Starting with little money
Start with Door 3 (Wholesaling — “Becoming an Investor with No Money”), Door 4 rent arbitrage, and Door 12 Creative Finance. Low-cash paths first, with the risks stated honestly.
Who this book is for
Not one path. Fourteen doors.
This is not a book you have to read cover to cover. Jump to the Door that fits your money, your time, and your goals — each chapter gives you enough to get started right away. From the Introduction: “What they had in common wasn’t luck. It was knowledge, grit and patience.” This book gives you the knowledge.
Building long-term wealth
Door 1 Buy & Hold, Door 6 REITs, Door 7 Land, Door 8 Commercial & Multifamily, and Door 13 Taxes & Asset Protection — the foundational, patient strategies Mack calls “not flashy — foundational.”
Agents & active investors
Door 9 Finding Deals, Door 11 Financing Fundamentals, and Door 14 The Agent Advantage tie it together: build deal flow every week, fund deals the way experienced investors actually do, and turn a license into an edge.
From the Introduction
“For years, real estate has been one of the most powerful wealth-building tools on the planet. It has created more millionaires than almost any other industry — not just from flipping houses or owning rentals, but through a wide range of paths that most people don’t even know exist.”
“Unlike stocks or cryptocurrencies, real estate is tangible. You can see it, touch it, improve it, and leverage it… Whether you’re starting with nothing or looking to expand your portfolio, real estate offers many different paths to success — and I’m here to show you how to find yours.”
Inside the book
The 14 Doors
Tap any Door to see what’s inside, who it’s best for, and a number or rule you’ll actually use. The strategies come first (Doors 1–8) — then find the deal, analyze it, fund it, and protect it, closing with The Agent Advantage at Door 14.
Door 5 • Tax Liens & Tax Deed Investing
State-by-State Tax Lien & Tax Deed Guide
Every state runs tax sales differently. This is the complete reference the book points to: all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., each marked as a tax lien state, a tax deed state, a redeemable-deed / hybrid state, or a town-keeps-the-lien state — with the statutory maximum interest rate or penalty where one applies.
14Tax lien states in this table
18Tax deed states in this table
10Redeemable deed states
6Hybrid states
3Town keeps the lien
How the counting works: this table flags six states as Hybrid — Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, New York and Ohio — because their system is county-chosen or runs lien-then-deed in sequence. The primary source taxlien.io groups those hybrid rows under lien / deed instead, giving its published totals of 19 lien, 10 redeemable deed, 19 deed and 3 town-keeps-lien. Totals move between guides for exactly this reason; the underlying state rows agree.
Read the rate the right way
The rate shown is the statutory maximum or fixed penalty — not what an investor will earn. In bid-down states (FL, NJ, AZ, IL, OH, SD, LA, AL lien auctions) competition drives the rate down, often to a few percent or 0%. In premium-bidding states (CO, DC, MO, MD, NJ after the rate floor) the premium / overbid usually earns no interest. In redeemable-deed states the return is a one-time penalty or premium on the purchase price, not an annual rate. Tax-deed states pay no interest to the investor — the return, if any, is resale or rental of the property itself.
Recent changes matter: Louisiana switched to lien certificates on Jan 1, 2026; Illinois rewrote its law on Jul 10, 2026 (Public Act 104-0553: 9% per 6 months, 3-year redemption for new certificates); Colorado ended automatic treasurer's deeds in 2024; and Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, South Dakota and Illinois changed surplus-equity rules after Tyler v. Hennepin County (2023). Older guides quoting Illinois at 36%/yr, Louisiana as a redeemable-deed state, Colorado at 9% + prime, or Mississippi as a pure lien state at 18% are out of date.
| State | Type | Max interest / penalty | Redemption period | How bidding works | Notes |
|---|
How to use this guide & sources.
For deed states, the “redemption period” shown is pre-sale — how long the owner has to pay before the sale / foreclosure — because there is generally no buy-back after a deed sale (exceptions are noted, e.g. Philadelphia, Washington minors / adjudicated incompetents, New Mexico's 2-year procedural challenge). County-dependent rows (AL, OH, MD, NY, PA, HI) and the current-year Colorado rate (discount rate + 9, reset each Sep 1) should be confirmed on the county's own auction notice before bidding. This table is a snapshot of statutes as read Sep–Oct 2026, read Nov 7, 2026 — not legal or financial advice.
Primary sources, cross-checked for every row: taxlien.io — Tax Lien Interest Rates by State (2026) (statute-checked Sep 30–Oct 23, 2026) and CrowdfundedWealth — Tax Lien Investing by State (statutes read Oct 7, 2026), with corroboration from Aldric Property Solutions — Tax Lien Interest Rates by State and, for West Virginia and Alabama, the statute / association sources cited in the research notes (W. Va. Code § 11A-3-56; Land Title Association of Alabama, Aug 2025).
Primary sources, cross-checked for every row: taxlien.io — Tax Lien Interest Rates by State (2026) (statute-checked Sep 30–Oct 23, 2026) and CrowdfundedWealth — Tax Lien Investing by State (statutes read Oct 7, 2026), with corroboration from Aldric Property Solutions — Tax Lien Interest Rates by State and, for West Virginia and Alabama, the statute / association sources cited in the research notes (W. Va. Code § 11A-3-56; Land Title Association of Alabama, Aug 2025).
Free companion downloads
Scripts, checklists & templates the book promises
The book directs readers here for “all of the downloads mentioned in this book along with scripts, contract templates and more.” Enter your email and I’ll send you the checklists and the state guide — your download links unlock right here on this page.
Get all six checklists & the state guide
Enter your email and I’ll send you the checklists and the state guide. Add your name and email below, and all six printable PDFs unlock instantly on this page.
You’re in — your downloads are unlocked below.
Use the “Download PDF” button on any card to save it. The State-by-State Tax Guide above stays open on this page anytime.
Just name and email — no account, no password. Everything else on this site, including the searchable state guide, stays public with no sign-up.
Tip: Print the wholesaling and rehab checklists and use the same version on every deal — that consistency is the point Mack makes in Doors 2 and 3.
Door 10 • Numbers before emotion
Deal Analyzer
“Never fall in love with a property — fall in love with the numbers.” Run the same screens from Door 1 and Door 10, then compare funding the way Door 11 does.
🏠 Rental analyzer — 1% Rule, NOI, Cap Rate & Cash-on-Cash
—Monthly cash flow (after mortgage)
—Cap rate
—Cash-on-cash return
—1% Rule
Enter your numbers and run it.
Formulas from the book: NOI = Total Revenue − Operating Expenses • Cap Rate = NOI ÷ Property Value • Cash-on-Cash = (Annual Cash Flow ÷ Cash Invested) × 100. Illustrative only — run the math for your market, taxes and rate.
💰 Door 11 — Same deal, two ways to fund it
The book’s worked example: a $200,000 purchase + $40,000 rehab, ARV $300,000, flipped in 6 months. Hard money cost ~$17,280; private money cost $12,000 — private won on cost, hard money won on access. Try your own numbers:
—Hard money total cost
—Private money total cost
Mack’s rule: “Match the loan to the timeline. Short-term money for short-term projects. Long-term money for holds.”
Short-term rental quick math (Door 4)
Book example: ADR $175 × 30 nights × 70% occupancy = $3,675 / month gross. Formula: ADR × nights available × occupancy = gross revenue, then subtract cleaning, utilities, platform fees, supplies, reserves and management.
Tools mentioned in the book
The stack behind the strategies
These are the services named in the manuscript itself — for finding owners, running rentals, and staying in touch with leads. The PropStream and Hostaway links below are Mack’s affiliate links — using them supports the Playbook at no extra cost to you.
DOOR 9 • FINDING DEALS
PropStream
Skip-tracing and owner lookup after driving for dollars — find phone numbers for distressed-property owners from county tax records.
Try PropStream →DOOR 3 • WHOLESALING
Constant Contact
Email follow-up for your buyers and sellers list. The book calls it out by name: “One that you may find useful is Constant Contact.”
DOOR 4 • SHORT-TERM RENTALS
PriceLabs / Beyond
Dynamic pricing to capture peak demand instead of leaving money on the table with a flat nightly rate.
DOOR 4 • SHORT-TERM RENTALS
Hostaway / Hospitable
Channel manager / property system to sync calendars, automate check-in messaging, and schedule cleaning across platforms.
Try Hostaway →DOOR 9 • NETWORKING
BiggerPockets
Investor forums and community — go to listen, learn, and be useful. “The wholesaler who brings you your best deal next year might be the beginner you helped this month.”
DOOR 9 • YOUR CRM
“The one you will actually use”
Mack’s CRM rule from Door 9: “What is the best CRM to have? The one you will open, use, and keep up to date.” Start with a spreadsheet; graduate when your pipeline demands it.
Work with Mack
Mentorship
The book promises a mentorship program alongside the downloads. This quick version opens applications by email — tell Mack which Door you’re walking through and where you’re stuck.
1-on-1 Mentorship
For investors who want a deal reviewed before they offer, a financing plan checked against Door 11’s rules, or an agent-advantage plan for getting licensed / partnering right.
- Deal review: ARV, repairs, cap rate & cash-on-cash checked together
- Weekly deal-flow plan from Door 9, tailored to your zip codes
- Direct feedback on scripts, offers and follow-up
Start on your own first — free
Not ready yet? Do this first, in order:
- Pick ONE Door — don’t try to master everything
- Download its checklist above and use it on a real property this week
- Run it in the Deal Analyzer — if the numbers don’t work, walk away
- Follow up: “Most deals don’t close on the first contact. They close on the fifth, sixth, or tenth.”
“The investors who see the most deals do the most deals. It’s that simple.”
— Door 14, The Agent Advantage
Apply for mentorship
This opens your email app addressed to Mack at realestatemacknj@gmail.com — nothing is sent until you hit Send there. Or call (973) 380-3704.
Door 14 • The Agent Advantage
Agent Referral Network
Door 14 shows what an investor-friendly agent looks like. This is where you find one — or where you join the network yourself.
Looking for an investor-friendly agent?
Buying, flipping, or building a rental portfolio? Get connected with a proven investor-friendly agent in any of the 50 states — someone who understands ARV, cap rates, and repair estimates and will actually pick up the phone when a deal hits. Tell Mack where you’re investing and what you’re looking for, and he’ll connect you. No cost for the introduction.
Email Mack — realestatemacknj@gmail.comAre you an agent? Join the network.
If you work with investors, know your numbers, and want to be connected with serious buyers and sellers who actually close, Mack wants to hear from you. Reach out with your market and your track record.
Email Mack — realestatemacknj@gmail.comAbout the author
Mackenson “Mack” Bonnet
Top-producing, award-winning real estate professional based in Summit, NJ and Easton, PA.
Before he ever sold a home, Mack put together an investment group that pooled money to invest in stocks and real estate. He got his license for one reason: hands-on knowledge, not seminar hype — after spending thousands on seminars he calls “regurgitated information you can get for free.”
This book is his answer: a one-stop shop from his own experience and from the everyday people he’s watched succeed — “teachers, barbers, single moms, young professionals — who were tired of living paycheck to paycheck and decided to do something different.”
Why he wrote it — in his words
“I don’t want others making that mistake, so this book is a one-stop shop giving the information I learned throughout the years from my personal experiences and from friends and colleagues.”
“This book is for the go-getters, the dreamers, the hustlers. The ones that know a life of abundance is attainable and won’t quit until that vision becomes their reality!”
How to use this site
- Reading the book? Grab the checklist for the Door you’re on.
- Looking at a deal? Run it in the analyzer before you call anyone.
- Stuck? Apply for mentorship above — bring one real property, not a hypothetical.
Questions
FAQ
Do I need a lot of money to start?
No — that’s the opening premise of the book. Some Doors require capital (Buy & Hold, Fix & Flip), others require hustle (Wholesaling, Creative Finance, Finding Deals). Door 11 shows the entry points honestly, including FHA at 3.5% down for a house hack you live in.
Do I need a real estate license?
No. Door 14 is explicit: “Plenty of agents are terrible investors, and plenty of great investors never got licensed.” If you don’t get licensed, Door 14 shows how to hire the advantage instead — find an investor-friendly agent, respond within 24 hours, close when you say you will, and be loyal.
Do I have to read the book in order?
No. Mack recommends reading it through once if you can, but each Door stands on its own. “You just need to pick one door and start moving through it.” Keep a notebook nearby and highlight what speaks to you.
Are the downloads really the ones from the book?
Yes — they’re built from the book’s own checklists and templates: the Wholesaling Step-by-Step Checklist (“From Lead to Payday”), the rehab scope checklist, the scripts and letter templates from Door 9, the STR checklists from Door 4, and the tax-lien due-diligence checklist from Door 5.
Where is the full tax lien & tax deed state list from Door 5?
In the State-by-State Tax Guide on this page — all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., each marked tax lien, tax deed, redeemable deed, hybrid, or town-keeps-lien, with the maximum interest rate or penalty where one applies, the redemption period, and how bidding works. Rates shown are statutory maximums, not guaranteed earnings — in bid-down states competition often drives them far lower, and tax-deed states pay no interest at all.
Is www.realestateplaybook.net live?
Yes — you’re looking at it. This page is the live companion site for the book, at www.realestateplaybook.net.
Is this financial or legal advice?
No. The book and this site are education from Mack’s experience, with worked examples labelled illustrative in the manuscript. Talk to your lender, CPA and real estate attorney for your deal — especially on taxes, asset protection (Door 13) and private-money paperwork (Door 11).