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Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home Paperback – December 31, 2019

by Ilona Bray J.D. (Author), Ann O'Connell (Author), Stewart Stewart (Author)

4.6 522 ratings

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There’s no place like home!

Ready to say goodbye to your landlord? With help from Nolo’s Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home, you’ll not only find the right house for you, you’ll have fun doing it.

Learn how to:

research the local market and listings
choose a house, condo, co-op, or townhouse
create a realistic budget
qualify for a loan you can truly afford
borrow a down payment from friends or family
protect yourself with inspections and insurance, and
negotiate and close the deal successfully. You’ll find insights from 15 real estate professionals―agents, attorneys, mortgage specialists, a home inspector, and more. It’s like having a team of experts by your side! Plus, read real-life stories of over 20 first-time homebuyers.
Download the Homebuyer’s Toolkit
Dozens of customizable forms that will help you find your dream home, crunch the numbers, interview real estate professionals, inspect the house thoroughly, and more― more details inside.

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Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home (Nolo's Essential Guidel to Buying Your First House)
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"32nd Annual Silver winner Benjamin Franklin Award." Independent Book Publishers Association

“Nolo’s excellent guide for novice home buyers provides fresh, updated information about the whole process that even those in the know will find useful.” Library Journal

“Takes the guesswork out of home buying…two thumbs up.” Elizabeth Weintraub, Home Buying & Selling Guide,pdotdash.com

“Coming from a gal that knows tools, this book is a must-have tool for any home buyer.” Norma Valley, Host of "Toolbelt Diva" (Discovery Home Channel)

"Buying a house for the first time can be an intimidating, and sometimes overwhelming, process. This Nolo guide takes readers on the journey from understanding the benefits of buying a house and deciding what they want to sealing the deal and settling in. Along the way, readers will learn about budgeting, the market, getting a mortgage, negotiating a deal and many other crucial steps. The book takes advice from fifteen different professionals, including brokers, mortgage specialists, home inspectors and more, in to account as it advises readers. Buying the book also allows readers to access the website where they can download forms and informative podcasts and stay up to date on changing trends in house buying." Eithne O'Leyne, Editor Ringgold, Inc. ProtoView

" Attorneys and authors Bray et al. offer a guide to buying a home for the first time. They discuss the benefits of buying a house, figuring out homebuying needs and what is affordable, checking out the market, selecting a real estate team, getting a mortgage, loan alternatives, looking for a house, fixer-uppers and other types of houses, making an offer, closing, property inspection, homeowners' insurance and home warranties, sealing the deal, and settling in. Additional real estate professionals also provide advice, and other interviews are provided online, along with forms, checklists, and letters. " 6th edition review - Eithne O'Leyne, Editor, ProtoView

The ownership of a home is the largest financial investment most people will ever make. The number of homes for sale is on the rise and mortgage rates remain near historic lows. "Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home" provides everything needed to: research the local market and listings; decide between a house, condo, co-op, or townhouse; create a realistic budget; qualify for a loan you can truly afford; borrow a down payment from friends or family; protect yourself with inspections and insurance; and negotiate and close the deal successfully. "Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home" offers insights drawn from 15 real estate professionals that include brokers, attorneys, mortgage specialists, a home inspector, a neighborhood researcher, and more. Plus "Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home" is enhanced with the inclusion of real-life stories from over 20 first-time homebuyers. Readers should note that they can download from www.Nolo.com a Homebuyer's Toolkit Dozens of downloadable forms and podcasts that will help them find their dream home, crunch the numbers, interview real estate professionals, inspect the house thoroughly, and more.Comprehensive, inclusive, and thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home" is very highly recommended, especially for community library collections." The Midwest Book Review, Taylor's Bookshelf

About the Author

Ilona Bray, J.D. is an award-winning author and legal editor at Nolo, specializing in real estate, immigration law, workplace wellness, and nonprofit fundraising. Many of her books are consistent Nolo bestsellers, among them Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits, U.S. Immigration Made Easy and Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home. Her latest book is entitled Selling Your House: Nolo’s Essential Guide. She particularly enjoys interviewing people and weaving their stories into her books. Bray's working background includes solo practice, nonprofit, and corporate stints, as well as long periods of volunteering, including an internship at Amnesty International's main legal office in London. She received her law degree and a Master's degree in East Asian (Chinese) Studies from the University of Washington School of Law and Jackson School of International Studies, and an undergraduate degree in philosophy from Bryn Mawr College. In her spare time she enjoys hiking, going to open houses, and gardening. Bray also blogs on Nolo.com on topics such as nonprofit fundraising, real estate, and immigration matters. She's the winner of the 2012 "Best Blog" award from the National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE).

Ann O’Connell is a legal editor at Nolo specializing in landlord-tenant and real estate law. Before joining Nolo as an editor, Ann was a freelance writer for Nolo and other publications and law firms. She has passed the bar exams in California, Nevada, and Colorado, where she is both an active attorney and a real estate broker. Ann practiced civil litigation in California and Colorado, and had her own firm in Colorado. At her firm, she focused on real estate, landlord-tenant, and small business cases. Ann earned her B.A. from Boston College and her J.D. from UC Berkeley Law.

Marcia Stewart writes and edits for Nolo on landlord-tenant law, real estate, and other consumer issues. She is the coauthor of Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home, Every Landlord's Legal Guide, First-Time Landlord, Every Tenant's Legal Guide, Leases and Rental Agreements, Renters' Rights, and The Legal Answer Book for Families.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ NOLO; Seventh edition (December 31, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 464 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1413327001
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1413327007
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.5 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 1.25 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #864,230 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #270 in Practical Law Guides for Real Estate
- #276 in Law Practice Reference (Books)
- #994 in Buying & Selling Homes (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.6 522 ratings

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Ilona Bray J.D.

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Ilona Bray, J.D. is an award-winning author and legal editor at Nolo, specializing in real estate, immigration law, and nonprofit fundraising. Many of her books are consistent Nolo bestsellers and award-winners. In 2015, her book: Selling Your House: Nolo's Essential Guide won the first place Gold Award in the Robert Bruss competition recognizing excellence in books published covering the field of real estate, sponsored by NAREE (National Association of Real Estate Editors). She also won NAREE's 2012 "Best Blog" award. Ms. Bray particularly enjoys interviewing people and weaving their stories into her books.

Bray's working background includes solo practice, nonprofit, and corporate stints, as well as long periods of volunteering, including an internship at Amnesty International's main legal office in London.

She received her law degree and a Master's degree in East Asian (Chinese) Studies from the University of Washington School of Law and Jackson School of International Studies, and an undergraduate degree in philosophy from Bryn Mawr College.

In her spare time she enjoys hiking, going to open houses, writing children's stories, and gardening.

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Customers find the book informative and helpful for understanding the process in general. They describe it as a great resource and reference for newcomers. The book is concise and easy to follow, providing a nice overview of everything they need to know.

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51 customers mention "Information quality"44 positive7 negative

Customers find the book informative and helpful for understanding the process in general. They say it's a great resource to have if you're new to the process, providing a nice overview of everything you need to know. The book is thorough and helps them ask intelligent questions and understand the language professionals use.

"...It capably covers important topics such as why APR (annual percentage rate) is more important to pay attention to than the interest rate..." Read more

"...The book is full of tons of useful information like that. I read it cover to cover and would highly recommend it...." Read more

"...So, while the book is great for understanding the process in general, some of the practical details won't make sense for your particular market...." Read more

"...forms to help me with my "dream-home list" as well as, a handy forms to take with me during each home tour as reference/guide to pay..." Read more

15 customers mention "Ease of reading"15 positive0 negative

Customers find the book user-friendly and easy to follow. They say it's well-written and covers topics they didn't know about. The book helps beginners understand the language used by professionals and what to expect next.

"...The Nolo book is better written and covers more topics that were relevant to me, but the Dummies book might be a better resource overall...." Read more

"This was an excellent guide. It broke down the process into easy to understand steps...." Read more

"...The book is an easy-user-friendly read that helps prepare and guide your through the housing process from beginning to end...." Read more

"...It has helped me to ask intelligent questions, understand the language the professionals are speaking, and know what to expect next...." Read more

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Marc Train
Well-written guide that deserves to be on every first buyer's reading list
Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2015
Verified Purchase

I am a few weeks away from closing on my first home and read this book nearly cover to cover. I bought this book along with the "Home Buying Kit for Dummies" book. Both complimented each other pretty well, though there was a lot of overlap. Overall, this book alone is not going to cover "everything" you need to know, but I nevertheless give it 5 stars for being an excellent resource. It's difficult to recommend one book over the other because they are so different. The Nolo book is better written and covers more topics that were relevant to me, but the Dummies book might be a better resource overall.

Strengths:
The book is well-written and covers some topics I didn't expect. For instance, if you are considering borrowing money from a family member, you should take the IRS Applicable Federal Rate (AFR) into account when deciding an interest rate. If you set an interest rate too low (e.g. 1%) then the IRS will consider the loan a gift and the giver will be taxed as such. I loved the forms that the book comes with - checklists for looking at new homes, interviewing a real estate agent, a loan officer, even how to talk with your spouse about your ideal dream home.

Weakness:
The organization could be better if it was more chronological. For instance, home inspection happened pretty early in our process, but that chapter is near the end of the book. I would prefer to have the book organized so that I could read a chapter as it unfolded. But it's easy enough to skip around if you need to.
The book is also weak on evaluating mortgage lenders. It capably covers important topics such as why APR (annual percentage rate) is more important to pay attention to than the interest rate (because the APR includes the interest rate as well as fees and most other costs associated with granting the loan) and also things like how to tell when buying points will be beneficial. What is missing is a step-by-step guide that would tell, for instance, at what stage you should shop around, or at what point you should withdraw your application if you find a better offer. For instance, if you get a GFE (good faith estimate) from one lender, you might wish to consider shopping around to see if you can find a better deal. At that point, you could take the GFE from a second lender and show it to the first lender to see if they would match it.

Overall this is a great resource and I'm happy with the purchase.

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bananasoup
Comprehensive and useful, even for somewhat knowledgeable people!
Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2020
Verified Purchase
I took two full-day first-time homebuying courses before purchasing this book, so I wasn't sure how useful it would be above and beyond what I'd learned in the courses. The answer: very, very useful. For example, it described why a homebuyer should check into zoning before purchasing a house: to give one example, if you've got your heart set on adding on a deck, you'd want to know ahead of time that zoning rules mandate a minimum distance between the structure and the property line, which effectively bars you from adding the deck. The book is full of tons of useful information like that.

I read it cover to cover and would highly recommend it. Ideally, you should purchase it at the very beginning of your house hunt process, but it would be a valuable asset at any stage. It also is the homebuying guide with the most recent publication date that I could find, which is a big bonus. Definitely get this book!

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Bob Feeser/MillCrafters
This book is your clear path to knowledge you can depend on.
Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2017
Amazon Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )Verified Purchase
I'm a dedicated fan of Nolo books. I have been reading them for years. Even their Deduct It book on the latest tax laws put in plain English is a bible as far as I am concerned. All too often first time home buyers have this idyllic outlook on buying a home; it takes on a nirvana type of atmosphere. Unfortunately they look at homeownership as a panacea of good fortune blinding them to the many pitfalls that may await them. Only after getting screwed on their first property do they become astute buyers on their second one. This book shows you how to avoid that costly mistake and become an astute buyer first time around.

It is written with contributions by teams of experts in the real estate sales, brokerage, and mortgage and home inspectors. It even includes input from experienced home buyers recanting their experiences. This is an absolute must read for buying a home. I'll never forget what Peter Lynch said in his book One Up On Wall Street. He said that before you buy any stock buy yourself a home. Nothing will give you a greater return than that. Plus with the tax breaks you can make up to 250k on your personal residence tax free. You no longer have to reinvest it either.

This book contains so many topics of great interest there is no reason for me to go over the complete list of them. You can easily obtain the information covered in each chapter by clicking on the photo of the book in this Amazon listing, and it opens up the first chapter including all of the chapter titles and complete list of sub-topics covered in each of them. There is so much information it may seem overwhelming at first, but as you digest it, and then get into the search this wealth of information will be very handy to say the least. It is a real hand holder whether you are obtaining the mortgage, hiring a broker, a home inspector, even figuring out how much of a home and what type you will need. You can get expert advice from professionals in the industry, but exercise caution because depending on what you are looking at they may have an agenda. This book is your clear path to knowledge you can depend on.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written guide that deserves to be on every first buyer's reading list

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive and useful, even for somewhat knowledgeable people!

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is your clear path to knowledge you can depend on.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for homebuyer

Well-written guide that deserves to be on every first buyer's reading list

Comprehensive and useful, even for somewhat knowledgeable people!

This book is your clear path to knowledge you can depend on.

Perfect for homebuyer