The Wall Street Journal. Complete Home Owner's Guidebook: Make the Most of Your Biggest Asset in Any Market

by David Crook

Your Map for a Brave New Real-Estate WorldThe days of real-estate mania—when you really couldn’t go wrong with buying a home, then selling it in a few years for a lot more than you paid for it—are over. Inflated prices and the “subprime” mortgage crisis have finally burst the bubble. Now, more than ever, it’s important for current and prospective home buyers to understand just what they’re getting into when they take that plunge—and to think smarter when it comes to making the most of their biggest asset. The Wall Street Journal. Complete Home Owner’s Guidebook shows readers how to become savvy home buyers—and eventually owners—not only in this new, uncertain era but in any Understand the benefits and pitfalls of owning versus renting Make sense of the housing market—ask the important questions, factor in the unforeseen costs, and explode the big myths of home ownership Take advantage of current opportunities if you’re a first-time home buyer Overcome the challenges if you’re looking to trade up or cash out on your home for retirement Make the best profit on your home in any market Understand why your home—your number one asset—really isn’t such a great investmentFrom the Trade Paperback edition.

Genres: Nonfiction, Finance

171 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

DAVID CROOK is the editor of The Wall Street Journal Sunday, the personal finance section that appears in more than 60 papers around the country.

David's "Real-Estate Investing" book was published in 2006. His "The Wall Street Journal Complete Home Owner's Guidebook," which is to be published by Three Rivers Press in late 2008.

David was part of the original team that developed and launched the highly successful “Weekend Journal” of Friday’s Wall Street Journal. He also developed the “Home Front” and “Property Report,” the Journal’s residential and commercial real-estate sections. He was a writer and editor for many years at The Los Angeles Times.

Born and raised in Memphis, Tenn., David has lived and worked in New Orleans, Washington, Los Angeles and New York. He and his family have homes in Manhattan and Litchfield, Conn.

Reviews

[Lianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know this is an amazing home buying guide when it makes you rethink your decision to stop renting. That and I cheered when it devoted only a 2 page sidebar to buyers using agents and was quite critical of that whole sham.


The best lessons learned:

-Price. Space. Location. Pick 2.
-In addition to comps, calculate what the investment income would be. Does it cover your costs?
-Stop thinking of your home as an investment. Seriously - quit it!

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the better books on the objective pro's and con's of homeownership. It really gave some hard truths about the actual financial realities of owning a home. It's good to acknowledge that in most cases buying a home is an emotional decision. It can be good, bad or otherwise, but rarely is it a legitimate investment that will outperform other investment vehicles. I'm really glad I read this in the process of homebuying.

[Lukasz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great guide to home ownership: from the planning to buy a house, through the house buying process, to upkeep, and making the most of the investment. Nifty handbook to look into throughout the seasons.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, easy to understand and comprehensive (as far as I can tell)