70 Things First Time Home Buyers Need To Know Good Things To Know

Posted In: First Time Home Buyer

Juliane Laube says...

Gary Eldred, The 106 Common Mistakes Home Buyers Make (Wiley, 2002)

Reading this on the heels of Ilyce Glink's book may not have been a good idea, or it may have been a great one. I'm not sure yet. The two mostly cover the same ground, though Eldred never even brings up the possibility of buying a home without a realtor (Glink glosses over it), and Eldred does get into a little more detail about a few things. He also has a more cynical attitude towards the subject than Glink, but then looking at the books' titles alone should convey that well enough.

A good adjunct, but not sure it would be as good a stand-alone tome; Eldred misses a few beats in telling you the options you have while he's too busy shutting the door on the options you should avoid. Best read in tandem with Glink. ***

Posted on April 11, 2011

Ruben Manchester says...

Last October(2001), we had locked in a rate at rock bottom (6.25%) for 30 days. Rates started to climb and our mortgage broker began dragging her feet. Almost each day, we got a new request for more documents, verifications, or explanations. But when we got almost ready to close on the 28th day, the broker told us the sellers (or we) would have to make a $117 plumbing repair before we could settle. Of course, that delay would cost us our lock and we would be forced to take a new rate of around 7.0%. Fortunately, because we had read this book, we strongly suspected what was really happening. We were about to become victims of a false rate lock. But we knew what to do. We raised holy heck. We threatened complaints with every regulatory agency that even remotely was concerned with mortgages. We got our 6.25%. But if we hadn't been warned ahead of time by 106 Mistakes, we would probably have just capitulated. We wouldn't have known any better. So, this book saved us big bucks.

Posted on April 11, 2011

Brittaney Staines says...

I would highly recommend this book to anyone going through the home buying process for the first time. It is simple, concise, and easy to read. It explains the home buying process in an uncomplicated fashion and it provides a wealth of information beyond the basics.



The book includes a definition section that I found very handy and useful, especially when you consider that loan officers and real estate agents have the tendency to communicate in jargons and acronyms. Its appendix contains useful information that I feel is rarely provided or explained to a home buyer.



Home buying is one of the most important decisions in life. It is stressful and overwhelming yet most people go through the whole process without having an idea what to expect or even worse, being at the mercy of his or her real estate agent. For people like me that feel more comfortable being armed with a guide and with the basic knowledge of what to expect, this book provided me that and more.

Posted on April 11, 2011

Margarette Lue says...

This book is a must-have for the first-time home buyer.It provides a brief and thorough overview of the whole process.When searching for and attempting to purchase your first home, it's easy to get caught up in the details - which can be confusing and overwhelming.This book will help you keep an eye on the big picture.You'll know where you are in the process and what to expect next.



I am particularly pleased with the comprehensive section on definitions and terms, as well as the quick reference guides offered in the appendix.As someone who has recently been through the process, I highly recommend this tool.It is easy to understand, and it will help you ask the right questions when communicating with your agent and lender.

Posted on April 12, 2011

John Brannam says...

I have run first-time homebuyer programs for over 20 years, and am amazed at how this little gem of a book is so complete,yet can be read in one brief setting.It empowers the buyer with the basic concepts and lingo of the housing industry and equips the buyer to tackle one of the most important decisions they will ever make. An informed buyer is a smart and successful one; First-time Home Buying In a Nutshell takes the work out of the buyer's attempt to reach that goal.

Posted on April 12, 2011

Hubert Santillana says...

This book is long overdue.Thank you, Greg Urata.For anyone navigating the mortgage maze for the first time, or even subsequent times. This book should be offered at every mortgage office in America.It's that good and that important.It would definitely have been such a wonderful toolfor me when I first started into the real estate market.I'm sharing this book with my children and their friends as they embark on their initial real estate purchases.

Posted on April 12, 2011

Miki Mccarry says...

Even though we're experienced homebuyers(4 homes in 22 years), on the advice of a friend we bought this book and one of Eldred's other books. Both were full of information and tips that caused us to investigate ourhome purchase with far more detail. Having been burned twice in the past,we figured " an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Wewere not disappointed. We reccomend this book not only for first-timebuyers, but also to "pros" like us who have realized that evenserial homebuyersneed to pay attention to potential mistakes that are allto easy to make.

Posted on April 13, 2011

Daniella Hilla says...

I read this book in conjunction with "Home Buying for Dummies" and while it gave the better examples of what could go wrong - it did not give enough information on how to avoid and/or solve the errors.

I reallyenjoyed reading the true life experiences other home buyers had.The booktells you what to look out for but it just did not give enough informationon how to fix the problem.Maybe the next edition can expand more on the"fix it" portion.

Posted on April 14, 2011

Shauna Masella says...

Want to make sure your Realtor doesn't steer you wrong-either throughdishonesty or ignorance? READ THIS BOOK. As a Realtor myself, I see thedark side of our business all too often. "Make the sale, pocket thecommission" rules the mindset of most agents. Why do I want homebuyersto read 106 Mistakes? Because it means more business for straightshootingsales professionals(like myself) and less business for the mindless manywith whom I have to compete.

Posted on April 15, 2011

Senaida Vendrick says...

I was totally new at buying a home. We rented for 14 years, one of the worse mistakes in my life.This book helped me tremendously to understand what buying a house entailed, how to go about it and what to look for. I fully agree with Eldred's position of the biggest mistake anyone can make is not buying any house and continue to pay rent.I followed alot of the ideas he shares in myhome search and I found a great buy in a solid neighborhood and I was able to do it with very little money down.This book does not give you all the ins and outs of financing a home but this along with a couple of other books on financing will be a great resource to buying a first home. There are alot of things you need to know. I know many homeowners that did not understand what was going on and why, since their agent did not feel it important enough to inform them. Reading this book helped me find the right agent so that did not happen to me and gave me a clear understanding of the entire process and what to look for.



We have lived in our home for over a year now, our escrow went up but i knew that would happen because I learned to ask the right questions but buying a home has been one of the best thing our family has ever done and we do not regret it one bit. This book,a good agent and mortgage broker that I could trust helped us tremendously.

Posted on April 19, 2011