Ilona M. Bray

I was really excited to see this offered as a LibraryThing Early Reviewer option since I have begun to consider the possibility of buying a house, but have felt at a complete loss of where to start. Then, after I won it and received the book, I put off starting it feeling a little intimidated and afraid that it might be boring and difficult.

Nothing could be further from the truth. While some parts certainly interested me more than others, the writing was accessible and the explanations show more clear. Two of the authors are lawyers, and they do a good job of explaining general law in layman's terms, even while stressing differences by state. Of course, since the subject matter is so broad, no one chapter can cover every option or every situation; furthermore, since laws are different from state to state, there are going to be individual differences. But this book lays excellent general groundwork for the ins and outs of home buying. The authors primarily focus on the purchase of a single-family home, though from time to time special situations like a new home from a developer or a co-op is considered. Each chapter introduces one aspect of purchasing a house, such as creating your wishlist, how to assemble your "team" (real estate agent, attorney, mortgage broker, etc.) and what each of them do, and how to finance your purchase. What could become dry facts and figures is broken up by real life stories, tips, worksheets (there are a few short examples in the text, with directions to look at the complete one on the CD-ROM included), and more. I especially enjoyed the "Best Thing We Ever Did" features in which something that could have been abstract, like getting a home inspection, translated into something practical by showing how someone truly benefited from it.

As a result of reading, I'm feeling more comfortable understanding such things as what a mortgage broker does, and what I might need to do to see if I'm in a position to buy now or later. I will be able to ask more intelligent questions and not feel completely lost. Though the earlier chapters have much more relevance to my current situation, I'm sure that I will refer to the book as I come closer to truly be in a position to buy. show less

This is a book to get back to over and over again while thinking about buying your first home (and then buying it). As someone who moved to the US from abroad, I found this book especially helpful because it gives a thorough overview of how buying a house works in the US, from factors that are important to Americans in a house to financing, the role of real estate agents, closing etc. I love that this book explains everything from scratch so that even a complete novice can find their way and show more get a good understanding of the overall process. I also especially liked that the book comes with a lot of checklists (and they even include a CD-Rom with those for your convenience). I have not bought a home yet, but am planning to and am definitely going to look at those checklists again to make sure I don't miss anything important. One thing I didn't like as much is that the chapters on financing seemed a bit superficial for my taste - you still get the basics, but I feel like some of the financial risks of financing a home the traditional American way could have been stressed a bit more. But that doesn't affect my overall rating of the quality of this book, because it might be helpful to look at other sources of information for financing anyway. All in all, I recommend this book to the first-time home-buyer in the US, and also to anyone from abroad who'd like to get a clue on how to buy a home in the US. show less

This is THE hand book for fundraising. It is not a book to be read once and forgotten. Rather, it is a book to be skimmed, read, dog-eared, underlined, and always kept close to hand. Chapter titles and headings with-in the chapters make it easy to focus what ever situation is in question. All subjects are covered from finding volunteers to finding donors, as well as paid staff. What to expect and how much to expect from the various types of donors. Text also includes real life problems and show more solutions and sample forms for letters,newsletters, etc. Legal issues are addressed, including the sources for getting help from lawyers, etc. A very thorough resource that will save much time and headache in your quest to raise money for worthy causes. show less

I work with a software company that provides online marketing and CRM software for nonprofits, so deal with hundreds of people working to raise funds for their organizations. So often, people are looking for magical software solutions to basic fundraising strategy problems; problems that organizations absolutely should sort out prior to importing those problems into their new software! If I could, I would make sure every one of our clients had a copy of this book. The concepts here are show more foundational and extremely helpful. Once an organized, smart strategy is in place, every fundraising effort or new technology is made exponentially more powerful.

Part of my basis for evaluating this book is my work with my current client base, but I also have 10 years of experience as a fundraiser. I've also completed the keystone course from Indiana University on fundraising. This book does not go into the depth of that coursework, but gives thorough support on the basics. show less