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Summary
Summary
There's no place like home!
Ready to say goodbye to your landlord? With help from Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home , you'll not only find the right house for you, you'll have fun doing it.
Learn how to:
research the local market and listings choose a house, condo, co-op, or townhouse create a realistic budget qualify for a loan you can truly afford borrow a down payment from friends or family protect yourself with inspections and insurance, and negotiate and close the deal successfully. You'll find insights from 15 real estate professionals--agents, attorneys, mortgage specialists, a home inspector, and more. It's like having a team of experts by your side! Plus, read real-life stories of over 20 first-time homebuyers. Download the Homebuyer's Toolkit
Dozens of customizable forms that will help you find your dream home, crunch the numbers, interview real estate professionals, inspect the house thoroughly, and more-- more details inside.
Author Notes
Ilona Bray, J.D., is an award-winning author and legal editor at Nolo. She has written many Nolo books on real estate, immigration, and nonprofit fundraissng.
Ann O'Connell is an attorney and real estate broker, and a legal editor at Nolo.
Marcia Stewart is a coauthor of the award-winning First-Time Landlord: Your Guide to Renting Out a Single-Family Home and other Nolo books.
Reviews (1)
Library Journal Review
Even in a sluggish market, there will always be people seeking advice and direction in buying a first home. Nolo's excellent guide for novice home buyers provides fresh, updated information about the whole process that even those in the know will find useful. Readers will appreciate the chapter outlines highlighting key topics in each section, as well as the personal anecdotes and tips from real estate experts. As in the "For Dummies" series, each chapter here is punctuated with icons, starred paragraphs, and simple catchphrases, all designed to reduce further the intimidation factor in making a major life-changing purchase. Packaged with a CD-ROM that includes essential forms (e.g., a "Final Walk-Through Checklist," a sample inspection report, and a "Questions for the Sellers Worksheet") and MP3-formatted audio files of extended insight from the real estate experts, this is highly recommended for most public libraries, especially those seeking to replace and update outdated real estate titles. Determined not to leave any segment of the real estate community uninformed, Nolo also offers a guide to buying a second home. Though perhaps overly detailed in some sections (e.g., there are in-depth descriptions of the differences among a townhouse, a co-op, and a condominium) and not as universally needed, the book is valuable for guiding readers toward examining and understanding the desire for purchasing a second home and the financial ramifications of embarking on such an endeavor. A CD-ROM with reproducible forms is included. Recommended for libraries with larger boomer populations and/or populations with higher-than-average discretionary incomes, though the book is quick to emphasize that a second home purchase is no longer strictly only for the rich and famous.-Joslyn Jones, Oak Park P.L., IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Excerpts
Excerpts
8: Next >IntroductionMeet Your AdviserMark Nash, an Associate Broker with Coldwell Banker, who serves the Chicago, Evanston, Skokie, and Wilmette areas of Illinois (www.marknashrealtor.com).The brakes are off, and you're ready to visit houses that seem to match your Dream List, and choose one. "Whatever you do, don't settle," says Realtor Maxine Mackle (after 18 years of experience in the Connecticut market). "You should be really enthusiastic about a house before you make an offer on it."But first, breathe deeply and cultivate some nonattachment. Sellers of beautiful houses usually know they've got a gem and price it accordingly. Meanwhile, the market contains its share of duds: houses with dark rooms, weird layouts, and repair nightmares. This doesn't mean your perfect house isn't out there, just that you're unlikely to find it on day one. So to make your search productive, we'll show you how to: * get help from your real estate agent, friends, and neighbors * compare each house with your Dream List, looking past the fancy furniture or staging, the need for fixing up, or the shininess of a recent remodel * see whether you can live with the layout * review disclosure and other information you receive from the seller * do your own, informal inspection for repair issues, and * understand how to approach buying a not-yet-constructed house, or one in a common interest development (CID). Excerpted from Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home by Ilona Bray, Marcia Stewart, Alayna Schroeder All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
Table of Contents
| Your Homebuying Companion | p. 1 |
| 1 What's So Great About Buying a House? | p. 5 |
| Investment Value: Get What You Pay For ... And Then Some | p. 8 |
| Tax Breaks: Benefits From Uncle Sam | p. 11 |
| Personality and Pizzazz: Your Home Is Your Castle | p. 15 |
| No More Landlord: Say Goodbye to Renting | p. 15 |
| You Can Do It ... If You Want To | p. 16 |
| 2 What Do You Want? Figuring Out Your Homebuying Needs | p. 23 |
| Know Your Ideal Neighborhood: Why Location Matters | p. 26 |
| Know Yourself: How Your Lifestyle, Plans, and Values Affect Your House Priorities | p. 28 |
| Know Your Ideal House: Old Bungalows, New Condos, and More | p. 30 |
| Would You Like Land With That? Single-Family Houses | p. 30 |
| Sharing the Joy, Sharing the Pain: Condos and Other Common Interest Properties | p. 34 |
| Factory Made: Modular and Manufactured Homes | p. 38 |
| Putting It All Together: Your Dream List | p. 40 |
| 3 Does This Mean I Have to Balance My Checkbook? Figuring Out What You Can Afford | p. 49 |
| Beyond the Purchase Price: The Costs of Buying and Owning a Home | p. 53 |
| Spend Much? How Lenders Use Your Debt-to-income Ratio | p. 59 |
| Blasts From the Past: How Your Credit History Factors In | p. 61 |
| What's Your Monthly Budget? Understanding Your Finances | p. 67 |
| Getting Creative: Tips for Overcoming Financial Roadblocks | p. 70 |
| The Power of Paper: Getting Preapproved for a Loan | p. 72 |
| 4 Stepping Out: What's on the Market and at What Price | p. 77 |
| What's the Buzz? Checking Out Neighborhoods From Your Chair | p. 80 |
| See for Yourself: Driving Through Neighborhoods | p. 89 |
| On Foot: Talking to the Natives | p. 91 |
| Sunrise, Sunset: Getting Day and Night Perspectives | p. 92 |
| Got Houses? Finding Out What's Locally Available | p. 93 |
| How Much Did That One Go For? Researching "Comparable" Sales | p. 94 |
| Hot or Cold? Take the Market's Temp | p. 96 |
| Just Looking: The Open House Tour | p. 98 |
| Nothing to Look at Yet? Finding Your Dream Development | p. 99 |
| 5 Select Your Players: The Real Estate Team | p. 101 |
| Your Team Captain: The Real Estate Agent | p. 104 |
| Your Cash Cow: The Loan Officer, Mortgage Broker, or Mortgage Banker | p. 120 |
| Your Fine-Print Reader: The Real Estate Attorney | p. 127 |
| Your Sharp Eye: The Property Inspector | p. 134 |
| Your Big Picture Planner: The Closing Agent | p. 139 |
| Strength in Numbers: Other Team Members | p. 143 |
| 6 Bring Home the Bacon: Getting a Mortgage | p. 145 |
| Let's Talk Terms: The Basics of Mortgage Financing | p. 148 |
| Who's Got the Cash? Where to Get a Mortgage | p. 154 |
| Narrowing the Field: Which Type of Mortgage Is Best for You? | p. 154 |
| Getting Your Cash Together: Common Down Payment and Financing Strategies | p. 163 |
| Where Do I Look? Researching Mortgages | p. 164 |
| I'll Take That One! Applying for Your Loan | p. 166 |
| New-Home Financing | p. 171 |
| Unique Financial Considerations for Co-op Buyers | p. 174 |
| 7 Mom and Dad? The Seller? Uncle Sam? Loan Alternatives | p. 175 |
| No Wrapping Required: Gift Money From Relatives or Friends | p. 178 |
| All in the Family: Loans From Relatives or Friends | p. 182 |
| A One-Person Bank: Seller Financing | p. 193 |
| Backed by Uncle Sam: Government-Assisted Loans | p. 195 |
| 8 I Love It! It's Perfect! Looking for the Right House | p. 201 |
| How Your Agent Can Help | p. 204 |
| The Rumor Mill: Getting House Tips From Friends | p. 207 |
| Keeping Track of New Listings | p. 208 |
| Planning Ahead for House Visits | p. 208 |
| Come on In: What to Expect as You Enter | p. 210 |
| Do We Have a Match? Using Your Dream List | p. 213 |
| All the World's Been Staged: Looking Past the Glitter | p. 214 |
| Recent Remodels: What to Watch Out For | p. 215 |
| Walk the Walk: Layout and Floor Plan | p. 217 |
| What Do They Know? Reviewing Seller Disclosure Reports | p. 217 |
| Reviewing the Seller's Inspection Reports (If Any) | p. 221 |
| Poking Around: Doing Your Own Initial Inspection | p. 225 |
| Hey, Nice Dirt Pile! Choosing a Not-Yet-Built House | p. 226 |
| Buying a New or Old Condo or Co-op? Research the Community | p. 230 |
| 9 Plan B: Fixer-Uppers, FSBOs, Foreclosures, and More | p. 237 |
| Castoffs: Searching for Overlooked Houses | p. 240 |
| Houses Not Yet on the Market | p. 243 |
| Look What's Back on the Market! | p. 243 |
| A Foot in the Door: Buying a Starter House | p. 244 |
| Have It Your Way: Buying a Fixer-Upper or House You Can Add on To | p. 245 |
| Share Your Space: Buying Jointly | p. 250 |
| Subdivide Your Space: Renting Out a Room | p. 252 |
| Hey, Where's Their Agent? Looking for FSBOs (For Sale by Owners) | p. 253 |
| Buying a Short Sale Property | p. 256 |
| Buying a Foreclosure Property | p. 261 |
| Buying a House in Probate | p. 268 |
| 10 Show Them the Money: From Offer to Purchase Agreement | p. 271 |
| Start to Finish: Negotiating and Forming a Contract | p. 275 |
| More Than Words: What's in the Standard Purchase Contract | p. 281 |
| Too Much? Not Enough? How Much to Offer | p. 285 |
| Keeping Your Exit Routes Open: Contingencies | p. 291 |
| Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is: The Earnest Money Deposit | p. 297 |
| Divvy It Up: Who Pays What Fees | p. 298 |
| Deal or No Deal: Picking an Expiration Date | p. 299 |
| Think Ahead: Closing Date | p. 300 |
| Strategies in a Cold Market: What to Ask For | p. 301 |
| Strategies in a Hot Market: Making Your Offer Stand Out | p. 302 |
| Contracting to Buy a Brand-New Home | p. 303 |
| 11 Toward the Finish Line: Tasks Before Closing | p. 307 |
| Wrappin' It Up: Removing Contingencies | p. 311 |
| Will It Really Be Yours? Getting Title Insurance | p. 321 |
| Yours, Mine, or Ours? What to Say on the Deed | p. 327 |
| Get Ready, 'Cause Here I Come: Preparing to Move | p. 331 |
| 12 Send in the Big Guns: Professional Property Inspectors | p. 337 |
| Home Inspection Overview: What, When, and at What Cost? | p. 340 |
| House Calls: Your General Home Inspection | p. 342 |
| Tagging Along at Your General Home Inspection | p. 346 |
| Say What? Understanding Your General Home Inspection Report | p. 348 |
| Termite or Pest Inspections | p. 350 |
| When to Get Other, Specialized Inspections | p. 352 |
| Trouble in Paradise: Inspecting Newly Built Homes | p. 354 |
| 13 Who's Got Your Back? Homeowners' Insurance and Home Warranties | p. 357 |
| Coverage for Your House | p. 360 |
| Damage Your Homeowners' Insurance Won't Cover | p. 365 |
| Protection for Others' Injuries: Liability Insurance | p. 368 |
| Your Out-of-Pocket: Homeowners' Insurance Costs | p. 370 |
| Insurance Deductibles | p. 372 |
| Shopping Around for Homeowners' Insurance | p. 375 |
| Types of Insurance Companies | p. 376 |
| Jointly Owned, Jointly Insured: What Your Community Association Pays For | p. 376 |
| Home Warranties for Preowned Houses | p. 377 |
| Home Warranties for Newly Built Houses | p. 379 |
| 14 Seal the Deal: Finalizing Your Homebuying Dreams | p. 381 |
| Preview of Coming Attractions: What Your Closing Will Involve | p. 385 |
| Is It Really Empty? Final Walk-Through of an Existing House | p. 389 |
| Is It Really Finished? Final Walk-Through of a New House | p. 394 |
| Your Last Tasks Before the Closing | p. 396 |
| The Drum Roll, Please: Attending the Closing | p. 405 |
| Closing Documents Related to Your Mortgage Loan | p. 406 |
| Closing Documents Related to Transferring the Property | p. 408 |
| Can I Move in? Taking Possession | p. 409 |
| 15 Settling Into Your New Home | p. 411 |
| Tell the World You've Moved | p. 414 |
| Home, Hearth, and Hors d'Oeuvres: Settle in Socially | p. 416 |
| The Safest Home in Town: Yours | p. 418 |
| Cozy Up ... Without Breaking the Bank | p. 419 |
| There's a Place for It: Organize Your Records | p. 425 |
| Back to the Future: Get Your Finances on Track | p. 429 |
| Appendix: Using the Downloadable Forms | p. 431 |
| Editing RTFs | p. 432 |
| List of Forms | p. 433 |
| Index | p. 435 |
