New Book Gives the Skinny on How Main Street Brought Down Wall Street
Friday, October 17, 2008
Stick People Books has released “The Skinny on the Housing Crisis – What Every Homeowner and Homebuyer Needs to Know!!!” (September 2008), offering readers an insider’s look into the story that has led to the fall of Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, AIG, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac.
Author Jim Randel, a 30-year veteran of the real estate world, unravels and simplifies the complex story of collusion within the worlds of finance and real estate, the result being an edgy summary of how the United States got into the current housing crisis.
“What is happening in the United States today is the most dramatic shift in our financial system since the Great Depression,” says Randel. “At the root of today’s events is the housing crisis, a real gigantic mess. It is crucial that we pull back the curtain on how we got into this mess not only so that we can fight our way out of trouble, but also so that we can be sure we never again repeat the mistakes we made.”
“The Skinny on the Housing Crisis” is in fact, skinny (175 pages), illustrated, and told in story format. The book, which can be read in about one hour, tells the story of a young fictional couple, Billy and Beth, buying their first house and caught up in a maelstrom of conflict, greed, negligence, and criminality. Making mistakes throughout the buying and borrowing experience, Billy and Beth experience what millions of American families are living with today: housing values declining and financial pressures increasing.
“The Skinny” reveals the conflicts homebuyers and homeowners experience when dealing with real estate agents, house inspectors, appraisers, attorneys, mortgage brokers, and lenders. And then, once Billy and Beth obtain a mortgage and close on their home, “The Skinny” takes the reader into the world of mortgage securitization – a trillion dollar business which disconnects the American borrower from his or her lender.
Former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Arthur Levitt, had this to say about “The Skinny”: “Jim Randel has put together a no-nonsense, thoroughly readable book on what caused the nation's housing crisis and what we will need to do to get out of it. This plain English analysis of a complex subject is a must read for the millions of Americans impacted by this shattering event.”
Jim Randel is an attorney, real estate investor, and author. A graduate of Columbia Law School, for 30 years he made his living buying and selling single-family homes, apartment buildings, land, shopping centers, office buildings, factories, and warehouses. In 1986 he wrote his first book, “The Real Estate Game (And How to Win It)” (CCH Publishing), and then twenty years later “Confessions of a Real Estate Entrepreneur” (McGraw-Hill, 2006).
Randel has been a guest speaker on real estate and business issues at Harvard and NYU Business Schools, the National Association of Realtors Annual Convention, and numerous other venues around the United States. He is also a retired CNBC-TV real estate correspondent.
“The Skinny on the Housing Crisis” ($12.95) is available at Jimrandel.com and Amazon.com. To read an excerpt from Randel's book, click here.
Author Jim Randel, a 30-year veteran of the real estate world, unravels and simplifies the complex story of collusion within the worlds of finance and real estate, the result being an edgy summary of how the United States got into the current housing crisis.
“What is happening in the United States today is the most dramatic shift in our financial system since the Great Depression,” says Randel. “At the root of today’s events is the housing crisis, a real gigantic mess. It is crucial that we pull back the curtain on how we got into this mess not only so that we can fight our way out of trouble, but also so that we can be sure we never again repeat the mistakes we made.”
“The Skinny on the Housing Crisis” is in fact, skinny (175 pages), illustrated, and told in story format. The book, which can be read in about one hour, tells the story of a young fictional couple, Billy and Beth, buying their first house and caught up in a maelstrom of conflict, greed, negligence, and criminality. Making mistakes throughout the buying and borrowing experience, Billy and Beth experience what millions of American families are living with today: housing values declining and financial pressures increasing.
“The Skinny” reveals the conflicts homebuyers and homeowners experience when dealing with real estate agents, house inspectors, appraisers, attorneys, mortgage brokers, and lenders. And then, once Billy and Beth obtain a mortgage and close on their home, “The Skinny” takes the reader into the world of mortgage securitization – a trillion dollar business which disconnects the American borrower from his or her lender.
Former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Arthur Levitt, had this to say about “The Skinny”: “Jim Randel has put together a no-nonsense, thoroughly readable book on what caused the nation's housing crisis and what we will need to do to get out of it. This plain English analysis of a complex subject is a must read for the millions of Americans impacted by this shattering event.”
Jim Randel is an attorney, real estate investor, and author. A graduate of Columbia Law School, for 30 years he made his living buying and selling single-family homes, apartment buildings, land, shopping centers, office buildings, factories, and warehouses. In 1986 he wrote his first book, “The Real Estate Game (And How to Win It)” (CCH Publishing), and then twenty years later “Confessions of a Real Estate Entrepreneur” (McGraw-Hill, 2006).
Randel has been a guest speaker on real estate and business issues at Harvard and NYU Business Schools, the National Association of Realtors Annual Convention, and numerous other venues around the United States. He is also a retired CNBC-TV real estate correspondent.
“The Skinny on the Housing Crisis” ($12.95) is available at Jimrandel.com and Amazon.com. To read an excerpt from Randel's book, click here.
