Loopholes of Real Estate (Rich Dad’s Advisors (Paperback))

Voted Best Business Book in 2014! by Pacific Book Review

Loopholes of Real Estate clearly reveals the tax and legal loopholes you need to know to be a successful real estate investor. Knowledge is power; this book is a must read for the strategic investor. – Geraldine Barry, President SJREI Association & Publisher of REI Voice Magazine

There is no time like the present to take steps towards a successful real estate investing venture especially with using this book as your guide. Written by Garrett Sutton who is an acclaimed author, lawyer and advisor to the well-known and well-received, Rich Dad Poor Dad series of financial self help books. Mr. Sutton has also authored numerous other books on Financial/Business self help, therefore the reader can rest assured that the information contained in this book is reliable because it is coming from an expert source and is not offering vague advice on a “get–rich–quick scheme.” Loopholes of Real Estate is an updated version of previously published edition(s).

The book is divided into five parts each section relevant to the varied aspects of successful real estate investing and the loopholes that protect the resulting assets. Part One – Real Estate Advantages contains the background information (theories and facts) on real estate investing and its benefits. Part Two –Get in the Game advises readers on how to devise an investment plan, gather your personal advisement team, and decide on your investment. Part Three – Tax Strategies – demonstrates how to analyze the financial potential of possible investments, looks at tax advantages and managing your investments. Part Four- Legal Strategies illustrates various legal methods for protecting your investments. Part five – Selection Strategies informs readers of legal and other issues pertinent to choosing a potentially profitable property. Found at the end of every chapter, are sections that detail the viable loopholes related to the information included in the chapter. Also contained in the book are multiple, relevant checklists, referrals to other informative resources (online) and books written by other experts in the real estate field.

Being that I am neither a real estate Investor nor someone who has a working knowledge of such things, I expected this book to be boring and doused in confusing lingo but instead I was pleasantly surprised. Written in a friendly tone and worded so that it is easy to understand, this is a precisely written, thoroughly organized guide to all things real estate; it does not just inundate the reader with laws, tax rules, and loopholes it offers lucid explanations demonstrated by case examples that depict real life situations. Additionally, this is not just a book for those looking to attain wealth through real estate investing it also serves as an intensely informative resource for business owners, married couples, business partners, and particularly homeowners, especially chapters 25 (Protecting Your Home and Related Asset Protection Strategies), 29 (Duties Owed by Real Estate brokers and Agents), and 30 (Legal Due Diligence).

This is an excellent book for those looking to invest in real estate – the information contained in this book does well to clarify the do’s, don’ts and loopholes and I heartily recommend this book as a must read for anyone interested in real estate on any level. Whether you’re buying your first home, or adding another multi-unit apartment complex to your vast real estate portfolio, Garrett Sutton’s book is a fantastic overview of the “nuts and bolts” of buying, owning and selling real estate. – Pacific Book Review

…Sutton (Run Your Own Corporation, 2012, etc.), an attorney, expert in business law and one of … Robert T. Kiyosaki’s stable of Rich Dad Advisors, offers clever, if complicated, new ploys to grow and safeguard a fortune. He begins with a motivational sketch of the cash-flow investment doctrine popularized in Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad―buy rental properties with borrowed money; rake in cash from tenants; leverage the equity to buy new properties; repeat until rich―but focuses on the labyrinthine “loopholes” that make the formula tenable. The first kind involves subtle tax dodges that add greatly to the profitability of property investments―everything from “cost segregation” depreciation to “passive loss” allowances to the “1031 exchange.” The flip side of amassing real estate wealth, the author continues, is protecting it against lawsuits, especially those filed by tenants. Sutton therefore explores another suite of legal loopholes for sheltering assets from court judgments, including insurance, limited liability corporations that distance owners from their wealth, and the tactic of loading properties with debt so they are less tempting targets for plaintiffs. There is plenty of arcane tax, legal and corporate-structuring lore here, but Sutton explains it in admirably lucid, straightforward prose supplemented with entertaining fictional case studies, including a picaresque involving an alpaca ranch, a moonshine still and whiplash payouts. Readers will learn a lot from the book, though not quite enough to master the subject; Sutton stresses that a team of expert “advisors”―a lawyer, broker, accountant, insurer, property manager―is indispensable for guiding investors profitably through the legal/financial minefield….Novice investors will find it an excellent road map for getting started. Readers looking for easy money may be discouraged by Sutton’s demonstration of just how complex real estate money can be, but others will find helpful guidelines, tips and tricks presented in a clear, engaging style.- Kirkus Reviews