Where to Start with Brandon Turner: A Reading Guide
Where to start with Brandon Turner — whether to begin with The Book on Rental Property Investing or Managing Rental Properties. A complete reading guide.
By Marcus Webb
Brandon Turner is the American real estate investor, author, and co-founder of BiggerPockets — the largest real estate investing social network in the United States, with over two million members — whose books on rental property investing have become the standard introductory texts for readers entering the world of residential real estate investment. Turner’s books are characterised by their practical, numbers-focused approach and their grounding in the lived experience of building a rental portfolio from scratch.
Where to Start: The Book on Rental Property Investing (2015)
The essential Turner — and the most widely read introduction to rental property investment for beginners. The book covers the full process from first principles: what rental property investment is, why it builds wealth more reliably than many other asset classes (through cash flow, appreciation, loan paydown, and tax advantages simultaneously), and how to find, analyse, finance, and manage properties.
The deal analysis sections are the book’s most valuable content. Turner teaches specific metrics — cash-on-cash return (annual cash flow divided by cash invested), cap rate (net operating income divided by property value), the 1% rule (monthly rent should be at least 1% of purchase price as a quick filter) — and shows how to apply them to real properties. He is honest about when these rules apply and when they don’t; the analysis is practical rather than theoretical.
The financing section is equally practical: Turner explains the different loan types available to investors (conventional, FHA for house-hacking, portfolio loans, private money), their requirements and costs, and how to think about leverage. For readers who believe they can’t invest in real estate because they don’t have a large down payment, the book’s treatment of creative financing is often revelatory.
For readers starting from zero in real estate investing, The Book on Rental Property Investing is the clearest available foundation.
The Book on Managing Rental Properties (2015)
The operational companion — tenant screening, lease agreements, rent collection, evictions, and the decision to self-manage versus hire a property manager. Read after The Book on Rental Property Investing when you’re ready to manage what you’ve acquired.
Reading Brandon Turner
Begin with The Book on Rental Property Investing — it covers the full picture from deal finding to acquisition. Read The Book on Managing Rental Properties after for the operational frameworks. Both are standalone.
For the full Brandon Turner bibliography, reviews, and biography, visit the Brandon Turner author page on Editors Reads.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where should I start with Brandon Turner?
The Book on Rental Property Investing (2015) is the essential starting point — Turner's comprehensive guide to building wealth through residential rental properties, covering deal analysis, financing strategies, property management, and the mindset of a successful investor. The most widely read of his books and the right foundation for readers beginning in real estate investment. The Book on Managing Rental Properties is the practical follow-on.
What is The Book on Rental Property Investing about?
The Book on Rental Property Investing covers the full lifecycle of rental property investment: finding and analysing deals (cash-on-cash return, cap rate, the 1% rule), financing options (conventional loans, FHA loans, private money, seller financing), property types (single-family, small multifamily), managing tenants and properties, building systems for scaling a portfolio, and the mindset required to sustain a real estate investment business. Turner is co-founder of BiggerPockets; the book reflects the community's practical, experience-based approach.
What is The Book on Managing Rental Properties about?
The Book on Managing Rental Properties (co-written with Heather Turner) is the operational companion to the investing book — covering the day-to-day reality of being a landlord: tenant screening, lease agreements, rent collection, maintenance and repairs, handling problem tenants, eviction procedures, and the decision of when to self-manage versus hire a property manager. More focused on operations than on deal analysis; the right follow-on for readers who have acquired properties and need management frameworks.
Is Brandon Turner's approach suitable for beginners?
Turner writes specifically for beginners and those early in their real estate investing journey. His approach is practitioner-based rather than theoretical — grounded in the BiggerPockets community's collective experience — and he is honest about the challenges and pitfalls alongside the opportunities. The books are particularly strong on the numbers side of real estate analysis; many readers find them the most practically useful introductions to the subject available.
