Author Name:
Joe Torre
Book Title:
Real Estate Due Diligence: The Investor’s Guide to Avoiding Costly Mistakes
Link to book page on Amazon:
What is your book about?
It helps small investors learn how to evaluate real estate investments and make good investment decisions.
What inspired you to write your book?
I see two problems beginning investors have, and I think I can help solve them. The first is “analysis paralysis”, in which an investor is thinking of buying a house as a rental investment, but doesn’t know quite enough to be confident to “pull the trigger”. I’ve met investors who go to seminars for years and never buy a property. The second problem is not being able to independently evaluate a deal (vs. taking the seller’s word for it) and making a bad investment that causes them to lose money. My book helps investors with both those problems.
If you have a business related to your book, tell us about it:
I work for a real estate investment firm, and my day job is to talk with clients, determine their goals and risk tolerance, and recommend what cities to invest in, what types of properties (homes, duplexes, etc.) and set them up with vetted property managers and lenders.
What is a typical day like for you?
My calendar is pretty full with investors and would-be investors who set up strategy sessions. During the discovery call, I learn their situation, what their financial challenges are and then connect them with the right property providers in any one of a dozen markets around the country. Then I follow up and walk them through the investment process, as needed.
What do you most enjoy about what you do?
I like creating the success stories. I’ve helped clients retire 10 years earlier than they thought they could. Some even decided to keep working, but knowing that they’re “job optional” makes the daily grind much more easier to endure.
What are some favorite books you’d recommend to our readers?
Well, mine of course! But aside from that, “Twelve Rules for Life” by Jordan Peterson (clinical psychologist), “How the Irish Saved Civilization” by Thomas Cahill, and “SPQR” by Mary Beard (professor of classics at Cambridge).
What advice do you have to offer our readers?
Writing a book is a lot more work than I thought it would be, but it is very gratifying to see it get published. When I got the advance copies, I thought “Wow, this looks like a real book!”.
What would people be surprised to learn about you?
Despite my MBA and years of business experience, I’m basically an academic. I should have been a Professor of History somewhere, making half what I do now.
What’s next for you?
My immediate goal is to promote the book by speaking at real estate investor clubs around the country. They all have monthly Zoom calls these days and I can reach hundreds of investors a month.
Would you like to be featured? Contribute an interview here, or check out our contributions page here.