jasonlovesjazz says:

This book was required when I took that first real estate course you need to get your license. (I chose not to get my license since I’m just an investor. Not exactly relevant, but it tells you the kind of person I am and my perspetive as a reviewer.) I’m thankful because it made that course much easier. I’ve since taken many courses and read many real estate contracts and this book has helped me through everything.

It’s like a dictionary except the explanations vary in length from a couple lines all the way up to several pages. As others have mentioned, I really value the many relevant cross-references each entry includes. It allows you to get a fuller picture of something you look up because it allows you to look up similar items or related topics. It’s fine to know the definition of something, but sometimes, what’s really useful is to compare it to something similar so that you have a context for how to distinguish between the two. As a simple example, if someone was offering something as tenants-in-common and you looked it up, you might think, “okay that makes sense,” but unless you compare it with tenants-in-partnership or joint-tenants, you really don’t know what you’re dealing with.

Some people are complaining because the book has Spanish translations. I assumed it was some new edition that had added these. Nope. I just checked and mine has it too. It doesn’t detract from the book at all. I hadn’t even noticed it. And the Spanish-English appendicies are only 15 pages out of 468 total. What’s the problem? That’s probably a useful tool if you’re from Texas or Calfornia, like the author.

Anyway, this is the second most often used reference book I own. (Second only to The Synonym Finder by Rodale, an awesome alternative to a thesaurus.)
Rating: 5 / 5

Kenneth W. Edwards says:

As a community college real estate instructor, and as the book review editor for a national real estate magazine, I read a lot of real estate books. As a writer myself, I do a lot of research. In the reference category, this book is number one on my list. As I said in my review of a previous edition of the book: “I never leave home for the classroom without it.” If you are enrolled in a real estate licensing class this book will be particularly valuable to you, since you’re essentially learning a new language – the language of real estate. The feature that makes it particularly valuable is the fact that when it defines a term, it gives references to all related terms in the book. By the time you review them all, you’ll have excellent insight into the topic. The primary author, John Reilly, has a background as an attorney, real estate professional, educator, and author. The co-author, Marie Spokek, is a nationally know real estate educator. In my office I have a special shelf above my computer for the real estate books to which I refer the most often. This book occupies a prominent spot. Dr. Ken Edwards, Book Review Editor, The Real Estate Professional magazine.
Rating: 5 / 5