Review of Think and Grow Rich!: The Original Version, Restored and Revised (Paperback)

I was introduced to "Think and Grow Rich!" by an alcoholic member of our cemetery sales team.I had a wife and three children at the time, and we were just barely making it. My only source of income was the commissions I made knocking on doors selling cemetery property, and they were hard to come by, especially since almost nobody was a permanent resident in the Miami area.

Reading "Think and Grow Rich!" gave me a crutch to lean on as I forced myself out to pound those doors where the potential prospects were. If my family was going to eat, I had to convince people to buy cemetery property 30 or 40 or more years before they would need it. The Six-Step Success Formula the book contains helped me to realize that there was a way even for an uneducated lunkhead like me to make it like the big guys. I followed the success formula faithfully, and, lo and behold, my whole life turned around.

Two of my most useful tools in the book are the poem "My Wage" ("I bargained with Life for a penny...") and "If You Think You Are Beaten" ("Life's battles don't always go to the stronger or faster man...").I truly believe that Dr. Hill has the same message the Bible has for us. It was just little easier for me to apply.I went on to build the largest cemetery organization in the country starting out from my basement on Concord Avenue in Anderson, S. C. In 1970, we sold 30 cemeteries to Service Corporation International, making it possible for them to become the largest funeral-cemetery company in the world.I served as President of their Cemetery Division for three years.

I'm now 82 years old, living comfortably on the shores of Lake Hartwell with my wife of 62 years. Almost all my good fortune came about because I had the good fortune to be introduced to "Think and Grow Rich!" in 1953.(This new addition is actually closer to the one I read back then.The versions sold since the 1960s omit a lot of material that Ross Cornwell has put back in.) I have given away many cases of this great book. It was required reading in my company and in my family, and it has made a difference in a lot of the people's lives who were given the opportunity to make it part of their lives.

Thank you, Ross Cornwell, for this wonderful "added value" new edition of the book that has meant everything to me -- and for giving me this opportunity to look back and appreciate how really important all of this is and what a difference it has made in my life and the lives of so many others.




Product Description
Think and Grow Rich!: The Original Version, Restored and Revised. Napoleon Hill's classic book -- the all-time bestseller in the personal success field -- offers a life-altering experience. It teaches thousands of people the practical steps to high achievement and financial independence every year. This new edition is the first to contain extensive footnotes, endnotes, appendices, and an index. Now more than a motivational work, it is also a reference book and a mini-history book providing valuable information about Hill, his times, and his success philosophy. TGR's greatest value is not only that it can make you financially successful. It can help YOU -- or ANYONE -- get whatever it is that you desire from life.

About the Author
NAPOLEON HILL was born into poverty in 1883. He worked his way through law school and became an eminent attorney and journalist, an advisor to Franklin Roosevelt, and a confidant to Andrew Carnegie. Since 1982 the Napoleon Hill Foundation, a nonprofit educational organization, has revived his writings, winning him an immense international audience.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Think and Grow Rich!: The Original Version, Restored and Revised (Paperback)

Review of A Survival Guide to Selling a Home (Paperback)

Here's what the book contains:
Chapter 1 - Selling FSBO or Using An Agent
Chapter 2 - Prep Your Home To Sell For More
Chapter 3: Marketing your home
Chapter 4: Handling offers - the art of the deal
Chapter 5: Selling a condo, co-op or townhouse
Chapter 6 - Financing and money matters for sellers
Chapter 7 - If your home doesn't Sell and other options
Chapter 8 - Renting and keeping your home as an investment
Chapter 9 - Buying your next home
Chapter 10 - Decluttering, moving and yard sales
Appendix A - Why home values increase
Appendix B-Features that affect marketing time and selling price
Appendix C-- Marketing do's and don't's
Appendix D-- Dos and don'ts when you get an offer
Appendix E-- What your ads need to attract quality buyers
Appendix F-The Most Costly Mistakes Sellers Make
Index
I wish I'd had this last year to help with selling my house.This has lots of info to guide you through a trying experience.It's what you need to know to get the best deal possible.



Click Here to see more reviews about: A Survival Guide to Selling a Home (Paperback)

Review of The Home Buyer's Question and Answer Book (Paperback)

There are shelves of reference books available for home buyers, but I found this one to be of great help in explaining the step-by-step process of home buying.

Not only does the book guide you through the daunting task, but it explains terminology in fairly good depth that buyers are likely to run into while trying to buy a home. Words, phrases and acronyms such as contingencies, earnest money, clear title, ASHI and purchase agreement have become part of our vocabulary, thanks in part to this book.

I also appreciated the worksheets (some courtesy of Ginnie Mae) that help to prepare a potential buyer when viewing homes. The sheets encourage home buyers to look closely, take notes and prioritize needs. This is critical when you look at four or five houses in a single day and details can easily be blurred without an organized effort to keep the information for each house separate.

Though I don't think any one book can answer every home buyer's questions, this book was a great starting point for us as we sought to demystify the issues surrounding home buying. Highly recommended.



Click Here to see more reviews about: The Home Buyer's Question and Answer Book (Paperback)

Review of 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask: With Answers from Top Brokers from Around the Country (Paperback)

I happily endorse this book.The new second edition contains many new questions from the first edition, revised many other questions, and completely rewrites every answer.Things are changing fast in residential real estate, and this book will bring you up-to-date.Whether you are a first-time buyer, first-time seller, or haven't bought a home in at least five years, this book will serve your needs very well.The questions are drawn from those that brokers report that first-time buyers most often ask.The answers draw upon the experiences of many brokers.

How much training does it take to become a librarian, teacher, lawyer, physician, or rocket scientist?How well would the world work for us if such training were skimped on?

When it comes to buying a first home (whether condo, co-op, or fixer-upper), most people act as though you can do brain surgery without the training.Not!

Even if you view this emotionally and financially important investment as one to be approached carefully, most first-time buyers will make important errors.Here are a few of my favorites:

(1) Not thinking about how hard it may be to resell the home.

(2) Vastly underestimating how much money will be needed to fix it up.

(3) Overpaying for the home because of not realizing how to negotiate.

(4) Waiting until finding one's soul mate before purchasing.

(5) Spending more than you can afford, and using boxes for furniture.

(6) Purchasing a home that doesn't fit your needs (where will you put 4 children and you in 2 bedrooms?).

(7) Taking on a horrible commute.

Interest rates are down in light of the terrible terrorist tragedy and weak economy.Unemployment is rising.Based on historical patterns, this is a good time to buy.Are you ready?Probably not, even if you think you are.

But I have good news for you.If you read and apply the lessons of this book, you will be more ready than many people who have already bought homes.

The subjects covered include deciding what you needs are, versus your likes; how to look; determining what you can afford; deciding what broker to use; how to work with the broker (especially what not to tell the broker, since most work for the seller); how to decide what to offer; how to negotiate; getting the best financing; checking out the house; handling the closing; and even dealing with problems after the closing.You also get help with which professionals (such as buying agents, lawyers, and home inspectors) to use, how to select them, what they will cost, and how to work with them.

I have bought or helped buy three houses, am an attorney, and am a licensed real estate agent.I found several areas where this excellent book extended my knowledge.I know it will save you thousands of dollars . . . and probably even more in avoided emotional trauma!

The book does this by posing questions, providing worksheets, steering you to Internet resources, and describing case histories.

No book from the buyer's perspective can however hope to dispel the incredible naiveté that we all have when we first purchase a home (all 2 million a year who are like lambs being led to the slaughter).For that purpose, I suggest that you also read another book, How to Sell Your Home Fast, which is an excellent description of what intelligent, prepared sellers will be doing to get you to buy their home and pay too much.Beneath all the friendly chit-chat with the sellers, realize that your are usually being carefully maneuvered to act against your own interest.

By the way, this book does not do enough to warn you about hidden house faults.Home inspectors are not the entire answer.They usually get their referrals from brokers, and will usually not tell you the worst of what can happen lest brokers stop recommending them.Spend some extra money and have people you know well and trust who are expert in electrical, heating, air conditioning, structural, roofing, plumbing, soil, and environmental hazards take a look also.They will find things that you can use to get the price lowered to cover the cost of repairs.My experience is that you will save about [amt.] for every [amt.] you spend in this way.

I also recommend that you find 10 people who are a lot like you who purchased a home similar to what interests you about five years ago.Ask them what they did right and what didn't work out so well.

After you explore all of these choices, you may want to consider what I did once . . . rent with an option to purchase.All of my rent went towards the down payment.I found I loved the house, saved money, and had few problems with repairs.I later sold it for a nice profit.

Also, spend time in the yard of your potential new home at all hours of the day and night.You may be surprised by some of the positive and negative features.In one home, I discovered that a dozen deer came by across a creek at 7:30 a.m.Seeing them every morning became my favorite part of every day.

After preparing by knowing what the right questions are, look for all of the potential problems and opportunities in making large decisions.Then sleep on your decision for three nights.You'll know what to do then!

Click Here to see more reviews about: 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask: With Answers from Top Brokers from Around the Country (Paperback)

Review of What No One Ever Tells You About Renovating Your Home: Real-Life Advice for Hassle-Free, Cost-Effective Remodeling (What No One Ever Tells You About...) (Paperback)

A nice enough book, as a book to read before you read a practical book about renovating your home. The anecdotes are interesting to read, but I came away from the book with little to go on for my own upcoming renovation. This is not a book I highlighted, or where I turned corners down. A much better book, with practical help in the renovation process, is "What the Experts May Not Tell You about Building or Renovating Your Home". Similar titles, but while "What No One Ever Tells You" is full of anecdotes, "What the Experts May Not Tell You" is full of concrete and practical, step by step processes for handling renovation as an owner, including insights into relationships between the parties (owner, contractor, architect, inspectors, lenders, etc.).

Product Description
Read This Book Before You Remodel! It's no surprise that home remodeling remains hot. Home improvement centers are often packed with do-it-yourselfers and contractors preparing to do everything from modernizing an outdated kitchen or fixing up and "flipping" a property for a profit. Unfortunately, many homeowners find out that once they begin a remodeling project, they need aspirin to deal with all the headaches and hassles that can occur. In What No One Ever Tells You about Renovating Your Home, real estate columnist Alan J. Heavens brings 15 years worth of letters, e-mails, and phone calls from homeowners just like you to help you learn from the remodeling mistakes of others. Whether you're a homeowner, real estate investor, or home improvement enthusiast, Heavens' practical advice will teach you: - Sure-fire ways to find the best contractor - Tips to control your remodeling budget and schedule from start to finish - Making the most of your existing space - Projects that pay

Click Here to see more reviews about: What No One Ever Tells You About Renovating Your Home: Real-Life Advice for Hassle-Free, Cost-Effective Remodeling (What No One Ever Tells You About...) (Paperback)