The Ultimate Real Estate Investing Blueprint: How to Quit Your Job in 19 Weeks or Less [Kindle Edition]

This is a very quick read; I'm on my second time through due to it being such a short book. If you have any confusion about what this book is, take note that the title does say "Blueprint" and not "Complete Guide".
This book is only a blueprint towards the authors version of real estate success, and throughout the book you can be sure to be reminded that if this small book isn't enough for you to make some serious moves, you should really try some of the author's free or paid programs for further education. I felt like I was being sold something the whole time, with the author even using such lines as "call so and so, tell him I sent you, he'll take care of you." Much like a salesman.
This isn't real estate 101 either, you should at least be aware of some basic real estate terms to get a better understanding of the material. The title says it's about real estate investing while it's more about connecting buyers and sellers together and taking a cut from that transaction as a means of income.
While you certainly can't go wrong with a free e-book like this one, take note that this one book probably won't get you ready to quit your job in a few months so much as inform you of what can be done.

Oh boy! There are a ton of agents that won't do the double close any longer. There's also a ton of real estate agents and investors that don't want to see any more 'subject to' deals. Why? Because if the buyer suddenly stops making payments, the original seller is still on the hook, and so is his credit and his finances. That didn't get mentioned in the book.

Don't get me wrong what Sean Terry is talking about, profiting in real estate without cash, credit or a license, can be done. It certainly can. The problem is it's a LOT HARDER than what he's making it out to be. Lots of cities don't allow bandit signs so you have to find someone who can put them up on Friday night and take them down on Sunday. (How long do you think it takes to put out 300 signs? --hours) He mentioned internet marketing for your leads. Yes, it works, but he didn't mention that Google Adwords is expensive! Take a look at the PPC category when you're putting in some of those keywords. You're going to pay that up front. You'll get hundreds of leads, and MAYBE 1 is something you can work with. Oh, and by the way, you need to be certain that you have the seller sign all of your contracts BEFORE you talk to anyone else about the deal, or you're going to be in trouble with the state for 'dealing without a license'. Be prepared for a boatload of crack pots in the city to call about your sign too. I've seen more than my share of dumps in bad neighborhoods that the owner is absolutely sure is worth $350K. (Not even during the bubble honey!)

Most beginners end up with lots of contracts they can't assign. By the way, if you can't find a buyer -- guess who has to go back to the seller and tell them the deal is dead BEFORE the deadline in the contract. Beginners don't know the market well enough to be sure of what the ARV really is, and they know repair expenses even less. If you don't have those numbers solid, you're going to be in hot water. Worse, newbie expenses on lead generation is infinitely higher than their profit margins.

If you're going to go into real estate investing, do yourself a favor and join your local real estate investment club. Find someone in the club that's been doing it for quite a while and see if you can start working with them. There are always investors out there looking for 'bird dogs' and it will give you a feel for what the business is really like rather than the excitement someone else makes it out to be. If you don't have a local real estate investment club or can't find it, call your local HomeVestors franchise. These people are real estate investors with a real estate license, they're going to know where the local investors are and what clubs they belong to. Get with an experienced investor and learn in the field instead of from a book.

At best, you will find that in reality none of this advice is practical. In the real world people don't sign over title and give keys to their homes to a stranger they just met without having the mortgage on it paid off by the buyer. They don't agree to remain responsible for the mortgage in their names for years while somebody else owns the home. All mortgages for the last few decades have due on sale clauses. If a seller signs title over without paying off the mortgage they are in default. The seller can't get another mortgage while that old one is in their name because they still owe the money. People don't overpay for homes by $20,000, and the ones that would consider overpaying because they can't get a mortgage don't have $20,000. They have bad credit because they don't have money to pay their bills. Buying beat up homes and flipping them to other flippers for big profits, what they can't read the same ads you do?

In the real world people don't do the things in this book so they can be taken advantage of. Trying to take short cuts to big fast profits by getting people to agree to unusual things that hurt them financially can lead to trouble. I would talk to a real estate attorney for their opinion before doing anything suggested in this book. And hold off on quitting that job until you do.