A new edition of the Real Estate...

A new edition of the Real Estate Primer (published by David D. Westcott, a San Diego appraiser with the Member, Appraisers’ Institute or MAI designation and son son of the author, the late Ray D. Westcott, who wrote the book in 1946; 300 pages, $12.95 at book stores and realty boards). The Primer translates complicated laws, regulations and practices of the California real estate industry into laymen’s language. Since it was originally published, more than 700,000 copies have been sold, but the publisher, who assumed control of the publication last year, took the last 467 copies off the market and destroyed them because they were out of date. He spent six months incorporating changes in real estate law and practices through January and plans to update the Primer on an annual basis.

Commercial Real Estate edited by Jack Corgan (Taylor Publishing Co., Dallas, 219 pages, $16.95) is a collection of essays on building, buying, selling and managing commercial real estate by a number of authorities on the subject in Texas and elsewhere. The unindexed book is far too short for such a complex subject. Too, managing commercial real estate is a topic in itself, as are selling and building it. All are covered, however briefly, in this book. If you want a quick overview of the subject, the book might be worth it. For anything else, the reader is well advised to look elsewhere.

The Common-Sense Mortgage by Peter G. Miller (Harper & Row, $15.95, 266 pages, indexed, appendixes) is the latest update of possibly the best one-volume guide to financing a house. As in last year’s edition, Miller eschews jargon and adds information (Chapter 14) on 15-year mortgages and biweekly financing. The subtitle--”How to Cut the Cost of Home Ownership by $100,000 or More--may appear to be an exaggeration, but Miller’s book is worth reading before you rush out and refinance your home to take advantage of the new lower interest rates.