Crushing It in Apartments and Commercial Real Estate: How a Small Investor Can Make It Big

I have purchased many books from Amazon, but this is my first review ever. I work in health care and consider myself a fairly well read person. Prior to reading this book, I couldn't tell you the difference between DSCR and disco. Upon completion of the book, I have a working vocabulary and fundamental understanding of commercial real estate. This book was amazing in both the breadth of knowledge covered, as well as how Brian Murray presents the material. It was all done in a very well thought out and systematic manner, guiding the reader from the beginning to the end of a deal. I believe that the good formatting is a testament to Brian's past career as a teacher. The most important aspect of this book compared to some other real estate books out there, is that the author uses real numbers, and uses his own real world deals as examples. He has a legitimate real estate company with a website that you can go to and verify that he has actually done these deals.The advice he gives, especially the little nuggets learned from his own real life examples are priceless. Reading the book, I felt like I had a mentor teaching me, and walking through the process. He has these great appendices in the back of the book with additional invaluable resources which I have never encountered before in a real estate book. I found the material presented so meaningful, that I would have gladly paid twice the price for it.So to anyone reading this review, if you really want to get an insider's mindset on how to enter the commercial real estate world and the methodology behind doing a deal, get this book. Not once does Brian ever try to sell you anything; there are no webinars, seminars, additional books, etc.Brian, thank you for taking the time to write this book and giving myself and others the chance to learn both from your successes and challenges.

I am a self-proclaimed novice when it comes to all things real estate-my limited knowledge has been acquired from shows on HGTV and other similar channels. However, Mr. Murray’s book titled “Crushing It in Apartments and Commercial Real Estate” has helped me to expand that knowledge. There are many great things that can be said about this book! First, Mr. Murray has a way of explaining even seemingly complex topics such as formulas for things such as debt service coverage ratio that is very accessible to the reader. “Crushing It” is systematically organized that starts off with how to find that right property and even personality traits that will help one be successful in real estate acquisition and ends with how to continue to grow as a person once that portfolio begins to grow. It is clear to the reader that Mr. Murray has extensive knowledge about how to invest in commercial real estate, but he does not come across as a “know-it-all” that is off putting to the reader. In fact, he is very humble and readily shares insight into his own mistakes. Throughout the book, he shares the story of his own personal experience in acquiring and developing a property known as the Solar Building. It was very interesting to read about his trials, tribulations and successes at the property. In fact, I wish the book would have contained further stories about some of his other investments. If you are someone who has ever considered investing your assets in commercial property or would just like to expand your horizons when it comes to understanding how to invest in commercial real estate, I highly recommend this well-written and comprehensive “how to” guide to get you started. Two thumbs up!

Need a side hustle to make ends meet? Been thinking about owning, renting or moving some real estate to see if you can turn a profit? If so, then this book is what you need to read to get practical advice, real-life examples of successes and failures and simple, down to earth business strategies. Brian Murray tells the reader about his own personal experiences from his beginnings as a new investor, to dramas with his renters, to nurturing his investments as an entrepreneur to his present position as a successful businessman and investor with a multi-million dollar business. That's some side hustle!!And the amazing thing is, that's how it started – he had too much month at the end of his money and needed to supplement his teacher income. So, he took a simple interest and turned it into a money maker. He started small but soon realized that with some simple business math (outlined for the reader in his book), common –sense and a little creativity, he could invest in larger properties and turn bigger profits while also making a difference in other people's lives including his own. Brian spells his simple strategies out in this book and provides supplementary resources to help the reader out. He wants everyone to be as successful as he was and believes they can. He admits and even revels in the fact that, because he started as a non-professional, he didn't know his approach was different that other large commercial property investors – but, this is the key to his success. He was small and, therefore, more nimble than other bigger investment houses in the same space. His story is inspirational and practical giving the reader all the tools they need to start out investing in the commercial real estate market and making their own dreams of success come true.

Introductory level

Easy to read and some great info in here. Quit pushing books to Instagram “influencers” please Brian all it does is cheapen what is a legitimately useful and thorough book.

Very good book. Author gives multiple examples to explain the concepts. Learnt many new things. A must read if you want to start investing career in real estate.

Let’s be honest - there are a LOT of books out there on Commercial Real Estate (CRE) and, for the most part, they seem to be polarised between two specific types. On the one hand you find dry university texts written for existing professionals that tend to confuse the neophyte with too many acronyms and esoteric formulae. On the other hand you have the slickly written books that appeal to the novice CRE investor, but ultimately fail to deliver and serve to do little else but slot you into a sales funnel where you end up spending a fortune on “mentorship” courses.Thankfully, Brian Murray's "Crushing It In real Estate" does not fit in either of these categories. In short, if you are looking for a solid, well written, but easy to read primer on making your first steps as a CRE investor, this book delivers. In a previous life, the author was a teacher and his desire and ability to impart relevant information throughout the book shines through. The underlying sentiment of the book seems to be one of a genuine desire to help those that have the will to proceed with CRE investment, but lack the basic skill-set and perhaps are a little intimidated.For me, the takeaway messages in the book are:1. The down to earth tone of the book, coupled with the examples of the various struggles he faced when at the bottom of the hill, as well as those he faced after acquiring his first CRE assets, make it east to relate to the author. This creates the feeling of “Brian did it, so can I...”, rather than “Wow, this guy is so massively successful, I’ll never achieve on that level…”2. There are ways to kick-start ownership of CRE assets, even when you lack funds. Yes, office space can be significantly more expensive than residential, but where there’s a will, there’s a way.3. CRE investment really isn’t that scary when you’re armed with the knowledge that this book shares.My only regret was that I bought the Kindle version and not the physical book, but I can hardly blame the author for that, can I?Five stars.

Hear it from somebody who is walking the walk: inspirational and very informative. The host of the commercial real estate podcast