General-mortgage

This book combines expertise and readability in the style of Tavakoli's "Credit Derivatives". I would expect it to become a classic in this market as is her other book in the credit derivatives market. This book has particularly nice coverage on SPEs. Her explanation of the evolution of CDOs from balance sheet deals to arbitrage deals includes lots of practical examples and clear graphics.

Tavakoli's insights are especially valuable when highlighting caveats introduced by the rapid growth of credit derivatives technology in structured finance. She recommends structural approaches to getting fair value for both structurers and investors. Much of the information on synthetics is new material, and losses that are just now being realized in the market place might have been avoided had this book been available six months ago.

Tavakoli also predicts products that will wane and the products that will experience a growth spurt - such as the secured trust -in the Basel 2 environment.

I noticed the same reviewer seems to have posted multiple negative reviews for this book and Tavakoli's credit derivatives book. One of the reviews echoes the words of a fellow who is coming out with his own books on these subjects, so there may be a motive of self-interest. In that respect the one and two star reviews may be a form of envious homage.

I'm a 5-year veteran in credit derivatives trading. I hedge synthetic collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and manage the risk for single tranche CDOs. I was very glad to receive this book and like it as much as Tavakoli's book on credit derivatives. Tavakoli clearly defines terms. She then clearly explains the products. There are many aspects of the structuring I wasn't aware of that are explained as an entertaining read in this book. Our structuring group liked this book as much as I did, and bought copies for everyone on the desk, and bought copies for customers.

I work for one of the well managed banks that has been providing good value for customers, but I was happy to see Tavakoli talk about how customers have often been ripped-off and she suggests how customers can avoid this - for instance by dealing with my bank. I liked the way the various structures are explained from the bottom up. Tavakoli makes it seem easy to understand the various complex components and the structural options.

The section on language and gaming is especially important. The debate on deal managers both for and against, and the inconsistency of the rating agencies both internally and externally is clearly explained. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, since we want rating agencies to take independent views, but it is important to realize that discrepancies in the approach to rating structured products exist. Tavakoli did an excellent job of explaining this so that there are no misunderstandings.

I also enjoyed the account of non-CDO structured finance products, since I may gravitate to the structuring side of the business in future.

For investors who need to know more about structured finance including new synthetic securitizations using credit derivatives technology, this book is a great resource.

This book isn't too bad. It doesn't cover anything revolutionary, but it does a good job of covering some of the basics of getting out of debt. It's an easy read and goes fairly quick. If you want to read it I'd suggest picking it up at the library rather than buying it. One pitfall it does have is that the author could have left her anti-government and political propaganda out of it, that was a bit annoying.

Contrary to the preceding opinion from Alabama, this book is a good buy. It tells how to get rid of all your debt in the shortest possible timeframe, saving thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. It even gives a few examples of ways to decrease expenses so that you can use the difference to accelerate repayment of your debts. Following the advice in the book, I expect to be completely out of debt (over $140k, including the mortgage) within 5 years and expect to retire (comfortably) at least seven years earlier than I had anticipated. (P.S. -- I don't make six figures and have a young child.)

The only thing I would change is that the author tells you where to go to find the "best" credit cards. Is there really such a thing? Getting another credit card will, over time, put far too many people back to square one. If you keep in mind that if you can't buy something for cash, that means you can't afford it -- this book can take you the rest of the way.

If you think this book is useless you're probably looking for an easy way out of debt (expecting an inheritance?).

I have read all, well most of these books. They all seem to say pretty much the same thing just from a different perspective. A friend told me about "Debt No More" and swore "this one is different". Since I was about to file bankruptcy I figured I had nothing more to loose. This book saved me and possibly my marriage. I just got in over my head and though in the long run it would all work out. It just got worse and I sunk deeper and deeper. We are now on our way toward getting completely out of debt and are rebuilding our credit. I really recommend this book. It is very easy to understand and makes allot of sense. Thank you Carolyn White where ever you are.

I suppose this reference work is very informative to the home buyer ... if perhaps a bit too much to digest for the average casual reader. For an intern loan officer in an agressively propserous mortgage brokerage, the book provided some key information, but not the depth I had hoped for. Is it worth getting if your a mortgage professional? Yes, most definately. So much of the do's and don'ts of this industry are shrouded in statements like "well, we always did it that way" rather than simple straight forward explanations. This book was a breath of fresh air when I was floundering in my first year as a loan officer. Now, as a Senior Loan Officer at my company I still find myself referring to it from time to time for some of those elusive little details that always seem to arise in the loan process. Go ahead and get a copy. Either you'll learn something new or your boss will think you're applying yourself at home as well as on the job!

I'm a programmer analyst for a mortgage company. However, the one year experience I had working for a mortgage company with all the ongoing trainings and mortgage software application designs are nothing compared to this book. This is a great book with all info you need to know about mortgages. Would recommend to anyone.

All I can say is this is a great book, that is equivalent to 3 years of mortgage experience.

This book is a great book for consumers as well as real estate professionals. You will definitely want to keep it close by to reference information about FHA, VA and conventional loans. It is easy to forget some of the details about differnt loans but Ms. Garton-Good has made it easy to look up information such as who can pay closing costs on VA loans and does the veteran have to pay the funding fee. Having a list of closing costs FHA borrowers are allowed to pay or not pay is also very helpful. This book answers a lot of questions you probably wanted to know but may have been afraid to ask!

I would recommend anyone thinking about buying or selling real estate and all real estate professionals make this book a part of their reference library right away.

You won't be disappointed with this book. It really covers the territory--everything from qualifying tips to government programs to seller financing to saving big dollars. Before I read this book I didn't know a an ARM from a leg. Now I can talk mortgage talk with any lender and not feel like I'm prime meat for the wolves. Really gives the lowdown on all types of financing alternatives and how not to get caught by the fine print. Thoroughly shows how to pay off your loan faster and save tens of thousands of dollars. Nuff said. This knowledge will pay back a thousand times the cost of the book.

I previously read Eldred's book,Investing In Real Estate.It's the best,comprehensive, and most sensible guide to investing that you'll find (read the reviews for youself). Likewise, this book on financing goes way beyond the other authors that I have read. (Sidenote: I cannot figure out what the Seattle reviewer is talking about, Mortgage Secrets deals exclusively with the ins and outs of financing techniques, saving money, cutting mortgage costs,and building equity faster. This book says nothing about using high leverage to get rich in real estate. As to infomercial hype, Eldred actually lambasts these gurus and warns how their "techniques" can lead the gullible to financial ruin. He even cautions strongly against home equity loans.) If you want to learn your financing options as well as the "tricks of the trade", you won't find a better book than this one. Although I'm in the business, I liked this book because a much more educated borrower gives us true professionals a stong advantage over our competition. Read Mortgage Secrets, then work with a broker who follows the insights that Eldred reveals. I'll make more money and you will get a better deal.

I just closed a loan on my first home and I found this book to be a helpful guide. It's not as sensationalistic as the title might imply, but it prepared me to know what questions to ask and how to get my credit,income, and bills in shape before I put in my loan application. Although I took out a new loan, this book goes into assumptions, seller financing, and other financing choices that I didn't know much about. I think a lot of people looking to buy might find these alternatives worthwhile. Overall, a profitable read.
P.S. This book is not an "infomercial" or "get rich quick" hype. It also strongly warns against misleading a lender--none of the advice is "fraudulent." I find it interesting to read other reviews and sometimes wonder if they actually read the book they are reviewing. Not just here, but with many other popular authors. Oh well, such is life.

I have read several home-buying books and two other mortgage books and found this to be the only source for detailed information. As another reviewer suggested, if you want the feel-good basics then look elsewhere ("Navigating the Mortgage Maze", by Turnauer or "The Centuray 21 Guide to Choosing your Mortgage"). My view is that if you are taking the time to read a book on a subject, you want details. I find generalities and broad sweeping statements a waste of time. This text provides a breadth and depth of information in a clear and succinct manner. My only complaint is that the book could be updated with a newer edition. However this 10 year-old text is by no means out of date since the author gives you the framework to understand everything in the fast-changing mortgage industry.

Obviously, your success in buying or selling a home -- as a first-time home buyer, an investor, whatever -- or when you refinance -- is due in very large part to the financing you get. So obviously you should strive to learn as much as possible about how to get the best loan. Yes, you could rely on a mortgage broker and hope he/she is honest enough and competent enough to save you that extra [money]. But why risk it.

Here's the bottom line: As the author states, "Most loans...are approved or denied based on some very fundamental reasons." It's a good idea to know those fundamentals and what your options are.

And if you're still wondering whether or not it's worth it to know this info, let me ask you if you're going to pay that $ document preparation fee on your closing statement. How about that loan origination fee? (is 1% reasonable?) It's a very good idea to know this stuff, and I think this is probably the best book on the subject.

Nine times out of ten the biggest factor that decides whether or not you successfully buy or sell a real estate property is -- financing. And yet it is the one area people know the least about. By understanding home loans and how they work, you dramatically increase your chances. And this book is the best on the subject I have read. The writer is a professional experienced mortgage broker who writes well. The bottomline, as the writer states, is "Most loans...are approved or denied based on some very fundamental rules." It's really good to know these fundamentals.

Great book, easy to read, too pricy

This "no-nonsense" book, by a seasoned investor and broker, is mostly focused on non-traditional real estate financing vehicles. Bits and pieces on the subject have previously taught by various gurus, but this book covers ALL of them. If every Realtor and investor read this, we would all be better off.

Other recommended RE investing reads:

The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing
Landlording by Leigh Robinson
5 Magic Paths to Making a Fortune In Real Estate Investing
The Income Stream by Robt. Goodman

This and Landlording, by Leigh, are my two fave's so far as a real estate investor. This one tends towards overkill with many, many examples but other readers may want that more than I did. There are one or two strategy recommendations I disagree with rather heartily, but it's clear, pretty much accurate, and very readable. The no-nonsense writing reminds me a bit of T. Dallow or J. Reed, both also recommended.

I work as a consultant for banking clients. Hope that does not influence this review too much.

The authors have prepared the best summary available of the economic and statistical evidence regarding potential racial discrimination in approving mortgages. This book is a replacement for approximately two file drawers of published and unpublished studies that I have collected for approximately five years.

It has its limitations though. Most of all, it is a specialized monograph for a specialist audience. Even though it is aimed at influencing the behavior of the banking industry, most managers and policymakers in that industry will find this volume tough going.

Second, the authors seem to have the opinion that the financial industry rather actively seeks to avoid lending to certain minority groups. This seems naive, in that there are lots of laws that make such policies risky and also because the industry has invested heavily in compliance managers and employee training to resolve such problems. The industry may not be perfect but it is not actively avoiding its responsibility for equitable lending policies. I don't think their perspective mars their analysis but I do think that the same outcome could have been produced with a less accusatory tone.

Third, the policy recommendations offered may not be as workable as the authors imply, since the data requirements for implementing their proposed statistical tests would actually be quite demanding and perhaps beyond the legal authority of the banking regulators.

Nonetheless, this is a very valuable book because it is the first to make an authoritative stab at consolidating the economic knowledge about a very difficult topic. If you're just trained as a generalist in this topic, the policy chapters will still be useful but you'll need to pass the book along to a colleague specializing in economic and statistical research to gain full value from both the critique and the recommendations for new statistical tests.

As no one had written a review of this book when I purchased it, I bought it based on the title alone; but don't let it fool you. It's not 300 pages on buying a home with little or no money down alone, as I would have thought, and primarily what I bought it for. Most of the chapters are simply about buying a house.

There is helpful and thorough information about figuring out how much house you can afford, credit, tax savings, home owners insurance, mortages, what to look for if inspecting the house yourself, etc. There are also many helpful sample and example forms such as House Closing/Refinance Data and Gift Letters. Also provided are tables that calculate credit ratings, mortages, etc. There are sample lists of what to look for at each viewing and sample tables of how to compare all of the properties. The book is riddled with "Example", "Note", "Caution", and "Tip" asides that help to explain, warn, and advize. Also, at the end of each chapter is a chapter summary, which is nice, because if you're not sure if you need to read the entire chapter or not, you can read the chapter summary first and decide then if you need more information. Each chapter is not set up like a novel either, which is also nice. It's broken down into smaller sections with informative headings so you really don't need to read the entire book to pinpoint the information you want.

One of the most helpful parts of this book is the glossary in the back of the book. We are first time home buyers, and I am not familiar with much of the terminology of home buying, so I found the glossary helpful in understanding what I was reading.

Now to the point of the book, buying a house with little or no money down. There is no "true" way to buy a house with no money down. You still need several thousand dollars in closing fees. There are two chapters in this book about "no" money down. Chapter 7 is called "Mom and Dad (Or a Good Friend) Give the Down Payment" and discusses taxes, shows sample forms to use, and gives tips and examples to help. Chapter 8 is called "Borrow the Downpayment from Family or Friends". This chapter discusses types of loans, interest rates, collateral, security, etc and provides an example of a form you would use if you chose to borrow the money from family or friends.

Chapter 10, "FHA Insured Mortgages", is what I was hoping this book would be all about, because of the title. If you are buying this book soley for information on buying a house with little money down, you will find that this is the most helpful chapter. (In addition to the FHA mortages, the author provides names, numbers, and websites for other agencies to go to that offer 3% or less down payments.) The author discusses how FHA morgages work, how much of a down payment you will need (1.25-2.85% depending on the area), benefits and drawbacks, how to qualify, and probably most importantly, how to obtain one. Just like the rest of the book there are "Tip"s and "Caution"s and tables to help explain.

Although I was disappointed that this book is not ALL about buying a house with little or no money down, as the title implies, there is lots of very useful, helpful, informative information in this book. However, no one book has everything. I would recomend, "100 Questions Every First-TIme Home Buyer Should Ask" by Ilyce R. Glink in addition to this book to any first-time home buyer out there.

Happy House Hunting! :-)

This book is an excellent source for obtaining a comprehensive knowledge of the mortgage industry. Whether you are a prospective home buyer seeking to save money on a mortgage, or seeking knowledge and training for a job in the mortgage industry, this book tells just about all there is to know about the important points of financing a home. This book is written in language that just about anyone can understand, and if it is followed with relative care from beginning to end, a strong foundation of mortgage industry knowledge can be obtained. This book is written from the standpoint of empowering home-buyers with valuable, unbiased knowedge of the industry, and I highly recommend it for this purpose as I use the knowledge contained in it every day.

This is a must read and good reference book for mortgage professionals, including lenders and practitioners in secondary mortgage business. The book gives excellent review of the development of residential lending in US, of government regulations, major market players, and important product types. Then the book gets to the details of mortgage lending processes and also touches the secondary markets. Readers can definitely gain valuable and practical knowledge on residential lending business after walk through the book.