Real Estate & Investing

Now updated — America’s #1 bestselling home-buying book!

Want to buy a house, but concerned about the market? Have no fear — this trusted guide arms you with Eric Tyson and Ray Brown’s time-tested advice and updated strategies for buying a home in current market conditions. You’ll discover how to find the right property, make smart financial decisions, and understand the latest lending requirements and tax implications.

• New to this edition — new and expanded coverage to help homebuyers take advantage of low home prices, understand the subprime mortgage crisis, obtain a mortgage, and improve credit scores
• To buy or not to buy? — weigh the advantages of owning versus renting, get your finances in order, and know how much house you can safely afford
• Handle financing — understand your credit rating, navigate the different types of mortgages, and complete all paperwork
• Play the real estate game — find the right location and property, assemble an all-star real estate team, and make the most of the Internet’s real estate resources
• Let’s make a deal — negotiate with finesse, make successful offers, inspect and protect your new home, and cover all your bases in escrow

“Invaluable information, especially for the first-time home buyer.” — Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“A reference you’ll turn to time after time.” — St. Petersburg Times

Open the book and find:

• Reasons why home prices rise and fall
• Hands-on instruction for buying a home in up or down markets
• How to pay the price you want
• The best mortgage options
• A sample home-buying contract
• Pros and cons of comparable market analysis
• Tips for overcoming mortgage and appraisal problems
• How to cope with buyer’s remorse
• The best real estate Web sites

A clear look at how to capture investment profits during difficult financial times

The U.S. economy has become crippled by the credit and real estate catastrophe. Even though we’ve all been affected by the calamity and have heard no shortage of news about it, it still seems unfathomable and utterly incomprehensible to most people that the actions of certain mortgage brokers, bankers, ratings agencies, and investment banks could break the economic engine of the world.

Now, for the first time, and in terms everyone can grasp, noted analysts and value investing experts Whitney Tilson and Glenn Tongue explain not only how it happened, but shows that the tsunami of credit problems isn’t over. The second wave has yet to come. But if you know catastrophe is looming, you can sidestep the train wreck-and even profit. You just need to understand how bad times present opportunity and where to look. More Mortgage Meltdown can help you achieve this goal. The book

• Breaks down the complex mortgage products and rocket-science securities Wall Street created
• Addresses how to find investment opportunities within the rubble and position your portfolio to take advantage of the crisis
• Explains exactly how the combination of aggressive lending, government missteps, and Wall Street trading practices created the perfect economic storm
• Shows you why the crisis is not yet over and what we can expect going forward

More Mortgage Meltdown can help you understand the events that have unfolded, and put you in a better position to profit from the opportunities that arise during these tough financial times.

If you’re interested in real estate investing, you may have noticed notice the lack of coverage it gets in mainstream financial media, while stocks, bonds, and mutual funds are consistently touted as the safest and most profitable ways to invest.

According to real estate guru Ken McElroy, that’s because financial publications, tv and radio programs make the bulk of their money from advertising paid for by the very companies who provide such mainstream financial services. On the other hand, real estate investment is something you can do on your own–without a large amount of money up front! Picking up where left off in the bestselling The ABC’s of Real Estate Investing, McElroy reveals the next essential lessons and information that no serious investor can afford to miss. Building on the foundation of real estate investment 101, McElroy tells readers:

• How to think–and operate–like a real estate mogul
• “The Top Ten Real Estate Markets to Watch”
• How to identify and close expert deals
• Why multifamily housing is the best real estate investment out there
• How to surround yourself with a team that will help maximize your money
• How to avoid paying thousands in taxes by structuring property sales wisely
• Important projections about the future of real estate investment
• And more.

There are many excellent “how to get a mortgage” books, but this one is vastly different, because it reveals the insider secrets even many mortgage professionals don’t know. Warren reveals what really goes on in the home-loan business to get mortgages approved, and dhow borrowers can avoid becoming victims of their lenders. On my scale of one to 10, this superb new book rates an off-the-chart 12. — Robert J. Bruss, Inman News, July 10, 2007

Carolyn Warren better get a bodyguard. Her new tell-all on the mortgage industry exposes so many of the lending industry’s favorite frauds, every loan officer from Seattle to Miami is going to be gunning for her! Mortgage Rip-Offs and Money Savers is like a map that guides you around the carefully camouflaged landmines laid by lenders. And it gives you simple, step-by-step directions for saving tens of thousands of dollars. If you’re looking for ways to save a king’s ransom on your mortgage and monthly payments, you simply must read this book. — Clayton Makepeace, founder and president, The Profit Center Topics include:
* Why calling around for the best interest rate is a BAD idea (and what to do instead).
* How to force lenders to disclose their hidden fees.
* The Dirty Dozen: Junk fees You should not pay.
* How to get the lowest possible rate.
* Uncover the best-kept secret of the mortgage industry.
* Avoid the five most common unpleasant closing surprises.
* Turning a denied loan into an approved loan.
* and much more.

Now published by Nolo, in Saving the Family Cottage, attorneys Stuart Hollander and David Fry explain why problems arise when a vacation home is passed on to the next generation (unequal wealth distribution among siblings and cousins being the usual culprit) and offer practical suggestions on how to address this problem. Hollander suggests how to incorporate succession planning for a vacation home into an estate plan and gives practical advice on such things as which entity is best for succession planning, how to develop a cottage schedule, what to do about an owner who fails to pay his or her assessment, whether to establish an ‘endowment,’ and how to allocate control between and within generations of owners.

Although Hollander uses the term ‘cottage,’ the principles of his book apply to any property that a family wants to retain. Written for the vacation home owner but with information that also will be useful to attorneys and financial planners, the book engages the reader with stories of cottage ‘wars’ and planning gone awry. The book makes a complex problem understandable and offers methods to help keep a second home in the family for generations.

The second edition acknowledged the addition of David S. Fry, Esq. to the book and as the successor to the author’s cottage law practice. The updated third edition is now published by Nolo and will be revised to include the latest regarding state and federal laws, including estate tax information.