Will this book make buying a foreclosure house at a below-market purchase price as easy a purchasing through your friendly real estate agent? No. Will you learn everything you need to know about making a profitable foreclosure purchase and avoiding the risks? No. Will you become a foreclosure purchase expert by reading this enjoyable book? No.

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However, Melissa S. Kollen-Rice's book explains the foreclosure fundamentals to either excite the reader about the profit opportunities or turn the reader off when the possible pitfalls are disclosed. Although the emphasis is on positive outcomes, the author mildly explains the possible adverse foreclosure purchase results, such as buying an outwardly-attractive house which is an interior disaster.

But readers should be cautious. The author is a New York resident who understands New York foreclosure procedures. She often refers to using attorneys to check titles, 30-day closings, and minimal 10 percent foreclosure auction deposit bids. This is not the foreclosure procedure in most states.

Readers are advised to check foreclosure purchase procedures in their states, which are usually much different than under the author's experience in New York. For example, she barely mentions the redemption period after the foreclosure sale that applies in many states. Where I live in California, foreclosure sale bidders must pay 100 percent of their bid at the foreclosure auction, but there is no redemption period.

The book's emphasis is on the pros and cons of buying during the three foreclosure purchase opportunities. These are (1) purchasing direct from the defaulting owner before the foreclosure sale, (2) bidding at the foreclosure sale, and (3) buying after the foreclosure sale either from the foreclosing lender or from the successful high bidder who just wants to earn a quick profit.

Although the book includes a few examples, mostly hypotheticals, it could have been much more believable and practical if the author included her personal examples of successful foreclosure purchases. The result is the book lacks credibility.

This is not a "how to successfully buy foreclosures and earn a huge fortune book." Instead, it is an almost textbook-style summary of real estate foreclosures with very few real-world applications. Although the author is currently a law student, she doesn't tell any personal experiences of buying foreclosure properties. The result is difficulty relating her explanations to real-world foreclosure situations.

A major disappointment of this supposedly up-to-date book is the lack of Internet references to profitable Web sites to obtain more information. For example, the author could have referred to the valuable free information available at www.foreclosures.com and other Internet sources.

Writing a book about foreclosures for a national audience is extremely difficult because of the huge differences in state foreclosure procedures. However, Kollen-Rice presumes all states allow foreclosure sale bidders 30 days to arrange their mortgage financing and close the purchase. A state-by-state foreclosure procedure summary would have been invaluable.

In reality, this is not correct, as the law student author should know. Readers should check their state foreclosure procedures to avoid costly mistakes.

Chapter topics include "Understanding Foreclosures"; "The Basics of Buying Foreclosures at the Auction"; "The Basics of Buying Foreclosures Before the Auction"; "Financing Foreclosures with Traditional Mortgage Loans"; "Creative Alternatives for Financing Foreclosures"; "Choosing the Right Property"; "What You Don't Know Can Hurt You"; "Preparing Your Bid Sheet"; "Congratulations You Are the Successful High Bidder and Now That You Own the Property"; and "Making Repairs to Your Foreclosure."

This book should be read for general, rather than specific, foreclosure information. It provides only an overview for purchasing foreclosures. While it raises topics which potential foreclosure buyers should consider, the book's generalities rather than specifics leave the reader feeling less than confident of success buying foreclosures. On my scale of one to 10, this disappointing book rates an eight.

"Buying Real Estate Foreclosures, Revised and Expanded," by Melissa S. Kollen-Rice (McGraw-Hill, New York), 2003, $16.95 209 pages; available in stock or by special order at local bookstores, public libraries and www.amazon.com.