Book excerpt: Nickerson restates his formula for success in real estate, which, in case you've not heard it lately, goes like this: purchase residential property in need of rehabilitation, provide the necessary improvements, and sell the property for a minimum 25 percent profit. Case examples are used to illustrate refinements such as looking for opportunities in inner cities and keeping an open mind to creative financing possibilities. Nickerson is an experienced pro whose "How I Turned $1,000 into a Million in Real Estate in My Spare Time" is a classic. THERE ARE MANY obvious ways to make a fortune. One is to gamble. You might get rich overnight. But gambling is not a sure thing-that's why they call it gambling. There are other speculative, get-rich quick schemes-like buying real estate with dangerous nothing down balloon-payment financing and bleeding, rather than improving, the property but most easy-money fantasies turn into nightmares, and breed negative losses instead of positive profits. By far the surest road to a fortune that can match or surpass your golden dreams is to buy, with sound financing, fixer-upper properties that you can improve. You can choose from millions of deteriorated or obsolescent properties with repair and improvement challenges that you can readily correct. Many owners just do not have the gumption to fix up wounded properties that have bled their lives away with age and neglect. If you have a little courage and imagination, you can buy such distress properties at a bargain, correct imperfections, and make a sure and spectacular profit. This gives you a built-in safety factor that guards you against going wrong. If you faithfully follow my principles it is just about impossible to go broke. The only question is not whether you will make a profit, but how much you will make!