Buying-the

This book is an easy read, but those who considered it the "best" real estate book out there may have been rotting their brains on no money down schemes (this book thankfully notes that beginning investors will not find a no money down investment property deal).

If you are looking for Real Estate Investing 101, this is a good choice.

If you already understand Cap Rates and NOI, and are confident in your ability to estimate the value of a property based on its financial statement, then pass on this book.

All in all, the book is good but basic. Unfortunate that the tables presented in the text are not explained fully--the author prefers, I think, to sell you the software separately.

I had been in investment properties for several years without reading any books on the subject. Most of my experience was with multifamily houses. When I started contemplating expanding into larger properties I decided to read up on the subject and selected this as one of the first books.
I have been impressed with the content and the style of the book and wish that I had read it before getting into the business in the first place. His business practices and theories seem to be very sound and with a little forethought they can be applied to differing property markets. His examples are fairly well explained and displayed.
Overall this is an excellent read on this subject. That said, I do have some comments for improvement. In the financial explanations and examples he gives brief explanations. While I know this book is not meant to cover Finance 101, I would have appreciated a glossary with a bit more depth to the key financial concepts.

I have been wanting to venture from investing in single family homes to investing in multi-family for several months. This is the first book that has made the process of buying & selling apartments easy to understand. This book is excellent, easy to read, and very informative. Some books are so complicated, you have to read a sentence over and over again to try and comprehend it. Other books are so basic, you read through the whole chapter and feel you haven't learned anything. Steve Berges makes learning a pleasure, with good examples, and step-by-step processes. Best book I've read in quite a while!

Knowledgeably written by Michael Ross (an international licensing expert and senior vice president in charge of product development and marketing for Encyclopedia Britannica), Publishing Without Borders: Strategies For Successful International Publishing is a concise, practical, easy-to-use, no-nonsense guide to proven and professional strategies for successful global publishing. From legal issues; to keep track of to handling unexpected challenges; to taking advantage of international book fairs, and much, much more, Publishing Without Borders is will prove immensely valuable for any novice (or experienced!) publisher seeking an international marketplace for their titles. If you have a book that you want to sell in Canada, Europe, South America, or anyplace else in the world -- then get yourself a copy of Michael Ross' Publishing Without Borders so that you can "hit the ground running" with your marketing plans, strategies, and policies.

I sat down tonight and Publishing Without Borders. What a terrific read! It has a clever Table of Contents and the pages turn with insight and humor -- a great combination. I believe that this book is essential for anyone thinking about diving into the many facets of the world of co-edition publishing and licensing. Or for people already in "over their heads", Mike Ross's book will toss you a life-line that can rescue your international publishing strategies. He mentors one down the paths that are fruitful and skillfully warns about blind alleys---some of which he himself went down, maybe more then once. Further he reminds all leaders about the essentials of developing ownership and appropriate involvement through out the business process with all the stake holders within one's own organization. The book also furnishes a thorough list of International Book Fairs and an excellent collection of websites. This book is the next best thing to sitting one on one with Michael and learning everything he knows about international publishing. It has my highest recommendation!

John Meeker
President
John Meeker & Associates

Michael Ross is a highly literate, seasoned publishing pro. He offers practical tips and sound advice. Highly recommended.

More of a motivational/inspirational book than a "how-to" on selling, so I was a bit disappointed simply because the title can be misleading, depending upon how you read it. The information here is great, however, if you're looking for a cheerleading "rah-rah" type book. Personally, I was interested in more of the nut's and bolts of selling and business than in personal achievement, so I wasn't as happy with this book as I would have been had it filled the reason I bought it.
That being said, I'm still giving it a four star rating, because the information here is solid and I'd recommend it to someone starting out or as a gift to a graduate or that type of thing. If you're already grinding out the day to day stuff, you either know that you need goals and that you should stay in shape and get adequate sleep and smile when you shake hands, etc; or you don't. If you don't, this book probably won't cause you to change habits, in fact, you won't bother reading it in the first place.

That's probably the biggest problem with this type of book, those that really need it will never read it. The used copy I bought was personally signed by the authors. I wonder if the salesperson that originally bought it ever read it. Probably not, or it'd still by on her shelf...

This is ostensibly a sales book, but it is one of the best all-around success/ motivation books I've ever read! I can say for certain that reading this book (and I've read it a number of times) has really helped me in so many ways. I just started my own recruiting firm about a month ago (after four years doing the same for someone else), and I keep this book in my office. I make it a point to read a page or two every morning...it really gets me going! The sections entitled "One Life, One Boss" and "Under Construction" are especially good. My only complaint is that the authors didn't do an audiobook or come out with another book yet.

The authors of this book have captured the essence of what every sales professional needs to know and do to not only survive, but to become their companies top salesperson. This book is about real life not based on theory, but rather on the real life experiences of the authors. The content as well as the stories are entertaining and fun. READ THIS BOOK!!!

While this book is a good overview of buying a boat, it contains no surprises - and I knew nothing about boats before buying it - save reading two magazines.

What did it tell me ?

- There is approx 30-35% markup on price of a new boat
- you get a good deal if you get 12-15% of that in negociating.

What else?
Nothing much but common sense, and repeated info.

An organised person could generate the checklists themselves with or without the help of this book or a couple of boating magazines.

Anyone who has purchased a new or used car would go through the same tactics with the dealer/seller.

What would I reccomend instead ?

I also purchased "The Complete Idiots Guide to Boating and Sailing" which gave me a better (but still reasonably high level) introduction to boats/buying.

What has really impressed me is my latest purchase (reccomended from Amazon Reviews) and that is the so called "Bible of Boating" Chapmans Piloting. It sounds a bit high-brow, but covers everything and anything a novice or experienced person could want to know. It is letter sized hardcover with 650 color pages - well worth thirty five bucks. Buy that and forget wasting thrity bucks on three empty paperbacks.

My husband and I are experienced boaters. We wanted to purchase a small cruiser and needed a little more education on the pros and cons of new vs. used. JP's book was well thought out and a great help. We found a beautiful used boat that suited our needs perfectly. The inspection checklist was instrumental in guiding us toward a quality boat at a substancial savings. Thanks JP!

Thanks JP! I am a novice boater and was in deaperate need of solid advice. Your book gave me the all of the information I needed to buy a great boat and save a great deal of time and money. Well written, easy to follow, and accurate. I rate this a MUST read for any boat buyer.

No real indepth information. It does have a lot of different trees listed but don't rely on this to be your only book on the subject.

The Bonsai Survival Manual contains just about everything you need to know about growing and keeping Bonsai. It is well organized with sections on general care and techniques followed by sections on specific species. There is information in here that I have not seen in other books on Bonsai. The writing is terse, concise, and easy to read and understand. The Bonsai photographs show off the beauty of this art form.

All in all, I found this book to be the most useful and fun to read of any Bonsai book I have read.

Some Bonsai books lack pictures, and others lack information. This packs it all in, in an easy to use manner. Save yoru Bonsai and get this book!

Before the November elections, the responsible voter should first read this book. This book discloses funding information that the candidates would rather you not focus on in the November election. There is no wonder why issues like gay marriage have been pushed to the forefront by Bush in order to distract the average voter from bigger issues like the fact that democracy no longer exists in America. Our democracy is for sale. Capital Hill is for sale. You don't even need to have the most votes to become the President and this is not about to change. When looking at the facts, it is obvious that Washington DC is corporate occupied territory. For anyone with their head in the sand for the past 4 years, you may be alarmed by the facts on the Bush administration. The only presidential candidate who can't be bought by corporate America is Ralph Nader. Read this book and the facts will speak loud and clear on each candidate. Your vote is truly insignificant to the influence of the all mighty dollar. The problem is so ingrained in our system such that government agencies such as the USDA no longer work to protect the interests of the taxpayers, it works to protect the interests of large corporations and it works as an insider in the same industries it oversees to maintain the current structure of non-sustainable food production methods in order to protect current profits. (The cow with Mad Cow Disease in WA state was not a downer cow according to the actual cow owner/farmer, this is contrary to what the USDA officially reported that is was a downer.) It's time for the average American to wake up, listen to non-biased, not for profit media like National Public Radio, read books such as this one which focus on facts, and ignore the propaganda you receive from most major media outlets. And then vote your conscious and make sure your voice is heard. PS. I'm a Republican but I'll be voting for Nader to oust Bush and to oust the influence of the dollar on legistlation. Power to the people.

We are brought up to believe that our vote really counts. We think that we are voting for the honest politician. We thought that our candidate hadn't sold his soul to a corporation or political action committee.
Here the author describes a system that cannot operate without money from various sources that want to influence public policy. In order to be a "public servant" it is necessary to accept money from donors. Of course there is no question of getting something for nothing, there has to be some kind of pay back.

This books provides you with the facts.
Unfortunately, the only choice left in this democracy is choosing the candidate that represents the lesser evil.

Let me start by saying I do not want George W. Bush re-elected, and I don't have any interest in John Kerry running the White House for the next four years either. I left myself open to have my opinions on American government influenced by this book, but I could never have imagined the magnitude in which this book changed my beliefs of our political process. It's no secret to anyone that money rules each and every major player in our political system. But what this book does is demonstrate just how out of control it's gotten. Author Charles Lewis uses indisputable facts and figures to show the shortcomings each of this year's presidential candidates, especially each candidate's willingness to let money and particular groups dictate the policy he feels is best suited to run the country. He hammers Bush in a bad way, but nothing he says can be considered untrue. Lewis uses the Freedom of Information Act to compile a body of evidence that implicates Bush in a dozen shady financial undertakings and also describes the way in which many of Bush's closest advisers landed high-level positions in government. You simply cannot fathom the number of Bush's advisers who were once employees or board members in companies (pharmaceutical, energy, law firms, etc.) that make up Bush's chief campaign donors. That is, at least until you read this book and Lewis starts listing them one after another. Lewis and the Center of Public Integrity maintained their own integrity by taking a completely non-partisan approach to this book, unafraid to tackle Bush and Democratic challengers alike. I cannot wait until 2008 to see what Lewis uncovers next. Hopefully, Bush and his cronies (or Kerry, for that matter) won't further gut our rights as Americans and refuse us the right to read it -- and Lewis' right to write it.

As the caregiver of a corporate family, I found this book most helpful....Levine has moving down to an art, and she directed me in everything important in a move, from finding doctors to creating a wonderful nest in my new city. Thanks.

Will This Place Ever Feel Like Home? is a wonderful reference for ANY move. Even though our new home was only 10 miles from our previous one, the stress and uncertainty still existed as we tried to acclimate to a new school district and a new community. Leslie Levine's book provided so many of the tools we needed to make our transition a successful one. Whether your move is 10 miles away or 10,000, Will This Place Ever Feel Like Home? should be the first thing loaded into the moving truck. In fact, I will personally be giving it as a gift to anyone I know who is moving to a new location!

"Having moved across town and across the country on nine (9) occasions from Rochester, NY to all parts of CA, back to Rochester, NY and now to Columbia, MD, I can assure readers that this book offers an island of calm in the "ocean's roar" of the moving experience. Leslie's writing reflects a diverse group of movers who's life experiences pave the way for a more peaceful transition from a loved home to a new house and community. Too often, "movers" are caught up in the process of moving and forget moving is only the first part of uprooting your life and beginning anew. The hardest part is not the move but rather the new beginning. Having a resource that encompasses all parts of your life experience is invaluable. Thanks Leslie!

Far from being just another book about ways to buy real estate, Rob Roy's book 'Mortgage-Free' encompasses an entire way of life that can set you free from the oppressive, credit induced, treadmill existence that ever-increasingly dominates & enslaves people to debt & by doing so greatly decreases their quality & enjoyment of life. Rob combines Thoreauvian based economics & plain old down-to-earth common sense with wisdom gained from his many successful years of Mortgage-Free living. He offers hope, inspiration & practical, proven techniques to those who would dare to actually take charge of their own lives & realize that there are alternatives to huge indebtedness. Filled with genuinely useful information & examples, Rob reveals not only his own personal triumphs, but also mistakes he has made along his own Mortgage-Free journey & he does this in a very readable, entertaining, as well as enlightening fashion. Buy a copy or use one of Rob's own money saving techniques if you must & check with your local library- Either way I think you truly owe it to yourself to read this book before you set out on your own personal home-ownership journey. Good Luck to you all!

HERE IT IS FOLKS! America 101...

To say this book is radical in a negative sense would be an insult to the backbone of this country. The author Rob Roy "REMINDS" us that we have two strong hands----to accomplish anything we desire!

Ahhhh...America..."land of the free and home of the brave"

Yeah right! Most of us are sissy-babies! We cannot handle a book like this. That's right, I said sissy-baby! The thought of NO MORTGAGE scares the hell of most people. WHY!?!?! Because it GOES AGAINST THE MASSES! That's why. We are an image conscious nation - when we should be a character-conscious people!

I read this book one night in Borders. It disturbed me and moved me very much. I realized that at least for my "line of thought" regarding a home - I had settled. That night I made a decision at 30 years old to follow the principles in this book.

I am married and have been renting for 3.5 years. My wife and I purchased 2.1 Acres and have been living in a tent for two months now. I have no running water - but designed a hot shower system. I have a firepit, a toilet (which I bought for $9.99 at a hunting store), and my wife is as happy as ever!

We have chosen a design and will build in the spring. It will probably take us about 18 months to finish. After reading this book I realize that not everyone will choose to be mortgage-free - but ANYONE could be MORTGAGE FREE.

REMEMBER, DON"T FOLLOW THE MASSES - It will make you POOR!

Thanks Rob for your book and your vision!

Adam Edwards

First off, this book is not for the typical American Consumer. If you can't wait for anything you want (but have to have it NOW), if you spend hours staring blankly at the Idiot Box, if you tend to accept ideas simply because everybody else accepts them, then you probably will indeed find the contents of this book to be "radical".

On the other hand, if you are independent minded, don't mind waiting for something worthwhile, can handle some discomfort, enjoy doing things with your own hands, and are completely repulsed by the idea of spending the rest of your life paying the bank for a cookie-cutter tract house, you need to read this book.

Rob Roy has long been a familiar name in the world of alternative construction methods, yet the ideas presented in this book are applicable to any style of construction, from stick-framing to whatever you can imagine. This is a distillation of Mr. Roy's many years of mortgage-free building projects. Not exactly a how-to book in the sense of the actual building itself, it is, as the title suggests, a series of strategies on how to save money and keep the bank out of your project, from finding and buying land, to building a temporary shelter, to designing & building the house itself. The second half of the book tells the stories of various folks who have actually pursued these strategies, and the various successes and pitfalls they encountered.

THIS IS A VERY EMPOWERING BOOK. While reading it you will begin to feel a rising sense of excitement as it dawns on you that YOU ACTUALLY CAN DO THIS. Visit www.cordwoodmasonry.com to order the book direct.

I bought this book just to get aquainted with the real estate business. This book lacks the detail that I was looking for, but for the person who is not big on reading, I would recommend this book. Also, the author reverts back to 'big cities' such as New York, New York, and New York... as you can see, this can get a bit annoying. He also has a hard time finding the sex of the people he speaks of; one moment the buyer is a female and in the next paragraph the buyer becomes a male. (It gets confusing trying to figure out who he is referring to when he says "she"). Hope this helps!!

I'm buying my first home, unfortunately in the ultra-expensive Bay Area. I read a few of the Dummies books, which were adequate, and then came across this book. Irwin's book is a fairly easy read - you can skim the parts you already know (i.e. if you're not buying a fixer-uper, skip that part), and concentrate on what you don't know. He doesn't go very far in depth into any one subject - the book is only 180 pages - but he gives a layman's explanation of almost every part of the home buying process, from offers, to financing, to inspections, to repairs. And I don't think you need anything more in depth than this to buy a home. I actually read this book half-way through my own home buying process, and I still found it very valuable and useful. I can't claim that it saved me any money - it didn't. But it did reassure me that what I was doing was right - and that is well worth the cost of the book.

I read few books when shopping for a new home and of all the books I read I found this one to be most useful. This books talks about everything that a 1st time home buyer needs to know. Maybe it could have been more detailed but when you are buying a home and you are a first time buyer, you are under lot of tension and you do not have time to go thru bulky home buying books. In fact I used to carry this book around as reference when I was shopping for a new home to lookup terms the agents/lender were talking about. I would recommend this book to any 1st time home buyer or atleast read this before jumping into more detailed books.

I got into real estate investing primarily due to Mr. Shemin's first two books, "Secrets of a Millionaire Landlord" and "secrets of a Millionaire Real Estate Investor." Both of these books were excellent, and I wouldn't sell my copies for the world.

However, this is simply a collection of loosely connected thoughts strung together to create a book. Here is the plan presented in the book -- Find a $250,000 that you can purchase for $190,000 from a motivated seller, and sell it to someone else for $230,000, then retire rich.

Not much of a plan if you ask me, especially when where I live, a $250,000 would be a mansion, not a 3 bedroom 2 bath starter house. A real presented plan would be, do A, B, C, D, etc.

What he is suggesting in the book is not investing, rather it is speculating in real estate. While there is nothing wrong with that, let's call it what it is.

His other book, "Unlimited Riches," which I also own, covers everything here, and is a much better written book. It at least presents a cohesive plan that a novice might be able to follow.

The book updates us on where Mr. Shemin is going in his life, and career. He lets us know that he got out of the landlord business and is now speculating in real estate and "writing paper," (hard money lending) as he calls it.

I have read many what I call "Rah Rah" books. There is nothing wrong with convincing people that they too can succeed in real estate, but this book doesn't even do that.

I always try to find 2 or 3 new ideas, even out of a bad book. While there are a few ideas that make me go, "Hmm, interesting," there are no sonic booms here. The book comes off as an advertisement for his real estate seminars and multilevel marking of some products, nothing wrong with that, but not much else for me to sink my teeth into.

I am presently reading his new book "How to Avoid the 75 Mistakes Every Investor Makes." That book should have been 50 Mistakes, but they stretched a few to get 75. Mind you, they are not bad, just that some didn't even take up half a page, and there are 250 pages in that book.

If you have the money, buy the book, but if you have to choose between this one and another one, pass this one by. However, that said, do purchase his Millionaire books. They are worth the money.

In closing, I'd like to find someone who would write a book on how to check real estate records for liens. You know, the nitty gritty work of real estate investing. Instead, they all want you to pay the $1000 for this information.

Robert Shemin is the real deal, and walks his talk. His other books have great tools to make the money you desire. "Secrets of Buying and Selling Realestate" is the icing on the cake. It gives you practical advice that you can take to the bank. Robert gives you step by step tools, and takes the guess work out of the realestate picture. Just by reading the book, you can tell that this man has experienced everything he has written about.

Laying the foundation, learning the process, focus, and determination are the keys to a successful realestate business. Robert Shemin does it again. He gives you all this and more. He includes sample contracts, advantages and disadvantages, and most important, how to be creative with making the money you desire.

Guaranteed, you can trust his practical advice and implement his strategies. This book is a winner!!! I highly recommend it to anyone who is a beginner or advanced realestate investor. You will only learn and make real money from Roberts book.

Robert Shemin does not tout any get rich quick schemes or messages from this book or any other book he has written. Shemin is a practicing investor, out in the trenches daily writing contracts on properties & making very good money for doing it. This author does not promote illegal pyramid schemes! Mr. Shemin teaches what he knows and practices it daily. Everything that Shemin does, is well above the board! In fact every red cent that he makes on his book sales, he never sees, because it all goes to charity! Shemin makes his money on the properties that he buys, sells & holds. I have been following Shemin for a few years & have read everything he has written. I have also seen him in person at RE conventions & I have spoken to him personally. This man is the REAL DEAL & I am a confirmed Sheminite!