Real Estate Reads

Ok...so maybe READING about Real Estate may not exactly qualify as "entertaining"...nonetheless the StarTribune reported on some decent options if you are interested.

Real Estate Reads

Jim Buchta - StarTribune
Looking for a last-minute holiday gift? Here's a sampling of the latesthousing-related books about buying, bubbles and building.
By the end of the year, my desk is piled high with press releases, newspaper clippings and books. Lots of books; too many to ignore for another year. So, dear reader, as I go in search of my desk top, I do so with you in mind. Here's what I found.
"Closing Costs," by Seth Margolis, is a novel that chronicles the wackiness of the high-buck Manhattan real estate market through the experiences of a group of New Yorkers whose lives intersect in interesting ways. It's a fun-to-read, engaging look at how the other half lives, and buys and sells. It's written by a well-known mystery writer, who was inspired by his own forays into the market. ($24.95, 320 pages, St. Martin's Press.)
Speaking of engaging reads (I know, this isn't going to help those of you who are still trying to understand the difference between a conforming and non-conforming mortgage -- we'll get to that later), don't miss "The Tao Gals' Guide to Real Estate."
The subtitle of this book is "Six Modern Women Discover the Ancient Art of Finding, Owning, and Making a Home," and as you might expect it's the story of how a group of women use the Tao Te Ching as a guide to the practical aspects of buying a home (and their love lives, too, but that's another section of the paper).
Part how-to manual, part spiritual guide, this is a must-read for any woman who has ever considered buying a house. This one barely missed my list last year -- it was published in early January -- but it's too good to forget. ($14.95, 304 pages, Bloomsbury).
On to the nuts and bolts. With more people looking to retire the rake and shovel, townhouses and condos are a major force in today's market. If you're thinking about jumping on the maintenance-free bandwagon, I recommend "Everything You Need To Know Before Buying a Co-Op, Condo or Townhouse" ($18.95, 245 pages, AMACOM Press) by Ken Roth.
Written in mostly plain-speak by a real estate lawyer, this book highlights some of the joys and perils you might face in a community association.
At least once a day, sometimes twice, someone asks: "Bubble or no bubble?" Can't find my crystal ball, but Blanche Evans, editor of Realty Times, an online real estate website, takes a stab. She offers "Bubbles, Booms and Busts," an A-to-Z primer on how real estate markets work and how to proceed as a buyer or seller in these changing times. ($16.95, 196 pages, McGraw Hill)
Evans (let's call her Busy Blanche) also wrote the "Guide to Home Selling" and the "Guide to Home Buying." Buyers and sellers need all the help they can get right now. Both are published by the National Association of Realtors.
Don't fret, I didn't forget about those of you who plan to build, or simply have a high interest in new home design and construction. Taunton Press, publisher of Fine Homebuilding Magazine, offers several new titles you might want to consider. "The House You Build -- Making Real-World Choices to Get the Home You Want" ($34.95, 202 pages), by architect Duo Dickinson, is a very nice-to-look-at book aimed at helping readers navigate the home-building process. It focuses on 20 projects built during the past decade and includes details about budgeting, site development and design fees.
And "The Face of Home," by architect Jeremiah Eck, is another Taunton standout that you won't want to miss. This is the book that will help you decode the details that make you love or hate a building, and will help you understand the hallmark of good design. ($40, 217 pages.)
Speaking of Fine Homebuilding, the magazine celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, and to mark the occasion the company published "The Best of Fine Homebuilding: 25 Years of Great Building Tips" ($8.95), as well as a compilation DVD called "The Best of Fine Homebuilding" ($125). These are gifts that will appeal to those who know -- and care -- about the difference between a mortise and a tenon.
OK, so those are the highlights from my desk-top dig. But I was curious about what real estate titles were popular outside of the Star Tribune. I checked Amazon.com, which recently listed as its No. 1 best-selling real estate book "The Insider Secrets of the World's Most Successful Real Estate Investors" by Mark Evans ($16.95, 288 pages, BookSurge Publishing). That's as good an indication as any that even though the market isn't what it was last year, investors haven't given up on it.
Happy reading, and happy holidays.