Journey with architects Michael Meredith and Hilary Sample through the history of architecture on their quest to find a perfect home In Houses for Sale, architects Michael Meredith and Hilary Sample of MOS Architects invite readers on their family's quest for a new home through the annals of architectural history, exploring details and peculiarities from some of the greatest names in architecture. When they realize that there isn't any one house that suits them perfectly, they decide to design their own. In doing so, Meredith and Sample come to the conclusion that no building is perfect and that architecture is an exciting, ever-evolving project in which the process of bringing a new building to life through design and construction can be even more satisfying than the final product itself.Published in collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Architecture, Houses for Sale is a charming and thoughtful introduction to architecture's varied history, with full-color illustrations and simple text that are suitable for aspiring young designers and experienced architects alike.

The reference book on selling your own home and saving thousands by avoiding commission fees. This book teaches you how to price the property, show it, and close the deal using a simple step-by-step approach.

A true account of one woman's quest to move a vacation cottage across Cape Cod to create a home, and the people, complications, and self-discoveries she encountered along the way. When Kate Whouley saw the classified ad for an abandoned vacation cottage, she began to dream: Transport the cottage through four Cape Cod towns. Attach it to my three-room house. Create more space for my work and life. Smart, single, and self-employed, Kate was used to fending for herself. But she wasn't prepared for half the surprises, complications, and self-discoveries of her house-moving adventure. Supported by friends and family, and egged on by Egypt, her bossy gray cat, Kate encountered a parade of town officials, a small convoy of State Police, and an eccentric band of house-movers, carpenters, and tradesmen. She found herself dancing on the edge of the gender divide-infatuated with trucks, cranes, tools, construction terms, and a dreamy mason who taught her the history of concrete. In one remarkable year, Whouley moved a cottage and created a home.

Entertaining at home in gracious French style. Born from her experience of everyday living in France, Sharon Santoni reveals the gracious, easy French way of entertaining guests at her countryside home, year-round. Personal stories evoke the spirit of the French lifestyle, while gorgeous photos make us feel right at home. Santoni creates lush bouquets from her garden and utilizes resources from surrounding nature to lay gorgeous tables both indoors and outdoors. Venues range from a Sunday morning breakfast on the patio, to a ladies lunch in her lush garden, a formal dinner in her dining room, and a picnic by the river. Santoni also shares 15 favorite recipes utilizing seasonal foods. Find inspiration for your tables throughout the seasons, and discover the simple pleasure of entertaining friends and family. Sharon Santoni writes the popular blog My French Country Home. She is the author of My Stylish French Girlfriends (Gibbs Smith). She resides in Normandy, France.

FLIP, the third book in the National Bestselling Millionaire Real Estate Series (More than 500,000 copies sold!) FLIP provides a detailed, step-by-step process to analyze each investment, identify the best improvements, accurately estimate the costs and intelligently oversee the construction. It takes out all the guess work and almost all of the risk. Here's what industry experts are saying about FLIP: "Read this book before you flip that house! FLIP is an indispensable step-by-step guide to flipping houses that you will refer to again and again." -Carlos Ortiz, Executive Producer, "FLIP That House" (TLC's most popular real estate TV show) "At HomeVestors, we're in the business of buying and selling homes for profit and I can attest that there are few, if any, who can rival Rick's and Clay's expertise when it comes to fixing up houses for profit. This book is a must-read for any investor." -Dr. John Hayes, President and CEO of HomeVestors of America (the largest homebuyer in America) "FLIP is a must-read book for everyone in the real estate business. Every agent should have this book. They should read it and master its contents. Why? Because it is the best guide ever written on how to evaluate real estate and how to add value to a house." -Gary Keller, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Keller Williams Realty International and author of bestselling The Millionaire Real Estate Agent and The Millionaire Real Estate Investor "For anyone looking to build wealth in real estate, FLIP provides a step-by-step approach that really works in any market." -Loral Langemeier, bestselling author of The Millionaire Maker FLIP extends the national bestselling Millionaire Real Estate series with a step-by-step guide that is quickly becoming "the model" for successfully finding, fixing and selling investment properties for profit. Based on their involvement in over a 1,000 flips, Rick Villani and Clay Davis walk you through the proven five-stage model for successfully flipping a house: FIND: How to select ideal neighborhoods, attract sellers, and find houses with investment potential ANALYZE: Identify which improvements to make and analyze the profit potential of any house BUY: How to arrange financing, present the offer, and close on the purchase FIX: A 50-step, easy-to-follow plan for fixing up houses that keeps you on time, in budget and assures top quality SELL: How to add finishing touches to quickly sell for maximum profit Woven through the book is an entertaining narrative that follows the flipping adventures of Samantha, Ed, Bill, Nancy, Amy and Mitch as they find, buy, fix and sell their first investment houses. With all this plus the experience of over a thousand flips condensed into one book, FLIP gives new investors the tools they need to avoid common pitfalls, make a profit, and enjoy the process of house flipping. Rick Villani and Clay Davis are senior executives at HomeFixers, North America's leading real estate rehab franchise. HomeFixers has been involved in more than 1,000 flips nationwide.

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year The Discomfort Zone is Jonathan Franzen's tale of growing up, squirming in his own über-sensitive skin, from a "small and fundamentally ridiculous person," into an adult with strong inconvenient passions. Whether he's writing about the explosive dynamics of a Christian youth fellowship in the 1970s, the effects of Kafka's fiction on his protracted quest to lose his virginity, or the web of connections between bird watching, his all-consuming marriage, and the problem of global warming, Franzen is always feelingly engaged with the world we live in now. The Discomfort Zone is a wise, funny, and gorgeously written self-portrait by one of America's finest writers.

The proof is in the testimonials that have arrived by the thousands: "This is a really great book. It's simple. It's straightforward. We read it. We ran our ad. We got over 100 telephone calls. We sold our home."—John Henke, Boise, ID. "Our real estate broker was green with envy. In 5 days we got 24 bids higher than the highest bid she got us in 11 1/2 years. You're our hero!"—Elizabeth & Tim Hunter, South Berwick, ME. "I had a business opportunity I couldn't take advantage of unless I sold my home immediately. I saw your book in a bookstore and sold my home the next weekend. Thanks!"—Doug Walker, Salt Lake City, UT. "Thanks to your system I sold my home in 5 days at $1.26 million. You saved me $78,000 in real estate commission!"—V., Potomac, MD. Now in its third edition and timed perfectly to address a challenging real estate market, How to Sell Your Home in 5 Days turns the conventional on its head to present an innovative, practical, and foolproof alternative that makes the market work for you, the seller. Based on the one basic truth of free enterprise—that your home is worth exactly what the highest bidder will pay for it— this step-by-step plan shows exactly how to price your home attractively; make a timetable; write an effective ad; use buyer psychology, price points, and magic numbers to get the best price; and conduct round-robin bidding. It includes new information on the Internet—including a supporting website, www.5-day.com—the most recent testimonials, and updates to every phase of the process, from whether or not to renovate a kitchen before selling to the ins and outs of transferring ownership. Homes sold through the five-day plan sell for an average of 5% more than through conventional sales, plus, the seller doesn't have to pay a broker's fee—making this book among the best deals of the century.