Must Read for Underwater Homeowners!!, December 21, 2010

Like so many of our friends and family, my husband and I are underwater in our home. This book allowed us a moment of clarity to set aside our fears and thoughtfully consider our options. Underwater Home is a necessary read for any underwater homeowner wondering how to cope with such a large financial burden. The book addressed each of our concerns about foreclosure, short sale and loan modification clearly and compassionately. It also educated us on the options we have available to us, and how we might begin evaluating them. Although we have a long road ahead, what a relief to have access to trustworthy foreclosure information! If you or someone you know is in this situation, I highly recommend this book.

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Professor White Sets the Standard, February 15, 2011

Approximately a year ago I read a remarkable discussion paper authored by Professor White titled Underwater and Not Walking Away: Shame, Fear and the Social Management of the Housing Crisis in which he presented a refreshing and compelling argument supporting the contention that walking away from underwater mortgages, in many cases, might be the more rational and wise course of action to take. I finished the discussion paper and thought to myself that Professor White needs to write a book on this very important and timely subject. I was delighted to discover that he recently published a book and I didn’t hesitate in making the purchase.

If you are underwater on your home mortgage, this book is a must-have. If you have a friend or a family member who is underwater on their home mortgage, or struggling to make sense of the various options available to them, consider a polite way to introduce them to this book. They will be forever grateful for your kindness and thoughtfulness.

What makes this book really unique is that it is written by a lawyer who goes far beyond the typical “just the facts” legalese. Professor White goes the extra mile in helping the reader determine, for themselves, the best course of action to take for their unique situation and to also feel good and confident about their decision. Professor White’s insight and thoughtful strategies, along with his easy-to-read writing style, make this book a one-of-kind guide and reference manual setting the standard by which all other books on this topic will be measured in the future. This book is empowering and has a lot of heart.

Reading suggestions: If you are not sure whether walking away from your mortgage is the appropriate thing to do, read the book through rather quickly and don’t get bogged down with the details of the various options available to you. If, on the other hand, you’ve already decided to walk away from your mortgage but want to do it with finesse and confidence, begin reading the book with pencil and tablet handy so you can capture the key points and action items as you go.

Be prepared to receive much more value from this book than the cover price suggests.

–

Steven Wallace, Co-author – The END TIMES Hoax and the Hijacking of Our Liberty

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Excellent Reviw of Underwater Homeowner’s Options, December 26, 2010

I have just finished reading Professor White’s book and found it extremely informative. He examines the plight of a homeowner who has an underwater mortgage and provides excellent advice as to the available options. More than that he helps demystify the choices you have and helps remove the emotion involved with the decision to walk away from an underwater mortgage.

He also provides numerous websites and simple calculations that will help you decide what is your best option. His explanations help to reduce the emotional ties a homeowner has to his house, explains them and then encourages you to make a logical decision based upon your own particular situation. He helped me make up my mind as to what I should do and I know can help others who are facing one of the most critical decisions they will ever have to make.

Highly recommend to anyone who is facing an immediate foreclosure situation or would like to know more about this subject.

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A must read for any one facing foreclosure, July 17, 2011

This is the best book on how to fight foreclosure written in layman’s terms. My foreclosure attorney in Florida says that out of 500 foreclosure defense attorneys in Florida only about 50 actually know what they’re doing in regard to truly fighting for your rights the rest are just pushing paper work to keep you in your home a little longer so they and the bank servicers can continue making money, reading this book will give you the information you need to find a competent attorney or if you can’t afford an attorney you can proceed pro se (represent yourself)with the help of Know How to Win … Without a Lawyer! Only 9 Know What SHOULD Be Done
Affordable 24-Hour Course Makes it EASY TO LEARN! get it here [...] The bottom line a homeowner in foreclosure broke their promise to pay their mortgage usually do to some type of hardship that was out of their control, the bank servicers have broken the law by using Robo signers, forged documents, failing to record the note when it was sold costing counties all of the country a large source of income and breaking the chain of title, all in the name of greed. Bottom line if you’re facing foreclosure you must get a TILA and RESPA loan audit and a securitization audit to find any bank violations, and fight back. Other recommended reading UNDERSTANDING THE BOOM AND BUST IN NONPRIME MORTGAGE LENDING by Eric S. Belsky and Nela Richardson September 2010. Good luck everyone. Fight for your rights there are more cases every day where the homeowner has defeated the bank and won their home back free and clear of any mortgage, check out one case here [...]
Good Luck Everyone.

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Randy Frodsham, July 4, 2011

This book takes the complexities of what has been done to the American homeowner and puts it into everyday language easily understood by the everyone. I already knew much of the information it contains but I have never been able to express the information in as easy-to-understand language as this. Once a securitization and title audit is obtained, then one needs to do is to simply follow the first 2/3′s of the book to have your civil complaint literally laid out for you almost step-by-step.

Knowledge I gleaned from the book also explains why the loan modification and short sale processes are made so arduous – the servicer must acquire the note on the open market to be able to put up the (illegal) facade of owning the promissory note. Get the book. READ IT. Read it AGAIN. The pieces will come together and make sense.

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Don’t go into foreclosure without it, July 4, 2011

This is the DE-Facto standard of foreclosure defense. Attorney seeking to learn of foreclosure defense have actually guided their defense based on this book (One Of My Attorneys had the book on his desktop.)

This book is the groundbreaking start for anyone going into foreclosure. It is what we do not want to even believe is going on. Unfortunately in my own life I was actually tricked into foreclosure with a false loan mod then my bank tried to foreclose on me. When I pushed them in court the very points that were made in Vince’s book were brought up in court and they got me a trial date.

It is a must read for anyone in foreclosure that wants to see what they can do to stop it and save their home.

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A MUST READ!!, April 18, 2011

This book is a must read! It’s for anyone looking to buy a home, interested in investing in real estate and/or for anyone in the industry. Adam shares some amazing personal stories as well that teaches the reader from actual real-life situations/scenarios. His years of experience as a real estate attorney provides first time home buyers an insider’s view and the information he shares is priceless. I’m sure this book will save thousands of people thousands of dollars. Every real estate agent should be reading this book and should be buying copies for their clients. It’s really a must read and very entertaining as well! You’ll learn all you need from this book. It’s the complete real estate 101 educational book and more….Thank you Mr. Bailey!

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Finding The Uncommon Book, April 18, 2011

There can be little doubt that Moby Dick has little to worry about from Finding The Uncommon Deal. Mr. Bailey has no interest in high flown phrases that ring in your imagination. Rather, he takes the street fighter’s approach to the hard boiled business of finding the best housing possible at the best possible price.

And from that point of view, Finding the Uncommon Deal is itself the best advice possible at the best possible price. It is exactly what it claims it can help you find.

Mr. Bailey obviously does not want you to be impressed with his oratory. He just wants to give you the practical advice you need to get the most bang for your buck. The book is tightly organized to meet that very goal, starting with the idea of getting yourself the money to make the deal and ending with the idea of how best to spend it.

I was fortunate to see the very earliest drafts of the book and to commend it to my daughter in her search for the home that best suited her needs. She knows Mr. Bailey personally, but instead of having to barrage him with a thousand questions, she had the luck to have a working copy of him safely lodged in her handbag.

There is nothing about this book to make its reader like Mr. Bailey. It is blunt, brusque, and to the point. It tells you things that polite people don’t want to hear about, like how to take advantage of the death of a neighbor, but in the end, it leaves you to figure out for yourself the answer to a simple moral question: Somebody is going to get that hot bargain; why shouldn’t it be you?

And that’s what the book is about, hot bargains, wise precautions, stepping up to the plate and taking appropriate risks while steering away from bad ones.

And, at the end of the day, when you have purchased your home for tens of thousands of dollars less than you would have paid without Mr. Bailey’s advice, you can lie back in your recliner in your living room and drink in the wonderful prose of Moby Dick.

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Step one in buying real estate- Read this Book!, April 25, 2011

Buying real estate can feel like intentionally sticking your arm into a tank full of piranhas.

When I purchased my first apartment, I did research- read books, spoke to mortgage brokers, real estate agents, friends etc… I got advice from every where- too much, and often conflicting, advice.

How do you sort it all out? How do you know your best interests are being protected when the people you are dealing with have an incentive to influence your decision in a way that makes them the most money without a thought of what the consequences of your choice might mean for you?

My sincere advice to anyone, especially a first time buyer, is, before you do anything else, read this book! It gives excellent straight forward step by step advice on the whole process and what the many options are in plain English from someone who has made it his business to be one of the best attorneys in the industry.

The list price of this book would buy about 2 and a half minutes of advice from a top attorney. Imagine the number of hours Adam Bailey put into writing this book, not to mention the number of years it took to gain the wisdom and experience to fill these pages. If you do the math- and you better get used to doing math if you have any intention of buying real estate- you will realize how invaluable the information in this book is worth!

There are serious opportunities in the market today if you have a road map to guide you on how to take advantage of them. Putting your hand into that piranha tank will be a lot less painful when armored with a reliable resource to protect you!

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Wonderful–Raise generations of butterflies!, February 26, 2005

= Durability:  = Fun:  = Educational: 

My son (age 5) got this from his grandparents for Christmas and it has been terrific fun for all of us. The first set of ten caterpillars grew visibly day-by-day, then pupated and emerged as butterflies in a few weeks. There is a lot of great information about painted lady and other butterfly species online and having this project got my son very interested in how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly so soon I found myself showing him multi-colored pictures of imaginal discs (the larval structures that produce the butterfly wing, leg etc. during metamorphosis) online at websites I found–a great way to get him interested in developmental biology. The first time we talked about this he decided they were actually “magical discs”, given what these groups of cells can do…the whole process has been very entertaining for the whole family…. It is also really fun to have butterflies flitting around and caterpillars growing in the pavilion in the kitchen when it is gray and wintery outside.

How to raise more than one generation of critters inside:

Since we sent our coupon for larvae out immediately after Christmas, we had butterflies dancing around the pavilion and mating in February when there were no plants outside to collect for the next generation of caterpillars to eat. Anticipating this, I ordered a mallow plant and some additional larval food from Carolina Biological Supply Company at about the time when our caterpillars turned into chrysalises: there is an online store and the stuff to get is the L918 culture medium (144040). This will feed about 80 larvae. (Unfortunately the Insect Lore company, which makes the Pavilion, only sells caterpillar food in small quantities along with additional larvae, which we certainly didn’t need).

How to do it: We set the mallow plant in the pavilion and the butterflies laid their eggs on the leaves where we could watch them darken and emerge as very tiny 1mm long new caterpillars. After 4-5 days of watching the caterpillars eat the mallow plant (making little tracks on the leaves) we prepared them new homes in caterpillar media. To do this, you can use either the original plastic containers that the first generation larvae are shipped in (clean them out and dish wash them) or use another small clear-sided plastic or glass jar with a lid. Clean the containers well (I wiped the inside with a paper towel with isopropyl alcohol on it after dishwashing to kill bacteria, which will contaminate the food and make the larvae sick). The food will come in two plastic containers (nearly full). One of these can be frozen for subsequent generations. Transfer the contents of one container to a covered microwaveable container and heat on medium in the microwave (swirling every 10-30 seconds to mix and avoid overheating) until it is a solution. Pour media into the bottoms of the larvae containers to a depth of about a quarter inch (this will make 4-5 new containers). If there is a lot of condensation on the sides after the media has hardened, you can wipe this away with a paper towel–I did this, but then again alcohol-wiped the inside solid surfaces and lid above the media. Cover the containers loosely (leave the lid slightly ajar) and put them somewhere to dry. I laid a clean paper towel over the collection of covered jars to keep dust/dirt from drifting in given the activity level of the children here. After a couple days of drying, these were ready for larvae. If necessary (ie., if not using the previously shipped containers) make very, very small air holes in the lid. Then use a toothpick or matchstick to collect each 2-4 mm long larva off of the mallow plant leaves and tap to drop them into the new container. Put a clean paper towel over the top of the container (under the lid) and re-cap the jar–now the paper will serve as a scaffold for new chrysalises to hang from and will allow air in while preventing the tiny caterpillars from escaping. Try to be relatively aseptic about this.

It appears that we’re going to get about 20-30 new caterpillars from the first generation, which I should be able to accommodate with the larvae cups made above…hopefully by the time we’ve run out of this food and been through a couple more generations it will be summer and warm enough to release all of the butterflies we have outside. The pavilion is well made and sturdy enough that it should accommodate many other projects involving insects. All in all, we’ve been entirely pleased with this–a great gift that’s had my son on the phone describing his butterflies’ recent development to grandma and grandpa several times!

One more tip: the adult butterflies seem to become upended on the floor of the pavillion at times while they are flapping around and have trouble gaining traction to right themselves on the slick nylon surface. This shortened the lives of several of ours until I saw it happening and put some packing…

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What a fantastic experience!, November 15, 2000

Raising butterflies with the Butterfly Pavilion was an experience that my kids and I will never forget. I’m a single parent trying to raise two young kids on my own. I’m busy and don’t have much time to take them outside to experience nature. I wanted to give them something that would nurture their respect of nature. Boy did I pick the right item. We mailed our free certificate and about 10 days later, we received our caterpillars. Within about 7 days, they changed into chrysalides. We waited about a week, then suddenly, the butterflies started hatching. In fact, we got to see 4 of them come out within about 30 minutes of each other. It was the most fantastic experience. We kept the butterflies inside the netted habitat for about 5 days, then released them outside. My little 4-year-old girl cried as she had to free her "butterfries", but understood why it was important to do so. We’ll never forget this experience and highly recommend the Butterfly Pavilion to everyone.

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Amazing Miracle of Nature, December 25, 2000

I bought the Butterfly Pavilion for my grandchildren so we could watch butterfly metamorphosis together. It was very easy. We mailed the free certificate and about a week later we got our caterpillars with their special food. We watched our critters every day grow and eat. After they formed their chrysalids (or cocoons) we put them into the Butterfly Pavilion and waited for them to hatch. About 8 days later, they started coming out one-by-one. My youngest grandson (5 yrs.) was the first to witness the birth. "Nana, Nana, come see our ‘butterfrys’". It was the most amazing experience. We let them go later and all had a good cry. I’d recommend this fine product to anyone!

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Covers the basics to intermediate information, January 30, 2010

By 

Cedria King (Buckeye, AZ USA) – See all my reviews

  

This book covers the basics of purchasing an apartment complex or duplex. It doesn’t throroughly cover how to inspect the potential building, sources to learn about inspection, purchasing foreclosures ins and outs, handling renters, laws pertaining to landlords, etc. This book has some information to learn about this potential investment but is not in depth enough in my opinion.

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Excellent Primer for Novice Investors, December 28, 2008

As an investor in apartments and commercial real estate broker specializing in apartments, I found this to be a great primer with accurate information for the novice investor. It’s an easy read and provides up to date information on the state of the real estate market. Investors will find this book to be a great tool and resource in helping them understand how and why apartments can be a launch pad to greater wealth and larger properties with positive cash flow.
I have found that many uninformed investors buy the wrong property at the wrong price and get burned. Using the income approach to value gives investors the knowledge to become successful and build wealth through their real estate investments.
I am ordering more copies of this book to hand out to my novice investors in an effort to educate them.
Thanks for such a well written piece.

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Another Excellent Book from Matt!, December 1, 2008

By 

N. Mohanka “MP Management” (Worcester, MA) – See all my reviews

  

Mathew Martinez continues his good work with this book on apartment investing. I knew he was different than most real estate authors after reading his first book, ’2 Years to a Million in Real Estate’. He writes about his personal experiences in a clear, informative manner and does not cloud information in hyperbole.

The introduction about the woes facing the middle class is timely. I believe that, one by one, millions of Americans will find out that the comfortable life and retirement they expected for themselves will not be possible without some diversification out of paper assets. Real Estate, and apartment buildings in particular, offer an excellent means for people to go beyond their 9-to-5 grind and to establish some financial security and perhaps even prosperity.

Matthew’s logical description of working your farm area, sourcing properties, buying smart, doing your due diligence, financing, property management (which in the beginning includes landlording) and finally exit strategies is brief and yet complete. These are the steps you’ll need to go through and the basic information you’ll need to understand.

In addition to helpful advice and simple language, Matthew’s inclusion of inspiring quotes, useful websites and major multifamily lenders rounds out this superb book for the novice apartment building investor. As with all books like this, the real value is in putting the information into action. I’ve been a real estate investor for a few years and have seen many investors make good money by combining simple techniques with consistent effort. The best review of Matt’s book is the positive results you can achieve by following his advice!

Great job!

- RAJ

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Unbelievable Information!, July 4, 2011

I don’t think I have ever read anything more compelling, interesting, scary or down right infuriating in my life. Once you pick this book up, you won’t put it down. It’s like a sneek peak into the master minds of the banking industry and how they have effectively fooled everybody! I am so proud and thankful for Vince Khan for writing this book. Vince, you have effectively opened my eyes and now I can stand up for myself. There are not enough words in the English language to thank you for that. God bless you and in God, I trust!Foreclosure Defense Guidebook: An EASY to Understand Guide to Saving Your Home From Foreclosure.

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“Vince Kahn” = “George Tran” WATCH OUT! FILING FALSE DOCUMENTS CAN LAND YOU IN PRISON!, July 12, 2011

I have read this book and it has literally dozens of half-truths written by George Tran. He has adopted a pseudonym of Vince Kahn. He advocates homeowners to file their own reconveyances that will land them in prison. This will severely damage pro se’s in the very near term as recorder offices and judges will have no choice but ultimately bar non-attorneys from filing. Very very poisonous garbage. Do your own research on this guy! Utter poison

He fail mentions that he started doing his own research and started this book after doing 200 hours of layman research. He thanks John Stuart in this book and ironically John Stuart is PISSED off that he thanks him because he overtly says that what he is doing will put you in prison. SAVE YOUR FAMILY and CONSULT A LAWYER. TELL THEM YOU PLAN ON FILING A FEW DOCUMENTS THAT WILL GET YOU A FREE HOUSE. The tellers at the recorder’s office MAY mindlessly record them but POOF! you’ve now committed a felony. WHAT SIDE ARE YOU WORKING FOR GEORGE? GOOGLE GEORGETRAN BLOGSPOT

[...] [...]

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it is what it is, a starting point, January 6, 2012

By 

William S. Dorok “william” (texas) – See all my reviews

  

I bought it based on its 5 star reviews. I can not in good faith give it the same.
the book is.. well, its a starting point, but all the really good sections I think would help a person end up in this result. If you are looking to refinance, as I am… there are better books and data out there. Im self employed and refinancing has been an uphill battle.

( as of 1-1-2012 the site wants like 0 down and + a month membership!!! youll get more from a Bulletin board ! )

a section of PAGE 97 – EXACTLY AS IT APPEARS
“our membership program allows you to connect with other homeowners so that you can support each other, share and collaborate on ideas, As a benefit of the membership program, you will also receive sample documents you can use to challenge your lender and fight for your rights. Other benefits include”
1 Blah-blah-blah-website marketing
2 Blah-blah-blah-website marketing
3 Blah-blah-blah-website marketing
4 Blah-blah-blah-website marketing
5 Blah-blah-blah-website marketing
and on and onl.

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Average book of common sense, November 28, 2011

Overall I found this book to be mediocre, the most useful information in this book was the old saying “location, location, location”, and not to be involved with a partner that doesn’t compliment your weaknesses, i.e. don’t use a partner if you can do it yourself. I learned nothing new from this book; it is basically just common sense. I don’t understand how all the other reviews are 5 stars, I feel generous in giving it 3.

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Real Estate: The Sustainable Investment, April 2, 2012

This book is very basic with little or no real information. I found only one chapter to be useful: Management Q&A, which went over some Q & A based on the authors experiences. Stories through out the book where not informative and really did not help explain the topic. Many of the chapters were shallow i.e. Chapter 6 on leverage can be summed up with “leverage is a tool; debt is a condition”. As a person just starting to learn about real estate I found this book to be of no help, which is disappointing considering other reviews.

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A Good Investment Foundation, July 18, 2011

Going into the military straight out of college, I will be eligible to retire as early as 42, but this isn’t feasible unless I’ve invested properly to sustain myself. This book provides a great foundation for investments and how to manage them in real estate. An engaging read and something to make sure you keep on the shelf to reference back to.

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