General-mortgage

Mortgage Insider Information

Whether you need a mortgage to buy a home or are refinancing your current home loan, this new book provides insight on some of the mortgage industry's dirty little secrets.

Authors Clyde and Shari Steiner, who have written this book for the borrower's (not lender's) benefit, explain key mortgage terms and procedures in everyday English.

For instance, the authors explain computerized loan origination, the mysterious FICO borrower rating system, and why even the biggest mortgage lenders sometimes can't deliver loan terms they promise.

The best part of the book is the practical advice, written by authors who have obtained 12 home mortgages. For example, the Steiners recommend applying with two lenders at the same time if closing the loan on schedule is critical.

The message "don't trust lenders" to deliver on their promises comes through loud and clear. Another bit of practical advice is to treat the loan advisor as someone working primarily for the lender, no matter how nice that person might seem.

The book's highlight is the section on individual nationwide mortgage source sites and 800 numbers. It lists virtually all major Internet sites for home mortgage information and making online loan applications to earn discounts. The Steiners rate each mortgage Web site too.

The appendix contains the National Money$ource Director, Loan Evaluation Checklists, Loan Amount Charts, Loan to Value Worksheets, Refinance Evaluator and Where To Get Credit Reports.

Much of the insider information is available nowhere else.

--From Review by Robert Bruss - Chicago Tribune Syndicate

I picked this book up at the bookstore, mostly because it looked a lot less intimidating than the other books on buying a home (where's the cover for this book, Amazon?). It was so smart, so insightful, and so darn funny that I've ordered several more for my friends who are looking to buy. The author is a long-time mortgage lender who has seen just about everything, and offers advice from the trenches. If you want to own, not rent, buy this amazing book.

This book was an excellent reference for me. I'm looking for a home now and wanted something to prepare me for securing a great mortgage. The authors present the material in a clear cut way while leaving out most of the technical jargon that you most likely have a lawyer or soemone your working with who is a professional in the real estate trade explain to you. You get a thorough understanding of the mortgage without going crazy trying to remember terms of the industry. It's also filled with a load of real world insight on many aspects of the various mortage types, lenders and "rule bending". I was tossed up between "Buying and Selling a Home" by Kiplingers Personal Finace Staff but again it didn't have many technical terms and industry jargon that Kiplingers had. When your a busy person with little time to yourself but want to be prepared for one of life's major puchases than this should be the book for you. I will definitely look over the other books in this line pertaining to real property before checking out other publishers.

I read this book shortly before we signed to build a home, and I can't say how helpful it has been. Knowing how mortgages work (especially ARMs) and the right questions to ask has definitely changed the treatment we have received from various mortgage companies. We ended up going with our builder for financing and after dealing with them, I get the impression that a lot of people DON'T read up on mortgages and just take whatever is offered. Don't just trust the mortgage companies to give you the best deal - read this first and arm yourself for negotiating!

This book has done a great job in explaining and putting in simple, understandable words all the mortgage techicals and jargon. The mortage offical that originated my loan application was amazed at how much i knew about the matter (if she only knew). Seriously, if you want to get the deal that benefits you the most, then get this book and save hundreds and maybe thousands on closing costs and interest rates during the life of your loan. It will only cost you $16.99 and some little time to read and understand. Hope your have a great deal!!!

If only for the calculators and the formulas you should pick this book up. Of all the mortgage books I've read this one has the best charts, calculators. etc. to help you figure out what you can afford and how much your monthly bill will be. It also has an incredible formula to help you compare the many fixed rates that you will be bombarded with. So if you are receiving rates of 7, 7.5, 8 3/8 plus 1, 1 1/2 and 2 points you will be able to calculate the APR for EACH of these different fixed rates. No book that I have read has included such a formula. The book paid for itself just because of this one item.

This book is great for your average Joe who is planning to buy or refinance a home. It is written in simple English with a minimum amount of technical language. As a first time home buyer looking to educate myself, I found it very helpful.

Most books about mortgages quickly lose your attention because they are written in a way that only insiders can understand. This book explains the process in a way most people can comprehend.

I used this book to train myself when I got into the mortgage industry. As a manager in a mortgage company, I use this book as a training tool for mortgage loan officers, so they learn to describe the process and loan programs in a way that the general public can understand.

The Mortgage Kit provides a detailed explanation of the entire mortgage process in every day language. It provides great inside tips for consumers about all different aspects of getting a mortgage. Including how to know whether or not your mortgage lender is treating you fairly, and important insights that will protect you from being taken for a ride.

All of the important basics are covered; from what your lender will look at when deciding whether or not to approve your loan, to the paperwork you need to pull together before going to apply for a loan and choosing the best mortgage program for your own needs.

The book is well organized in its layout. It is educational if you read it cover to cover. But more importantly, it's laidout in a way that allows you to find the topics you have questions about easily, so you can focus on learning the answers to them.

This workbook was written as a companion to "Mortgage-Backed Securities" by Davidson and Herskovitz. Frankly, I think this book works much better on its own and I would recommend Fabozzi's "Handbook of Mortgage-Backed Securities" instead as a general guide to the subject. The workbook confines itself to a limited number of topics but it covers these very well. Beginning with simple cash flow and yield calculations, the authors move on to provide guidance on (simple!) prepayment modelling, basic structuring, the yield curve and regulatory tests. The approach is attractively practical, and I think of this text as a useful secret weapon to have up one's sleeve.

While you can use this workbook with the text, it is also very useful by itself. In fact, I didn't know it was a companion to a book until after I bought it.

The topics are covered in enough detail to answer all those small questions I have. In addition, it's the only book I've found that leads the reader through the details of building a simple prepayment model. There are some advanced questions in the book for more mathematically inclined readers.

Best book I ever red about mortgage-backed securities. I recomend this book for everyone who work with mort.back securities.

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.

This is the first "for dummies" book I've ever bought. It's also going to be the last. They're not kidding with the title. Instead of stating their point simply and clearly, the authors patronize the readers with silly stories. For example, instead of saying something like "do not buy a house that's too far from your work," the authors spend a paragraph telling a story of some poor dummy who did buy a house too far from his work and ended up hating everything. Oh, and BTW, if you need a book to tell you that you shouldn't buy a house that's far from your work, then this book is for you. The information presented is oversimplified, incomplete, and sometimes just incorrect. Moreover, this book will not help you at all if you're dealing with an unusual market, such as SF Bay Area, NYC, LA, etc.

I'm not in the real estate business, nor do I have any vested interest in anybody buying or not buying this book.

The Best Available For Lookers/buyers/Sellers - Everyone

The brilliance of HB For Dummies is taking important factual information, condensing (but not oversimplifying) it, organizing it, and labeling it with headers and bullets making the info. easy to find. It seems every angle and potential situation is noted here for home buyers, sellers, or anyone contemplating this major undertaking. The chapters are organized perfectly for you to go immediately where you want to go in this book.

Think of all of the millions of people who purchased their first home recently (2002-3), motivated by the lowest interest rates in decades. Many of them have likely paid higher and/or unnecessary fees, or had the process slowed because they weren't willing to read 30 minutes a week to get the basics down.

The duties of all of the 7 most common players in a home purchase and sale are described. The RE Agent, Broker, Lender, Property Inspector, Escrow officer, Financial and Tax Advisors, and Lawyer (if latter need be) are included. What should be expected of them, negotiating fees, which party pays them, and what actions are considered the norm and reasonable are detailed. And of course: all of the potential red flags, and how to spot them are enumerated also. What 11 questions should you ask the Real Estate Agents you interview to represent you? Find out here.

Most folks don't keep track of the details of the current home
values more than the generalities of it being a cold, sluggish, warm or hot market. There are instructions in this book on specifically how you can get comparable pricing of the values of what you are looking for in a home in the community you live in.

For some of the nuts and bolts, in the financing chapter for example, there is a list of 22 items you need to bring to a mortgage lender: original copies of the 8821 Form, inspection report, the closing cost worksheet, and various sections of the U.R.L.A. will give you confidence of having at least the basic background knowledge so you can know what to expect when you begin the process. How much will Homeowners insurance cost you? It's here. Doing your homework before-hand is much better than learning as you go along, which can surprise, sadden, cost more, and at times intimidate the first (or 2nd time) buyer.

In the back of the book there are appendixes that contain more original documents, such as the Purchase Contract. There is a comprehensive glossary of terms, and an index.

Another helpful book is "The 106 Most Common Mistakes Home Buyers Make (And How To Avoid Them)" by Eldred. But HB For Dummies has much, much, more. HB For Dummies provides the most bang for buck.

My wife and I purchased this book to help us in our hunt for our first home. We were total novices about the entire home buying process since we had always been apartment dwellers. I read through the book several times over the course of a month. The book armed me with good questions to ask my realtor and the seller's agent as well. It was particularly invaluable when addressing mortgage loans and funding alternatives.

48 hours from now my wife and I will close on our first home. This book gave us confidence in our decision making by helping us evaluate a wide variety of criteria we would not have otherwise thought of. The peace of mind this book gave is worth many times more than we spent for it.

If you are buying a home as a novice, you simply MUST purchase this book. Even if you are a veteran home buyer, I really believe this book will have value for you as well.

This wasn't a particularly good overview of the securitization market. It focusses on cash U.S. mortgage backed securities.

As an attorney working in the area of securitization, I am always on the prowl for a good treatise on mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities. A friend at another law firm recommended this book for our growing library on the topic. I am sufficiently pleased with this book that I ordered another three copies for the other partners working in this area at my firm.

This book represents an excellent companion to other books on securitization such as "Salomon Smith Barney Guide to Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities" by Lakhbir Hayre (an edited book) and "A Primer on Securitization" by Leon Kendall and Michael Fishman (also an edited book). All three books are important additions to a firm's collection, but the Davidson et al book stands out as an excellent teaching tool.

One of the more difficult tasks facing a law firm is trying to acquaint the various partners and staff with the complexities of this field. This book enables interested parties to understand these complex issues through the use of illustrations and exercises.

I highly recommend this book to anyone in the legal profession interested in a better understanding of this complex but fascinating area.

I am a junior jeep driver (aka, junior ABS trader) at one of the major IB firms. I needed a book that explains securitization and how to analyze securitized products. This book is the best choice in this arena if you want to learn HOW to analyze MBS and ABS.

What this book doesn't do: This book is not an encyclopedia. It does not contain every type of securitized product in the world. If you are interested in the encyclopedia approach, there are better choices.

What this book does do: If you decide to read the book carefully, you will learn how to analyze securitized products. The strength of the book is mortgage-backed security analysis (both residential and commercial). It does an excellent job at describing the underlying collateral and how the underlying collateral influences the performance of the security.

Our firm has its own prepayment and delinquency models, but we use the Andrew Davidson company prepayment models in conjunction with Derivative Solutions. It is nice to have a book that explains mortgage prepayments by the firm that actually generates the prepayment models that we use. Also, it is great to understand the interplay between prepayments and interest rate processes.

A problem that I have with the book is that I got it a couple of weeks ago and everyone keeps borrowing it. I recommend that the publisher issue a softbound version at a lower price point so my fellow traders will be encouraged to buy their own copies.

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!

We recently sold our house ourselves. It worked. It was definitely worth it.

I bought this book to help me better understand the issues I was facing when we got started. It was helpful and definitely worth the money. The language was easy to understand and it did highlight a number of issues that made the process easier for me.

Unfortunately there was a lot of information that didn't apply to a fairly normal situation and a number of things weren't covered (one issue is that real estate laws can vary a great deal from state to state). I think a lot of people could find the important stuff mentioned in this book on the internet or from talking to friends.

I wish I had read this book BEFORE hiring an agent, it would have saved me a lot of grief and maybe some cash. Don't think that this book is just for people selling a house themselves -- there is a lot for those who choose to work with an agent. If you go into the selling process without knowledge, you're largely at the mercy of someone who interests don't overlap yours in every way. This is the most important financial transaction of most people's lives, self-education is the best way to prevent stress and getting burned.

The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is the relative lack of information about how to leave your house -- what is expected of the seller in terms of patching walls, cleaning etc.

This book was indispensable while I was selling my house. The numerous practical tips on preparing a house for sale and the explanation of the legal ins and outs were certainly helpful, but what was absolutely invaluable was the advice on avoiding the emotional pitfalls that can make you miserable and keep you from making the best business deal. Using this book's advice, I priced my house right and staged it well, and it sold very quickly for above the asking price.

This is a very small investment that will help you with a six-figure financial transaction, so it's well worth the cover price.