House Poor: Pumped Up Prices, Rising Rates, and Mortgages on Steroids: How to Survive the Coming Housing Crisis [Hardcover]

June Fletcher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2005

The housing market, like any other investment, has always had its ups and downs. But ever since it started its upswing at the beginning of this decade, the ride has become more thrilling—and more dangerous. One day, home values are skyrocketing and cheap money is up for grabs; the next day, houses linger on the market and interest rates rise alarmingly high. Home buyers and sellers are beginning to recognize that however the market moves where they live, they must be prepared to make smart housing decisions.

Written by veteran real estate reporter June Fletcher, House Poor teaches you everything you need to know to weather the ups and downs of the housing market, including:

• How to tell whether your hometown is likely to boom or bust
• When to take equity out of your house
• How to buy as a first-time home owner or as an investor during turbulent times
• How to protect your home investment
• When and how to sell your home

Today's volatile housing market could make you house poor.

This book will keep you house proud.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Fletcher, who writes the "Home Front" feature for the Wall Street Journal, puts the current housing market hype into perspective in this guide for owners and investors alike. Though written during a two-month period last spring, her book is, nonetheless, packed with an enormous amount of information and advice. Is the market bubble about to burst? What kind of financing is best for me? How much value does a room addition really add to a property? What's the advantage (or disadvantage) of a zero-interest loan? Fletcher answers the questions, defines the terms, and introduces a host of financial options clearly and concisely, making plenty of suggestions to help home owners and investors sail confidently through the slowdown most analysts predict is on the horizon. Summaries in the form of "Survival Tips" are handy chapter refreshers, and an extensive bibliography of books, articles, and Web sites opens the way to a wealth of additional information, whether an individual is considering refinancing, preparing to sell, or thinking of investing big in the housing market. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: HarperBusiness (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060873221
• ISBN-13: 978-0060873226
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,076,989 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I wish I had known all this before, December 6, 2005

By 

WordGuy (Cincinnati, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: House Poor: Pumped Up Prices, Rising Rates, and Mortgages on Steroids: How to Survive the Coming Housing Crisis (Hardcover)

I am now in the process of buying my 7th house in 25 years. If I had known much earlier some of the things I now know from having read "House Poor," I would have avoided mistakes, saved money, and come out ahead.

The book offers solid, well supported advice about home ownership in 21st century America. The advice is practical, clear, and up-to-date. It reads quickly--in part because of the numerous examples of home buyers and sellers from around the nation--but unlike many such books, it seamlessly integrates a large volume of data from authoritative sources to support conclusions and recommendations. I found especially useful the discussion of the dizzying array of mortgage options now being pushed at consumers. And I found reassuring the distinctions made among the various markets around the US--reassuring because I live in the Midwest where the real estate market is heated but not super-heated.

Fletcher writes with an engaging and fluid style, moves logically from one topic to another, and delivers the kind of information that both first-time and veteran home owners will find valuable.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Balanced Look at the Housing Market, With Helpful Advice, April 30, 2006

By 

Beth Fox "Beth A. Fox" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: House Poor: Pumped Up Prices, Rising Rates, and Mortgages on Steroids: How to Survive the Coming Housing Crisis (Hardcover)

This book is not a full-blown economic analysis of the housing bubble. If you are looking for something like that, read "Irrational Exuberance," by Robert Shiller, or "Sell Now!," by John Talbott. Nor is this book a "buy now or you'll forever be priced out of the market" epistle. For that, see the National Association of Realtors and their spokesmen.

This book is a fair, balanced look at the housing situation today. It discusses the bubble, all right, but the book's main purpose is to provide advice to average Joes about housing issues. The first chapter is entitled "To Buy or Not to Buy, That is the Question." Fletcher goes through the cases for buying, renting, buying to rent, and renting to own, pointing out the risks in each. In the second chapter, Fletcher explains the myriad types of financing out there -- many of which I'd never heard of -- and explains what to watch out for if you do decide to buy. Subsequent chapters are devoted to when and whether to improve your home (and what to improve), flipping, foreclosures, and selling to international investors or buying property outside the United States.

Finally, someone has clearly explained the "1031 exchange," the Housing Affordability Index, and whether those granite countertops will pay for themselves. Fletcher writes from experience: she is the author of a Wall Street Journal column that gives practical advice to those in or who are contemplating joining the real estate market. Professional housing investors/flippers may not learn anything new here, but for the rest of us, homeowner or not, this book provides solid information and advice.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Buy this book if you are considering buying your first home or are an experienced real estate investor., December 11, 2005

By 

promethian Daniel "atlantisdaniel" (Naples, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: House Poor: Pumped Up Prices, Rising Rates, and Mortgages on Steroids: How to Survive the Coming Housing Crisis (Hardcover)

This book is important because it is survey of the real estate market as of now, i.e. a period where certain investments (especially residential real estate in particular markets), are becoming high risk. However there is also timeless advice in the book, and she also touches on subjects that are not frequently discussed, ie. alternative real estate investments from international to condo-hotels to commercial. A lot of information can be learned from this book. I recommend it for anyone considering buying any kind of real estate.