"This is simply the best book on the topic." -Randall Bell, Author, Home Owner's Manual"Tyson and Griswold have truly opened the world of real estate investing to all by tackling often complex issues in this easy to understand and use book. I can't think of a better way to get smart about building wealth through rental properties than to read their excellent Real Estate Investing For Dummies!" -Vern Hoven, CPANon-prime time TV is cluttered with infomercials about how you can buy non-prime real estate for next to nothing and get rich quick. Common sense should tell you that's an exaggeration. (If common sense doesn't tell you, bankers will.) Nevertheless, it is possible to get rich gradually by investing in real estate. Long term, you can expect to realize an annual return of 8 to 10% a year.Real Estate Investing for Dummies gives you the keys to successful real estate investment, whether it's in single family homes and condos, apartments, vacation homes, commercial properties (office, industrial, and retail), raw land, or REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts). With guidance from authors Eric Tyson, MBA, a financial counselor, and Robert S. Griswold, a veteran real estate investor, you'll discover how to: Find and buy the best properties at a fair price Capitalize on opportunities such as foreclosures, no money down deals, auctions, tax sales, and more Secure financing and good mortgage terms Value, evaluate, and negotiate everything to do with real estate Work with agents and other professionals Project income potential and cash flow Handle contracts, inspections, and closingsWhether you're interested in a fixer supper for rental, premier office space you can lease, or a vacation home you can enjoy and rent, when you become a buyer, you also become a landlord. That means you can hear from tenants any time, night or day. It means you may not hear from them when the rent is due. Real Estate Investing for Dummies also helps you: Find and keep good tenants Negotiate lease agreements Insure and maintain your property Keep good records for tax and accounting purposesRemember, with any deal, you have to know when to hold them and know when to fold them. So Real Estate Investing for Dummies gives you guidelines on when and how to sell and how to reinvest to build wealth. It also lists 10 real estate investments you shouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole. Especially if you're tempted by those late-night infomercials, that warning could save you a fortune!

Eric Tyson, MBA, is a best-selling author and syndicated columnist. Through his counseling, writing, and teaching, he equips people to manage their personal finances better and successfully direct their investments. Eric is a former management consultant to Fortune 500 financial service firms and has successfully invested in real estate for more than two decades.
Eric earned his Bachelor’s degree in economics at Yale and an MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Despite these handicaps to clear thinking, he had the good sense to start his own company, which took an innovative approach to teaching people of all economic means about investing and money.
An accomplished freelance personal finance writer, Eric is the author of the national bestsellers Personal Finance For Dummies and Investing For Dummies, co-author of Home Buying For Dummies and Taxes For Dummies, and was an award-winning columnist for the San Francisco Examiner. His work has been featured and quoted in dozens of national and local publications, including Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, and Bottom Line/Personal; and on NBC’s Today Show, ABC, CNBC, PBS’s Nightly Business Report, CNN, CBS national radio, Bloomberg Business Radio, and Business Radio Network. He’s also been a featured speaker at a White House conference on retirement planning.
Despite his “wealth” of financial knowledge, Eric is one of the rest of us. He maintains a large inventory of bumblebee colored computer books on his desk for those frequent times when his computer makes the (decreasing amount of) hair on his head fall out.

Robert S. Griswold, MSBA, is a successful real estate investor and hands-on property manager with a large portfolio of residential and commercial rental properties who uses print and broadcast journalism to bring his many years of experience to his readers, listeners, and viewers.
He is the author of Property Management For Dummies and the host of a live weekly radio talk show, Real Estate Today!, now in its 14th year (www.retodayradio.com). Robert is also the real estate expert for NBC San Diego with a regular on-air live caller segment since 1995. He’s also the lead columnist for the syndicated “Rental Roundtable” and “Rental Forum” columns published in dozens of major newspapers throughout the country and has been recognized twice as the #1 real estate broadcast journalist in the nation by the National Association of Real Estate Editors.
Robert’s educational background includes having earned BS and two master’s degrees in real estate, business economics, and finance from the University of Southern California. His real estate investing and managing professional designations include the CRE (counselor of real estate), the CPM (certified property manager), the CCIM (certified commercial investment member), and the GRI (graduate, Realtor Institute).
Mr. Griswold has been retained on hundreds of legal matters as an expert in the standard of care and custom and practice for all aspects of real estate ownership and management in both state and federal cases throughout the country. Robert is the president of Griswold Real Estate Management, managing residential, commercial, retail, and industrial properties throughout southern California and Nevada.
On a personal level, Robert enjoys travel (particularly cruises), sports, and family activities. He truly enjoys real estate and tries to keep life in perspective through humor!