Customer Reviews

Tips and Traps When Buying a Home (Tips & Traps)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Page per page this book probably has more useful information in it then any other real estate book I've read to date.Useful, practical and applicable, the information contained inside can be used for a myriad of areas that you will be involved in when buying your home. The section on "How to Buy a Home" and "How to Make a Low Offer the Seller Will Accept" is worth the price of the book. It is a VERY quick read. Mr Irwin's style is such that you can pick up the meat of what he wants to say in a few sentences or a quick paragraph or two. I bought it a few days ago and I am 80% finished. It'll be done by the time you allread this review.

Rather than focusing on the mechanical details of buying a house that you can get anywhere, this book gives you practical knowledge you need. Information about how agents may try to trick you, loan fees that are bogus, how to get sellers excited about your offer, etc.

I disagree with the people here who criticize this book for being about "buy low, sell high" and investment purposes. I have a feeling that these people are referring to some of Robert Irwin's other books aimed at real estate moguls in training; however, I took this book as being aimed at people who want to buy the house to actually live in it and to have a home of their own.

I used this book prior to buying my home and took much of the advice to heart. I interviewed several buyer's agents until I found one I liked and trusted, something that is spoken about in the book clearly. I also got some great advice from the finance sections that kept me from paying PMI and helped deal with the mortgage broker.

I bought this book for some friends who were looking at buying a house and it helped them when one deal went sour. I also loaned my copy to two friends shortly before they bought their houses... of course they didn't read it and got screwed on several points (mainly during inspection and negotiation). Oh well... you can lead a horse to water...

Buy and read this book if you're interested in looking for a house. It's well worth it.

This book gives cookie cutter advice without much elaboration for those of us who don't fit into the mold of "20% down, sterling credit" home-buyers. If you've read any other books then most of the information isn't new and a lot of it is just common sense (although some of it it is outdated now). I would only recommend this book to someone who knows nothing and is ready to read other books in order to put the advice in perspective. If you're going to read anything, read "The 106 Common Mistakes Homebuyers Make". It's a lot better!

This book is very easy to read, well organized, and contains a LOT of essential information for anyone looking to purchase a home. I recommend it without any reservations.

One issue: I'm not sure if there's a newer edition of this book than I received last year, but it's a bit out of date. For better or worse, a lot of mortgages floating around out there today - especially for first time homeowners - are not your standard 30 year fixed. The financing section of the book needs an update detailing the pros and cons of the newer and more complicated types of financing that are more common today. It does this to an extent, but it's insufficient. Also, the figures used in the book are completely unrealistic. Mortgage rates are very different and so are housing prices. Not a problem if you can handle the math on your own, but certain tables are completely obsolete at this point in time.

Just one point on a personal note: This book really tells you about all the BAD things going on in real estate today. This isn't a fault - it's good to know about the million different potential pitfalls when buying a home - but it never tells you to put things into perspective. In other words, you can come away from reading this feeling very pessimistic and cynical about the entire process, which doesn't have to be the case. If you arm yourself with knowledge, a good attitude, and surround yourself with good people - namely the best real estate attorney and home inspector you can find - you'll find the experience isn't as bad as the book can make it seem.

Best of luck!

Found in useful but not vital when buying our NC home. May be more details than you need to worry about.

This is a must have for first time home buyers. Or Even if you have been burned the first time around. This book was very informative and easy to read. I would also reccomend that you buy "The Dictionary of Real Estate Terms". This is a great book to have also. Keep both books close at hand when shopping for a loan. There are tons of loan programs out there. But remember an educated shopper ALWAYS WINS!

I found this book to be incredibly helpful and an invaluable resource. I've been through the process once before, and all I can say is that I wish I had bought this book then.

Very informative, but not boring to read. It has a lot of general information that applies to buying any home, plus chapters that talk about specific situations (such as buying a condo, a fixer-upper, foreclosure, etc.) so you can read the section if it applies to you or skip ahead without missing any general information. There's a chapter about building your credit that's especially helpful if you've still got at least six months before you start looking for a house. This is my favorite of all home-buying books I've read.

This is an overall good resource. It is an almost 20 yr old book (published in 1990!), hence it can't be relied upon today (2009) as the only authoritative source of info before buying a home. But, in general, it has important information on numerous tips and traps of buying a home, to better equip any 1st time buyer (like me).