A Survival Guide for Buying a Home

Posted on July 7th, 2009 by Loan Information

Buying a home is a complex process that involves a delicate balance of financial, emotional, and practical factors. This essential resource helps readers come out on top, revealing the best strategies for finding and buying a new home — while saving money every step of the way.

Whether looking for a house, condo, co-op, or manufactured home, readers will learn how to:

* Hire the right agent * determine financial limits * develop relationships with banks and other potential lenders * evaluate communities * get prequalified or preapproved for a mortgage * negotiate the best price and terms * and more.

There’s also a checklist of the 15 costliest mistakes homebuyers make — and how to avoid every one of them — plus crucial information on how to sell a home. Owning a home is the American dream, but achieving it can be a nightmarish experience. With this vital information and great strategies, readers will not only find their dream home faster, they will do everything right to move in quickly and confidently! Since the publication of the first edition of A Survival Guide for Buying a Home, much has changed in the real estate market. The inventory of homes-for-sale is ballooning and prospective buyers will need new techniques to narrow their choices effectively. At the same time, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the average buyer to qualify for a loan. This newly revised edition is tailored to help. It includes updated information on credit requirements, loan qualifying ratios, lease options, buying condos and co-ops, new mortgage and loan rules, buying foreclosure and short sale properties, and much more. Readers will learn the ins and outs of: hiring the right agent • determining financial limits • working with a mortgage lender • evaluating neighborhoods • getting the best deal • arranging appraisals and inspections • avoiding common deal killers • and more There is also a checklist of the 15 costliest mistakes homebuyers make and how to avoid them. With this helpful guide in hand, readers will be ready to find the home of their dreams at a price they can afford.

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Definitely worth reading before purchasing
As a real estate consultant, I bought this book to see if it could serve as a reference and handbook for clients, and it certainly will. The topics are relevant, current, and accurate and expand on important issues involved in purchasing a home - your credit, mortgage options, taxes, what to look for when visiting properties, services of a realtor, and resale. Several helpful checklists are also provided.

5 Stars From J Eastman - Richmond, VA
When my wife and I decided a few months ago that we were going to buy our first home, I went to our library and took out two books on home buying. One of them was your “Survival Guide”. I toted that book around for the past two months and finally turned it back in today after we closed on our house.

My wife and I are the type who want to know as much as we can about everything that we are involved in, and your book really helped us to navigate the very involved and complex road to home-buying. We left the closing this morning feeling like we had done everything right, from shopping mortgages to negotiating after the home inspection. I believe that your book has helped us to save thousands of dollars!

Thank you for writing such a fine resource!

5 Stars Concise and Thorough
I’m in the process of buying my first home, and this book has been extremely helpful. The author covers all of the things you need to know and has lots of tips and things to consider. He walks you through the processes and tells you what to expect. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is just getting started and has questions about the process of buying a home.

4 Stars This is a good book but could have been better
This really is a good book for beginner’s guide to home buying. It is very easy to read and understand. After going through it about two times, I had a general understanding about what should be done.

one thing I wished the author had done is about short sales, REOs, and foreclosures. I bought a house in 2009 while the housing market was in depression and I think it would have been a lot more helpful if he included more explanation about those kinds of properties.

Overall, recommended

5 Stars excellent guide for homebuyers
This guide is one of the better ones out there — it is up-to-date and practical, with lots of examples and checklists to follow. It has especially helpful advice for finding mortgages, dealing with agents, and preparing an offer. The author provides several links to websites that are reputable and extremely useful when preparing to by a house. Read this, if you read anything.

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