28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent value!, April 15, 1999
By A Customer
Having read numerous books with similar titles, I now know that I could have stopped reading after 'No Credit Required'. It covers all the bases, and it leaves out the 'motivational filler' that you need to flip through in the other books. I was surprised that the book costing 1/3 the price of the other titles turned out to be the most informative! While you may glean an additional speck of knowledge or two from similar books, "No Credit Required' is definitely the place to start for first-time homebuyers.
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not bad, but pretty dated., April 17, 2001
By A Customer
For the price, it's worth picking up. There was some pretty helpful information, particularly the 30/70 rule and some ideas on getting seller financing.
The most disappointing part to me was getting excited about the no-qualifying, assumable loans discussed in the first few chapters. The more I read, the more I realized that this was relevant in 1993 (when the book was published). Today, at least in the Chicago suburbs, there are few to zero homes on the market that meet these conditions.
That part aside, I learned some pretty useful things that will help me as I move towards buying a home with damaged credit. But it's not a miracle cure or a guaranteed thing.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is the REVISED edition - An Excellent Book with Many Ideas, August 13, 2006
This review is from: No Credit Required (Revised Edition): How to Buy a House When You Don't Qualify for a Mortgage (Mass Market Paperback)
Before I start my review - please note that some of the other reviews below pertain to the first version of this book from the early 90's. The book I'm reviewing - and the book that Amazon has pictured here for purchase is the REVISED 2004 Edition of the book. Before my purchase, I was confused by the reviews below - and confused about the author's message below - but I bought it anyway and I can assure you that the book being sold here is the REVISED Edition. I thought I would point this out.
This book arrived only 2 days ago. I spent the whole first night reading through most of it - and skimming some chapters. It's a quick and easy read - but it jam packed with useful tips and ideas.
Before I found this book, I had read a couple other books on this subject which only whet my appetite but didn't get into enough detail to be practical.
Authors Mungo and Yamaguchi do an excellent job of explaining various options for buying without credit. There are many angles of approach - from assumable (yes they still exist), seller financed, leasing with option to buy, and other things I hadn't heard of before - but was glad to learn about. The authors also tell you things not to do to keep you out of trouble. They give you sample letters and forms so you have an idea of what you might propose to a seller. They explain where to get more indepth forms and documents if you need them. They help you understand how much you can afford to pay for a home, so you don't bite off more than you can chew. They advise playing it safe and explain when you will want to have an attorney or escrow service or house inspector involved to save you heartache and legal trouble down the road. Amazingly well written. Very detailed. The authors explain not only where to find these opportunities (some of which surprised me a great deal but seem obvious now that I know), and how you might be able to persuade certain sellers in the right circumstances (especially when the seller sees how much they stand to gain by working with you - and how committed to succeeding we as buyers are when we have invested our money in a property).
Over all, this was a very down to earth, ethical look at how to buy a house when you really can't get a mortgage. There is no hype or lies attached to this book. It is all straight from the hip and not sugar coated. They don't pretend that you're going to find these deals jumping out at you from every angle - but they tell you how to find sensible houses in reasonable areas without losing your shirt. They tell you how to find what other folks don't know how to look for. Kudos to the authors! I hope you keep writing books like this. I finally see how I'm going to have a house of my own in the not to distant future! And when I do it, I hope to find a house to fix up and sell as a seller financed deal as income for myself.
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