Customer Reviews

House Selling For Dummies, 3rd edition

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As an investment professional and self-confessed do-it-yourselfer, I am a great fan of Eric Tyson's "Personal Finance for Dummies" and "Mutual Funds for Dummies" which empower people to manage their own finances better. It was therefore very disappointing for me to read this book and "Home Buying for Dummies", only to find that the authors (maybe through Ray Brown's influence)pound away relentlessly at the notion that the reader REALLY should hire a real estate agent rather than doing it themself. The authors clearly have a much higher opinion of real estate brokers and agents than I do.

Anyone looking for a reference on how to figure out the finances of buying and selling homes and how to effectively choose and use a real estate agent will likely find these books useful.

Unfortunately, the "do-it-yourself" crowd needs to look elsewhere or hope for a major revision.

While I agree with a previous reviewer that it was a little discouraging that the authors thought so highly of realtors, I just ignored that part and used all the other very useful information in this book. Short story short, our house ad went in the paper on a Friday (in what the book termed "Death Valley" season, no less) and we had our buyer the next Monday!!

The info on how to spruce up your house and how to negotiate the contract was a big help. We did it all without a realtor, got the price we were aiming for, and avoided that ridiculous commission.

This book discourages "FISBO's" (For Sale By Owner) types in favor of hiring a real estate agent. In fact, only one chapter deals with this. I'd recommend this book to those who plan to hire an agency to sell their home. It will inform them of the various machinations of the sales process. For those looking to sell their own property, I recommend "The For Sale By Owner Kit" by Robert Irwin. It's directed soley at the "FISBO" person.

With no other experience than this book and its sister 'House Buying for Dummies' I have done 3 transactions over the last two years. I used them as overviews, instruction manuals and reference guides. Covers the basics in straight forward language, and also goes into sufficient detail to not require buying another books. Don't be fooled or ashamed of the title. There is nothing but intelligence in this book.

This book was indispensable while I was selling my house. The numerous practical tips on preparing a house for sale and the explanation of the legal ins and outs were certainly helpful, but what was absolutely invaluable was the advice on avoiding the emotional pitfalls that can make you miserable and keep you from making the best business deal. Using this book's advice, I priced my house right and staged it well, and it sold very quickly for above the asking price.

This is a very small investment that will help you with a six-figure financial transaction, so it's well worth the cover price.

I wish I had read this book BEFORE hiring an agent, it would have saved me a lot of grief and maybe some cash. Don't think that this book is just for people selling a house themselves -- there is a lot for those who choose to work with an agent. If you go into the selling process without knowledge, you're largely at the mercy of someone who interests don't overlap yours in every way. This is the most important financial transaction of most people's lives, self-education is the best way to prevent stress and getting burned.

The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is the relative lack of information about how to leave your house -- what is expected of the seller in terms of patching walls, cleaning etc.

I've read a couple of Dummies books. Some were not very helpful. But this one was superb! Honestly, I thought I knew everything I needed to know about selling my house before I read the book. But, when I read the book, I realized there were LOTS of things I had never even considered. Details about how to clean the house before you sell. Techniques for getting top dollar from my house. Even some humbling advice (like, sell based on the market, not on your need).

If you're going to sell a house, and especially if you're going to sell FSBO, you have to read this book. It's worth the investment in time and money.

We recently sold our house ourselves. It worked. It was definitely worth it.

I bought this book to help me better understand the issues I was facing when we got started. It was helpful and definitely worth the money. The language was easy to understand and it did highlight a number of issues that made the process easier for me.

Unfortunately there was a lot of information that didn't apply to a fairly normal situation and a number of things weren't covered (one issue is that real estate laws can vary a great deal from state to state). I think a lot of people could find the important stuff mentioned in this book on the internet or from talking to friends.

I dreaded selling with a real estate agent but this book clearly explained how the industry works and the keys to selling houses. By following the advice in this book, I successfully interviewed several agents and picked one who did an outstanding job getting me a high price and a quick closing. Book is filled with lots of great tips for getting a home ready to sell. I didn't have the time to sell myself but for those who do, this book shows the tricks of the trade

I thought the book was informative, however it didn't have enough on selling your house on your own. And some of the material was a bit dated. Overall though, a useful source for the first time home seller.