Inside Real Estate: The Complete Guide to...
Inside Real Estate: The Complete Guide to Buying and Selling your House, Co-op or Condominium by H.I. (Sonny) Bloch and Grace Lichtenstein (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 10 E. 53rd St., New York, N.Y. 10022; 375 pages, $18.95 plus $1.50 postage) is a good overview of issues concerning buyers and sellers alike. It describes dozens of different ways to buy property, how to deal with realtors, and how to select the best mortgage. It also provides useful information on the art of negotiating and the new tax laws.
A Practical and Simple Guide to a Home Mortgage by Gary Bass (G & P Publishing, P.O. Box 157096, Irving, Tex. 75015), $9.95). The author reveals inside secrets of home buying and the loan process and tells consumers how they can protect themselves against unethical practices. A former mortgage loan officer, Bass draws on his experience and provides simple step-by-step instructions, using layman’s terms to guide people through the mortgage experience.
Investing in Real Estate by Andrew James McLean (John Wiley & Sons, $14.95, 222 pages) is essentially a guide to investing in fixer-uppers, especially single-family houses that will be rented out. McLean describes the use of leverage, but he makes no claims that anyone can buy a house with no money down. He assumes nothing, describing all the procedures, defining the terms (there is also a glossary and an index) and going into great detail on foreclosure properties, financing and just about anything an investor needs to know. Of course, the book reflects the latest tax laws. An excellent choice if one book must be chosen to guide a real estate investor.
Successful Real Estate Investing by Peter G. Miller (Harper & Row, 10 E. 53rd St., New York N.Y. 10022; $16.45 plus $2.49 postage and handling, 272 pages) is geared primarily toward investors who earn less than $100,000 a year. It eschews the “get-rich-quick” approach, instead emphasizing that successful investing is “a combination of hard work, good financing and sound planning.” It provides much useful information about financing and locating property, developing leases, using brokers, establishing credit lines, finding good tenants and creating options.
The Uniform Residential Appraisal Report Handbook by the National Assn. of Real Estate Appraisers (Todd Publishing Inc., P.O. Box 8537, Scottsdale, Ariz. 85261, $15 direct from the publisher) details the step-by-step completion of the Uniform Residential Appraisal Report, with the latest guideline for each section documented on the same page. Referenced guidelines include those from: Federal National Mortgage Assn. (Fannie Mae), Department of Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Administration and the Farmers Home Administration.
Books listed in this column are not necessarily recommended by The Times.
