How to Make Millions in Real Estate... With No Cash by Tyler G Hicks

How to Make Millions in Real Estate in Three Years Starting with No Cash. Talk about a long title!

When I picked this book up I instantly knew that I liked it. I loved the feel of the paperback cover. It was the finish that I liked. It's a smooth but matte finish. Very unique. Unfortunately this was my favorite part of the book. In fact I was laughing after just a few pages and after a dozen pages I knew I wasn't going to like this book. It's a good thing that the format (endless lists) makes it a super fast read. A few hours later I was done.

Anyone that is familiar with our current real-estate climate will quickly recognize that this book is OUT DATED! Printed durring the frenzy of the real estate bubble (2005), 9 out of 10 things that Tyler recommends are nearly impossible, unrealistic, or simply irresponsible. Some of it verges on outright fraud. In fact, reading this book gives a good perspective of the psychology of a "bubble investor."

On page 4 he says, "So when I recommend real estate investments to you, I do so with the complete assurance that it is almost impossible for you to go wrong. Further, it is almost impossible for you not to make money in real estate." I was cracking up pretty good by then. I bet most of his readers lost everything, including OPM (other peoples money as Tyler calles it) in the crash. On the previous page he basically says that real estate ALWAYS goes up in value. In fact he implies this several different times. I guess that is why he has a huge disclaimer at the beginning of his book. Most real estate books I've ever read didn't have disclaimers.

In Chapter 2 he starts talking about the different way to finance real estate and a casually included using credit card loans and borrowing the money from a family members equity! It's true you can get money this way, but this is also how people's dreams turn into nightmares. It's how people read Tyler's book and then a few years later attempt suicide. Now, I'm not saying Tyler is responsibly for attempted suicides, but I'd be surprised if he didn't inspire a few. Think about it. What would it be like if someone borrowed $300,000 from family members and carried $100,000 on credit cards, then lost their job and the real estate. It's not like they can file bankruptcy and say "Too bad mom, you're not going to retire anymore." Again, I guess that's why he has the extensive disclaimer in the front of the book.

He also repeatedly talkes about using conventional financing to get 100-125% of the purchase price. There are a few government sponsored programs, but other than that it just doesn't happen anymore. He gives you a list of lenders that will do financing like this and does so with another disclaimer that some of them may have changed their policies. Go figure.

At one point he mentions an incident of discrimination by a leander who thought women were less reliable than men. Then he says it's a sentiment that 50% of the population shares. Unless women think themselves unreliable, that leaves all men who think women are less reliable. I think he may have made this statistic up. After all 35% of all statistics are made up (including this one).

All things considered, there is some reasonable content in this book. He does talk about some non-conventional ways of financing that are still possible. They are more difficult now, but still possible. He includes just about every type of real estate out there. He aslo has an extensive list of additional information; books, packages, other sources. I'd say about 1/2 are his own real estate training packages or services. He also has some good real estate advice. However, if you don't have enough real estate experience to know the difference between good and bad advice, just stay away. I would recommend this book only for people that already have some experience in real estate. There are just too many ways for beginners to be led astray and get into trouble.

Score 3/10