Customer Reviews

Real Estate Transactions: Examples and Explanations (Examples & Explanations Series)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As a law student, I have often sought books which are willing to explain difficult material in the clearest terms possible. With most textbooks there is no hope. However, this Real Estate Examples and Explainations book was fantastic. It is written clearly and yet deals with some of the most complex material in real estate law. For persons seeking a grasp of the fundamentals of real estate law and finance, this book is of infinite value. For others seeking a more detailed analysis of complex real estate issues, this is a good starting off point. I would highly recommend this text.

I have to admit this is the worst E&E book I've ever read. I'm a third year law student and always use the E&E books as an end of the semester summary to my casebook. I've probably used 10-15 other E&E books in this manner and always got good results. This book has a very brief table of contents. The other E&E books have a detailed table of contents that is a great place to start an outline. Bottom line for law students....if you like a secondary source to be clear, concise and without all the stuff that clutters up your casebook, this is NOT the book for you. The author might be a great legal writer for a casebook, but not for E&E.

Real estate law is pretty complex, so I turned to the trusty Examples & Explanations series to help me understand it. Big mistake. This is the WORST E&E I have used in my law school career. Lots of superfluous history and meaningless academic garbage. Important subjects get short explanations.

Grab the Blackletter Land Transactions and Finance, you will be much better off.

Here is the email that I just sent to Aspen, publisher of the E&E series:
"I am a 3L about to graduate [Tier One law school]. The Examples & Explanations series has carried me through law school. For many of my courses the E&E was the only book that I opened all semester. (And I hardly went to class.) Civil Procedure, Fed. Income Tax, Corporate Tax, Crim. Law, & Evidence were among the ones that I thought were really well written and I attribute my 2 B+'s and 3 A-'s in those courses to the E&E's. However, I am currently studying for my Real Estate Transactions final and the E&E by Barlow Burke is a disaster. I am amazed at the lack of clarity in the writing, especially when compared to the other E&E's. It needs to be rewritten by a different author. Line by line, it is simply impossible to understand." As one of the other reviewers wrote "The style of writing is confusing." Amen.

Use this book, and you won't need to open the text book. I got an A!

This was the one and only book required for my Real Estate Transactions course so I have nothing else to compare it to. Nevertheless, I have used plenty other Examples and Explanations books, and have always been pleased. However, this book is the worst one I have encountered. The style of writing is confusing. It is poorly organized. Quite simply, avoid it at all costs.