The Wall Street Journal. Complete Home Owner's Guidebook: Make the Most of Your Biggest Asset in Any Market [Paperback]

David Crook (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 2008

Your Map for a Brave New Real-Estate World

The days of real-estate mania—when you really couldn’t go wrong with buying a home, then selling it in a few years for a lot more than you paid for it—are over. Inflated prices and the “subprime” mortgage crisis have finally burst the bubble. Now, more than ever, it’s important for current and prospective home buyers to understand just what they’re getting into when they take that plunge—and to think smarter when it comes to making the most of their biggest asset.

The Wall Street Journal. Complete Home Owner’s Guidebook shows readers how to become savvy home buyers—and eventually owners—not only in this new, uncertain era but in any market:

• Understand the benefits and pitfalls of owning versus renting
• Make sense of the housing market—ask the important questions, factor in the unforeseen costs, and explode the big myths of home ownership
• Take advantage of current opportunities if you’re a first-time home buyer
• Overcome the challenges if you’re looking to trade up or cash out on your home for retirement
• Make the best profit on your home in any market
• Understand why your home—your number one asset—really isn’t such a
great investment

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Crook, editor of the Wall Street Journal Sunday, offers a clear, no-holds barred look at the pros and cons of owning a home—rather than renting one from a bank via a mortgage—along with its ultimate costs. The author debunks popularly held views about the wisdom of viewing a home as a piggybank and how that can easily lead to financial disappointment. Owning a home is essentially an expense, he contends, providing repeated proof that few home buyers build accessible wealth through home ownership except in bullish real estate markets. His advice on making the purchase decision, especially in a weak housing market, along with how and when to use debt to do so, are invaluable. For those aspiring to own a home and those trying to manage the affordability of their biggest asset, this is a must read. It is applicable to home buyers and owners of all economic backgrounds, and in any phase of their financial life from the newly employed to the retired. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

DAVID CROOK is the editor of The Wall Street Journal Sunday and author of The Wall Street Journal. Complete Real-Estate Investing Guidebook. He developed Home Front and Property Report, the residential and commercial real-estate sections of The Wall Street Journal. David and his family divide their time between homes in New York City and rural Connecticut.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (December 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307405923
• ISBN-13: 978-0307405920
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #285,454 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The book the housing industry is afraid you'll read, January 18, 2009

By 

Elle Michion "elle" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wall Street Journal. Complete Home Owner's Guidebook: Make the Most of Your Biggest Asset in Any Market (Paperback)

On an Internet bulletin board recently, a woman wondered how much to offer on a $700,000 home. Others advised her to check the comps.

"What are comps?" she responded.

I asked if she wanted a book recommendation.

Here was a person about to make the biggest purchase of her life, one she would call an "investment," without doing even the most basic research. It's a sure bet she'll spend too much. During the housing bubble, that might not have mattered. In an economy in which millions of properties are now worth less than the money owed on them, a foolish home purchase is likely to haunt a consumer for the rest of his or her life.

Had the woman responded to my question, this is the book I would have recommended.

The Wall Street Journal Complete Home Owner's Guidebook offers sensible, clearheaded (and often witty) advice for those buying homes as well as those who already have homes. Its premise is simple: Your home is NOT an investment; it's an asset. An investment, the author explains, provides income while you own it, and makes you a profit when you sell it. Yes, historically owners have made "profits" when they've sold their homes. But factor in all of the costs of living there--mortgage interest, repairs and maintenance and remodeling projects--and the "profit" may not be a profit at all.

The author's advice: To insure that you'll recoup the most from your home when you sell it, buy like a true investor. Don't spend more for a home than it's worth, don't over-remodel, and don't let Realtors tell you "the pride of ownership" is part of a home's value. Yes, love your home, the author says. But don't be blinded by it.

The housing industry won't like this book, and will likely argue against it. It's in Realtors', developers' and contractors' best interest to try to rebut what you'll read here. But a smart consumer looking out for his or her own net worth will find a lot to love about the Guidebook.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Wall Street Journal,Complete Home Owner's Guidebook: Make the Most of Your Biggest Asset in Any Market, February 19, 2009

By 

Marjorie R. Renouf (Byron Center, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wall Street Journal. Complete Home Owner's Guidebook: Make the Most of Your Biggest Asset in Any Market (Paperback)

Times have changed. This is not our fathers world anymore. This is especially true when it comes to buying and owning a house. I bought three copies of this book, one for myself, one for my son, and one for my daughter. This book covers all aspects of owning a house from buying, maintaining, and selling one of our biggest purchases. I highly recommend this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Offers keen financial advice that other books gloss over, November 19, 2009

By 

Aileen Chen (SF Bay Area) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wall Street Journal. Complete Home Owner's Guidebook: Make the Most of Your Biggest Asset in Any Market (Paperback)

As a prospective first time home buyer in today's economy, I am very worried about getting in over my head on a home. I found this book to be an excellent resource in helping me understand home costs and benefits. I looked at several other books, and was disappointed in their lack of focus on the financial implications because I feel the most complex and overlooked area of home buying 101 is whether you should actually buy a home!

I feel the most of the other books are trying to sell you on the notion of buying a home. This book offers much more level-headed advice, and even spends an entire chapter on covering reasons why you shouldn't buy a home.

To me, these differences make this book stand out from the rest and make this required reading.