Income-property

Concise, expert information. A true gem

This book is NOT out of stock!! I just called the publisher in St. Louis, and they said they've got plenty on hand. What's going on here? Anyway, this is a good book, one of the best I've seen on the subject of the problem of poverty and solving the problem through widespread, direct ownership of the means of production. Sure, the state has a role, but it's more of helping people to do for themselves than doing it for them. I questioned some of the examples given in the book, but I visited the website of the organization that put the thing together, the Center for Economic and Social Justice, www.cesj.org, and the problems I found in the book with the examples arose AFTER the book was published. They respond to the problems without avoiding the issues. I see where the book addresses matters from a "Catholic" perspective, but was put together by Catholics, Protestants, Jews and Muslims -- making it catholic rather than specifically Catholic. It deserves more attention than it's gotten.

NO TRESPASSING is a humane and scholarly look at homelessness, its root causes and its grass-roots remedies. The author has written a non-fiction, philosophical page-turner which should be in every homeless shelter, on every urban planner's desk, and on every corporate boardroom table. The book brings to bear the historical, political, philosophical, and human forces that shape homelessness and offers descriptions of solutions that have worked in today's world. Its an important read and a good one! Read it as you curl up in your warm house in a comfortable armchair, with a good reading light, a cup of hot tea in hand, and the knowledge that your chair, your light, your hot tea will be there for you tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.

The Ownership Solution by Jeff Gates could also be called Jeff Gates' Book of quotes. Mr. Gates, while clearly learned and well versed in the problems of the world, has failed to recognize that out of context quotes do not support his position. This also assumes you can decipher his position. Personally I found this book to wander, literally, all over the world. Peasants who bearly scratch out a survival existence will never understand or appreciate shared ownership. The human points of view and the individual's place on Maslow's hierarchy are totally ignored and are of critical importance to making Gates' grandiose dream remotely plausible. Gates himself pointed out huge failures in ESOPS. Why then, does he believe they are the solution of all of the earth's problems, from hunger to pollution, to overcrowding? I am baffled by the praise heaped on this book. Mr. Gates has apparently never worked with laborers. I was blessed with a summer on a road crew to open my eyes to a different world. At the end of each week, one of my co-workers talked, in more crude language, about getting paid, drunk, finding a prostitute, and taking whatever was left home to his wife. Many others were planning on joining him. Mr. Gates is probably one of those folks who don't understand why there is a supervisor on a road crew who does nothing but watch people work. Having been there I can tell him that the second the supervisor stops watching, much of the crew stops working. This is foreign to most people with an education and the drive to improve their lives. However, there are millions of people on the earth who perceive those with ownership of business as "not really working." Mr. Gates, in my opinion, never focuses on a single problem long enough to clearly state the problem and how his "solution" will work. He fails to recognize differences among people and he fails to make connections that he thinks will happen on their own. Why does he believe that if more people owned businesses that businesses would stop polluting, would cease creating dangerous products and by-products, and would suddenly be primarily focused on the good of the population? He is not talking about changing the face of business ownership, he is talking about changing human nature. He seems to think that if all of the employees owned the business, the leaders would do what is best for the employee/owners, their children, parents, cousins, and neighbors. United Airlines is one of his pet successes. Currently UAL is not seen in the greatest of light by anyone. Is this his vision for the future?

"The Ownership Solution" is written by Jeff Gates, one of the original forces behind the legislation that created employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) in the 1970s. The book seeks to inspire decision makers and business leaders to build on the success of this innovative program. He proposes that similar projects should be launched with the goal of providing opportunities for employees and consumers to gain ownership stakes in the businesses in which they work and spend their money.

Gates argues that the increasingly finance-driven economy has changed the face of capitalism, a phenomenon that has accelerated in recent years. The author shows how the decisions made by detached financial managers results in a system that mainly rewards investors who, by definition, are already wealthy. The speed with which these investments can be reallocated purges the economy of do-good business managers who might choose to devote resources to so-called nonproductive means (such as worker benefits or environmental protections), meaning that workers and society consistently end up losers in this game. Gates believes that the resulting worker insecurity and the marginalization of ever-larger segments of the population ultimately threatens the long-term viability of our democracy.

In contrast, Gates believes that broadening ownership will allow more citizens to feel connected to their workplace and community. His proposals are imaginative but appear to be doable; in fact, some are being practiced in limited form in various places. Here, Gates' writing is at its best. You'll enjoy reading about how DSOPs, GSOPs, CSOPs, RESOPs, VSOPs and yes, ESOPs can help to revitalize the economy and repair our frayed society. Gates suggests that what is needed is the political will to promote these solutions on a larger scale in order to have greater impact and make a difference in people's lives.

Interestingly, a writer in Forbes magazine recently remarked in a condescending manner that ESOPs represent an odd mixture of capitalist and socialist ideas. This suggests to me that the idea has merit. A capitalism that only succeeds in rewarding the top executives of Enron and Citicorp with lavish pay-outs is not sustainable nor is it worth saving. But a capitalism that rewards hard-working employees and consumers with the greater prosperity that comes with earning an ownership stake, as envisioned by Gates, is certainly worth striving for. To that end, I heartily recommend Gates' book to all who are looking for ideas to help save capitalism and to secure the future of our society.

The Ownership Solution succeeds brilliantly in showing how broad based personal ownership can strengthen communities and make global sustainable development possible.

This book, as others have noted, is not about the mechanics of proceeding; it's no cookbook and doesn't outline the specific steps to implement a deal. Nor does it specify some mythical "one true strategy" you should follow. What it does, and does very well, is cover the entire spectrum of larger strategy issues that will distinguish the greater success of strategic thinkers from the blind-luck results of simple tactical implementers.
Who is this for? People who have read (or done) enough real estate that they don't need yet another book of the details. People who want (or need) to be reminded to think about the larger plan, where they are going, and how to optimize your strategy for best results. I'm a business strategist professionally, and I think this is well written and useful. Some of the people who appreciate it the least ("just do it" types who want to be handed simple answers) would benefit the most from this very good summary of real estate strategic thinking. It's true, you do need to dive in and "just go do it" to make RE work. But thinking about the issues in this book will probably make any RE campaign significantly *better*. Good luck, to each of you.

This is the second book I've read by Eldred. I like his style and thoughtful ideas. Unlike so many get rich in real estate books, Eldred seems to have his feet on the ground, yet he still demonstrates great ideas and techniques for buying, improving, and creating value for properties. This book does not cover "everything you need to know" (what book does?), but it does give you a unique and solid approach to investing smarter and more profitably.

If you're thinking about investing in real estate, this book will give you a clear path to follow to maximize your profits. I found its strength both in its clearly written explanations as well as the tips and ideas on how to develop an improvement strategy. As a quick read that fully covers the basics, it's the best book on investing in small apartment buildings that I have read. True, as the reviewer below notes, you won't find a bunch of crazy "no credit, no cash" dealmaking tatics here. But you will find substantive content that distinguishes this author from others. Whether investing pro or amateur, I believe you'll come away from this book with insights that will really boost your return potential. I certainly did.

The Woodlot Management Handbook has some good ideas but the gist of the book could be presented in one third the space. Many common sense observations are previewed, presented, and then recapped. Although written for the novice, this book
anoyingly talks down to the reader. Common Sense Forestry by Hans Morsbach covers much of the same material with a clear and concise style and also manages to be far mor informative.

This book provides a good background for the subject of woodland management for both timber and enjoyment, blending the two subjects well. It does not provide much in the way of specifics, as the subject is too broad, and often recommends professional help rather than suggesting ways of helping yourself (i.e. further reading).

This book is a basic introduction to woodlot management with a focus on the forest ecosystem, basic valuation metrics for trees, reforestation, and conservation.

The major difference between this title and the Beattie, Thompson, Levine text is that the latter devotes substantially more space to financial, legal, and logistical issues associated with harvesting trees. Conservationists will probably prefer this book while the reader focused on income from his or her woodlot will prefer Beattie et al.

Neither text goes very far helping the reader identify specific health problems in a woodlot; look more to Pirone et al. for an excellent introduction.

I ordered the book as a guide for refreshing some equations and methods in the income approach that I use for reports. The book is very comprehensive and useful ....except that it is noted in the Pound system which is distracting when read.

This book is good for people who is new to the real property investment. This is for beginner level only,however, it does offer the basic formula of various type of valuation mathematic.

A good treatment of the re financing process. Geared more for the investor than the individual home buyer, the line-by-line analysis offers valuable detail on the facts behind the numbers and builds the actual calculations nicely.

While I have some philisophical differences about some few details of the valuations the author proposes, I found it a useful counterpoint and good check-list for investing.