Answering the "What Ifs" in Real Estate

Review Tyler Tichelaar

Innovative Book Answers Real Estate Questions with Real Answers

We’ve all seen the infomercials and listened to their “You can have it all” message of how much money can easily be made investing in real estate. Most of us think it’s a gimmick and switch the channel; we’re afraid that buying the special kit is just a scam or at least a waste of money. Least believable are the claims that we can make a fortune with no money down. I’ve been as skeptical as the next person about investing in real estate. Then I read Paul Xavier’s “Answering the What IFs in Real Estate” and my understanding of how real estate investing can make you financially independent changed drastically.

Paul Xavier does not offer a get rich quick scheme. In fact, he makes it clear that investing in real estate is not that simple, although by following the steps in this book, I believe it is a lot easier than one might initially suspect. And Xavier does show you how to start investing with no money down by helping other investors to find property. Bottom line, whether you are a skeptic or a believer, a beginner or already a real estate investor, “Answering the What IFs in Real Estate” answers every possible question you could ever have about real estate investing.

Answering questions is precisely the purpose of this book, and Xavier has arranged it based on those “What if” questions most people ask, beginning with the ones that unfortunately paralyze people from starting to invest. No less than ninety-eight “What if” questions are asked, arranged into ten sections that carry the reader from getting started without needing any money to rehabbing a property and dealing with tenants.

When Paul Xavier began investing, he knew nothing about real estate; he was employed full-time in the U.S. Navy, and he had very little money to invest. None of that stopped him. He attended some seminars, read some books, took some chances, and used his wits. Today he owns properties across the United States, is actively involved in three real estate companies, is a nationally recognized speaker in the real estate industry, and he personally mentors real estate investors across the country.

While “Answering the What IFs in Real Estate” contains very practical advice about a variety of real estate issues, ranging from finding a good real estate agent and a good general contractor, to dealing with tenants who have pets, and finding a bank to lend you money, what I found most impressive and refreshing about the book is Xavier’s “CAN DO” attitude, which convinces the reader that real estate investing can be a viable part of one’s future. Xavier makes it clear that if a person believes he or she can become a real estate investor, then motivation and common sense will make the rest fall into place. One of my favorite passages from the book illustrates this point when Xavier answers the question, “What if I don’t have any money?”

Great! Then what have you got to lose?

Xavier then steps far beyond simple motivation to give ingenuous examples of how to build your credit quickly so banks will lend you money, how to get other investors to pay you to find them deals, how to find your own deals, and how to sell a house within an astonishing five days. That’s just the beginning of the great advice (far from tricks) that Xavier has up his sleeve.

If you think real estate investing is for you—and after reading “Answering the What IFs in Real Estate,” I can’t imagine why anyone would not think so—then buying this book can be your first and smallest yet greatest investment toward your future financial freedom.