I found all of these on Trulia, so they're not anyone's secret gems... 

If you can figure out a way to get a property to appreciate 65% every year, please let me in on the secret!

Just wondering what others did during that jumping off and going for it time and before one becomes financially independent..Any secrets?

One other sneaky secret that I never hear anyone mention is SCORE - most local offices will have a few experienced RE professionals you can go and chat with for free. 

This is no secret, their representative told me as much when I spoke with them.  

Otherwise, I'd have to charge you $97 a month to reveal my secrets....

'this deal has x% IRR' is way easier to pitch than ' at a discount rate of a% this project has an NPV of $x, but at b% discount rate, we have an NPV of $y' A dirty little secret of deals this space and size is that most investors and a lot of GPs are super finance savvy and don't truly get the intricacies of these calculations, just look at the wide spread use of equity multiple.

No need to spill the beans if it's a secret investment strategy or if your relatives are still in the dark.

And 36 Other Key Financial Measures http://amzn.to/Zv0Zph Frank and I don’t agree on everything but this book is the bible as far as I’m concerned.Frank also has another book called '10 Commandments for Real Estate Investors' that I reread every other month or so as a reminder: http://amzn.to/15ikXL0Ken McElroy has two great books on apartment investments and one on property management: The ABCs of Real Estate Investing: The Secrets of Finding Hidden Profits Most Investors Misshttp://amzn.to/HdXVf1The Advanced Guide to Real Estate Investing: How to Identify the Hottest Markets and Secure the Best Dealshttp://amzn.to/1bcWx50The ABC's of Property Management: What You Need to Know to Maximize Your Money Nowhttp://amzn.to/1d518JKPeople often mention Dave Lindahl’s books but I think Ken’s are better, one reason being that Ken is out there doing it and was dragged into the guru thing by Kiyosaki while Dave is mostly a guru who was mentored by Ron LeGrand, one of the old school gurus (who I worked for back in the day).Also If you haven’t seen Ken's BP interview on Podcast 052: Buying Apartment Complexes, etc. here: http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2014/01/09/bp-podcast-052-raising-millions-ken-mcelroy-rich-dad/Because running an apartment is as much of a business as it is a piece of real estate I typically recommend The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It by Michael E.

If you are going to charge the 4% late fee in Maine it has to be in writing so pretty tough to keep the details a secret.