real estate expert whose advice has appeared in such publications as the Wall Street Journal and Commercial Investment Real Estate magazine

Customer Reviews

a let down
Having read the other reviews, I bought this book with high expectations. I was very disappointed. The book lacks details and contains too much cursory, trivial and anecdotal information. For example, the author explains that public records are listed in alphabetical, he gives great examples of which mobile office equipment to buy and describes over and over how wonderful the internet is but glosses over important details like actual examples of what exactly you find in the public records and examples of how to determine if a deal is worthwhile or not. He talks about due diligence and that one should research the public records to get information from 50 different places. He even goes on to tell a story about a women who didn't do enough research and ended up with a $19,000 tax lien attached to her pre-foreclosure property. Again though, he never shows any examples or those records or HOW to use those records to determine if a deal is worthy or not. His step-by-step process is not detailed enough to put into practice without doing tons more research. The book seems unfocused and often times wanders away from the point. Overall not a very practical book but probably a pretty good buy if you know nothing about foreclosures, pre-foreclosures or home buying in general.

Wealth of information
Foreclosure investing is all the rage nowadays, but Thomas Lucier tells you why you must get in during the PRE-FORECLOSURE phase to really make the big bucks. There's just too much competition for properties once they reach foreclosure.

The author suggests that you get to the properties before they reach foreclosure by doing your homework and locating the properties early. A letter writing campaign is his preferred method of contacting the foreclosees (is that a word???) and will follow up with subsequent letters should he not hear back from the homeowner.

In addition to step by step instructions for locating properties and acquiring them, Lucier gives a treasure trove of information which you can use along the way to help make your job easier. He includes literally hundreds of websites and even provides his email address to provide help to those who need it.

The book covers all the bases, however, it didn't leave me motivated. The author mentions all of the pitfalls and hard work required in this business and clearly doesn't try to mislead the reader into thinking it will be easy money. I appreciate the honesty, but must admit I won't be pursuing pre-foreclosures at this time. However, I haven't ruled it out for the future, and should I choose to do so, the book will serve as a great instructional manual in my quest.

Don't listen to the naysayers
Someone from another country once said, this book is no good for another country and gave it low ratings... Well, duh! U.S. law only applies to U.S. stuff. This book is by far one of the best guides on pre-foreclosures and should be considered as the beginner's guide for bank foreclosures. Also, when the title says 'distressed' real estate, it's not talking about bad properties but rather properties with their mortgages no longer being paid.

The difference is important because distressed properties suggest run down stuff. When actually, a lot of preforeclosures are great houses and for one reason or another the owner no longer chose to pay for it.

Overall a good guide. Also on another note, I only buy books BY investors not marketing gurus or writers. Lucier is a REAL investor, with personal experience. Those are the type of authors you want to read from. Here are other books by REAL investors:

Profit by Investing in Real Estate Tax Liens: Earn Safe, Secured, and Fixed Returns Every Time by Loftis

Complete Guide to Real Estate Tax Liens and Foreclosure Deeds: Learn in 7 Days-Investing Without Losing Series by Sausa

FLIP: How to Find, Fix, and Sell Houses for Profit by Villani