free ebook Make Money with Condominiums and Townhouses

Make Money with Condominiums and Townhouses

Publisher: Wiley
Number Of Pages: 300
Publication Date: 2003-07-25
Sales Rank: 291240
ISBN / ASIN: 0471433446
EAN: 9780471433446
Binding: Paperback
Manufacturer: Wiley
Studio: Wiley
Average Rating: 4

In the Make Money series, renowned real estate investor and bestselling author Gary W. Eldred shows you how to profit from the safest, most reliable wealth builder in the world-real estate. With coverage of all the fundamentals-from finding the right properties to financing and managing them-Eldred shows you the ropes so you don't have to learn important lessons the hard way. Unlike general guides to investing in real estate, each title in the Make Money series gives you the specialized expertise necessary to fully profit from a select investment strategy.

Make Money with Condominiums and Townhouses shows homebuyers and investors how to travel the road to real estate wealth-often with little or nothing down. As an affordable investment vehicle, condominiums and townhouses offer numerous advantages over other types of rental property-they require relatively little day-to-day management, they tend to attract more desirable tenants than other rental properties, and they offer low risk and high returns. Full of time-tested techniques and proven money-making strategies, Make Money with Condominiums and Townhouses will show you how to:

Relax while you put your money to work
Find properties with high rates of appreciation
Evaluate homeowner association finances
Choose profitable locations
Understand the changing demographics that may affect your investment
Finance your properties with little or no money down
Achieve positive cash flow quickly
Build up equity
Understand by-laws, disclosure statements, and management contracts

Download Description:

New ways to make a buck without risking everything

As the stock market grows increasingly unstable, wary investors are looking for new ways to make a buck without risking everything. The three books in this new series cover every type of real estate investment for those people who want a safe and reliable alternative to the stock market. This practical, hands-on guide includes numerous examples and covers all the fundamentals of Making Money with Condominiums and Townhouses. Topics include demographics, cash flow, equity, choosing buildings, disclosure statements, and management contracts.

Gary W. Eldred, PhD (Gainesville, FL) is a realtor who has served on the graduate business faculty at Stanford University and the University of Illinois. He is also the coauthor of Investing in Real Estate, Fourth Edition (0-471-32339-X) and author of Yes! You Can Own the Home You Want (0-471-09978-3) and The 106 Common Mistakes Homebuyers Make (and How to Avoid Them) (0-471-12658-6), all published by Wiley.

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Free ebook download: Residential Structural Design Guide: 2000 Edition

Residential Structural Design Guide: 2000 Edition

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Residential Structural Design Guide: 2000 Edition
This guide strives to bridge the gap between conventional engineering practices and conventional residential construction practices.
February 2000

Preface

Structural Design Guide is a unique and comprehensive tool for design professionals, particularly structural engineers, seeking to provide value-added services to the producers and consumers of American housing. As such, the guide is organized around the following major objectives:

* to present a sound perspective on American housing relative to its history, construction characteristics, regulation, and performance experience;
* to provide the latest technical knowledge and engineering approaches for the design of homes to complement current code-prescribed design methods;
* to assemble relevant design data and methods in a single, comprehensive format that is instructional and simple to apply for the complete design of a home; and
* to reveal areas where gaps in existing research, design specifications, and analytic tools necessitate alternative methods of design and sound engineering judgment to produce efficient designs.

This guide consists of seven chapters. The layout and application of the various chapters are illustrated in the figure on page vii. Chapter 1 describes the basic substance of American housing, including conventional construction practices, alternative materials, building codes and standards, the role of design professionals, and actual experience with respect to performance problems and successes, particularly as related to natural hazards such as hurricanes and earthquakes. Chapter 2 introduces basic engineering concepts regarding safety, load path, and the structural system response of residential buildings, subassemblies, and components to various types of loads. Chapter 3 addresses design loads applicable to residential construction. Chapters 4 and 5 provide step-by-step design procedures for the various components and assemblies comprising the structure of a home—from the foundation to the roof. Chapter 6 is devoted to the design of light-frame homes to resist lateral loads from wind and earthquakes. Chapter 7 addresses the design of various types of connections in a wood-framed home that are important to the overall function of the numerous component parts. As appropriate, the guide offers additional resources and references on the topics addressed.

Given that most homes in the United States are built with wood structural materials, the guide focuses on appropriate methods of design associated with wood for the above-grade portion of the structure. Concrete or masonry are generally assumed to be used for the below-grade portion of the structure, although preservative-treated wood may also be used. Other materials and systems using various innovative approaches are considered in abbreviated form as appropriate. In some cases, innovative materials or systems can be used to address specific issues in the design and performance of homes. For example, steel framing is popular in Hawaii partly because of wood’s special vi Residential Structural Design Guide problems with decay and termite damage. Likewise, partially reinforced masonry construction is used extensively in Florida because of its demonstrated ability to perform in high winds.

For typical wood-framed homes, the primary markets for engineering services lie in special load conditions, such as girder design for a custom house; corrective measures, such as repair of a damaged roof truss or floor joist; and high-hazard conditions such as on the West Coast (earthquakes) and the Gulf and Atlantic coasts (hurricanes). The design recommendations in the guide are based on the best information available to the authors for the safe and efficient design of homes. Much of the technical information and guidance is supplemental to building codes, standards, and design specifications that define current engineering practice. In fact, current building codes may not explicitly recognize some of the technical information or design methods described or recommended in the guide. Therefore, a competent professional designer should first compare and understand any differences between the content of this guide and local building code requirements. Any actual use of this guide by a competent professional may require appropriate substantiation as an "alternative method of analysis." The guide and references provided herein should help furnish the necessary documentation.

The use of alternative means and methods of design should not be taken lightly or without first carefully considering the wide range of implications related to the applicable building code’s minimum requirements for structural design, the local process of accepting alternative designs, the acceptability of the proposed alternative design method or data, and exposure to liability when attempting something new or innovative, even when carried out correctly. It is not the intent of this guide to steer a designer unwittingly into non-compliance with current regulatory requirements for the practice of design as governed by local building codes. Instead, the intent is to provide technical insights into and approaches to home design that have not been compiled elsewhere but deserve recognition and consideration. The guide is also intended to be instructional in a manner relevant to the current state of the art of home design.

Finally, it is hoped that this guide will foster a better understanding among engineers, architects, building code officials, and home builders by clarifying the perception of homes as structural systems. As such, the guide should help structural designers perform their services more effectively and assist in integrating their skills with others who contribute to the production of safe and affordable homes in the United States.

Prepared for
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Office of Policy Development and Research
and

National Association of Home Builders
Housing Affordability Through Design Efficiency Program

434 pages

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