Diary of a Real Estate Rookie: My Year of Flipping, Selling, and Rebuilding - and What I Learned (The Hard Way),   ISBN:9781427754653

Customer Rating: 

The book came very fast and was in perfect condition! I'd definitely order again, thanks.

Customer Rating: 

There are no shortage of books out there for first-time home buyers, but Alison Rogers' Diary of a Real Estate Rookie: My Year of Flippin, Selling, and Rebuilding -- and What I Learned the Hard Way is easily the most interesting I've read, probably because it hasn't a how-to guide filled with platitudes like "don't buy the first house you see."

As the title would suggest, this isn't a how-to guide at all. Instead it's a former real estate writer's tale of her first year as a real estate agent/aspiring investor -- it's a quick and funny read (I finished it in one sitting), and it's a remarkably candid expose of all the problems that prospective home buyers can face in dealing with agents. The book begins "More than six million Americans move each year. If anecdotal evidence is anything to go by, more than 5.9 million of them hate their real estate agent." She describes the unethical tactics that many of her competitors use to inflate their incomes at the expense of clients. Sprinkled throughout the narrative are informative sidebars like "tricks to keep from overpaying", "the greatest rental search tip ever" (definitely worth the price of admission), and "five tips to ease the pain of selling."

In addition to being a valuable guide for rookie buyers, this is also probably the first book anyone contemplating a career as an agent should buy.

At 212 fun-to-read pages, you can't go wrong with this book if you're interested in real estate.

Zac Bissonnette
AOL Money and Finance Writers/Editor

Customer Rating: 

Like some other reviewers of this book, I had no innate interest in real estate when I picked up this book. But Alison Roger's narration ROCKS. She manages to be sharp/smart/sassy while also disarmingly self-denigrating - I can't wait to see what she's going to come up with on the next page. This is also a delicious memoir in that the memoirist doesn't try to interest you in herself in any narcissistic way -rather, she has genuinely interesting stories to share - to educate, explain, inspire, entertain, and warn you - and since they happened to have occurred to her personally, well, hey, it's a memoir. Above all, seeing how her remarkable (often sardonic) sense of humor get her through the tough spots is refreshing, almost addictive. I read most of it in one sitting and haven't quite finished it yet because I love the idea that there's still some waiting for me like a hidden treat.

Customer Rating: 

I was really excited to get this book after reading some of the reviews and thought it would be a valuable read for the beginning flipper. After reading over half the book and coming to realize that there hadn't been a flip and there was never going to be a flip I gave up on this book. The entire first half of the book was spent searching for a house to flip but never actually finding one. There were a few valuable pieces of advice but nothing that I hadn't already read in other books. If you're a beginning flipper and are expecting an informative book to help teach you what to do and what not to do then keep looking, this book isn't it.

Customer Rating: 

If this book were an apartment it would be a "sunny condo conversion - panoramic views, oversize windows, 3 BR, 2 BA, closets galore, one of a kind architectural details, built in window seat the perfect place to curl up and read a book." I gobbled it up over recent holiday weekend - it's funny and organized in short breezy chapters - easy to read. Some great stories - the fabulous BIG sale (!!!) with fully negotiated contract and the case of the missing buyers - the summer rental of a mansion that also didn't quite happen - and successes - first pitch, first open house, first sales. And I could really relate to the feeling of being pulled in ten different directions trying to balance needs of customers, sellers, family, and oh yes, self. Plus that whole adjusting to a new career thing. Great present for the real estate agent in your life, be he/she your spouse, friend, or your hard-working realtor. Or buy it for yourself...it's an investment in your sanity, for starters, and some good tips on working with buyers and sellers.