Customer Reviews

The Virgin Homeowner: The Essential Guide to Owning, Maintaining, and Surviving Your First Home

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book is not a how-to fixit book, and thank goodness. I'd read a dozen of those and I still didn't understand how my furnace (or anything else) works. Then I read Papalos' book and finally I understand. My house is no longer a scary mystery to me. I came across this book after I had already been in my first house for a number of years. I don't know if I would have bought a different house had I been armed with the knowledge from this book, but I surely would have handled my new ownership differently.

One of the best aspects of this book is its conversational, humorous style. As a virgin homeowner I repeatedly felt embarrassed or frustrated because I couldn't speak knowledgably to repairmen or home improvement store people. Papalos has been there, too, I think, and her humor encouraged me that I "wasn't alone." Finding myself chuckling as I read about plumbing traps and sacrificial anodes was certainly refreshing.

The descriptions are straightforward in ordinary language, and the terms and jargons are demystified. Since some house systems vary with geography and house age, Papalos did her research and addressed all the systems (forced air, gas, electric, oil, heat pump, *and* baseboard heat, for example). I disagree with another reviewer that this book applies only to a northeastern homeowner; I thought it was quite thorough in addressing the variations.

I also like her "systems" approach to explaining the house (plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling, etc.) and how she addresses issues beyond physical construction of the house, such as pest control (termite picnics). She alerts the reader about some important maintenance tasks, though there is more of this kind of information for some topics than others. This isn't a home maintenance how-to book, though, so this is a very minor criticism.

I bought copies of this book for each of my three new homeowning siblings. I hope it helps them come to appreciate their houses the way I have mine.

As someone going through the process of buying a home for the first time, I've been stressing about overlooking something that will later cost me a lot of money. After reading The Virgin Homeowner, I'm no longer stressing. This book presents a comprehensive look at all the various features in a house that could present problems to the new homeowner. While it doesn't give detailed solutions, it does provide valuable information that enables the homeowner to understand the problem in order to begin the process of fixing it in the most effective manner.

The best aspect of The Virgin Homeowner is that it is written in a tone that evokes an image of a friend sharing information. This book is not a dry "how-to" manual. It is obviously the product of first hand mistakes, triumphs, and research. The tone in which it is presented not only makes it very easy to understand, it also gives it a realistic credibility that only life experiences can impart.

I'm sure that The Virgin Homeowner will give other readers the same sense of confidence that I didn't have before I read it. Frankly, I can't think of a higher compliment for any type of guidebook. But, this one is worth the accolade. This book should be read by all first time homebuyers either before or immediately after a home purchase.

It is wonderful to find a book that is easy to read, is educational and funny to boot! I've lived in a rental HOME (not apartment) for the last three years and I thought I knew a lot about homeownership - treating the rental as my own. Yeah - right... So when I finally bought my first home and bought this book hoping it would supplement my knowledge - Zowee - Wowee - am I glad I bought this book!!! I loved it! It's one thing to read about home repair and home decorating but this book I found helped with the little important details of HOME OWNERSHIP. I wish I had bought this before I went home shopping. I don't think I would have made a better choice than what I acquired, but I would have definitely paid more attention to the home inspection!!!

This is truely a one-stop reference for owning a home. I am in my second house and I use this book monthly. I have become the Maven of Maintenance by having this book. Neighbors call me instead of my husband to ask me questions about everything from "cracked heat exchangers" to roofing problems.

It is nice to have a resource like this when you are not familiar with the "lingo" that's out there, especially if you have a problem with your furnace. I compare this book to "What To Expect, When You're Expecting"... which I still use as a reference guide, and my children are 2 and 4. I use "Virgin" all the time and I'm in my second home over 2 years. It's a fantastic gift, and everyone who I've bought it for has raved.

The best thing about the book is that it makes you knowledgeable about your home. "Virgin" provides you with information to make potentially expensive decisions, easy and understandable. It is the "cliff notes" to my house.

I can now converse with furnace repair company... to their dismay!

I bought this book hoping it would help me to understand and fix the minor repairs my new home needed (and it needs a lot). To be honest, it was useless. It had cute little anecdotes and a few useful diagrams but nothing to help me fix it myself. Like many first time buyers, my house isn't 'top-of-the-line' and I used all my money to buy it - I don't have the money to call in someone else everytime a faucet starts to drip. The entire book is an account of one northeasterner's experience purchasing a home. It's all text. If you want a fix-it book (or you live outside of New York), look somewhere else.

If you're busy--like everyone--but you want to take the purchase and upkeep of your new home (first home or otherwise) seriously, this book is a must read. It reads quickly and efficiently and yet packs your head with much needed big picture and detail work to consider when buying, upgrading or maintaining your house. Read this book and stand confidently before contractors and other estimators--knowing their language, the terms, dimensions and practice of home repair. Protect yourself from getting gouged. Ensure that the work done for you is done properly. You could even do some of the work yourself after learnging how. Regardless, you're sure to establish solid ground between you and the serviceman or company your about to hire when you let them know that you know exactly how certain functions and systems in your home work. No longer stand bewildered when the toilet lid or sump pump in the basement goes down (before reading this book I didn't even know what a sump pump was or how important it was to the integrity of my home). In sum, you must buy this wonderful collection of information on home ownership. It beats most other guides, hands down.

DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK - unless you just bought an older home in the Northeast, since that's all this book covers. It has no information for newer construction homes, since the author writes from her own experience (her first- and it seems only - house). This book does go into some detail about the systems inside a house, but again, the systems are very dated in this book. If you want a good overall info book about owning your first home, and you want to be able to determine whether to repair something yourself or hire a professional, go buy the "Dummies" book for homeowners, it is much more useful.

This book should have been titled something like 'How Does Everything Work In Your House", because it does very little toward letting you know what you have to do to maintain one. It's written as if you know absolutely nothing about a house, since the author apparently never saw one before she bought hers. She does an ok job of describing the 'systems' within a house, if you can stand the New York attitude that comes with it, but if you are trying to learn how to maintian your house, you'll be very dissapointed. What's more, she covers only those things associated with owning a house in the northeast, she never mentions the special needs of a home in California, and very little for Florida - two states with very demanding needs for homeowners. And what's most disappointing, is that her solution to maintaining a home is "call a contractor", preferrably one from the local country club.

I recently bought an older condo and having been raised in a traditional family (Often told to "go help my mother") I wasn't prepared for the hows and whys of how houses and their appliances work. I needed a basic education.

This book will give you the background on how various parts of your home work - the electrical system, the water/drain/vent system, your plumbing, appliances - everything! I'm loving finally knowing what some of these things do.

As other reviewers have mentioned, it's NOT a how-to book. I don't think this was designed to help the homeowner diagnose and FIX a problem. It's more to help us understand how they work so we can at least rule things out and communicate to a repairman without being intimidated.

It is probably more appealing to women since it's written by a city girl who moved to the suburbs and realized she knew nothing about this stuff. I feel I can relate to her, maybe that's why I enjoy it even more!

This book could also be titled, "How Not to Look Like An Idiot At Your Home Inspection." I am in escrow on my first house, and read much of this book prior to my home inspection. It gave me the right information I needed to understand how the major systems in my home should work, and how to look for systems that don't. Her narrative yet explanatory style enables even a clueless person like me to now have a working understanding of how the plumbing, electircal, and heating systems of my house work. This book is a joy to read, and you will thank your stars you did just that. This book will not replace how to manuals for people who are looking to do much home repair... but it will give you the information you need to even understand what you should and should not do yourself. If you buy the book before you have your home inspection, I highly suggest reading the first few chapters beforehand.