The Complete Idiot's Guide to Buying and Selling a Home (Complete Idiot's Guide To...)

Rating:
Summary: Too moderate for me
Review: Having read "Home Buying for Dummies" by Eric Tyson and Ray Brown which I highly recommend (with five stars) to all the home seekers, now I understand why I'm not really happy with this book. I find this "Idiot's Guide" approach too moderate, lacking in-depth analyses or comments in many areas. (e.g. how to spot ideal locations, etc. ) The author, in my view, doesn't take a stand and states her opinion clearly enough, which sometimes makes me feel like I am reading a free government brochure on home buying A to Z. Perhaps one single volume is not enough to cover such vast and complicated areas as buying and selling homes.

Although I will keep this book and use it as a reference/glossary when necessary, I'd probably rely on Tyson/Brown's book for "tips" most of the time.

Rating:
Summary: Too moderate for me
Review: Having read "Home Buying for Dummies" by Eric Tyson and Ray Brown which I highly recommend (with five stars) to all the home seekers, now I understand why I'm not really happy with this book. I find this "Idiot's Guide" approach too moderate, lacking in-depth analyses or comments in many areas. (e.g. how to spot ideal locations, etc. ) The author, in my view, doesn't take a stand and states her opinion clearly enough, which sometimes makes me feel like I am reading a free government brochure on home buying A to Z. Perhaps one single volume is not enough to cover such vast and complicated areas as buying and selling homes.

Although I will keep this book and use it as a reference/glossary when necessary, I'd probably rely on Tyson/Brown's book for "tips" most of the time.

Rating:
Summary: Don't buy or sell a home without this book!
Review: I am in the process of buying a new home and selling my old home. This book has guided me through the entire process. Even though I'm not a first time home buyer, this is the first time that I understood the process better than my Real Estate Agent! I even knew what questions to ask so that I got a better deal on my mortgage! This book is worth every cent. It's easy to understand and well written. Remember, knowledge is power!

Rating:
Summary: Very easy to follow. Written in plain English!
Review: I highly recommend this book. Because of the simple wording, I actually felt comfortable and understood the real estate terminology.

This book will ease your fears about buying/selling a home.

Rating:
Summary: 3rd Edition
Review: I reorganized the information and examples in this book for the 3rd edition and want to point out a few things to potential readers. Because the book just came out in September 2000, note that the two previous reviews are based on the 1st or 2nd editions, not this third revision. Please check out this new edition because it has been reworked to better prepare you to buy or sell a home. You get more information on determining how much home you can afford, understanding your credit, and finding a mortgage broker (to get qualified) before you find your dream home. I truly believe that the first five chapters in this book will help you be better prepared to buy and sell your home and guide you through the rest of the book.

Rating:
Summary: Best home buying primer
Review: I'm currently in the rush to buy a condo in a seller's-market city, and in the last two weeks I read through a dozen home-buying advice books. The Complete Idiot's Guide is by far the best of the bunch, and in case you are comparison-shopping, I think it's much better than the For Dummies title.

The biggest reason is the book, now in its fourth edition, is very comprehensive. The bulk of it covers the buying aspects, but there are a few chapters devoted to selling, and this is a great arrangement. As a potential buyer, it's to your advantage to know what it's like to sell, so when you select a property you will instinctly think of the time when you need to or have to sell. In my caes, I plan to live in the condo for about 5 years and then move to a different city, so having a seller's perspective while I shop for a condo is really helpful. For instance, I saw a nice condo yesterday which I would have bought but when I considered the selling perspective, I saw some problems and decided not to pursue it. As a home buyer, especially a first-time home buyer like myself (that's why I bought this book!), you really want to make a well-rounded decision. Sure there's no perfect house out there -- unless your definition of "perfect" is imperfect -- but the last thing you want is spend half a million dollars on something you regret right after you sign the closing docs.

Second, compared to many books this one is very well written. Maybe I have a slight bias in favor of female writers, but I find women tend to be better in explaining complicated concepts than men. This book is a perfect example of my stereotype. Every chapter is easy to read and follow, and you see the major points right away. The For Dummies title in particular suffers from information overflow and leaves you wondering what you've just read. Which makes it next to being worthless, especially if you are in a rush to get acquainted with the real estate market. There's a lot of information in this idiot's book but the top-notch organization makes it easy to digest... and remember.

(Don't forget, you don't want to carry a home-buying primer around when you shop for a house! If you did you'd simply be taken for an unpleasant ride by greedy sellers and brokers.)

Third, like I mentioned before, this book also covers aspects of the selling process, so it's a great book to keep in case you need to sell. In addition, when you do sell, you can review the home-buying chapters to learn what motivates the buyer, so to get your best deal!

To be honest at first I didn't like the format of this book; the page is wide and there seem too many words. But because the authors write well and clearly, I eventually found it the best primer on home buying, with bonus coverage on the basic of home selling.

Very highly recommended, especially to previously clueless people like yours truly.

Rating:
Summary: Best home buying primer
Review: I'm currently in the rush to buy a condo in a seller's-market city, and in the last two weeks I read through a dozen home-buying advice books. The Complete Idiot's Guide is by far the best of the bunch, and in case you are comparison-shopping, I think it's much better than the For Dummies title.

The biggest reason is the book, now in its fourth edition, is very comprehensive. The bulk of it covers the buying aspects, but there are a few chapters devoted to selling, and this is a great arrangement. As a potential buyer, it's to your advantage to know what it's like to sell, so when you select a property you will instinctly think of the time when you need to or have to sell. In my caes, I plan to live in the condo for about 5 years and then move to a different city, so having a seller's perspective while I shop for a condo is really helpful. For instance, I saw a nice condo yesterday which I would have bought but when I considered the selling perspective, I saw some problems and decided not to pursue it. As a home buyer, especially a first-time home buyer like myself (that's why I bought this book!), you really want to make a well-rounded decision. Sure there's no perfect house out there -- unless your definition of "perfect" is imperfect -- but the last thing you want is spend half a million dollars on something you regret right after you sign the closing docs.

Second, compared to many books this one is very well written. Maybe I have a slight bias in favor of female writers, but I find women tend to be better in explaining complicated concepts than men. This book is a perfect example of my stereotype. Every chapter is easy to read and follow, and you see the major points right away. The For Dummies title in particular suffers from information overflow and leaves you wondering what you've just read. Which makes it next to being worthless, especially if you are in a rush to get acquainted with the real estate market. There's a lot of information in this idiot's book but the top-notch organization makes it easy to digest... and remember.

(Don't forget, you don't want to carry a home-buying primer around when you shop for a house! If you did you'd simply be taken for an unpleasant ride by greedy sellers and brokers.)

Third, like I mentioned before, this book also covers aspects of the selling process, so it's a great book to keep in case you need to sell. In addition, when you do sell, you can review the home-buying chapters to learn what motivates the buyer, so to get your best deal!

To be honest at first I didn't like the format of this book; the page is wide and there seem too many words. But because the authors write well and clearly, I eventually found it the best primer on home buying, with bonus coverage on the basic of home selling.

Very highly recommended, especially to previously clueless people like yours truly.

Rating:
Summary: A Complete Idiot is how you will feel if you buy this book.
Review: Unfortunately, I did not read this book before the return time expired.
If you did not know how to buy or sell a house before you read this book, you still would not know how to buy or sell a house after reading it. The information is vague, incomplete, does not give you useful workable examples. You are left confused and still wondering what should I do? As my three year old niece once said to me, " how do it?". Well to O'Hare and Lewis,the authors, I ask you,"how do I buy and sell a house?" That was what I was saying while I read their book.
This book reminds me of instructions for constructing a piece of furniture. You are always left hanging at the edge not knowing what else you need to do and not really understanding what you just read. This book is just a waste of time and money. They write examples such as you get a drop in prospective buyer at the door but your four year old is finger painting and your husband is fixing the dishwasher,so then you might want to have the person come back and show the house later. Do you really need this kind of information?
The authors ask you and devote chapters on ,why do you want to sell your house and buy another house? It is supposed to be a how to book ,not a psychology book. This book is filled with so much fluff and non information, that if this book were to be distilled into any useful information, I think it would end up being a pamphlet.
The authors ask you, why do you want to sell your house and buy another house? Is this the kind of information you really need in order to sell or buy a house? I want a how to do it book ,that lists clearly defined detailed steps so I know what to do. Not a vague, fluff filled ,incomplete, confusing outline that leaves me wondering what next, what needs to be done now? Is that all you are going to tell me? This is like ordering a cookbook, expecting recipes ,but instead you get suggestions about how you might like an angel food cake on a raining day. So tell me how to bake it, give me specific directions on how to do it. They don't. This book will leave you confused and still wondering what are the steps of buying and selling a home? How can they call this book a guide? A guide to frustration, not to buying and selling a home.
I am fully convinced the people who write these reviews are the authors in disguise, and the publisher. I was the complete idiot for buying this book and not returing it while I still had the chance. Use the money and buy yourself a good for sale sign instead.

Rating:
Summary: First time homebuyer abc's...
Review: While most people don't consider themselves to be an idiot, they sure can feel like one when experiencing their first homebuying venture!

I am a 20-something interested in purchasing real estate. I felt like this book answered all my questions in an easily understood format. It is broken up into chapters that help you customize your individual experience.

Some of my favorite points of interest included: from tips on finding a good lender, the importance of prequalification, explanation of points, information on first-time homebuyer's bond money, a breakdown of potential closing costs, and a realistic plan to estimate your monthly payment (i.e. "what you can afford."). NOTE: Those internet calculators are usually about $100 per month lower than what you'll actually pay.

I would recommend this book to anyone who perhaps doesn't have a financial background - but is wanting to get the knowledge to make a sound financial investment in a home.