Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Finally, someone cuts through all the get-rich-quick schemes and rejects the gloom-and-doom naysayers and looks at real estate with a little realism and common sense. Doing well in real estate is not just about "location, location, location" it's also about the state of the economy and timing and keeping an eye on the market, as Fletcher points out. It's a cycle and this book tells you how to figure out where you are in it so that you don't buy too high or sell too low. This is a very helpful, well-written and accessible book with some some good, solid analysis and sound advice. Bubbles may come and bubbles may go, but House Poor will be here for the long run.

House Poor identifies the key issues consumers need to know to survive the current volatile housing market. The style is brisk and understandable, and the information is focused and useful. Unlike books that try to entice readers with promises of getting rich quick by investing in real estate, House Poor gives suggestions about how to invest prudently and warns readers about the dangers of becoming overextended. When activity in many housing markets begins to decline from its current unsustainable level, many people will wish they had read the advice in Fletcher's book.

I read "House Poor" and thought that here, finally, was the first book in a long time which offered practical advice for real estate buyers and sellers. This book does not purport to create millionaires overnight, but it does suggest a number of sensible strategies that can improve the odds of getting a good deal whether the local market moves up, down or stays fairly level.

Also, the book is clearly written. There's no jargon, the chapters are in a logical order and the book is filled with references and real-life examples.

I liked "House Poor" and I suspect most readers will like it as well.

I was very pleased by the amount of information that was given in the book with regard to what does and does not positively evaluate my home. Information such as renovation resale prices was crucial for me to learn, and this book had that in spades. Additionally, the information provided on how to take advantage of the housing market as the market is cooling down is essential. People who want to know what to do in case of a housing bubble would be strongly advised to find the info contained in House Poor.

I strongly recommend this book. Your wallet may thank you for it.

Finally a book that explores our residential real estate obsession - an obsession that's dominated the national psyche since interest rates dropped - that offers a balanced look at property ownership!!

I found the real life case studies highly informative. People who require a "warts and all" view about the residential real estate marketplace would be well advised to read House Poor.

Ms. Fletcher made an excellent case for a coming collapse in housing, based on the historical real estate cycle. She details very well the similarities and the differences between the current real estate cycle and those that came before it.

The book provides survival strategies for the more common real estate scenarios in anticipation of the inevitable land bust. She devotes one chapter each to such topics as buying a home, selling a home, financing a purchase (and the inevitable trouble with ARMs), foreclosure, and buying real estate abroad, among other things. Each chapter has a list of survival strategies, and ends with a survival summary list. I especially liked the list of useful websites at the end of the book, which I am perusing for more information on the land game.

I found the book to be eerily prophetic. However, the author used the doomsaying hook to put before the reader a book on buying (and selling) smart on the eve of a collapse in real estate valuations. Given her more than two decades of experience in and around real estate, and the recent events in the real estate space, she has definitely proven to me that she knows of what she speaks.

Given that this edition of the book is currently out of print, the book (or at least the majority of its contents) may be masquerading as the book, House Poor: How to Buy or Sell Your Home Come Bubble or Bust, which is currently in print.

For those with little understanding of the housing market this would be a good primer. For those looking for more analysis of real estate and its impact on the economy you would be better served to look elsewhere.