Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home

Cover
Title Page
Table of Contents
Your Homebuying Companion
1: What’s So Great About Buying a House?
	Investment Value: Get What You Pay For… And Then Some
	Tax Breaks: Benefits From Uncle Sam
	Personality and Pizzazz: Your Home Is Your Castle
	No More Landlord: Say Goodbye to Renting
	You Can Do It … If You Want To
2: What Do You Want? Figuring Out Your Homebuying Needs
	Know Your Ideal Neighborhood: Why Location Matters
	Know Yourself: How Your Lifestyle, Plans, and Values Affect Your House Priorities
	Know Your Ideal House: Old Bungalows, New Condos, and More
	Would You Like Land With That? Single-Family Houses
	Sharing the Joy, Sharing the Pain: Condos and Other Common Interest Properties
	Factory Made: Modular and Manufactured Homes
	Putting It All Together: Your Dream List
3: Does This Mean I Have to Balance My Checkbook? Figuring Out What You Can Afford
	Beyond the Purchase Price: The Costs of Buying and Owning a Home
	Spend Much? How Lenders Use Your Debt-to-Income Ratio
	Blasts From the Past: How Your Credit History Factors In
	What’s Your Monthly Budget? Understanding Your Finances
	Getting Creative: Tips for Overcoming Financial Roadblocks
	The Power of Paper: Getting Preapproved for a Loan
4: Stepping Out: What’s on the Market and at What Price
	What’s the Buzz? Checking Out Neighborhoods From Your Chair
	See for Yourself: Driving Through Neighborhoods
	On Foot: Talking to the Natives
	Sunrise, Sunset: Getting Day and Night Perspectives
	Got Houses? Finding Out What’s Locally Available
	How Much Did That One Go For? Researching “Comparable” Sales
	Hot or Cold? Take the Market’s Temp
	Just Looking: The Open House Tour
	Nothing to Look at Yet? Finding Your Dream Development
5: Select Your Players: The Real Estate Team
	Your Team Captain: The Real Estate Agent
	Your Cash Cow: The Loan Officer, Mortgage Broker, or Mortgage Banker
	Your Fine-Print Reader: The Real Estate Attorney
	Your Sharp Eye: The Property Inspector
	Your Big Picture Planner: The Closing Agent
	Strength in Numbers: Other Team Members
6: Bring Home the Bacon: Getting a Mortgage
	Let’s Talk Terms: The Basics of Mortgage Financing
	Who’s Got the Cash? Where to Get a Mortgage
	Narrowing the Field: Which Type of Mortgage Is Best for You?
	Getting Your Cash Together: Common Down Payment and Financing Strategies
	Where Do I Look? Researching Mortgages
	I’ll Take That One! Applying for Your Loan
	New-Home Financing
	Unique Financial Considerations for Co-op Buyers
7: Mom and Dad? The Seller? Uncle Sam? Loan Alternatives
	No Wrapping Required: Gift Money From Relatives or Friends
	All in the Family: Loans From Relatives or Friends
	A One-Person Bank: Seller Financing
	Backed by Uncle Sam: Government-Assisted Loans
8: I Love It! It’s Perfect! Looking for the Right House
	How Your Agent Can Help
	The Rumor Mill: Getting House Tips From Friends
	Keeping Track of New Listings
	Planning Ahead for House Visits
	Come on In: What to Expect as You Enter
	Do We Have a Match? Using Your Dream List
	All the World’s Been Staged: Looking Past the Glitter
	Recent Remodels: What to Watch Out For
	Walk the Walk: Layout and Floor Plan
	What Do They Know? Reviewing Seller Disclosure Reports
	Reviewing the Seller’s Inspection Reports (If Any)
	Poking Around: Doing Your Own Initial Inspection
	Hey, Nice Dirt Pile! Choosing a Not-Yet-Built House
	Buying a New or Old Condo or Co-op? Research the Community
9: Plan B: Fixer-Uppers, FSBOs, Foreclosures, and More
	Castoffs: Searching for Overlooked Houses
	Houses Not Yet on the Market
	Look What’s Back on the Market!
	A Foot in the Door: Buying a Starter House
	Have It Your Way: Buying a Fixer-Upper or House You Can Add on To
	Share Your Space: Buying Jointly
	Subdivide Your Space: Renting Out a Room
	Hey, Where’s Their Agent? Looking for FSBOs (For Sale by Owners)
	Buying a Short Sale Property
	Buying a Foreclosure Property
	Buying a House in Probate
10: Show Them the Money: From Offer to Purchase Agreement
	Start to Finish: Negotiating and Forming a Contract
	More Than Words: What’s in the Standard Purchase Contract
	Too Much? Not Enough? How Much to Offer
	Keeping Your Exit Routes Open: Contingencies
	Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is: The Earnest Money Deposit
	Divvy It Up: Who Pays What Fees
	Deal or No Deal: Picking an Expiration Date
	Think Ahead: Closing Date
	Strategies in a Cold Market: What to Ask For
	Strategies in a Hot Market: Making Your Offer Stand Out
	Contracting to Buy a Brand-New Home
11: Toward the Finish Line: Tasks Before Closing
	Wrappin’ It Up: Removing Contingencies
	Will It Really Be Yours? Getting Title Insurance
	Yours, Mine, or Ours? What to Say on the Deed
	Get Ready, ’Cause Here I Come: Preparing to Move
12: Send in the Big Guns: Professional Property Inspectors
	Home Inspection Overview: What, When, and at What Cost?
	House Calls: Your General Home Inspection
	Tagging Along at Your General Home Inspection
	Say What? Understanding Your General Home Inspection Report
	Termite or Pest Inspections
	When to Get Other, Specialized Inspections
	Trouble in Paradise: Inspecting Newly Built Homes
13: Who’s Got Your Back? Homeowners’ Insurance
	Coverage for Your House
	Damage Your Homeowners’ Insurance Won’t Cover
	Protection for Others’ Injuries: Liability Insurance
	Your Out-of-Pocket: Homeowners’ Insurance Costs
	Insurance Deductibles
	Shopping Around for Homeowners’ Insurance
	Types of Insurance Companies
	Jointly Owned, Jointly Insured: What Your Community Association Pays For
	Home Warranties for Preowned Houses
	Home Warranties for Newly Built Houses
14: Seal the Deal: Finalizing Your Homebuying Dreams
	Preview of Coming Attractions: What Your Closing Will Involve
	Is It Really Empty? Final Walk-Through of an Existing House
	Is It Really Finished? Final Walk-Through of a New House
	Your Last Tasks Before the Closing
	The Drum Roll, Please: Attending the Closing
	Closing Documents Related to Your Mortgage Loan
	Closing Documents Related to Transferring the Property
	Can I Move In? Taking Possession
15: Settling Into Your New Home
	Tell the World You’ve Moved
	Home, Hearth, and Hors d’Oeuvres: Settle in Socially
	The Safest Home in Town: Yours
	Cozy Up …Without Breaking the Bank
	There’s a Place for It: Organize Your Records
	Back to the Future: Get Your Finances on Track
Appendix A: Using the Downloadable Forms
	Editing RTFs
	List of Forms
Index
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