How to Buy a Home Without Getting Hammered [Hardcover]

David Weekley (Author), Patrick Byers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 2001

Few things in life can put you on the emotional roller coaster like buying a home, from the highs of finding the perfect one and seeing it completed to the lows of construction delays and mortgage red tape. "You mean the hardwood flooring we saw in the model isn't included?" "Why won't our builder return our calls?" "Where did these extra costs come from?"

Before you buy your next home, let one of America's most successful home builders show you how to avoid the "land mines" that spoil the fun for so many unsuspecting buyers.

After 25 years and 30,000 homes, David Weekley has seen it all. And in this enlightening homebuyer's guide he tells it all. You'll learn how to look past the extras of a furnished model to see exactly what you're buying. Find out how to get your builder's attention if he won't return your calls. What are your options if construction delays are threatening your lock-in of a low interest rate?

Whether it's your first or fifth home, this book will open your eyes and put your back in the driver's seat where you belong. Checklists key questions and enlightening anecdotes make this an invaluable companion for anyone in the market for a home. Don't make a move without it.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...This book will benefit your life, you family's life, and your balance sheet." -- Carloss Morris, Chairman, Executive Committee, Stewart Title Guaranty Company

"Buyers of brand new properties will find many of [David Weekley's] tips invaluable." -- Robert Irwin, Author of the Tips & Traps Real Estate Books Series

"David Weekley is a straight shooter who knows the home business better than anyone." -- Rod Canion, Co-Founder, Compaq Computer Corporation

"David's book ... will be an essential guide to those finding their greatest investment and, yes, their sublime dream." -- Alexandra Stoddard, Author of 21 books including Feeling At Home and The Decoration of Houses

From the Publisher

Today Show Promotion

Buying a new home is a lifetime investment and as an industry-leading homebuilder, David Weekley Homes is committed to ensuring consumers are comfortable with the process. Beginning February 14, David Weekley Homes will build a new home in just 12 short weeks in Tampa, Florida as part of a joint venture with NBC’s Today Show and ourhouse.com. Each week, Today Show viewers will have the opportunity to long on to msnbc.com and be part of the homebuilding process by voting for their favorite floorplan and a variety of features. Every Wednesday for 12 weeks, viewers can tune in to the Today Show to see the progress that has been made on the home, which feature viewers selected and which feature will be highlighted during the coming week. The completed home will be auctioned off in May 2001, with proceeds benefiting Habitat for Humanity. In addition to reaching 7.5 million consumers through the Today Show, David Weekley’s new book, “How to Buy a Home Without Getting Hammered,” is a terrific resource for future homebuyers. The book offers valuable homebuying tips in a highly readable format full of personal stories and anecdotes. It is a resource every homebuyer should have and is just one of the many reasons why David Weekley Homes continues to be among the most respected homebuilders in America.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 241 pages
• Publisher: David Weekly Homes; Edition Not Stated edition (March 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885539355
• ISBN-13: 978-1885539359
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,139,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great only for new home buyers, June 11, 2001

By 

MHT "Beach mum" (Santa Monica, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Buy a Home Without Getting Hammered (Hardcover)

Although the description of this book is that it is useful for all home buyers, in truth, it is only useful for those looking for buy a new home. The first few chapters talk about new and resale homes, but after that the entire focus is on new homes. If that's what you want, this is a good book. However, if you're looking at resale, don't bother buying this book.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good as a second book on home buying, February 3, 2004

By 

Gadgester "No Time, No Money" (Mother Earth) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: How to Buy a Home Without Getting Hammered (Hardcover)

Please ignore the reader from Bothell, WA who apparently does not get the pun in the title of this book and proceeds to levy some b.s. criticism on a book he/she apparently didn't really read.

This book is geared toward buyers of new homes, especially construction homes, but has information that can help any home buyer. I myself am looking to buy a condo and I especially enjoyed the chapters on "curb appeal" (exterior) and floor plans. The latter topic is covered in a lot of details with examples of good layouts and bad layouts. You may not totally agree with what the author says should be a good floor plan -- and I don't -- but it's great to know what the latest trend in floor planning is and what angles (no pun intended) you should see a home from.

The book covers from why you should buy a home to what to do if you are unhappy with your newly bought home. Again, the target audience is really potential buyers of new homes, so there's a lot of information on that, like seeking out a builder's reputation, working with salespeople (as opposed to real estate agents), etc.

I recommend this book as a second book for getting home-buying advice. For more in-depth coverage of mundane home-buying topics such as mortgages and dealing with agents and closing, check the Complete Idiot's Guide to Buying and Selling a Home.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Book!!!, December 23, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Buy a Home Without Getting Hammered (Hardcover)

This book is an easy read and very helpful to the first time homebuyer. I actually moved into an older David Weekley home and absolutely love it. I highly recommend this book as a reference and guide to those who are clueless to the whole process of buying/building a home. I know it will be helpful to me once we build our new David Weekley home!!!