Customer Reviews

Buying Solo: The Single Woman's Guide to Buying a First Home

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've tried going in the real estate section of the bookstore before, but every book I picked up was either for married couples, or for people who make a whole lot more money than I do. That's why this book is so different -- it really made me believe that as a single woman I can buy a house on my own. Really fun to read, and really great information.

Buying Solo was the first book I read on home-buying. There were helpful tables given to calculate morgtage payments and affordability factors, but nothing that you couldn't find online or in other books. I'm not sure how many books regarding this topic the other reviewers read, but I was surprised to see so many gave this book five stars.

I read this book from cover to cover and only recall one page that suggested this was a book for women to buy solo. I can sum it up for you in one sentence: Be confident, don't let the realtors break your spirit just because they have more faith in couples with twice the income.

Otherwise it's all the same material as all other home-buying books.

As a single woman buying my first home, I jumped at this book and was not disappointed. Upon reading it, however, I realized I am not as clueless about real estate as I had previously assumed. I gave Ms. Summers the benefit of the doubt, however, and figured she included information I believe the general population is already aware of, to ensure EVERY person who reads it is (no pun intended), "On the same page."

I DID learn, however, just how much money during your first year of mortgage rates actually goes towards the principal (you might be surprised!) I also loved how she explained what kind of house you can buy without belitting the readers (presumably nearly all single women, of course.) After spending a week with a male chauvinist realtor, whom I subsequently fired, thanks, I felt a nice breath of fresh air with this book, as I felt all my "dumb" questions were answered thoroughly.

This lady knows what she is talking about, and it's worth a buy. The small size of the book demonstrates Ms. Summers is not about "padding" in order to make herself appear smarter or to overwhelm people.

This is THE best book on first home ownership for females and males! It is concise, simple and empowering!!

As a Realtor looking at the information Summers provides, it seems that no one proof read what she wrote. There are typos throughout. And if the rest of it is as accurate as her section on using Realtors, wow! She says on p 113 that if the Jones have a house worth $100,000, they must sell it for $120,000 to pay the 6% commission. $20,000 is not 6% of $120,000! The commission is not $12,000 as she says. That's 10%. Furthermore, the house is worth what it's worth whether a real estate agent is involved or not. No money is added to the price to pay a commission. Yes, you can negotiate a commission, but it's not the buyer's concern since the buyer doesn't pay it. And if the home is for sale by owner, you can bet that the homeowner wants that phantom "commission" money for him or herself, and will not share it with the buyer.
I was thinking about using this book to educate my buyers who are mostly women first-time homebuyers. But the information is so wrong, it would be impossible to correct it. It's obvious that Ms Summers is a writer who gathered a lot of info and put it together, but has little day-to-day experience with the subject. If she thinks the commission is $12,000 and my share is $6000, I would very much like to sell her a house! (It's more like $2000 that goes to the agent.)

Some of the information is basic and repetitive from what others are saying but I found it slightly helpful for me. I am looking to purchase my 1st home solo soon....

This book is has great information for women trying to buy a home! it has helped me get on the right track and find the resources that I need!

I read through this book in no time, mainly because it is written in such a basic, straightforward way.

One complaint is the lack of depth. There is a section that claims to give tips on how to negotiate like Trump, but the entire book is nothing more than common sense. It was also annoying to have to sift through all of the tips on how to get financing if you have bad credit. It seemed a little assumed that single women would have credit problems.

Overall, this would be a good read for singles with limited resources and those who are complete strangers to the world of real estate.

I received this book recently and at first site I was disappointed. It looks poorly put together - the front cover looks like it is a photocopy of another and the pages seem to be of low quality.

However, the topics covered in the book seem to be good and I'm looking forward to diving into the book soon.

I always find it "interesting" that certain topics feel the need to have "special instruction" for women.... i.e., "investing for women", "car repair for women", and now "buying a home for women". I guess women are more ignorant when it comes to these topics? They need to be spoken to differently? Buying a home is buying a home, and the issues are no different for men and women. SURE, maybe women are treated differently by brokers, mortgage lenders, etc., but then, if you have been a woman your whole life(!), you have probably already figured out how to handle yourself in the world. I feel books such as this one are just pandering and feeding into the whole idea that women are somehow more "fragile" and need to be spoken to like little children, and in simple, short phrases, so that their "delicate minds" don't overload. I find such a mentality insulting and ignorant, and just a cheap ploy by the authors to get certain susceptible women to buy their product.