Three Reasons to Recommend “Loopholes of Real Estate”

I originally selected this book for its 1031 Exchange section, but found it to be a much broader resource. Here are three reasons for you to recommend (or gift) Garrett Sutton’s updated version of Loopholes of Real Estate to your clients who are considering real estate investing:

Reason #1: Let’s face it, none of us have as much time to read or research as we would like. It’s highly probable that life will interrupt most people’s desire to read this entire 353 page book on real estate investing, but it’s still worth recommending. The author puts the most compelling and motivating topics first, including a sales pitch explaining the advantages of real estate investing to get your clients interested in the opportunity, followed by a “how to get started” section. If your clients read only the first 10 – 20% of this book, they will end up with a favorable impression of real estate investing and the important role you play as a member of their “team.” It is a good book to reinforce your personal pitch to get your clients investing in real estate.

Reason #2: In the first 20% of the book, the author addresses not only how to assemble an investment team, but also how to treat them. He discusses the need to compensate the professionals appropriately, and then includes a case study (#4) of the different service received by two investors – one who treated his legal and real estate professionals as team members, and a second who considered those service providers as overpriced necessities. Sutton has compelling arguments for treating all team members with respect and paying them appropriately. Never a bad thing for your clients to hear, right? This respect for real estate professionals is reinforced throughout the book, and is referenced again in case study #24. If you have a troublesome investment client, this book might be the perfect gift.

Reason #3: The book condenses a broad range of complex topics into one easy-to-read reference book. The author does a good job of giving a brief and simple overview of many multi-faceted, but beneficial, tax and legal strategies. The book contains 53 “loopholes” that range from the advantages of using a bookkeeper and sheltering profits from taxes with 1031 Exchanges, to transitioning properties to your heirs without losing control; Sutton also presents ways to protect your assets from lawsuits. This makes it a great reference book for both new and experienced investors.

There is one caveat: if you are purchasing it for your own library, I recommend the electronic version of the book. The table of contents in both versions does not clearly identify chapter topics, only section headings. This means that to find the chapter on 1031 Exchanges (Chapter 10), you would have to read the entire book or thumb through it. I purchased the iBooks version so I’m able to search for just the words or key phrases I want to look up, select the relevant reference, and email it to anyone I want (with the proper citation and references included) with a few simple clicks. Kindle also allows you to search, but your sharing is restricted to FaceBook or Twitter.

This book is appropriate for new investors and anyone wanting to acquaint themselves with updated information on the loopholes available to real estate investors.