Book Review: Trump University's Real Estate 101

Filed in archive Real Estate on August 14, 2006

A few week's ago I reviewed The Complete Idiot's Guide to Real Estate Investing Basics and praised it as a detailed manual for anyone just starting out in real estate investing. At the same time, I had gotten my hands on this new Trump University Real Estate 101 book, and as I first picked it up, I wondered if I was just going to end up reading all the same information in a new package. I needn't have worried.

The subtitle to Real Estate 101 is "Building Wealth with Real Estate Investments" and making money is what this book is all about. While The Complete Idiot's Guide gives you great information on the nitty-gritty details of real estate investing, Real Estate 101 grabs you by the throat and says "Get out there and make something happen!" It's goal is to inspire you as much as to teach you, and it does a good job of it. For example, I'm already building an office tower in Miami Beach. Just kidding, but I could build an office tower in Miami Beach, and it would be awesome, because I'm awesome!

See what I mean? This book gets you excited.

Before I go any further, I should mention that despite the steely-eyed gaze of my man Donald Trump on the cover, this book is written by Gary W. Eldred, himself no slouch in real estate investing. The Donald offers a two-paragraph foreword to the book, and sprinkled here and there are wisdoms he imparts to complement the text, such as "If you have time to be petty, it indicates you're not busy enough with your work" and "I always include special, unique features that dazzle my tenants or buyers and arouse their emotions." These quotes don't add a whole lot, but it does serve to remind you that this super-rich real estate magnate is behind the whole endeavor.

So, back to the book.

Eldred makes no bones about the fact that this book is about the reader becoming a real estate entrepreneur. If you just want to be a run-of-the-mill landlord on a run-of-the-mill property, this book's not interested in talking to you. It's looking for an audience that wants to get pumped up about the endless possibilities in the real estate market, and an audience that is ready to make an MVP (most valued property) out of every property it sells or rents.

That's not to say the book is all cheerleading. It's not. But the bulk of this book is about finding properties in the right neighborhoods, imagining the possibilities for these properties and putting them to their highest use. Where many real estate books tell you to stick close to home as a beginner, this book says hogwash--go where the market is ready to appreciate. That advice may not be for the casual investor, but this book may not be for the casual investor. There's an assumption here that you really want to make something happen, and the information provided is designed to help you make money. Where a book like The Complete Idiot's Guide gets into the nitty-gritty of things like handling problem tenants, this book's more concerned with how to create the "wow" factor in the properties you buy. It challenges you to think big, even if the property you're buying is very small.

This book definitely makes the thought of real estate investing very attractive to me, a feeling I really haven't had in the past. If you're sure you want to get in this field as a real estate entrepreneur, definitely pick it up.

I have to admit the book made me a little melancholy, though. I'm kind of small time--I'm not going to rehab a once-Glorious hotel in Manhattan; more likely I'd buy one or two two-unit buildings and be satisfied with a little extra cash flow. And I feel like Donald would consider that to be a case of me not reaching my full potential. And that makes me sad.