1 comments about Renting Your Recreational Property for Profit.

1. Written by Heather Bayer (CEO of CottageLINK Rental Management, a cottage rental agency based in Ontario, Canada) Renting Your Recreational Property for Profit is a practical guide to generating income through renting one's vacation home. Accessible to all readers regardless of their individual familiarity with real estate, Renting Your Recreational Property for Profit covers how to market one's vacation home, how to manage property oneself, rental management agencies, a guest guide, and much more. "Once you have a website up and running, you may receive unsolicited calls from a newspaper's advertising department offering highly discounted rates for a series of ads. Before being tempted, figure out how many weeks' rental you would have to sell in order to pay for that advertising - that is, what it takes to recoup the money." An accompanying Windows-compatible CD-ROM filled with templates, worksheets, checklists, and spreadsheets rounds out this handy and useful resource.

No comments about Country Wisdom.

No comments about 101 Things for the Housewife to Do in 1949 (101 Things to Do).

No comments about 101 Quick Fixes in and Around Your Home.

No comments about Knack Green Decorating & Remodeling: Design Ideas and Sources for a Beautiful Eco-Friendly Home (Knack: Make It easy).

3 comments about Code Check Electrical: A Field Guide to Wiring a Safe House (Code Check).

1. The second edition of Code Check electrical that is being offered here is based on the 99' NEC. Many states are still on the 96'(CA, OR etc.) NEC and the first edition is still available to them directly from the publisher, Taunton Press.



2. I suppose if you are already familiar with all of the code sections involved in an electrical code inspection, or at least the portion presented in this form, this would be a helpful form. However, if, even as a building inspector, you need occassional reminders of exactly what an electrical code section involves, this may force the user into guessing what is meant by a particular item on this form.

   Unfortunately, as a result, I firmly believe, inspections done using this form will not represent a reasonable degree of accuracy. Some of the diagrams are useful. However, a great deal is still lacking in helping the inspector, layman or professional, in understanding exactly what they are looking for.

   For instance, one of the items under "Other Services" in the "Temporary Power Pole" section reads "Identify insulated neutral at both ends". If the National Electric Code Section referenced (200-6b) is accurate, then this actually means that non-white wires in temporary power systems that are #6 or larger, but not the commonly used #8 copper, must be marked with a white identification tape wrapped around the insulation of the wire in the junction boxes in which both ends of the wire terminate. I'm not sure many of my fellow professionals in the building inspection profession, much less the layman, would know these specifics from this short identifying phrase provided in the form. Furthermore, it could take several books, including a copy of the National Electric Code itself, for someone to fully understand what this code section means.

   As a result, I don't believe that this form is designed for the layman at all. I don't believe it will be useful to the typical home buyer having a home built. I think they could be much better served by the local code inspectors. If they were not convinced that a local code inspector would be likely to serve them well, for whatever reason, they should consider using the money to help pay for a full-fledged private inspection by a local home inspector who does new construction inspections.




3. Be careful using this. It really is just a light skimming of basic code, usually not drawn out into enough detail to keep you out of trouble. It is more like someone's handwritten notes of common questions, not at all at 'authoratative' level that a 'code check' type of title might lead you to believe. You could maybe catch basic violations of someone else's work, but do not use it to convince yourself that someone else did their work correctly, and do not use it as a guide in your own work.

3 comments about Casa Construction, Exterior.

1. The side-by-side English-Spanish layout of Casa Construction is great, which makes it easy to reference English and Spanish words.
   Devloo's descriptions of construction concepts are relevant and helpful. Diagrams and labeled photos are great learning tools.
   I'm taking the book with me anytime I need to meet with Spanish-speaking contractors.
   
   I highly recommend Casa Construction, Exterior!
   
   -Jason Schlarb, MBA



2. Es una herramienta de trabajo excelente. Me ayuda todo el tiempo en mi charla diaria con trabajadores de la lengua americana, quienes me han encargado una copia para ellos también!!!
   Lo consultamos muchas veces al día porque nos facilita la comunicación enormemente. Lo tengo conmigo siempre!!!
   La información está explicada de manera simple y todos la podemos entender perfectamente y explicar conceptos en otro idioma gracias al sistema lado a lado y las fotos y esquemas que posee el libro.
   
   It's a great work tool. It helps me all the time in my daily talking with workers of the american language, who have asked me for a copy for them too!!
   We consult it several times a day because it helps us to communicate. I have it with me all the time!!!
   The information is explained in a simple way and all of us can understand it perfectly and explain concepts in the other language thanks to the side-to-side format and it's photos and drawings.



3. My husband and I are building a house in Costa Rica and our builder speaks excellent English, but we wanted a way to speak directly to subs on the job. Also, our architect, who speaks only minimal spanish, wanted to make sure that he was communicating his ideas completely to engineers and sub-contractors. Casa Construction was the perfect solution! It is easy to use and very complete in its handling of common construction practices. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is building a house in Latin America--or even here in the USA where communication can still be a big issue.

No comments about Arizona Home Book, First Edition.

2 comments about Shopping for Furniture on the Internet.

1. Interesting that a book advertised to help you navigate the internet and avoid rip offs is the biggest rip off itself. All of the links are to search engines or are outdated and the authors email is no longer valid. All the other info you can find yourself. Save your money and dont buy this book!!



2. I used this book and the 1999 version of "Shopping for Furniture" by the same author when I moved in 2004. I had absoultely no knowledge about furniture, live in NYC where prices are high and had limited financial resources. This was the first time in my life that I was going to buy a large quantity of furniture at one time. I had heard about the North Carolina furniture outlets, but with a small child I did not have the ability to go there. Having faith in the merchandising power of the internet, I bought this book and "Shopping for Furniture" and proceeded to search. Through e-mails, and armed with the knowledge and terminology set forth in Mr. Lewin's books, I was able to find out a lot in regard to the quality and pricing for many pieces. I had been told by one manufacturer that I was "very educated" regarding the construction of furniture.
   Through the use of both books I learned what to look for in a quality piece and how to go about finding the furniture I wanted for the best prices. Although I did not use the any of the merchants listed in these books, I did use the information in them as a springboard for finding other merchants.
   I did look for furniture makers that Mr. Lewin recommended, searching their lines on the internet, finding out where they sold in my area, and going to these stores to check them out in person. Thanks to Mr. Lewin, I was able to rule out a lot of pieces that looked good but actually were quite poor in quality. For example, each time I opened a drawer on a piece and I noticed that it did not contain dove-tailed joints, I immediately closed the drawer and walked away, knowing that it was an inferior piece of furniture and that it would not last.
   For my bedroom furniture I decided I wanted Louis Phillipe furniture manufactured by Pennsylvania House (which no longer makes furniture in the USA), a company on the same level as Ethan Allen which waas not really affordable for me). Through the internet I found a merchant whose prices were excellent. Since the merchant was not listed in Mr. Lewin's book, I e-mailed him and he immediately responded that the furniture was good quality, the price was excellent and the seller was reputable. I was able to furnish my bedroom for approx. $5,500 when using local merchants would have cost me well over $10,000 for the same furniture.
   My dining room and entertainment unit I got for $2800 fully delivered when locally I would have had to pay $3500 for the same pieces (on sale for Memorial Day)plus local tax (which is high here in NY) and delivery. I figure that buying locally would have cost over $4200 for the same pieces.
   Thanks to these books I was able to get alot of "bang for my buck" insofar as furnishing my house was concerned. Not only did I get info from the books but I also was able to receive advice and info from Mr. Lewin who was happy to hear from me and most gracious with his quick responses.
   One of my colleagues is in the process of furnishing a new home and I have highly recommended that she buy these books, since she wants to get good quality furniture for as little expenditure as possible. I really look foward to seeing what she comes up with.

4 comments about Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings: All New Listings of the Most Efficient Products You Can Buy.

1. I bought this book from amazon for research into healthy houses and I skimmed it for my deadline. I'm reading it closely now. Well written, easy to read, detailed, comprehensive. Even if you haven't a speck of money for new appliances, much less a new heating system, you can save money on energy. It's small--you can fit in your bag to take to the appliance store, but it's packed with stuff. Well worth the price.



2. This book covers both the house itself (insulation, windows, etc.) as well as appliances, furnaces, and lightbulbs. Written in 1999, it lists major appliances, windows, furnaces, boilers, and air conditioners by brand name and model number in table format showing the energy ratings of each one. This saves you the time of running around town or making dozens of phone calls to collect this info.

   It also explains all the information contained on energy labels when you go shopping. In particular, I found the section on windows most beneficial. It details what tests are done to obtain the ratings, which tests are most relevant and which ratings you should pay particular attention to, as there are several ratings on each window.

   It also was bold enough to say which things you should be spending your money on and which things are nice to have but not absolutely necessary.




3. I have a house under construction and I need information on windows types, heating and cooling appliance options as well as insulations. This book is over 5 stars. I borrowed a copy from a library and am planning to buy one for reference collections.



4. If you want to replace your appliances in your home this is your book to find the most energy efficient products on the market. It rates the products as well as explaining how they work. Tons of information for the everyday consumer. We have used it to help us decide upon which kind of washer & dryer to buy as well as the installation of a heat pump, which replaced the 30 year old forced air furnace. It covers all the types of heating systems as well as cooling systems.
   For the washer it compares vertical axis with horizonal axis right down to cost per load, electric and gas, wash and rinse cycle options and even laundry tips.
   There is a whole chapter on lighting, both incandescent and compact florescent bulbs.
   Hot water heaters are covered: gas or electric, storage types, demand, water pump, tankless, indirect and even solar. It discusses replacing & sizing water heaters for your home and how you use hot water, insulation and how to lower the water temperture. We went as far as to put a timer on our hot water heater so that it only heats water when we need it most, early morning for showers and evening for cooking and dishes.
   It even covers windows, home insulation, energy audits and how to read the Energy Guide labels on all products.
   We have found this book both informative and a keeper. We have had friends borrow it and some have even gone and purchased their own. This is our 2nd one, we almost wore out the first one which was the 7th edition. The new 8th edition brings us up to date. We gave the old one to friends who were happy to have it.