The sought-after trinity of wealth， income， and real estate are<br >the central themes of this book， themes which I have attempted<br >to present realistically and in context. I freely admit that in a<br >harsh world prospective investors will have to work and save<br >and that such success as one may achieve won t come easily or<br >overnight.<br > Thus this is not a book about instant wealth， guaranteed suc-<br >cess， buying property without capital， getting loans without<br >credit， or predatory investment tactics. Nor is this book so gen-<br >eralized that readers will feel compelled to call a toll-free num-<br >ber and buy seminar seats or audio tapes costing hundreds of<br >dollars.<br > Instead， I have focused on realistic strategies and usable infor-<br >mation that readers can employ within the bounds of a mean-<br >ingful investment program. The idea is that wealth-building is<br >an evolutionary process， one that can be accelerated with infor-<br >mation， ideas， capital， and personal energy.<br > Real estate has always been an attractive investment choice，<br >because it--along with labor， capital， and entrepreneurial ef-<br >forts-is one of the four classic sources of wealth. It s a commod-<br >ity that can be rented， traded， sold， subdivided， financed， refi-<br >nanced， or developed， and because so many ways to manipulate<br >real estate exist， there are numerous opportunities to increase<br >value and create income.<br > In addition to its basic economic advantages， real estate has<br >been blessed with a variety of tax benefits and preferences.<br >Even after tax reform， substantial incentives remain for those<br ><br >