Does anyone else have fond recollection of the classic Hasbro board game Monopoly? I was playing it the other day with my two children who adore the game. Both of them particularly loved being affectionately labeled “money bags” when they were doing well—a term given to me on a few occasion in my distant memories from childhood.
The game is pretty straightforward: you buy good properties, try to maximize their earning potential with plastic green houses and red hotels. Eventually you reap the rewards when others rent them and have to pay you. It was simple. As a child, I envisioned doing the same someday in real life.
But in the real world, that hasn’t happened yet. I believed I had neither the time nor skill, and I did not have anyone I trusted to show me the ropes. Too many courses or books appeared to come off as money-making schemes for their creators. Instead, I focused on learning about equities and bonds. Although I now have a fair handle in those spaces, I currently have a huge knowledge gap regarding investing in real estate.
(Editor’s note: Please be aware there are affiliate links in this blog that, if you click, could bring us a commission, but at no extra charge to you.)
So when Dr. Cory Fawcett’s book, The Doctor’s Guide to Real Estate Investing for Busy Professionals, arrived in the mail, I successfully pried the book out of my bibliophile wife’s hands so I could read it first. You see, I’ve met Dr. Fawcett and his lovely wife, Carolyn, on several occasions.
Thanks to Physician on Fire organizing a cruise, we’ve spent a good amount of time together. Cory appears to me to be trustworthy and honest. I believe he already has what he wants in terms of finances. So his motivations seem to me to be to help other doctors and be known for giving good advice. Without this knowledge about the author already in place, I would not have spent the time to delve into his book with serious consideration.
Overall, I learned a considerable amount about real estate investing through this book. The book consists of:
1) Arguments for real estate investing (his arguments are compelling).
2) Busting real estate myths (several of which I must confess I believed to be true).
3) Strategy for how to go about the purchase (straightforwardly written—almost as if a surgeon had written it). 🙂
4) Practical tips and tricks for management (such as working with real estate agents, management efficiency, evictions, materials/tools to have, etc.).
5) Story-telling (the good kind) about his or his family’s personal experience sprinkled throughout (I found this enjoyable).
Frankly, I needed to read each one in detail and learned from all five sections in his book.
There are plenty of theoretical examples, as well as real life numbers from his experience tied to specific situations (which I appreciate and wish there were more of). The formatting is helpful as it includes many famous current/historical people with real-estate related quotes. It very much resonated with me when, as an investor, he was looking for a fair deal—not to rip off others.
I wished there was an index, as a few times I couldn’t easily find an important point. Also, my brain didn’t work quite as well with the chapter summaries within the table of contents (is this a new trend?).
But overall, I highly recommend taking a chance* for reading [RAILROAD*] this book to those out there with a knowledge gap who are curious about real estate investing. Dr. Fawcett is a good guy in this space and his book is worth the look. I’m excited about learning more and we may well dip our toe into this pool, perhaps from Boardwalk*.
*Please forgive the corny Monopoly references. 🙂
(Tune in next blog to learn about the book Spending Habits for Professionals Who Want to FIRE: How to Save Money While Working Full Time so You Can Gain Financial Freedom. The print version has been released on Amazon by the Editor of this blog, who recommends pre-ordering the digital version as it’s half the price of the printed book.) 😉