home-mortgage

I read this fine book, that is so correctly titled. This book is "All About Escrow and Real Estate Closing." Every aspect of the closing from pro-ration of taxes, title insurance, holding title, and closing statement are included in this book. In addition there is an appendix which in 1 paragraph for each of the 50 states outlines the settlement procedures in each and every state. There is also 10 pages of blank forms in the back of the book, which are suitable for copying and using. The book is easy to read taking a complicated and foreign subject and breaking it down and explaining it. It comes as no surprise that this book is used by real estate schools and professionals. Every real estate professional should have a copy and read it as well as use it for reference. If you ever had questions about a real estate closing, those questions are probably answered by this book. If you are only ever going to buy one or two properties this book is going to be over kill, but if your plans include buying multiple properties and you are a real estate investor, then this book will be a helpful tool in your real estate toolbox.

The illustrator is Dave Patton, who also did fine work in Leigh Robinson's excellent book "Landlording".

My only reservation is that some aspects of settlement are handled differently in different states and locales, that everything could not be covered in this book. There is no standard for settlements in different states and some states use different documents. Also some states have a simultaneous closing whereas others have the buyer and seller go to settle at different times.

I ordered All About Escrow to explain a few questions I had on closing costs. I was surprised to find that this clearly written book explained to me everything from how to write a purchase agreement, what to look out for, and followed the purchase all the way through to the final closing day. I referred this book to a friend who wanted to purchase a house from a neighbor without using a real estate agent, and All About Escrow detailed exactly how to proceed.

All About Escrow outlines the Who, What, Why, When, and How of any real estate purchase better than most real estate books I have read. It gave me the information I needed. I appreciated the "The Way It Really Is" feature which tells real life stories of a closing and I liked the check lists and what to look for. The book is written in terms which any lay person can understand. The sample forms were very helpful and the State by State Procedures chart is unique. This is one real estate book which delivers more than the title suggests!

This book is fantastic. It really changed the escrow process for me. By simplifing the buying and selling network my escrow went allot easyer. Because of this book I knew which questions to ask and ended up saving allot of money. I would advise to anyone thinking about going through escrow to read this book. It will save you allot of time, energy and expenses.

This steaming heap of information was UNcarefully gathered from the Internet (by some type of automated, grab-it-all crap program) ... dumped UNedited into giant PDF files and burned to CD. It is less useful than a simple hyperlinks to HUD, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I can't begin to tell you how ugly this is. I haven't seen information this DISorganized since the streets of NY filled with paper showering down from the horrific World Trade Center disaster. Absolutely worthless. Trash. Avoid this at any cost.

Warning! This is nothing but a reproduction of thousands of government agency WEB PAGES, all available FOR FREE to anyone with internet access. It is NOT INDEXED, meaning you have to search the entire disc for words or phrases you're interested in JUST LIKE YOU WOULD ON THE INTERNET. I am returning this at once!