The Complete Idiot's Guide to Buying a Home

by Peter A Richmond

In real estate, it's a buyer's market - and here is the buyer's bible...

Buying a home is the single most important financial move in most people's lives. This book covers a variety of topics including inspecting, evaluating, negotiating, financing, contracts, and legal issues. It also breaks down the roles of the key players and what these professionals, agents, brokers, and inspectors are responsible for - and when to go it alone. The thorough advice, covering everything from buying houses at auctions to what neighborhood to live in, will provide reassurance for every soon-to-be homeowner.

- A necessary tool tool for those who plan to buy homes and even current homeowners in order to keep up with an ever-changing market.

- Will be published in time for spring, when most people start looking into buying new homes.

- Covers a broad range of buying options and homeowner's needs.

Genres: Nonfiction, How To

352 pages, Paperback

First published December 18, 2009

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

We're going to be buying our first home this year and I've been doing daily research (1-2 chapters/day) with this book and a notepad on topics to research more indepth. It's a great starter for those buyers like us who will be purchasing large properties outside of a major city. Great tips and suggestions.

Some sections are a little wordy which made me feel like they are just filling pages or like to hear themselves talk. However, the Idiot's structure makes it easy to skip chapters that are irrelevant to your needs.

Overall I'd suggest it for those jumping into this crazy housing market and wanting to be prepared for that first realtor meeting.

[Dayna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good concise overview to recommend to someone who is just getting started.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's lots of useful reference information in this book about many parts of the home buying process: setting your priorities, figuring out what you can afford and getting a loan, finding a realtor, evaluating homes and locations, making an offer, inspecting the home, closing the deal, moving, and dealing with issues along the way. It's a decent overview of all that stuff. The downside was that it's heavily biased towards realtors and towards buying. In my opinion it oversells some of the pros, plays down some of the cons, and doesn't adequately warn about some of the risks (realtors are not necessarily motivated to get you the best price). If you recognize that you're getting information from a biased source, it's a good overview.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good handbook. I still feel a little overwhelmed, but it's very good at explaining things without sounding condescending.

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not a tantalizing read, it was very informative to someone who has never bought a home about what to look for, what to avoid, and the right questions to ask throughout the process

[Jac · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good quick introduction to the steps involved - although it's hard to really tell how good it was until I've gotten a lot further along!