Customer Reviews

100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask: With Answers from Top Brokers from Around the Country

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I will be buying a house in about 8-10 months and want to make sure I dont make an expensive mistake. I've read this whole book since I got it from Amazon, and overall I'm glad I read it, but wish I had checked it out of the library instead. It's an EXCELLENT book for generals - general facts, general information, to be pointed in the right general direction. But it's not a good book for cold hard facts and really valuable specifics. It wont turn you into a real negotiating shark or wheeler and dealer when you're dealing with agents or mortgage brokers (which is the kind of information I was looking for).

This book is very slanted towards New York and Chicago, also, because that is where the author's experience lies. But I'm in North Carolina, and some of the information presented as gosepl in this book is just plain factually incorrect for my state. This can be really misleading and problematic depending on your state if you try to follow this book too closely.

The book does contain great reference sections on contracts, resources, and real estate terms; and it also has mortgage payment tables in the back (but they only go up to 100,000 and who really spends less than 100K anymore?).

Although I have said more negative and positive, this is a nice book in a lot of ways. If you know nothing about what is involved in buying a house, definitely get this book. It's wonderful for basic introductory information and it is a pretty hefty book (450 pgs - great value for the cover price). But if you know what is involved and are looking for "inside" information and consumer protection advice on negotiations with brokers, agents, lawyers, mortgage brokers, title companies, etc etc., get something else. If you really want to know about tricks and traps and shady dealings to avoid, you wont find much of that in this book. It's a real estate primer and a wonderful read - but very basic, simple information.

I happily endorse this book. The new second edition contains many new questions from the first edition, revised many other questions, and completely rewrites every answer. Things are changing fast in residential real estate, and this book will bring you up-to-date. Whether you are a first-time buyer, first-time seller, or haven't bought a home in at least five years, this book will serve your needs very well. The questions are drawn from those that brokers report that first-time buyers most often ask. The answers draw upon the experiences of many brokers.

How much training does it take to become a librarian, teacher, lawyer, physician, or rocket scientist? How well would the world work for us if such training were skimped on?

When it comes to buying a first home (whether condo, co-op, or fixer-upper), most people act as though you can do brain surgery without the training. Not!

Even if you view this emotionally and financially important investment as one to be approached carefully, most first-time buyers will make important errors. Here are a few of my favorites:

(1) Not thinking about how hard it may be to resell the home.

(2) Vastly underestimating how much money will be needed to fix it up.

(3) Overpaying for the home because of not realizing how to negotiate.

(4) Waiting until finding one's soul mate before purchasing.

(5) Spending more than you can afford, and using boxes for furniture.

(6) Purchasing a home that doesn't fit your needs (where will you put 4 children and you in 2 bedrooms?).

(7) Taking on a horrible commute.

Interest rates are down in light of the terrible terrorist tragedy and weak economy. Unemployment is rising. Based on historical patterns, this is a good time to buy. Are you ready? Probably not, even if you think you are.

But I have good news for you. If you read and apply the lessons of this book, you will be more ready than many people who have already bought homes.

The subjects covered include deciding what you needs are, versus your likes; how to look; determining what you can afford; deciding what broker to use; how to work with the broker (especially what not to tell the broker, since most work for the seller); how to decide what to offer; how to negotiate; getting the best financing; checking out the house; handling the closing; and even dealing with problems after the closing. You also get help with which professionals (such as buying agents, lawyers, and home inspectors) to use, how to select them, what they will cost, and how to work with them.

I have bought or helped buy three houses, am an attorney, and am a licensed real estate agent. I found several areas where this excellent book extended my knowledge. I know it will save you thousands of dollars . . . and probably even more in avoided emotional trauma!

The book does this by posing questions, providing worksheets, steering you to Internet resources, and describing case histories.

No book from the buyer's perspective can however hope to dispel the incredible naiveté that we all have when we first purchase a home (all 2 million a year who are like lambs being led to the slaughter). For that purpose, I suggest that you also read another book, How to Sell Your Home Fast, which is an excellent description of what intelligent, prepared sellers will be doing to get you to buy their home and pay too much. Beneath all the friendly chit-chat with the sellers, realize that your are usually being carefully maneuvered to act against your own interest.

By the way, this book does not do enough to warn you about hidden house faults. Home inspectors are not the entire answer. They usually get their referrals from brokers, and will usually not tell you the worst of what can happen lest brokers stop recommending them. Spend some extra money and have people you know well and trust who are expert in electrical, heating, air conditioning, structural, roofing, plumbing, soil, and environmental hazards take a look also. They will find things that you can use to get the price lowered to cover the cost of repairs. My experience is that you will save about [amt.] for every [amt.] you spend in this way.

I also recommend that you find 10 people who are a lot like you who purchased a home similar to what interests you about five years ago. Ask them what they did right and what didn't work out so well.

After you explore all of these choices, you may want to consider what I did once . . . rent with an option to purchase. All of my rent went towards the down payment. I found I loved the house, saved money, and had few problems with repairs. I later sold it for a nice profit.

Also, spend time in the yard of your potential new home at all hours of the day and night. You may be surprised by some of the positive and negative features. In one home, I discovered that a dozen deer came by across a creek at 7:30 a.m. Seeing them every morning became my favorite part of every day.

After preparing by knowing what the right questions are, look for all of the potential problems and opportunities in making large decisions. Then sleep on your decision for three nights. You'll know what to do then!

The fact that the author is herself in real estate lends a skewed perspective to her material. I found "Home Buying for Dummies" to be much more objective and definately superior in clarity!! I found it rather astonishing that the author did not go into the idea of requesting an activity sheet from the agent or that you should always ask for comp sheets. She wants the reader to place a lot of faith in their agent, and while we can assume she is above board, this is a rather dangerous attitude to espouse.

I found this book to be very informative and very specific regarding many details of my first time home buying experience. The format allows for a very quick read and for jumping around between subjects. This book should probably be purchased as soon as one finds they are thinking about buying a home. If not it might just add to the large amount of information they will have to read. One con was that the book is slightly dated because of the current market both financial and housing.

This is without a doubt, the most well-written book on home buying I have read, and I've read several of them. First of all, the actual quality of the writing is first-rate, making an enjoyable read. Second of all, each chapter clearly outlines a strategy for dealing with a particular aspect of house buying and makes clear all of the pitfalls and problems you might run into and how to deal with them.

I would rarely give a book 5 stars here, but this one truly deserves it.

Wow! I bought this book and "Home Buying for Dummies." This is by far the better book. As my husband and I embark on this tenuous journey of home ownership, we are nervous to the point of being panicked, especially since we live in a very hot, overpriced market. This book is doing wonders to calm our nerves and abate our fears. Education is a powerful tool.

Glink's book is well-organized and about as thorough as it gets. I haven't yet found a question I had that she didn't answer in the book. The book is so jam-packed, though, that I found it's best to just look up my specific questions (once I got the "basics" covered). Otherwise, you may find yourself wading through vast amounts of information that don't apply to your situation.

I am very happy I bought this book. The information is probably the next best thing to having a trusted friend or family member in the business.

While, this book doesn't go into the specifics it is excellent for anyone thinking about buying their first home. I would recommend buying this book a few years before you actually want to purchase and then buy another (more detailed book), closer to purchase. There were several things that didn't even occur to me when saving up for deposit, and the mortgage application process. This book has put me on the right track to purchase a home.

I have read 5 books on home buying in preparation of purchase of a new home and this book has been the best of them (I also recommend "How to save Thousands of Dollars on your Home Mortgage"). The book deals with mortgage, realtors, home inspection, price negotiation, and closing. Unless you are a real estate professional, you will learn plenty from this book. It also helps the author is a very fluid writer and her explainations are precise and easy to understand.

My only gripe is despite its 500 pages, the book is too short! The last 150 pages are spent on appendix and the book has a large print. Yes, the book is concise but at the expense of being more comprehensive. But I am being picky here, you will not regret picking this book over others in the market.

I really enjoyed this book. The author included helpful annecdotes to illustrate the points she was making. The book is formatted very clearly, with great insets for first time buyers, or those buying new construction. I also really like the 20/20 hindsight blurbs. This helped me gain confidence in my quest for home ownership. Her writing style is light and easy to read, but not flippant. She acknowledges the stress you are going through and does a good job of putting it in perspective - at least for me. A lot of what I read didn't seem to be applicable to today's Seattle, but it still gave me a great overview of what I was going to face.

I recommend this book to anyone thinking about buying a home, even if you're not a first-time buyer. It's easy to read and contains a lot of great advice. I didn't always follow the book's advice, but I feel much more confident about my home purchase from having read this book. It helped make me a more intelligent buyer.