John T. Reed is known as the “watchdog” of real estate investing.  He writes reviews on the real estate gurus out there and their products.  John also sells his own investment courses.  John T. Reed is a former real estate investor with 20 years of experience in property management.  He has authored and self-published many books on this topic.  He considers real estate investing a hands-on business.  His books are a sort of guide to the real estate business without all the hype.  He has been recommended by the National Association of Realtors as a serious investigator in the industry.  He has his own website which lists and shares the legitimacy of real estate guru’s claims.  He also publishes a newsletter monthly and has written additional books on sports coaching and self-publishing.  John T. Reed graduated from West Point with a BS and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.  He lives in Alamo, California.

John offers the beginning real estate investor this advice to consider before venturing into the business.  Ask your self these questions.  Are you really sure you want to do this?  Are you suited to be a landlord?  Set specific goals and research the real estate investing business. If you are ready,  than do it but do not draw a broad conclusion from your first successful results. Among John’s suggested strategies are to consider the three broad categories of real estate investment techniques.  First, bargain purchases.  This is the purchase of real estate for at least 20% below current market value.  Second, Increase Value this is when you buy a property for its current market value, but you select only properties with some unrealized potential. Subsequently after the purchase, you make whatever changes are necessary to increase the value of the property. In general, you must increase the value by at least 20% within six months in order for the strategy to be worthwhile. The third strategy is Double-Digit Cap Rate.  This means you buy the building on terms that it has a capitalization rate of 10% or more.  The capitalization rate is the net operating income (rent-minus operating expense but before debt service) divided by the purchase price. John Reed is a man of experience, objective reviewing and contentious advice.