Very good book; could have gone a little deeper into the mechanics of the closing process.

Very good book; could have gone a little deeper into the mechanics of the closing process.

This book is an easy to read, step-by-step guide through that 'magical' period called 'Escrow.' Explanations are easy to understand yet thorough. I highly recommend this book.

This book is an easy to read, step-by-step guide through that 'magical' period called 'Escrow.' Explanations are easy to understand yet thorough. I highly recommend this book.

Sandy Gadow's real estate closing book explained the part of the buying process which confuses most people, and where most of the costly mistakes can occur. I was able to understand the concepts and explanations which are provided, and felt confident enough to ask questions which I am sure saved me several hundreds of dollars. Before reading Sandy's book, I was intimidated by the professionals involved in a closing: for example, the attorney and closing agent, even the inspector involved. Knowing what questions to ask, I felt comfortable making lists of questions to ask, and which answers I needed. Although real estate laws vary state to state, this book does an excellent job of being all-inclusive for each state. Whether called "escrow", "closing" or "settlement", this book covers the essentials of a real estate deal.

In each chapter are "Tips" and "A Typical Misunderstanding" which lighten the reading and make the subject matter easy to follow along. The chapter on handling Tax-Deferred Exchanges was a welcome addition to the book. I was prompted to buy Sandy's book after watching her on CNN's show, "Open House."

I would recommend this book to anyone buying property, considering entering the escrow profession, or anyone interested in the investment aspect of real estate. I am now a real estate professional and am grateful for Sandy's book. I know the book helped me and I have recommended it to many of my friends and colleagues.

Sandy Gadow's real estate closing book explained the part of the buying process which confuses most people, and where most of the costly mistakes can occur. I was able to understand the concepts and explanations which are provided, and felt confident enough to ask questions which I am sure saved me several hundreds of dollars. Before reading Sandy's book, I was intimidated by the professionals involved in a closing: for example, the attorney and closing agent, even the inspector involved. Knowing what questions to ask, I felt comfortable making lists of questions to ask, and which answers I needed. Although real estate laws vary state to state, this book does an excellent job of being all-inclusive for each state. Whether called "escrow", "closing" or "settlement", this book covers the essentials of a real estate deal.

In each chapter are "Tips" and "A Typical Misunderstanding" which lighten the reading and make the subject matter easy to follow along. The chapter on handling Tax-Deferred Exchanges was a welcome addition to the book. I was prompted to buy Sandy's book after watching her on CNN's show, "Open House."

I would recommend this book to anyone buying property, considering entering the escrow profession, or anyone interested in the investment aspect of real estate. I am now a real estate professional and am grateful for Sandy's book. I know the book helped me and I have recommended it to many of my friends and colleagues.

...it's the same book as her previous books - only the title has changed. If there were any minor editing done to the book, I didn't notice. If you've read or purchased one of her previous books don't waste your time or money.

Gadow does an excellent job of providing a comprehensive view of a California Real Estate Closing. The subject matter is appropriate and well written. The illustrations, tables, charts and forms all useful. The only real problem with a volume like this is that all real estate is essentially LOCAL in nature.

Thus, many of Gadow's points and concepts are inapposite to other parts of the country. I found myself annotating my copy with local exceptions to Gadow's statements (I am a Real Estate Attorney in the Washington, DC metropolitan area). As with any volume with this much information there are certain errors that may have not been caught by the editors. For example, Gadow talks about obtaining multiple termite inspections. "Shopping for a clean termite inspection" and failing to disclose the known existence of termites is a patent violation of the Seller's duty to disclose known defects and could subject the homeseller to serious liability for any resulting damages incurred by the buyer.

Nevertheless, for the layman this book is an essential resource and I wish everyone of my clients would read it before coming to our office for their settlements.

"This book has all the information anyone needs for all aspects of a closing. It tells you the right questions to ask, when to ask them, and includes helpful checklists, which are really user-friendly. I used this personally in my latest closing, and it was the best guide I could have had. The list of documents needed to be sure the closing goes smoothly was great. Sandy Gadow is the leading author and expert on closings and escrow and I appreciated the easy to read style of her book. Worth buying this book!"

"This book has all the information anyone needs for all aspects of a closing. It tells you the right questions to ask, when to ask them, and includes helpful checklists, which are really user-friendly. I used this personally in my latest closing, and it was the best guide I could have had. The list of documents needed to be sure the closing goes smoothly was great. Sandy Gadow is the leading author and expert on closings and escrow and I appreciated the easy to read style of her book. Worth buying this book!"

I really enjoyed this book. The book is written very clearly, with great illustrations and examples. The easy to understand way in which closing was explained made sense and was easy to follow. I have read many real estate books, but never one written by a closing professional. Someone who really knows the subject matter from first hand experience. This book prepared me for what to expect at closing, what fees I was allowed to question and how to negotiate lower closing costs. I realized that settlement errors just don't happen at the mortgage level, they also happen at the title company. This book delivered on it's title. It really is a complete guide and a handy reference book. I went to closing with less worry and more confidence than ever before. I understood what I was doing and what to question. This is the only book I could find that really helps you with the final and most critical part of a real estate purchase (or sale).

This is a good choice if you feel skittish about following thru with the largest transaction in your life. Much of this book didn't apply to me because I'm buying just land in NC with cash --a transaction that's much simplified from the stuff she covers here. Much is made of escrow, but in NC, as far as I can tell, escrow is not as central to the closing process. There is an appendix on the differences between the closing procedures between all of the US states, but it would be nice if this was beefed out a little more. Still worth it, comprehensive, and good links to web resources.

I was surprised to find a book so easy to read and yet was so comprehensive. This is a book which finally explains,in layman's terms, closing costs,legal escrow documents,and most important to me, what to watch out for. You will like how the book tells you who to ask which questions and what each person should be doing and when. The full page size sample forms were great and easy to copy for my use. This book contains more than just escrow and closing information - it includes tips on taxes, property inspections, and what to do after the sale is closed.

Sandy Gadow's new escrow book is terrific! It is basically the same book as her previous book, All About Escrow and Real Estate Closings, but this new book is up-dated with the newest information and I especially liked the new chapter on tax deferred exchanges. I started investing in rental properties not too long ago, and Sandy's book on escrow and closing really helped me understand all those complicated closing papers and closing costs. I was able to save money on title insurance and I negotiated with the lender to reduce some of their closing fees. I would recommend this book to anyone buying or selling real estate. I found information in Sandy's book that I could not find in other real estate books. Easy to read and easy to understand.