Buy Your First Home!

Should I buy a house, condominium, or co-op? How do I find the best mortgage and financing options? How can I read between the lines of the seller’s disclosures? How do I find a fixer-upper? With more than 50,000 copies in print, Robert Irwin’s classic guide, Buy Your First Home!, continues to answer these and hundreds of other questions for first-time homebuyers. In this crisp, updated third edition, Irwin presents all-new information about the homebuying process, financing options, budgeting, and taxes-plus reorganized chapters that give first-timers the facts they need to make key decisions. Speaking with a voice of experience and authority, Irwin shares more stories of some of his own mistakes and successes, while offering take-to-the-bank insights, easy-to-use checklists, and comprehensive how-to advice for first-time buyers. He discusses everything a first-time buyer needs to know, from the initial rent versus buy decision, to credit, mortgages, inspections, real estate documents and what they mean, all the way through to the move. Then, when it’s all done, the paperwork signed, the large checks turned over, Irwin also helps first-time homeowners deal with the nearly common feeling of "buyer’s remorse" that often overcomes them at the end of the process. Buy Your First Home! walks readers carefully through every step of the process, so that they can cross the threshold into their first home with confidence. A must-have reference for the first-time homebuyer’s library. Highlights Buy Your First Home! shows readers how to survive the homebuying process and thrive afterward, including how to: ·Determine "need to have" features and an affordable price range. ·Scope out available properties using the Internet. ·Handle pitfalls and delays, such as loss of important documents or problems in an inspector’s report. ·Negotiate fees and terms successfully with lenders.