Economic-rents Books

This is our bible for all our rentals. The disc has all the forms you'll need, backed up by the part of the law that applies. If you have rentals in California, this should be your guide to staying out of trouble.

I have been a landlord for 12 years. Every few years I purchase a revised version just to be sure that laws haven't changed that I should know about. This book is a must if you have rentals in California. It is very easy to understand, it has all the forms you may need on CD and can be referred to quickly when questions come up. I feel I am a better landlord because of this book. I have also loaned it to my friends when they felt that their landlord had not be treating them fairly. They also found it very helpful. I wouldn't be without it.

I read through the book before renting my place, and it provided me with very useful tips on the legality of various aspects of renting one's place. It also had templates and forms which were very handy, in drawing up a lease, issuing a receipt or generating a checklist. I would recommend this book for any landlord, whether you are renting out one house or multiple.

If you're in the real estate rental business in the state of California you need this book to start out, survive, and thrive in this business. The NOLO books are written by lawyers for lay people.

The "California Landlord's Law Book: Rights and Responsibilities" covers all ground and gives you more than a legal or business understanding of real estate rental (rare but detrimental scenarios and important topics are discussed, such as Discrimination, Self-Help Evictions, Landlord's Liabilities for Dangerous Conditions and Criminal Acts, etc.)

This law book also contains all the forms you will need, both at the end as apendix and on a CD. The book is very thorough and every new edition stays abreast with the latest rental law changes in California. The only downside (unavoidable) is that every so often NOLO publishes a new edition thus somewhat outdaing previous ones.

This was the only book I needed to become a landlord in California. With the included forms on CD, I was able to easily create a lease for my tenants and feel confident that I was doing everything legally. I read the relevant sections of the book and will keep it on hand if any rental problems show up. I am very satisfied with the book selection.

This is a must have for anyone who will be renting a property. I have other properties that I have rented and I wish I had this book before I rented them out!

I was very satisfied with this book. It was so comprehensive and easy to read -- even for a non-business-oriented, non-real estate-trained person like me. There are examples, thorough explanations, form examples, and perforated, blank forms.

I think this book is must-have for every landlord or recommended for those thinking of becoming a property mgr. or landlord.

I will be a first time landlord and have done alot of research online as well as other books and had continued to come up short as far as detailed explanations and suggestions. This book is it! It has literally everything you need and is extremely thorough. I borrowed it from the library and have come here to purchase it. I can't do without out it.

I actually thought I was purchasing the software which would have typed up many of the sections for me - which would have been nice, but I was very impressed with how well organized and informative the book is.

Many items include the actual state laws regarding rental property which is very helpful because many of the websites are not easy to navigate.

Leases & Rental Agreements provides owners of real estate with a quick do-it-yourself handbook for renting out a property, including tear-out legal forms and tips on preparing different types of rental or lease agreements. From making disclosures on hazards to complying with laws covering security deposits and privacy, this provides all the details necessary.

This book has been an absolute must for our recent evictions that we handled on our own.

The California Landlord's Law Book: Evictions is a companion book that goes hand in hand with the Nolo title The California Landlord's Law Book: Rights and Responsibilities. In fact, the opening chapters of the Evictions book repeatedly remind the reader to refer to Rights and Responsibilities, not for the purpose of selling more books, but because landlord/tenant law is best addressed with an overarching title, and if you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of having to evict a tenant, you can pick up the more specialized title on that topic.

I personally purchased the Evictions book when I had a non-paying roommate in my own home who refused to move out. I purchased this book after I had started the eviction process and seen the sheriff way too many times, and I cursed myself for not getting it earlier, because I found out that the law was more on my side that I had thought. Nolo taught me that the sheriff is often misinformed about the process of evicting a roomer (someone in a bedroom in your primary residence) versus that of evicting a tenant in a separate rental property. This book referred me to the relevant sections of the California civil code and penal code for situations with roomers.

The book and accompanying CD have all the California law forms needed for the eviction process, as well as instructions for deciphering the forms, which is a formidable task on one's own. Personally, the most important chapter in the book was the one that guided me though the unlawful detainer trial process. The author described in detail all the facets of a court hearing, the relevant players, the methods for addressing the judge, the order of events, and so on. I went into my trial with confidence because I knew what to expect and I knew how to prepare my case.

This book is well worth the cover price. The most important lesson to remember is that not following the unlawful detainer procedure precisely will lead to delays in resolving the issue (by getting rid of the tenant or getting them current on their rent). This title is one of the only ways, short of hiring legal help, that a lay person can ensure their documentation will be in order and the process will not be delayed any longer than necessary. Every landlord needs to own The California Landlord's Law Book: Rights and Responsibilities, and the moment a tenant is late on rent or troublesome for other reasons, landlords need to buy The California Landlord's Law Book: Evictions.

I have been a landlord for many years and this book has saved me hundreds of dollars in legal fees and an untold number of headaches. Evictions are a tricky thing and this book really simplifies the process for you.

The book explains everything that the law requires you to do to properly remove a tenant: when to take certain steps, how to fill out the forms, how many copies to make, how to file them in court, and how to serve them to your tenant. The CD provides good template forms to start with, but better PDF versions are available online at various websites.

This book is a MUST for all investment property owners in California.

Fred McChesney's book "Money For Nothing" builds upon public choice economist Gordon Tullock's work on how lobbyists obtain economic benefits from politicians. While Tullock's theory - known as "rent-seeking" - is gaining mainstream appeal, many economists now offer similar explanations for other aspects of legislative behavior that aids some interest groups while harming others. McChesney's theory of "rent-extraction" breaks new ground not yet covered by these economists.

McChesney defines rent extraction as "the political practice of extorting payments from private parties by making threats to expropriate wealth." In other words, he claims that politicians can take money from citizens by threatening to harm them and accepting bribes in the form of campaign contributions to leave them alone. He points out that if individuals have accumulated wealth and wish to keep it away from the government, they will be willing to pay politicians to leave them alone until the costs of doing so exceed the benefits of doing so.

Therefore, while Tullock's theory involves politicians accepting payments to create political favors in the form of rents, McChesney's involves politicians accepting payments to avoid destroying existing private rents. He explains the differences between the two by stating: "With the former (rent-creation/bribery), the beneficiaries of political action compensate the politician for increasing their welfare. With the latter (rent extraction/extortion), persons whose welfare would otherwise be diminished by political action compensate the politician for not effectuating that diminution."

He does point out that constitutional protection of private property and freedom of contract can prevent politicians from acting upon their threats. However, he claims the erosion of these protections has made the problem much more severe during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

To support his view that rent extraction imposes enormous costs on the economy, McChesney provides a wealth of evidence from recent policy debates. For example, he cites the United States Federal Trade Commission's efforts - at the request of Congress - to impose warranty and defect disclosure requirements on used car dealers as an attempt by individual members of Congress to obtain campaign contributions in exchange for voiding the rules. In this instance, he provides statistics on contributions made by the National Auto Dealers' Association to members of Congress who voted to repeal the regulations. In discussing the Supreme Court's response to the wheeling and dealing, he points out that the dealers were essentially tricked into paying to repeal legislation that Congress never intended to enact anyway.

On the Clinton health care plan, he states that stock prices of pharmaceutical firms began to fall before the policy was formally proposed. He emphasizes that investors knew that once price controls became an issue, the firms involved would have to spend money fighting the legislation by making campaign contributions. Thus, the firms were expected to lose enormous sums of money whether or not the bill was actually passed. Most importantly, he points out that the firms were never able to recover any of the money they lost in the process.

In addition to legislative threats to impose price caps, he cites situations in which politicians threaten to repeal existing price caps to obtain contributions. For example, he states that proposals to raise admission fees at Yellowstone National Park have met with resistance from local merchants and users who benefit from lower prices. In other words, politicians can even threaten regulatory systems that they inherited from previous regimes in order to extract contributions from the firms that benefit from those systems.

McChesney relates his theory to law and economics by applying the Coase Theorem to his logic. He claims that, in a world without transaction costs, there would be no regulation because markets would allocate goods to their highest bidders. Therefore, in his model, the existence of regulation is treated as a political market failure in which private individuals fail to accurately appraise the credibility of threats made by politicians.

McChesney offers a simple, straightforward way to make sense of much of the regulatory excess observed throughout the economy. Although his treatment of tax code reform may require some clarification, his model will eventually enjoy the same mainstream appeal that has been afforded to Tullock's over time.

Fred McChesney here develops his original idea of rent extraction -- and it's an idea that renders understandable much of what the government does. (Want to know why the NRA and politicians perform a perpetual, public dance with each other? Read this book. McChesney's explanation will surprise you.) This book is a marvelous example of the best in public-choice scholarship: clearly written and cogent.

What motivates politicians? How do they act? If you are interested in those questions your should read this. The author starts from earlier work in the area by Stigler and Posner - but then extends their models in a number of areas. McChesney has a remarkable ability to take a complex area of economics (public choice) and write in an interesting and understandable fashion. This book is probably going to be read mostly by academics but deserves a wider audience.

Not an easy read, but one that you will be glad you did if you are the type of person that is interested in the world arround you. The challenge here is to read and become a better person for having done so. It should open your mind

Mark Gerzon, in A House Divided : Six Belief Systems Struggling for America's Soul, provides insight into the major dynamics of American politics and culture and the internal struggles which will shape our nation for generations to come. If the reader will put himself in the place of each of the segments of American society as Gerzon so convincingly describes each one, he will gain remarkable new understanding of the commonalities and the divisions within our country. Great read and important information.

This book explains all facets of managing rental dwellings or farmland and the tax implications that go along with it. The book is easy to read, easy to index, and includes lots of good examples of things like depreciation schedules or tax return schedules. If you are thinking about buying rental real estate, or already own rental real estate, this book will easily pay for itself with all of the legal tips it provides on minimizing your tax bill. It's a very handy reference for those just starting out with rental properties. Some of the example spreadsheets look a little dated, but are easy to replicate on modern spreadsheet programs (Microsoft Excel for example).

I purchased this book several years ago after I purchased a 10-unit apartment building which I subsequently managed myself. I also do my own taxes. I found the book to be in invaluable resource guide. The ONLY book of it's kind (I probably have 20 on my shelf). Holmes shares his experience with IRS audits of property owners. He knows the tax code inside and out and the best ways a property owner can utilize it to their advantage (legally and above board, no slick marketing, just examples of what works).

Holmes skips the hype that almost every real estate investing book seems to love pitching. He has invested in real estate himself and has done taxes for hundreds of customers. He shares specific information about each form, how the IRS views the information (ie tips on avoiding an audit) and gives very detailed examples of Schedule E, Depreciation calculation, vacation homes and other topics.

There's an excellent section on 1031 exchange which I'm re-reading. He answers questions about state taxation issues and gives a detailed example of how California's aggressive tax stance on property sold within it's borders can be avoided by using a 1031 exchange into another state. This chapter gives a step by step calculation of how to calculate the deferred capital gain in an exchange, something I looked for on the web to no avail. It's also not in the IRC.

This book continues to provide me with answers I can't seem to locate anywhere else. A must purchase for small rental real estate property owners.

Nick provides you with the fruit of his research in a very candid and easy to understand way. Nick takes you step by step down all the roads enabling you to consider avenues of experience without the pain. You will be well prepared if you take time to read this, cover to cover it is brilliant, comprehensive, simple and understandable. It should be compulsory reading for those wishing to build a portfolio of properties.

It is extremely unfortunate that the labor theory of value and the exploitation theory are still prevalent today, over 110 years after _Value and Interest_ first appeared--this in spite of the "rivers of blood and oceans of tears" spilled in the name of socialism and communism.

Given that, it doesn't really mean much for me to assert that Eugen von Boehm-Bawerk was clearly a genius, and that his book is a well-written and devastating critique of the idea that capitalists exploit labor to extract unearned income. Obviously--and tragically--the arguments he presents weren't compelling enough to have made any appreciable impact on history.

Nonetheless, I think this book deserves comment. One of the things that I like the most about it is the obvious care von Boehm-Bawerk takes to avoid simply attacking straw men. On page 14 he writes:

"I am looking at the exploitation theory, I think, with 'it's best foot forward.' I am trying to adhere to a policy which Knies [a contemporary of von Boehm-Bawerk] put so well when he said, 'He who would be victorious on the field of scientific research, must allow his adversary to advance in all the panopoly of his armor and in the fullness of his strength.'"

If I may say so, I think he accomplishes this quite well. In fact, by the time he has finished his elucidation of the theory, he almost has ME convinced of it!

Immediately thereafter, however, he begins a relentless and unflinching assault, attacking exploitation theory from multiple angles and not letting up until he is certain that it is a lifeless carcass. All the while, this attack is accomplished with an enjoyable and engaging--and almost informal--writing style, such that, after a few pages, it almost feels like he's your pal, sharing his thoughts with you personally. I get the feeling that Eugen must have been a very amiable person with a healthy sense of humor (and that's in addition to being an intellectual giant).

The actual chapter extract from _Value and Interest_ ends about 2/3rds of the way through this book. The final third consists of a publisher's postscript, as well as a number of shorter essays by von Boehm-Bawerk, Ludwig von Mises (his most famous student), and the European scholar Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn.

If only this book could be made required reading for all Marxists!

I stumbled across this book while preparing for my first trip in China and found it to be overflowing with information that you would never find in the usual sources. And throughout the book is a subtle, yet palpable, sense that the author's eyebrows are archely cocked. Well Done Mr Wedeman!

Sometimes, buying a home is not the best bet. Renting can be a better value. This book will give you the tools to make your own buy or rent decision. Also included are Rent/Buy analyses for 29 metropolitan areas.