Investment-management

Country Properties is "must" reading for anyone aspiring to relocating in the country, or who has newly arrived in a rural setting and seeking to make a life and a livelihood there. Country Properties is an authoritative, practical, "reader-friendly" instruction guide to buying a place in the country and taking up an agricultural pursuit. John and Jennifer Hoff provide invaluable details on buying, selling, marketing, and production; tips on enhancing your real estate and agricultural investment; helpful overviews for current owners and managers of country farms, ranches, and estates; insights in to the biology and genetics of agribusiness; provide useful resources; technical illustrations; and a great deal of personal stories, anecdotes and humor. The Hoff's informative text is enhanced with original illustrations by Galen Struve.

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief, The Midwest Book Review

This book gives excellent first hand insight on all aspects of being a ranch property owner. The book's authors did an very thorough job in clearly identifing the key elements of aquiring land, raising cattle, and growing pecans. It motivates one to "Cowboy UP" and buy some property.

We were ready to buy a piece of land but were not exactly sure how to proceed. Country Properties showed us step by step how to make the right selection, hire a manager, maintain and establish the pastures for our cattle and horses and enjoy the rural setting with peace of mind! Everyone should read this reference book before they venture into the world of rural living and also buy a copy for your manager. He will really appreciate, use and understand these helpful hints! You will end up buying more copies for friends and family. This book is truly one of a kind!

This book should be titled "I do not know how to price all risks when valuing companies so here are 101 fudge factor guesses I use instead". This is the wrong way to value companies and is inconsistent with financial asset pricing theory. Look elsewhere for better resources.

Pratt took his many years of valuation experience and put it in this one book. The book reviews the theory and practice of how to derive a discount rate for use in a DCF. At present, it's the best book in print for appraisers.

The valuation profession has exploded among CPAs, CBAs and others who attend a few seminars and then undertake to do this complicated work. Many end up doing a shabby job, because they do not understand basic concepts of cost of capital. The understanding of aspiring business appraisers will grow from reading this book, as (I believe) mine did.

This book is NOT written by an academician (although I think I recall that Shannon has a PhD in finance). A fair example of an academician's work, reflecting a different approach and serving different needs, is Bradford Cornell's fine work on the equity risk premium.

Pratt has authored several classic books on business valuation. He has valued thousands and testified in US Tax Court, state courts and federal courts across the country. He continues to speak to business appraisers across the country. This book summarizes issues he knows need to be better understood by those of us who consult with closely held businesses.

This is a short book and an easy read, but packed with good information for those who want to better understand the cost of capital in the context of valuing small businesses.