patrick.net

I also finished your book this weekend Patrick. What sticks with me most is that little book is really my only friend when it comes to buying a property. 'Paranoia has never failed me' is one of my mottos.

Improvements? Nothing striking that comes to mind, not all situations fit all people. I intend on reading it again and could probably come up with blog like discussion as in this board if interested.

It's your second book! You should be damn proud.

I have two copies and fully intend on sharing.

152 paper copies and 42 Kindle copies sold so far!

I've started writing radio stations hoping to get interviewed. One good national interview and I think sales could really take off.

Again, I think you have something here.

Most people don't know really how the Real Estate Industry works and your book is easy enough to read for most.

As you are probably aware, there are people out there who don't want you to get the information out.

Paranoia, it works.

Best of luck with the marketing, say a 100,000 sales goal to start would bring some liquidity. I hope, to start.

Patrick, I think your cause is just, but how are you going to battle the FED gangsters who have made it their mission to create a false bottom in the market?

I think the bears have lost. The good guys lost this battle.

David9 says

Best of luck with the marketing, say a 100,000 sales goal to start would bring some liquidity. I hope, to start.

At $5 royalty per book, 100,000 would do nicely!

Goran_K says

Patrick, I think your cause is just, but how are you going to battle the FED gangsters who have made it their mission to create a false bottom in the market?

One secret is that the bond market is far more powerful than the Fed. When the bond market demands higher interest rates, rates will go higher no matter what the Fed wants.

rates will go higher no matter what the Fed wants.

I hope you are right. I have been posting today that prices are rising here in LA, because, they are. The market behaviour is following your book.

"At $5 royalty per book, 100,000 would do nicely!"

You will need the money to move forward!

Patrick, I woke up this morning and spent three hours reading your book from start to finish.

Overall the book is clear, concise, easy to read, and effectively conveys the "flip-side" of real estate that is invisible to the average buyer... especially the 1st time buyer. I can honestly say that I wish I had an understanding of these concepts back when I bought my first property. I would have looked at things through a completely different set of eyes. I learned most of these concepts the hard way over the past few years and it's great to see them summarized and expanded on.

Some parts of the booked that were particularly strong:

- The concept of renting property vs renting money

- Property valuation based on rent (annual rent to price ratios). Every buyer should understand this concept!

- I recently had a debate with a colleague about why it is better to pay a low price with a higher interest rate than a higher price with a low interest rate, in general of course. Page 82-83 summarizes the key points well.

- Concept of the land value tax. Agreed!

- Expanding on supply vs demand by noting that prices are influenced by interest rates, lending standards, and government interference of the free market. I would also hit on salaries and unemployment rate here.

- As a buyer understanding "dual agency" and why it can work for you in hot markets.

And a few thoughts for improvement:

- The chapter titled, "Scams and Dirty Tricks" certainly got the point across but the tone may have been a little over the top. I would have written it in a slightly softer objective tone.

- One section of the book talks about presenting offers directly to the owner as the suggested approach despite a possibility of violating certain terms. Expand on this topic and those terms.

- The dangers of leverage. Yes, it's important to see both sides but who in the real estate world has ever been successful without rolling the dice and leveraging money, time, labor, etc?

- This is just my opinion, but I don't particularly care for the ominous cloud background image on your cover. I think your image of the house inside the bear trap is great, but would prefer to see it on a plain white background. I know, picky picky but that's just what stuck after I had to look closer to identify what I was looking at the first time I laid eyes on the book, lol.

- Minor typo on page 102 "where where"

- "Rocket Surgery" ?

- Avoid the "wife" title and go with "spouse" instead.

Overall I think you did quite a service to the community by writing this book and assembling these ideas worth well over the $12.50 cost of admission, even though the book is bound to piss off some organizations like the NAR. They'll only notice if you sell enough books however.

And I think you are right. It's 2012, a lot of people have a very bitter taste in their mouth from getting burned by the real estate bubble and you are one national interview away from having this do well. Make sure you are prepared for that when it comes.

BayArea ( Luke )

Got my fingers crossed Patrick.
Fighting this machinery takes education and the profiteers ain't real transparent.
The too big to fail banks will treat DocX lending Services as some Quasi entity the same as gubmint treats the fed.
The little guy takes the fall if nobody is aware.
Your book is an eye opener.
I say that even as an offended HONEST X Real Estate Agent.

The housing trap is even worse, in some key ways, in Oakland.

Read about this property tax assessment ("Parcel tax") that was supposed to provide more needed public safety services and performance-based anti-violence programs, but instead brought us fewer police, politically connected nonprofits with no-bid, no-results anti-violence programming, and counter-intuitively, more crime. No other bay area city that i'm aware of uses parcel taxes to pay for BASIC services such as police. That is a core city service.

http://defendingmeasurey.blogspot.com/

also:

http://www.lensforchange.com/public_safety

BayArea says

Patrick, I woke up this morning and spent three hours reading your book from start to finish...

Thanks Luke!
I really appreciate the honest feedback. I've corrected the typo and am working on the other suggestions for the next edition. I'm thinking I should update it once per year.

Patrick,

Read the book on Kindle for PC in 4 hours and thought it was great!

- Quick read with no fluff and to the point information
- Very easy to understand for all but I too got a couple pointers that felt paid for the book
- I thought the book was going to be pro renting but I felt the argument for owning was also there. I guess Patrick doesn't follow all his bitter and negative followers on the forum who cheerlead fear and apocolypse so they can short the market and buy for pennies to the dollar. I thought the book was unbiased and applicable for all readers, not just forum fan boys.

Some comments and criticisms

1) Error on the kindle for PC, not sure if it was my computer/internet scrambling the words but this paragraph read like this:
"Mortgage brokers maximum price or other critical information about you to your agent. This is not a problem if you simply don’t have a mortgage broker or an agent. title companies, appraisers, return for directing your can also give away your"

2) I'd love to see actual examples on where to begin with FSBO or sending your own offers. Could you download contract agreements exc on legalzoom perhaps?

3) Mentioned a few times about MLS not showing foreclosures exc being a conspiracy for higher commisions. I just think agents don't want to deal with every buyer geting excited about some auction that may never happen or pre foreclosure that may not be listed for years. Infact, short sales which do get listed on the MLS, seem to go for just as good if not better discounts than auctions/trustees/pre foreclosures.

4) The book mentions that foreigners aren't stupid and will wait a couple years for prices to come down before buying and patrick also mentions similiar to waiting.

But Isn't timing the market speculation and gambling?

Prices haven't really dipped below 2009 levels and anyone who waited lost out on a LOT of great deals if they took the forums negative attitude too seriously. Luckily the book didn't head in that direction because I myself picked up great cash flowing deals via short sales along the way. When the market stabalizes if not already, short sales will be slim and traditional sellers may not care for all cash offers like banks do right now. You will have lost the greatest opportunity in history and cry yourself to sleep at night 30 years from now when you're still renting.

5) There has yet to be proof of how much or if any tax deduction is factored into the price of homes. People buy based on up front costs in my oppinion and not what they will save next year in taxes. I'd like to see more proof to his claim.

6) I felt there wasn't much of an intro before just jumping right into it, instead, he gets this out by saying "Realtors@ Yuck!" but felt that a proper introduction to Patricks motives and direction he wanted to take readers of the book may have faired a little better.

152 paper copies and 42 Kindle copies sold so far!

I've started writing radio stations hoping to get interviewed. One good national interview and I think sales could really take off.

http://www.coasttocoastam.com/

Another suggestion, Coast to Coast AM. Just mention you came from another planet.

Does Amazon now charge sales tax on Kindle content?

033 says

Does Amazon now charge sales tax on Kindle content?

Serious? is that what you're concerned about? A few pennies on an $8 purchase?

My purchase confirmation doesn't show tax. But I haven't looked at my bank statement.

Serious, if Amazon did I was going to download the content from my work to save 0.02.

snyderkv says

Read the book on Kindle for PC in 4 hours and thought it was great!

Thanks! I will incorporate your feedback into the next edition. I'm thinking of doing a new edition each year.

snyderkv says

Error on the kindle for PC, not sure if it was my computer/internet scrambling the words but this paragraph read like this:

Yes, that is some kind of Kindle error. The text is fine in the actual book. Thanks for telling me.

snyderkv says

But Isn't timing the market speculation and gambling?

I'm trying to say you should always look at the rent / buy ratio for a specific house, and if it's not good, then wait. If it's a good deal compared to renting (not compared to lemming-comps!), then go ahead and buy.

I'm trying to say you should always look at the rent / buy ratio for a specific house, and if it's not good, then wait. If it's a good deal compared to renting (not compared to lemming-comps!), then go ahead and buy.

But what about the places where the buy/rent ratio hasnt been good in decades? What if (per the OC Housing News guy) some areas have not been at rental parity since at least 1988. Would you advise these people to "wait"?

Seems to me the better advice would be either (a) pay the premium and buy at the bottom or (b) accept permanent renting as a lifestyle choice and celebrate the fact the landlord subsidises your lifestyle to live there.

Wouldnt this be better than to give people false hope that if they "wait" a metric that hasnt proven true in 23 years will sudenly become true?

Just bought the book on kindle. I have been on this sight for a couple years. Love the Book! Thanks Patrick. Best $8 I ever spent

Glad you like it!

Sold 78 Kindle copies total so far, plus 186 paper copies.

Let me know if you have any marketing advice.

I am going to buy a hard copy too tonight. You need media attention. You need to get in front of people. Book stores etc... I don't know anything...

I listen to Peter Schiff on TuneIn radio. He is an ego maniac but You would probably be a good guest on his show. Tom Leykis is another Internet radio host who ( not sure about spelling) would love your message. Send them copies of your book or call.

You are at a crossroad with your website. I hope you don't stop. You have helped thousands of people I'm sure. Thank you

I agree with the above. This book really is an excellent reference material to have on hand (and Jody even get's a shout-out)! I've thought about buying one or two extra to leave around my favorite coffee shop where I hear Real Estate agents conspiring all the time -- without buying a beverage I might add!

Thanks Patrick for making from flight from DTW to SFO seem shorter.

Kindle rocks!

CDon says

But what about the places where the buy/rent ratio hasnt been good in decades? What if (per the OC Housing News guy) some areas have not been at rental parity since at least 1988. Would you advise these people to "wait"?

The SF Bay area had the same price/rent ratio as the rest of the country until fairly recently, about the year 2000 according to John Talbott's book "Sell Now!"

I think prices can just as easily drop back to the normal ratio. Rents cannot rise beyond what salaries support.

That's only if salaries go down in the Bay Area. The salary run up since 1998 has been impressive in a number of industries. First year attorneys at the big law firms still make over 130k and software engineers command a premium.

The SF Bay area had the same price/rent ratio as the rest of the country until fairly recently, about the year 2000 according to John Talbott's book "Sell Now!"

As I noted in the other thread, From Amazon's review of Mr. Talbot and his Sell Now book...

"As a guide for the average homeowner, this book is a convincing argument broken down into laymen's terms, albeit one fueled by bias: Talbott admits he, "allowed his anger and bitterness," to influence his writing, making it less a studied survey than a "creative analysis," as Talbott terms it."

Hanging your hat on the "creative analysis" of someone fueled by bias with a self admitted axe to grind is propbably not the best proof that the price/rent ratio in San Francisco, let alone the fortress, was the same as everywhere else.

Rents cannot rise beyond what salaries support.

Sure they can. People can, and do, double up. Like sending the spouse back to work.

DukeLaw says

The salary run up since 1998 has been impressive in a number of industries.

On the other hand, the number of companies (public) is half of year 2000 from 400 down to low 200s. Thats even far less the the early 90s. The start up companies are even worse than the 90s.

Take away the low end mfg wages folks, and most of your headcount from R&D and G&A moved to other states and overseas.. all you have left is the high paid executives which skew the salaries in the SFBA. They only seem high, but didnt really show any growth for the past 10 years.

One individual there gave you a negative review, and I honestly don't think they even read the book.

Because what that person wrote wasn't accurate regarding the book.

Patrick, for the next revision, I think you should touch on a point of risk that was powerful for me to hear...

When you sign your 30yr promise to repay for example, watch what happens if you lose your job and miss your 360th payment.

With a 9% unemployment rate today, I think that topic should at least be mentioned in your book for buyers to consider since so many people these days are living month to month and a lost job can have a devastating effect on homeownership for those types.

BayArea says

watch what happens if you lose your job and miss your 360th payment.

Great point! I will include it in the next edition.

BayArea says

watch what happens if you lose your job and miss your 360th payment.

Great point! I will include it in the next edition.

A shout out to BayArea in the opening along with all the others wouldn't hurt either... ;-)

I would also like to see the book reference a YouTube link showing a 30 minute interview of APOCALYPSEFUCK's view of the housing market since that would be wildly entertaining, lol.

BayArea says

A shout out to BayArea in the opening along with all the others wouldn't hurt either... ;-)

Will do. Sorry I forgot you on the first edition.

BayArea says

I would also like to see the book reference a YouTube link showing a 30 minute interview of APOCALYPSEFUCK's view of the housing market since that would be wildly entertaining, lol.

I'd love that. @"APOCALYPSEFUCK is Shostakovich" how about it?

Let me know if you have any marketing advice.

These days it's either a wardrobe malfunction or a sex tape. Your choice.

What we really need is an intelligent show for the public. My dream team for an alternative to 'the view' would be Patrick, Matt Tabbi, and Charles Hugh Smith.

I think prices can just as easily drop back to the normal ratio. Rents cannot rise beyond what salaries support.

With enough corruption you have two different classes. Owners for whom price is no object, and then everyone else.

Wow, it's not even an autographed copy!

Weird.

That's a 47% gain in just a matter of weeks.

Is Patrick a misogynist…?

That was the question put to me by someone reading through my copy of the book.

I don’t remember what passage sparked this question (I think it may have been something about the wife spending the husbands money, insinuating that the marriage is not a 50/50 partnership), but it was before they even got to the section “Your Wife”, which personifies this theme in the book.

I believe that the reason for this is that in general the book is speaking to men, and when referring to women often paint them as a “bad guy” during the home buying process.

Do I think that Patrick is a misogynist? No, I actually agree with the reasoning in the “Your Wife” section.

Suggestions for giving the book more cross-gender appeal:
- I think that “Your Wife” has good info on why some women would “conspire” to buy a home. Being that it is very women specific I don’t think simply labeling it “Your Spouse” would be enough. I think that there are also uniquely masculine motivations for a husband to become a conspirator (Yes, men also have innate motivations that would get them to buy when they should not). I think that two sections to address each, “Your Wife” and “Your Husband” would be a good solution. That in mind…;

- The book ignores the spectrum of behavior for feminine to masculine stereotypes, and that some men can advocate for housing for “feminine” reasons and some women for “masculine” reasons. When writing you may want to keep this in mind and not be too absolute on the behaviors of either gender. Qualifying sentences like, “While these behaviors general motivate women to want to buy, do keep in mind that you may end up hearing some of these from your husband.”;

- However, for the most part you may want to write from a gender neutral position. This book should also speak to a women who is having hesitations about buying and is being pressured by her husband. In short when writing don’t assume that the male bread winner is the one who is being pressured into buying a home that they cannot afford.

Other suggestions for future prints of the book:

- Another conspirator “Your Friends.” In my case, during the run up, I had significantly more pressure from friends to buy than from any of the other conspirators. Bother “internal”, just seeing them buying and wanting to own also, and directly friends actually telling me what a great time it was to buy (BTW, most now are underwater or foreclosed).

- More visual data. Charts, graphs, etc. can often times help ideas and data come alive driving home a point in a much more convincing manner than a page of text will.