There are literally thousands of real estate books on the market today, and trying to separate the best from those that can easily be passed on can be tough. To help, BiggerPockets has compiled a list of our top books in the real estate genre, based on popularity from our members throughout the BiggerPockets Forums, Blog, the BiggerPockets Facebook page, and more.
Many of these books have changed lives (and many have even changed mine)—and we hope they will do the same for you.
Best General Real Estate Investing Books
FREE:The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Real Estate Investing by BiggerPockets
OK, fine. This isn’t exactly a book. But it is an extraordinary resource for new investors. The real estate investing niche is so huge. The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide was created to help new investors learn the best ways to get started and find their place.
This FREE guide includes eight chapters, each focusing on a different area of your investing strategy. From real estate investing education to creating your plan, choosing your niche, financing, and exit strategies—this guide will help break down the barriers and help you figure out exactly how to get into the game. Click here to get it for FREE now!
Recommended For: Beginners and Intermediate Investors
The Book on Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner
When writing The Book on Rental Property Investing, I had one goal in mind: to give you every strategy, tool, tip, and technique needed to become a millionaire rental property investor—while helping you avoid the junk that pulls down so many wannabes!
Written for both new and experienced investors, this book will impart years of experience through the informative and entertaining lessons contained within. You’ll find practical, up-to-date, exciting strategies that investors across the world are using to build wealth and significant cash flow through rental properties.
The Book on Rental Property Investing comes with eight hours of video bonus content, as well as an audiobook version and numerous interviews with expert investors. Click here to order on BiggerPockets.
Recommended For: Everyone who wants to buy rental properties
The Book on Investingin Real Estate with No (and Low) Money Down by Brandon Turner
Looking to get started without a lot of money? Or looking to take your business to a whole new level? Then don’t miss The Book on Investing in Real Estate with No (and Low) Money Down written by… me! 🙂 Unlike nearly every “no money” book ever written, this book does not teach just one strategy for creative finance. Instead you’ll learn numerous strategies for using your creativity to invest, rather than cash.
You’ll learn:
- How an owner-occupied investment property can get you investingfor as little as $0
- How to find and utilize partners to grow a thriving investment business
- How and when to use hard money, private money, or bank money to fund your deals
- How to get started finding great deals and wholesaling for quick (but not always easy) cash
- And TONS more!
Honestly, we believe this book has the power not only to change your life but to change the real estate industry as a whole. Investing with no money is NOT easy, it’s not stress-free, and it’s not quick. However, as this book will teach you, it’s not a myth either. Click here to order it right now!
Recommended For: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Investors
Retire Early With Real Estate by Chad Carson
Are you stuck in the rut of a 9-to-5 job? Would you like to do more with your life than just work to pay the bills? Retire Early With Real Estate provides practical, proven methods to quickly and safely build wealth using the time-tested vehicle of real estate rentals. Experienced real estate investor and early retiree, Chad Carson, shares his tried-and-true investment strategies to create enough passive income to retire at 37 years old.
Packed with specific strategies, tips, and techniques you may have never learned before, this book will help you forge a new path toward your retirement. Learn from more than 20 real estate investors and early retirees profiled in this book—retiring early is possible with a step-by-step strategy at hand. Click here to order!
Recommended For: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Investors
Best ‘Specialty’ Books on Real Estate Investing
Bidding to Buy: A Step-by-Step Guide to Investing in Foreclosures at Auction by David Osborn & Aaron Amuchastegui
Welcome to the world of buying foreclosed homes at auction—a real estate strategy that lets you remove the middleman, decrease your competition, and buy at a discount.
Bidding for properties on the courthouse steps while competing in real-time with other investors is a thrilling experience. There’s nothing like it in the world of real estate, but there’s also a lot to learn. With dozens of insider auction secrets that are proven to help maximize returns, Bidding to Buy will show you the skills you need to successfully bid at auction, then turn a healthy profit on your investment. Click here to pre-order!
Recommended For: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Investors
The House Hacking Strategy by Craig Curelop
Don’t pay for your home—hack it and live for free! Savvy investors have been using a clever strategy in real estate for decades—and now, you will learn exactly how to perfect this trade secret!
When mastered, house hacking can save thousands of dollars in monthly expenses, build tens of thousands in equity each year, and provide the financial means to retire early. In fact, the average house hacker can turn a single-family home or small multifamily property into a cash-flowing investment. You can collect rent that completely covers your living expenses—and then some! Click here to get this book.
Recommended For: Beginner and Intermediate Investors
Best Real Estate Flipping Books
The Book on Flipping Houses and The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs by J Scott
Sometimes don’t you just want a step-by-step “textbook” on how to do something? These are exactly that. Written by fix and flipper J Scott, The Book on Flipping Houses contains a detailed flipping blueprint perfect for both the complete newbie or seasoned real estate pro looking to build a profitable house flipping business. Learn everything you need to build a profitable, efficient house flipping business in a practical and easy-to-follow approach—all in one single book!
And in J’s complementary title, The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs, discoverhow to accurately estimate all the costs you are likely to face during renovation—and get all of your rehab questions answered in a single place!
In addition to the great books, J also includes some pretty awesome features with it, including:
- Scope of work and estimation worksheet
- Rehab analysis worksheet
- Sample flipping chart of accounts for Quickbooks
- Form W-9
- Independent contractors agreement
- Appraisal package
- Inspection checklist
- Lien waiver
I don’t need to go on and on about them here because there is a whole page dedicated to iton BiggerPockets. However, just trust me: These books will teach you everything you’ll ever need to know to successfully flip a property.
Recommended For: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Investors
Best Books on Landlording
The Book on Managing Rental Properties by Brandon and Heather Turner
No matter how great you are at finding good rental property deals, you could lose everything if you don’t manage your properties correctly! But being a landlord doesn’t have to mean middle-of-the-night phone calls, costly evictions, or daily frustrations with ungrateful tenants. Being a landlord can actually be fun—IF you do it right. That’s why we (my wife and I) put together this comprehensive book that will change the way you think of being a landlord forever.
Written with both new and experienced landlords in mind, The Book on Managing Rental Properties takes you on an insider tour of our management business, so you can discover exactly how we’ve been able to maximize our profit, minimize our stress, and have a blast doing it!
The Book on Managing Rental Properties, when purchased on BiggerPockets, comes with over 30 downloadable state-specific landlord forms for your business. Click here to order on BiggerPockets.
Recommended For: Anyone who owns rental properties, period.
Best Personal Finance Book
Set for Life by Scott Trench
Looking to set yourself up for life as early as possible and enjoy time on your terms? Whether you’d like to “retire” from wage-paying work, become less dependent on your demanding 9-to-5, or simply spend time doing what you love, Set for Life will give you a plan to get there. This isn’t about saving up a nest egg. It’s not about setting aside money for a “rainy day.”
Set for Life is an actionable guide that helps readers build the accessible wealth they need to achieve early financial freedom. Click here to order!
Recommended For: Everyone
Best Real Estate Tax Books
The Book on Tax Strategies for the Savvy Real Estate Investor by Amanda Han
The Book on Tax Strategies for the Savvy Real Estate Investor is filled with hundreds of tips, tricks, and techniques designed to help you keep more cash out of the hands of the IRS! Discover ways to maximize your deductions, the right and wrong ways to use your legal entities, clever ways to write off your kids, strategies to write off every penny of your travel, depreciation must-dos for investors, and much, much more.
Whether preparing for tax season or simply looking to save money next year by making wise choices in your everyday business actions, this book is a MUST for any investor. You’d be shocked at the number of tax perks and loopholes that many entrepreneurs don’t take advantage of, simply because they don’t know they exist! Pick up a copy today.
Recommended For: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Investors
The Book on Advanced Tax Strategies by Amanda Han
Believe it or not, the U.S. tax system is filled with loopholes designed specifically to benefit real estate investors just like you. In this comprehensive follow-up to The Book on Tax Strategies, bestselling authors and CPAs Amanda Han and Matthew MacFarland bring you EVEN MORE strategies to slash your taxes and turn your real estate investments into a tax-saving machine. Get your copy here.
Recommended For: Intermediate and Advanced Investors
Now it’s your turn! What’s your favorite real estate book?
Leave a comment below!
Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.
