17 Best Books on Real Estate Investing (Experts & Beginners)

I love reading books — books that teach me something new or make me think about something in a new way.

But what I didn’t know was that the habit of reading — that is, the mindset shifts, the strategies, and the introspection — would land me an amazing job as CEO of a little company named Call Porter.

And if books can change your life, your habits, and your mindset, they can certainly change your business! Here are 10 books that every real estate investor should read who’s wanting to build a bigger, better, more financially predictable company.

One book at a time, you can build the business of your entrepreneurial dreams.

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Book #1: Finding and Funding Great Deals by Anson Young

Amazon Rating: 4.6 stars (34 reviews)

Amazon Description: Learning to find great deals is one of the hardest aspects of becoming a successful real estate investor. In Finding and Funding Great Deals, seasoned real estate agent and investor Anson Young guides you through his tried and true methods for finding deals in any market. Inside, he outlines his own methods as well as other techniques to help new and seasoned investors alike improve their real estate business.

This is not a magic pill that will turn you in to a successful investor overnight; instead this is a practical guide to several approaches to use in each step of your real estate deal finding journey. Hard work required (but not included with the purchase of this book).

Book #2: The Little Red Book of Selling by Jeffrey Gitomer

Amazon Rating: 4.5 stars (575 reviews)

Amazon Description: Strategies and answers from a lifetime of selling, from the bestselling author of The Sales Bible. Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The New York Times best seller The Sales Bible and The Little Red Book of Selling. All of his books have been number one best sellers on Amazon.com, including Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Patterson Principles of Selling, and his latest best-selling books The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, and The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude. Jeffrey’s books have sold millions of copies worldwide.

Jeffrey gives public and corporate seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts live and Internet training programs on selling and customer loyalty. He has presented an average of 120 seminars a year for the past ten years.

Book #3: The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino

Amazon Rating: 4.7 starts (1,318 reviews)

Amazon Description: With this bestseller, you can learn how to transform your life through the story of Hafid, a camel boy who lived 2,000 years ago and the ten ancient scrolls containing the wisdom necessary for him to achieve all his ambitions. This is the sequel to the inspirational motivational classic.

Book #4: Creating Consistent Cash Flow by Ryan Dossey

Description: How we added 73 unites and $4,000,000 worth of assets to our portfolio without investing any of our own money in the past 12 months using the BRRRR method. 

Book #5: The Book on Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner

Amazon Rating: 4.6 star (495 reviews)

Amazon Description: In The Book on Rental Property Investing, real estate investor and co-host of the BiggerPockets Podcast Brandon Turner has 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.

Book #6: The Book on Flipping Houses by J Scott

Amazon Rating: 4.7 stars (275 reviews)

Amazon Description: Are you inspired to leave your 9-to-5 job and start flipping houses? Written by expert real estate fix-and-flipper J Scott, this revised edition of the best-selling book details a step-by-step plan to succeed in your first—or next—house flip. Find a great investment, learn how to fix it up, and walk away with a profit.

In this completely revised and updated edition, you’ll find new explanations on the ins-and-outs of flipping real estate in any part of the economic cycle, more options on how to finance your flips, and a focus on larger renovation projects not previously discussed!

This no-fluff book contains a detailed flipping blueprint perfect for both the complete newbie or seasoned real estate pro looking to build a profitable house flipping business.

Book #7: The Real Estate Wholesaling Bible by Than Merrill

Amazon Rating: 4.4 stars (129 reviews)

Amazon Description: Learn how to make money wholesaling real estate without having to swing a hammer or deal with tenants.

Wholesaling is one of the best ways to get started making money in the world of real estate investing — you can even incorporate creative finance into it. Think of it as the day trading of real estate except it is simpler and has less risk if you learn how the process works. In fact when you learn how to do it the right way, you can minimize your risk substantially. The Real Estate Wholesaling Bible teaches what you need to know to profit from real estate wholesaling without needing a lot of capital or previous experience. This rapidly expanding business is relatively simple, profitable, and perfect for today’s real estate market. Plus it’s an ideal system for making money even in the toughest real estate markets. All you will need to get started is a computer, an Internet connection, this audiobook, some passion, and a lot of curiosity.

Book #8: The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller

Amazon Rating: 4.5 stars (399 reviews)

Amazon Description: Anyone who seeks financial wealth must first learn the fundamental truths and models that drive it. The Millionaire Real Estate Investor represents the collected wisdom and experience of over 100 millionaire investors from all walks of life who pursued financial wealth and achieved the life-changing freedom it delivers. This book–in straightforward, no nonsense, easy-to-read style–reveals their proven strategies.

Book #9: The Book on Investing in Real Estate No (and Low) Money Down by Brandon Turner

Amazon Rating: 4.5 stars (361 reviews)

Amazon Description: Is Your Lack of Cash Holding You Back From Your Real Estate Dreams?

Don’t let the contents of your wallet define your future. Discover the real life strategies that smart investors are using in today’s market to invest in real estate with creativity!

In The Book on Investing in Real Estate with No (and Low) Money Down, active real estate investor and co-host of the BiggerPockets Podcast, Brandon Turner takes readers past the hype and dives into real life strategies that investors across the world are using to invest in real estate using creativity—instead of their own cash.

Book #10: Long-Distance Real Estate Investing by David Greene

Amazon Rating: 4.7 stars (157 reviews)

Amazon Description: Live where you want, and invest anywhere it makes sense.

Real estate investing is one of the greatest vehicles to build wealth, but it doesn’t make sense in every market. Some locations provide incredible returns, while others make it almost impossible to find a single property that profits. Traditionally, investing out of state has been considered risky and unwise.

But the rules, technology, and markets have changed: No longer are you forced to invest only in your backyard! Experienced investor and real estate agent David Greene shares his in-depth strategy to build profitable rental portfolios through buying, managing, and flipping out-of-state properties.

Book #11: One Rental At a Time by Michael Zuber

Amazon Rating: 4.7 stars (721 reviews)

Amazon Description: Have you ever thought about real estate investing as a path to financial freedom? Have you kicked around the idea but felt you were too busy with work and family responsibilities?If so, One Rental at a Time will transform your life, just as it has transformed my life and the lives of thousands of others.This book reveals how buying and holding rental properties will create a second income that can, in time, allow you to quit your day job. It worked for me and it can work for you too. What’s stopping you? Read the book and learn how One Rental at a Time can lead to financial independence.

Book #12: How a Second Home Can Be Your Best Investment by Tom Kelly and John Tuccillo

Amazon Rating: 4.1 stars (17 reviews)

Amazon Description: This book explains how to invest profitably in a vacation or future retirement home. Featuring success stories from second home buyers and often-overlooked financing options, How a Second Home Can Be Your Best Investment provides dozens of strategies and proven how-to avenues for finding the perfect home that will eventually pay for itself. Real estate experts Tom Kelly and John Tuccillo show readers how to save thousands through exchanges and exemptions and include valuable Web resources for both second home buyers and real estate investors.

Book #13: The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs by J. Scott

Amazon Rating: 4.7 stars (1,509 reviews)

Amazon Description: This 200+ page book provides a step-by-step methodology for learning how to create a Scope of Work (SOW) and how to estimate rehab costs on your renovation projects. Whether you’re a rehabber, a wholesaler or a landlord, this book will teach you the process of evaluating the scope of a rehab project and estimating the cost of completing that renovation. This is the methodology that the author has used to over the years to complete hundreds of rehabs, both for himself and for other investors.

Book #14: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki

Amazon Rating: 4.7 stars (60,696 reviews)

Amazon Description: Rich Dad Poor Dad is Robert’s story of growing up with two dads — his real father and the father of his best friend, his rich dad — and the ways in which both men shaped his thoughts about money and investing. The book explodes the myth that you need to earn a high income to be rich and explains the difference between working for money and having your money work for you.

Book #15: Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson

Amazon Rating: 4.6 stars (12,487 reviews)

Amazon Description: Most people are fearful of change, both personal and professional, because they don’t have any control over how or when it happens to them. Since change happens either to the individual or by the individual, Dr. Spencer Johnson, the coauthor of the multimillion bestseller The One Minute Manager, uses a deceptively simple story to show that when it comes to living in a rapidly changing world, what matters most is your attitude.

Book #16: The Entrepreneur Mind by Kevin D. Johnson

Amazon Rating: 4.6 stars (683 reviews)

Amazon Description: In this riveting book written for new and veteran entrepreneurs, Johnson identifies one hundred key lessons that every entrepreneur must learn in seven areas: Strategy, Education, People, Finance, Marketing and Sales, Leadership, and Motivation. Lessons include how to think big, who makes the best business partners, what captivates investors, when to abandon a business idea, where to avoid opening a business bank account, and why too much formal education can hinder your entrepreneurial growth.

Book #17: The E Myth by Michael Gerber

Amazon Rating: 4.7 stars (6,501 reviews)

Amazon Description: Gerber walks you through the steps in the life of a business—from entrepreneurial infancy through adolescent growing pains to the mature entrepreneurial perspective: the guiding light of all businesses that succeed—and shows how to apply the lessons of franchising to any business, whether or not it is a franchise. Most importantly, Gerber draws the vital, often overlooked distinction between working on your business and working in your business.

Final Thoughts

Those are some of our favorite books about becoming a successful real estate investor.

But enough from us — which books would you add to this list? Let us know in the comments!

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