Home Buying For Dummies, 4th Edition

Product Details

Want to buy a house, but concerned about the market? Have no fear  this trusted guide arms you with Eric Tyson and Ray Brown's time-tested advice and updated strategies for buying a home in current market conditions. You'll discover how to find the right property, make smart financial decisions, and understand the latest lending requirements and tax implications.

• New to this edition  new and expanded coverage to help homebuyers take advantage of low home prices, understand the subprime mortgage crisis, obtain a mortgage, and improve credit scores

• To buy or not to buy?  weigh the advantages of owning versus renting, get your finances in order, and know how much house you can safely afford

• Handle financing  understand your credit rating, navigate the different types of mortgages, and complete all paperwork

• Play the real estate game  find the right location and property, assemble an all-star real estate team, and make the most of the Internet's real estate resources

• Let's make a deal  negotiate with finesse, make successful offers, inspect and protect your new home, and cover all your bases in escrow

"Invaluable information, especially for the first-time home buyer."
Fort Worth Star-Telegram

"A reference you'll turn to time after time."
St. Petersburg Times

Open the book and find:

• Reasons why home prices rise and fall

• Hands-on instruction for buying a home in up or down markets

• How to pay the price you want

• The best mortgage options

• A sample home-buying contract

• Pros and cons of comparable market analysis

• Tips for overcoming mortgage and appraisal problems

• How to cope with buyer's remorse

• The best real estate Web sites

Product Reviews

(5 stars) - Home Buying for Dummies
First time home buying can be a daunting and confusing process. This book spells out in detail all the steps required from evaluating how much money you can use to buy the house to actually closing on the property. I was half way through the act of buying a house and found if full of facts and tips to help me understand the process. In fact, I still reference the book to make sure that I completley understand and am aware of what exactly is happening. Additionally, there are tips for investing, both in money markets and in property. I would reccomend this book to anyone who is about to buy a home, whether for the first time or a seasoned second or third time home buyer. Great job!

(5 stars) - great info
This book has the information first time homebuyers need. It takes you step by step through the home-buying process. Very helpful!

(1 stars) - refund please?
The title says it all: Dummies. It offers only the most basic info and is written by "dummies" themselves. The stories used to offer scenarios are of no help and the use of dumb humor makes the reader question why they actually are a dummy for purchasing this book. Should have bought the other one! DOH! Judging by the pokes at people, sounds like the two authors are you standard "dummy" business men who are not themselves intelligent enough for things other than "dummy" books.

Save your money and your time.

(4 stars) - You are not Dumb for reading this book
Although the title is a bit weird, the book and it's content is GREAT for the beginning home buyer!

The information is what you need to be on the cutting edge of what goes on in this arena of buying a home.

I would recommend you read this first BEFORE you go to look at houses.

Enjoy!
[...]

(3 stars) - Good basic reference.... but very CA biased.
A friend recommended this book, and it is a helpful reference that covers all the basics. Confused by inspection and what to expect? There are helpful hints and good definitions to help you figure that stuff out. This book helped "calm me down" by explaining all the processes of home buying in a simple way so there were no surprises.

My only real gripe is that the book is VERY California biased. While it is impossible to clarify all the nuances of buying a home in different states, counties, and towns... the homebuying process differs significantly in California than most of the northeast. Well, the process may be the same - but escrow agents? Huh? We got lawyers for that. Some terminology was a bit confusing. And there was plenty of coverage about earthquakes... but what about snow? Or what to look for with different types of heat? These are HUGE concerns when buying a house in the northeast and these issues aren't even discussed. I felt the book could be more comprehensive in addressing homebuying across the USA... not just in Cali.

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