Your New House: The Alert Consumer's Guide to Buying and Building a Quality Home (2nd ed) (Paperback)

by Alan Fields (Author), Denise Fields (Author) "Let's say right here and now that building or buying a new house is an insane experience..." (more)
Key Phrases: large production builders, money bomb, exclusive buyer agents, North Carolina, National Association of Home Builders, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Two consumer experts use massive doses of negativity and black humor to present information on building and/or buying a home. The authors' personal experience, plus interviews and research, form a starting point in this process. They discuss the questions to ask and "money bombs"--areas to watch out for--in regard to architects, builders, realtors, mortgages, and home warranties. They refer frequently to databases and reference sources and also include "ecofriendly alternatives," product recommendations, a 900 number to call for updates, and an 800 number for questions or suggestions. Those serious about building their own home will need more detailed information related to mortgages and construction than this book offers. Still, this is recommended for collections that need updating or where there is a great demand in this subject area.
- Pat Talley, Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas Lib.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description
If owning a home is the American Dream, then building a home is the American Nightmare. This book covers everything buyers and builders need to know about saving costs, time, materials, and their sanity. Readers will learn about bargains, smart solutions to finding the lowest mortgage rates, how to screen builders, and more. This new edition includes a detachable checklist of key questions to ask builders, architects and inspectors. 30 illustrations.

Product Details

• Paperback: 292 pages
• Publisher: Windsor Peak Pr; 2nd edition (March 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0962655686
• ISBN-13: 978-0962655685
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,702,604 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An informed consumer's best resource, March 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Your New House: The Alert Consumer's Guide to Buying and Building a Quality Home (Paperback)

I am an architect and a former building inspector. Over the past few years I have given copies of this book to friends and relatives as they embark on their homebuilding adventure. This book says it like it is and it does not gloss over or romanticize the home building process.

(Yes, its the American Dream, your castle - but is it built on a swamp or will it blow down in the first wind storm? It is also probably your most valuable asset. So how do you keep the dream from becoming a nightmare? Read this book!)

You will learn who all the key parties are, their interests and biases. You learn how to keep control of the project (hey, its your money!)

The humor keeps you reading (and functions as comic relief on those subjects that would drive an uniformed consumer to tears or suicide). The authors have lived the nightmare and allow the reader to learn from their mistakes.

This book is a minor investment realtive to the cost of a new house - you owe it to yourself to buy it and read it before you ever visit a model home, hire an architect, or sit down with a home builder!

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Your New House, March 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Your New House: The Alert Consumer's Guide to Buying and Building a Quality Home (Paperback)

This book contains a lot of worthwhile detailed information for anyone who is thinking of building a custom, semi-custom or production home. I do feel that the authors are somewhat biased toward homes in the $200,000. and up price range. The book will initally open your eyes to EVERYTHING that might go wrong. It is important to realize that many of these things may not occur. If you take everything in this book at face value, you probably would never build a home!

38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great resource for anyone thinking about building a home, August 6, 1998

By A Customer

This book was a great resource while my husband and I were building our home. Our relationship with our builder was great, and it was mostly because the builder was impressed with how much we "knew" about building! Really, we were just asking the questions that Denise and Alan Fields said to ask in this book. The "things to watch out for" and potential money pit warnings were just what we needed to go into our house building a little less scared and a LOT more knowledgeable. We bought this book as we were starting the design process, and wished we had bought it sooner! A must have!